Beware The Halloween Hags!

The Hag

Robert Herrick-1648

The Hag is astride,
This night for to ride;
The Devill and shee together:
Through thick, and through thin,
Now out, and then in,
Though ne’r so foule be the weather.

A Thorn or a Burr
She takes for a Spurre:
With a lash of a Bramble she rides now,
Through Brakes and through Bryars,
O’re Ditches, and Mires,
She followes the Spirit that guides now.

No Beast, for his food,
Dares now range the wood;
But husht in his laire he lies lurking:
While mischiefs, by these,
On Land and on Seas,
At noone of Night are working,

The storme will arise,
And trouble the skies;
This night, and more for the wonder,
The ghost from the Tomb
Affrighted shall come,
Cal’d out by the clap of the Thunder. 

 

Happy Halloween!

Christmas Ornaments

I've been busy making hand
cast paper Christmas ornaments
 for Early Work Mercantile's

"Log Cabin Christmas."

Set of 5 hand cast cotton linter

ornaments from antique

cookie molds.

 Father Christmas

Feather Tree
 

Be sure to stop by

Early Work Mercantile

November 1st to see
all the offerings!

Primitive Folkart Prints

Have you ever received something in the mail that

you weren't expecting?  Something so surprising

it makes your jaw drop.  The other day I received this

wonderful folk art print from my dear doll maker

 friend Martha Bishop.

 At first glance I was struck by the vibrant

colors and subject matter so close to my heart.

As my eyes wandered over the large print

I was amazed by the detail. I could see my

Grandad's Ozark cabin.

I could see him sittin' here whittlin' away.

The simple print curtains that hung in his windows.

The time I found my Great Aunt Sarah, puffing

on her corn cob pipe in the wood shed, a secret I

 kept for her.  The dreaded trips to the out house

on a chilly October morning!   

 

The typical Ozark gourd bird house.

How many times did I help mama hang out the

laundry?

I love the bushel basket ready to be filled and

the fence to keep the critters out.

Grandad chewed tobacco, is that his spit can?

Swatin' flies, a favorite pastime on a hot summer day. 

Nothin' quenches your thirst like water straight

 from the well pump.

These ladies are doing laundry, but I am reminded

of the times we plucked chicken and turkey feathers.

A very unpleasant chore, but nothing tastes better

than corn fed poultry pan fried on a cast iron

 wood stove. 

Hangin' on to Mama's back side, the

safest place on earth.

Then I see the signature of the painter.

Of course she paints, her dolls are beautifully

painted!

 

To my surprise, a second print painted by

Martha's mother, Doris.  It too is colorful and

wonderfully detailed.  

My very favorite bible story from Sunday school.

Noah and his wife.

The detailed plans. 

Sham and Japeth with a model of the ark.  

Who's peeking in the window?  

  I am reminded of favored pet.  A white kitty

named Ace, our daughter had for 14 years.

 

I am sure Martha and Doris thought I would

like these prints but, I don't think they had

any idea how much they would touch my heart!

Thank you so much, I am

honored to have these prints

in my home!

 

You can see Martha's dolls at:

http://martha-maboriginals.blogspot.com/



Halloween At The Cabin

My motto this year for

holiday decorating is...

"Less Is Best"

Frankly, I am too darn busy

to fuss with it.

Just a simple greeting.

(I dug out last year's front door

sign and stuck it on the wreath.)

For the Halloween Hags.

As the old timers would say....

 "Just a wee nip, cuz thar ain't

nuthin' more ornery than a bunch

a stewed-up old hill hags!"

(I was at the store, they had

these little pumpkins, I put one

in the cart and sat it on the

porch barrel.)

The latest model in

hag transportation.  All

trade-ins considered.

(Okay, this hangs here year round.)

"The web of our life is a mingled

yarn; good and ill together."

William Shakespeare

(This stays out all year too, I just jazzed

it up for Halloween.)

Jim Shore colorful folk art.

(From the box to my table, I

didn't even change the place mats.)

What do these little critters

find so interesting?

(Same here, box to table. I didn't

even bother to dust.)

"Eye of newt and toe of frog,

Wool of bat and tongue of dog,

Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting,

Lizard's leg and owlet's wing,

For a charm of terrible trouble,

Like a hell-broth boil and bubble,

Double, double toil and trouble,

Fire burn and cauldron bubble."

 William Shakespeare

The jack-o-lantern looks
at home on my Granddad's
whittlin' chair.

(Gee whiz, I will have to pack
this all away in a few days!)

 

We live WAY out in the boonies,

in the last 10 years we have not

had a single trick-or-treater. 

I'm prepared just in case! 

 ( I really do love this holiday,

but out here in the hills, it comes

and goes without much fanfare.)

  

 

 

 

 

 

Brown Bag Halloween Mold

Brown Bag made several molds

for the Halloween season. I only have

this Jack-O-Lantern.

  I am always on the look out for the

 witch, ghost, haunted house, & scarry cat!

Jack-O-Lantern

Hag Stones-An Ozark Superstition

When I was a child, my mama told me many stories
 about what the old timers believed.  One such
story was the magic of the hag stone.  A hag stone
 is a stone that has a natural hole in it that has been
created by water boring through the stone over time.  
 As a child I spent many hours at the Swan creek
 looking for these illusive stones. 

A hag stone in your kitchen window will keep
the hags and evil spirits from entering your house.

 Putting a hag stone under your bed

 will cure rheumatism and cramps.

Hang a hag stone over a child's bed and it will

prevent nightmares.

If you look through the hole of a hag stone

during the witching hour you can see the fairies

and the wee folk.

  

The old timers would hang a hag stone on an

iron nail over the barn door to prevent their
horses from being hag- ridden at night.

 

I don't think my mother really believed these

stories, but there were always hag

stones in our kitchen window.

I have always had hag stones in

my kitchen window too,

just in case!

Lucy's Bears

My own dolly Miss Lucy is still

without any clothing! I really do

plan to start her wardrobe soon.  

In the meantime, I strung a

necklace out of small genuine

coral beads. This type of 
jewelry was often worn by children
in the 1800's as a charm to ward off 
sickness and ensure good health.
 
I also "created" 2 little old style
bears for her. I didn't make her
bears from scratch........ 

This little bear started

out as.....

a Boyd's Bear NASCAR

key chain.

This little bear was...

 a Boyd's Cheer Up Bear.

All I did was remove the tags

and plastic key holder.  Then I 

trimmed all the fur very short.

This little bear is about

4 inches tall.

 Same goes for this little guy,

he's about 3 1/2 inches tall. I

used a very sharp small pair

of scissors.  It took about an

hour to trim each bear.    

 

I found them on clearance

and only paid a couple dollars a

piece for them. I bought several,

just in case another doll needs

a special friend.

How easy is that?