They Were Doing The Monster Mash! It Was A Graveyard Smash!

The other day I just had a feeling that the day was not going to be a normally peaceful day.

I don't know why - just a feeling I got.

But, as the morning progressed and nothing strange had happened I started to think the day was going to be okay.

That was foolish on my part.

You see, the day turned out to be anything but normal. It was actually a cool, crisp day to the start of Fall which was a pleasant relief from all the hot, humid days we've been experiencing.

So, hubby and I decided to go for a walk. Since it was so beautiful out we decided to go for a long, leisurely stroll - and that was our mistake!

As we were pulling into the driveway hubby and I got a sense that something wasn't right. The ground was shaking and the house was being rocked off it's foundation.

And, we do mean off its' foundation - hard as that may seem for you to believe.

We looked at each other and said,  "what on heaven's earth is going on?" The house was literally rocking to and fro.

As we gingerly stepped out of the car we realized it couldn't be an earthquake as the ground under our feet wasn't moving - thank goodness for that! But, the house was still rockin to and fro!

YIKES!

And, out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw movement in the windows. Not just movement in one window - but, all of the windows. As if someone were peeking out the windows and realized too late they had been seen. Now we knew something was going on inside the house.

And, then we heard it - LOUD music.


Not just any music, but the song "The Monster Mash" by Bobby "Boris" Pickett was playing louder than was acceptable in our neighborhood.

We were surprised that we hadn't heard the LOUD music as we were driving up the street.

We were even more surprised that none of our neighbors could hear it.

In fact, our next door neighbor came out and waved at us as he got in his car. He didn't seem to hear the LOUD music.

We looked at each other and said, "He didn't hear that?"  How can he not hear that?  It's extremely loud.  Catchy, but LOUD.

It was catchy and we did have to admit - how can you not like "The Monster Mash?"

It's definitely a song that gets your feet moving.

However, it seems we were the only ones who could hear the music.

We could see from where we were standing in the driveway that there was definite movement inside the house. Not just any movement.  There seemed to be many, many people dancing.

On closer inspection we realized that it wasn't people dancing - it was the Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Fall dolls dancing. They were having a party while we were out.  A "Monster Mash" party.

At this point I could see that hubby was perspiring.  I thought for sure he was getting angry and that within a few minutes his blood would be boiling.

Then the strangest thing happened - he started to do "The Monster Mash" right out in the driveway.

"It was a graveyard smash"......right in our driveway.

"The Monster Mash!"

"It caught on in a flash!"

And, then my arms and legs started moving.

I was doing "The Monster Mash" right out in our driveway.

Two old fogies doing "The Monster Mash!"  

"The scene was rockin', all were digging the sounds!"  Even us, in the driveway.

Everyone was doing "The Monster Mash!"  

"It caught on in a flash!"  

"The Monster Mash!"

But, everything wasn't cool.

The house was still rockin' and our feet were still mashing.  It had to stop.  We had to stop it.

But, "The Monster Mash" was the hit of the land.

Well, make that the hit of our house.

The dolls were all filing out of the door in single order.

Ghosts, witches, mummies, Dracula, Frankenstein, pilgrims, scarecrows,  even turkey's,  - all doing "The Monster Mash!"  Right in our driveway.

We realized it couldn't be stopped.

Why, "it was a graveyard smash!"

So, hubby and I looked at each other and decided that life was just too short not to enjoy yourselves.

Albeit we were doing "The Monster Mash" with thousands of dolls.

We looked at each other and said, "what a scene this must be for the neighbors!"

But, none of the neighbors were coming out of their houses.

In fact, our next door neighbor returned and just waved at us before he went into his house.

That was strange!

Then we thought, "for sure he could see everyone in our driveway doing "The Monster Mash!"

Couldn't he?"

Or, was it just hubby and I looking ridiculous by ourselves?

Could we be doing "The Monster Mash!"  all by ourselves?

Or, were we even doing "The Monster Mash" at all?

Was it all just in our imagination?

Weren't we just doing "The Monster Mash" with thousands of dolls?

Well, in the case of our dolls maybe we should call them "monsters!" "Monsters" for all the trouble they cause us.

In any event, I guess we'll never know.

That day was anything but normal.

Strange, but in a way glorious.

How can you not like "The Monster Mash?"

"It catches on in a flash!"

So, when you get to our door this Halloween, tell them Boris sent you.......

Then you can mash

Then you can monster mash

The monster mash

And do my graveyard smash

Then you can mash

You'll catch on in a flash

Then you can mash

Then you can monster mash!

Just remember......

Who Doesn't Love Turkeys and Thanksgiving - Or Is It The Pies?

Included in my love of Fall crafting and decorating is Thanksgiving.  After all - who doesn't love turkeys and Thanksgiving?  Or is it the pies we all love?

With Thanksgiving comes crafting turkeys and pilgrims - both of which I have created over the years.  I love them all but my all time favorite Thanksgiving decoration is a BIG wood craft that my husband and I made many, many years ago. It's a wood turkey who has become part of our Thanksgiving decorating tradition.

He stands 34" tall and I call him "Give Me Turkey Talk!"

He was made based upon a Tattered Treasures design and is an all wood "sponge" painted turkey. He does have some cloth associated with him, but that is to decorate his beautifully colored feathers.

"Give Me Turkey Talk!" is actually everything you'd want in a turkey. Meaty, colorful, silent, and festive.

He also was the wood craft I learned how to "sponge" paint on. After doing it once I absolutely fell in love with the way multiple paint colors can be applied using an ocean sponge. It has definitely become my favorite way to paint.

I really think he came out great and I just love the "sponged" blue and brown colors of his huge feet. Plus I love the brown "sponged" colors of his body.

Multiple different colored fabrics have been glued to his feathers to make him a very colorful turkey.

He is carry a "sponged" sign with a saying that every turkey in America wants everyone to do at Thanksgiving which is to "Eat Beef!"

His large pilgrim hat sits atop his head and "sponged" painted dowels are used for his skinny turkey legs. His Pilgrim collar has been "sponged" along the edges.

"Give Me Turkey Talk!" is a fixture in our Thanksgiving home and always takes his place next to the Thanksgiving table to welcome everyone to dinner.

Thanksgiving wouldn't be Thanksgiving without him.

I'm still trying to get him to clear the dishes. He hasn't quite learned how to do that yet, but I'm working on it.

Once he masters that then I'll see if he wants to learn how to cook.

At Thanksgiving time I, certainly, can use the help.

"Give Me Turkey Talk!" isn't the only Thanksgiving doll & craft I have made.  There have been many, many turkeys and pilgrims made over the years.  Some are cloth dolls, some are wood dolls, some are floral crafts, wreaths, woodcrafts, etc.  We have a wide variety to say the least.

You know I love crafting for Thanksgiving so it should be no surprise to you that I created a Thanksgiving crafts tutorials, video's and how-to's Pinterest board.

Thanksgiving Craft Tutorials, Video's, Patterns and How-To's

I just love Thanksgiving as there are so many different crafts you can make to decorate your house and hope you enjoy making some of these.

If you love my Thanksgiving Craft Tutorials, Video's, Patterns and How-To's board please follow my board by clicking on the link above.

Gotta Love Paper Card Crafts - At Least the Ones I've Tried - Paper Card Making

Back in 2006 when my Mother and I were at a Sewing & Quilt Exposition we came across a booth that was selling these wonderful "Quilt-a-Card" kits. The kits contained die-cut cards and envelopes. The cards were pre-cut stencils that you would pop out. Then you would sew your fabric to the stenciled opening of the card using your sewing machine and a zig-zag stitch. Depending on the design of the card you might then add padding or other decorations, such as buttons, ribbon, etc.

They were absolutely wonderful so I decided to buy some of the kits and make some of the cards for Christmas presents for my mother, sister, and sister-in-law. I combined 6 cards together and tied them in a little ribbon and then wrapped them in their Christmas box. I could tell from the expressions on my mother, sister, and sister-in-law's faces when they opened them that they just loved them. We're a "crafting" family and just love getting handmade items.

My sister told me that she thought that the cards were so beautiful that she wanted to keep them all herself and would never send them to anyone. I told her that wasn't the purpose but, they were her cards. She could do what ever she wanted with them. To this day my mother, sister, and sister-in-law have all kept their cards. Unfortunately, none have been mailed to anyone else. What a shame. No one else gets to see them. But, hey that's their decision.

The following year when my mother and I went to the Sewing & Quilt Exposition I looked for the "Quilt-a-Card" booth. I was sadly disappointed as they weren't at the show. I had wanted to buy some more. Foolishly, I hadn't kept the original packaging so I didn't know what the company name was or if the designer had a website. I didn't even bother to search on the web as the paper/scrapbooking business is too huge now and I would have gotten thousands of results in a Google search. I resigned myself to never finding the kits again. I left the show disappointed.

In 2008 when my mother and I went to the Sewing & Quilt Exposition that year I was pleasantly surprised to find the designers had a booth again. I was ecstatic. I know. I'm a little crazy!

Plus, they had some new designs. I was in definitely in heaven. Hey, that's me. I love anything related to dolls, genealogy, florals, and crafting. So, I decided that this year some of the Christmas cards that I would be mailing to my family and friends would be my handmade "Quilt-a-Cards." At least this time they would be sent out.

So, I left the Sewing & Quilt Exposition happy as could be. I'd found my card kits again. All was right with the world. Yeah! I know. It doesn't take much to make me happy.

My cards are just a smidgen of the ways you can create with paper these days.  The paper card crafting industry is HUGE and there are an unlimited amount of accessories you can use or make to create astonishing paper cards.

As a result my paper card Pinterest board is filled with all sorts of amazing tutorials for creating paper cards.

Paper Card & Card Making Tutorials, Video's, and How-To's

I LOVE making handmade paper cards for all sorts of holidays and occasions. If you do, too I hope you find these paper cards and crad making tutorials, video's and how-to's helpful.

If you love my Paper Card & Card Making Tutorials, Video's, and How-To's board please follow my board by clicking on the link above.

Gotta Love Applique and Mini-Quilts, Mug Rugs, Coasters, Pot Holders, Candle Mats, Placemats, and Trivets

By now I know you all know that I'm a crafter who loves crafting, sewing, quilting, applique, working with wool felt, embroidery, crazy quilting, creative embroidery, SRE (silk ribbon embroidery), mixed media, doll making, stamping, sculpting, and so much more.

Over the years I like to think I've perfected some of these skills from beginner to "not so bad" to "she knows what she's doing."

Well, last Fall I wanted to try something a little different. So, I decided to create a 3-D type of leaf quilt that could hang off the wall for a Fall decoration and is shown in the picture at the top of this post.  Not a large quilt - just a small one.  I tend to have a short attention span so I like making things that are small (i.e. my love for doll making) like mini quilts.  So, I designed a mini wall quilt 19" by 21" that has tabs that allow it to hang from a wire and wood mini quilt hanger.

I also like crafting with wool felt and making wool felt mini quilts or pictures with various designs appliqued, like the baby shower mini quilts, mug rugs, and .picture shown in the picture above.

Or the wool felt alpaca mini quilts, pictures and mug rugs shown in the picture above.

But I don't just love sewing with wool felt. I love sewing mini quilts, pillows, and mug rugs using my custom fabric designs.

Let's face it - I just love crafting.  Make that crafting "small."

Mini Quilt, Mug Rug, Table Runner, Coaster, Pot Holder, Candle Mat, Placemat and Trivet Tutorials Video's, Patterns & How-To's

I fell in love with mug rugs last year. Mainly because they were tiny little mini quilts you could easily make. If you love mug rugs, quilted coasters, pot holders, place-mats, trivets, candle mats and mini quilts and would like to make some I hope you find these tutorials, video's and how-to's helpful.

If you love my Mini Quilt, Mug Rug, Table Runner, Coaster, Pot Holder, Candle Mat, Placemat and Trivet Tutorials Video's, Patterns & How-To's board please follow my board by clicking on the link above.

Applique Tutorials, Video's, Patterns and How-To's

I also love to applique and love seeing beautifully appliqued pieces - especially if they are Sunbonnet Sue's. If you would love to learn how to applique, I hope these tutorials, video's and how-to's are helpful.

If you love my Applique Tutorials, Video's, Patterns and How-To's board please follow my board by clicking on the link above.

For the Love of Stenciling and Stamping - My Stenciling & Stamping Pinterest Boards

Two years ago when I took my first mixed media art doll class at Artful Gathering I learned how to use different techniques for stamping and stenciling and fell in love with adding stenciling and stamping to my creations.

Since then two other classes I've taken at Artful Gathering have added additional techniques for stenciling and stamping on mixed media creations.

I love utilizing both techniques now and plan on putting everything I've learned to good use. When I do I hope all the tutorials I've been pinning on my stamping and stenciling Pinterest boards come in handy.

Stenciling Tutorials, Video's and How-To's Board

Last year I fell in love with stenciling - especially where it concerns mixed media creations.  If you'd like to learn how to stencil perhaps these tutorials, video's and how-to's will be helpful.

Stamping Tutorial, Rubber Stamps, Wood Stamps & Digital Stamp Tutorials, Video's and How-To's Board

I love stamping and rubber stamping. If you do, too perhaps these tutorials, video's and how-to's will be helpful.

Who Doesn't Love A Walk In The Woods Adventure and Woodland Crafts - Pinecone Baskets

While shopping in the Fall over 25 years ago with hubby we happened to venture into one of those seasonal Christmas decoration shops - just to see what they had.

Well, I was immediately drawn to a pine cone basket that was on the floor. It was pine cones in a large basket that was decorated with berries, ribbons, lace, and assorted dried floral.

I thought it was really pretty and would make a great Christmas decoration until I looked at the price. They wanted close to $180 for the basket which I thought at the time was outrageous.  But, the basket was lovely and I thought it would make a wonderful Christmas decoration.

So, I decided to make my own.  After all, I had pine cones all over my lawn from the white pine and evergreen trees that had fallen that year. Why not use them and create my own pine cone baskets? I certainly had plenty of pine cones of different sizes and types.  And, they were free.

So, hubby and I set to picking up all the pine cones in the yard and sorting them by size and type. I happened to mention to my Mother that I was going to make pine cone baskets and she mentioned this to one of my brothers who decided to have my nieces and nephew collect the fallen pine cones in his yard and give them all to me. I think you can imagine where I'm going with this story. Needless to say I had way more pine cones then I'd ever be able to use in a lifetime. But, I appreciated the effort and the thought.

I decided that I didn't really want to take the time that was required to properly dry my pine cones in the stove as it would take way too much time and would not be worth the effort. So, I decided to store my pine cones in a box for a year and let them dry that way.

Of course I had a LOT of boxes in my basement, but I didn't mind that. To my surprise my pine cones actually dried fine in their boxes and had opened up beautifully by the following year.

I had been collecting baskets on sale during the year along with various other decorations for the baskets - all of which were on sale either after Christmas or before. To my delight I had even found a wooden crate that I thought would make a lovely pine cone basket.  I had also bought various types of wire ribbon which I wanted to use on all the baskets along with various sizes of Christmas tree bulbs.

So, I decided which baskets I was going to spray paint, which baskets I was going to leave as they were, how many pine cone baskets I was going to make, etc. I laid all my baskets out on the floor so I could decide which pine cones to use for which basket, which wire ribbons I was going to use, which dried floral filler I wanted to use, which Christmas tree bulbs I wanted to use, and which decorations I wanted to use.

Given that I never do anything in moderation by the time I finished I had quite a few baskets to make.  Well, make that MANY baskets to make.

Oh, well! I LOVED creating them and had plenty of relatives I could give them to so it was a win-win.  At least that's what I tried to tell my husband when he saw the number of baskets I was making. My sister keeps telling me I'm married to a saint.  Given my over abundance for creativity and desire or lack thereof  to do anything in moderation I'd have to agree he is a saint.

I spent a couple of days spray painting the baskets red, gold, and blue and then proceeded to make my first basket.  Of course I didn't make a small basket first.  Oh, no! I went for the largest basket I had spray painted.  I had visions of this beautiful gold pine cone basket decorating my front foyer and wanted to make this first.  If it came out okay I'd make the rest.

The first basket that I made is the gold one shown above.  It's a very LARGE basket.  I selected different sizes and kinds of pine cones for this basket, large (3") red Christmas bulbs, dried green eucalyptus floral, dried green pine floral, dried red berry floral, dried jade green berry floral, cinnamon sticks, and gold/green/red 1" ribbon.

Since the basket was really large I decided not to fill it completely with pine cones but to line the bottom with  green florist foam.  For a more realistic woodland feel first I placed enough Spanish moss along the inside of the basket so as to cover any openings in the sides of the basket.  Then I packed the bottom tightly with green foam so that it filled the basket to within 4 inches of the top.  Once my basket was firmly packed I glued my first layer of pine cones to the foam.  For this layer I used some of the uglier pine cones I had collected and some of the broken ones.  It didn't matter as no one was going to see them anyway.

Next I arranged the largest of the pine cones I wanted to use and large red Christmas bulbs (turned upside down) and arranged them within the basket until I was happy with the arrangement.  I glued them in place and added smaller pine cones to fill in the gaps.

When I was happy with the way the arrangement looked I sprayed the basket and pine cones with varnish to seal everything.   Then I proceeded to add and glue the various dried floral I had selected for this arrangement. I cut the cinnamon sticks into various sizes and glued them throughout the basket.   Then I created two large bows with multiple loops and wired them to the sides of the basket.

When it was finished I decided I really liked the way the basket came out and proceeded to make a bunch more.

 By the time I was finished I had spent less in supplies for my baskets than the decorated basket I had seen in the Christmas store would have cost and had close to 25 different baskets made that I could give as presents that year.  I was happy with that and everyone who received the baskets seemed to like them.  In fact, I know they liked them because every year they put them out with their Christmas decorations.

With twenty-five years in age and counting the pine cone baskets are still going strong and to their credit I'd have to say they were well worth the time and effort it took to make them. A walk in the woods picking up pinecones turned out to be very economical for sure.

I  still have several boxes of pinecones in the basement and have been collecting woodland crafts on a Pinterest board.  Perhaps some of these pinecones will be put to good use when I have the time to make some more woodland creations.

Woodland Tutorials & Nature Craft Tutorials, Video's, Patterns and How-To's

If you love woodland and nature crafts I hope you find these tutorial, video's, patterns, and how-to's helpful.

If you love my Woodland Tutorials & Nature Craft Tutorials, Video's, Patterns and How-To's board please follow my board by clicking on the link above.

Needle Felted Pumpkin Picture E-Pattern

LW426 - Needle Felted Pumpkin Picture - 5" by 7" Needle Felted Picture in Matted 8" by 10" Tabletop Frame - Needle Felting Series

One of the free style needle felted pictures that I wanted to create recently was a needle felted pumpkin picture using a 1 1/2" by 1 1/2" pumpkin cookie cutter that I had bought recently and using some of the wonderful roving that my sister had given me from some of her alpacas.  She and her husband are the owners of Rock Garden Alpacas and Rock Garden Alpacas Fiber.

I thought it would be nice to create a Fall needle felted pumpkin patch type picture and then create a pattern so you could create one of your own. The pattern includes tips on needle felting, step-by-step instructions for completing the picture, a colored pumpkin picture instruction steps sheet so you can see what piece belongs to what step, as well as a colored pumpkin picture layout sheet that is the actual size of your needle felted pumpkin picture.

Designer - Linda Walsh Originals

For more information and to download my needle felted pumpkin picture free e-pattern please CLICK HERE.

I hope you like my needle felted pumpkin picture and hope you decide to create one of your own.

My Free Linda's How-Do-I Series? How To Design An E-Pattern E-Book

My e-book was revised 5/28/2019 and is available here.

I've decided to share my secrets of pattern designing.

Now you might think that this wouldn't be something I should do and as a pattern designer this would be foolish as I'm basically giving away trade secrets to the competition. Actually, I'm happy to do this. It's kind of a "pay it forward" for all the help I received years ago when I was just starting out.

I'm happy to do this and thrilled to know there are so many individuals out there now who want to design their own patterns which means the interest in sewing, creating, and selling of e-products (i.e. digital goods) on the Internet is growing. More growth means more business for all of us. Especially if it means more growth for e-patterns which, in my opinion are still in their infancy on the Internet.

So, I decided that I should REVISE and UPDATE my original e-book and I'm happy to report that it is finished and is now available as a free download in Google Drive.

So, did I give away even more trade secrets? Guilty as charged.

Is more competition bad news? Absolutely not! I couldn't be happier, especially if it translates into more business for e-patterns on the Internet.

You know my crafting community motto - what helps one of us helps all of us.

I hope you enjoy the revised version of my Linda's How-Do-I Series? How To Design A Print Pattern and E-Pattern E-Book and Where To Sell Them and hope it motivates you to create your own e-patterns.

Linda's How-Do-I Series? How To Design A Print Pattern and E-Pattern E-Book and Where To Sell Them Free E-Book

To view and download my free e-book please CLICK HERE. You'll be brought to Google Drive where you can view our free e-book. Then just download our free .pdf e-book by clicking on the down arrow in the top center.

For more information on all my free e-patterns, e-printables and e-books please CLICK HERE.

Please respect My Terms of Use:  All patterns, e-patterns, printables, e-printables, e-books, graphics, tutorials, how-to's, articles and other e-products © 2004-2023 Linda Walsh Originals-Designs by Linda Walsh. All rights reserved. Commercial selling or reselling by any means prohibited without the written consent of Linda Walsh.

Patterns, e-patterns, printables, e-printables, e-books, graphics, tutorials, how-to's, articles and other e-products are for personal use only. You may not modify, photocopy, download, upload, post, transmit, display, perform, publish, license, reprint, create derivative works from, mass duplicate, re-sell, digitize, and reproduce in any other form (print, digital or electric) or commercially apply, embed, share, Email, or redistribution in any other means. Use of any of the above is prohibited without the written permission of Linda Walsh.

However, you may link to my website(s)/blog(s) and the individual page(s)/blog post(s) (including 1 picture) but do not copy, reprint or duplicate my website(s)/blog(s) or individual page(s)/post(s ) without my permission.

Items made from Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns are intended for personal use for fun or small scale personal and business profit as long as you credit us with the design. Large scale commercial use (i.e. mass production) of items made from Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns are by permission only.

Please see my Terms and Conditions for additional information.

Copyright © 2004 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Written By Linda Walsh of Linda Walsh Originals and Linda's Blog. Linda is a doll maker and doll pattern designer.

I Made More Toni E. Hawk Handmade Dolls

"Toni E. Hawk" is one of the members of the "Egg Muff Series" of cloth dolls. She also happens to be "Tom A. Hawk's" twin sister.

The "Egg Muff's" are a fun loving group of dolls that love to sneak around and maybe, every once in awhile, drop in unexpectedly. And, the Toni E. Hawk and her brother, Tom A. Hawk, are the most fun loving of the group.

You might find then peaking around a corner, peaking over the windowsill, peaking through a keyhole in a door, or sneaking into your room. You just never know.

Sometimes you might just catch a glimpse of their eyes and hair as they try to sneak a peak. If you listen carefully, you might even hear them laughing, even chuckling away.

Sometimes you might even catch them doing a little jig. You just never know what they may do.

They love to laugh. They love to have fun. But, most of all they love to play hide and peak! No, not hide and seek! Hide and peak!

"Toni E. Hawk" is a 10" squared bottomed self-standing country and cottage cloth doll. She has a muslin body and embroidered face with satin stitched black and white eyes. Her nose is pointy and embroidered and her mouth is embroidered with a 1/2 grin. She has rosy blushed pink cheeks, embroidered eyelashes and eyebrows.

Toni E. Hawk has a mass of burgundy hair on the very top of her head that runs straight down her back that is fashioned in a tomahawk style. It is her trademark and what she and her twin brother, Tom A. Hawk, are best known for.

Her dress is hemmed along the bottom and gathered along the neck edge. Her apron is fringed and tied around what could be considered her waistline with crinkled ribbon bow decorations. She has her favorite blue boa wrapped around her neck.

Toni E. Hawk might seem shy and well-mannered, but she is anything but. She is highly intelligent and loves a good joke. She isn't afraid of taking on her twin brother, Tom A. Hawk, or his best friend, Spike A Peek.

In fact, Toni E. Hawk actually comes up with the best thought out practical jokes around which makes her just a little bit intimidating to the other member's of the Egg Muff Series.

However, when everyone gets to laughing at Toni E. Hawk's latest gag everyone soon forgets how intimidated they are by her intelligence.

Copyright © 2004 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Designed and Written By Linda Walsh

I Made More Tom A. Hawk Handmade Dolls

"Tom A. Hawk" is one of the members of the "Egg Muff Series" of cloth dolls. He also happens to be "Toni E. Hawk's" twin brother.

The "Egg Muff's" are a fun loving group of dolls that love to sneak around and maybe, every once in awhile, drop in unexpectedly. And, the Toni E. Hawk and her brother, Tom A. Hawk, are the most fun loving of the group.

You might find then peaking around a corner, peaking over the windowsill, peaking through a keyhole in a door, or sneaking into your room. You just never know.

Sometimes you might just catch a glimpse of their eyes and hair as they try to sneak a peak. If you listen carefully, you might even hear them laughing, even chuckling away.

Sometimes you might even catch them doing a little jig. You just never know what they may do.

They love to laugh. They love to have fun. But, most of all they love to play hide and peak! No, not hide and seek! Hide and peak!

"Tom A. Hawk" is a 10" squared bottomed self-standing country and cottage cloth doll. He has a 1/2 muslin and 1/2 corduroy body. His face is embroidered and his eyes are a black and white satin stitch. His nose is pointy and embroidered as is his mouth, eyelashes and eyebrows. He has blushed cheeks.

Tom A. Hawk has a mass of black, gray, and brown hair on the very top of his head that runs straight down his back that is fashioned in a tomahawk style. It is his trademark and what he and his twin sister, Toni E. Hawk, are best known for.

He is wearing his favorite blue check shirt with collar and a scarf tied in a bow. He is also wearing his favorite knit vest which he considers a perfect match for his favorite shirt.

Tom A. Hawk is anything but shy and well-mannered. He, too, is highly intelligent and loves a good joke and isn't afraid of taking on his twin sister, Toni E. Hawk, or his best friend, Spike A Peek.

Unlike his sister, however, his intelligence isn't intimidating at all. In fact, Tom A Hawk does an exceptional job of hiding his intelligence while showcasing his wit, his charm, and his good looks. The girls just can't resist a charming, good looking, bit of a devil in him type of guy with a tomahawk hairdo.

Copyright © 2004 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Designed and Written By Linda Walsh

I Made More of The Spike A. Peek"Egg Muff Series" of Handmade Dolls

The "Egg Muff Series" of handmade cloth dolls are a fun loving group of dolls that love to sneak around and maybe, every once in awhile, drop in unexpectedly.

You might find then peaking around a corner, peaking over the windowsill, peaking through a keyhole in a door, or sneaking into your room. You just never know.

Sometimes you might just catch a glimpse of their eyes and hair as they try to sneak a peak. If you listen carefully, you might even hear them laughing, even chuckling away.

Sometimes you might even catch them doing a little jig. You just never know what they may do.

They love to laugh. They love to have fun. But, most of all they love to play hide and peak! No, not hide and seek! Hide and peak!

"Spike A Peek" is a 10" squared bottomed self-standing country and cottage cloth doll. He has a 1/2 muslin body and 1/2 corduroy body. His face is embroidered with brown, black and white satin stitched eyes, pink cheeks, and embroidered nose. His eyebrows are embroidered as are his eyelashes.

Spike has a mass of thick dark gray yarn hair on the very top of his head with the back and sides of his head left bald.

He is wearing his favorite blue shirt with collar, his favorite fringed scarf, and his favorite knit vest with hand embroidered pockets.

Spike A Peek is actually the most rambunctious of the Egg Muffs and, generally, the least level headed. He always lets the fun get the better of him and finds that, more often then not, he's in the "Muff House" (the Egg Muff Series version of a doghouse) being "muffed!" This is also known as a "time-out!"

Spike A Peek doesn't use his "time-out" and being "muffed" wisely. He uses it as an opportunity to think up his next prank. The one he's going to play on Tom A. Hawk.

Copyright © 2004 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Designed and Written By Linda Walsh

I Made More of The Nancy Dew Drop "Egg Muff Series" of Handmade Dolls

The "Egg Muff Series" of handmade cloth dolls are a fun loving group of dolls that love to sneak around and maybe, every once in awhile, drop in unexpectedly.

You might find then peaking around a corner, peaking over the windowsill, peaking through a keyhole in a door, or sneaking into your room. You just never know.

Sometimes you might just catch a glimpse of their eyes and hair as they try to sneak a peak. If you listen carefully, you might even hear them laughing, even chuckling away.

Sometimes you might even catch them doing a little jig. You just never know what they may do.

They love to laugh. They love to have fun. But, most of all they love to play hide and peak! No, not hide and seek! Hide and peak!

"Nancy Dew Drop" is a 10" squared bottomed self-standing country and cottage cloth doll. She has a muslin body and embroidered face with brown, black and white satin stitched eyes and embroidered nose. Her eyebrows are embroidered as are her eyelashes and she has blushed cheeks

Nancy has a mass of light beige and white combination yarn hair on the very top of her head with the back and sides of her head left bald.

Her dress is lace trimmed along the bottom hem edge and along the neck edge and is adorned with a yellow ribbon bow just under her nose. Her apron is fringed and tied around what could be considered her waistline. It is adorned in the front with a fringed bow.

Nancy Dew Drop is actually the most well behaved of the Egg Muffs and, generally, the most level headed. Sometimes, even Nancy lets the fun get the better of her and you might just hear her giggling in the background. Just listen for a sweet "tee-hee-hee" and that will be Nancy Dew Drop.

Copyright © 2004 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Designed and Written By Linda Walsh

My Joy Of Christmas Cross-Stitch Picture - Mill Hill Buttons & Beads Cross-Stitch Kit

I love creating Christmas crafts with the word "Joy" in them because my Mother's name was "Joy" and every time I look at them I smile knowing she's looking down on me.  The Christmas Collage - Cross Stitch Kit I completed recently and which I posted about here also had the word "Joy" in it.

The Joy of Christmas Beaded Counted Cross Stitch Kit Mill Hill Buttons & Beads 2015 Winter Series MH145301 pattern uses full counted cross-stitch and straight stitch highlighting as well as beads of various sizes for emphasis and depth. The pattern also calls for certain areas of the perforated paper to be left untouched as the background. In this case they were leaving sections of the green perforated paper background untouched.

I decided to frame my finished cross-stitch picture in the Mill Hill Wooden Frame, 6 by 6-Inch, Holiday Red, which is shown in the picture above.  It's a 6" x 6" handpainted red wooden frame without glass.  Unlike the shadowbox frames I had been using more of the perforated paper would be seen surrounding the cross-stitch picture.

The pattern called for a red frame and certain areas of the perforated paper to be left untouched as the background like the picture shown below:

However, I don't like seeing the different perforated sections in the background and since a lot more of it would be exposed with this frame I opted instead to finish all of the background with a light green DMC embroidery floss color sewn as a half cross-stitch using two strands of the floss.

I had decided to square the edges of my picture and also decided to add as many rows of the green floss around all the edges to make sure the perforated paper would not be visible once my cross stitch picture was inserted into the wooden frame.

I also decided to once again utilize the rectangular wood frame jig that my darling husband built for me that I could tape the edges of my perforated paper to. The wood frame jig is a rectangular embroidery hoop of sorts, but without bending the perforated paper. He had made it out of 1/2" x 1" pine wood strips with an adjustable center strip that I used for this 5 x 5 square design.

I had learned from previous mistakes that I needed to draw diagonal lines to locate the exact center of the perforated paper and also drew diagonal lines across each corner of the pattern to get the center point as well.

While the end results of this design were wonderful some things in the kit and in the instructions could be improved upon so I'd like to offer the following constructive suggestions:

The cross-stitch chart was in black and white as was the floss color code and symbol key. Both were easy to read and very clear. While I had no problem with the chart and keys I did have a problem with the way the DMC floss was presented. All of the floss was tied together in one big knot so you had to separate the floss pieces yourself, sort them, and try to interpret which color belonged to which floss # and symbol key on the color chart. If you only have a few colors to deal with this isn't a problem. However, if you have several different colors to choose from that are close in color then interpreting the chart can be tricky. You may assign the wrong color to the wrong symbol if the colors are too closely aligned.

As I have done with other cross-stitch kits I've completed I had to design my own thread color sorter and symbol key. I took a piece of thin cardboard and cut a 1" x 9" long rectangular piece out to use as a thread sorter. I then punched 12 holes in my cardboard strip in which to tie each of the different colors. Just above the hole I wrote the DMC floss # and just below the hole I added the respective cross-stitch symbol. I then inserted the floss threads that went with that # and symbol through the hole and tied them in a loose knot. This kit could be much improved if a thread sorter with respective #'s and symbols was provided.

The beads were contained within three small ziploc bags which was fine. However, when several different beads of similar color or size are included within the bags it can be very difficult to distinguish between the colors or between the petite and regular size beads.  The chart had symbols and footnotes to try to help distinguish which beads were within which bag.  However, labeling the ziploc bags as to which bead number they contained would have made this a lot simpler and would enhance this kit and allow you to easily tie the bead # to the symbol number on the charts.

The kit included a present button that was to be sewn next to the red cross-stitch present.  The button was okay except it was glued to a small piece of cardboard which did not easily come off and the glue used had hardened and extended over the sides of the button.  It was very difficult to cut with scissors it was so hard. I managed to make it presentable enough to use in my picture. I have found over time that the buttons used in the Mill Hill cross-stitch kits are usually of poor quality and the worst parts of the kits. Sometimes I use them sometimes I don't.

The wooden frame came with a 6" x 6" cardboard mounting board for the picture but had no back so I I decided to cut a 6" x 6" white foam board as filler for the back. I also cut a piece of heavy decorative paper and taped it to the back of the picture with double sided tape to finish the back of the frame.  The frame could be hung as a picture or stand with an enclosed dowel peg used as an easel and I opted for the latter.

My results with the totally finished background, square edges, and red frame is shown below:

Despite the relatively small issues I had encountered with the kit I was happy with the way my Christmas Collage turned out.

It took me 37 hours to complete this picture including the framing. As always, my comments are meant to be constructive to enable future purchasers to benefit from my experience and to enhance their ability to create a wonderful little cross-stitch design.

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