I can't believe that it has been almost a year since my last post.  I've had a very busy year trying to get my life in order and trying also to enjoy myself through my dolls.  I've been a doll collector for many years now, mostly Bleuettes, and antique dolls but in the process of collecting I started to enjoy the wooden dolls more and more.  So much in fact, that now my new dream is to become a carver of Hitty dolls.  I used to sell Robert Raikes Hitty and her friends when I had the store, Honey Bear Gifts, and slowly I sold all of my stock and I kept one doll of each style, and for that I am thankful.  I've been buying Hitty's from different artists, and I have a few Blanks too ready to carve and one that has been started but I have not continued because I know my limitations and I think that I need proper classes.  Perhaps this coming year I can go to Atlanta and take a course on carving Hitty.

Well here is a picture of my little doll houses, yesterday hubby was so kind as to buy me a second little play house and today I spent the day playing and not working, and that is the reason that I am always so behind, my dolls are an enjoyment and before I know it I am playing again.

The doll houses are not properly Hitty homes, they are just there for my imagination to let lose, and to enjoy the decorating and the cute furnishings that are available.  My good friend Gladys Alvarez, has painted a lot of furniture in the MacKenzie Childs style for me, which I incorporated in my new house, I am also a lover of Oriental dolls, and she carved me a little Oriental doll that is quite adorable.  My friend Barbara gave me the Hitty that is made from Maple and is standing over a birthday cake.  My friend Mary gave me a Raikes Itty Bitty Hitty that is eating supper in the kitchen.  The thing that I love most in life is to eat, and that is the reason that I am going to Weight Watchers weekly at an attempt to lose some weight.  Ebay is my other down fall yes, I sell but I buy four times more than I sell and I love receiving packages.  I love to read, and of course listening to music and watching movies. My biggest passion happens to be sewing, and fabrics, I could own a fabric store at any given time, I love to see the colors and the prints, and to coordinate the different prints with each other, that is why I love making pin cushions.  The birds that I make is like they make my heart sing along with them, the elephants make me happy and put a smile on my face, the little bears are cuddly and precious and I just love creating.

Now if I only could concentrate on selling more stuff and buying less than I would have more time to sew and play, and more room to create the sewing room of my dream.

Well, my girls have a sewing room in the attic
They are eating cake on their birthday, and opening Ebay packages
Play time is hat they are all about
There is food every where and my Oriental girls are drinking tea, which happens to be one
of my favorite beverages
Of course they have a doll house of their own

A CHANGE IN MY LIFE

THIS YEAR HAS BEEN VERY POSITIVE. BRUCE AND I JUST CELEBRATED OUR 37TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY AND WE ARE REALLY BLESSED TO LOVE EACH OTHER AND CARE FOR EACH OTHER THIS MUCH. I STARTED SELLING ON EBAY IN THE MIDDLE OF APRIL AND SO FAR I'VE BEEN ABLE TO SELL A LOT OF MY OLD INVENTORY, AND I AM ON A ROLL. MY GOAL IS TO SELL AT LEAST 300 ITEMS THIS YEAR. I JOINED WEIGHT WATCHERS ON JANUARY 18, AND ALTHOUGH IT IS A VERY SLOW PROCESS I'VE MANAGED TO LOSE 38 POUNDS, AND I AM AIMING FOR A TOTAL OF 50 BY THE END OF THE YEAR.

I'VE MET SOME NEW FRIENDS THROUGH EBAY, AND WEIGHT WATCHERS THAT HAVE ENRICHED MY LIFE AND FOR THAT I AM VERY THANKFUL. I TALK TO MY COUSIN EVERY DAY AND I AM GLAD THAT A YEAR LATER FROM THE TIME THAT I MET HER WE ARE STILL REALLY CLOSE AND SHE ALWAYS PUT A SMILE ON MY FACE.

I HAVEN'T BEEN VISITING WITH MY FRIENDS AS MUCH AS I USED TO BECAUSE EBAY DOES TAKE A LOT OF MY TIME, BUT WE STILL SEE EACH OTHER ENOUGH AND WE KEEP IN TOUCH.

MY FRIEND GLADYS TOOK A BAD FALL AND HAS BEEN HURTING A LOT, I PRAY EVERY DAY THAT SHE WILL GET BETTER SOON AND THAT SHE IS BACK DOING CRAFTS.

WE HAVE 5 KITTIES NOW, CODY, MISTY, MAX, LOLA AND THE ( I REFUSE TO BE AN INDOOR CAT) CHICAGO.

OF COURSE, AMBER IS THE LOVE OF OUR LIVES, AND ALTHOUGH SHE GAVE US A BAD SCARE THIS YEAR WITH HER JOINTS SHE IS DOING QUITE WELL NOW.

I HAVEN'T HAD MUCH TIME TO MAKE PIN CUSHIONS, BUT SOON ENOUGH I WILL START TO SEW AGAIN, AND THEN LIFE WILL BE COMPLETE. I DID MAKE A PINCUSHION FOR A SWAP THAT I PARTICIPATED IN, AND IT WAS A LOT OF FUN. SHARON SENT ME THE NEEDLE CASE AND I SENT HER THE BIRD.

CHANGING MY LIFE ONE DAY AT A TIME

WELL, FOR THOSE THAT ARE CLOSE TO ME YOU KNOW THAT I'VE TRIED GETTING RID OF SOME UNWANTED POUNDS, UNWANTED STUFF, AND TO MANY HOUSES. BRUCE AND I HAVE FINALLY EMPTIED ANOTHER WAREHOUSE AND WE ARE SUPER HAPPY. I ALSO JOINED WEIGHT WATCHERS ON JANUARY 18, AND THIS HAS BEEN THE BEST THING THAT I COULD HAVE DONE FOR BRUCE AND MYSELF. SO FAR HE HAS GOTTEN RID OF 12 POUNDS AND I GOT RID OF 18 ONE DAY AT A TIME ONE POUND AT A TIME. THIS IS THE FIRST YEAR THAT I DON'T MAKE ANY NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS I AM JUST DOING IT. I AM GETTING WIRELESS INSTALLED AT MY OLD HOUSE SO THAT I CAN GO IN THERE AND LIST ALL OF THE ITEMS WITHOUT HAVING TO TRANSPORT THEM TO MY WORK ROOM. GETTING ORGANIZED IS FUN AND IT MAKES ME HAVE A LOT OF CONTROL OVER OTHER AREAS OF MY LIFE. I WILL START CREATING AGAIN SOON, I JUST HAVE TO EMPTY ONE MORE CABINET AND MAKE ROOM FOR MY SEWING STUFF IN MY WORK ROOM, AND THEN i'LL START HAVING FUN, AFTER ALL SPRING IS HERE.

I JOINED THE PINCUSHION GROUP ON FLICKR AND I AM HAPPY

Now I can post my pincushion pictures and join all the wonderful artists that are creating them.

There are a lot of pincushion collectors like me, and I enjoy watching their creations on google images and flickr.


I am going to work around the house and then sit at my sewing machine.

The weather is just wonderful, it is about 75 degrees and everything is crisp.

A GREAT MONDAY

I'VE BEEN TRYING TO FIND A GOLD BRACELET THAT MY FRIEND GAVE ME FOR A LONG TIME, LIKE THREE YEARS, AND TODAY I FOUND IT. I HAD HIDDEN IT IN A SHOE BOX AND WHEN I WENT TO GET MY SHOES OUT OF THE BOX THE BRACELET WAS INSIDE A SHOE. NEEDLESS TO SAY I AM THRILLED. BRUCE AND I TOOK IT EASY THIS PAST WEEK END WE WENT TO SEE THE NEW WALL STREET MOVIE WITH MICHAEL DOUGLAS AND WE BOTH ENJOYED IT. SUNDAY, WE TOOK THE DAY OFF AGAIN AND WE WENT TO BARNES AND NOBLES AND I MANAGED TO FIND A FEW BOOKS AND MAGAZINES THAT I DID NOT NEED BUT THAT I WANTED.

I WAS TALKING TO MY NEIGHBOR TODAY AND I FOUND OUT THAT SHE IS THE CO-OWNER OF THIS WONDERFUL BUSINESS CALLED "HEY CUPCAKES CREATIONS" THEY ARE BASED OUT OF PLANTATION AND THEY DELIVER FOR FREE ALL OVER FORT LAUDERDALE. CHECK OUT THEIR BLOG AND YOU WILL BE AMAZED.

http://heycupcakecreations.blogspot.com



I DID NOT GET TOGETHER WITH MY FRIENDS LAST WEEK END AND I MISS THEM, MY BACK WAS HURTING AND WHEN BRUCE, SUGGESTED THAT WE TAKE IT EASY AND GO TO A MOVIE IT WAS HEAVEN.

Today I cut out mohair birds

It was a nice and quite day.  I cut out 5 birds out of mohair and I am going to sew them tomorrow.  I listed two pin cushions on ebay, and tried listing an elephant pin cushion on Bear Pile but the picture did not show up like I wanted and I deleted it.  I will try and list it again tomorrow and maybe it will show up the way that I want.

I made grilled shrimp for dinner with whole wheat pasta and it was really good.  Bruce and I had a nice salad to go with it and a glass of strawberry wine which was great.  Now I am going to get ready to watch Bones.

Cody was helping me list on the computer and he took a nice nap.



Great video my friend Jay sent me.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYL3j27sSH8

IN ORDER TO FOLLOW MY BLOG

YOU MUST HAVE A GOOGLE ACCOUNT OR BE ON FACE BOOK.  HIT FOLLOW AND A WINDOW WILL APPEAR AND THEN YOU CAN SIGN IN.

LINKING TO MY BLOG

PLEASE HIT THE FOLLOW BUTTON TO JOIN MY BLOG. I THINK THAT YOU NEED A GOOGLE ACCOUNT WHICH IS FREE.

fiskars has a lot of great tutorials, now for Halloween this is one of my favorites

http://www2.fiskars.com/Activities/Crafting/Project-Gallery/Sewing-and-Quilting/Sewn-Pumpkin-Pincushion

Listing on Ebay

This is the first mohair bird that I am going to list on Ebay, I am excited about it and I am going to post two pictures on the blog so that I can share it with my friends. Today is my anniversary 36 years married to the same man and loving it. Life is great when you have support and lots of love and primarily peace from your family and friends.

This is a picture of all of the bird pincushions and the candle holder that I purchased at an antique store. I love the candle holder to use as a display when I take pictures.

Cody, our new adopted kitty

Cody, loves to play hide and seek and he and Max are my sewing buddies.

Pin Cushion Peddler: Mohair Pin cushions

Pin Cushion Peddler: Mohair Pin cushions

Mohair Pin cushions

These are the bird pin cushions that I made to sell on Ebay and on Etsy. I was very happy when my friend Barbara Ayars, of Bugbeebears brought me a mohair bird pin cushion as a gift and it really got my creative juices going.

I will take pictures of them individually and then post them, I am really trying to make each one of them unique so every day I think of new ways to use my antique laces and buttons and millinery flowers. This is a lot of fun.

Making Pin Cushions

It has taken me a few months to get back to creating but my back was out last week and I can't sit still so I started to sew again. This time I can't stop, I am enjoying making my new pin cushions and the new patterns are a lot of fun. Christmas is just around the corner and I wanted to have a few of my creations on www.bearpile.com, etsy.com, and on ebay. I am a hoarder, and for many years I've been saving antique laces, millinery flowers, and silk, organza ribbons and buttons. Now it is time for me to use them and have fun. Tomorrow I will take pictures and put them in the blog before I list them anywhere. I love pin cushions and making them out of different fabrics is really fun.

Today, my friends and I met for lunch to celebrate Jean's birthday. Barbara, Jean and I went to Alexander's , which is one of our favorite restaurants and then we came back to the house to open gifts and to meet up with Charlene. Life is great when you are surrounded by friends.

Well I finally did it, I posted a pin cushion on Ebay and it sold, hurray, and then I went and posted a new listing on Ebay and another listing on Etsy under the Pin Cushion Peddler , of course. I've had that name since 2007 and it took me three years to actually start using it.

Like you all know I don't do today what I can leave for tomorrow, and although I have a head full of dreams it takes time and effort to do everything that I would like to do.

This week has been a busy week, I took pictures of some of the hundreds of bears that I need to sell and listed some on Ebay. I finished some pin cushions and listed them, and I've actually had a fun time listing. I do need to buy a new camera, after all my camera is a Mavica with a CD drive but it is 8 years old, the last year that they made that model was 2002.

There is a plus side in keeping busy, I lost 2 pounds, and that is a big plus.