Fun Crafting idea, Piggy Plant Pokes and Magnets Salt Dough

What You will need for this project:

4 cups of flour

2 cups of salt

water

acrylic paints

instant coffee

pop sticks or sticks of some form

hot glue gun

scraps of fabric

magnets

light weight sand paper

varnish

pig cookie cutter/or any animal cookie cutter

Mix the flour and salt and begin adding water to the mixture until it all forms together like making bread dough. If it gets too most just add a little flour. You want the dough to roll out on a lightly floured surface as if making cookies. Take a small amount now and roll it out onto the floured surface. Roll the dough out to about 1/2 thickness, you want them sturdy, or a just little more than 1/2.

Now take your animal (pig) cookie cutter and cut out the pig. I would take just a small amount of dough and cut out one at a time just to make sure I was consistent with the thickness of each one. Once you have them cut out and placed on the lightly greased cookie sheet take your pop stick or stick and slightly press in the center between the legs, making this dent will make it easier to hot glue the stick into place.

Now lightly grease large cookie sheet and add the animals (pigs) bake in your oven at 150/ 200 degrees, which mine baked slowly the entire day, drying the dough out. The drying will/should take most of the day, you can also just let them air dry, this will take a few days.

When the pigs are quite dry; take some light weight sand paper and lightly sand them a bit as to rough them up just a little.

Paint the pig with acrylic paints, I mixed up a bit of red and white for this one and then let it dry. I then added some dabs of yellow kind of forming small butterflies. Once that was dry I mixed up a table spoon of instant coffee and added a little water and brushed on the stain, to the pig, stick and scrap of fabric I had torn for the bow. Once that was completely dry I brushed on the varnish to seal everything, put a couple of dabs of hot glue in the dent and added the stick. I also hot glued the bow on. On the back of the pig you can add you magnet of choice, a heavy magnet is what I suggest with hot glue. This project takes a bit of time but it is fun to do. These pig pokes will look cute as an addition to any potted plant and help add to giving a plant as a gift or use them as magnets! I hope you have fun with this project!

Just Finished a Special Order Primitive 2 Sided Rag Cloth Doll

Today I am close to finishing up one of my favorite dolls I created, this is a 2 sided doll that I have stained to look old. The body part of the doll is of course Onsburg and it is stained with instant coffee and the facial features have been painted on with acrylic paints.

In my first 2 sided doll I had legs but I kind feel she is better without the legs and just left to imagination? but I will have to think about it a little more.

This is such fun doll that I created, ideas are just burning in my head on what do with her next. I may make her into a Topsy turvy doll, a 2 sided witch and more. She is my second 2 sided doll the first is here http://www.etsy.com/transaction/48666379

She is 21 inches long and just as fun as fun can be!

The Continued Work on the New 20 inch rag Doll and the Finishing Touches

Back again! showing how a work in progress comes together; the doll has been all sewn together and and filled with fiber fill at this point and I decided to use small black buttons for eyes and they have been hand sewn in and in this photo I have painted the mouth and cheeks in acrylic paints and I am adding the pink hair. The hair is a pink wool yarn and I am using a heavy quilting thread to sew it to the head of the doll.

There is a close up of the facial features and she is not turning too bad, I have decided not to stain this doll maybe the next one; I just love having her colorful.

I also painted the feet of the doll using acrylic paints to match the skirt of the dress and she has some striping on the legs that has been added with acrylic paints, which are not seen in the pictures. She is done and I think I will call her Pinkie Dots, I will be adding her to the Etsy store is a few days.

I have started a fun project that I will be sharing with you in a few days hope to see you all soon with my new project pig on stick plant pokes!

Working on Some New Rag Cloth Dolls that will be Colorful

It's time to get busy again making my favorite thing....

rag cloth dolls.

As you can see I have just finished the body of the doll using Onsburg and I will be filling her with fiber fill, attaching the arms and legs. I plan on painting the facial features using the acrylic paints I love, I am using bright summer light weight cottons for the blouse and skirt. You can see that the blouse is somewhat done and that I am working on the skirt that is on the sewing machine. I have already decided her hair color which is going to be a bright pink heavy wool yarn. I can't quite get into working on fall just yet, I still have a lot of summer on my mind and I think I will do up a few colorful dolls, not sure if I will stain any of them but I might just to make a few look old.

I am also working on two/two sided dolls for someone and one to put in my Etsy store, I will have pictures of those later this week and pictures of this doll when it has been completed. At the end of August I will do up some scarecrows that I have been meaning to get busy with, well I think I will take a break and go step out into the Monday morning sunshine on the Oregon coast.

A Good Bye to my Baby Dog Polar Bear

Last Thursday I had to say good bye to my best friend and family member, my polar bear whom I have had for 14 years. The bone cancer just was making him suffer so much, this is one of the reasons I have not been blogging as much as I did, I wanted time with him, and I wanted to hand feed him to help keep him strong for as long as I could. I love and miss him so much! I write with tears....

He was so very special, patient, loving and I miss hearing his bark, him walking on the tile floor, laying his head in my lap, or checking on me in the bathroom, catching food, stealing food off the table, letting the little girl dogs boss him around, allowing Ruffles our cat to love you and rub on you anytime she wanted, for watching over and protecting us, I miss long walks with you peeing on every piece of grass and peeing like a girl dog when you were a boy, I will miss your excitement when daddy came home, your howls at the door when we would leave and come home, that you loved all kinds of dog toys and would tease Oreocookies by taking them and hiding them outside from her. Even while he was sick he would try to play never showing us how sick he really was. He made my life wonderful for 14 years, I hope he knows how much I love and miss him! He was my family, friend and I know the pain is gone and he lays at rest next to my other dog Buddy, but still miss you... the house is lost without in it....

I will never forget you I will never stop loving you; were one of kind.

What I am Working on Sunday July 17th 2011

I have been working on painting rocks, my favorite famous rock cottages. I found the most interesting rocks and made one of my little rock cottages and I am working on another one right next to it that is not quite completed. Once again in the photo above, I washed the rock in some hot soapy water and let it dry for a few days before I begin painting. I love using acrylic paints best and a good sealer so that the paint will last a very long time. This rock is quite large so it will make a really good door stop the second one that is not finished will be smaller and will be better for setting on a shelf or holding a stack of papers in place. In the photo below is a little cardboard heart box and I had a blast working on it also; using acrylic paints and coffee to make the heart box look really old and aged, I also used a bit of light weight sand paper and lightly, carefully sanded the box for some finishing touches, then sealed it. I did not use and patterns but just the painting by free hand designs both projects and if I goofed a little I think it just added more to both projects by doing free hand with really no intention or pre-plan pattern. Sometimes I find it fun just to sit down and start creating because you just never know what you will come up with and that is the fun of a project the never knowing...

Once Long Ago, a Warm Day on the Oregon Coast, and a Ride

A few days back we were having such nice warm days! it seemed as if summer were here finally so I just had to take some pictures of the ride down the beach. In the top picture I think everyone one else from Portland Oregon had the same idea to head to the beach. We also stopped off at a store for some cool drinks, a bit of fire wood and some burgers to cook on the beach for the day.

Tillamook Head and just watching the waves come in, there was also a warm breezing blowing that day.

I just wanted to share a little of the beach with you all this week!