The hopes, the fears of all the years are met in Thee tonight...

Christmas Giveaway Winners and Snowgirl Auction!

This is my last ebay offering for the year...and oh what a wonderful year it has been!As I look back and reflect, I am so thankful for the many gifts God has given,and for the ability to humbly create with my hands.  And I am so very thankful for all of you! The kind words you leave at my door,and the totally unique expressions you share on your blogs continually amaze and inspire me. Although I cannot give each of you a physical gift...the gift I can give you is my admiration.Sprinkled with lots of encouragement to continue to create wondrous things!   Merry Merry Christmas dear friends. much love, Rose

Christmas is just around the corner...Giveaway, Gnomes and Icicle Men



 Please meet my little Blue Gnome.   Well, only her hair is blue...not her mood!She is quite excited to find out where her new home will be. And if there might be a present for her under the tree there. I have named her P'nilli, a quirky little name for a quirky little Gnome.   She and I have spent a lot of "thinking time" together while working on her jointing.  Now that my efforts with her are done, I really wanted someone special to have her. I could think of no one better than one of my blog friends!  So, I offer her to you as my first Christmas giveaway.   I wish I could give something to each and every one of you, but P'nilli and the jovial little Icicle Man belowis all I have this time.  What  I can give each of you, however, is a *visual* piece of my heart during my favorite time of year. Please visit my ebay auction.  There you will find a living Christmas Card I created with much care for you!   You have been a tremendous source of blessing to me this year and I dearly wanted to show you how much I value your friendship...       P'nilli's joints are made of durable, bendable cording which tends to hold it's bend.  But her knees are not strong enough for her to stand on her own.  She is a bit self conscious about that...but she does sit so pretty on all sorts of fun things. Not real sure yet if she will arrive with the pink teacup or a lovely silver chair I have made for her.      The Icicle Man was a pure flight of the imagination.   Have you ever heard of Icicle People?!  Surely icicles have personalities too...and sure enough along came Pickering the caroling Icicle.  He can hold his own in the baritone section and is quite a commanding presence on our tree amongst the more timid Gingerbread People.  He measures 7 inches from top to toe and is generously covered in Mica flakes and German glass glitter...the more the merrier to make a big sparkle along with the twinkling tree lights.       If you would like either of these small friends of mine to come home to your house, please leave a comment below!   And if you feel so inclined, I would love to hear about a sentimental  Christmas memory or tradition you celebrate.  My youngest daughter will draw two names on the evening of the 15th, seven days from now. The 1st name will receive P'nilli, and the 2nd name will receiv Pickering!   I will have them both wrapped and ready to fly home, and hopefully they will arrive well before Christmas Eve.  International flights might take a little longer. ..
  



Hildys has some Yuletide Cheer for you in her wooden wagon...click on her picture above, or the ebay picture at the top left of the page to travel to her home in the Northern Country. until we talk again...lots of Christmas love, Rose   p.s. This is going to be so much fun!!

Worth the Wait

Please meet a little friend of mine.I have named her Karli Star. And this is why...     Her life began late in the Spring with great excitement
Who might this tiny Gnome Child become?

To read her story and see more pictures, please visit Karli's auction by clicking here!

And...there's a little more to her story...

With each new lump of clay, I never know who I am going to meet...
until the face paint is applied.
  Sometimes the personality shows up after the first coat,
 but more than likely the doll will make me wait and labor
over several coats of paint.
  Maybe even sometimes a couple repaints before we're done.

 Karli, however,  showed up right away.
 She was very familiar to me. 
 Her expression was one I fondly remembered from my childhood.
It was the shy sweet face of my younger sister Karla. 
I added wispy long hair and a basket of good things to eat. 
So I named her Karli.
("Star" is explained in the rest of her story.)






To this day, my sister nurtures by her generous giving.
  She loves to  make yummy things for my children and has been an ongoing blessing to me and many more
every day of her life on this earth.

I dedicate this little gnome faerie to her loving spirit
 and thank God He has allowed me to be her sister.




 

Oh, and I wanted to share Pippi's homecoming with you!

  Thankfully, she arrived in Finland 
to a Mighty Grand Welcome.


Her family prepared a birthday party in her new bedroom!
 With not one but two cakes and many Finnish candies besides.

 I could tell that Pippi immediately made herself at home,
There is no doubt in my mind that she will be sharing her own
decorating ideas for the rest of the house.
Bless you Sari (and your lovely husband)
 for asking me to create
 a Pippi just for you. 
 What an honor and a delight it was!






My heart is turned toward Christmas now.

So... 

 This year I would like to offer a Yuletide giveaway on this blog.
 
Once Karli was done, I concentrated on a prototype moveable doll whose joints could be carefully played with.
Joints that could withstand  gentle playing. 
She is almost done and I am satisfied with these first efforts. 
 I would like to give her to someone special! 
 Also , there will be a second giveaway...
a jaunty little icicle man with a top hat!~
On my next post, I will be adding pictures of them...
so please do drop by for a visit and leave a Christmas greeting!

until then, keep looking Upward!  love, Rose

  

My Summer Companion



Please meet a very little girl with a great Big Personality. 




This is the same doll on my previous post, but with lighter hair.
  Our friend in Finland preferred a more orange color, and I totally agree!
She stands barely 5 inches, is gently poseable,
and has been in the making all Summer.
We have had lots of time to become acquainted. 

   
   

 There is Nothing Symmetrical about her.

Rightfully so, being the Pippi that she is. Her hair is hand dyed silk. Multi-colored orange. So soft to the touch it is almost not there. Styling the wispy soft strands is like handling a spider's web. Her brightly painted, sculpted boots are tied with green thread.

  I wanted to make Pippi one Very Special Dress
to wear for her Homecoming.And with Christmas coming up, I decided on a Holiday Gown.  


 



But the Holiday Gown obviously would not do for Chores. So, we came up with this little number using the stray buttons she helpfully pulled out from way back under my desk.They mismatched perfectly.   



  Then she thought... A Chore Dress would not do for visits to the Bakery. We agreed this cheerful Day Dress might just prompt an extra torte or two to be added to her bag by the Bakerbecause she was so darned cute in it.    



 After I made the Day Dress, I discovered thatPippi enjoys standing on one foot. And she is quite proud of balancing all on her own. I thought a stand might make it easier for her to remain suspended like thatif she feels so inclined.  Which she often did.  One night she fell asleep like that and the next day her leg was upstuck until lunch.           Here she is...Posing amongst the squash and zuchinni.Pippi however prefers posies.So...her hands were sculpted to hold Flowers.   

    When Autumn rolled around,I Knew the Dressmaking Needed To Stop.  But Then,  Pippi gave me that Flower and politely asked for a Party Frock to wear for impromptu ballet performancesat Birthday Parties.  



 After the Birthday Frock was finished, I finally sent her off to bed all wrapped up in an Antique Handkerchief Nightgown. 




  This Summer,
I found that saying "no" to Pippi was a really hard thing to do.   But before I end her story here at the farm,
she reminded me to tell you about her friend Karli.
Karli has been waiting her turn in the Dollroom all the while
I was sewing Pippi's Fancies.
They have become devoted friends,
and you will see why Pippi loves her so when you meet her.

Karli thinks every antic Pippi does is Perfectly Wonderful.
So does Pippi.
They both seem to have the same Outlook in Life.

   

And speaking of  Life,
artistically, it just doesn't get much better than this...

Don't you think?

much love, Rose

Blackberry Cobblers and Flying Pigtails

 It is so good to be talking to you again!  How have you been?   Needless to say, much has happened since my last post, and I bet you can say the same!    A new computer with lots of fancy gizmos for one.  This house was computer-less for about 6 weeks, maybe longer, after my old computer decided to finally throw in the towel.  The evenings became surprisingly peaceful in a nontechnological sort of way. Although I sorely missed the news on the wire...now that I am back online, I intend to enjoy more old fashioned evenings spent in front of the fireplace this winter...unplugged. and...Since we spoke last, the garden was seeded, weeded, and harvested.  Not to mention a massive amount of blackberries were picked.   And I mean massive.   A good natured contest was born between my boys, all six of them, based on who could fill his bucket first.  However, the real bragging rights went to the one who found the biggest berry each day.  This competition carried on throughout the blackberry season. We now have a freezer dedicated entirely to Blackberries. Naturally, they will make up a substantial portion of our diet this winter.Happily so..    Blackberry Mush in the Morning...         Blackberry Cobbler in the Afternoon...      And Blackberry Tarts made by enthusiastic little hands for Evening Dessert.       While my sons were off conquering the wild thorns and tangled vines, I was spending quality time with a little girl wearing flying pigtails..         She hung around the kitchen with me.   All the while offering very opinionated opinions about pie crusts and (more) sugar in the berries.This picture was taken before her hands and feet were finished ...but I wanted you to see her at this stage.    Next week I hope to formally introduce her to you. I have spent a few of these recent late nights traveling to your own special places to see what wondrous paths your summer has led you down!   Until we talk again, I leave you with great affection and appreciation of your kind  interest in my little blackberried corner of the Forest. always love...Rose     

French Gnome Garden Faery

    I have just returned from a cross-country Road Trip. It has been far too long since I have visited my childhood home in Illinois. It was thought that perhaps I might just accompany my sister on her annual journey back home.So, she and I  loaded up our 11 passenger van with food, children and headed down the road one early Summer Morning.       

Along the way, we enjoyed long, significant(and not so significant) conversations.While watching in awe as our diverse American landscape stretched out in front of us. And naturally, I indulged in a bit of doll making.

While working on a commission, I had a clump of Apoxie left over.  Not one to waste anything,  and just for the fun of it,I quickly fashioned a wisp of an armature and sculpted a body from it. . Miraculously the next day, ...amidst all the road jiggling... a sweet little French face the size of my thumb stared back at me.       Then, I put the pieces away. When we returned two weeks later, some of my flowers had bloomed.  Only their dried petals  remainedto let me know they had come and gone. I took out the body and face...one thing led to another, and a tiny 5 inch French Gnome Garden Faery emerged.  From the  flowers I had missed and other things too...      Her name is Gizelle.She is so small and delicate and she tends a Garden full of Summer Memories.      If you would like to see more details, and read Gizelle's poem beautifully written by Suzanne Milson (Pixie Andrew's mom) please consider visiting  her auctionby clicking on the ebay picture up in the right hand corner of this page!  Oh, and before I show you a new project,please meet a young mermaid created especially for Cherrylinn.A very dear friend of hers has comissioned this doll for her 12th birthday.They both share a love of the sea and it's gentle inhabitants...    

She was created for a bit more handling, and will have three tail fins that can be interchanged.




I hope Cherrylinn will find a place for  this young mermaidenin her heart.
  She is ready to swim away home any day now!

Thank you, Daisy, for allowing me to be a partof this very special birthday surprise...

Jewel of the Crown

 



    Ancient Elven Lore foretells a Time

when Darkness would envelope

a Land once Fair and Beautiful...     Please meet Na'riel, a very special doll.She represents a Bride, a Spirit, a Legend...and JapanThus, she has a unique white powdered finish on her skin to give her a mystical and pure appearance. Since January, she has been in bits and pieces.Well, maybe even longer.Her head was sculpted and partially painted sometime late last year...waiting for a suitable body.And waiting for the Inspiration to come.        One afternoon this spring, I made a long, lithe armature with a wrapped torso that seemed to have a regal pose.   By happenstance, I draped a piece of ultra soft pink velour around the waist of the armature.Quite suddenly, I envisioned a Maiden standing in the Crown on my mantle. All the while, watching the distress of our neighbors in Japan... Now with a purpose, this piece began emerging.    
   Exquisite bits of old laces that had disappeared in my Doll Room drawers resurfaced...remnants of silks and velvets and petals of fabric flowers came together in a calm and marvelous way. 
   A bride slowly was appearing, but in a mystical form.  So, beading pearls seemed fitting.     Her name is Na'rielwhich is Elven for Glowing Pearl. 



  Many layers make up her gown,chiffon, silk gauze, handmade velvet ribbon, pink lace. Like her gown, she holds many layers of meaning for me as well.  



 The many hours devoted to each minute component of her creation made for a lovely journey.

 




 Creating a Maiden of Fortitude and Perseverance...  
    Waiting for her King...

 


 Na'riel is presently on ebay.   To visit her auction and Story, please click on the picture above.      And I could not resist showing you a cute as a bug (and not much larger than one) Faerie Childmade by Angi also on ebay. You can click on her picture too if you would like to view her auction. The faerie dust has been sparkling in the Doll Room!  much love to you, Rose