Little Middleton Toddler

Little Guy Closeup
Originally uploaded by elizabeth's*whimsies

This is a little doll I redid recently. The head came with another doll I ordered, and once he arrived he needed some fixing up. I wanted to take him off the too-small body he arrived on, so I posted a want ad on Doll-Fan and a nice person sent me a standing toddler body for him. Finally today I reassembled him and I think he came out pretty cute. He had extensive re-painting. The whole original face was stripped and I redid his paint from a blank slate. I also re-wigged him. He's funny and he makes me smile!  He needs a name, though.

Today's Sewing Project

 

I've had a thing lately for drop-waist dresses.  I have a feeling there are more to come, too.  I will eventually list this one on etsy, but I want to make some accessories of some type to go with it, first.  My Rosen Lied Tuesday's Child Beige is modeling.  Her red hair seemed just the thing for this outfit.  It will also fit 10" Effner dolls by Boneka.

Zoe Effner in Blue

Zoe Effner in Blue
Originally uploaded by elizabeth's*whimsies

I made Zoe a new dress. We were going to list it on etsy, but the back of the collar came out a little off, so she's keeping it. That's a good thing from her perspective, because she needs more clothes!

Dennis Hopper the Bunny

Dennis in springtime
Originally uploaded by elizabeth's*whimsies

It's been a sad year for me. My bunny, Dennis, passed away on Monday night. He'd had a thymoma (large mass in his chest) that was diagnosed in spring '09. He had radiation to shrink it last summer, which gave him more than a year of extra, happy life. It grew back and he started to have a bit of trouble with it this summer. He was still happy and eating and playing up to Monday night when he suddenly became much worse and died before I could euthanize him.

Dennis was a good little bunny and a good little friend. Brother Cat liked to sleep in his exercise pen with him and keeps looking in his cage to see where he is. Dennis was always friendly, loved treats and carrots and had the softest fur. He was sometimes naughty and chewed up my woodwork, but that's what bunnies do when you don't watch them! His passing was not unexpected, but he will still be missed.

Kitchen Wainscot

dollhousekitchen
Originally uploaded by elizabeth's*whimsies

April Cottage, after a stalled summer of work, is under construction again. Yesterday evening I finished applying the wainscot to all walls of the kitchen except the wall with the door, which will have to wait until I install the door and the door trim. Next up is the parlor, which will be painted in a soft blue with stained wooden wainscot. I'm a little afraid of wiring this house, as I've never electrically wired any houses before, so we'll see how that works out!

Zoe Effner in Purple and Lace

Zoe Effner in Purple and Lace
Originally uploaded by elizabeth's*whimsies

I'm working on how to blog directly from Flickr and thought I would share this photo of Zoe, as well. She's easy to photograph!

Late Summer

It's getting cool at night and the local kids all go back to school in just two days.  This time of year always reminds me of stronger colors like dark purples and golds.  I made Zoe Effner a dress inspired by the season.   The lace is a lovely lace I found on etsy and the ribbon is silk.

Bunny!

I love bunnies.  I have had a bunny as a pet since my dad brought me home Butterscotch when I was four.  I still have a bunny, Dennis Hopper, who is now seven or so (old for a Netherland Dwarf) and still a happy little guy.  I have wanted Curo Bunny from Pipos since I first saw her and I finally broke down and ordered one and she came the other day.  She's so cute!  Her outfit is up on etsy, though--she told me pink is not her color, really.  She would prefer something in light carrot.  Or grass green...  She's so cute I can barely stand it.

Norah gets a new dress

Norah wanted something to wear for the end of summer and this is what I came up with.  The blouse is modified from a Rosemary Ionker bodice pattern and the jumper was drafted by me and is made from lightweight denim.

Lovely Day

Today was a lovely day, with dry warmth.  April thought it was perfect weather for daydreaming in the sunshine on the deck.  She also spent some time sitting with her friend, Luke.

These two are just so cute, I can't get over it.  I found the bench on clearance at Michaels and it fits them perfectly. 

The summer is winding down here.  It will be a cool night tonight.  The summer has been full of nice weather and the garden has grown well, producing lots of tomatoes, green beans and cucumbers, among other things.  The chickens are doing fine and Hazel is broody and thinks she can hatch the wooden eggs!  She looks crazed when she's broody, as she puffs up her feathers and makes a terrible sound, but I just laugh at her and send her out to play with her sisters.  Daisy Duck (aka Little) has decided that the call ducklings are OK and swims every day with them.  She daily has to put Roger in line, as he's a bit fresh, and she occasionally has to sneak a bite at Hattie to keep her in line, too.  Overall Daisy has stopped mourning for Millie and now she has friends to keep her company in the winter, so all is well with the feathered folk!

I made a dress for Candy Plusczok today, also, but I will show it tomorrow!

Hand Painted by Dianna

I received my Zoe, who is hand painted by Dianna Effner, a few days ago and today made her a little summer outfit.

She's simply amazing!  The eyes are very life like.  She was definitely worth the wait! 

Craft Room Repaint!

My little brother very kindly repainted my craft room for me.  I love the new look!  I have to make some new curtains, but otherwise, it's re-assembled and ready for enjoyment.  It was the nursery of the previous occupants.  Behold, the previously awful paint.

And now!  (The color is Blue Flower by Benjamin Moore and it's a no VOC paint--Natura)

I still have to hang a shelf and put the clock back on the wall, but otherwise it's finished!

Goodbye Little Tooth!

Mr. Brother Cat is quite content today.  He's been Mr. Happy and Mr. Playful and Mr. Enchanting and Mr. Sleeps-on-the-couch-with-me again.  Almost without me noticing it, he had been sleeping all the time, either behind the TV or in his hammock.  He wasn't sleeping on the couch at night while I was sitting there, which is one of his favorite things to do.  I knew he had a bad tooth, because I noticed it about a month earlier.  He had a kitty "resorptive lesion."  Lucky for him, he has a mom who's a vet and pesters him constantly, looking in his mouth and such.  Most people never notice these resorptive lesions until either they're really bad or they bring their kitty in to the vet for his or her annual examination.   The treatment is to take out the tooth, which I did last Monday.  All of his other chompers were in good condition and hopefully will stay that way.  Once the socket healed up, he's been back to his normal, fabulous self!  I thought he had finally just grown up (he's five) and wasn't acting all kittenish any more, but it turns out that tooth was bothering him more than I thought.  Now he can soak up his kitty sunshine and be sociable again!

Dreamy Afternoon

It's lovely here today.  The sun is out, it's not too hot, and there's a nice June breeze stirring the leaves.  Lark needed her photo done, as I finished this dress a week or so ago but hadn't photographed it yet.  I made this dress after I found the dark turquoise velvet ribbon on etsy.  The fabric is white-on-white cotton print, although that doesn't show too well in the photograph.  The pattern is my own creation.

Hedgehog Embroidery

This is a little summer book bag for my nephew's 2nd birthday.  Inside are a few books about Skippyjon Jones!  I hope he enjoys having them read to him.

Here's a bit more detail of the embroidery.

Aren't they fun?!  The little hedgies are rolling and climbing and snoozing in the letters.  I found the alphabet in one of my Japanese craft books that I bought last year in Seattle.

Summertime Fun

There are some things everyone loves about summer, whether they are chickens or people!

Texas Bluebonnets and Crochet

Finally, I have uploaded my photograph of the next block in the State Flowers Quilt project.  I'm already WAY behind!  It's fun work, though, and easy to do on warm summer days in the hammock in the yard.

I've also been making some crocheted triangles from Beyond the Square.   I think this will be a cushion when it's done.  Another perfect project for hammock lounging!

Springtime Portraits

 

Candy tried on the dress I made for Belinda the other day.  The colors look nice on her.

And Little Duck had her portrait done today, too.

And the Wee Ducks had their photo done, today, too.  They are getting bigger!

This is the life!

They're never going to want to go back outside after this kind of spoiling!  This is Hattie and Gwennie on the couch last evening, watching TV with us.  They started out in a towel on my lap, but the other side of the couch was too interesting, so they marched over.  Of course, the blanket is now in the laundry!  Hattie is certainly a girl, because she has let out some LOUD quacks over the past few days, but Gwennie is still a mystery.  If Gwen turns out to be a boy, we'll have to come up with a new name.  They're really cute, and besides be addicted to lettuce are also addicted to green peas!

A More Cheerful State of Affairs

A nice lady sold me two Call Ducks to be pals with poor Daisy Duck, who is incredibly lonely without her Millie sister.  These guys arrived yesterday afternoon and are quite friendly (obviously!) and so cute.  I suspect them both to be girls, but won't know for a few more weeks.  It doesn't matter what gender they are as long as my Daisy loves them and they all get along.  I let Daisy take a look at them and she seemed to think they might do.  She didn't make any aggressive gestures and she quacked nice and low to them.  Once they are quacking instead of peeping, we will get them introduced properly.  If they are girls, they will be named Gwen (yellow) and Hattie (brown).  They're really sweet!  I'm sure Miss Millie would be glad that her little sister has some new pals.