Christmas Craft Village

This past weekend was The Christmas Craft Village at Exhibition Park here in Halifax.  This was our first time doing a show of this size, which was very exciting.  

Setting up our booth was challenging as we suddenly had so much space to work with ... and to fill.  Luckily our father is amazing - as always - and helped out with our display by making us even more props.  We were able to showcase all of our wares beautifully with these new crates he built especially for this show.  

We had all of our Third Street gear on hand.  Christmas sleds, tree ornaments, and quilted runners were joined by our new Christmas and winter dolls.  Dolls, balls, binkies and bibs were there, as well as our newest original design hand embroidered onsies.  Dad's doll furniture was also available for sale, including rocking chairs, table and chairs, and a darling little bed.

Third Street was pleased to be sharing space with tons of talented crafters and artisans and we were happy to have time to catch up with some of our awesome crafter friends.

We had the added pleasure of showing alongside Jerry Walsh's Distinctive Garden Accents featuring beautiful rustic bird houses (nesting boxes), bird feeders, bat houses, squirrel houses and signs. Jerry strives to use wood that has been around for a while and has acquired a degree of character including driftwood boards and recycled wood salvaged from structures such as old barns. Many of his pieces are accented by highly skilled decorative painting used to highlight the natural beauty of the wood (compliments of Jerry's wonderful wife - a talented tole painter amongst other things - whom we also had the pleasure of meeting).
 

Be sure to swing by Jerry's site for Christmas ideas for the nature and bird lovers on your holiday shopping list.

We were visited by many friends during the show, some of whom even brought us treats. Thanks K :)

As well, we completed several dolls including this little guy - our very first Action Figure / Super Hero.  Since this photo, "The Shocker" has acquired a utility belt and the idea for a cape is brewing.  He also has a new POWerful friend who has yet to be photographed.  I will try to get photos of the other lovelies to share with you all in the next little bit.



1 2 3 4 5 6 Stitch

We're headed back to Exhibition Park again this morning for another day of working the Street. Yesterday and last night flew by! We met some great artists and crafters, chatted with good friends, got the juice on some interesting happenings, and got to listen to some awesome music. Plus, we completed 5 (6?) new dolls, including a spectacular boy super hero. Pictures taken and will be shared once all is complete.

For anyone interested in attending, the details are here. There are still two days left, come on down and get your craft on with Third Street!

Pull up your candy cane pantyhose and come visit us at the

Christams Craft Village

next weekend at Exhibition Park.

It's a three day show with over 100 vendors!!

Friday, Nov. 12 from 10-9

Saturday, Nov. 13 from 10-6

Sunday, Nov 14 from 10-5

  

We're in booth 105 in the second room near the performance stage.

Binkies

Soft Play Balls

Baby and Toddler Bibs

Bean Bags

Lady Lou Cushions

Hand Embroidered Onsies featuring original TSH designs

Doll Quilts 

Christmas Tree Ornaments

Hand Painted Christmas Sleds

Quilted Patchwork Christmas Runners

And of course,

Oodles and Oodles of Original TSH Dolls

Including Special Edition

 Chinese New Year Dolls and Santa's Little Helper Dolls

As well as Dad's Handmade Wooden Doll Furniture

Plus we will be available for custom ordering!

For a complete listing of participating vendors, please chick here.

See the Third Street Handcrafters Facebook Page for a chance to win a free pass to the show!!

Replicate one-of-a-kind handmade doll?? More of a variation of an old favorite, really.

Elegant rag doll?

Indeed!

This doll is especially charming with her wide and friendly smile,

her big blue eyes and her rusty red shoes.

This would be the third doll we've made using this awesome floral print for a dress. 

We loved this cotton fabric for its tea-stained vintage feel - it makes for such a classic dress.

So ... follow the link above to visit the Third Street Corner Store for a peek at our newest Third Street cloth doll.

Third Street Corner Store

We continue to list items in our shop - it's so much work!!! I see people who have over 1000 items listed and I have no idea how these sellers can do this!! We're trying to compile some listing guidelines for each of our doll collections to ensure that all of the pertinent details are captured - in addition to the fun little stories we like to include with the dolls. 

Then there's the pictures! 

We have about twenty more dolls to list, plus a ton of soft play balls, bibs, and binkies. 

I'm thinking of giving up sleeping.

Or breathing.

If you list your items in an online shop - you know what I'm talking about. 

Here's what we have so far ...

Crazy Doll Quilt :: Freedom Session :: Third Street Salvage Yard

Crazy quilts are known as the quilts that anyone can make as the techniques used in traditional patchwork are largely abandoned in this type of quilting.  I've read several books focusing on crazy quilting that I borrowed from the library (check out Very Easy Crazy Patchwork by Betty Barnden, available in our Reader's Cafe), and the basic gist of it is that you take randomly shaped pieces of fabric and using a series of overlapping and layering, you sew them to batting.  There is no piecing, no necessary measuring, no seam allowances to be considered, and pretty much none of the precision that accompanies traditional patchwork.

Inspired by the liberating allure of crazy quilting, I decided a while back to try my hand at making a crazy doll-sized quilt to use as a display piece for craft shows. 

This quilt was assembled entirely of scrap pieces.  I overlapped two pieces of Warm and Natural cotton batting that I had left over from a previous project and began raiding our bag of scrap cotton pieces.

Delightfully, the techniques for assembling crazy quilts vary, but the most wonderful and alluring thing about crazy quilting is that there is no real hard-fast rules - you just do it.  Working directly on my ironing board, I used small strips of fusible web to temporarily adhere the scrap cotton pieces to the batting piece until I was ready to stitch them down.

The crazy quilts that I love feature raw edges, decorative stitches and bold colours displayed in a coll ague-like fashion.  I have a pretty basic machine with a small selection of stitches, but as any sewer knows - when it comes to creative sewing, results are limited only to the capabilities of your machine and to your skills as a sewer, and largely to your own creativity. 

I think that it is a worthy speculation that when it comes to the longevity of a quilt, crazy quilts may not prove to be as sturdy as traditional quilts, due to the substitution of seam allowance patchworking with raw edge piecing, as demonstrated in this particular quilt.  But I think that with good care and love, these quilts can become heirlooms just the same as other quilts. 

Either way, crazy quilts make excellent doll quilts because - let's face it - dolls are pretty easy on their quilts!

Thanks for stopping by! 

Please come again - or add yourself as a follower and we'll come to you!

I'm linking to:

Blue Cricket Designs Show and Tell

Life as Lori Get your Craft On

Alexandria Doll and a Sneak Peak

I wanted to take a moment to introduce everyone to a very special little doll.

This little doll was made for Sonia's niece, Alexandria who is turning 11 years old today!!

 

 

The dolly has hand embroidered burgundy glasses that look just like Alexandria's.

And a button-y nose.

 

Alexandria has beautiful curly brown hair, so we employed a tad bit of doodle stitching to add so pink swirling accents. 

 

Very fun!!

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh, yeah.... 

Did someone say sneak peak ??

Well, if you insist...

 

Here are a few of the dolls we're planning to display at the upcoming Spring Fling.

 

 

These are just a few of the dolls we've made especially for our upcoming spring shows.

If you're planning on attending the show next weekend (see above link), swing by the table early to meet all of the girls and boys. 

They may not stick around for long...

Anyone who is not able to make it,
we'll be listing any remaining dolls in our etsy shop once things are back to normal.

 

And by normal, I mean when we've successfully expelled all of the lint and loose thread that we've inhaled in the midst of our mad-woman preparations.

I'm linking to:

Baby Shower !!

We recently had an order for a baby shower present.  We were super excited for a chance to use this new 'wolf in sheep's clothing' flannelette which makes lovely burp pads, bibs and tag binkies.  And of course our always favorite alien robots got to play a part too.

This gorgeous flannel also made for cozy PJ's for the baby-to-be's Sleepy Time Doll.

I think the baby will love this sweet little soft play ball with its enticingly vibrant ribbon tags.

But a sweet little dolly sized bed finishes the set, as this little guy is tuckered out from a morning of playing ball with mom.

Sweet dreams,

Little One.

Note:  we will be adding bibs, binkies, burp pads and more Sleepy Time dolls to the Corner Store over the next while.  Please stop by at your leisure! 
We are always looking for new friends, so feel free to add yourself as a follower or to subscribe to our feed for frequent updates.

I'm linking to:

Third Street Corner Store

We are very pleased to announce that our Etsy store is now up and running. 

Yay!

 

Third Street Corner Store currently have 9 dolls listed for sale, and plan to list new things regularly, so check back often. 

 We will soon be listing a few monster plushies, baby and toddler bibs, hand embroidered onsies and undershirts, soft play balls and binkies. 

Stop by and let us know what you think!

Hurray!

Third Street Salvage Yard :: A Little Lacy

Sonia and I love to use upcycled materials of all kinds in our work and actually spend a lot of time at thrift stores looking for garments and materials that we can salvage for our dolls.  We've found that the dolls we've made in the past from upcycled fabrics have a special flair that renders them hopelessly endearing.  Maybe we're biased?  Hey, it's great to love what you do, right? 

As usual, I digress.  My wonderful parents visited yesterday - yes, they braved the germ house despite the big red cross I had painted on the front door to ward off unsuspecting visitors of our sickly state.  Don't worry, I made them burn their clothes before they left, for their own safety.  Anyways, my ever loving mother - always on the lookout for second hand goodies - brought over a big box FILLED with ribbon, binding, and trim or various types that she had snagged for Sonia and I from her work.  Lucky, I know!! 

Also, there's this cute little bonnet that I found in the midst.  It looks like an old fashioned night cap like the ones from Little House on the Prairie, where all of your hair is tucked up inside except for those few irresistible stray curls that simply refuse to be corralled.  At least that's what I think it is...  I tried to get My Sweet to model it for you, but no luck there.  Jules is in bed, and my curls are just too orderly for that sort of thing.  Right.  Anyways, Jules will love it, I'm sure. 

In thanks to our considerate Mom, I offer these little glimpses.  One thing about sick kids: they're always up for a snuggle! 

Good night !!

Blue Paint on my Elbow

Original Print Date: Wednesday, August 15, 2009 by Sonia for Vervain Designs

A beautiful sunny day and I'm painting Snowmen! Vervain Fair is fast approaching and we're working hard to have lots of beautiful things at our table. We've convinced our Dad to join the ranks at Vervain Designs! Our Dad is a carpenter who makes all kinds of cute little things out of wood. So far for the show he's made sleds that I'm painting... hence the blue paint I found on my elbow last night. He also makes accessories for our dolls, like rocking chairs and cradles.

Vervain Fair Craft Show will take place on Saturday September 12 at St. John the Evangelist Church Hall in Lower Sackville. This year's show will feature nearly double the exhibitors as last year and features free admission!