~snowing...again!~

The week before Christmas we received alot of snow, today it's happened again. We've gotten about 10 or 12 inches this time. I took these two pictures from my porch this afternoon. One shows an old metal lawn chair and the other shows one of my bird feeders.

We managed to clear a couple of places to feed the birds and I also put a couple of trays of bird seed on the porch. Wrens, cardinals, bluejays, chickadees and even a red-headed woodpecker have been on the porch today eating. I also put an old pan with water out for them.

It's dark now and the snow has all but quit. Tomorrow the sun will be out and hopefully start melting some of this although it's supposed to stay quite cold.

The last picture is a Bunny head on a rusty metal cone/carrot. I'll be offering two of these on TDIPT Mercantile starting tomorrow night. They measure about 15 inches tall. I had hoped to finish one other thing for the Mercantile but I probably won't get to. If I don't, when I do finish it I'll list it on Ebay.

I'm heading to take a warm bath, hope you all have a warm and cozy night.

~Diane

coming February 21st...

We hope you'll join the artists of TDIPT starting Sunday February 21st and continuing throughout that week, for our Group Launch on Ebay. The theme will be ~Birds of A Feather Create Together~. You'll find lots of very creative "bird" designs being offered. I hope you can join us for the fun.

We're also putting the finishing touches on an idea to help with the relief efforts in Haiti. Stay tuned for more info on that coming very soon.

~Diane

~spring egg full of hearts~

Tonight on Ebay I listed this papier mache egg full of small hearts in assorted red prints. It's a perfect piece for Valentine's, Easter and Spring Days. It started on Ebay tonight and will end next Tues. evening.

I have some orders I'll be working on for the next week or so, hopefully I'll get something else finished for Ebay by the time my current auction ends.

It's been a busy week, thankfully we've been having very pretty weather for January. In fact, today I noticed some of my daffodils pushing up through the soil! They'll be blooming before we know it.

~Diane

~finished~

Last night I listed this Rabbit Make-Do on Ebay, the listing will end next Sunday evening. If you read my previous post you probably remember me showing the rabbit's body with red and white fabrics for her clothing. As I worked with those fabrics it just didn't seem to be turning out the way I had hoped so I scraped that plan and used the rust overdyed wool and golden tan brushed cotton that you see her wearing. Then she really seemed to become what I had pictured in my mind. It's that way sometimes, a doll will let you know when things are "right". I hope you get a chance to click on my Ebay link to the right and see more pictures and read about Frosty Rabbit.

I have a Snowman Make-Do order to work on next and then I have something a bit different I want to get made next for Ebay.

~Diane

~work in progress~

I've finally started back to sewing. I find it so hard to get back to it this time of year after I've put everything away for Christmas and taken the time to do a few things I might not get to do any other time. I had thought I was going to start with a snow doll but somehow, as you can tell from the picture, it's turning into a rabbit so I'll just go with it and see where it takes me. I probably will not list it on Ebay before Sunday evening.

Things are pretty slow here, once Christmas is over life seems to settle into a quiet rhythm. Thankfully, even though it's been pretty cold for us, we've been having alot of sunny days and I can see how the days are getting just a tiny bit longer in the evenings. I must confess I am looking forward to the longer, warmer days of Spring.

~Diane

~treasure hunting~

Saturday my friend and I went to an antique mall near us that opened shortly before Christmas. It was a cold, blustery day, perfect to be indoors strolling through aisles of old treasures. I found the tiny celluloid Santa (not quite 2&1/2" tall) in a display case of vintage Christmas ornaments, candy containers and other small Christmas items. Then I found two graniteware pieces, a blue and white swirl-patterened cooking pot with handle and pouring spout and a small white, blue-trimmed strainer. I love the pattern of the holes in the bottom of the strainer.

As we wanderd up and down the aisles we saw lots of wonderful old pieces, many I would have loved to have brought home (not possible this soon after Christmas,sadly!). I fell in love with an 1800's blanket chest with the original worn green paint and a faded, red grain bin. If I had dollars to spare they would have both come home with me.

In other aisles we found booths filled with a variety of old dolls, children's books, farm equipment and old tools, all kinds of kitchen gadgets, yellowware, a few crocks and even old furs!

I think the most fascinating thing we saw was a complete, all original (right down to the booklet that came with it) Hoosier cabinet. We happened to see the dealer offering it for sale. It had been in his family for 91 years. He told us neither of his two children were interested in it so he decided to try and sell it. It was priced at over seven thousand dollars. I was so glad to have the chance to see it, I had never happened upon one that was complete right down to the glass containers that came with it.

Needless to say we both thoroughly enjoyed strolling through this new treasure trove. After lunch out, I dropped Winnie off and headed home to find the perfect spot for my new finds all the while planning a return trip...afterall you never know when you'll find that next, much-needed, got-to-have-it treasure!

~Diane~