Time for a Change

Time for a Change
Hey Everyone,
I know it's been a really long time since my last post but I have come to a cross roads in the proverbial state of time. . .

I have been crafting primitives, making soap, refinishing vintage wooden bowls and making signs for just about 10 years as Crane's Nest Creations now and I have finally come to the conclusion that for the amount of time and money spent that this just is not working for me

I was working 8 to 10 hours a day, 6 days a week for a couple of years, outside of home and then come home and spend money to craft, something I love to do but the truth of the matter is, I do not enjoy my life. I spend all my time planning and buying supplies and crafting things that just do not yield my worth. People who buy those things just don't seem to value what I do and it leads me to a place of discontent

So I'm listing some organic homemade soaps I made for the gift giving season and will continue with selling farmhouse mercantile type stuff, and creating sometimes when spirit moves me. Maybe I'll make patterns for all the things I make, just a thought as I now I'm working only part time (In burnout and pain from too much work)

So I guess this post serves as my notice that I will no longer be contributing to the Primitive Folk Art homemade market on a regular basis any longer. If you had any interest in what I do in the past, you can go to my ETSY shop and enjoy what I have made for the end of this season

At some point you have to say,( at 64 years of age), I guess it's just time I focus on me for a change

I appreciate your vigilance and checking in every once in a while, many blessings to you
and most of all Thank you for being my audience

Take care and God bless. . .

Penny

www.cranesnest.store

www.etsy.com/shop/cranesnest
www.ebay.com/pennysworld.262

Primitive Christmas Items Blog Sale

Primitive Christmas Items Blog Sale

I placed a Buy it Now Button on my blog for easy purchases during the holiday season for buying your convenience. It includes my most popular items like the Santa's Cloak, Snowmen Characters on Rusty Bed springs and  Wool Tree Crock Fillers. Purchases can be made right through Paypal.

Of course you can always visit my ETSY shop except the things on my blog post are pictures of listings from ebay and ETSY only last about a week so you need to hurry and grab them before they are sold at auction.

Any questions or concerns you can contact me through a comment on this blog I do check it everyday.

Enjoy the holiday season and many blessings to you during the joyous winter holidays

Till next time. . .

You can get these at Oakridgeprims in Green http://www.ebay.com/itm/172015300878?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

For Red (Pictured) I have them on Ebay as well for $10.33 starting bid

http://www.ebay.com/itm/331721615229?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

Primitive Folk Artist-Penny Crane-Brings Winter Blessings to ETSY & Ebay

Primitive Folk Artist-Penny Crane-Brings Winter Blessings to ETSY & Ebay
Yep, I've been creating up a storm over here and the characters are just flying off the sewing machine

♥This Santa guy is dressed in a piece of an old Bemis Feed Sack that is made from Hemp. They are pretty cool and on EBay and Etsy right now for sale, so check them out, he's called a Cupboard Tuck doll in the world of Primitives and the other Santa is a make-do, he is built on a vintage textile beehive bobbin♥
 Ebay is under seller Oakridgeprims, here's a link to access this listing then you can click on See Sellers other items to get to the rest of them http://www.ebay.com/itm/172008526719?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649
 and etsy can be accessed in the side margin of this blog, My  ETSY Store is www.etsy.com/shop/cranesnest


♥The two little snowmen are constructed on an old
rusty bed spring as a foundation and they are dressed in flannel robes with dirty felt hats. (cinnamon sprinkled is called grungy) It's a fun place to dwell in the Primitive World as you get to play with these little guys before someone takes them home. I love doing this, it just doesn't pay like it used to as people would rather buy junk made in China from Walmart or Target than to support a local Artist. So sad. I'm an OOAK Primitive Artist which stands for "One of A Kind" which means I create each and everyone of these from scratch without the use of a pattern so everyone of them are different with their very own little personality and even if I am making lets say 6 pair of Elf Shoes, they will all be different as well because you just can not duplicate something exactly, not ever

I'm going out tomorrow to try again to find a job even if it is only part time as I haven't figured out how to pay the rent and not work outside my home. In the mean time, I'll just keep talking to God and sewing until something better comes along . . . ♥

Till next time, many blessings this winter holiday season

Winds of Change are Blowing Again

The winds of change continue to blow. It has been six full months since I left the farm in Bristol Wisconsin. I can not say that it has been a delightful experience in any sense of the word. I miss Wisconsin terribly as living in Illinois is very hard on my eco system, if you are able to understand the flow of energy and how it effects you on a soul level. Each and every day is a challenge with the traffic, noise and feel of the vibrations coming from the earth. I have had a difficult time adjusting to it. My job has been very taxing to say the least, demanding long hard hours at the restaurant, waiting tables, cooking, cleaning attempting to keep up with the flow of business, the menu changes, training of the staff and trying to hire enough people to cover schedules. I have come to the end of this road.


I am taking back my power and how I see myself as a person (or being of light) and not just a manager for a company that only cares about the bottom line so that the corporate people can live their lives while I continue to sacrifice mine. I am ecstatic to announce it is Officially Over. I Quit!


I have accepted a position with the Bristol Renaissance Fair, working part time in the office and I will continue to sell leather masks & magical wands at Eyes in Disguise, during the season of fair which opens  on July 12th, the week end after 4th of July.


I have been gifted with the ability to manifest things pretty quickly (except for the winning lottery numbers that is) and have seen things I only thought about days prior come into full fruitarian of physical form right in front of me. Everything falling into place so that I may live the life I had only dreamed for, which is to work the Bristol Faire and afford to spend my time being a primitive artist, learning to live a vegan & holistic lifestyle, making healthy all natural soaps and helping others on their journey through this maze of negativity. I keep reminding myself that I must be very careful what I think about as Thoughts Do Become Things. I trust that I have been placed here for a very good reason and even though I had the opportunity to move to a beautiful apartment that I had the pleasure of viewing just after I moved in December, I passed it up as it appears that the planets were in alignment for me to go forward with my dream.


So here I stand, feeling as though I am ready to take flight off the end of a cliff, trusting that I will not fall. That things will come to pass as I see myself being a successful artist and living my life out in joy filled with grace and ease. Enjoying what I love most, the Bristol Faire & Primitive art. So I quit my job and I am beginning this fabulous journey that I intend on sharing with you along the way and joining my best friend Vicki @ Oakridge Primitives once again


Many blessings to you. . .


Oh yeah, I would still love to be a Philanthropist in the near future, which has always been my ultimate dream. . .LOL


till next time

Oh September, the Romance begins

Every September the romance begins. . .
It's when my heart starts to sing in it's orchestrated fashion as the nights become cool and leaves begin to turn color. Here in the Midwest it is a welcome change from the heat of summer. It's when the Renaissance faire has ended and that in itself is a sweet sorrow. The parting of old friends as they travel to other places or back home for the winter months. The farms around me are getting ready for the harvest and as the fall equinox comes around it starts the festivities of our farming community.
Oh to dwell in such a wonderful place, I am filled with gratitude everyday for the wonder of this life and all the beauty around me.
This is also when I am working hardest at creating my primitive art for the fall and All Hallows Eve celebrations. I love Halloween Art. It makes me so happy to contribute to the vast supply of  pumpkin keep sakes and dolls as collectible treasure's for years to come.
I added a Paypal, Buy it Now button to my blog today and posted pictures of my two newest creations.

This is Valerina, she is 13" tall and her walking stick is 16", she sits on a rusty bed spring. She is quite the little Harvest Thyme princess
Priscilla is 18" tall to the tip of her witch hat and stands on an old vintage bee hive bobbin, a little Steam Punkish of sorts in her grungy overcoat and a key lapel pin, they sell for $33.99 and can be purchased right here from my blog. The drop down list allows you to pick either Primitive Halloween doll.

And talk about abundance,
I own such a huge collection of Halloween Deco that I am setting my living room up as a retail store and will host a Halloween Estate Sale this year in an attempt to lessen the load that I carry and store year after year. This is a time of clearing for me. To be able to move forward with less to move around and fill the garage with totes. I was truly amazed at the fact that none of the 26 totes that are filled with Halloween stuff where desecrated by mice or spiders. Talk about being blessed and watched over. Since I dwell in the woods at the tip of a farmers field. As I was sitting in my craft room, sewing tiny mice for the witch shoes last night, I could hear the little buggers running and playing in the ceiling above me as the farmers just cleared the last of the wheat from the fields this last week. Which creates yet another task, set before me for the season.

All in all it's a wonderful time of year and one that fills me with peace and contentment as I work and craft the hours away. . .
Enjoy the season  to it's fullest and take the time to enjoy your life. . .
 

Thanksgiving is Almost Sold Out, Here comes Santa

I have to say it has been a most interesting journey of late. With the full moon and 11-11-11 transforming the energies of the planet and everyone on it.
Just when you thought you knew what was down the road, oops, one more flat tire. That's what my life has been like the past couple of weeks. No Wait, I'm not saying it's a bad thing as I am well versed in the fact that change is good and that everything happens for a reason. It's just when it all happens at once that you really must stop and take into account, "What have I been thinking?"  When you start to look around you and none of the faces of the people you have grown to love and trust, have all of a sudden changed and you start to see them in their true light. It's not a pretty picture when you find yourself surrounded by thieves and lairs, people who have done they're best to take advantage of you when you thought you had nothing left to take. It makes you start to believe in shape shifting.
I'm keeping my head up and moving forward and with each and every minuet I will find the love and happiness that I truly have spent my life earning. As I move away from the past that does not serve me into a heightened awareness of being I know that at the end of the day I will have learned at least 3 new things and even considered 7 Impossible things before breakfast. As I continue down this road, finding new things to learn, people to love and some wonderful art work that spirit has been hiding from me, I plan to create it all over again. I know better than that. I create from spirit and I'm always grateful for the beautiful gifts I receive (even if they do turn out to be a joke). 

Enough of the tangent. . .just know that thoughts do become things, so always think the very best ones. It will be your life in the next instant. Merry Holidays. . . a toast to the best year any primitive artist can have. Success to us all. . .blessed be!

Harvest Vacation Tyme

Over the last couple of weeks I have been on vacation from my regular full time job and have had the pleasure of spending some much valued time with my best friend and business partner, Vicki, of Oak Ridge Primitives. Together we laughed until we cried, created some winter artwork and came up with many new ideas to help us build a quality line for this fall and winter. Vicki does the craft faires and markets during the weekends, we still sell most of our fall and winter line on eBay. This business has really meant allot to both of us, not only for the financial aspects of it but because we are able to brainstorm and come up with some really neat stuff. EBay allows us to showcase our creations and sell them all over the world which is something that we find most attractive as artists.

Our logo is "Where hand & Spirit come together" and I really have to say that the creations offered on our site are just that. We were talking just today and she asked me how I did the eyes on "Sonja" the snow flake girl, which I finished this morning. I told her, "You know, sometimes I just don't know how I'm going to do it and I push ideas around as if I'm talking to someone, then I sit down to accomplish it and that's exactly what happens, it gets accomplished, and sometimes I can't even say that I, personally am responsible for it." It's as if there is someone else working with my hands because I really don't know how I would come up with some of these things that I manage to do. And with much joy and gratitude I finish them and take pictures to get them listed on eBay for auction. Creating is truly a gift.

These last two weeks have been a wonderful reminder that "hand and Spirit" do work together and I am so grateful to be the vehicle of expression for spirit to work through. And so before I go back to the daily grind once again, I will finish the rest of my work and list them tomorrow.

On the left hand side of this blog there is a link to Oak Ridge Primitives eBay auction, please take the time to take a look. . .and enjoy our lives with us. . .

with love and light. . .

Today's Blessings

Today has been a true blessing in the world of a primitive crafter. I have received sooo many great crafting ideas, finished three great projects and the rain has been just so soothing. It has dampened the ground nicely and the pollen counts are way down in the area, which is just great for me. Me and Vicki went and did some ditch picking, and for those of you who would think this is picking up garbage in the ditches, it is not. Ditch picking is going into remote areas to pick wild flowers, moss, leaves, acorns, flower pods and anything we can use for our primitive crafts. After filling up the car and trunk with treasures we headed home to strip them and hang them to dry so now we have some really awesome drieds to use in our fall and winter creations. Primitive folk art is such a fun craft. Ideas flow sometimes, at a rate that it is nearly impossible to take all the notes and draw all the pictures to keep up with the suggestions that the universe throws out there. It's quite a challenge to put it all together and have it come out like you imagined it. Sometimes it is even better than you thought it would be and that is always a bonus. Other times it totally turns into something else which in turn is quite the surprise. I have much to be grateful for in my world. It brings such peace to know that all is well in the world of crafting through spirit. I love my life and all the opportunities set before me as an artist. Being filled with gratitude and in love with life is so wonderful that I wish it for everyone. May you be blessed. . .
In my next few posts I will be going back to the subject of meditation, clearing of chakras and healing energies through meditation. With the harvest season just around the corner with the next full moon on the 18th, we will slowly start our fall reduction of activity and a really good time to evaluate ourselves in our journey. Until then. . . bliss to you