2008 May

Hey There Little Red Riding Hood…

May 12, 2008 By Rebecca 5 Comments

This little girl needs no introduction!! Little Red Riding Hood & her pet Wolfie have been so much fun this week! This doll set is my original design and is guaranteed one of a kind art! Little Red is 30″ tall. Her little wolf cub is 10″ wide (excluding tail) & 10.5″ tall. Both art dolls have been made of muslin & stuffed with fiberfill. Red’s lower torso has been rag-stuffed & bean filled, weighting her little bottom, so that she sits nicely. Both dolls have been hand-painted & sanded, top to bottom many, many times & have been treated to paint washes, giving them rich, deeply-aged patinas. Red’s arms are lightly wired allowing her to be slightly posed.

Red’s face has been needle-sculpted by hand and hand-painted. Her bottom lip ‘pouts’ while her top lip is simply painted. She has been painted with various mediums & She has been sealed top to bottom with a combination of glossy & matte acrylic sealer so that she may be lightly dusted after display & kept a lifetime.

Red’s fingers have been needle-sculpted by hand. She sports buttery, yellow painted gloves. She sports painted brown boots & buttery, yellow socks with Red laces, truly fitting for this little girl!

Red’s cape has been made of corduroy & lined with a sweet red floral print. It features hand-stitching around the hood & ties at the neck with two chocolate ribbons. Her blouse is made of white muslin & features hand-gathered sleeves & sweet a collar finished with an off white glass pearl. Red’s apron dress is made from a tan, twig & berry 100& cotton print. Both the dress & blouse feature tons of hand-stitching! All visible hems have been hand-stitched (dress, sleeves), as well as the back of the blouse.

Red’s sweet little wolf cub has been made from nine separate pieces. His legs are attached with vintage buttons as is his tail. His face has been needle-sculpted by hand. He is highly detailed & features blue eyes. He can sit on his own.

Red’s hair is wavy brown 100% mohair. I’ve lightly glued, then carefully needle-felted it to her head. It has been twisted to the side then fashioned into a low side pony tied with chocolate ribbon.

(All week I’ve gone through the house singing “Hey there little red riding hood….” & Hungry Like a Wolf! Thanks, David Cook! Hmmm, what will I sing around the house this week? )

Little Red Riding Hood & Wolf are available on eBay Sunday May 11th at 9:15 PM EST & will run through Sunday May 18th at 9:15 PM EST. Click here to view or bid on this darling set!

Filed Under: Dolls, Fairytale Tagged With: big bad wolf, Fairy Tale, little red riding hood, primitive dolls

Searching for Morel Mushrooms in Kentucky’s Woods

May 6, 2008 By Rebecca 42 Comments

For my family, in Kentucky, springtime means two things–trout fishing & mushroom hunting. Often referred to as dry land fish (because of the shape when viewed from the side), morel mushrooms begin popping up mid-late April & end early May. I’ve been hunting them since childhood, when my dad would announce that mushrooms were probably up & it was time to go dry land fishing. We would take to the woods–a group of adults & lots of little ones. Dad would remind us to watch where we stepped, lead us to poplar trees & when he bent down & plucked something from the earth, we all came running, too excited to remember to watch where our feet landed. Many times I stood, in the middle of the woods, thinking ‘God, why can’t they be purple or blue?’. My eyes could not see them & I had not yet developed the patience to search for the elusive morel.

My how things change.

Over the years, I kept going mushroom hunting with Dad. He taught me how to identify a poplar tree, took me to his secret mushroom spots, places where he had found oodles in the past. We discovered new spots together & still every time he bent down to pluck one from the earth, I had to resist the urge to break into a full run to see what he had found. The most important thing I’ve learned from my Dad about searching for the morel is that you can’t be in a hurry. I’ve learned a wealth of other important information, too: Look near sycamore trees & poplars. Search old apple orchards. Begin searching in mid-late April after a rain & then a few warm days in a row. Never eat a morel with a ‘cottony’ stem (This is the ‘False Morel’, which is poisonous. ‘True Morels’ have hollow stems.) Pinch mushrooms off at the bottom. Conceal your mushroom bag until you get in the woods! And never reveal your good mushroom spots. But most importantly, take your time, look in a spot two or three times. Move slowly & cautiously. Enjoy the hunt as well as the finding. And if you find a lot, share them with someone you love!

Last night’s findings–My husband & I found 106! We were ecstatic.

Mushroom tip: Always carry your mushrooms in a mesh bag so the spores can fall as you walk! A couple of years down the road, you’ll be happy you did!

Filed Under: My Appalachia Tagged With: appalachia, dry land fish, kentucky, morel mushrooms

Clara Belle: A Primitive Doll & her Hummingbird

May 5, 2008 By Rebecca Leave a Comment

I’m so happy to introduce to you, Clara Belle. She is my original design and is guaranteed one of a kind art! Clara is 28″ tall. She has been made of muslin & stuffed with fiberfill. Her lower torso has been rag-stuffed & bean filled, weighting her little bottom, so that she sits nicely. Clara has been hand-painted & sanded, top to bottom many, many times. She has been treated to a series of paint washes, giving her a rich, deeply-aged patina. Clara’s arms are lightly wired allowing her to be slightly posed.

Clara’s face has been needle-sculpted by hand and hand-painted. Her bottom lip ‘pouts’ while her top lip is simply painted. She has been painted with various mediums. She has been sealed top to bottom with a combination of glossy & matte acrylic sealer so that she may be lightly dusted after display & kept a lifetime.

Clara Belle’s fingers have been needle-sculpted by hand. She sports buttery, yellow painted gloves. She sports painted brown boots & buttery, yellow socks. Her boots are highly detailed right down to the laces!

Clara’s apron dress is made from two super cute 100% cotton prints. Her underskirt is a yellow Moda print featuring dark peach berries. Her over skirt is a cute dark brown fabric with creme polka dots. Clara’s blouse is made of taupe osnaburg & features hand-gathered sleeves. Her collar is finished with a vintage button. Both the dress & blouse feature tons of hand-stitching! All visible hems have been hand-stitched (dress, sleeves, collar), as well as the back of the blouse.

Clara’s little ruby-throated hummingbird is made of 4 separate pieces. It is my original design. It has been hand-painted, sanded, color-washed & sanded again. The wings & tail are attached with clear buttons & several strands of heavy duty button thread. It is 7″ from head to tail. The wings can be posed.

This sweet little bird is highly detailed. It will not sit up on it’s own, but can be propped upon Clara’s lap or propped against her hand as shown.

Clara’s hair is straight blonde 100% mohair. ( Notice her highlights! ) I’ve lightly glued, then carefully needle-felted it to her head. Her hair is styled into low messy pincurls.

Clara Belle is available on eBay beginning May 4th at 9:15 PM EST. She will end May 11th at 9:15 EST. Click here to view or bid!

Filed Under: Dolls Tagged With: birds, hummingbird, primitive doll