little happy apple

here kitty kitty

i was so happy to go into the attic last weekend. largely to clean out boxes of clothes, organize others, and get some long sleeved shirts for the kids ---but also to find miscellaneous halloween decor...like this felt kitty goody bag. meow. meow. meow. isn't it adorable? i hang it on a doorknob filled with treats.

little wool witches

double, double toil and trouble fire burn, and caldron bubble...

this little treasure is just like the little wool witch that went out to our spookyday giveaway winner last week.

my friend laura had these little witches hanging over her kitchen island one year and i promptly went home to make them. each year i anxiously unwrap them from their tissue cocoons and cackle with glee.these little witches make me soooo happy and they are quite simple to make. you can use any dark colored felt...i prefer to use wool because i like the way it feels and i like its' sheen.

there now follows the how to on these little witches. for each witch or warlock you will need to gather up the following:

one large wooden bead
black or dark colored felt
tacky glue
black pipe cleaners
natural wool roving
a stick
black or matching embroidery floss or quilting thread
first, cut the pipe cleaner into 1/3 and a 2/3 piece, the larger is the "body" and the smaller is for the arms

now bend one end of the pipe cleaner accordian style two or three times to bulk it up and glue that into the wooden bead

next, hold the smaller piece fairly close to an end and wrap it around once from either "arm" so that they stay even in length, twist it real good. now you have something sort of like a cross

cut out the felt into shapes for the cape and hat. a bell shape works well...squared off, sort of like an elongated trapezoid.

now fold the cape in half lengthwise and poke a hole through it with the tip of a scissor. this should be equal to the placement of your arms on the pipe cleaner, perhaps leaving a little extra for a "collar" on the cape if you want to make one...

put the cape on the body

stitch it closed from top to bottom with either a decorative stitch or whipstitch or just a simple basting stitch....

when you get about an inch from the bottom stop but do not break the thread. wrap your pipe cleaner "arms" around the broomstick and then stitch the cape to the broomstick wherever the cape meets the stick at the bottom.

now it should be looking something like this

glue the wool roving to the wooden bead for hair and style as desired. this part is fun.

stitch up the hat into a cone and glue that atop the head. sew a thread into the back to hang.

voila! i have several suspended in front of my windows ... the just spin around gently.

spooktacular

i am remiss in my failure to mention a great big congratulations to Lesha who knew that the master, the one and only great painter Paul Cezanne painted Pyramid of Skulls .

one sweet little wool witch will be hopping on her broomstick to see you!  thank you for playing!

out of my gourd

every year i gather up a heap of those decorative gourds and just before thanksgiving i drill straight through them and string them onto some jute twine -with knots to either side- and make a lovely harvest garland. this years bounty came from the same little orchard we took the kids to this past weekend, i think i got about eighteen pretty little gourds with all sorts of lines and colors. she had loads of beautfiul homegrown produce and she was sweet as pie.

earth glaze & fire

we went out recently on an adventure to a local joint that lets you paint pieces of bisque pottery- i thought it would be a great gift for the grandparents for the holidays....it made me really miss the mud. naturally, the kids really enjoyed it and can't wait to go back!

any day now we will get that studio of mine finished and my kiln up and running. any day now.

apple dumpling gang

autumn here in the mountains is real purdy. (pretty) we went on an adventure to a little mom and pop orchard and the kids picked some apples and shined 'em up real good. they had a blast. we also got some freshly picked corn- sweetest you ever tasted...along with a bushel of red peppers for roasting and canning.... a great big mountain cabbage complements of the lady of the farm...and a bushel of matsus. delicious.

and the fun didn't stop there either. off we went to a bigger, fancier farm to stroll around in the golden afternoon sun with a cider slushie getting lost in a corn maze. the reward was the homemade apple turnovers....yum.

so much fun.

spooky day giveaway

this months giveaway comes a little later to be sure you are in the spooky mood for all hallow's eve celebrations... what is the title of this fabulously painterly creepy piece and who is the artist? thanks for playing!

the winner will enjoy a handmade little felt halloween witch- or warlock perhaps..... HURRY!

plant one on me

still another of my collections is vintage baby planters. for those of you keeping score: that's hands, madonnas, vintage baby planters, quilts, blue ball mason jars, mermaids.... i think that is it. i think.

i use them to keep art supplies in like brushes and pencils and the like. i nearly gasped when i found this one last weekend: the first "boy" one for my collection...he looks like elroy from the jetsons. precious.

le plume

we got a hold of these really cool blocks from a foundation that is circa the civil war. we decided that we wanted to do a series of figurative sculptures atop of them to sell at this year's show.

so we went back to the ol' drawing board and created a couple of interested sketches: angelic, goddess like pieces with great fluidity and grace. now to bring them to life.

rocks, metal and dirt (still life)