Welcome to Our Animal Farm

Hello, where have you been?

It has been a crazy month, and I've had so much to blog about, but no time to sit down!

With the end of the school year coming soon...yipee!....and my son's high school graduation....another yipee!!, we've been busy with schoolwork, etc. But, we've also added some new animals to our zoo. :)

In addition to Molly, our new pup from the pound, we added baby chicks, soon-to-be-hens to our brood, so to speak. My husband wanted to have chickens last year, but that didn't work out, so this year was his year, and we are "training" Molly to get along with them. I don't think they will be "bestess friends", but she will at least learn to leave them alone!

We have three Buff Orpinfton chicks and they are growing literally overnight. It is amazing how fast they grow! We haven't named them yet, and are waiting a little longer to do this as their "personalities" develop, but I'm hoping the family will go along with a Dickens'-esque theme. I think the chicken coop should either be : "Great Eggspectations" (aka: Great Expectations) OR "Beak House" (aka: Bleak House), both Dickens' novels. And the ladies (as I call them now) should be given names associated with the novels. Both of my boys have had to read a Dickens' novel this year for school, so I'm hoping they will agree with this plan! :)

Here are a few photos of the growing brood~

Only two days old...and a little camera shy!

Four or five days old enjoying a walk outside the brooder for the first time.

Literally overnight they grew wings and feathers!


Just two weeks old and already in the "gawky teenage" phase!

What is this thing called grass? Not sure we like it.

Today: 4/29/11~ Out of their brooder and in the backyard.....kind of liking the grass this time. :)

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Oh, and the porch is stained and looking pretty! Even though the directions said not to stain in weather below 50 degrees, we had to do it anyway....we've had some really cold, snowy weather for April and didn't want the new wood to get ruined. I think it looks great, and I'm not sure I even want a railing...what do you think?



And it is May already! Wow, hopefully that means some warmer weather. One thing it does mean is update day for TDIPT. I had an idea of a doll floating around in head and finally sketched her to show to my husband. He really LOVES it when I ask for his help with some of my crazy ideas...NOT! :)

But, after a few gentle pushes toward his workshop, he carved my doll's body out of bass wood. (I really shouldn't have given him a project this month, he has been so busy with end-of- the-year choir concerts, etc., but he was sweet to do it for me.)



Charity is made of carved wood with shaker pegs on her shoulders where I attached muslin arms, and small wooden knobs on the bottom of her body where I attached painted muslin legs. I really like her "naked", but for modesty's sake I gave her some clothes.



You can see more of Charity and the Faux Linen Sack Cloth painting by clicking the link to my selling page on TDIPT:

Pear Tree on TDIPT

A second offering this month is a "faux" painted linen sack cloth. Antiqued and aged, this painting resembles a feed sack or linen sack. I've painted a bee and some random letters and numbers on it as well as stripes to give it a "sack cloth look".


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Family is coming at the end of the month for our son's high school graduation and I have some ideas for sprucing up the house before they arrive.....hopefully something that will be blog-worthy to show you in the coming weeks.

Happy May! And if you made it down this far...thanks! :)

Something Old- Something New

(the "Before" of the front of our home with the "new" posts in place)

We live in a 'Colonial Cottage'.....at least that is what I call it. The major and minor remodeling we've done on the house over the last five years has made our little abode live-able and has also given it some 'character'.

(My husband and friend working on the porch.....Woohoo!, it is really happening!!)

(Just needs some stain and paint...oh, and that last board attached on the end!)

The past few weekends, my husband and a friend of ours have been building a porch to our cottage. It is turning out to be so cute...(as if I had any doubt about their abilities! :)
This entrance to our home has quite a "history", you can read about that here:

Concrete Crisis

It is SO nice to finally be able to walk into the house on sturdy steps, and have the added bonus of a cute "Colonial Cottage" porch to sit on.

Welcome!

Next, we need to stain the porch deck and paint the posts.....then, maybe a cute railing will be added?, but I won't "push it"! :)

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Something New....Lana (Honeysuckle Lane/ Simple Joys Paperie) and I have combined our names and our "alter-egoes" - and a mutual love for the cottage-style - and have opened a new little website called "Mavis and Mavis."

You can see our offerings and read more about it here:

Mavis and Mavis

Mavis and Mavis ( a "play" on our last names: Lana Manis and Suzanne Davis....all the letters are in there somewhere!) These updates will happen periodically....sometimes seasonally and sometimes for holidays.

NOTE: I AM still painting/creating "paintings of the past", aka: 18th/19th century style art....'cause I LOVE it, but this is just a fun "lighter side" of vintage-y art for me.

Here is a peek at Lana's neat idea....she used vintage book covers as backing for her beautiful watercolors~ Clever girl!

(Lana's work on Mavis and Mavis)

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Something I painted for Mavis and Mavis

~"French Country"~

(shabby table, old barn board and a blue enamel pitcher)

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And another bit of news....I received a letter from Early American Life publication saying that I have been chosen to be in the 2011 Artisan's Directory! Thank you EAL! I'm honored and excited to be included!

Of course, I did receive this letter on April 1st (April Fool's Day!), so I'm hoping the honor is "for realz" ! :)

Here is a link to EAL if you aren't familiar with the publication. There is also info on subscriptions. I highly recommend this magazine if you are an early American lover of history/ art/ gardening/ cooking/ crafts/ and "everyday life" of the past.

Early American Life

And the painting of a little person on my sidebar...in the red dress wearing an apron...
do you see it? :)
That is one of the paintings I entered as my submission to the EAL directory this year.

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We are hoping for nicer weather to stain the new porch deck this week.....but it looks like a wet and rainy one. :(.....guess it must be spring! Have a great week.