Jemjoop

30 Day Photo Challenge on Flickr

2011-06-02T16:56:00.008-05:00

Sooo...hi! There is a fun new group on Flickr called 30 Day Photo Challenge - June 2011 set up by http://whitepeachphotography.com/ and I have just joined today. It's not too late to catch up if you want to jump in too. I saw it on holiday_jenny's Flickr stream. Never really joined a photo group on Flickr where you have to do one every day, but figured it might improve my meager photography skills.

Here is a link to the Group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/1699719@N21/

And this is a list of the daily tasks. Fun, yes?

Day 1: Self-portrait
Day 2: What you wore today
Day 3: Clouds
Day 4: Something green
Day 5: From a high angle
Day 6: From a low angle
Day 7: Fruit
Day 8: A bad habit
Day 9: Someone you love
Day 10: Childhood memory
Day 11: Something blue
Day 12: Sunset
Day 13: Yourself with 13 things
Day 14: Eyes
Day 15: Silhouette
Day 16: Long Exposure
Day 17: Technology
Day 18: Your shoes
Day 19: Something orange
Day 20: Bokeh
Day 21: Faceless self-portrait
Day 22: Hands
Day 23: Sunflare
Day 24: Animal
Day 25: Something pink
Day 26: Close-up
Day 27: From a distance
Day 28: Flowers
Day 29: Black and white
Day 30: Self-portrait

Yep, no idea what "Long Exposure" or "Sunflare" are. Pretty sure that "Bokeh" is that ever popular Etsy technique when the front thing is in focus and the background is not. Or something more technical.

Happy June!

Clackety Clack

2011-03-01T11:48:00.007-06:00

Anyone else remember that annoying carbon paper? Still love the sound of a typewriter...

http://www.jemjoop.etsy.com/

Shabbyriffic Bowls

2011-02-24T08:16:00.006-06:00

Just dropped into the shop!

It's always in bleakest, darkest mid-winter when I start craving color and things get painted pastel. Hide the children.

http://www.etsy.com/Jemjoop

Shabbytastic Shelves

2011-02-23T15:18:00.002-06:00

Brand new in the shop today, it was a painty Wednesday!

Oliver vs. Baking Cupboard

2010-12-06T09:10:00.002-06:00

Halloweenies and a Kindness

2010-11-01T07:39:00.008-05:00

A very nice neighbor took these photos of the two youngest boys and kindly emailed them to me this morning.

This is middle boy Luke's favorite time of year. The little one Oliver is 22 months and didn't quite understand what was happening. He's a quick learner and by the third house of a door opening and a very nice person holding a huge bowl of candy at him that he could take and eat, he was onboard with the whole thing.

Our little hamlet of Caledonia, IL, population 199, really comes into it's own on Halloween. It was settled in the 1820s and we have a mixture of Victorian, Craftsman, and later period houses. We have a house across the street straight out of a modern development. We think it may have landed here accidentally. Also, there are some historical old tenant farmer cabins dotted about, still proudly wearing their last whitewash now dulled from a few decades of wear and tear. Within a mile down the road we have an herb farm, a pumpkin farm, a sheep farm & wool mill, an alpaca farm, and miles and miles of feed-corn and soy. It's harvest time around here and the corn is being trucked all day long to the mill down the street.

Most folks dust off their annual decorations and the houses become spookily festooned from September on. The retired couple next door regularly plant pumpkins in their garden and then wheel them out front in a wooden trailer, free for the taking. Yesterday afternoon was lovely and warm here and I was still planting mums. Then around 5:00 we put the final touches on the pumpkiny graveyard out front. As we set off last night, we met a very nice couple and their family of four boys. As he was an amateur photographer he had a pretty nice camera and asked if he could take Jango Fett's picture. We said sure and he kindly offered to send us copies of his pictures. Which was just as well, since my camera was out of commission and I was really hoping to get pictures this year for Grandma.

Just when I contemplate the downward spiral of society, people are still being nice to one another out there :D

All Hallow's Eve

2010-10-01T04:53:00.006-05:00

The boys' costumes for this year have been happily located. The bounty hunter and the...err...bounty

http://www.target.com/s?keywords=jango+fett&searchNodeID=1038576%7C1287991011&ref=sr_bx_1_1

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4282883

(And the original Surprised Kitty YouTube sensation)

1/12 Shabby Chic Pumpkins

2010-09-23T17:38:00.007-05:00

Playing with Sculpey today, I thought some pastel colored pumpkins might be fun for a little elf doll or a magical garden scene. I knew that old grapevine on the back porch would come in handy some day, since it no longer produces grapes. Love how the curly stems turned out.

Just listed in the shop, five sets only.

Happy Halloween!

Fairyland Pukifee Icis is on model duty today. They don't show but she has the cutest little elf ears <3

April

2010-04-13T08:57:00.020-05:00

Hallooo. Whoops, I totally forgot to post at Easter. Sorry about that. But I have a good reason, my folks were visiting us from New York and we were making bunny cakes and going on egg hunts and playing Uno and all that fun and suchlike. The week before that was the obligatory housework tornado and scrubbing baseboards and wiping out the silverware drawer and all that Mom cleaning that I only do when she's about to arrive.

Otherwise I've been working and trying to get the garden shaped up for Spring. It seems the season has started early this year and I'll take it after all that snow. The iris and chives are huge already as is the raspberry patch. Daffodils and tulips have sprouted their green leaves but no buds yet. All of the birdhouses are occupied. Feathery tenants abound.

The oldest boy has joined a band that has him playing guitar all over town so that's all exciting at the moment. We're not allowed to go yet because he's too nervous, but some day.

The middle boy just got a new bike and has gone Lego mad. He carries a Batman minifigure around in a case in his pocket "so his cape doesn't get wrinkled." Bless.

The baby learned to walk and has become very fond of chocolate. He quite enjoyed the jellybeans in his Easter basket. Every time he was given one he would say "ank yoo" (thank you). He just got one of the red & yellow little pedal Flintstone cars. He prefers going backwards in it.

We are totes enjoying the new season of Doctor Who.

Oh! And Target is awesome as ever and has recently stocked special anniversary editions of Hayao Miyazaki films Ponyo, Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, and Kiki's Delivery Service. If you're into that sort of thing. I bought a Totoro resin figure and also a Totoro umbrella music box from eBay.

I really need to take some pictures, there's nothing on my camera but BJD dolls and I keep forgetting to take it out places. We went to the zoo last weekend. Will get some pictures up soon. Both of my Flickr accounts are maxed out so I need to bite the bullet and buy a Pro Account. On the list.

Hope you all get some good weather :D

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2010-03-18T04:15:00.002-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-09T06:43:00.007-06:00

A very

Happy Valentine's Day

to all of my blogging buddies

Free clip cart from http://vintageholidaycrafts.com & http://vintagecatnip.blogspot.com/
Thank you!

Christmas Wishes

2009-12-24T16:50:00.007-06:00

My French Life by Vicki Archer just arrived in the post today on Christmas Eve. I have been waiting for this book all year and boy was it worth the wait. It has a beautiful floral binding and the end pages are heavily textured. The book features gorgeous color photographs of France on every page and it even has a lovely red silk page marker.

In Northern, IL we are in the midst of an ice storm and have lost power twice. The trees are covered in a thick coating of ice and branches droop down to the ground. If any of them are fortunate enough to survive, I am going to treat them to a feast of fertilizer and food this Spring. Poor things. The hens are snug in their barn, the cookies are all baked, and little one is tracking Santa through Europe at the moment on the NORAD website http://noradsanta.org

So, I plan on wallowing in this wonderful book all Christmas Day. Even if the power goes out again, teacup candle at the ready....

I hope you all get your heart's desire this holiday season. Merry Christmas xo

1 Year Blog-iversary

2009-12-13T18:51:00.007-06:00

1/12 Hook Shelf

Time flies! This month marks my one year anniversary of blogging. The first post on December 3, 2008 was about making Christmas cards from Etsy supplies. Not much change there, I just did that again last week. It's been so fun to meet all of you in blogland and get a peek into each other's lives.

What a year this has been. Is it me or was 2009 very eventful? Bit like a spin in a washing machine in Jemjoop land. Not even just the recession and money issues, just everything else too. No doubt I'm not the only one looking forward to 2010 and good times to come. I hope everyone has a safe, healthy, and happy new year and maybe a little bit of fun thrown in for good measure.

I'm hoping to find more balance, probably you're hoping for the same. I'd like to be a little more organized with my time. It's a rae every weekend to keep up with the errands, chores, and ever present TO DO list. Things got a little wonky when the baby was born (he's 1 today!) and then again when I got a full time job. Oliver is an angel, no trouble at all. Give him a snack and he's happy. The new job quickly got out of hand and has pretty much required overtime every week since September. No complaints but things do have to slide around the house when Mom gets busy. Nevermind the fun stuff like hobbies and blogging. That 100 Books in 2009 almost worked, I'm currently at 61 and can probably squeeze in two more library trips before December 31st. Not a bad finish. But, I've not blogged as regularly as when I began but it's a goal. I have managed to keep up with Etsy orders and every once in awhile even add new stuff to the shop. It's been a real treat to make miniatures on a day off or before my shift starts. They are a real de-stresser and the chance to be creative sure helps to recharge my batteries.

Pancakes, nom nom.

Many, many thanks to you all for peeking in from time to time and saying hello. It's a treat to read your blogs. See you soon...

1/12 Winter Crates

And finally, since the holidays are upon us again, I'll repost this little tidbit from little one's elementary school newsletter-

Top Ten Requested Teacher Gifts:

1. Books

2. Gift Cards

3. Board Games

4. Stickers

5. Stamp/Stamp Pads

6. Coffee

7. Fun Magnets

8. School Supplies

9. Fun Pens & Pencils

10. Food

Dear Nana and Papa

2009-11-30T16:46:00.002-06:00

A letter writing assignment by Luke, age 8:

"Hello Nana and Papa

I hope you have a Merry Christmas, you will receive this as a present for Christmas.

I hope you didn't have any repairs to your house. I hope your state isn't doing anything bad.

You are fortunate that you have a grandson like me and a little grandson too. I hope you didn't have any catastrophes or any happenings or both.

I wish you lived with me so you could help me with mistakes and problems. And you could also comfort me when the Earth is heaving.

With love from,
Luke
Miss Carlson's 3rd Grade Class"

Cute Handmade

2009-11-24T07:33:00.004-06:00

How exciting, Brooke at http://www.cutehandmade.com/ is featuring my Etsy shop "Jemjoop" on her blog today. Thank you Brooke! :O)

Check out her cute Etsy promotions and submit your shop or recommend your fave Etsians.

She also Twitters at http://twitter.com/cutehandmade

Speed Reader

2009-10-14T04:11:00.027-05:00

http://buckscountyframes.etsy.com

Awhile back I gamely joined the blog challenge to read 100 books in 2009. It is October 14th (already?) and I have only read 40. Books 41 and 42 are not finished yet. Alas, has anyone ever read 60 books in 2 1/2 months? Probably not. Well, at least I've read 40 books that might not have gotten read without the little push of a challenge like this one. It was a good justification for the $120 something fee we had to pay to join the nearest library for the year.

http://hitoritabi.etsy.com

Particular stand outs were the biographies of Amelia Earhart, Martha Stewart, and Queen Elizabeth. Cherie Blair's was really interesting too, very down to Earth sort of person but highly intelligent. Elizabeth was chosen on a whim, it was on the shelf end as I was passing by. It did turn out to be fascinating and well worth the late fees for keeping it an extra week so it could be finished. I read Martha & Elizabeth back-to-back and I was amazed at the personality differences in the two. Both women of power, one rules with an iron fist and makes grown men cry and the other is extremely well thought of and known by everyone to be pleasant on every occasion for the last 60 years. Guess which was which? Now, I do love me some Martha but if Queen Elizabeth has the time and the discipline to be nice...tsk tsk

http://Strangestudios.etsy.com

The Lost Men by Kelly Tyler Lewis was another fascinating book, and again well worth the extra late fees for keeping it a week past it's due date. The story of the two- year deprivation of the men chosen to lay the food depots for Sir Ernest Shackleton's ill-fated Endurance trip to the South Pole.

There is another book I'm hankering to read called My French Life by Vicki Archer that's supposed to be very good. I keep just missing it on eBay. Maybe this is the week. I'm feeling lucky...

http://jjbackman.etsy.com

Has anybody read something yummy lately?

Oliver & Puppy

2009-09-27T13:46:00.002-05:00

Cute Overload - New Puppy

2009-09-26T21:34:00.004-05:00

This week...

2009-09-25T19:07:00.008-05:00

I am enjoying these:

I am reading this:

I have bought these:

And somebody's Nana made him a new hat:

New Shoes

2009-09-15T09:29:00.007-05:00

Just a quick look in to say howdy do. I am having sneaky peeks at the Halloween updates on some of your blogs.

Still busy a bit with the new schedule. Paying off some old bills and building a big sleep debt instead. This week I get to work two night shifts which. will. be. awesome. Can you feel the enthusiasm.

Being here in a flyover state, we've got lots of corn all around. It's mostly animal feed corn & soy around here. They are starting to get ready for harvest and the combines are beginning to appear at the edges of fields. Keep meaning to grab the camera and snap a pic for you. Perhaps today, we've got a bit of a warm sunny week.

Not much to report. I did buy some shoes. Not really a shoe person so, for me, buying two pairs is kind of an event. I have winter boots, summer flip flops, and Birkenstocks for the times in between. I wanted Uggs for a long time and treated myself to some in 2006, after beginning my miniature business on eBay. A treat to me, if you will. Then that Fall we moved to NY and I took little one out trick-or-treating on a cold, wet Halloween. Uggs got all wet and I left them on the heating register overnight to dry off. Yes, they melted. Melted the soles and warped them both. So, new job...new Uggs. I got these nifty little gray "Cardy" Uggs like Anna wears in the show Being Human (I love her whole outfit, actually. She is a ghost so she only got to wear one outfit for the entire series.)

And then I got myself a spunky little pair of indigo blue Chucks that are slip-ons with elastic-no tiresome shoelaces. Hubs and the teenager wear Chucks so that's just me jumping on the bandwagon.

Next up in Jemjoopland we'll be decorating the house for Halloween and taking the kidlets out to corn mazes and the pumpkin farm.

It's all glamour here now, posting about shoes. Sorry about that, I promise to try and get a life soon! :O)

Catching Up

2009-08-26T21:04:00.007-05:00

Are you there Blogland...it's me, Jemjoop!

Hello, hello I confess that it has been 23 days since my last post. I got a job! And I missed you all!

So...I don't even have any recent pictures on my computer from August at all. I'm not even sure where my camera is, which has never happened before. Above is a thatched wooden Michael's Craft Store house that I made into a little Irish cottage for my good friend's cough40thcough birthday. I love that little handmade silver horseshoe on the door. My grandpa always had one of those hanging up in his garage for luck. He wasn't Irish, he was born in Scotland, but he did have a horse so half a point for him.

There is some catching up to do on all of your blogs, I have Flickr updates from a lot of you dating back to August 11th, not to mention the housework and library books piling up around the place. There may be some speed reading since everything is probably at maximum renewal time. I am even missing all of my favorite shows like Flipping Out, Top Chef, and Project Runway :O( waaahhh.

But, I had some very-very-very lucky news in the first week of August. After four months of job searching everywhere I got a call out of the blue that a local recruiter found my resume on monster.com (quick, put your resumes on monster.com) and they had a couple of positions that I might like to consider. One of them was...working from home. Yes, sold, thank you. They found that I had been a transcriptionist at several jobs previously, but the job I am doing is editing medical reports. But they don't call it editing they call it QA...so I am QA'g So I have been training in-house at a local firm for the last 3 weeks from 7:00 to 3:30 then racing like a crazy person. Cue emergency search for babysitter, manic clothes shopping for professional stuffs, crazy house cleaning, frantic house planning dinners-laundry-groceries-schedules-argh! and that's where I have been. I was home for 8 years raising boys so it was a bit all-change, but I'm getting back into the swing of things. I bought this rose-covered yummy lunch sack from Etsy's SandraKay :

And these were a mouse-clicking necessity from ArtFire's Casual Cottage :

Friday is my LAST day of in-house training (yay!) and on Monday I start working 4:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon shift from home. They originally hired me for the 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. graveyard 3rd shift, but thank goodness they changed their minds because I'm definitely a morning person and didn't quite know how I was going to manage staying up all night. Isn't it strange to have a proper shift when you work from home, but it's a 24-hour turnaround on these reports and they have everyone set up for specific hours. So if you felt like sleeping in and starting your shift late, it would mess up everyone else and you would get into deep doo doo and probably get yourself a stern talking to.

Have you all been rushing around like mad people too? Getting children off to first-day-of school, and supply shopping, and tired children not waking up early very easily because they are too tanned and lazy from summer lounging and just 5 more minutes mom...

xo

Kim Has Issued a Challenge

2009-08-03T15:53:00.009-05:00

A Challenge has been put forth by Miniaturist extraordinaire, Kim Saulter. She blogs at It's A Miniature Life
1. open the 4th file where you store your photos...
2. pick out the 4th photo & publish it to your blog...
3. explain a bit about it...
4. pass this challenge to 4 other blogs....

So here is the photo from my 4th picture file 4th picture. Dated 4/28/09 it's baby boy goodies from the Etsy Virtual Baby Shower in January 2009 when Olly was just 1 month old. And, apparently, a good time to develop January photos is in April o_0. These were all made by a lovely Etsy seller called Little Mamas

I blogged about the Shower here too:

Luckily this picture is in focus, cropped, and Etsy related. Wasn't sure what was going to show up; could have been a tree, could have been little one taking pictures of people's feet again. Bit of a pot luck on my hard drive.

Now I need to pass this challenge on to 4 other blog friends.....
Cathy at The Fabulous Farmhouse

Julie at Pieceful Bits

Kathy at Vintage Catnip

Jody at Shabby N Chic

What will you turn up, it's kind of fun. Passing it along to you guys now. Thanks Kim!

What's Blooming...

2009-07-30T17:44:00.013-05:00

BJD

2009-07-27T12:44:00.011-05:00

Littlefee "Flora" http://featherfall.ca http://dollfairyland.com

Well, like I needed a new hobby in my life...but I seem to have found one.

Dolls, surprisingly, haven't really been an interest of mine even though I'm a miniaturist. Mainly I specialize in furniture and accessories as houses in general are a real passion of mine. I took a few miniature doll classes but never really got that doll bug.

Then this past February, my wonderful friend Kim was downsizing her Blythe collection and was extremely (extremely) kind in sending two my way (thanks Kim!), a Pow Wow Poncho and an I Love You It's True. So I have been having much fun ever since customizing their faces and outfitting them from Etsy and eBay. My husband then bought me a lilac-haired Prima Dolly Violetina in March that I had been drooling over, that one was customised by Tam at http://dollymolly.etsy.com

Soooooo, last Saturday I took these three Blythe girls of mine and went to a doll meetup in Madison, Wisconsin that was a semi-Blythe/BJD group called Dairyland BJD. Members from IL & WI get together a few times during the year and this was the summer meetup. It was potluck so everyone brought a dish to share. The dolls were set up at various tables and there were also sale tables where you could buy or trade doll items. My favorite were the three panel discussions: How to Restring a Doll, History of Dolls, and Making Doll Clothing. They were mostly Dollfie; Super Dollfie (SD) and Miniature Super Dollfie (MSD) and various other smaller types.

Ball Jointed Dolls (BJD) have moveable neck, elbow, wrist, waist, knee, and foot joints and are interesting because they can hold poses and artists are making them quite realistic. Inside their bodies are elastic bands and some can even stand on one foot. Great for photographs. I won't post individual dolls from the show as the owners might take copyright issue, but there are some pictures above from various BJD supply websites. You could also search BJD, SD, or Dollfie on Flickr.

Soul Doll SD "Gisele" http://denverdoll.com

They were amazing at the show, they measure from 70 cm (2.5') down to 17 cm (8.5") and included individual faceups, clothing, tattoos, wigs, custom eyes, etc. The sky is the limit. One of the members also made a likeness of Johnny Depp and another is working on a Cate Blanchett doll. There was an exact replica in style and costume of Mary Tudor and Ann Boleyn. People are really so talented.

S&G SD Elf "Afta" http://denverdoll.com

So I'll be mulling this one over and looking around at bodies, heads, and various body parts and don't be surprised if a BJD pops up on the sidebar under those three super cute Blythe girls. Fair warning :O)

Any other BJD fans out there in blogland?

New Flower Jugs 1/12 & 1/24

2009-07-22T09:40:00.005-05:00

Just added to the
shop

Skull Domes, Floo Powder, & Witchy Tags

2009-07-21T11:57:00.007-05:00

1/12 Miniature aged plastic skull domes for your Harry Potter or Halloween setting. Just two of these made and each are slightly different. Just added to the shop

1/12 scale miniature 1/2" wide pot of Floo Powder for your fireplace "Diagonally!"

Witchy Hat Tags

Professor Filius Flitwick, Charms Teacher at Hogwarts

2009-07-15T20:31:00.010-05:00

A few years back I attempted a handmade 1/12 doll and chose Filius Flitwick, Harry Potter's Charms teacher..."wingardium leviosa" and the feather lesson from the first film. I had the pleasure of taking a Rik Pierce class called Tanglewood and thought Professor Flitwick's classroom would be an interesting scene to build. His classroom is still in the works but he's all ready to report for lessons this Autumn when term starts.

We're all excited here about Half Blood Prince being released this week so in honor of the new film I'm posting little Professor Flitwick.

Miss Sally World, an incredibly talented UK artist, made the head and hands from the still movie pictures and I made the body and dressed him. He's got small clay shoes and a fancy vest with tiny golden bead buttons. His wand is a regular old toothpick, shaped and painted, and Sally kindly molded his hand just so he could hold it.

Have a magical week :O)

Edit: This is the Tanglewood room box

and the interior is on my webshots (can't seem to copy it over full size)

Halloweeny Treats

2009-07-14T12:10:00.006-05:00

Spooky Trick or Treat Tags

Witchy Broom Hilda Tags

Recently added to the Etsy shop!

What's Blooming

2009-07-05T12:29:00.012-05:00

Paris Etsy Treasury

2009-07-02T19:53:00.006-05:00

Haven't made an Etsy Treasury in a little while, and it took me most of yesterday just to snag a spot! It's called
quiet paris afternoon and I couldn't help sneaking in a pretty Blythe doll.

How exciting, it made the Front Page of Etsy about 5:00 a.m. EST on July 4th

Thanks Etsy and congratulations to all of the artists!

Mini Tips

2009-07-01T16:01:00.007-05:00

Simple, but ingenius. This is a little tip shared by Ladybug Sue Thwaite. I was privileged to take her Baby House class when we were living in England. She was over there for Miniatura . The class was 1/90th and involved lots of tiny tinies that had to be glued, painted, and otherwise manipulated so she provided us with sticks and blue tack. Very useful, and you can just rework the sticky tack when it gets too messy or painted. Just flip it over and re-use. Sue has a million great ideas.

Another tip for getting around little edges and corners is to use small emery boards. Even better when you cut the boards in half or thirds to get right in there. These were on display near the checkout of our old "chemist" and it occured to me, while waiting for a prescription, that these would be a little bit better than using just a folded piece of sandpaper. Somewhat easier on the hands if you've got a lot of work area, because the card backing provides structure.

The Great American Dollhouse Museum

2009-06-28T17:02:00.005-05:00

The Great American Dollhouse Museum is now open and is located at 344 Swope Avenue in Danville, Kentucky 40422

Hours: Tuesday through Saturday 11:00-5:00
Closed Sunday and Monday

Admission: $7.00 adults; $5.00 children 2-12

6,000 sq. ft. of artisan quality miniatures, sounds like an amazing place to visit. Hundreds of historically accurate houses, educational classrooms, a hands-on playroom for the little ones, and a gift shop for all budgets make this an inviting family trip. (Not to mention the fact that it is blessedly air-conditioned.) Sure makes me want to load up the car and head over there.

Also, check out "Get Involved" section for dollhouse builder and seamstress volunteering.

Follow Lori on Twitter: http://twitter.com/DollhouseMuseum

Halloween Spooky Witch Dresser

2009-06-16T16:39:00.005-05:00

Yes, it's still June. It's probably the nature of miniatures to think ahead in terms of holidays and I've got Halloween on the brain for the last couple of weeks. I had great plans for Halloween miniatures last year in the run up to Autumn & Christmas. We had just gotten a hard-won Dolls & Miniatures category at Etsy and all systems were go. But best laid plans and all that. I ended up on bedrest for little Olly and made very little for either holiday. I'm going to make all that great stuff for this year instead.

In the meantime, this 1/12 Spooky Witch Dresser (sold on ebay) was a real hoot to make back in 2006. There were all sorts of goodies crammed in every which way on shelves and behind doors. Witchy poo's stripey socks have been washed and hung up to dry, and she's got a permanent lager tap in one of her cupboards. Burp! Her multi-colored spellmaking candles line the shelves and she's baked a cake full of eye of newt. There is a skeletal hand holding a poisoned apple, jam jars filled with all manner of things you shouldn't be preserving, and behind one of those cupboard doors is actually the mummified remains of a postman skeleton still dressed in all his finery and clutching his little leather bag. We never did find out what he did to make her so cross. Enjoy! :O)

Lazy Sunday

2009-06-14T18:33:00.009-05:00

Artful Penpals - Reviving the Lost Art of Letter Writing

2009-06-10T12:30:00.005-05:00

I just signed up to Artful Penpals - Reviving the Lost Art of Letter Writing

Shelagh from Alice in Paris has organized this International one-time event for people that miss the bygone days of receiving a personal, handwritten letter and sending one in return. If it proves popular, she'll make it ongoing. Forty seven people have signed up so far. All you have to do is send a handwritten letter that you would be happy to receive; pretty stationery, drawings in the margins, quirky stories, whatever floats your boat. I think it's a great idea. I haven't had a penpal since the 6th grade when I got one out of the back of a Dynamite! magazine.

Hurry sign up ends June 14th at midnight (letters to be mailed by June 28th)!

Flea Market Finds

2009-06-09T12:28:00.008-05:00

Score! Don't you love finding bargains. We wandered into Goodwill last Saturday and I saw this shelf and had to have it. I think it's handmade, some of the joins look to be. $4.99 each for the shelf and the large tin of tulips. And the two smaller wall pockets were $1.99, I thought they would be cute to hold blooms from the garden. I want to decoupage the shelf front with Simply Shabby tissue paper in pink with tiny roses and leave the rest white, but now I'm debating whether to leave it as it is in those vintage colors... Anybody have any thoughts?

**ALSO**
Sorry about the comments moderation thing. If you've commented and it never showed up here's why. I got some strange ones on the Oprah post and deleted them and then went to moderation. And nothing happened, no emails about comments. So just today I was poking around here trying to organize the posts into subjects and saw there were like 10 comments to approve. Clearly I'm a blogging genius lol Anyway, thanks for the comments they should all be up now and I'm not moderating any more I'll just delete the weirdos.

Coming up momentarily, the peonies have bloomed! Oh, yes. Happy days:

Flowers Just Listed

2009-06-04T18:57:00.003-05:00

1/12 Terra Cotta flower pot with three tulips & 1/12 Pink Roses in a Tin Can (sold and relisted, thanks Deb!)

Oprah. Everybody Gets a Car.

2009-06-03T19:34:00.010-05:00

Harpo Studios! (If you click the pictures they open full size, they are the front-right side-and back of the studios.) Oprah wasn't there, she went on hiatus last week for the summer. We had to be in the city this morning so the baby could see an eye specialist at the University of Illinois (Olly has a weird little spot on his eye that we have to keep checking on, it was his fourth appointment with specialists, this one went really well). So when I was Mapquesting last night it turns out Oprah is only 1.6 miles away from Univ of Illinois. I tried to get tickets a couple of times this year but it's always busy, so this will do. Maybe in the Fall I'll have better luck. I stopped into a 7-Eleven for batteries for the camera and had to get one of these Obama sodas. Or as they call it here "pop"

Coming Up Roses!

2009-06-02T12:11:00.008-05:00

1/12 Scale Dollhouse Miniature shabby cottage style roses just added to
my shop!

What's Blooming

2009-06-01T15:09:00.014-05:00

Just took a walk around the garden to see the flowers and managed to snap a few pictures just before the rain started. This basket used to hold socks in little one's closet, but then he started using it to haul toys around and broke the bottom. So I lined it with a plastic Target bag and filled it with Miracle Gro soil with nutrients. He brought home a spiky tall yellow plant that was a seed project at school (you can just see it peeking out from the center), and then I filled in the rest with red geranium, white and purple alyssum, orange zinnia, and bright blue lobelia. This sits on a step to the back porch.

I'm also working on some miniature flowers for my Etsy shop too - so this week is all about gardening.

Chives are planted by the steps to the back porch. Love the smell and those pretty purple flowers are always a sign that summer is on the way.

This red patch of Dianthus (Sweet William) was planted by the gardener that used to own this house and it seems to get bigger and bigger every year.
My Mother's Day present from last year, the lilac has been blooming for a couple of weeks now. Not too tall, only 4 feet or so, but it's getting there! This one is growing next to the chicken barn.

The peonies! My favorites...well technically my favorites are daisies and lavender, but I have a huge soft spot for peonies. This one blooms in a bright pink fuschia color and it looks so pretty in front of this weathered old picket fence section. There's an herb farm and flower shop just down the road from us that a lady started out of her old barn. She has a ton of these fence sections leaning up against the wall for $5 each and I had to have one. Her husband was standing by to load it into the trunk for me (I think hubs and little one were making friends with a turkey they had in a pen) and when I selected this particular one because it was so chippy he said "A fine choice!" which struck me as really funny.
This year it's multi colored Impatiens in the window boxes. There are two big ones on the front and two of these smaller ones on the side of the house. Shade dominates the front so Impatiens are about all that will grow. Last year I researched shade plants and wasted about $90 on various gorgeous flowers and they all died. And you couldn't really see them anyway, too shady. So this year I'm keeping it simple and spent just $20 on two flats of these guys and had enough left over to plant two hanging baskets for the front porch.

What's going on in your garden?

Beautiful disaster; last year's window boxes:

TGIF

2009-05-29T17:30:00.007-05:00

Friday already! Well, this week went by rather quickly. I've been meaning to take some pictures around the garden and post what's up and what's about to bloom, but the days got away from me. Also, it mostly rained this week so there was that as well. First sunny day, I'll do it.

My favorite time of year is peony time. Our house was home to a serious gardener before we bought it (I still get her seed catalogs in the post) and some deliciously gorgeous flowers come up for us every year. Currently, in the side garden there is a fuschia pink peony bush that is heavily in bud so any day now we're going to get massive flowers. Can't wait! I never knew about peonies until we bought our first house roundabout 1999 and that came with three giant peony bushes too. Peonies are lovely and the blooms last forever. They are kind of like giant cottage roses.

Last weekend was relaxing, by the way. I forgot to grab the camera for the entire thing but we had all weekend of sunshine and 80 degree heat. We got all the yardwork done, cleaned the gutters, then the fun part. We went to a local carnival that sets up every year for Memorial Day and drank fresh lemonade, ate soft pretzels, and sampled yummy homemade Italian ice (I chose mango). Little one rode the rides, we sat and listened to live bands, and the two bigger boys ate their weight in rainbow cotton candy. I gave little one enough tickets to play three of those games of skill. He won two inflatable guns from the duck pond and on his last turn at the water gun races, he won the grand prize. Free choice. You should have seen his face, I'm pretty sure it made his entire year. He chose a bright blue toothy shark that is a little bit bigger than he is. He named him "Jawsy"

The rest of the weekend we set the pool up (one of those 14 ft blue above ground deals - still saving the pennies for the inground) and then just before the rain on Sunday we went out to Volcano Falls which is a local children's tiny amusement park for some go karting, video games, and Lazer Tag. I got to do my favorite penny game and some Skee Ball. Home to some more barbecuing and then the week began again. I never did get some ice cream but maybe this weekend :O)

Have some fun everybody!

Happy Memorial Day!

2009-05-22T13:52:00.013-05:00

Have a great weekend! I'm not sure what we're doing this weekend besides barbecuing, planting the vegetable garden, and visiting the local Veteran's Field for it's annual fundraising carnival & fireworks. But, whatever it is, I hope that it's relaxing. And that there is ice cream.

Some patriotic Etsy finds:

Set of 6 blank cards for $8.50 from
patrioticpapers

Handmade wooden yard luminary by SperryLaserWorks

Lake Cottages gorgeous print by
catherineholman

swanmountainsoaps

Happy Anniversary To Us

2009-05-20T16:55:00.005-05:00

Elk Grove, IL is just outside Chicago and it's a protected forest preserve and they have a neat park full of Elk and all around their enclosure are trees, grass, a bike path, and sidewalks. Tons of beautiful places to hang out with mother nature.

This is the best time of year to get out and do things. Warm enough to enjoy the day, and before it's TOO hot and all those mosquitos arrive.

Today was such a gorgeous day in Northern IL, 90 degree high and sunny with a slight breeze. Quite a treat for May! Today we're celebrating 9 years together and it's kind of a tricky one. There is a lot going on. I packed up turkey sandwiches, chips, apples, chocolate, and rootbeer and met hubs at this park. Baby Oliver came along for his first official picnic and showed off his brand new bottom set of front teeth. It was great. Sometimes simple things are really the best.

Coldplay Tour Twitter

2009-05-20T15:58:00.005-05:00

Coldplay began US leg of their tour last Friday in West Palm Beach. They just posted this pic http://twitpic.com/5ksbk to their Twitter...

http://twitter.com/coldplay

Set List:

“Life In Technicolor”
“Violet Hill”
“Clocks”
“In My Place”
“Yellow”
“Glass Of Water”
“Cemeteries Of London”
“42″
“Fix You”
“Strawberry Swing”
“God Put A Smile Upon Your Face”
“Talk”
“The Hardest Part”
“Postcards From Far Away”
“Viva La Vida”
“Lost!”
“Green Eyes”
“Death Will Never Conquer”
“I’m A Believer”
——
“Politik”
“Lovers In Japan”
“Death And All His Friends”
——-
“The Scientist”
“Life in Technicolor 2″

Thinking Spring Flowers

2009-05-18T09:10:00.004-05:00

These cold porcelain flowers are from last Spring, hoping to get some more into the shop this week. Time, children, and crazy schedule willing. I shall do my best.

Happy Mother's Day!!

2009-05-10T21:02:00.006-05:00

Wishing a very Happy Mother's Day to all of you hardworking moms out there.

I had some fun with my boys and the weather was beautiful. Little one spotted some pretty purple irises and bought them for me, my eldest surprised me with a delicious bouquet of chocolates, and I treated myself to a bicycle baby carrier for the little guy. (I also found him the cutest little pair of blue baby "Chucks" sneakers at Target.)

Hope you had a wonderful day!

Spring Tulips!

2009-05-06T22:28:00.007-05:00

Tulip heaven; This is my neighbor's house, she must have planted these last Autumn because I don't remember them from last year. If memory serves, she and a couple of her friends were digging around over there in the garden for most of a day and I wondered what they were up to. Maybe these are the result, I'll have to ask her. What a good idea to plant so many of them in such pretty colors. So cheery to drive by and see them every morning!

A League of Their Own

2009-05-05T17:55:00.015-05:00

From the 1992 film "A League of Their Own" starring Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Rosie O'Donnell, Lori Petty, Jon Lovitz, and Madonna.

While the men were off fighting World War II, women were recruited to play baseball to keep the game alive. One of the teams was called the Rockford Peaches and they played in Rockford, Illinois at the intersection of 15th Street & Seminary Street. Their field was torn down a couple of decades ago and now it's just a public soccer field, but the original Peaches turnstile remains.

We spent Sunday doing Spring yardwork. Finally, a nice day after 8 straight days of rain and the obligatory April-flooded-basement week.

The boys trimmed the front tree branches that were growing too close to the house, cut them up into bonfire size, and hauled them to the burn pile. Raked the leaves off the garden bed (still not finished). I mucked out the chicken barn which means shoveling up the pine shavings on the floor into bags for compost and spreading new shavings around. Also, there were some seriously ginormous cobwebs that had to come down from the rafters.

We checked out the fruit trees we planted last year and found buds and new growth on all but one pear tree. My lilac from last Mother's Day is coming along nicely as well as the pretty cherry blossom tree. I have got blue muscari (grape hyacinth), red and yellow tulips, and forget-me-nots coming up all over the place. And the lawn is bursting with beautiful wild violets.

So, after a day of work the boys were heading out to see the new X-Men Wolverine film that night and I managed to squeeze in a trip downtown to see this Peaches field. We had just watched A League of Their Own together the night before and in my family you've got to strike while the iron's hot, so off we went and managed to find it just before dusk.

A bit of local history, anyway. I'll have to check out what else is around this area...

Etsy Virtual Baby Shower January 2009

2009-04-28T12:35:00.022-05:00

I'm a little (okay extremely) late with this overdue Thank You. Just when I would sit down to write it something would come up. You know how it goes. Sorry to you all!! And Thank You!

An Etsy baby shower is a stroke of genius. June at http://ficklefairie.etsy.com/ has been quietly running the Etsy Virtual Baby Shower for the last two years now. You can read about it in the Storque here: http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6087884

I didn't even know there was such a thing until I spotted the forum thread and signed up on the spur of the moment. When Olly came along in December, he didn't have a shower as my family and friends are all back in New York (while we've relocated here to Chicago for hub's work). My mom and best friend sent along some lovely gifts and cards and our wonderful neighbor popped in to meet him when he came home from the hospital, but you know it just wasn't the same. It's a nice feeling to properly herald in a new addition. Also, we were all kind of down because hubby had lost both of his parents (young-at 62 and 63) just that Autumn. They were both gone, and now it was Christmas and we had a new baby. It was a happy and sad time.

Some of the best things on Etsy go on behind the scenes and most people find that venue to be a really special place, myself included. June at ficklefairie organizes the showers quarterly and she singlehandedly matches donors to recipients. I was really looking forward to a handmade bib or maybe even a onesie, how selfless that complete strangers think enough of a fellow seller to donate their items. Imagine my surprise when June matched me with not one...but FIVE donors. Wow. Five gifts! And not even just five gifts...five handmade gifts! The generosity is overwhelming.

We all exchanged Convos and some made special things just for me or asked what I needed, and some let me choose from their shops. It's not just baby items either, all items are welcomed. Then on a specified date and time the Virtual Baby Shower is held in the Virtual Labs in the Treehouse. It was a fun time, the donors earmarked the items in their shops and we weren't allowed to pick them until that day. That way, they get recognition and exposure for their shops when their items are pictured at the Virtual Shower and everyone can "ooh!" and "ahh!" And after all, what is a baby shower without the oohing and ahhing, not as much fun I'll tell you.

I have to give special mention here to savoiefairephoto, her work is photographing letters from everyday objects like a tire swing representing an "O" or an "L" from the right angle of a picture frame. She had just opened her shop and her name was sent to me by mistake as she had previously already been matched to a mom having twins. When she discovered the mistake, she very kindly still offered to send me one of her gorgeous cards. I insisted she was being too generous but she wouldn't hear of it. We ended up with a compromise; she sent me Oliver's card and I purchased two more for Kyle and Luke.

So here follows my lovely treasures by some rather special folks. And a very big hug and a Thank You! from the bottom of my heart (and a wee little smile from Olly too).

http://thecuriousrabbit.com/ Boy did I have a field day in her shop! She lives in my favorite place on Earth and she has a shop filled with beautiful photographs of it in irresistible colors and subjects. How lucky am I. And as well I couldn't choose, I love the Highland Cow, or should I go for the blue boat. Decisions, decisions. She extremely kindly and generously sent me a selection of her favorites. Love them all.

http://savoiefairephoto.etsy.com/
To be perfectly honest, similar photos were already saved to my favorites before I even signed up for the shower. Imagine my surprise when I was matched with the seller. Kismet. Love these so much.

http://littlesquidgen.etsy.com/ had this amazing tartan cloth diaper cover in her shop. All of Olly's things are in similar shades and plaids and I was so pleased she let me have it. Then she also generously sent a toddler size pair of pants, a toddler shirt with knitted sleeves, and a big boy fleece hat with a funny top that hub's immediately put on and wore around the house.

http://littlemamas.etsy.com/ had these super cute onesies in her shop that I really needed and she kindly said that I could have them. Then she went and made him a handmade ribbon blanket as well. So sweet. Love them all.

http://carelia.etsy.com/ wrote and offered not one, not two, but three hats for each of my boys. I was so touched, how kind to think of the other children and include them as well. My oldest is 18 and he's funny about hats and hair and all things grooming so he kindly declined. Little one picked out a Pikachu hat and was pleased as punch he was getting a present too. She custom made these from her shop selection in their sizes. Olly wore his bunny hat to an Easter egg hunt and he was just the cutest little thing.

http://muffintopdesigns.etsy.com/ made this stunning handmade sterling silver nest with robin's egg beads. Three to represent my three boys, her idea. I love it so much.

Little Things

2009-04-01T13:49:00.007-05:00

Whoever said that you cannot buy happiness certainly lacked imagination, Walgreens, and a library card. (Seeds 3 for $1) ♥

Thanks Lena! Lena is from Sweden and has a beautiful miniatures blog. She's just tagged me to name 7 things that I l♥ve.

1. My family, including the littlest one: Scruffy

2. Travel

3. Being artistic

4. Collecting little houses

5. Rosamunde Pilcher Books

6. Flea Markets/Boot Sales

7. Scotland

ohm

2009-03-31T11:45:00.007-05:00

Oh look, a super cute kitty. Why be angry in a world of such beauty and cuteness.

Husband just reformatted my laptop this morning before work and I lost all my stuff. Everything wiped away. All gone. Bye bye. Again. This is not the first time. Oh no. Even though I said I was taking it to Best Buy to see if they could fix it and save my pictures. Pictures of my babies, you know...aging, playing, laughing, etc. Pictures of things I made. Pictures of places we visited. Pictures of his parents final visit with us last June. And it's my computer so as well...HANDS OFF MISTER. Why were you even touching it. Why, for the love of everything holy, why. And he gives terrible apologies.

*ohm*

I am thinking positive, happy thoughts. Last month, he fixed the boiler and saved us a $300 bill. He also fixed the oven saving us another $300 this year. He bought me a really nice Blythe doll last week. With purple hair. Sunday morning he cooked perfect bacon and made me a yummy sandwich with brown sauce. He makes the baby do a really funny giggle and he calls him "inkle finkle"

*ohm*

Happy Thoughts...

Kittens.

o_0

*********UPDATE************

I'm feeling better, thanks guys. Cute babies help, they are anti-grump makers. And Olly learned how to blow bubbles and raspberries today so he had me laughing.

It is 5:45 p.m. and we have just had the tornado sirens go off and a black sky with lightening. We had a tornado in Jan last year that touched down in the next town so we headed for the basement. It's passed now and I hope everyone was safe from it this year. Will have to check the news.

Last night the dog got stuck under the bed and I had to lift it off of him and then it fell apart. Hubs had to fix it when he got home. Then this morning my laptop was annihilated. Now tornado watches.

March is usually in like a lion, out like a lamb. Didn't expect this much drama. Whatever will the rest of the week bring. Calm, hopefully ♥

Needle-Felted Easter Egg

2009-03-19T19:06:00.003-05:00

Hello Spring!

I just love, love this needle-felted egg by Etsy seller Made By Laura. Such a clever idea. It's got Spring, Easter, trees, blue sky, grass, everything that's good in the world. And such pretty colors too. She's outdone herself this time!

Laura is a Twitter, blogger, Etsy, Flickr friend and I got one of her lovely sparkly needle-felted bowls as a treat to myself for Valentine's Day. Her work is just so lovely. Bravo!

Link to egg:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=22517109

Her needle-tastic shop:

http://madebylaura.etsy.com

She's always blogging something interesting:

http://made-by-laura.blogspot.com/

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2009-03-16T20:32:00.005-05:00

1/24 Half Scale Mice Quilt Shop

2009-03-12T01:22:00.005-05:00

This 1/24 scale Quilt Shop started with those sweet little mice I found on eBay. They were so cute! One was sewing and the other was washing the floor with a rag and sudsy bucket. It grew from there and came together rather quickly. This one was sold for charity roundabout 2004/05ish.
I think if you click on the photo it gets bigger to show details.

Squee! Jemjoop: Published Photographer

2009-03-06T14:49:00.007-06:00

This photo I took of a cottage in Skipton, Yorkshire is posted on my Flickr and was spotted by Schmap travel guides in England. They sent me a Flickr mail about a month ago that it was shortlisted for inclusion in a travel guide. Well, this morning in my inbox...it was chosen!! You can view it on the Schmap brochure here:

http://www.schmap.com/leeds/activities_daytrips/#p=56247&i=56247_34.jpg

This photo is up there as one of my personal favorites for several reasons. It's a cottage, I mean; a real, inhabited, rose-covered, fairy tale cottage so it has that intrinsic value. But as well it has personal meaning. It was the last official outing before we moved to the U.S. in Oct. 2006. Little one was safely and happily oblivious at nursery and hubby, my oldest, and I played hooky for the day and scuttled off to Skipton to tour the castle (which we had never done) and walk around the town (which we had). The whole town has cobbled streets and little shops (a Laura Ashley Home shop!). Behind the castle is a bubbling little river next to a winding path. Well, we took that winding path and ended up on a small lane with a house or two. I snapped pictures of wild strawberries and blackberries and the neatest tree with winding vines criss-crossing it's entire trunk. Then the next moment I spotted this cottage which captured my imagination. I literally just had time to take one photo because the day was getting late and we wanted to walk up Clitheroe Castle before school let out. As soon as this cottage was snapped, a little old lady moved back the lace curtain (the right one) and waved. We carried on the path and headed back home, but the perfect day still winks at me in my memory. ♥

Forgotten Dreams by FourCrowsArt

2009-03-05T07:43:00.006-06:00

forgotten dreams
Originally uploaded by Robin....

Robin of FourCrowsArt is a Twitter/Flickr friend and I just had to link her "Forgotten Dreams" photo. She's very talented!

Best.Spam.Ever. A/S/L

2009-03-01T20:05:00.003-06:00

From: irish_customerservices_offices@btinternet.com
Sent: Sun, 1 Mar 2009 4:06 pm
Subject: Congratulation

You have been chosen by Irish Lotto as one of the Winners of 1,350,000.00.

send the following: Name,Age,Sex,Country

Dr Henry McCartney

Birthdays

2009-02-25T08:46:00.013-06:00

Sorry for being a bit absent lately. We are nearing the end of our holiday trifecta in Jemjoop land. It starts with Valentine's Day and then seven days later our middle guy has a birthday (8 this year) and seven days after that our oldest has his birthday (18-and he's getting his driving license too gahhhhh! ).

I bake when absolutely necessary and sometimes by special request, preferring savory stovetop simmering instead. I can make a pretty good meatloaf.

Saturday morning little one requested his favorite; a chocolate fudge cake with butter cream frosting. So while the baking cupboard was open and the oven was hot I also made 35 lemon yellow cupcakes with chocolate frosting (so he could bring them to school) and a batch of brownies for my oldest and hubby who don't like cake.

There are no pictures, they were just standard utilitarian lopsided things. After that picture was taken, I let little one put the sprinkles on his cake (because I forgot them) and his method of choice was dumping half a bottle smack in the middle. No doubt to ensure maximum sugar intake per slice. The cupcakes ended up all different sizes, some were pretty much triangular. The brownies were slightly burned around the edges. I am not the baking goddess that is Kim .

This Saturday is easy, my oldest's birthday request was homemade chocolate chip cookies. Even I can't mess those up.

*UPDATE* March 1st
Two batches and counting, they keep eating them like little cookie-eating things...

Blythe by kimbergercreative

2009-02-19T06:37:00.005-06:00

Blythe is a gorgeous 1:6 Art Doll from a new Etsy Shop called kimbergercreative

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-12T21:00:00.011-06:00

♥♥♥ Happy Valentine's Day! ♥♥♥

Teeny Tiny Matchbox Rooms 144th Scale

2009-02-08T22:28:00.008-06:00

At the moment, I'm struggling for the time to work on new miniatures for myself for fun. In progress are a couple of 1/24 little wooden cottages (Irish cottage & Scottish cottage) and a 1/12 chocolate shop that I am desperate to work on. But, needs must and for now I'm focusing on baby, home, and working on mini orders for the Etsy shop.

In the meantime, here are two little projects to share with you that were really fun to make for a mini club challenge:

1/144 scale Quilt Bedroom & Shaker Kitchen

Both sold on eBay and sent off to new homes

Paper printed quilts, floor rug, and readable books were received in a 1/4 scale swap. The calico paper is from Jim's" Printables website. The lamp is a metal finding and there is also a ceiling light. On the right side are a shopping bag on the floor and two hanging silhouette plaques. The little plastic bed and chair were found in Toys R Us as furniture in some sort of stuffed bear's tiny dollhouse. The bed was painted black to resemble iron and there are gold beads as finials, very Bedknobs & Broomsticks I thought!

Made mostly with wood, card, and paper. The metal hanging lamp is a finding and those are tiny plastic bottles on the table. The broom is just strands of raffia wrapped around a twig and tied with one strand of embroidery floss. The wooden floor is a thin piece of balsa scored into "planks" with the back of an Exacto knife.

Too Many To Do's

2009-02-04T17:07:00.004-06:00

"There is no use trying," said Alice; "one can't believe impossible things."

"I dare say you haven't had much practice," said The Queen. "When I was your age I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes, I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."

-Lewis Carroll,
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Gabriel Grasshopper of the Thicket People

2009-02-02T19:00:00.006-06:00

Miriam and Christel of Fairy Studio Kallies in Germany are such talented miniaturists. Their work takes my breath away!

Keeping Backyard Chickens

2009-01-28T11:06:00.050-06:00

I was poking around in my 43 Things list this morning and came across a write up I made on keeping chickens so thought I would share it here:

Raising Backyard Chickens

How I did it: First I read up on backyard chickens care/feeding/raising and then joined backyardchickens.com

When we relocated to Northern Illinois, we bought a house with a red barn/garden shed that had electricity wired in and a hatch flap that would allow them to get outside. We dug post holes and cemented in some 4x4x8 posts and stapled wire penning to them. We put shavings on the floor using the deep litter method, a nesting box, and some hay bales to make them little igloo garages for cold weather.

We put a roof over the pen because they loooove to fly over the wall and peck in the garden or examine the neighbor's shrubbery. They can definitely fly and I've seen ours get up to 7-8 feet off the ground.

Regular or organic feed is $10-20 for a big bag and they get fresh water every day. For them, I planted seed packets of mustard greens, kale, leaf lettuce; lots of extra rows of green in the garden last summer and just picked it and threw it into their pen. Very happy chickens and we got the nutrition value back in their eggs.

We started with 4 three month old pullets in October 2007. You can order chicks from Murray McMurray but I didn't want the added expense and equipment of hatching eggs or raising tiny chicks without a mother hen. I joined the forum on backyard chickens and looked for someone local who was parting with a small flock that had grown up together. Once we got them home initially, I just added a regular metal clip utility light overhead on a timer so they get 12 hrs of light per day (or else they don't lay eggs).

Recently, last August 2008 we received an email from the farmer saying he had new flocks. I wanted one or two new chicks but brought hubby and little one so we ended up with 4 more two week old chicks and they are just now 4 months and starting to lay. They have chick feed from birth to 3 months and then layer feed until they stop laying. Our remaining Buff Orpington is very broody and sits on her nest of laid eggs most of the time so we thought we'd give her some little girls to love. Didn't work out that way, she was aggressve towards them. So best laid plans and all that. However, the advantage to little chicks is that you can handle them excessively and make them tame to humans.

I was a bit worried about the little ones when cold weather set in but they are doing just fine. At 3-4 months old they are not so little any more, they are full grown now. In sub-zero weather we turn on two overhead heat lamps so they can warm up. On the coldest of cold below zero days I make them scrambled eggs. Without a rooster to fertilize them, their eggs are simply full of vitamins and a hot breakfast warms up their bellies.

The Auracana is currently the only little one laying but she produces the most beautiful tiny green eggs.

We lost one of the original Orpingtons to a respiratory wheeze and one of the new baby chicks went stir crazy when the snow arrived and forced her way outside in a snowstorm (poor thing-through the latched side flap).

These are pets and we don't intend to eat them. Hens lay eggs for about 1-2 years or more but they live for about 10 years.

We have 3 black sex links, 1 Buff Orpington, 1 Auracauna - sometimes called the Easter Egger or EE (lays blue/green eggs!), and one Rhode Island Red

Lessons/tips:
Let them acclimate to cold weather, don't use the heat lamps too much. They don't like to be too warm and if you have a power outtage then you'll quickly have hensicles.

Alternately, they will cool off in the summer by flapping in the pine shavings or you can give them a wading pool of sand to "splash" in.

Compost the shavings for a great garden fertilizer. Once per year shovel out all of their shavings and replace it with new. Pine shavings preferably, not cedar as it can be damaging to them.

These eggs are more nutritional and have half of the cholesterol of store bought eggs. Backyard eggs have approximately twenty-five percent more vitamin E, seventy-five percent more beta carotene, and as much as twenty times the amount of Omega-3 fatty acids as do factory farmed eggs. Even the yolks are a super bright yellow. Store eggs can be 2 months old or worse.

Be careful of your zoning, most suburban areas do not allow roosters. Get sexed chicks or 3 month old pullets so you know that you are getting females. If you want to hatch your own eggs then have a plan for getting rid of the roos. We live in a rural area zoned agricultural but we still have lots of neighbors and the roo noise would have been pretty annoying.

The hardest thing about them is the infighting to determine the pecking order. Our littlest hen gets her butt pecked so much by the others that she has a permanently bare red posterior. And chickens are compelled to peck the color red so it's a vicious circle. Hubby calls her Red Butt. They can be brutal to each other; scratches, cuts, bullying, fighting. Just keep an eye on them but don't interfere too much. If you are introducing new birds to an established flock, please do some research because it's a difficult thing to do.

The best thing about them is I never again have to waste any sort of vegetable, fruit, or piece of bread. They are my little clucky garbage disposals. Great if we don't eat the bananas soon enough or if the lettuce goes a bit yellow in the vegetable bin.

I do resist showing them at fairs or picking up new cuties from the local poultry show because you just don't know if they're going to pick up a nasty virus or bacteria and bring it home. Plus the whole re-introduction to the flock for the one who got out for a field trip is something else to be avoided.

"Don't use fresh eggs for baking, use last week's or the week before." I don't know why but my elderly neighbor used to farm chickens and that's what she told me and I do what I'm told when it comes to people with more wisdom.

Recommended Reading: Still Life With Chickens (Starting Over In A House By The Sea) by Catherine Goldhammer
Non-fiction 2006: Catherine, freshly divorced and with a young daughter, decided to have a simpler life and built a pen and got a flock of backyard chickens. Her trials and tribulations with them. This is the book that stopped me just thinking about doing it and going out and making it happen.

http://backyardchickens.com
http://murraymcmurray.com
http://MyPetChicken.com

This Blog Invests in the Riches of Proximity

2009-01-23T10:38:00.013-06:00

The wonderful tagmaker extraordinaire Steph of Sunshine and Ravioli was kind enough to award me this Proximidade award. You've simply got to go visit her, if you haven't already, and check out her gorgeous blog.

I copy/pasted this explanation from it:

This blog invests in the riches of proximity! (rough translation). Proximidade, translated from Portuguese to English, means vicinity or neighborhood.

This blog invests and believes in PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships. (blogging makes us close by proxy; friendly neighborhoods linked around the world). Blogs that receive this award are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. (effort is made to maintain a quality blog in terms of blog etiquette, response, and audience - just because) *Note to reader: It does not escape my attention that the mere posting of the award is, in itself, a small measure of self-aggrandizement. I never said I was perfect ;-).

Our hope is that when the ribbons of these awards are cut, even more friendships are propagated. (post the award, and grow more friendship by passing it on) Please give more attention to these writers! (be an active friend of their neighborhoods) Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award. "Following are my eight blog choices (though there are many more that are also deserving), in no particular order (seriously random as they came up on the blogroll by update status), that consistently embody the spirit of kindness, friendship, neighborhood, and warmth for which this award is given:

1. The Vintage Moth
2."I Can Make That" Made By Laura
3. It's A Miniature Life
4. NJD Miniatures
4. Middle of Nowhere
5. Tiny Treasures
6. Four Dog Day
7. Angela Michelle Dolls
8. Sugarskull7's Artblog

Please go visit these lovely bloggers if you get a chance and say "Hi!"

1.20.09

2009-01-20T12:41:00.004-06:00

Angry Baby Judges You

2009-01-16T18:47:00.004-06:00

This picture is making me laugh (no it's not Olly). Found it online, someone posted it to ONTD.

Shabby Cottage Valentines for Her

2009-01-14T12:25:00.008-06:00

Hi everyone, have a lovely day. These are in the Etsy shop.

Don't Forget Your Manly Man on Valentine's Day

2009-01-13T19:23:00.004-06:00

Love Bot cards here

My Studio

2009-01-11T15:58:00.000-06:00

New Cottage Style Roses Pegs Added to Jemjoop LolliShop

2009-01-10T15:21:00.010-06:00

http://lollishops.com/jemjoop

Making 1/12 Miniature Potato Chips

2009-01-09T14:37:00.008-06:00

A mini post! You knew I would get to one eventually. This couldn't be easier and really only has one step. You can make scale miniature potato chips from dried green pepper seeds. Scoop them out, leave to dry, voila!

Miniatures: Facts and Fancies

2009-01-07T13:05:00.003-06:00

Miniatures: Facts and Fancies
a wonderful Etsy Storque blog article written by the Etsy MIDS Team (Miniatures in Dollhouse Scale) BlueKittyMiniatures, GoldenUnicornMinis, and wanderinon. With pictures and minis by NJDMiniatures.

New Sugar Shack

2009-01-06T11:13:00.009-06:00

The wonderful Julie at Pieceful Bits was kind enough to create a little blue sugar shack to match the pink one I bought at Christmas. Thank you!
Sadie Lou christened these little guys "Sugar Shacks" on the LolliShops blog and it's the perfect name for them.

Just between you and me, I'm not putting these away with the Christmas things. The cuteness cannot be contained.

Back to Work & Bookathon

2009-01-05T11:48:00.012-06:00

Monday!! Okay, I'm not usually a Monday person but this one saw the kids back to school after their holidays. A break is nice and likewise so is getting back to routine. And back to business for me creating and selling on Etsy. This morning I'm painting an order and packing up another to go out. I have Valentine's Day supplies at the ready - always one holiday ahead (at least) is part of this deal. And also some cottage style supplies to make things for my LolliShop.

Still figuring out the new schedule for baby Oliver who is 3 weeks old. Cranky baby was just cranky for the day so he's back to being a happy little guy. I managed to eat breakfast by 10:00 a.m. today and he's quietly snoring in his swing at the moment. Maybe tomorrow I can beat that time and actually get dressed too :o/

So stop yammering on and what is this Bookathon you speak of, is that what you're thinking. While browsing through the Etsy forums last night I came across a thread by PoshMommaStore who has decided to read 100 books by December 31, 2009 and she was looking for reading buddies. No re-reading books and at least 25 of the 100 to be non-fiction. A resolution that's actually fun! Sign me up. Anyone else interested? Her blog post is here Resolution Amendment: Bookathon

I've always been a big reader but 2008 was a busy one for us with a little stress and reading sort of fell by the wayside for me so I figure this is a great way to get back into it. Guess I'm a sucker for deadlines and accountability-and I'll get to use the heck out of my brand new library card. I'm currently reading an impulse buy paperback from the grocery store; She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb.

A gadget called "100 Books" has been added to the right at the very bottom of this blog under the playlist to keep track.

2009-01-04T11:55:00.001-06:00

New Year, Lazy Saturday

2009-01-03T19:21:00.010-06:00

Steak & Shake; it's what's for dinner. Except mine just had one burger with cheese, ketchup, and mustard and came with a lovely sparkly Sprite.

A very slow Saturday spent gently patting a cranky baby with a cold perched on my shoulder. Puttering around on the laptop was about all that could be managed. A bit of laundry, bathing said cranky baby, boxing up one train set too many that little one had assembled in the dining room, and poking around various interweb sites.

Today I mostly tarted up the blog, adding pictures, adding blogs to follow (how I wish people would use the "Follow This Blog" feature more), and found more music. Playlist says I have room for 171 more songs but the line must be drawn somewhere. No doubt people don't even enjoy autoplay music when perusing blogs so it may very well be just for my enjoyment as I tinker around in here.

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T16:17:00.005-06:00

Hogmanay
Edinburgh, Scotland

Shabby Pink Pegs on Scrapscene

2008-12-27T12:47:00.007-06:00

Well, what a lovely surprise...Google alert this morning showed that my handpainted Shabby Pink Spotted Rose Pegs were mentioned on the Scrapscene website, The Who's Who of Scrapbooking!

Scrapscene

Thanks Angie!

Happy Holidays To You

2008-12-24T21:55:00.004-06:00

Baby Announcements for Oliver

2008-12-20T17:55:00.002-06:00

First stop was Etsy to buy these super fun Blue/Lime Green Polka Dot Blank Boxed Notecards from boxedcards. Gorgeous, shabby robin's egg blue exterior with white spotty dots and a cheery lime interior.

I happened to have a brand new eBay baby details stamp on hand for card making (little did I know the first use would be for our new little one) I believe it's called Baby Arrival and it's from Holly Pond Hill by Susan Wheeler

Next I finally got to place an order with an amazing Etsy & LolliShop papercrafter, whose work I simply adore;

SunshineandRavioli

She made the sweetest It's A Boy! embellishment tags for the card fronts. I just love them!

The final cards all ready to go out...

Welcome to the planet little Oliver!

Oliver has arrived!

2008-12-14T14:45:00.007-06:00

Dec 13th
2:08 a.m.

7 lbs 12
20" long

Oliver Robert

Top 10 Requested Teacher Gifts

2008-12-12T14:59:00.007-06:00

Picture Books in Winter available from theseasonalcottage Etsy shop.

Hot off the press! This tidbit was nestled in little one's December elementary school newsletter. Just in case you're not sure what to get or need a few last minute ideas...

Top 10 Requested Teacher Gifts

1. Books

2. Gift Cards

3. Board Games

4. Stickers

5. Stamp/Stamp Pads

6. Coffee

7. Fun Magnets

8. School Supplies

9. Fun Pens & Pencils

10. Food

LolliShopping!

2008-12-07T16:03:00.018-06:00

LolliShops is a brand new venture that is just over a week old. Started by owner Sadie Lou Who , it is an online marketplace boutique for all things shabby chic, girly, pink, and sparkly.

And yes indeedy, I went LolliShopping on opening night. It was sooo yummy to see all the pretty pink and shabby goodies being loaded into people's shops! One by one they went, like candies dropping into a jar at the sweet shop. You know how there are things that you save to faves and then there are things that just call out to you...

First I went for a Glittery Pink & Green Cottage from Julie at Pieceful Bits and it was an honor to be her first customer. She blogs here . It arrived in no time in beautiful paper with some extra goodies and a nice note. I love it! It reminds me of a gumdrop or cotton candy and has inspired me to start a little Christmas cottage collection. Sadie Lou Who of LolliShops has called these "Sugar Shacks" and it suits them perfectly.

Next I saw a Faux Very Cherry Pink Cupcake from Jenni B Originals I think I might have been her first customer too. This is the sweetest and arrived pink and perfect along with a real pastel marshmallow twist candy that little one loved. I don't know how she makes these so delicate and yet hard-as-a-rock but everybody in my family wanted to know if they could eat it!

I've since been back LolliShopping (last night-after pining for it all week) and picked up this darling little Pink Shabby Sweet Cupcake Stand Pedestal from Darlene at Cherry Heart Boutique to display this cupcake year round.

Have YOU been LolliShopping yet?

Jack Frost

2008-12-06T14:50:00.008-06:00

"Have you ever noticed a tree standing naked against the sky,
How beautiful it is?
All its branches are outlined, and in its nakedness
There is a poem, there is a song.
Every leaf is gone and it is waiting for the spring.
When the spring comes, it again fills the tree with
The music of many leaves,
Which in due season fall and are blown away.
And this is the way of life."
- Krishnamurti

----------------------------------------------------------

"Someone painted pictures on my
Windowpane last night --
Willow trees with trailing boughs
And flowers, frosty white,

And lovely crystal butterflies;
But when the morning sun
Touched them with its golden beams,
They vanished one by one."
- Helen Bayley Davis, Jack Frost

Christmas Cards

2008-12-03T12:27:00.032-06:00

Well, it looks like I've started blogging. It's a snowy Wednesday afternoon outside my window in Northern Illinois. We're headed straight into the holiday season; fasten your seatbelts!

Yesterday, I finished making Christmas cards with some supplies that I found on Etsy. Started with a set of black toile cards from eBay and added some paper from Michaels and then finished them off with Elle and the Snow Dove Tags from belleandboo.

The envelope seals are going to be these sweet little Christmas Tree Stickers from BrambleberryLane

The tags came prepared with those pretty ribbons that I just tied into a bow and used sticky dots to attach. It might have been nice with grommets or brads but I was afraid they would be too front-heavy and swing open when they were hung up.

They're done, signed by hubs and the two boys, and ready to go. Little one went artistic with a few and did his best snowman, gingerbread house, and polar express train drawings on the insides.

I worked a bit on some baby announcements (trying to stay ahead of deadlines this Christmas!) but more about those another day.

UPDATE: Dec. 4th what a coincidence! belleandboo are Featured Etsy Seller today