A Week at DFH - Wednesday

Wednesday

Is it Wednesday already?  The days kinda fly by.  

So, what happens on Wednesdays?  

Well, lots of last minute prepping of the dolls.  Hair trim and style, cheeks blushed, clothes put on so they all look gorgeous for their public debut later today.  Actually, I got that done late last night so I get some down time this morning to type this post and get some supply ordering done..yep it never ends :o)

Also, behind the scenes, we take the yarn that has been dyed up and plot out what we need for the next week.  

Here is a pic of some of the yarn dyed up yesterday...

Sometime in the later afternoon, our very own super crochet mama Kristen comes by to pick up and drop off.

Here she is...

Another super adorable mama, huh?

Kristen is amazing.  She is a super talented, super sweet mama of 2 adorable sweet heart girls.  She has never batted an eye when she shows up and I show her something I whipped up and ask her to figure out how I did it ( cause I am awesome at writing things down)  :o)  She smiles, goes home and gets on it and in literally no time at all, she is sending me pics of her own version...yep, she's pretty awesome.  Wait till you all see what we have been cooking up for you all in the coming week or so...you will see just how awesome Kristen is at crocheting...and you are gonna LOVE it.

Kristen is expecting her third kiddo right now, she has been pretty sick so she has not been her usual active self.  She had a difficult day yesterday so we are hoping she rests today and continues to do so for however long it takes her to rest up.  

Hear that mama?  Rest, nap, don't forget to eat, then rest and nap some more...oh...and drink some water :o)  we want you whole, energetic, healthy and happy.

OK so what else?  hmmm more training, dying and various other tasks.  Preview pics will be up later this afternoon around 4:00 pm central.

I think that about covers it all.  I guess I'd better get on some of my stuff now.  Have a great day, see you all later today with the previews.

A Week at DFH - Tuesday

Tuesday.

Another day another bunch of work to be done :o)

OK so Tuesdays,  are filled with lots of little tasks yet to be done.  

Today,  we will start prepping the dolls for this week's upload.  Trimming hair and last minute clothing changes because when laid out, I realized I wanted to go with a different look  (I tend to do that a lot..and yeah,  folks LOVE it when I do that). 

The absolutely wonderful mama of three adorable little people, Jess comes over to pick up and drop off. 

Here she is...

How adorable eh?  

She is so super sweet...all the ladies are.  She is an amazing sewer and don't even get me started on her three little cuties...seriously,  it is really hard not to just hug them to death when you see them...they are so PRECIOUS.  

Jess is extremely creative.  Right now she is taking it a little easy since she has a newborn (oh my gosh, he is absolutely squeezable) but as soon as she is ready, we will be tapping into that creativity to come up with even more fun things for you all so stay tuned for that.

This is what she picks up...

And, this is what she drops off...

Jess is pretty awesome :o)

So what else for today?  

Lots and lots of yarn to dye in prep for Kristen tomorrow, a few faces sewn onto a few dolls while I am waiting at the dentist's office as my three youngest get their teeth cleaned, sewing a couple last minute items, and wrapping it all up with Driver's Ed class for my 15 year old son. 

Yep, it's a glamorous life.

From time to time, the subject of getting a space to work from has come up.  

I guess you could say we could do it now and would grow into the space, so why not?   

After seriously mulling it over, I think it all comes down to the fact that if we had a space, we would need to have folks in it all day long working.  Including myself.  I would then be away from my family all day.  Since we homeschool, this would completely alter our lifestyle and that is something I am not willing to do.  We made the decision long ago to live a certain way and it is important to Robert and I that we continue to do so.  

So why not have a space and have someone else be there while I come and go?  

It's a pretty simple answer, I am not willing to have someone else do something I am not willing to do myself. I realize that there will probably come a time when we will absolutely NEED to move into a space...for now, it's not so much a necessity.  For now, we made the decision to keep plugging along like we are, growing our little troop of work at home mamas...and keeping them work at home mamas.  

It's pretty cool working this way, I mean think about it...

  We are not contributing to pollution (no mamas driving to work means no car exhaust), no time lost commuting and no stress of sitting in traffic.  By not spending the money on a space, we can use that money instead to hire another work at home mama or two :o)  DFH gets to grow with the help and expertise of happy mamas, putting all that positive energy into making our creatures.  And best of all,   these ladies get to spend precious time with their growing families. 

It's win, win

OK,  so that's it for today...I had better get some work done, that yarn is not going to dye itself :o)

Have a great day everyone, see you tomorrow.

A Week at DFH - Monday

  This week I will give you a run down of each day so you will get a chance to meet all the folks involved with making these wonderful creatures every week.  These are some pretty awesome folks,  you guys are gonna love them :o) Let's start with today

Monday.

This is the day Mr DFH processes the shipping. 

He's pretty organized so he makes it look easy. 

 Little known fact about Mr DFH,  he works from home full time as an IT geek :o) (he loves it when I call it that)  Anyway,  he spends his Monday doing conference calls, taking care of some sort of technical stuff on his computer (no, I do not know a better way to put that)  processing the shipping and of course helping out around here with the kiddos and all their various needs and issues.  Yeah, he's pretty awesome.

As for me,  I spend the day putting on all the noses and prepping bodies to go to the ladies for assembling as well as prepping for training (if any is going on that day)  This is also my day for planning out what exactly we all are gonna do for the next week both for the shop and the family.  Hair combos and clothes for this week's dolls are chosen and plotted out.   Types of dolls are also plotted out for the next week and lists are made with the head and body sizes. 

There is also the time set aside doing some sort of school related work with the kiddos...music classes, math, reading...you get the idea :o)

Sometime, in the afternoon The awesome and super sweet Jo comes by.

Here she is :o)

Isn't she so cute?  Jo is a rockstar...seriously.  She is a stay at home mama to two absolutely adorable and busy little guys, Blake and Chase.  Seriously, these two guys are absolutely precious.  Her hubby is really awesome too and a super cool dad.   (had to add that in :o)  She has a degree in economics...yeah she's pretty doggone smart :o)  

Jo comes by with about 12 bodies she spent the previous week assembling.  She also picks up another 12 to work on throughout the rest of this week as well as all the wool and various other supplies she needs.  I told you she was a rock star :o)

I cannot tell you how sweet she is and how cool it is to know her.  She's a perfectionist, making sure every stitch is perfect..but you guys already know that :o)

Another little behind the scenes helper, Brenna.  

For those of you who don't know yet, she is my gorgeous and super talented oldest daughter :o)  She's 16.

When she is not volunteering at In Sync Wild Cat Rescue, tooling around in her car or just plain hanging out, she is my side kick.  On Monday, her job primarily is to give me weird looks :o)  just kidding. She wraps yarn to be ready to dye.  

She will be starting college in January..so her schedule will be even more full by then.

This mama is Sissy.

Sissy is an awesome friend and neighbor who jumps in to help with just about everything as needed :o)  She is a stay at home mama of 4 awesome boys...three are nearly grown (24, 16, 15) and one little guy Tyler, is 4.  Tyler is way too cute and every bit the younger brother :o)  Seriously, all four of her boys are amazing.  

Sissy,  has helped me out with just about every aspect...she is always good for a laugh or two.  Today she is going to start taking over the animals and toddler doll assembly.  Thanks to her stepping in, we will be able to make sure there are some every week...she's pretty cool :o)

Later today,  I have a new mama coming over so she can train...in a month or so she will be ready to introduce to you guys :o)

OK, that is the list of things that happen on Monday :o)  I guess its time for me to get started on some of my work.

Thanks for reading today,  see you all tomorrow :o)

Update

It recently occurred to me that it has been a really long time since I sat down and put an update out there for you guys to let you know about our progress.  So many things have happened it's hard to pick a point to begin.

Let's go with the small things first.  My studio area is finally organized.  (yay!)  I know, it sounds so silly to put it down as an accomplishment, but for me, it really is.  Its kind of a signal to my subconscious self that things have changed.  There are a lot more people than myself involved on a regular basis in making these amazing creatures so setting up areas for everything so others can jump in and not have to find me to ask me where something is, is a huge change.

Along with this change, is the extremely difficult task of getting used to coordinating other people.  OK, let me just say,  business was NOT my field of study.  Personality-wise I have always been the type of person who worked alone and pretty much did what I wanted to when I wanted to do it.  A wee bit of an anarchist deep inside...come on, that cannot REALLY be a surprise to anyone :o) 

 I don't think I need to say that having a regular crew around makes it necessary to begin doing all kinds of things I never liked to do.  Things like, planning ahead...this took a great deal of retraining my brain to stop working in the here and now and move into the week or two out mode...my ladies and family can tell you this has not been easy.  Lots of talking to myself like a crazy person, writing things down and forgetting where I put them and the inevitable dropped ball (by yours truly)  :o)  

Deadlines...learning to be ok working within the confines of a tight schedule is NOT as easy as it seems. I now have a lot of respect for all of you who do this on a regular basis.  I still bristle a bit when I realize that I am now on a tight schedule where certain things MUST be done at certain times. There is always that little voice inside whispering to cut and run.  Just go and play for the day or the next several days...or a few months...you get the idea.

Learning to work from a business mindset.  I can tell you this was and is the MOST painful part of the whole process.  Did I mention I am NOT a business type person?  Balancing budgets and planning material purchases so that we always have enough materials around to continue working along, is a lot of work.  Thankfully, hubby is real good at that, so he does most of that for me.  Which is good because to be honest, I would rather be doing ANYTHING else.  This is his handy work :o)  he's so organized

Yep, that is the whole gang from this past Thursday night's upload :o)

Having a crew who depends on this business for income changes everything.  Its kinda like that transition we all went thru from single person to parent.  You were plugging along, taking care of your own needs, living your own life and all of a sudden, you have this person who is dependent on you to make sure their needs are met as well.  It is your responsibility to give them the tools they need to accomplish the basic things they need to.  In doing so, they end up having the freedom to live the lives they want.  Every one of our DFH mamas depend on this little business.  They all work from their homes on their schedules.  I get to see their sweet little kiddos when their mamas come by to drop off and pick up each week...I LOVE this part :o)  They depend on their incomes to help their families.  We depend on the work they all do to help our little business grow.  And all of us depend on your support so we can continue to do this. It's kinda cool if you think about it :o)

Starting out, I never had the mindset that we would end up here.  Never intended to start a business that would be such a huge part of the daily lives of myself and my family...not to mention such a huge part of the daily lives of so many other folks.  When I stop to think about it, its kinda cool to have this little group of work at home mamas, working away.  Looking back, I honestly cannot say how we got here.  Looking ahead,  I am pretty excited about what is still to come. To use one metaphor, its like a roller coaster ride...kinda scary at times but a whole lot of fun. 

Now, let's talk about dolls :o).  We are up to 20 dolls each week and sometime in the next week or two we will be up to making 22-25, plus 3-4 Critters.  This is huge guys.  I used to think I never wanted to get to this point but here we are.

It's funny how things change like that.  I can honestly say that this particular change is solely due to the super awesome sewing mamas I have around me (as well as my oh-so-amazing family) who work their creative fingers away each week helping to pull all this together for you all.  These folks are wonderful..I cannot tell you enough how fantastic they are.  I will introduce you all to them one by one next week in a group of daily blog posts that will take you thru our week one day at a time.  I am pretty excited about introducing you to the whole gang.  Seriously, they are all some pretty awesome folks.

OK,  that's it for this post.  I thank you all from the bottom of my heart,  it's been such an awesome ride so far,  I cannot tell you how thankful I am for this whole experience so far.  Have a great weekend.

Peace & Love

Nancy

Customs

Congratulations Jennifer E!

In response to the many requests for customs I have received, I have decided to take one custom at this time.

Here are the details:

You will get to choose hair, eyes, skin color and clothing style.

Skin: I will send a picture of your choices

Eyes:  pretty much any color you choose, as long as it is available to me

Hair:  I will send you an image of the natural color yarns you can choose from.  Dreads, nubby and boucle yarns can be hand dyed if that is what you want.  Please keep in mind that hand dying or kettle dying is not an exact process so sometimes the colors will be darker or lighter.
As for hand spun art yarn, if you wish to have hand spun yarn used, you will have to purchase the yarn and have it sent directly to me.  Before doing so,  please send me a link to the yarn so I can see the weight and let you know exactly how much you will need.

Familiars:  All animals must be chosen from the patterns we already have on hand. At the current moment, we have a horse, unicorn, frog, snake or dragon-fly

15 or 12 inch Clothes:  For girls, you may choose from either a play dress, sundress or t-shirt and jeans.  You can also add leggings or bloomers.  Undies and shoes will be chosen by me based on what fabric was chosen for the clothes.
For boys, you may choose a short or long sleeved t shirt, jeans, pants or shorts.  Shoes and undies will be chosen by me.

Mystical Mama clothing:  These will be chosen by me.  I will match them to the hair colors chosen. The mama will come wearing a dress, wings, undies and shoes.  The baby will be wearing a diaper and sleeper.

Littles Clothes: Girls come wearing a sundress and undies.  Boys wear a t-shirt and jeans or shorts.

Amberwing Clothes: These will either be a petal dress or tunic and pants and wings.  They will be made from batik fabric. I will choose this fabric to coordinate with the doll's hair.


Sweaters can be hand knit for you for an additional $35.00.  I will choose the yarn color to go with the fabric chosen.

Extra outfits can be added a la carte.  These will be subject to the fabric we have on hand and will be billed according to our regular pricing list.

Pricing

15 inch doll -  $300.00
10 inch Little - $250.00
12 inch doll - $300.00
12 inch Amberwing - $300.00
Familiar set - $400.00
Mystical Mama - $500.00

The slot will be given lottery style.  I will contact the winner thru email so be sure to include an email address when posting.  Full payment for the basic doll, including shipping, must be received in order to secure the slot. You will have 24 hours to complete this part otherwise the slot will go to the next person in line.

After that, you will have my full attention working on this.  I will communicate with you thru emails as we go thru your options.  Please allow 2-3 weeks for completion.

If you would like a chance for this slot,  please comment under this post.  A name will be chosen this evening (8/20) at 9:00 pm central time.  

Babette

Congratulations to her new mama!

Babette is a 15 inch tall girl by Dragonfly's Hollow.

$195.00 USD plus shipping

Please post below if you wish to purchase

Her skin is cotton interlock knit and she is stuffed with pure cleaned, carded wool. Her hair is 100% wool hand dyed yarn. Her eyes and mouth are hand embroidered with cotton floss.

She is wearing a gorgeous sun dress, panties and hand crocheted shoes. 

Like all our toys, she is made exceptionally sturdy to last a lifetime of play.

Small parts, not intended for small children under 3 years of age.

Her new mama will be chosen from the names who entered at 10:00 am central US time on Friday 8/19

Bailey

Congratulations! to her new mama!

Bailey is a 15 inch tall girl by Dragonfly's Hollow.

$195.00 USD plus shipping

Please post below if you wish to purchase

Her skin is cotton interlock knit and she is stuffed with pure cleaned, carded wool. Her hair is 100% wool hand dyed yarn. Her eyes and mouth are hand embroidered with cotton floss.

She is wearing a gorgeous sun dress, panties and hand crocheted shoes. 

Like all our toys, she is made exceptionally sturdy to last a lifetime of play.

Small parts, not intended for small children under 3 years of age.

Her new mama will be chosen from the names who entered at 10:00 am central US time on Friday 8/19

Bindi Scarlet-Flower

Congratulations!

Bindi Scarlet-Flower is a 12 inch tall Amberwing by Dragonfly's Hollow.

$175.00 USD plus shipping

Please comment below if you wish to purchase her

Her skin is cotton interlock knit and she is stuffed with pure cleaned, carded wool. Her hair is 100% wool yarn. It is all natural 100% wool of course. Her eyes and mouth are hand embroidered with cotton floss.

She is wearing a cute tunic top, shorts and undies. Her wings are brocade fabric and are fully detachable

She has a small vial containing fairy dust around her neck.

Like all our toys, she is made exceptionally sturdy to last a lifetime of play.

Small parts, not intended for small children under 3 years of age.

Her new mama will be chosen from the names who entered at 10:00 am central US time on Friday 8/19

Ben

Congratulations!

Ben is a 15 inch tall boy by Dragonfly's Hollow.

$195.00 USD plus shipping

Please post below if you wish to purchase

His skin is cotton interlock knit and he is stuffed with pure cleaned, carded wool. His hair is 100% wool yarn. His eyes and mouth are hand embroidered with cotton floss.

He is wearing a cotton interlock knit T shirt with short pants, underwear and hand crocheted shoes. 

Like all our toys, he is made exceptionally sturdy to last a lifetime of play.

Small parts, not intended for small children under 3 years of age.

Her new mama will be chosen from the names who entered at 10:00 am central US time on Friday 8/19

Brenna

Congratulations!  to her new mama!

Brenna is a 15 inch tall girl by Dragonfly's Hollow.

$195.00 USD plus shipping

Please comment below this post if you wish to purchase her.

Her skin is cotton interlock knit and she is stuffed with pure cleaned, carded wool. Her hair is 100% wool hand dyed yarn. Her eyes and mouth are hand embroidered with cotton floss.

She is wearing a gorgeous sun dress, panties and hand crocheted shoes. 

Like all our toys, she is made exceptionally sturdy to last a lifetime of play.

Small parts, not intended for small children under 3 years of age.

Her new mama will be chosen from the names who entered at 10:00 am central US time on Friday 8/19