Working on Holiday Painted Plates for this Week

This week I got busy painting plates for the holidays.  I ended up getting at 4 plates painted! yea!
All the plates are my very own design and I drew what I wanted on the plates by using a light colored acrylic oil based pen.  Once I draw the picture free hand then I began painting and filling in all the wonderful colors.  You can see I have Halloween and Autumn on the mind. Each plate is painted then baked to be sealed the I love using most is oil based acrylic paints and these now come in maker with various sizes.  I have also added some cute sayings on each plate to go along with the season.
I really love doing up the plates its another to express my ideas and keep up on my drawing ability.  Soon I plan on doing some serious plates like actually painting some pretty roses on a plate.  I think my favorite plates are the green plain ones because seems like the colors jump out more than on the white plates.  Even though I seal the plates by heating them I still say they are only for decor and not to eat off of them.  I am finishing up one more plate for Halloween and then it will be time to work on some for Thanksgiving and Christmas, there are some really great ideas racing around in my head for those holiday plates.  Tomorrow I think I will start working on a 20 inch doll that will be a witch and one for everyday after the dolls it will be on to some whacked out quilts.
These plates will all go into my other Esty store http://www.etsy.com/shop/pamelastocker1?ref=si_shop.

Oh My! Butter Finger Cookies

Here they are! those Butter Finger Cookies! I found the recipe here.... http://www.recipegirl.com/2008/07/31/butterfinger-chunk-cookies/
What a great recipe this was to do up these cookies, these will not last long in any home and if you have boys... my husband and son.  When I think about it I would say... look out they may be gone in seconds! I did these up a few weeks ago and went to do an errand for a minute or two, when I got back the cookies were gone.  This is actually what was left of the second batch I made.. phew! it was close even saving these few for a picture.  I did change the recipe a little by adding some coconut and they were just wonderful with about a cup of coconut added, I might try adding chopped nuts next time, anyway that's what my boys are asking for in the cookies next time I make them.

Sewing New Rag Cloth dolls While the Computer was Reparied

Howdy to all! You might be wondering why I have not posted a blog lately, well the computer had to go in and be repaired I downloaded what is know as zero virus! Good heavens the computer had to be totally programmed because a zero virus is nasty! Well one good thing came out of it, I got a lot of sewing done in that week and half. I have finished some dolls! hooray!

The first rag cloth doll animal is a bear. Actually I call these my Pud Bears and there is a whole lot you can do with them. They are 14 inches tall and the middles are round and fluffy. I can make this bear out of many different kinds of fabrics. In this case I am using muslin and have stained it heavily with my sauce, making the bear quite grubby. Next I filled the bear with fiber fill and painted the facial features. The dress is quite simple, a strip of torn cotton Halloween fabric gathered by hand and placed onto the bear.

This is the second rag cloth doll I finished and this is Polly and loopy, Polly is 18 inches and hold her pet bunny loopy. Both are made from muslin and stained. I created their facial features with my acrylic paints, both are filled with fiber fill. The dress and bloomers are a rayon cotton blend and the hair is a wool yard that I have hand sewn into the head of the doll. As you might have guessed I used that heavy quilting thread to help sew the yarn into her head. The pattern is from 1978 and I just designed loopy from my husband's thumb, I had him put his thumb on a piece of paper and traced around it. Next I transferred the thumb pattern onto fabric and Ta Da I got loopy! I get my pattern ideas from those wild but fun thoughts I have for creating, basically what I am saying you can create a pattern from most anything if you let your imagination run wild

Now these great little dolls are from a pattern I bought at http://www.chestnutjunction.com/ There are some great patterns there and I hope you will go check out the web site. I design the doll way different than the instructions call for; so they are done up different. I created the facial features my self one little doll is happy and the other is grumpy! I used acrylic paints to do the work. I have also made the dolls very grubby. I made 2 sets from the same pattern but I added ears or werewolf ears on the second set. Both sets are made from muslin and stained to be grubby. The dress fabrics are cotton fabrics and the dolls are filled with fiber fill. I know I mentioned last time talking about the Butter Finger cookies and I meant to post about them but I got so excited over the dolls and the finished 18 inch doll I just had to share this post first! So a little later on I will share the recipe for the Butter Finger cookies with you. Today I will be adding all the new dolls to Maplea's Rag Cloth Dolls and Animals.

What's being Worked on for Friday July 20th 2012

It's Friday!  I will be spending the weekend crafting away as my hubby has to take the log truck in for a oil change and small amounts of work need to be done on it.  So I will be at home finishing up these 2 projects I started.  The first one is a small bear that need some revamping.  I am staining the bear and messing him up to look some what older or aged. The bear is made from some old dark red fake fur and I have filled with bear with fiber fill.  The nose and eyes are black safety eyes I found in fabric depot (my favorite place to shop) I did Cranberry bear up a while back and he has been just sitting around doing nothing so it was time for a revamp on him.  I am staining him with my coffee solution and rubbing cinnamon in him giving him a rustic look maybe?

The second project is of course a 18 inch rag doll, made from muslin and stained with my favorite coffee stain.  I will fill her with fiber fill and paint the facial features, she also has a buddy which is a cute rabbit for her.  The dress is a cotton blend/ rayon being the blend.  It is wrinkling nicely and staining pretty easily.  I actually started these yesterday but thought I would talk about them today being the house is so quiet even my little dogs are napping away.  I post again showing you all what they look like all finished.  I think in the next blog I will tell you all about the Butterfinger cookies I made!

Love being a Grandma, Pictures of JoJo at 21/2 Months

Hello everyone! I just had to share some baby pictures of my sweetie grand daughter! boy is she growing and developing a personality!   My daughter brought her to the house a few days back and I took pictures and video taped her.  I wanted to share the video with you also but for some reason it would not upload to blogger.  Oh well...  JoJo is 2 1/2 months old in these pictures and 10 pounds 23 inches is she growing like a little weed.  I have so much fun when she comes to the house, I am so busy playing with her nothing gets done!  I love what mommy dressed her in that day pink and cute!  These are only a few pictures that day I took about 60-70 pictures! and 4 videos, I love spoiling her but her doctor says you can never spoil them when they are this young.  Today I am at home blogging this but also sewing some new things that I will post later on, be sure still enter in the contest to win some great items http://www.oldfarmhousegathering.blogspot.com/

Come Join in the fun at the Fall's Splendor

Come join the fun you might just win the great give away just hop over to http://oldfarmhousegathering.blogspot.com/2012/07/falls-splendor-etsy-shop-hop-giveaway.html

and sign up! so that you can win, win win!!

Entirely Late Posting My Son's Graduation!

Howdy to everyone today! its finally a nice warm day on the Oregon coast and I have been busy with lots of chores this day.  Today I sat down because I have these photos from my sister, who I say big thanks too! phew! we almost did not have anything of my son's graduation which was June 18th 20012.  Yes I am late posting this....

I have learned that my husband needs lessons in electrons!  we wanted to record the graduation, I was going to do the filming,  well... you know those males at times like to take charge and my hubby did; except when he took charge he did not realize you had to turn the camera on!!  So I had no pictures, video of our son's graduation, my sister even said her camera was acting up but luck be on her side she did get some shots that came out! and yesterday I found them in my email! phew!

The first picture is my son and he is in the other photos as well.   I am so proud well... we both are so proud of of him!!  He did well in school, lettered in football, track and wrestling with a 3.2 grade average! yea!  He even broke some records! with other track members!  I love him so much he has a strong faith in the LDS Church, to choose the right and to stand out in a crowd and not follow others!  He has decided to serve his country and will be joining the Air Force and thinks he will leave in Oct.  I remember yesterday bringing home a 9 pound 11 oz. baby boy who all the nurses loved because of that dimple in his chin, I sorry about posting this so late but I just had to share it today,  Love you so much Mitchell!