Primitive style gift wrap ideas

Every year, I try to think of a new way to wrap presents (to match my prim tree), and I am always stumped. It's nice when I can find the time to sew handmade ornies to attach, but this year, I just couldn't find enough time to do that. So, instead, I used kraft wrapping paper and my Quickutz Silhouette craft cutter and glued names on the gifts and made simple tags. Then I wrapped homespun around them and voila - they are done! Top it off with the uglee old bear, and Christmas presents are done! So what do you do to make your presents prim?

My Prim Christmas Tree and Ornie Swaps

First of all, I wanted to show you my 9 ft skinny prim tree. It's a "work in progress", but I love pulling it out every year and adding a few new ornaments. Each one has a special place in my heart.

Through one of my wonderful customers, and now a great friend, I have met a wonderful group of women who also love primitive dolls and crafting. I was able to participate in a few Christmas swaps, and I wanted to share my goodies with you.

THESE ADORABLE ORNIES CAME FROM SHARON IN AUSTRALIA!

along with tons of goodies for my kids and other fun stuff for me:)

These are the ornies that I sent her (and the big blackie is a tree topper).

This is the snowgal I received from Sue of Rabbit Hollow Prims!

And this is the snowman I sent to Sue.




This is the lovely parcel I received from Kirrily in Australia. It has the crow banner (which matches my living room perfectly), ornies, and goodies for my kiddos.

I can't show you her stuff because it's lost somewhere, and I'm still hoping and praying it gets there by Christmas so she can at least see it before she tears down the Christmas decor.



And this is my fireplace with the banner. The colors look a little off in the picture.

WISHING ALL MY PRIM LOVING FRIENDS A WONDERFUL (SIMPLE) CHRISTMAS!

Merry Christmas!

I am feeling a little bit like Cindy Lou Who this year as I watch everyone around me stress about getting everything just right, and I realize I may have gone a little overboard with my own preparations. "Isn't there more to Christmas than this?" keeps ringing in my head. And of course there is more to CHRISTmas than all of this hustle and bustle, but how do we ever change the commercialism mentality and get things back to simple? I want a simple Christmas where we celebrate the birth of Christ, and where we spend time enjoying our family, and everyone brings HANDMADE gifts to show how much they love each other!





But, since that isn't the case, I have created these angel gift card holders to bring some handmade loveliness to your Christmas gift giving. I haven't figured out how to make them available on here, so just email me at FrogstoFairyDust@cox.net, and I will send you the pattern piece for FREE.

Thanks for a wonderful year, and Merry Christmas to each and every one of you!

HUGE E-PATTERN SALE

ALL E-PATTERNS ARE $3 EACH OR TEN FOR $20 - NO LIMIT!

THIS SPECIAL WILL GO THROUGH THANKSGIVING WEEKEND SO STOCK UP NOW FOR CHRISTMAS GIFT MAKING!

Thank you!

More handmade ornies

Here is my newest pattern release - owl ornies. My craft studio has owls all over it, so I couldn't resist making some owl ornies to match. I can't wait to decorate the little "aluminum" silver tree I purchased, but I have to find or make some garland and other items for it first.

The ornie pattern is available on http://www.patternmart.com/ under Frogs to Fairy Dust, or you can email me. I am also offering a limited number of ornie sets for sell in your choice of colors. 5 ornies for $20. Email me at frogstofairydust@cox.net to order.

Why would anyone use store bought ornies?

I can't get into the spirit of Christmas. It may still be too early, but usually by this time, I am thinking about the perfect gift for everyone on my list, dreaming up new fun ways to wrap my gifts, and overflowing with inspiration for handmade gifts and decor! But this year, I am in a funk! School is kicking my tush, and working with two year olds all day can be exhausting, so I feel as if I am never going to come around. The other day, an online friend, shared some ornies with me, and immediately I felt inspired to make them. Since then, I really want to make more extreme prim and uglee ornies to cover my entire tree so I think these sweet uglee ornies are getting me out of my slump! Aren't they adorable?



UPDATE: I forgot to mention that theseangels are a pattern by Crows Roost Prims. They are available on Pattern Mart. :)

LAUNDRY ROOM MAKEOVER

I am a slave to laundry! It seems that I spend a huge chunk of my time washing, drying, folding, hanging, and ironing, and yet my laundry room is the ugliest area in the house. Not only do I have to stare at it when diligently cleaning everyone's soccer stained shirts and smelly socks, it sits between my kitchen and my craft studio / playroom so I walk past it countless times each day. Every parent who drops their child off in my daycare has to see this ugly little closet area. I did not take pictures of the before, but I'm sure you can imagine. Just undress it with your eyes!

It's that time of year where money isn't abundant (not that it ever is around here), so I had to get creative. I grabbed some extra fabric from my stash and trimmed to size, coffee stained it, and hemed the top to fit on the wire. I cut wire to length and wrapped around a nail tapped into each side of the wall. I added some aged safety pins. Then, I made a banner out of scrapbook paper and pinned it on to a section of wire with tiny safety pins.

Now, I don't have to stare at those ugly pieces of laundry equipment, AND I get to hide some of my craft supplies back there, and nobody knows. I have the nastiest looking cookie sheets you've ever seen, but they get a lot of use with the painting, staining, etc.

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MAKEOVER YOUR LAUNDRY ROOM? Share!

New Reindeer Pattern Released

Here is my newest Reindeer pattern. There aren't many reindeer patterns out there, so I wanted to create something simplistic that would fit in with primitive Christmas decor. I hope you like him. He is available in e-pattern and paper pattern form at http://www.patternmart.com/cms/view_pattern_details.php?id=9603.

Also, I have the sample doll available for purchase and will take a limited number of custom orders so email me at frogstofairydust@cox.net if interested. Reindeer is $28 plus shipping.

Thanksgiving Pilgrim Couple

Oh, I just love them, and they are so perfect for Thanksgiving Decor. Set them on your table with a pumpkin or on a shelf or chair . . . . .your family/guests are going to LOVE that you decorated with these cute little pilgrims. They measure approximately 15 inches without hats. They are wearing handpainted clothing and hats. They have handpainted and handstitched faces. The price for the couple is $42 plus shipping. If you want to order them individually, the price is $24 per doll plus shipping. Thank you!

Thanksgiving Prairie Doll

My latest creation is this Thanksgiving prairie doll. She is approx. 15 inches from head to toe, and she's a real sweetheart. She is wearing a handpainted and distressed dress, apron and bonnet with lace trim. Her face is handpainted and stitched. She has an acorn bell around her neck. Her hair is my favorite part. It's a light brown wool that has a frizziness to it that is so charming. I know you are going to love this doll. She is $25 plus shipping. Custom orders also available for the same price. Email me at FrogstoFairyDust@cox.net to request yours!

Thanksgiving Indian Doll Pattern now available

I'm getting in the mood for the holidays and all the fun festivities as well as time spent with family! To help set the mood, I am creating a few Thanksgiving themed dollies before I start on my Christmas stuff. The first one is this adorable little Indian gal - hope you love her!

BIRTHDAYS EVERYWHERE!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY WONDERFUL FATHER!

I have the best dad in the world. He's amazing and such an inspiration to me.

Last night was my adorable niece's birthday party. Paige turned one and had a lovely (cold) pumpkin patch party with friends and family. It's tradition to make dolls for the girls who are special to me on their birthdays so I created a dolly for Ms. Paige and felt inspired to paint blue eyes . . . see why? Isn't she a gorgeous little girl?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAIGEY!

EBAY AUCTION STARTED TODAY!

Prim Skeleton is up for auction on ebay right now, or you can custom order one by emailing me!

Price for custom orders is $30 plus shipping. I look forward to hearing from you.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160367995083&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

NeW sKeLetOn DoLLy

Check out my new skeleton dolly! He will be up for auction on ebay soon. I have hated skeletons for as long as I can remember, so I challenged myself to create a skeleton doll that I would not mind having in my home. Here he is, and I hope you like him too.

Amy

Craft Room Cleanout - Ebay Auctions

I've decided that I need to make some room in my craft studio for my stuff . . . lol! I've been storing dolls for a craft show that I am not going to be able to do. Sometimes my ambitions are much larger than me! I like to sleep unfortunately, and with work, school, and the extra-curricular activities of my children, I can't find the time to do it all so I am going to stick with online sales and pattern design for now.

I have listed a lot of stuff at really low prices to clear it out - take advantage of me!

http://shop.ebay.com/frogs2fairydust/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=

CaNDy coRn pRiNcESs

Well, here she is . . . . everyone has a different opinion of this sweetie. She's a little (okay a lot to me) on the grungy side, but she still has a cuteness to her. I am going to list her on ebay soon, but I have to get some better pictures, and finding the time to do that . . . well, is difficult.

I hope you like her!

BACK TO SCHOOL AND $2 E-PATTERNS

How did a month pass without a single post? Well, I like to overwhelm myself like most people. I wanted to get a quick post on here to let you know I am still chugging along, but slowly. This is my busiest week of the year because my daycare group (5 toddlers and 1 infant plus a kindergartener) start coming back, and my kids are still here because the teachers have to report, but school doesn't start until Thursday. So I have my full group plus my own kids, and then a few who are now school-age but have nowhere to go for the few days before school starts. Anyway, I'm already exhausted, and the house is a pit, but my group is absolutely adorable and sweet, and they are going to be so much fun this year. I just started my first week of my major courses to get my Bachelor's in Elementary Education. The general education is finally completely done, and I am well on my way to having my degree after all of these years! Woo hoo! But what about the sale you say?

What's going on with the primitive business side of Frogs to Fairy Dust? Well, I have a Candy Corn Princess that I am going to list on ebay, and I am going to turn that into a pattern. On my website, I have two $2 patterns listed that will be changed out every two weeks. Right now, Prim Pirates and Frankie are available - this is a great deal! Get them while you can!

Magnet Board Mania!

So . . . . I go through these phases where I need to create new wall decor, and this time I decided I needed a magnet board. Well, I couldn't just go with one, so I made three! Originally, I was going to do one for each of the kids and myself so we could hang our creations on them, but it turns out that I needed all three of them for me! LOL.

I put one above my desk in the craft room, one on the wall down low in the daycare (for magnetic letters and other toys), and then I put one in my bedroom and added a little bit of paper piecing to match my decor in there.

And the one in the bedroom . . . . my favorite -

To make these fun magnet boards, go to Home Depot or Lowe's and get a piece of sheet metal in whatever size you want (I used 2x3). Also get some trim to go around it. You can play with options, but my husband was with me and didn't give me much of a choice so mine is all the same. You can paint it if you want. I painted the one in my bedroom black and distressed it. To add paper embellishments, just cut them out and use spray adhesive to stick them on. I haven't made magnets for this one, but to do so, you just buy some of those clear stones in the floral department. Take some cute paper or magazines and trace around the stone, cut out, glue to back of rock with glass glue, and you have an adorable magnet. Use your imagination. I am thinking about making some flower magnets for this board from buttons . . . maybe I'll blog about that soon. Take care. - Amy

Website Grand Opening!

I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it . . . . (ok, I can't sing, and I really should stick with my day job!)

Frogs to Fairy Dust has re-opened, and I have stocked the store with all of the dollies I had stored for my craft show in October. Please take a look and see if there's anything ya like!

www.FrogstoFairyDust.com

Amy

Gorgeous New Blog Template

Look! Look! I found this awesome designer with a pretty cool name - Amy - at AmyBug's Primitive Attic (http://amybug.com/). I love frogs and vintage stuff, so I had to have this for my summer template. I can't wait to shop for Fall and Winter templates from her. She was really speedy and super nice. Go check out her stuff. She does all kinds of templates.

Thanks again, Amy!

Meet Sparkle - the Americana gal

In a hurry today but wanted to post this since I am running like a week behind! I am having a BUY ONE GET ONE FREE SALE on the website for e-patterns at http://www.frogstofairydust.com/. Also, this is my newest pattern and doll available on there. Her name is Sparkle, and she was named by a great customer and now friend, Jeanne! Jeanne received the Sparkle pattern free for naming my dolly. Thanks so much Jeanne! She's actually named another pattern that will be out soon, but it's a secret as it's a swap gift for another friend, Kerri, in Canada! The only hint I'm giving is that it's a critter dressed up as a bug! Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh . . . . mailing tomorrow, but you never know how long it could take to travel from Oklahoma to Canada!

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend! Take care!

Liberty Doll listed on Ebay

Here's my newest grungy creation - Liberty. She's listed on ebay

I had this idea to take dowel rods and create fireworks from them. I had my husband cut the dowel rods down and drill a hole so I could put glue down in the hole and stuff some jute/twine in it. With most of my dolls, I start out with an outline template and then I add the face without having any real plan and just see how it turns out. I thought she turned out to have a very sweet, old looking face.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Primitive-Liberty-Independence-Day-doll-raggedy-prim_W0QQitemZ160344357323QQihZ006QQcategoryZ83905QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp3286.m7QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D2%26ps%3D5.

I seem to feel more inspired to create the grungy gals at the moment, but I have a whimsical dolly in the works as well.

Voila - some eye candy for the wall!

The craft studio / playroom is finally getting some dressing for the walls. Those naked walls were driving me nuts. I'm sure I will continue to add to it frequently, but for now, I at least have something up there and can get back to focusing on fun craft projects. For the biggest wall, I had hubby hang a shelf (which I didn't like once it was up, but it's too late) that I plan to put my new creations on. Under that, we have black giant clothespins where I hang the children's artwork throughout the week. Below that, I made some fun block letters by taking 12x12 inch pieces of MDF and MDF letters I bought at Hobby Lobby. I traced the letters on the back of scrapbook paper, cut that out, used spray adhesive to attach the paper to the letter, sanded around the edges and then stuck it to the wood with spray adhesive. (I guess I should say I painted the background white with orange dots and then used a permanent marker to decorate around the edges). Under that, we hung a piece of sheet metal and put some trim around it so the kids could play with their magnet letters and magnet toys.

On the back wall, I did the same method with letters I purchased a while back and hung white giant clothespins down at the children's eye level. (Hmmmm . . . how many of you don't know I have a daycare?)

The next wall(s) have my desk which also has a magnet board about it and my new banner that says "CREATE". That's my favorite saying . . . play, inspire, create . . . it's kinda my motto for the daycare.

The last wall has the closet area with the curtains. Hubby put a small shelf above it for a few of my dolls that I've collected.

Ok, there's the tour of the room! Now, I'm off to start creating in it! :)

It's time for some Paper Piecing!

My son's room is blah . . . the walls are empty, and I can't ever find anything that will match. I recently grabbed a bed in a bag set because his beloved camo comforter had one too many holes for me. He really wanted to keep the camo, but I was just ready for a change. I thought this bedding was adorable, and it started my creative juices flowing . . . . and here's the product of that!

I don't know how to do tutorials yet (so if anyone wants to help, email me) so I will explain what I have done, and you can contact with questions. I had my hubby cut some 1/4 inch MDF to the size of choice. In this case, I believe they are just under 12x12 inches. Then, I chose my paint colors and gave each piece two coats. I used a foam circle stamp that I already had (I glued a wooden clothespin doll body onto the back of it to give me a handle). I added white dots to the painted wood. I drew out the patterns on cardstock to match the comforter. I cut those out of different colors of scrapbook paper and then used modge podge to attach them. I let that dry overnight and put a top coat on with the Modge Podge. I then drilled holes in each corner and used ribbon for the hanger.

I hope that makes sense to you . . . the options are endless with this craft. I have made some others, and my mind is spinning with ideas. I'd love to hear your comments and ideas.

I am Mighty Mom!

Here's a sneak peek of my newest dollie. She has a bit of a softie flare to her. I am falling in love with softies right now, so I feel like my style is changing. Nah, I just have multiple personalities when it comes to my doll making. Tomorrow I will make something so uglee, only a mother could love it! Anyway, Mighty Mom here is representing the way we all feel from time to time . . . we know we have super powers, but we are not always happy about having to use them! It's the end of the school year, so I am worn about as thin as I can go, and Mighty Mom is sitting on my desk to remind me that . . . well, I have no other choice but suck it up and deal with all the extra activities. My desk is cluttered with water balloons, balloon animals, tattoos, face paint, teacher gifts, prizes, etc. (it's the end of year party this afternoon). Mighty Mom will be available on my website as an e-pattern shortly, but I'd love to know what you think about her. Thanks guys!

New Craft Space (1st Post Ever)!

I am ecstatic because this is my first blog post ever, and I just remodeled my craft space so I wanted to share it with all of you. I appreciate my husband so much because he worked tirelessly to get this space in order for Mother's Day. It is not finished - the walls are naked, but it's a work in progress, and I'm just thankful that it's functional again. What started as a simple texture, paint, and carpet job turned into 1/4 of the ceiling falling down. Hubby worked hard to get it repaired and in working order for me. I love the new bright colors, and I am hoping they will inspire me to create some fun new patterns. (psssstt . . . I am working on a Superhero gal, but you'll have to check back for your sneak peek soon!)