KnotAPaperDoll - Etsy Shop of the Month

Today I'm starting something new.  Each month I am going to feature an Etsy shop on my blog.  Maggie, from Knot-A-Paperdoll graciously agreed to prepare a profile for me and she is the July store of the month.  I love Maggie's shop and I know you will too!  In addition to be an expert crafter, and a good businesswoman, Maggie also contributes parts of her profits to the Wounder Warriers Project, firefighters everywhere, and to Childhood Cancer Awareness. So here's a peek at Maggie's shop and a history of her beautiful creations:

My name is Maggie and I live in the beautiful  Pacific NorthWest. I have three sons and six grandchildren.  I have always made dolls and toys for my family and when they all grew too old I started making them for sale.

Inside of Boy's Fort

The Knot-A-Paperdoll travel toy was designed for my grandkids when their father took them camping and fishing.  They needed a toy that would entertain them but not be big and bulky. They often backpacked/hiked in.  The dollhouse whether it’s the girls  Knot-A-Paperdoll or the Boys Fort work well in cars, on trains, or airplanes.  They are also an excellent quiet book for doctors offices, dentists, etc. There is one in the Bangkok Embassy for child entertainment.    You choose house colors, doll, and two activities.  You can custom make the houses on my website handmadedollsandtoys and then you can go back to my Etsy shop shop to order them.

Boy's Fort

Outside of Dollhouse

Inside view of Dollhouse

My New Friend rag dolls are the huggable doll every child needs. When you hug a rag doll it hugs you back. My dolls can be completely undressed and redressed. The girls have a dress, pinafore, pantaloons shoes, socks, and a hat with a flower on it. I crochet a wig cap and tie the hair to it and then sew and glue it to the doll. This makes a durable doll. I fully expect my dolls to be dragged through all the fun places a child goes in a day. The doll is washable…the hair will be more limp afterwards (yarn is like that) and the doll needs to be put in a bag first so arms and legs do not get caught and torn off. The boy dolls have underwear, pants, shirt, shoes, socks, and a hat. Their hair is made the same way and they are ready for the rough and tumble.

Kancer Kids are the same doll but they are bald. They are companion dolls for the unfortunate children in the hospital undergoing treatment. Most doctors and nurses will treat the doll as well as the child and this means the child is not going through it alone. They come with underwear, a gown, three hats and slippers.  Sick children are hard to entertain…they do not feel good… the doll is for the bad days and the hats and slippers are for the better days. Each doll comes with a certificate for hair and clothing when the child is cured the doll too is cured.  Unfortunately, I have only sent out one set of hair and clothes so far… Yes, I have tears running down my face when making up the Kancer Kid package. I will crochet any animal hat you desire, I will use any theme that you think will entertain your child. The Kancer kids I show in my shop can be purchased as is or you may take some ideas from several and I will make up a doll with your choices.  Each child is an individual. Each child needs their own special favorites. All my dolls can be redressed to fit the child they are going to. I have been told by many that their rag doll was an important friend to them as a child. You can tell them anything and they will never tell anyone else. If you hide, they will hide with you. If you cry, they will absorb your tears and hug you back.

Kancer Kids

And these are my Harriet dolls.    Harriet is a stationary doll that sits on your dress and holds all your hair accessories.  She has a print dress, an apron with pockets for hair bands, two long braids for barrettes and bows, a crocheted hat for clips, two long arms for headbands and two mittens to hold ribbons.  She comes with some accessories but has saved room for you to add the ones you already have. 

Miz Pursey's Cupcake Purses are fun…I have a granddaughter who loved cupcakes and green when she was little. My cupcakes come in all colors so everyone can have their favorite. They are a small, about 8" by 8" fully lined purse with a handle and a Velcro closure. They are meant to be fun… They are meant to make you grin…  The Cupcake Purses are one of my bestsellers, along with the Rag Dolls.

Baby-to-Go is a crocheted drawstring cradle purse. When I was a child they were called church purses. Children then had to be quiet and sit through loooong sermons. We were given something to entertain us. My grandmother crocheted a cradle purse for me. Many people make them with a plastic container for the bottom and crochet them out of yarn. I choose to crochet the entire purse and use crochet thread so they are like a pretty doily. My grandmother also told me if a thing was worth doing, it was worth doing well.

 

Baby-to-Go

A lady asked me to make puppets and I did. My puppet dolls are dolls that work. They are hand puppets but are fully dresses with a stuffed head so they can be played with like dolls, too. Most of them have a theme and a lot of the come with a pet, etc. that is a felt hand puppet. The ballerinas tutus come off and if you take their shoes off they have dancing slippers on. I just made them to entertain kids.

The finger puppets I made up because a teacher said that all the finger puppets available did not look like the real animal and could I make some that do….Sorta did…and I had fun. I am proud to say that two sets of the Safari animals are on their way to Zambia to teach children. My finger puppets come eight to a set and have either a barn for the farm animals or a safari hut for the African animals.

Safari Puppets

Safari

Inside Safari

My husband is disabled and cannot be left alone so I started my shops as work I can do at home. I’m older than computers, so learning to make shops was the tough part. I knew how to make dolls and toys… I guess you would say that my work is full time. I rarely have a day that I’m not working on something.  I am an early riser so I usually spend 6-8 a.m. PST on the computer.  I work alone and try to maintain an adequate inventory.  An addition to my Etsy store and website I have a Facebook page.  

My oldest son is a fireman….he makes me proud and scared. I support the firemen everywhere and try  to help when I can. I am in charge of the costumes for the local fireman float for kids. I had two sons in the Navy when they declared war. (Desert Storm) My oldest son was on a submarine and I did not hear from him for 8 months. My second son was on the aircraft carrier “Kitty Hawk” and was in the gulf sending aircraft out. I was blessed that both sons came home whole and unhurt. I cry for all the soldiers that don’t and I believe in and support the Wounded Warrior project.

You can’t help but support Childhood Cancer Awareness. There are so many kinds and so many sick children…I have to believe that it is something that we are doing to our environment to cause the increase in cancer, autism, etc.  This is a heartbreak and we must find answers…

So, if you want a special gift for that special child, check out Maggie's shop!

Thank you Maggie!

Sewing Again!

For over two months I did not touch my sewing machine.  At first I was burned out from sewing constantly for my Etsy store from November until the end of March.  After I recovered from that, I decided to spend what would be sewing time on research and writing.  Then I realized that we are five months into the year and I need to get going on some projects.  So now my office upstairs doubles as a sewing room.

 My first project is a quilt that I want to finish in time for Christmas.  Right.  Make that Christmas of 2014 as I've never made and hand quilted a quilt in less than two years.  One can always have hope though.  This particular quilt has hundreds of pieces to sew and then iron but for some goofy reason, I don't get bored doing it.  I put on ABBA (there are some out there who make fun of my ABBA music and you know who you are) or Tim McGraw, etc. and I'm happy.

 The thing about making gifts by hand, whether is is knitting, sewing, quilting, cross stitching, etc., is that the finished product is filled with love and good throughts.  While I'm making something for a person I"m feeling content and I pour all kinds of good thoughts into the project.  And that's why handmade items are never like mass produced ones.  Handmade may look a bit funkier and not as polished as something mass produced, but you just can't beat the love part.                                                              

See that wild eyed look that Citlali is giving me?  She was possessed yesterday and was more needy than usual.  The neediness is a product of being in Mexico - she isn't like this in Chicago.  But really, she should be used to Mexico by now.

My next post will be about adding book reviews as part of my blog.  I was asked to review a book yesterday and I will try to do one review per week.  They mostly will be mysteries and thrillers but I love most fiction.  If you have any suggestions or requests, please let me know!

Be Kind to Black Cats

I've had many cats during my lifetime (we once had two litters totaling 11 kittens at the same time but that's a story for another day) and two of my favorite three were black cats.  The first one came from one of those litters and Arturo named him "Cadillac".  I wish I had a picture here of him but he was the most beautiful and loving cat!  His only fault was that he loved being outdoors and unfortunately, at the young age of seven, he met his end during one of his nightly treks through the neighborhood.  I think of that cat almost daily and still miss him.  When he died I didn't have the heart to tell my youngest daughter, Sonia, that he was gone so I simply told her he hadn't come home but maybe someone had him.  She found out the truth a couple of years later and I don't think she has forgiven me yet.

From the Gayana shop
The second black cat was one of a pair of kittens that Arturo rescued from a car engine.  They were a brother and sister and the male was black.  I named him "Midnight Louie" and his sister, who we still have, is called "Lola".  She is a calico.  Anyway, poor Louie had burned paws from the car engine being turned on while he was simply in the engine trying to warm up on a cold winter day.  We nursed him back to health and he repaid us by making us laugh at his funny little face for the next three years.  Sadly, he shared Cadillac's passion for the outdoors (I know - it's our fault for letting them out although in our defense they were pretty good at escaping on their own) and one morning he didn't return home.  My hope is that someone found him and he is living a good life.

Halloween is coming up and black cats still seem to have a bad reputation.  Don't believe the bad things you hear about them though!  And if you ever have the opportunity to adopt a cat, you can't go wrong with a black cat!

Here are a couple of more Etsy shops that share my and my family's love of black cats.

They are beautiful!  BlackCatPhotographs

This one looks like Midnight Louie.  Wool-In-Legends Shop

Autumn Treasures and Condesa, Mexico City

First, I want to share beautiful handcrafted items, paintings and other treasures from the "The Art of Autumn" treasury list that I curated today.  I have such fun doing these treasuries (I just wish I could get the hang of pasting the list here instead of a link)!  Autumn Treasures.

Yesterday we went to a great Mexico City neighborhood called Condesa.  I love it there and it is my fervent hope that we will sell or rent our house in the suburb Satelite and go rent an apartment in Condesa.  It has gorgeous parks that are super dog friendly, the kind of 1940's Mexican architecture that I love, tons of cafes and small ethnic restaurants, bookstores, small shops, and this is very important - no shopping malls!  You can walk and walk there and not get bored.  It's the kind of neighborhood where you meet people from all over the world and can get together for book clubs or just to chat at one of the local coffee shops.  I really want to move there right now!  I didn't take many pictures while we there because I was too busy looking for "Apartment for Rent" signs.  Here is one picture though of Arturo and the dogs while we took a rest in one of the parks:

I almost got Arturo to smile!

We had lunch is an extremely popular Korean owned restaurant and the kudo soup was to die for!  I could eat it everyday - it had those thick noodles that are so good!  To walk off all the food we went to another nearby neighborhood called San Angel.  On Saturdays they have a huge marketplace with every sort of hand made item you could ever want.  On Saturdays and Sundays artists set up their paintings in the park.  I found a couple paintings that I wouldn't mind owning!

My brother-in-law, Alfonso, is in the plaid shirt

Right alongside the park you can buy any type of art supply - canvases, frames, paint brushes, oils, acrylics, pastels or watercolors.  Seeing all those supplies made me wish I could paint or draw but no such luck.

By the time we got home the dogs were exhausted.  Poukie barked at maybe a thousand dogs after Lali alerted him to each and everyone.  She barks once when she sees one to let him know and then he goes nuts.  Fun.  Lali was so tired last night that she fell asleep with the tip of her tongue hanging out.  In all of her 13 years I've never seen her do that!

Making Blankets For Animal Shelters and Etsy Contributions

Today I'd like to focus on what animal lovers can do to help out the homeless animal shelters as well as highlighting a couple of Etsy stores that donate part of their shop proceeds to such shelters.  First, one project for those who like to knit, crochet or sew is the Snuggles organization.  This is a terrific organization that works to provide blankets to animals living all over the world in shelters.  They have found that a frightened or difficult animal, after being given its own blanket, is able to calm down, thus providing the caregivers time to assess the situation and better handle the animal.  Snuggles believes that this calming effect has saved many lives of newly sheltered animals.  There is also a benefit to the shelter because the blankets provide a more homey, comfortable home and atmosphere for the animals, visitors and staff.

Now, the best part for crafters is that you can make the blankets in your own home with the website providing the preferred sizes and patterns (however you can use any pattern or medium that you like) and it guides you to the shelters in your area which accept the blankets.  Snuggles location directory.  It is so easy yet can make such a difference in an animal's life - an animal who has lost its home, loved ones and is frightened and lonely. Snuggles also has a form that it requests that you fill out when you donate blankets so that they can keep track of how many shelters worldwide are being provided with your handmade blankets. I think we all believe that when we make handmade items, they are made with love and the recipients feel that love.  So let's go spread some of that love on these animals!

And indeed, there are many gifted people on Etsy.com who are donating part of their proceeds to animal shelters.   Let's look at a few (I wish I could show all of them).

Storied Threads sells these adorable Pet Bandanas and donates 75% of the proceeds to a local no-kill animal shelter.  Wouldn't your favorite dog love to sport one of these?

This beautiful silkscreen art print, called Betty the Cat, from the Hero Design shop would be a lovely addition to any home and 100% of the proceeds to the City of Buffalo Animal Shelter.  This print is of "Betty", one of the shelter cats who was waiting to be adopted.









And finally, if you purchase one of these catnip toys (they come in two different sizes) you are assured that 100% of the  proceeds go to one of the three rescue organizations that the SunStones' owner volunteers for.  So let's get moving and
find a way to make
life better!

Lavender Fields, Facts and Your Home

I think pictures like this always take our breath away and make us wish we were owners of a lavender farm.  (Or maybe I'm just talking about myself).

Pat Wilson displayed this on Facebook from Debbie Reynold's page

Although grown widely in the United States and Australia, lavender originates in the mountainous zones of the Mediterranean where it grows in sunny, stony habitats.  It was used in baths to help purify the body and spirit, and folklore has it that for hundreds, if not thousands of years, it was also put in pillows to help restless people sleep.  And in fact, scientific research bears out the calming and soothing effects of lavender when its scent is inhaled.  

Today there are so many products that use lavender such as soaps, shampoos, sachets, pillows, artwork, and it is even used in the kitchen for cooking.  (Although some studies suggest that pregnant women should not eat lavender).  How have our creative friends on Etsy used lavender?

In soaps:

Vegan Lavender soap http://www.etsy.com/listing/91842280/organic-vegan-soap-the-lavender-soap-bar

In beautiful wreaths to welcome people to your home:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/89442331/organic-french-lavender-wreath

And in beautiful bouquets for all our brides:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/93543633/french-lavender-blue-cosmos-and-pearls

Add some lavender to your home today to uplift and at the same time, sooth your spirits.  How do you use lavender?

Soccer Apron and Smock

I was going to write about something entirely different today, but then I started thinking about yesterday's European Cup 2012 championship game between Italy and Spain and I changed course.  We watched the game from a restaurant in Mexico City while it was pouring buckets of rain, and as we didn't have an umbrella, we weren't going anywhere until it let up.  It's always fun watching soccer games because the fans are so into the game - as was almost everyone in the restaurant.  I know it is the most popular sport in the world and it certainly seems the most active one to me - all that running and kicking for 90 minutes must be exhausting.  Anyway, here are two contributions from my shop to the wonderful sport of soccer!!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/100402724/childs-soccer-balls-smock-trimmed-with?ref=v1_other_1  This smock makes a cute cover up for your little one.
And this one is for mom!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/100401995/soccer-mom-hostess-apron-with-full-skirt

To celebrate the 4th of July, during the week I am give you a coupon for 10% off anything in my etsy store if you decide to follow my blog.

Shabby Chic Farm Items

My mom grew up on a dairy farm in southwestern Wisconsin near LaCrosse in a beautiful valley.  Even though I was born in a small town in Minnesota and have lived in large cities most of my life, my heart and soul belong to the countryside.  It is there that I feel at peace and can listen to the sounds of nature without the constant background noises of the cities.  Only outside of a city, that is always full of its constant bright lights, can you look up into the sky at night and see the stars and constellations and listen to the insects chirping. And in the mornings, go outside and walk in the grass damp with dew and feel the freshness of a new day.

As dairy farmers, my grandfather's farm had tons of these milk cans.  He would take them to the local creamery where the contents would be turned into delicious butter and the top cream would be skimmed off.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/80938673/old-vintage-creamery-cans-a-fine
-art

My grandmother, and later my mother, spent countless hours every summer raising the vegetables and picking the fruit that they would then can in the mason jars - ensuring that the family had homegrown vegetables and fruit all winter long.  I'm so happy to see a revival in canning!  Here the mason jars are put to another good use.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/95427757/eco-friendly-mason-jar-soap-dispenser

And finally, a barn of their own for all the birds that brighten our days.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/102442272/barn-birdhouse-painted-grey-and-white

Have a happy weekend!

Milk Glass

If you are looking for romantic, yet elegant, accents for your home look no further than items made from beautiful milk glass.  You can find dishes, candle holders, perfume bottles, vases, cups and a host of other pieces for any room in your home.  The above picture can be found here:  http://www.etsy.com/listing/100754365/antique-pedestal-cake-stand-milk-glass

Milk glass originated in Venice in the 16th century but it wasn't called "milk glass" and it came in different "milky" colors.  Only recently, during the last century or so, has it been known as milk glass.  During the 19th century it was a luxury item and a popular collectible.  During the American Gilded Age, circa early 20th century, milk glass went hand in hand with the wealthy Americans.  Milk glass made during that era is some of the best ever made and was known for its delicacy and elegance.  By contrast, the milk glass made during the Depression years was considered less elegant and delicate and more a production of the harsh time.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/102673581/vintage-milk-glass-candle-oil-lamp-set

Today it is still a popular collectible.  Though it is not as expensive as porcelain, it will add beauty and elegance to your home.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/93997839/milk-glass-pitcher