The Kitchen Witch

Once upon a time, many years ago when I was little (around third grade, to be more precise), my mother told me a story about a Kitchen Witch. Her friend had received one as a gift and I didn't know what exactly a "kitchen witch" was, so my mother told me. The Kitchen Witch is a doll, often handmade, that is meant to be a good witch that keeps watch in the kitchen. It is meant to help ensure good food and safety, and to bring good luck.

So fast forward several months later and I was shopping for a birthday gift for my mom, when I just happened to spy, with my little kid eye, a Kitchen Witch in a store. Naturally, I had to buy it. I'm sure I was with my grandparents at the time, because they often took my sister and me shopping when my mom's birthday was near. The kitchen witch was an ugly looking thing, but hey, if she brought good luck I didn't care. So I got it and gave it to my mom and she loved it. She was surprised I'd remembered the story she told me about them. 

Fast forward again, to a not-so-enjoyable memory of my mother's passing last year. It was, of course, a very difficult time. A time of grief (that hasn't left me) and loss, but also of memories of times gone by. And one of the first things I thought of when I knew I'd be going to Texas for the funeral...was that kitchen witch.

Mom's kitchen witch was still hanging above the sink in her kitchen--precisely where it had hung in every single kitchen in every home she'd lived in since I gave it to her all those years ago. You can see that she's a bit worse for wear, a bit stained, and a bit...primitive-looking now (even though I gave her the most thorough cleaning that I could), as she hangs in my kitchen window, above the sink, just as Mom had her. And here she will hang, even when we eventually move to "the farm" we're planning to move into in the next few years...every day, until the day that I pass too.

Does she bring good luck? I don't know. But she does bring me the memory of a little girl, buying her mom a birthday present that she cherished until the day she died. And I just thought I'd share her with you today.

Primitive Doll Angel

I'm not really a collector of Primitive Dolls. I do love them, but I've never been one to collect them or go out looking for them. I own a few handmade doll treasures, but I've only actually purchased one or two of them myself. Recently though I was shopping online and came across a Primitive Doll Angel (or angel doll) that I fell in love with and had to buy.

Isn't she fabulous? She was made by Lucy at Lucy's Lazy Day Primitives. She is 29" long and is good and grungy with a wonderful coffee and vanilla scent. Her dress is an aged and faded cotton stripe, and there is hand-crocheted lace on her sleeves and used as her apron. I just can't tell you how much I love her. 

I decided to put her on my bed so I'll have a lovely primitive angel watching over us. She has got to be one of my favorite Primitive Finds to date! If you haven't visited Lucy's website, be sure to check her out. I'm so glad I found it. Somehow I think my mom may have led me to her!

Primitive Doll n Berries Basket

I have a lot of Primitive Home Decor that I change around from time to time. Sometimes I change it with the seasons, sometimes I change some little thing just because I need a change. My Primitive Doll n Berries Basket is a good example of that.

This basket sits on the table near my couch. It's always filled with Pip Berries, but I like to vary what other little goodies are in the basket from time to time. Right now, there's an adorable, handmade Primitive Doll in the basket with the Pip Berries. She was part of an ornie swap I was in a few years ago. I just loved her so much I wanted to keep her around the house, wherever I could find a spot. So she kind of travels around my home, finding new places to "live" now and again.

Part of living in tight financial times is cutting back on unnecessary purchases, and a lot of times home decor is just not necessary. So if I don't feel like making something, and if I can't afford to buy anything, moving things around in my home that I already have on hand is the best way to get a new look, without spending any money. I'm nothing if not cheap frugal!

I love my little Primitive Doll though. She is always smiling, she never asks for the remote control, and she brightens up my living room...without costing me a dime.

Primitive Rag Doll Angel Tutorial

I've always wanted to try making some Primitive Dolls, but I never seem to get around to it. Sewing is really not something I'm the best at, so I trick to stick more to things I'm better at. But I decided to try my hand at a primitive doll after coming across a photo and tutorial of a rag doll angel. I saved the tutorial, and I even bookmarked that site so I could link to it from here. But can I find either of those now? No. Sigh. So for now I will tell you how I did it and if/when I come across the blog again where I saw the Primitive Tutorial I will update this post with that information...because I always like to give credit where credit is due!

I didn't even use the tutorial when I created my Primitive Rag Doll Angel. I just used the image of it from my head as inspiration, because it is super easy to make. And I knew I wasn't going to make mine look exactly the same as in the tutorial. I think it came out great and I just love it!

Supplies Needed

• 6-12 strips of 16-20" torn muslin, or similar fabric (there is no right or wrong on sizes for this)
• A 5" doily (I got mine really cheap at JoAnn Fabrics
• A 6" square of homespun, your choice of color/pattern (for the head scarf)
• A 1/2" strip of homespun for the angel's neck
• A 2" Styrofoam Ball (preferably smooth foam)
• Straight Pins
• Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Coffee Shop color,  or your own Grungy Sauce (you can use my recipe found in the Grungy Hang Tag Tutorial if you like)
• Rubber Bands
• Hot Glue

Instructions

1. Take your foam ball, your torn strips of muslin, and your straight pins and, one at a time, drape a strip over the ball, sticking a pin in the top of the ball through each strip to hold it in place (you could use hot glue for this instead if you like, but I wanted to work faster and without the heat of the glue). Lay the next strip in the opposite direction across the ball and pin in place. Continue this process using as many strips as it takes to completely cover the ball.
2. Take a rubber band and twist it around the strips at the base of the ball multiple times, until it's secure. This gathers the strips to create a neck and also helps hold everything in place.
3. Fold your homespun square in half to make a triangle and drape it across the doll's head, about half way back, to create a sort of bandana/scarf look. I used just a dab of hot glue in the middle of the front of the homespun to secure it to the head.
4. Take your 1/2" homespun strip and tie it around the neck with a bow in the front.
5. Fold your doily in half to create wings and hot glue it to the back of the angel; do it in a few places to make sure it stays put.
6. Then take your Glimmer Mist and just spritz it all over until the doll is as grungy as you want it to be. If you are using your own Grungy Sauce you can spritz it on instead with a spray bottle and then let it dry. I like to use a heat gun to speed up the drying process.

And that's it! Your doll is finished. You can use the homespun tied around the neck to help hang this up on the wall. Or you could use an ornament hook to make it a little easier, or some rusty craft wire. I love that I created a really simple, no-sew primitive doll, and added to my collection of Grungy Goods in the process. I love grungy stuff! And there are so many ways you could vary this doll to give it your own creative and primitive touch.

Primitive Annies Bowl Fillers

I'm always looking for new things to do with muslin bags. They are so affordable, and so easy to use in various primitive craft projects. Most of the time I like to grungy them up for that real primitive look, but sometimes I will leave them plain and see what I can do with them. Here's one idea that I think is really cute that features graphics that look like primitive dolls.

These are just plain white muslin bags that measure 3-1/4" x 5" in size. To add the graphics, I just found some that I liked in my vast collection, and then I printed them onto iron-on transfer inkjet paper, which you can find at any office supply store. Then I ironed them onto the bags, and finished them off by stuffing them with fiberfill. The only thing you have to remember when using iron-on transfer paper is that if whatever you are printing includes text, you need to choose the option to reverse the design before you print. Otherwise, your text will print backwards. ;)

I have used these as primitive bowl fillers, mixed with some pip berry accents and old buttons. You could also throw in other handmade fabric ornies, or dough ornies. But they can also be perfect on any  little country or prim shelf decor you have in your home. And you can use absolutely any graphics you have to print on these and change them out from season to season. They would also make really cute gifts.

Primitive Shelf in the Kitchen

I have shelf unit in my kitchen where I keep lots of primitives and antiques. I change things up on the shelves once in awhile, especially if my hubby brings home some newly discovered antique bottles or something (which he does quite often). I thought I'd share a photo of one shelf on that unit that is full of a variety of antique and primitive goodies.

There are 3 antique bottles on this shelf; the Hubs found each of those under a different house in town. He's a plumber and a contractor, so he's actually digging under and around people's houses all the time. So he often brings home some little bottle or what-not. You'll also see a glass chicken dish, which is an antique and used to belong to my great grandmother. The little white mug and old domino are two more items the Hubs found under a house (might even have been ours...it's hard to keep track). The 2 tins are reproductions of old spice cans. The miniature butter churn is one we found at an auction somewhere. I just thought it was cute so had to buy it. There are also a few random resin chickens here and there (I seem to have a chicken theme on this shelf, now that I think about it); and there's a cute primitive doll that is part of a handmade ornie swap from Prim Mart.

The one really special piece on the shelf though is in the left-hand corner in a frame. It is the antique sole of a shoe that my husband found underneath our home during one of our many remodeling projects (it only took us 15 years to gut and remodel every single room in our 1890 house!). I loved that little find, because it just made me wonder what the shoe looked like. And it also made me wonder what the child looked like who might have worn it, and did they wear it while walking in our house? So I decided to frame the old sole, and I added a caption to it that reads, Footsteps of the Past. Seemed very appropriate for this truly timeworn treasure.

Primitive Dolls at Home

Thought I'd start sharing some more photos of primitive home decor around my house from time to time. As I've mentioned before, I don't really go all out with primitives. I do love them, but I like to use simple prim touches rather than wall-to-wall prim in each room of my home. 

This photo is of a corner in my living room where I have two cute primitive dolls. I just call it the doll corner. It's kind of lonely right now, as there are only 2 little dolls sitting there. But I'm not a doll collector, so that's just all I happen to have. I'll tell you though, if I do come across a primitive doll that I love, I will definitely buy it. I do think my little doll corner needs to have one more doll sitting there. 

The largest doll is one I bought from a Prim Mart member. I just saw this doll she had advertised for sale and I fell in love with her on the spot and had to have her. The small doll is one that actually came from a primitive ornie swap on Prim Mart. I think she is so adorable, and I loved her so much I didn't want to pack her up with my other ornies and hide her away. So there she sits, in my little doll corner.