Voting Results

Woo Hoo!! I won the People's Choice Award in the Anti-Valentine's Day Contest on Dabbled. Thanks Dot for hosting this contest.

A Great big THANK YOU to everyone who got out and voted (for moi).

Party at my house!

The First Doll....

I have made in decades. I can remember making dolls when my daughter was small but didn’t make any after that. A friend gave me a few doll patterns recently, so I thought I would give it a try. I figured that it would be like riding a bicycle - once you’ve done it, you never forget. Get a little rusty maybe, but never forget.

I read the pattern instructions and proceeded on. I was to use a disappearing ink pen to trace out the patterns, sew around them and then cut out the pieces. According to the instructions on the pen, the ink would fade in approx. 48 hours. So, I traced the patterns on a Monday and didn’t get back to sewing the pieces together until Tuesday afternoon. To my surprise the ink had already begun to fade! I was almost certain that the ink was fading before my eyes! I felt like a Harry Potter character. So I retraced the patterns and immediately sewed them together. I got ahead of myself at that time (actually that happens often) and began to turn the pieces and stuff them. Alas, one of the legs sprung a leak - I had forgotten to put some stop fray on the seams. Back to the sewing machine.

Finally, without incident, I sewed and stuffed the first try. Only to find out that she had ‘eaten’ way too much and couldn’t sit. She could only lay flat on her back. (Wish the ‘calories’ had gone to her bottom instead of everywhere else.) Back to the sewing machine.


Third time was a charm for me.

The patterns were from Sandy Miller of Sandolls.

Voting Update

If you haven't had a chance to go vote, the poll will be open till Tuesday.

Thank you to everyone that has voted!

Our regularly scheduled programming (posting) will return on Sunday. Happy Haunting!

I Need Your Vote!

As you may have read, I entered an Anti-Valentine's Day Contest. I am a finalist and am now in contention for People's Choice Award. WooHoo!! I need your vote! {please} {Thanks bunches}
Here's the link Dabbled

And I'm sure you'll remember my piece...

Seeds, Shrooms, and Swaps

I'm going to start by revealing my third partner for the recent PWGL Little Tokens of Love Swap. It was Lynn Krestel of Richmond, British Columbia. She makes the most gorgeous jewelry! She sent me a beautiful keychain made with vintage beads and Swarovski Crystals. I just LOVE it! Thank you Lynn!

And here is what I sent her.

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Here's the batch of mushrooms which I made for Sonya's Mushroom Swap.

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And now on to the seeds.......
For the last few years I have been growing gourds. And I will again this year. Luffa, bushel, apple, and this year I am adding birdhouse and snake. Of course, they will all have to have their own separate corners [but more on that part in another post!]

Last year was experimental for me in growing pumpkins in the South. There are so many more diseases/bugs here than in Colorado, where I grew up gardening. My Hubby has always wanted a GIANT Pumpkin. I decided to compromise and try and grow a moderate size one. That didn't work out too well. My location wasn't the best. And the pumpkin vines didn't produce or even thrive. This year I'm trying something different. [But I'll get to that another time - I'm supposed to be talking about seeds today]

Last year I bought seeds for a Cinderella Pumpkin.

And a Full Moon or Lumina Pumpkin.


I am going to try both of them again this year and then I thought I might try some small pumpkins. Maybe the new variety Pump-ke-mon...


Or maybe Baby Boo Pumpkins.....

They're both so cute! I may be overrun by pumpkin vines come October! But that's okay by me!

Happy Friday the 13th !

Or otherwise just another day in the life at WildWood Manor.


Magic Mushrooms drying on the windowsill....


Faerie Dust on the Floor....


Magic Wands in various stages of creation....


Absinthe sitting on the table....

And my dear Hubby isn't even surprised when I tell him that there are body parts drying on the island in the kitchen.

Anti Valentines Day Contest - v 2.0

In some recent Blog Stalkings of mine, I found a contest that really piqued my interest. It is the Anti-Valentines Day Contest - v 2.0 . It sounded like fun! In a morbid sort of way. And I do have a somewhat morbid sense of humor at times. So I thought and thought and this is what I came up with...


Here's a close-up of the glass of Absinthe with the skewered heart. The Absinthe in the glass is actually acrylic resin that I have tinted green. The heart is paper mache and which has been skewered with a cocktail sword.


For those out there that do not know what Absinthe is, it is an anise flavored, highly alcoholic liquor that is distilled from wormwood. It was once illegal in the U.S. because it was thought to have psychoactive properties.

Keep your fingers crossed for me......

First Flower of 2009

I found this little Violet blooming yesterday. It is growing in a crack between our courtyard wall and the ground.

Questions Answered

I've had a few questions about the items I made for my Swap partners.

First the vintage style Valentines that I made - "Where did you find the heart-shaped shadow box?" "What is the base?"
It's the bottom of a Valentine box that once held candy! They come in all sizes and make a great palette! Stock up now before they're all gone!

Secondly the pouches I made. I used to make them years and years (and years) back for my kids to give as gifts to their teachers. I am not a seamstress and the pattern I had was not the simplest to follow. (Believe me, if I can find a hard way to do something I will! Especially when sewing!) But I can point you in the right direction to find a VERY simple pattern and method of making pouches. Missy of Fairy Child Heirlooms has a tutorial on her blog. Missy is the most wonderful seamstress! Go check out her blog! You'll be impressed!

The Reveal ~ Parts 1 & 2

The Reveal ~ (I always wanted to say that - makes me think I'm a member of Ghost Hunters.)

Two of my Swap partners have received their goody boxes, so I can reveal the contents now. I made a small pouch (with a few chocolates hidden inside ~ 'cause all Valentine gifts have to have chocolate!), a vintage style Valentine, and two heart shaped sachets which had been stuffed with lavender buds (which came from my garden). And on each of the sachets was a vintage red chandelier prism.

This is what was in Wanda's Valentine Box. She also received a hand sewn gift tag.


And this is what was in Sharon's Valentine box. She also received three prim roses.


Here's a close-up of some of the sachets.


My third partner hasn't received her box yet, so I can't reveal the contents.

Friends and Gifts

I spent some time on Friday with a special friend of mine. She is a lively, vivacious person and you can't help but be in a better mood after spending time with her. Even if you're in a good mood to begin with, you're still in a better mood! Well, she gave me a gift Friday when I was there.

She had recently gone to visit her sister in northern Louisiana and they had gone to the Libbey Outlet store. [Don't you just LOVE Outlet Stores ??] And she found some wonderful drinking glasses there that she said she just knew I would love. And she was right! I LOVE 'EM!


Aren't they the coolest?? Thank you Jan! You're the sweetest!!

Now if I can just find some Halloween dishes.......

A Wonderful Valentine

I received a Valentine from another of my PWGL Swap partners, Wanda Clark. She made me two wonderful covered hearts and a box of fabric yo-yos. {Gomez had to see as well...}


One of the hearts is covered in Halloweeny fabric and the other is pink and silver with the most intricate design - I love designs like that!


And the yo-yos are all made from Halloweeny fabric. (I love the fabric, don't you ??) And would you believe there are thirteen of them ?? My lucky number! How did she know?? I wish you could see her stitches. They are all so small and evenly spaced. She does beautiful work.

Just so cool! Thank you Wanda! You're a sweetheart! Happy Valentines Day to you!

A Special Fairy Door

Just wanted to share this Fairy Door with you. I made this one for a special collector in California.

* * * NEWS FLASH * * *
I will soon be having a give-away! Stay tuned!

An Award

Missy from Fairy Child Heirlooms has given me the Marie Antoinette Award.

“Marie Antoinette: A real person, A real award.”

The rules for this award:
1. Please put the logo on your blog
2. Place a link to the person from whom you received the award
3. Nominate at least 7 or more blogs
4. Put the links of those blogs on your blog
5. Leave a message on their blogs to tell them

I am giving this award to the next seven people who leave comments on my blog! You know who you are and you know what to do!

Thank you Missy!

New Listings

I currently have a couple Fairy Doors listed on eBay along with a Valentine's Shadow Box.

Here take a peek....




And I have a new item listed in my Etsy Shop. They are the Candy Corn Cernal Crew.

Swaps & Sunshine

The Valentines for the Prim and Whimsy Little Tokens of Love Valentine Swap went out in the mail today. I can't post any pics just yet! What if my Swap partners are peeking???

I got my Swap partner for Missy's Luck of the Fae Fairy Swap . It's Awtemnymf ! I'm so excited!! She and I are both Halloween Junkies. For this Swap we are to make a Fairy wand, a Fairy Doll and then send something shiny or lucky. I'll keep you posted ...

And then I joined another fun Swap. This one is hosted by Sonya of KnitSonya . In this swap each swapper makes 5 mushrooms and sends them to Sonya and then she will send out five mushrooms to each participant. It should be awesome as well.

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Well, Puxatawny Phil saw his shadow yesterday. Our local groundhog saw his (or is it a her?) shadow as well. Regardless, this yearly event does signal the beginning of the end of winter. WooHoo!! I'm counting the days! And on that note, I will leave you with some pics of the daffodils in the yard that are almost ready to bloom.

The Neighbor's Cat

A couple months back, I introduced you to the Art Critic that lives with my Hubby and me. His name is Gomez. And yes, he was named after Gomez Addams.

Well, he has been hanging around the neighbor's place a lot lately. I was afraid the neighbors would come over and complain. But I soon learned why he has been over there so much.


I overheard a conversation between Gomez and another of our cats about a new Kitty in the neighborhood. It seems it's a girl Kitty by the name of Kallie. And she belongs to the neighbors.


Sorry about the blurred picture - Kallie is quite elusive when it comes to having her picture taken. It seems that she was once a Super Model (she still has a pencil thin figure) and is now retired and is working on becoming a cupcake decorator. She is probably camera-shy because of all the paparazzi that used to follow her around.


It appears that Kallie and Gomez have become good friends. And I'm sure it won't be long before Gomez is wanting to have her over for supper. We're anxious to meet her!