Grammy Camp - Paintbrush Dolls

Granddaughter Ava's Bride Doll

     A big part of our annual Grammy Camp is all about creating. Last year, we made dolls from perfume bottles. This year we made these fabulous dolls from paintbrushes. They are fashioned with odd trinkets from my lifetime collection of stuff in my craft boxes.  Here is how we made ours:

You'll need:

Paintbrush from the Dollar Store
Glue
Paint of your choice to cover the brush handle and bristles, optional

Grammy's Irish Doll

Face - large(about 1") clear glass button-rounds-trace a circle on paper, draw a face and glue it to the back of the glass button with clear glue
Trim - glitter, ribbon, flowers, buttons, shells, rick-rack, fabric etc. 

Simple or fancy, make your paintbrush doll as a gift, as an ornament, door hanger, wall art, etc.  Remember, no two will be alike and it's relaxing me time or time with the kids, plus it's just pure fun!

Italian Cluck

     It is meet, right and proper to give credit where it is due. I saw a similar recipe to what I like to call my Italian Cluck on Facebook, but now I can't find it. As usual, if you know who posted it, please contact me at graciousjanemarie@yahoo.com and I will post their name and thank them.
     So, from memory, I put the ingredients together, with little measuring, and the result was so good,  Bruce and I polished it off in two days. (I always hope there are leftovers I can freeze for a quick meal, but not this time.)

You'll need:
1 jar of spaghetti sauce (your favorite brand)
6 ounces or so of shredded Italian cheese (in the bag)
Basil ( I used dry because I had no fresh.)
6 large chicken finger sized parts of the breast, rinsed
1/2 cup or so Italian breadcrumbs
6 or so ounces of shredded Parmesan cheese (in the bag)

     In an 8 inch by 8 inch glass dish sprayed with non-stick coating, pour the entire jar of sauce in the bottom and spread evenly.  Sprinkle all the shredded Italian cheese next.  Sprinkle some basil.   Lay the chicken pieces on top.  Mix the breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese in a separate bowl then sprinkle on top of the chicken.  Bake 1 1/2 hours at 375 degrees with a layer of foil laid loosely across the dish to keep the breadcrumbs and cheese from getting too brown.  Serve with spaghetti noodles, if desired, but we only had a salad to save on carbs. This serves 4 singles, can easily be doubled and is good enough for company!

                        Enjoy,  Jane Marie

Double-Duty Curtain - The Goodbye Lie Diaries - Miss Ella

One woman's shower curtain

is another woman's parlor curtain!

     My daughter, Barbra, is a good cook and has wonderful taste. Oh, she decorates beautifully, too. 😉 Well, the first time I saw her shower curtain, the one in the photo, I fell in love with it. When she was ready for something new, I snatched it up. The embroidered flowers and delicate feel are perfect for our parlor.  Hanging from a tension rod, I gathered it in the center with a pink satin ribbon and attached a bejeweled butterfly ornament on the bow.   It's so me!      

                             -Jane Marie, present day

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The Goodbye Lie Diaries

Late 1880s

Fernandina, Amelia Island, Florida

Miss Ella writes: That curtain is lovely. It's very feminine.  I can imagine its gentle undulations against our bedroom window.  Michael is

Miss Ella

impartial to such things and would not appreciate it, but Breelan, Carolena and Marie and Grammy and Peeper would.

     And I appreciate that you have found a second purpose for it. Now that the war is over and we are all nearly rebuilt and recovered, as much as one can be after such a horror, some are less than appreciative with their possessions and are almost wasteful with them. That is a shameful thing I am forever preaching to my family to avoid. Everything has value.  Often, the more worn items are, the more love has been poured upon them. So may you ever enjoy your curtain. 

     I am curious as to what you will do with it once you take it down.  Perhaps a table covering or piano shawl or doll clothes? So many possibilities, aren't there?

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Miss Ella Dunnigan is matriarch and mother of Breelan, Carolena, Marie and Jack Patrick.  A good and Godly woman, she is respected by friends and beloved by family.