~Americana Libby~

Here is ~Americana Libby~ on Ebay!

Meet ~Americana Libby~ She is all decked out in her finest Red, White and Blues! I must be feeling better, because this was my latest obsession for waaaaay too many hours! I got lost in the details again...
A bit of a shaded picture, but I thought it looked neat and wanted to show the Flag garland that comes with Americana Libby...

I made Libby complete with a "Firecracker" treat bag (with 4 wooden firecrackers) , USA Banner, Star Badge, Flag and the flag garland. There are so many different ways she can be displayed. She is going to have a Reserve, I must protect all my time invested...

Pictures were a bit difficult today. I was fighting the wind, clouds and rain (on and off). I think Mother Nature won...I ended up taking some pictures inside too. I used wonderful wool from Ann of Crowing About Primitives again. Love her wool! I adore this grouping...

She will be listed on ebay this evening, for 5 days. She will end on Wednesday. I was making this dollie for the Mercantile, but missed the boat. *smirk* I always seem to be a day late and a dollar short. So there will be no new dollies on the Mercantile this month...

The Flag banner is all handstitched onto to sisal rick rack and finished with handmade glass glitter stars. It has 7 flags and measures I think 7 feet, I will have to double check that for sure. I hope you enjoyed my ramblings on my latest piece.

Today I was a chaperone for Sydney's field trip...to the Historical Museum again (the same one I did for Courtney about a week ago). It was still okay, anything to make my kiddies happy...well not anything, but you know what I mean. Well, I must go I have many things to to and also get this dollie scheduled. Have a wonderful evening. Toodles, ~Tonya

~Peaceful Monarch~

~Peaceful Monarch~ is now listed on ebay. She is listed for 5 days. I have started her high, instead of reserving her. I hope you all have a wonderful evening. Many Blessings, ~Tonya

Cupboard/Penny Rug...

A picture of my new primitive cupboard that I purchased on Saturday. I think it fits perfectly! The three little drawers are so neat...they are dove-tailed. It stands about 4 feet tall and is 32 inches wide. I would like to purchase a little primtive needle punch picture, that is framed up, for the small area above the antique wooden boxes. I think...

Here is my new penny rug. I love that as well. I have never found one (around this area) that was all hand made (not imported). It is the perfect size, matches perfectly and it was the only one. I consider myself lucky! It was tucked away, under some things....

This Pelican flew directly over our heads, with his wings spead wide open. Too bad that I could not grab my camera fast enough. We had a nice day fishing. The girls each caught a Wally...they were a bit small, so we threw them back in...

Jordan found this little Turtle...yup, that is a quarter. He was so cute. When Jordan first brought him over, he had his head and all his limbs tucked inside. I told him, that is no bigger then a quarter...I put a quarter up there and he said, you are right Mom. Kids can be so sweet.

Well, I have much to do and must go. I have tons of patterns to get packed up and sent out. I hope you all enjoy your day. Yesterday was almost in the 80's and Beautiful, now today is very chilly and in the low 40's (and very windy). That is crazy Minnesota for ya! Toodles Kiddies, ~Tonya

~Peaceful Monarch~

I have been working today and boy did it feel good to work on my dollie. She had been laying there, waiting to be finished. I took pictures of her now...because today is an absolutely beautiful day and you never know what tomorrow brings...

I am completely happy with the way she turned out. She is full of whimsy and she just boasts SUMMER! I love Monarchs. Here on our acreage, we have a tree that Monarchs just swarm around. One year we must have had a couple hundred...

She is holding one of my most favorite flowers, the Calla Lily. Made of wool and then finished with a butterfly on the stem. Her wings are wired, so will with stand the test of time...

I have put so much detail in ~Peaceful Monarch~ it is hard to see all the detail in pictures. Lots of hand stitching and such on her. She will be up for Auction, starting Tuesday and end on Sunday evening.

Well, I must go. We are going fishing....it is a most beautiful day, so I am going to enjoy the day. Toodles for now, ~Tonya

Memorial Day...

Memorial Day, let's not forget to pay our respects to all the brave soldiers that have fought (and are still fighting) for our Freedom. They make the Ultimate sacrifice! I pray for a safe return for all of them Always!

The kids and I got home from my Mom's last night. It was nice to visit Mom, but nice to be back home....there is no place like home. We did very well on the rummage sale. We did decide to run it two weekends and glad we did. I had so much stuff and I be I sold 90% of it. Made some money, so of course I had to spend some.

On the way up to Mom's I stopped by a Primitive Shoppe called "The Painted Porch", so very nice. I found some things I just had to have....walked away wanting this primitive piece, that would go perfect in my bedroom. I went back for it on Saturday and I love it!! I will have to post a picture here, in the next couple of days.

We also went to a Boutique sale on Saturday after the rummage sale....it use to be the Ultimate sale (not any more) it has gone down hill and it is so very sad. We use to sell there and have not done so in the past 2 years. I did by a wool penny rug (all handmade) it is 33 inches long and I feel I got it for a steal. I put that on top of my black cupboard piece that I purchased.

I am still working on my dollie...slow going. I hope to get her finished and list her on Tuesday...I will keep my fingers crossed. Well, I must scoot. I have lots to do. I feel like I have been away for so long...and it was only a couple of days. So much to do and so little time. Have a beautiful day, ~Tonya

**Vintage Annie Pattern**

I could not focus on making my dollie with being sick...so I decided to make my ~Vintage Annie~ Halloween Party girl, into a pattern/epattern. I had quite a few of you asking...so ask no more! The epattern and paper pattern is available on Patternmart and I am including the link to her here, for your convenience...


Annie Halloween Vintage Party Doll e Pattern BPP29

~Vintage Annie~ A Party Girl at Heart & Inspired by “All” the Hallow's Eve's of Yester-Year. ...
Price: US$10.00


Here is the link for the paper pattern on ebay . I do not have her on my websiteyet....I am BAD about updating my website. If you would like to purchase the epattern/paper pattern and NOT go through Patternmart or ebay, just email me at dandtturvold@deskmedia.com and I can paypal you an invoice. THANK YOU to each of you, that make my Doll making Journey possible. I appreciate ALL of you. Have a Blessed Day. Toodles Kiddies, ~Tonya

Playing w/graphics...

Well, I am not feeling up to my 100% yet...so, I played with graphics a bit. Yup, purchased some add-ons and am having so much FUN! So much nicer when I do not have to cut all them out by hand. I will be using this for my next Hallow's Eve Creation on ebay. No, my next dollie is not for Hallow's Eve...but Summer. My Heart is in Halloween Creations thou.

I did to go into town today and pick up Kingfisher...he is a bit out of it, and in quite a bit of pain, not to mention he is scared. He has found a cozy place to snooze and just relax. He needs to be pampered...he has been through a lot.

I made some more rag balls for myself last night, while I sat on my arse (watching some recorded shows on the DVR) and coughing. I now have 5, slow going but I really like them. I have a BIG gallon glass jar to fill. I will not fill it completely, but I want more then 5.

I have so much to do and when I don't feel the best, I tend to not get as much done. I hope you all have a wonderful evening. Many Blessings, ~Tonya

Fun Night & Fishing...

We went to Fun Night at the kids school on Friday. They had a blast. This was Courtney being a Gladiator. Friday was a very busy day for me...

Courtney caught me taking pictures and had to smile a bit for the camera. The only downfall was, we had to wait for about 20 min. for her to do this activity. It was new this year and a BIG hit!

And here in my little Ninny. She is always so sweet. She met up with one of her little friends on this jumping, sliding thing...

And Sydney being a "jumping bean" again! You would think they would get it out of their system at home, because we have a trampoline. Crazy kids...

This is Sydney & Mya. Sydney adores Mya...she went to her first little Birthday Party this year and it was to Mya's house. She even took the bus over to her house after school that day. Of course, I had to call to make sure she made it just fine *smirk*

And Mr. Jordan! He said he was too old to go to Fun Night (I must agree), so he wanted to go fishing (he is growing so fast...where does time go). We dropped him off at the damn, with one of our cell phones and he had a blast. He ended up meeting up with one of his friends. Look at the size of that Northern. He cleaned it all up and will be eating it. He loves fish!

Well, this week has been a whirl-wind! From being sick to cleaning, sorting, throwing away and getting ready for Mom's garage sale...well NO TIME for anything else! I even detailed my van! I think I am going through withdrawals from my doll making. It has been a week and a day since I worked on a doll. Can you believe it? I did make two rag balls last night for one of my primitive jars. I am going to make more, but it was late.

I must go, I have lots to do. The weather here has been just absolutely AMAZING! You could not ask for more BEAUTIFUL weather. We are BLESSED. I hope you all have a beautful day. Peaceful Blessings to you, ~Tonya

Three Willows Bed & Breakfast...

We are finally finished with out bedroom set. Hubby made the headboard, footboard and two night stands. All the pictures (except this one) turned out awful. It was so bright when I took them yesterday. I love how it turned out. The picture hanging above our bed...I bought that about 5 years ago! I finally get to use it. It says "Three Willows Bed & Breakfast".

The night stands have beadboard inlay in them...and antique hardware. Now I just have to figure out what I am going to put on them. Remember, I am going back to the SIMPLE and not a ton of stuff.

Kingfisher had to get into the picture. He has to follow me wherever I go. He is a sweet kitty-cat and he is OFFICIALLY going to become part of our family. He goes in on Monday to be de-clawed and neutered (poor kitty). He will no longer have to be locked up at night and when we are gone.

BLOG GIVE-A-WAY from Kat on Scaredy Katerpillars No More. Kat is having a 100th Post give a way. All you have to do is leave a comment on her blog and you will have a chance to win! That is it, so easy. Pop on over and leave a comment. Toodles for now. ~Tonya

No Time...

I have been so busy lately. I have been getting ready for my Mom's rummage sale...seems as if it is my rummage sale! She kept pushing me to bring stuff...because she knows that I have a lot packed away. So to her suprise...I SURE BROUGHT the STUFF! Well, hubby took a full Yukon load and I took the back seat out my van and the whole back was almost filled as well! So, I hope it all sells. I don't want to see it back here. *smirk*

Tuesday we had Courtney's Fieldtrip to the Historical Museum of Albert Lea...Learned some things I didn't know. Froze, it was almost all outside. And took some pictures...I will have to share them some time soon...

So, besides doing all of that and staying up too late, my asthma decided to try to throw a wrench into the whole thing and got me sick...with a seasonal flare up. So nice! I saw the doc today and yup, a nebulizer treatment, a Z-Pack and some Prenisone....JOY! It had me up all night last night, I honestly thought I was going to die. It scared me! I could not breath, I could not move, I was running a high fever and shaking like a leaf. My throat was so swollen, it was almost shut, I could not talk and guess where my Albuterol was, DOWNSTAIRS!!

Hubby worked the overnight...so he was not home to help and I didn't want to wake the kids. Once the alarms went off, I whistled (felt like Rose in Titanic) and Courtney came and helped me. I think I scared the hell out of her. I could only whisper and I was shaking from being so cold and I was crying because I was so scared. The older I get, the worse the asthmatic episodes....but the trooper I am, I took my inhaler, took some Tylenol Cold crap and got moving...didn't miss a beat! Too much of a die-hard. Went to Urgent Care and got me all fixed up!

My Vintage Annie is listed on ebay and she will end Sunday. It will be hard to pack her up...she is hanging where I can see her everyday. I am going to be working on a dollie most likely tomorrow...after I clean up the HURRICANE that ripped through here! I am goine back to a spring dollie. I sketched her up last week and started making my cut outs for her. She will be pretty neat.

Well, again I am LOOONG winded. Had not posted for a while...so I thought I would let you know what has been going on in my neck of the woods. Toodles for now Kiddies, ~Tonya

Precious...

Isn't that so precious! Sydney & King...he was sitting in her Tinkerbelle chair and I just had to snap a picture. She was all ready for bed and he always follows us upstairs, when we tuck the girls in and say our prayers...

This was our sunset this evening, in our backyard...just Beautiful. It was VERY windy today. I love sunsets like this and when the sun rises, just as beautiful. I just recently watched a movie (based on a true story), where a person was in prison for the duration of his whole life. Behind bars, never to see the light of day again! Before he was going to be put to death (by leathal injection), he asked to see a sunrise.....

I tell ya, that is one thing that I would miss, sunsets and sunrises.....not to mention the sun on my face, a gentle breeze, the sweet melodies of all the birds, frogs and everything else that so many take for granted.

I appreciate life more and more with each passing day. It is the little things...so many, too great to mention, but you know what they are. My Mom yesterday, she was so suprised! I gave her a dollie for Mother's Day. She did not have a dollie of mine (not the ones I make now any ways), I had it shipped to her (because I did not think I would see her for Mother's Day) and packed the way I always pack them (those of you that have gotten a dollie, know how I pack them) and Mom had enough will-power to wait till Sunday to open it...

Well, she opened it first thing as she woke up....she called and she was just grinning ear to ear and could not say enough. She said never in a millon years, did I think in that box was a dollie. See, she had asked for a sign...the box was long and slender, so it threw her off a bit. She was so Happy! I am glad that I could make her day. Then, instead of just staying home for the day, the kids and I decided to suprise her again. We went up their and brought pies! Yup, she was suprised again! Hubby had to work the whole weekend.

Well, I must go...I know a bit long winded tonight. That is what I get when I have a bit of time on my hands, I think too much and too deep. I hope you all have a wonderful evening. Sweet Dreams, ~Tonya

Mother's Day Wishes...

I wish each Mother, a Blessed Mother's Day. The photo, nor the poem is mine...but none the less, I wanted to share it...

The beauty of a woman Is not in the clothes she wears,

The figure that she carries, Or the way she combs her hair.

The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes,
Because that is the doorway to her heart, the place here love resides.

The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole,

But true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul.
It is the caring that she lovingly gives,

The passion that she shows,

And the beauty of a woman with passing years only grows!

Happy Mother's Day to you Mom...I love you.

Peaceful Blessings, ~Tonya

Vintage Annie...

And this is my Sweet Annie....I really have a soft spot for Annie dollies. I have a couple of Annie's...but nothing like this. Her little piggy tails are wired, so they can be moved higher up or down...and she is quite a big girl. She is about 30 inches tall...

She has a lot of Vintage Inspired trims and such. I love adding the detail onto my dollies (you can't tell, can you?). I can get lost in the detail and at times, I can spend a couple of days on just the details...
Vintage Hallow's Eve Annie will be listed on ebay...I think (if I get new pictures taken and her scheduled) she will start on ebay tomorrow evening...and end on the following Sunday or I may just wait to list her till Tuesday and have her listed for 5 days...

She has some fun little tails on the top of her little party hat, but my back drop was not big enough...or I have to put in a new nail. I have to take new pictures any ways...but I was so HAPPY with the way Annie turned out...I wanted to show you all. I even made her a little Trick or Treat bag with a little vintage cat image on it, just so neat.

Well, I must run my Jordan to a friend's house...he is staying over night at a friends house. I hope you all have a wonderful day and I hope the sun is shining where you are at....here, it is looking pretty gloomy. Toodles Kiddies, ~Tonya

**NEW** Pattern...

And the **NEW** pattern is my ~Hideous Helga~ Wicked Witch....with a Gentle Soul.

I am posting the link to Patternmart on here...but if you would like the epattern and prefer to not use Patternmart, you can always contact me at backporchpickins@yahoo.com and request a paypal invoice.


BBP28 Folk Art Halloween Wicked Witch Primitive Doll Pattern



~Hideous Helga~ Wicked Witch...with a gentle Soul...
Price: US$10.00

Thank you for always listening to me ramble and your continues support! It means so very much. Have a Grand Evening. ~Tonya

Playing Catch-Up!

I finally took the time to finish Linda's banner! She (Meadowbrook Cabin Primitives) won a personalized banner, from a drawing I had on my blog a couple of months ago. Shame on me for taking so long. One reason it took so long...is I bought a new mouse (laser) and well, it was flying. I turned it down and then it still jumped around....I set my mind to it and said I had to finish it. So, here it is. I just sent it to Linda a bit ago and she does not even have it on her blog yet. I hope she likes it. I wanted to keep it simple, with clean lines (not busy), for easy reading.

I slept like a baby last nigth....I took a nice hot shower, rubbed my wrists and forearms down with Icy Hot and put my brace on my left hand....and boy oh boy, it feels so much better today. I hope it continues to feel better throughout the day.

My dollie is coming along very nicely. She is so sweet....full of vintage detail. Today, we received our BONUS taxes today...so nice! Now we can pay some bills :) That is a nice bonus, very Thankful! Today is off to a GOOD start. I hope you all have a great day...another quiet day for me, which is just the way I like it. I will just be straightening up around the house and working on my dollie, PERFECT! Toodles, ~Tonya

Just...

Just taking in all the sights and sounds of SPRING. Yesterday, for the first time this year...my tulips, were just starting to open. This is not my picture, but I thought it was pretty. They had a tough spring to get through and I apprecite seeing the beauty within a flower and what they have to go through to share their beauty.

My kids and I were waiting for the bus this morning, I turned the engine off, rolled the window down and all the "nature" noises that we could hear...well, it is like music to my ears. Living in the country, it is just so much more beautiful then words can sometimes say.

I have been working on some things around here...I try to get away from Halloween, but it keeps pulling me back. I am sure some people are not wanting to see Halloween this early in the year, but if you create...then you all must know, it comes from "deep within". If you try to fight it, well the doll will fight you tooth & nail, every step of the way. So yes, my dollie I am working on is Halloween again.

My left wrist has been giving me some grief again. I have been wearing my brace at night. I am sure it will be better in no time...I don't let much keep me down. I just keep on, keeping on. Well, not much else in my neck of the woods. Oh and I YES! Some of you have been asking for some **NEW** Patterns and I am happy to say...I am almost done with one. I will have it listed by this weekend...no hints, you will just have to wait and see...

I hope you all have a great day. I am going to make my HALLOWEEN dollie with all the Vintage Inspired Fixins! I have the day to myself and I am going to E*N*J*O*Y it. Hubby is back on nights, so he is here during the day now (gone today for some more training thou) and soon the kiddies will be out of school...so I MUST APRECIATE the last couple of days to myself...School does not get done here until June 4th...but time does not stand still. Peaceful Blessings to you, ~Tonya

~Hideous Helga~

This is my **NEWEST** Dollie ~Hideous Helga~ I just listed her on ebay. She is listed for 5 days and will end on Friday Evening. Helga was a ton of work. Lots of painting (shading), lots of hand stitching and such...

She looks so neat in person. I had to take pictures inside. Not my most favorite thing to do...but I could not take them outside, as it was quite breezy. Hideous Helga has some of that fabulous wool from Ann of Crowing About Primitives. She has the most awesome wool and I just had to buy some more of this...

I have actually thought about keeping her. All Hallow's Eve in my most favorite time of the year for decorating. I wanted to make a witch that was wicked looking, but not too SPOOKY. She is trying to be really Wicked....but she has a gentle soul.

This weekend was really busy. Jordan had a friend stay over Friday and Saturday. We went to my sisters for my nephews birthday party. His now 13, my how time flies. I also went to Hobby Lobby's, Micheal's and a Quilt Shoppe....All of my favorite places! I did buy some goodies, but I did not go gun-ho....I was a good girl *smirk*

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. We had nice weather today. I think Spring is finally here...knock on wood. Now we just have to hope it stays here. Have a great evening. Toodles, ~Tonya