Email Subscription

Some time ago, I added the sign up link for those of you who would like to follow this blog via email notification. Well, I wondered why it seemed as though nothing ever came of that, and so, investigating, I learned that I had never finished the set up! It's now set up properly, and therefore, I hope you who did sign up will receive this apology for my ineptitude in things hi-tek.

I hope soon to do a few things different for this blog, like a new banner, since this one is beginning to bore me. Well, let's say although I will always love all things Currier & Ives, I simply do need a change.

I hope to be more diligent in tending to my blog, and I look forward to hearing from each and every one of you.

Thank you for visiting.

Very sincerely,

Christine

Coinkydink

My friend, Gretchen Nation, put the picture of a doll on her Facebook page as her avatar. I recognized that funny doll and couldn't remember where I'd seen it. I thought perhaps at an estate sale, or a flea market. On that very same day I saw her new avatar, as Brigitte (daughter) and I went to Monticello Antique Marketplace. Lo and behold, there was that doll in the space of friends and dealers, Terry and Sonia of Vintage Station and Monticello and Wade Creek. Such a coinkydink, er coincidence, I think! I had Brigitte take my picture so I could text it to Gretchen. So funny!

You may note that I have stopped having my hair colored. It's worn in a ponytail in this picture, and the first four inches are my natural white and a little of the dark still in there. The ponytail is still a yellowish blonde now, leftover from coloring. No more coloring!

Happy Autumn and Gypsy Decor.

Firstly, I am always in my best spirits during the fall season. Today is the official first day of autumn and I am in my own heaven.

Of late, along with my fun condition of horror vacui, I've discovered a decor that befits this love of beauty and design perfectly, and that is what I have discovered as Gypsy decor. I gleaned the following pictures from the Internet, and I do have these on my Pinterest under the title of Gypsy Decor. Of course, I realize that this look is probably a bit difficult to live with all the time, and so, I simply derive pleasure from viewing the collections of lush color and textiles from others. Although, my home is sort of getting there. 

Horror Vacui

I love Victorian treasures, from virtually the world over. Luckily, my dear husband, Gregory, does too, and he always finds my choices appealing. He and I will celebrate our 45th. year as husband and wife tomorrow, the 14th. of September! Our choice in celebrating will take us on a little antiques buying trip down to Coburg near Eugene. We'll stop in at shops along the way from our home in Oregon City, through historic Aurora and down through our lovely capitol of Salem, and on into Albany and so on. 

Of course, because we sell antiques, we must keep our eyes out for more and more wonderful treasures pretty much always!

Following are some of the items I have selected down through the years for our boudoir. But meanwhile, some of you may ask, what is horror vacui?

In visual art, horror vacui (/ˈhɔrər ˈvɑːkjuːaɪ/; from Latin "fear of empty space"), also cenophobia(/sɛnəˈfoʊbɪə/, from Greek "fear of the empty"),^[1] is the filling of the entire surface of a space or anartwork with detail.

Horror Vacui is a condition that I enjoy. But not as seriously as the actual definition indicates. Like the Victorians before me, I too, love filling my space with many wonderful treasures in which to feast my eyes on at every turn. Once in a while I go through a minimalist stage that lasts only a little while, and I pack up many of my treasures and march them off to sell or store them away until a rainy day.

We have many rainy days here in our corner of the world, and such a pleasure it is for me to find my treasures again and to bring them back out!

I Forgot!

I wondered why I received no comments on my last post. Then suddenly it hit me today that I have that thing set to where I must approve of the comments first. So, they're all on now, and I apologize for the long wait.

The convenience of an email to me is much nicer than having me forget all of the time. Once-in-a-blue I get someone who is not very nice. I can just delete those comments. So I will undo comment moderator.

Thank you to all of your dear ones who've left comments!

Christine

Oregon Pictures

I haven't posted since July, so I just decided to Google Image pictures of my beautiful home state, and here are a few I've chosen to share. I was delighted to see MY house among Oregon Victorian houses. It's the 9th one down.

Below is my house!

Another Tillie, A Queen Anne Styled Doll (My Style, that is....)

I have to confess that I do love my Tillie dolls. Lately I've been making their arms and hands of cloth. I used to use liquid maché poured into molds, as I do the head/bust, but they always seemed to be a bit too cold for my likes.

In my last post, I showed the only other Tillie that I ever made with the cloth arms/hands. Of course, she sold long ago. And now I am proud to say that this Tillie is also now sold.

Tillie

Tillie is the name I gave to this model of a Queen Anne doll that I designed. This particular doll was sold two years ago, but I never really had a chance to enjoy her, and so, I am doing so right here-and-now via the wonderful world of photography. These dolls are made from molds that I had made by a professional mold maker, although, I now make my own molds for any newer designs to be added to my line of dolls.

The original Tillie dolls had maché forearms and hands, but I don't enjoy pouring those with the liquid maché that I use, and so this one was the first one I made with cloth arms and hands. This also lowers the price on this model. And it is more enjoyable for me to actually sew and stuff the arms and hands.

I've recently learned that my tendency in my doll making is pulling away from creating exact replicas of the past. I am now more enamored of utilizing a more assemblage art manner of creating my dolls. Tillie's art is the example of added influences. Her art is her purse, which I loved making.

My favorite subject in art always turns out to be the human figure, preferably clothed in a romantic old world fashion. I look forward to creating more assemblages with some of my dolls, as well as with bits and pieces of actual old dolls. I will share as I go, and hope you will derive some pleasure from my creations.

This Just In re: Jeanne d'Arc Living magazine subscriptions

Hi Christine,

Thank you for the e-mail.

Unfortunately what you have been told is not correct. We do not offer subscriptions for private persons we only deal with retailers. But she can have a subscription though one of your retailer that sends the magazines to her.

Have a great day J

Mange hilsner | Kind regards Rasmus Jensen Retail Coordinator E:   raj@jeannedarcliving.dk W:  www.jeannedarcliving.dk

Houmarksvej 92 | DK-8920 Randers NV    T:   (+45) 36 93 20 10 | Contact  09.00 – 14.00

Fra: Christine LeFever [mailto:christinelefever@comcast.net]
Sendt: 7. juni 2013 17:09
Til: Info
Emne: [INFO] - Subscription?

Hello,

I was under the impression that the only way to procure the magazine is through a dealer, and not through personal subscription. Meanwhile an acquaintance told me she has subscribed to the magazine for years.

How may I subscribe to the magazine?

Thank you.

Christine

We were both right.  I said you cannot get the magazine without going to a dealer. The woman who challenged my information did not make the point about getting a subscription through a dealer. She emailed me and emphatically scolded me. Yes, you may subscribe, via a dealer/retailer.

I rest my case.

:-)

The Purple Pear ~ Portland, Oregon ~ Annie Sloan Paints ~ Jeanne d'Arc Living Magazine

Oh but I love to paint. And painting furniture, for me, has never been more fun, since I discovered the incredible Annie Sloan chalk paints through The Purple Pear in Portland. 

Phyllis deVries has her shop filled with all that Annie Sloan offers including the special waxes one uses with her paints, and special brushes and lovely books and of course, Phyllis teaches how to use these paints to their best advantage.

But that's not all. Phyllis also offers the incredible Jeanne d'Arc Living magazines that seem only to be bought through dealers. In other words, this beautiful magazine that is published in Denmark in many languages, may not be something you can subscribe to. You must procure it from the dealers. Phyllis has these beautiful inspirational wonderful magazines for us! Meanwhile, an old acquaintance recently informed me that one may subscribe to it, because she does and has for years. I am looking into this and will keep you posted in a later blog post.

Also throughout the shop are stencils for sale and lovely home decor specialties from artists like Wendy Addison, and beautiful cards by Wendy Paula Patterson as well as charming things from France. Her coffee table book selection is enchanting as well.

Below are some shots I took at the shop just the other day. Scroll through my pictures and see!

Some of My 'Children'

I do love old dolls, and I do have a few of them. The dolls pictured below dwell throughout my house and I am happy to share some of them today.

Below:

 Three lovely porcelains in a buggy in the entry hall.

Below:

 My Emma sits on the little marble table top of our dining room pier glass. This doll is a very old one, circa 1820's. She is known as a milliner's model. Her forearms and lower legs are made of wood. Her head and bust are maché which, incidentally, was a liquid material poured into moulds.

Below:

I found Faith in Waynesville, Ohio at Olde Glory, a beautiful shop owned by Bea Sparrow. Faith is holding a Jennifer/Norma Schneeman doggy, found at the same shop. The old baby photo is of my dear father, the late Joseph Warren Pedersen. Also pictured is Daddy at around age 4. The little girl pictured is my Grandmother at age 7, not Daddy's mother, but Mother's mother. She was Agnes Verniece Bird Nelson.

Below: 

Hannah is my very first maché head doll. Below you can see her sitting in a Civil War era rocking chair in our dining room.

Below:

Hattie and Maggie are both maché head pre-Greiner dolls. Little Maggie is a doll's doll. They sit in our dining room in this beautiful Renaissance Revival chair. Maggie is an antique doll. Hattie is one that I made.

Below are Hope and Amy, two maché head dolls that I enjoy as they sit prettily in our entry hall.

Below:

I found Jenny, pictured below, at an antiques mall for a ridiculously low price. Her forearms and her legs were not attached and she is missing a tooth. I did what I could to repair the limbs and to put something on her until I will have the time to make her something prettier to wear. I pretend she is seven years old and lost that tooth, and that she is thrilled at what the tooth fairy has brought her.

The following bevy of cloth dolls are dear to my  heart. The large one was found at Olde Glory. It is not an antique. The one in the light blue plaid was made by the amazing Pam Haber of Ghost Island Primitives. The one in black is a very old doll that I bought at A Simple Life show in Tennessee at The Museum of Appalachia in the fall of 2012. The other doll also procured at the same show is hand made by a lovely doll artist from Tennessee, but alas, I do not have her name. She did not sign it. The dress is made from very old fabric.

Ah Prue, my dear little peg-wooden that I made long ago and named Prudence Jane Plumb. Little Prue resides in our entry hall on my precious, small Eastlake desk.

Pretty Rebecca also resides in the entry hall across from the Eastlake desk. She was found at Stars & Splendid Antiques Mall in Portland, Oregon back in 2009 in a plastic bag, all parts unassembled. I put her back together and dressed her in a modest but beautiful dress made by the wonderful doll maker, Kathy Patterson of Babes From the Woods. I apologize for failing to get a full length picture of the dress. I promise, I will one-of-these-days.

Lastly shown, also in the entry  hall, is my Queen Anne doll named Tess. Tess is my little movie star, for you see, two of this doll were bought by Warner Brothers for the delightful film, Felicity. My dolls are featured in the scene in the town store, as the two little actresses talk to one another.  My Tess below is obviously overseeing the dolls in the entry hall.