Gotta Love Patriotic, 4th of July and Americana Crafts Home Decorations

It's almost the start of the summer season in the U.S. and around this time of the year my thoughts turn to 4th of July, patriotic, and  Americana home decorations.  Over the years I have made many, many different  4th of July, patriotic, and  Americana home decorations.  Some of my own and some based on other crafters patterns.

If you'd like to check out my 4th of July e-patterns they're in my Etsy shop here.

As you know I love BIG woodcraft decorations.  One of my favorite BIG dolls and woodcraft is a self-sitting Uncle Sam that resides in the corner of my kitchen for the entire summer. He just sits there and every time I look at him I can't help but think of the role New England played in the history of this country. In particular he makes me think of the American Revolution and Paul Revere, etc.

My Uncle Sam is 32" tall and was made based upon a TLC Crafters design. He's so cheery sitting in his corner that I decided to name him "Firecracker Sam."

"Firecracker Sam" was made from 3/4" pine wood and was painted blue. Painted black stitches outline the edge of his face, beard, and mustache. Painted white stars adorn his hat and white stripes run down his pant legs. He is holding a painted wooden flag and set of firecrackers in his lap.

So, all summer long he just sits atop his pedestal. After we take him out and place him in his corner he always asks when we will be showing his favorite movie - "Yankee Doodle Dandy." I usually tell him I'm not sure, but I would try to make sure we show it for him.

The wreath shown above hangs in my kitchen all summer was made based on a Pretty Primitives pattern.

Now I know what you're thinking, "You've never met a wreath you haven't loved. Yeah, right Linda.... you love everything crafty. In fact, there isn't any craft you've met that you haven't loved!" Well, that may be true but wreaths certainly are one of my favorites. I love making them and love decorating with them and this wreath is one of my favorites.

I also love decorating my front door for the various holidays and seasons. My house is painted a colonial burgundy color so the big Uncle Sam woodcraft, shown in the picture above, looks great on the front door all during the Summer months. He was also made in 2002 and was based on a TLC Crafters pattern.

I had seen an adorable Uncle Sam ornament by Mary Ayres in a June/July 2000 Crafts magazine and just had to make one. He's totally adorable - don't you think?

To say I just love dolls would probably be an understatement based on the number of dolls I've made during over the years. It's got to be close to 2,000 now if not more. So, of course, I've made a lot of dolls for the 4th of July holiday season. Since they're also patriotic they're out during the Summer months.

I don't always make my dolls exactly like the patterns call for. In fact, most of the time they are entirely different.

The dolls shown in the picture above were adapted from a bunny and angel pattern I had seen in a March 1996 Crafts N Things magazine and was designed by Donna Newman. I thought they'd look cuter as as patriotic dolls and hope you would agree.

Gotta Love Patriotic, Americana and 4th of July Home Decorations Free E-Books

Back in 2002 I decided to make a bunch of little patriotic woodcrafts that I could use to decorate a section of the bookcase I have in my family room and created the woodcrafts shown in the picture above.  In 2016 I decided to create free e-books to show you how I made these adorable woodcraft decorations for your home.  They're all very easy to make and include a firecracker trio, birdhouse, stars, USA cube decoration and flags.

My free e-books are here. I hope you enjoy making your patriotic USA woodcraft decorations.

Patriotic, 4th of July and Americana Crafts Tutorials, Video's, Patterns and How-To's

If you get the feeling I like patriotic crafts you would be right.  So, of course, I set up a Pinterest  board for all the wonderful 4th of July, Patriotic and Americana free tutorials, patterns, video's and how-to's I've found.  I hope these tutorials, video's, patterns, & how-to's are helpful.

If you love my Patriotic, 4th of July and Americana Crafts Tutorials, Video's, Patterns and How-To's board please follow my board by clicking on the link above.

My 2 in 1 “Yankee Doodle Andy! and Give Me Liberty, Annie!" New Combo E-Pattern

If you love making folk-art cloth dolls then you're going to love our “Yankee Doodle Andy! and Give Me Liberty, Annie!" primitive Americana raggedies 2 in 1 combo e-pattern.

"Yankee Doodle Andy!" and his sister, "Give Me Liberty, Annie!" are getting ready to celebrate and getting ready for the parade. You see, they and their fellow countrymen just won the revolutionary war and are now free and independent. That's cause for celebration - if anything was. So, they're dressed in their best primitive "patriotic" outfits and are going to the parade.

"Yankee Doodle Andy!" and his sister, "Give Me Liberty, Annie!" are hoping to get front row seats at the parade, but are running a little late. Andy couldn't find his flag and Annie couldn't find her bell. Do you think they'll make it on time?

"Yankee Doodle Andy!" is a 16" primitive raggedy Andy Americana doll with a muslin cloth body. His face is outline embroidered with black floss and he has satin stitched black pupils and white satin stitched whites of his eyes. His nose is embroidered in a zig-zag straight stitch with red floss and his mouth is satin stitched with red floss. His eyebrows and eyelashes are straight stitched with black floss. His cheeks are blushed and he is coffee stained throughout. His boots are black and cross laced. He has a full head of curly, thick yarn hair that is barely controlled underneath his lined and patriotic hat. He is wearing his favorite fringed shirt which is gathered at the neck and wrists. He is also wearing his favorite fringed and cuffed pantaloons with two front pockets that are gathered at the waist and middle of the cuffs. His vest is lined and has two front pockets and lapels. Andy is carrying a primitive patriotic flag decorated with red wire ribbon.

Designer - Linda Walsh Originals

"Give Me Liberty, Annie!" is a 16" primitive raggedy Ann Americana doll with a muslin cloth body. Her face is outline embroidered with black floss and she has satin stitched black pupils and white satin stitched whites of her eyes. Her nose is embroidered in a zig-zag straight stitch with red floss and her mouth is satin stitched with red floss. Her eyebrows and eyelashes are straight stitched with black floss. Her cheeks are blushed and she is coffee stained throughout. Her boots are black and cross laced. She has a full head of curly, raggedy red doll hair that is barely controlled underneath her lined and gathered bonnet.

She is wearing her favorite patriotic dress which is lace trimmed and gathered at the waist and neck. She is also wearing her favorite fringed bloomers that are gathered at the waist and top of her boots. Her vest is lined with fold down lapels and is tied with three floss bows.

Annie is carrying an antique brass bell.

Designer - Linda Walsh Originals

Who Doesn't Love Purses? I Know I Do! How About You?

My recent project got me to thinking about purses and totes. Now I wonder why that is?

I love making totes and have designed and made many of them for It's Raining Baby Showers collection, my Alpacas Rock collection, and my Custom Fabrics Designs collection.  They can be big, small, lined, unlined - it doesn't matter. They are just so versatile. You can never have enough of them and you can never run out of uses for them. 

I loved making them so much I decided to create a free e-pattern for the Halloween tote above here and a free e-book for the large flower tote above here.

As I mentioned in a previous post back in 2012 I decided to take my first online class with Pat Winter on Artful Gathering. The class was called Crazy Quilting 101 and I  LOVED every minute of the class. Pat was such a fantastic teacher. I only wish I had taken one of her classes years before. I made the crazy quilted purse shown in the picture above which I posted about this here.  

After taking this class I had visions of making several semi-formal and formal clutches - some for me and some as gifts.  I never had time until.......  Does this give you an idea of what my latest creations were? Come on? Really? You must have some idea?

In any event, my latest projects got me to thinking about purses, clutches, wallets, totes, etc. and all the wonderful tutorials I've found for my  Purse, Bag,Tote Tutorials, Pouch, Clutch, Wallet, Pocketbook Patterns, Video's & How-To's Pinterest board.  

I have close to 1,000 pins on this board.  All wonderful "freebies" for creating beautiful purses and totes.

I've been collecting these pins for several years now and have visions of making all of them.  For sure that is not going to happen.  Even for me that is a bit much.  Close to a 1,000 purses... really?  For sure I'd be in divorce court... lol. 

While I won't be making all of them I do have my eye on a few tutorials I'd like to try.  There's the craft organizer sewing bag tutorial by Torie Jayne here,  the boho bag tutorial by Gerry Krueger here,  the quilted suitcase tutorial by Ashley of "Mommy By Day Crafter By Night" tutorial here, the crocheted granny square purse by Lily of  "Sugar'n Cream" which I would need to learn how to crochet first here (it's on my list of to do's),  and the fold over bag tutorial by Anna Graham here.  

There's so many I want to try and make.  So, many little purse organizers, wallets, storage baskets, etc.  You get the idea.  More than I could possible make in a lifetime.  I'll just have to settle for a few.  Maybe a little more than a few..... lol.

Purse, Bag & Tote Tutorials, Pouch, Clutch, Wallet, Case & Pocketbook Patterns, Video's & How-To's

There are so many wonderful tutorials out there for making all sorts of purses, totes, bags, pouches, clutches, wallets, pocketbooks, bags, etc.  I, of course, love them all and have collected close to 1,000 tutorials, patterns, and how-to's on my Purse, Bag,Tote Tutorials, Pouch, Clutch, Wallet, Pocketbook Patterns, Video's & How-To's Pinterest board.

If you love making purses, totes, clutches, wallets, pocketbooks, etc. then you're going to love my Purse, Bag & Tote Tutorials, Pouch, Clutch, Wallet, Case & Pocketbook Patterns, Video's & How-To's Pinterest board.

Have fun!

Do You Remember This Post From August 2012? My Crazy Quilting Passion

Back in 2012 I took an Artful Gathering class by Pat Winter on making a crazy quilt purse.  I LOVED it and fell in love with crazy quilting.  It was just so much fun and produced such beautiful results.  As with every craft I try, crazy quilting gave me all sorts of ideas for creating other beautiful items that I could make and give as gifts. 

So, of course, I went out and bought all sorts of supplies and wrote about it on the following Linda's Blog post. 

Now you might wonder why I had to buy so many supplies.  Well, the thing with crazy quilting is you just never know what fabrics you might be using, what colors, what embellishments would be best, or what embroidery designs would really enhance your creation.  So, you have to have a  large stash of all sorts of  items.  So, create a stash I did..... lol

I had thoughts of creating all sorts of crazy quilting items back in 2012 and just never had the time.  Well, you'll be happy to know that I finally found some time and decided to put what I learned from Pat to good use.  And, well, like everything else I do, create I did..... lol  Certainly more than I would ever need or be able to give away.

As I told hubby, "you never know how the creation is going to turn out so I wasn't sure which creations I would want and which creations I would be giving away."  Sounds like a wonderful excuse for blissfully creating away - right?

My creations aren't quite done yet so I can't reveal them just yet but will be doing so as they are finished.  So, stay tuned.

My August 2012 post:

My Crazy Quilting Passion - So What Will These Supplies Become?

I've been rather busy the past few weeks working on some of my blogs and some of my websites, but I've managed to get some shopping in.

Oh, what a surprise, Linda? There's always time for shopping! Right?

Now you might be wondering exactly what kind of shopping  I did and what is it for? As to where I went shopping -  if you know me it's a combination of letting your fingers do the walking and actually getting in the car and going retail shopping.

What it's for has to do with my new found crazy quilting passion and gifts for the holidays. Since some of it is for gifts this holidays season I don't want to spoil the surprise for the recipients so you'll just have to guess what I might be making out of all of the things I bought.

So, what did I buy?

Well, we have some whites........

We have some creams......

We have some beautiful golds....

We have some elegant silvers....

The ever formal and traditional blacks.....

Some linings perhaps.....

Maybe some pink lace edging can be used somewhere?

How about some delicate green and black lace edging?

It might even be time to utilize the beautiful lace from my sister's friends' old wedding gown....

I really hate cutting such a beautiful gown, but the lace is just gorgeous....

Wouldn't you agree it's perfect for some crazy quilting piece(s).....

How about some amazing trims and embellishments from Flights of Fancy....

I didn't forget the dragonflies.....

Some cording and straps from Joanns.....

Some beautiful florals from Pamela Amundson of theDelightfuldesigner on Etsy...

Some exquisite trims from Pamela Amundson of theDelightfuldesigner on Etsy...

Colorful silk ribbons from silkribbons4you on Etsy.....

Maybe some of my own ribbon trims might be put to use.....

Maybe even some of my lace trim stash.....

Perhaps something from my bridal floral stash.....

Didn't forget the threads from Joanns..... I haven't had time to shop for Kreinik threads yet....Don't worry, however, I will.....

Or, maybe I might even use some of the buttons from my stash.....

I can hardly wait to get started on this crazy quilting idea.  First, I have to develop my patterns. That's right there's a plural (s) in there.  Can't exactly give everyone the same style. Can I?  They compare after all....

So, I'm left to developing a general pattern that I can modify here and there.

Have any idea what all the above is going to make?

Stay tuned.  For sure it will be revealed after the holidays....

I know, I know that's a long time to wait.  But, I don't want to give away the gift surprise.

Well, maybe I'll show you a few things between now and then.

We'll see.....

My Mixed Media Shelf Sitter Saintly Angel Dolls Twins - Meet Marie Angelic and Marie Blessings

One of the wonderful things about creating angel dolls is they're appropriate for so many holidays, seasons and just for everyday.  As a result I have created many over the years.  Some come out at Christmas, some come out at Easter, and some are out year round.  

They can be made of cloth, wood, a combination of cloth and wood, paper-clay, paper, cross-stitched, needle felted, and embroidered.  

So, when I got a chance  to make some mixed media Victorian shelf sitter angel dolls I jumped at the chance.  Meet Marie Angelic and Marie Blessings.

If ever there were a saintly pair of twins it would be have to be Marie Angelic and Marie Blessings.  They are the sweetest, most angelic pair of twins you'd ever want to meet.  Both are thankful every day for their blessings and are not afraid to express their gratitude with love and compassion.  They also both share a love of  singing and are prominent in the angelic choir. 

Marie Angelic -  8" x 4" x 1/2" Handmade Mixed Media Shelf Sitter Collage Angel 

Marie Angelic is a 8" 4" x 1/2" mixed media Victorian shelf sitter  angel wood doll with a paper face,  sponge painted wood body, paper collage and embellished outfit. Her sides and back are sponge painted. Her outfit is an embellished paper collage adorned with silver sleeve cuff  paper trim and white and silver raised dots.   Braided lace trim decorates her neck and gathered lace trim is wrapped around her waistband.

Her beautiful face is framed with a full head of curly blond hair that is held back with a lace and gold trim headband. Her heavenly wings are combination of a hardened crochet doily embellished with white ribbon loops.  She is holding a Christmas carols book.

Marie Blessings -  8" x 4" x 1/2" Handmade Mixed Media Shelf Sitter Collage Angel

Marie Blessings is a 8" 4" x 1/2" mixed media Victorian shelf sitter  angel wood doll with a paper face,  sponge painted wood body, paper collage and embellished outfit. Her sides and back are sponge painted. Her outfit is an embellished paper collage adorned with silver sleeve cuff  paper trim and white and silver raised dots.   Braided lace trim decorates her neck and gathered lace trim is wrapped around her waistband.

Her beautiful face is framed with a full head of curly brown hair that is held back with a lace and pearl drop trim headband. Her heavenly wings are combination of a hardened crochet doily embellished with white ribbon loops.  She is holding a Christmas carols book.

Revisions to My Victorian Mixed Media Shelf Sitter Art Dolls - Meet Bea, Bailey, and Betty.

Bea, Bailey, and Betty are an adorable trio of sisters who are maidens. They don't mind doing their chores, but much prefer romping in the park together or collecting berries in the fields together. Whatever it is they are doing they are always in playful competition with each other.

They are mixed media Victorian collage and paper-clay shelf sitter art dolls that I made back in September 2014. 

Here's how they looked when I first made them:

While I was initially pleased with the way they came out over time I decided they needed a little more height for their heads to give them a little more dimension so I decided to add bonnets to their heads.

Here's how they look with their bonnets:

Bea is the doll shown on the left in the 2nd picture from the top of this post above.  Here's how she used to look:

Here's how she looks now:

Bea - 4" x 5" x 3/4" Handmade Mixed Media Victorian Collage Shelf Sitter Art Doll

Bea is a 4" x 5" x 3/4" mixed media Victorian shelf sitter wood doll with a paper face, sponge painted wood body, paper collage and embellished outfit.  Her fabric gathered and covered bamboo bonnet is embellished with lace braid trim, fringe trim and paper floral embellishments. Her sides and back are sponge painted and her outfit is an embellished paper collage adorned with center band with raised white and pink dots and waistband adorned with pink raised dots. White lace trim is wrapped around her neck. Her beautiful burgundy thick alpaca yarn hair from Rock Garden Alpacas Fiber is fastened in pigtails and tied with burgundy ribbon bows. A Victorian paper fan adds charm to her collage outfit.

The doll in the center of the 2nd picture at the start of this post is Bailey.  Here's how she used to look:

Here's how she looks now:

Bailey- 4" x 5" x 3/4" Handmade Mixed Media Victorian Collage Shelf Sitter Art Doll

Bailey is a 4" x 5" x 3/4" mixed media Victorian shelf sitter wood doll with a paper face, sponge painted wood body, paper collage and embellished outfit.  Her fabric gathered and covered bamboo bonnet is embellished with multi-colored gathered fabric trim and several silk floral embellishments. White lace trim is wrapped around her neck. A matching multi-colored gathered fabric trim ascot has been added under her chin and is topped with a burgundy ribbon bow.  Her sides and back are sponge painted and her outfit is an embellished paper collage adorned with center band with raised white and pink dots and waistband adorned with pink raised dots.  Her beautiful blond braided yarn hair is adorned with a tulip embroidered ribbon.   A Victorian paper fan adds charm to her collage outfit.

Betty is the doll shown on the right in the 2nd picture from the top of this post above.  Here's how she used to look:

Here's how she looks now:

Betty- 4" x 6" x 3/4" Handmade Mixed Media Victorian Collage Shelf Sitter Art Doll

Betty is a 4" x 6" x 3/4" mixed media Victorian shelf sitter wood doll with a paper face, sponge painted wood body, paper collage and embellished outfit.  Her fabric gathered and covered bamboo bonnet is embellished with gathered lace trim, burgundy embroidered braid trim, fabric bows and silk floral embellishments.  Her sides and back are sponge painted and her outfit is an embellished paper collage adorned with center band with raised white and pink dots and waistband adorned with pink raised dots. White lace trim adorned with a red silk ribbon floral is wrapped around her neck. Her beautiful gray thick alpaca yarn hair from Rock Garden Alpacas Fiber is wrapped around her head in a bun and is adorned with a burgundy embroidered braid. A Victorian paper fan adds charm to her collage outfit.

I hope you like how Bea, Bailey, and Betty turned out.  With their new bonnets I think their height proportions is appropriate now.  Hopefully, you will agree.