A Swap and New Pegs (and a Cat)

January 29, 2015 by Summer

I know I say this all the time, but I am always astounded by the kindness and generosity of the blogging/online community I am a part of. I’ve engaged with many people online, made some wonderful, life long kinds of friendships even. I’ve participated in swaps here and there, but each time I do swap with someone, I am always touched by the incredible talent people have and the time and effort they put into their crafts. A couple of months back I saw Yanic’s husband’s gorgeous hand carved Father Christmas / Winter Wizard figurines. I wanted one of my very own, so I offered to buy one. Yanic suggested we swap for goods and of course I was all over it!! I made her a peg doll family and she sent over a whole host of goodies. The incredible Winter Wizard, which now sits in a place of honor in our family room, a gorgeous crocheted dish cloth that’s already getting so much use and some lip balm that Yanic made. Yanic’s sweet daughter also drew Ellie a picture, which Ellie adored (she drew one right back, so mail is headed your way Yanic).

The whole package was just beautiful and touching, as well as the note she sent with it. I am honored to have a piece of Yanic in my home now. Thank you Yanic!!!
For Yanic’s peg dolls, she requested I do them in their winter gear. I loved the idea and tried my best. I hope she likes them.

It’s so hard for me to photograph my peg dolls. It’s hard to see all the little bits I’ve painted on. But this photo gives you the gist. They are a cute, winter family (baby complete with paci) ! 😉

As for Peg doll projects for the shop and for special orders, I’ve just finished this “Peg and Cat” doll and mat set. We don’t watch the show so, I had to do a bit of research. They turned out pretty darn cute and the mat was a little different from what I normally do, but it was a joy to make. I’m hoping their recipient loves them as much as Ellie did. Even though she had never seen the show, she asked me for her own Peg and Cat play set.

The other big project I have been working on is a set of angel peg dolls for a custom order. Each angel represents a holiday.

And one more Angel for lost pets…

These were so much fun to come up with and make. I quilted each set of wings and then attached them with a bit of glue. I hope they are well-loved.

I have many more orders I’m working on getting done…. and then I will be making a few pegs for Ellie and her friends before Valentines Day.
What projects are you working on?

Gifts received!

August 26, 2014 by Summer

I received these beautiful gifts in the mail the other day from the blogger swap. (Here are the gifts I sent off). The lovely Amanda from The Life and Times of Julian and Amanda made them and I am so taken by every item! As soon as I opened the box, Ellie squealed for the hedgehog pincushion (she’s calling it a mouse). So, I took out all of the little pins and she carried it around all afternoon. I was finally able to snap a few photos of everything for today’s post. The dishcloth is exquisite! It will be lovely to hang in the kitchen and the soap, smells amazing. The buttons are darling! And they will force me to finally make Ellie a top. Or maybe I can convince my mom to make something for her with them? Or a knitting friend? It really was lovely getting all of these goodies! This swap was a delightful way to end the summer. Thank you so very much Amanda!!

Summer Swapping

August 7, 2014 by Summer

This summer between the preparations for Ellie’s birthday party (this Saturday) and the numerous other orders I’ve been working on for my store, I was able to squeeze in two blogger swaps too. The first swap was really me, begging another blogger to let me buy one of her beautiful hand carved stamps after seeing her make several on her blog. (I met Jenny through a previous blogger swap. Ellie and I sent goodies to her youngest daughter for a children’s swap) She was wonderfully sweet and offered up a trade. A couple of her incredible stamps for some of my peg dolls. A family of six peg dolls to be exact. I was so excited for this swap and painting her adorable family was so much fun!

Unfortunately, I never got some great photos of the peg family, but hop on over to Jenny’s blog for plenty of great action shots.

I received Jenny’s beautiful stamps soon after I sent these guys off. They are so well made and lovely and now I’ll have something very special to stamp on my Etsy store purchase bags and cards. Thank you so much Jenny. These stamps will be treasured dearly!

The other swap I was in was Amanda’s summer blogger swap. I had participated previously and sent a package to a lovely blogger and received the most amazing package from this wonderful blogger (I still use most of her swap goodies on a daily basis). This time around, I got a very inspirational blogger who I had been following here and there prior to the swap. I was a little intimidated about making things for her because her blog is just so full of beauty and inspiration. I wasn’t sure my skills could measure up. But, I tried to make a few things I thought she would enjoy.
I stuck with a light purpley color scheme because I noticed she mentioned the color purple a lot. I knew she enjoyed being in the kitchen so I made her some lemon salt from lemons in our garden. Homemade granola and a hot pad too. I also made a matching fabric coaster too for those cups of tea.
Tracey uses beautiful quotes a lot on her blog and I really wanted to incorporate one of them into something special for her. I took one of my favorites and painted her a picture with watercolor and pen of some of (what I perceived) were her favorite things; knitting and a fig tree (she mentions both many times on her blog).

And last but not least, I wanted to make a little something for her grand-daughter Emerson. It seemed like Emerson was a big part of Tracey’s life and I wanted to recognize that. (I also absolutely loved when Christina sent Ellie some handmade things in the last blogger swap). I thought it was only right to paint Emerson in the horse t-shirt Tracey bought from Cory,since I’ve met Cory in person a few times (blogger world go round). 🙂
I’ve already heard from Tracey and I’m so thankful she likes everything. It was certainly a joy to make all of these things for her and to get to know her a little better through her blog. I think that is really the best part of these swaps, getting to know people all over the country. It’s a strange sort of pen pal kind of thing and it really is wonderful making things and receiving things from new friends. I’m excited to receive my gift, hopefully soon.