Ramblings of a Primitive Doll Maker

So, I've been bitten by the bath fizzy bug.......again!

2011-03-09T15:14:00.005-07:00

While surfing the web looking for the long lost bath fizzy recipe that I once had many years ago, I came upon an awesome blog! http://soap-queen.blogspot.com/ LOVE it!!! I found an awesome tutorial on cupcake bath bombs! How stinkin CUTE!

(Picture from soap-queen blog)

So I made a batch with my 8 year old daughter, Megan. She got to pick out the scents and the color of frosting. She chose Melonberry for the base and Mulberry for the frosting. They turned out awesome! Megan couldn't wait for them to dry. She just HAD to use one right away! They worked great and best of all Megan loved them! So I went to http://www.brambleberry.com/ and made up a wish list of all the fun stuff I wanted for my birthday. Then I emailed it to my hubby. (hehehe)

Guess what I got in the mail today????

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MEEEEEEE!!!!

YAY!!!! Fun stuff to play with! Nummy scents and fun foaming ingredients! So be on the lookout for solid bubble bath bars and foaming cupcake bath fizzies! I will have them in my etsy store soooooooon! *Happy Dance*

So...........when will I get my energy back?

2010-10-05T16:54:00.002-06:00

Ok......first off, where the heck did September go? Last time I looked it was still the first week of Sept. Hmmmmm.....feeling a little Rip Van Winkled! So I guess I have to come to the fact that it is October. Sigh. BUT! That means C A N D Y!!!
Well I'm starting to feel a little better then POW! I get a cold. Only 2 more days of antibiotics and anti nausea medication! Wahoo! I am weaning myself off of the percicet so I can feel a little more pain but I'm not off in la la land......however, I can totally see how people would rob and kill for this stuff......give me another month of it and I could probably function 'normally' on it lol! It does give you a sense of euphoria and well-being as well as numbing your pain and knocking you out. So best to get off it ASAP!
My big question now is, WHEN will I feel 'normal' and back to my old (well not OLD) self again. When will I be able to take a shower standing up and not break out in a sweat trying to get dressed? (then needing another shower!) My incisions are healing great. Right now it just feels like a constant bad side ache. Not to mention the bloating I feel. (oops? I just mentioned it! teehee) So I guess I just have to wait.......and wait..............still waiting.........until I feel my energy level s l o w l y come back to me. It's frustrating. I have so much I want to do, and create. But as soon as I start, I get tired and my brain just says "ENOUGH ALREADY!" and then goes in the corner and pouts.
Well until such time my body finally decides that it's all better I'll just sit and eat my yogurt!

On a side note......went out and got myself a new bra! Went from a 38 D to a 36 C. yay.

Appendix.....Who Needs it Anyway

2010-09-23T13:50:00.011-06:00

About two weeks ago I started feeling sick. I woke you with a pain in the middle of my stomach. I had gone out to dinner with family earlier and thought that maybe I had food poisoning. After a night of shouting Europe to the toilet I thought I would feel better.....nope! The pain started moving down to my lower right side. Still thinking it was food poisoning, I figured I'd be better in a day or two. I didn't have a fever and my only symptom was nausea and pain. It wasn't until the 3rd day I got a fever of 102 and chills. I took a hot hot bath and was still shivering. Rick decided to call the dr and get me in. By this time I was ready to just go straight to the hospital! The appointment wasn't until 1:30 in the afternoon. The drive there was not very enjoyable! Every bump and pot hole we hit was agony! I longingly eyed the hospital as we drove right past.

We arrived at the Dr office 30 min early. All the dr's were still at lunch. I ended up sitting on the floor balled up in the corner. A nurse came and asked if I would like a pillow......ummm yes! lol!

She ended up getting us a room for me to lay down. The Dr came in, took one look at me and asked a few questions. He said "If I were teaching a class on what an appendicitis looked like, you would be a text book example!" He didn't bother poking me (probably would have smacked him if he had!) or doing any tests. He told us to go straight to the ER.

So back in the car we went. Since our insurance had changed we had to go to Davis Hospital. Not my first choice! Had my fingers crossed that they wouldn't kill me. We've had some less than pleasant experiences there in the past.

I got checked in. First thing they did was give me an IV with pain meds. Morphine to be exact! I've decided I don't care much for morphine. It makes me loopy but doesn't do much for the pain. I guess it makes me not care as much about the pain. lol! Next the nurse came in with a big ol jug of bright yellow liquid marked with the time in 30 min intervals. I had to drink it all so that they could do a CT scan. by this time I'm thinkin "For heaven sakes! Just take the dang thing out!" But I guess they wanted to make sure it was my appendix. Despite me being a "text book" case. Three hours after we first checked in, we get the results back from the CT scan. Well, guess what? It's my appendix! And not only that....its perforated! (or ruptured) JOY!!!

Time for surgery! Rick gives me a kiss goodbye and they wheel me to the OR. The OR looks very stark and uninviting. Unlike when I had a tumor removed from my mouth 6 years ago. I walked into the OR and the surgeon was doing paper work listening to the Doobie Brothers "Jesus is Just Alright." Anywho, they drag me over to the table. They place the mask over my nose and mouth (stinks like plastic!) and within seconds I'm out.

Next thing I remember is waking up and the nurses telling me that I was all done. I get wheeled to the recovery room and then dragged to the bed. I'm so out of it but, hey! No pain! Rick is there waiting for me. I look down and see that I have a drain attached to me.

So.....Let's talk surgical drains!

Here is a pic of they type of drain I had. The nurse would come in every so often and empty the drain. All night long I was woken up by the suck sound of the drain being emptied.

This is in place to help drain all the yucky stuff left from the burst appendix. It looks harmless enough! The bulb and about 2 feet of tubing is left outside the body while the rest is stitched inside.

Now remember I'm still out of it! So I'm told that the drain is there to help me get better!

Awwww What a nice drain! It wants to help me! I had the drain in for about a week. Little did I know that while I was recovering, the drain was transforming inside me!

See there is this part of the drain that changes from tube to solid plastic. The transition at first doesn't look too bad. But after a week of healing it feels like its grown spikes as they rip the drain out of you!The day for drain removal has arrived! I was oblivious to what was involved. First thing was to remove the stitch that was holding it in place. The Dr then told me that it would hurt but only for about 15 seconds. Then said "But you can handle it!" Suuuuuuure!!!!

With one smooth, fluid motion the Dr pulled that sucker out! Now I consider myself to have a pretty high pain threshold, but I was not prepared for the intense burning, pulling, ripping sensations that I felt. I must say it was worse than labor! In fact I think it would be an excellent form of torture! As the Dr walked out of the room he handed my the lab results. Official diagnosis: Gangrenous Appendicitis. And with that said "Anything with gangrene isn't good!"

So with the drain removed I can finally concentrate on getting better.

So all in all my experience with Davis hospital wasn't bad! All the nurses were wonderful and the surgeon was awesome.

And to the surgical drain designer.........I don't like you! :p

White Chocolate Cheesecake

2010-02-15T10:11:00.001-07:00

I made this for my family for Valentines Day! It is sooooooooo YUMMY!!!!

White Chocolate Cheesecake

Crust
6 Tbs butter, softened
1/4 c. sugar
1 egg yolk
1 1/4 c. flour
1/8 tsp salt

Heat oven to 350*. Grease 9" springform pan. Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add egg yolk. Beat in flour and salt. Press mixture into bottom and 1" up side of pan. Bake 14-16 min until crust is set.

Cheesecake
12 oz white chocolate
1/2 c. heavy whipping cream
2 (8oz) pkg of cream cheese, softened
1 Tbs lemon juice (you can add more or less to taste)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
3 egg whites
1 whole egg
Slices fresh strawberries
White chocolate curls

Melt white chocolate and whipping cream in a double boiler, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted.
In a mixer, beat cream cheese, lemon juice, vanilla, and salt until smooth. Add white chocolate mixture. Beat in egg whites and egg. Pour into crust. Bake 35 min or until edges are lightly browned.
Remove side of pan and cool completely. Refrigerate. Garnish with fresh strawberries and white chocolate curls.

Makes 12 servings

Pampered Chef $1000 Mystery Host Show!

2010-02-05T13:56:00.007-07:00

I am asking for 10 volunteers to participate in my $1000 Mystery Host Show!

Here is the scoop - I need 10 people willing to collect just $100 in orders (10 x $100 = $1000!) - you can do this by passing around a catalog at work, or in your neighborhood, at football games (can you say SUPER BOWL!), family gatherings, and I can also set you up to send out an announcement online to friends and family.

I will collect all the orders from the 10, compile and tally them, and then draw names from the 10 participants for the Show Host Benefits.

Here is what that will look like:

10 people collect $100 in orders -

-One Person will win $100 in FREE Product

-One Person will win $65 in FREE Product

-Two People will win $25 in FREE Product

-Two People will win A FREE Food Chopper, plus 50% off ANY ONE product of their choice (including cookware sets, or any other product in the catalog!)

-Two People will win a FREE Decorator Bottle set PLUS 50% off ANY ONE product of their choice (including cookware sets, or any other product in the catalog!)

-Two People will win A FREE bottle of Sweet Caramel Sprinkle (my favorite!!!) PLUS! 60% off ONE of the following:
7-piece Stainless Cookware set... Retail:$475.00 You pay:$190.00
Bamboo Knife Block set...Retail:$415.00 You pay:$166.00
12” Stainless Covered Skillet...Retail:$215.00 You pay:$86.00
11” Executive Cookware Grill Pan ...Retail:$135.00 You pay:$54.00
Stainless Mixing Bowl set... Retail:$74.50 You pay:$29.80
7” Santoku Knife...Retail:$70.00 You pay:$28.00
Bamboo Carving Board... Retail:$69.50 You pay:$27.80
Ultimate Mandoline... Retail:$59.50 You pay:$23.80
Large Bar Pan...Retail:$31.00 You pay:$12.40
Food Chopper...Retail:$29.50 You pay:$11.80

PLUS - each participant will receive a FREE gift from me, AND 30% off ANYTHING ELSE you order!

Gather $150 in orders and you will receive an extra chance in the drawing.
Secure a booking (or book your own show!) and you will also receive an extra chance

I need to hear soon, so that I can get your Show Information to you ASAP!

I need all orders turned in by FEB 15th! (any turned in later will not be able to be counted as part of the show - sorry!)

All orders will be shipped to me, and I will sort, pack, and label your orders for you & deliver them to you.

First 10 To Respond will fill the open spots! Email me at rkcreations@gmail.com with $1000 Mystery Host in the title.

Come On! Be Part of the FUN! (and I will greatly appreciate your assistance!)

Thanks!!!!

You want something for FREE???

2010-01-08T12:06:00.004-07:00

If you read my last post you will know that I sell Pampered Chef now. :D I wanted to let you know that I have a website that you can order from. http://www.pamperedchef.biz/nieforth

Anyone who places an order either by email (rkcreations@gmail.com) or on my Pampered Chef website from now until Jan. 18th will receive a FREE Season's Best Recipe book!

But wait.....that's not all!

You will also be entered into a drawing for a FREE Pampered Chef Food Chopper!!!! ($29.50 retail value)
The Pampered Chef Food Chopper is a MUST HAVE for any kitchen! No more stinky hands from chopping onions or garlic. Perfect for chopping nuts, tomatoes, celery, carrots etc.

I will draw a name from all orders received on the 19th of Jan. Winner will be notified by email! :D

Now go shopping....... :D

Do You LOVE Pampered Chef???

2010-01-08T11:41:00.002-07:00

I recently became a Pampered Chef consultant! I never thought I would EVER do something like this! I was invited to a friends show, and thought, "Well, it's a good excuse to get out of the house!" So I went with no intentions of buying anything! Got there, had the demonstration, played with the toys..oops..I mean kitchen tools, and ate yummy strawberry amaretto pastries.
I don't like to cook very much....unless its desserts!!! I LOVE to make desserts. I think I would like cooking more if my kitchen wasn't the size of a small bathroom!
Anywho...back to the story....I saw some things that my husband would find useful (he likes to cook more than me!). After I tallied up what I wanted to purchase it ended up being over $200! The consultant turned to the back page and showed me the "New Consultant Starter Kit." It had almost all the items I wanted on my list! And then some!! And to top it all off, it was only $155! I said "Sign me up!!" Now mind you, I had NO intention of actually SELLING the stuff! I just wanted to get the starter kit. Well a week later my box (or should I say boxes!) came in the mail. I was excited to open it! I was like a kid on Christmas morning! I opened the "Welcome" box first. I contained all the boring paper work stuff. I quickly set it aside to get the the "good stuff." My eyes got big as I opened up the second box.....slowly peeling off the tape.......pulling up one flap, then the other......what could it be...........crumpled brown paper obstructed my view! I quickly pulled it off now as I was starting to get irritated at all the "hoops" I had to jump through just to get to my goodies! My living room floor was looking like the box puked all over it! Under all the brown paper were.........more boxes. I started to open up each box. I was amazed at the quality of the items! They looked sooooo much better in person than in the catalog! I got everything out. I laid them all on the table, just like in the catalog! hehehe! I found myself talking to myself about how wonderful the products were! LOL! That's when I realised that I need to tell everyone about how awesome Pampered Chef is! I am a very skeptical person. I never believe anything someone tells me until I have a chance to see if its true for myself. I started making dinner! WOW! My family was impressed! I bought more cook books from Pampered Chef. I made Carmel Apple Tartlets, Rosemary Chicken Pot Pie, Jerk Chicken Nachos, and of course, the Strawberry Amaretto Pastries! I LOVE using my Pampered Chef tools!! My family makes fun of me because I get so excited about their product!

I'd never owned anything Pampered Chef before! If fact I had only been to 1 Pampered Chef Cooking Show in my life, and that was 15 years ago! Funny, I don't even remember what we did!

I got a new phone!

2009-07-26T18:59:00.004-06:00

I've been complaining about my old phone for a while. The track ball wasn't working right and the buttons were having their own problem. One day they worked great, the other they decided to poop oout on me.
So Rick decided to buy us new phones for our anniversary! (it's in 2 weeks! 17 years!) We both upgraded from our Blackberry Pearls to the 8900. LOVE it!!!! Spent all last night trying to configure it just the way I want....then I notice that the entire phone was heating up! Rick's was just fine. So tomorrow I get to go back and exchange the phone! Yippee!

Now that Rick has held up his end of the bargin, I have to hold up my end of the deal! Season tickets to the Hale Centre Theatre! :)

Happy anniversary Rick!!! xoxo

Perhaps the smallest egg in the world!

2009-07-25T10:21:00.008-06:00

So I went out the other day to check for eggs with my youngest daughter, Megan. We have about 15 out of our 19 chickens that are actively laying now. Well, when I reaching in to grab the eggs, I pulled out this:

What a contribution!! LOL!!

Here is a comparison to the other eggs a got that day:

Megan just HAD to eat it right away! So we fried it up!

YUMMY!
She was done in 1 bite! :)

(just ignore the messy hair!)

So.........I finally listed on ebay.....again.

2009-07-25T09:29:00.002-06:00

Well, I finally broke down and listed on ebay again. After having a doll sit on etsy for over 3 months with nothing, I put her up on ebay hoping she would find a good home. You can check her out here.

I haven't listed on ebay since last Christmas. I just got sooooo frustrated with them. Not to mention sales had gone down since the economy sucks. But, feeling optimistic, I decided to list again.............. We'll see what happens. :)

Tote-n-Dollys Listed!

2009-06-13T17:18:00.003-06:00

Finally stopped raining enough so I could go take some pictures! Just listed these up on etsy! User name is totendolly. :)

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7533842

Introducing...........

2009-06-02T20:01:00.004-06:00

TOTE-n-DOLLY

handmade bags!

While I was at Hobby Lobby getting muslin, I found myself staring at some fabric. I was trying to think of what I could make with it. Then BAM! A bag! Then I thought "How 'bout a matching dolly to go with it!" So I bought the fabric (and then some!) and came home and brainstormed. I came up with the name Tote-n-Dolly. Anywho....here are 2 of them. I will be selling these finished. The doll is about 10" tall and the bag is about 9" tall X 12" wide X 3" deep. They are also reversible!

I will be listing these on Etsy hopefully this week! :)

OK OK!!!! I'll update my BLOG!!!! SHEEEEESH!

2009-05-25T19:23:00.004-06:00

I spent last weekend at the most anticipated event of the year for all Prim Mart addicts! PRIM MART CONVENTION 2009!!!!!

This year it was held in Harrisburg PA. I LOVED it!!!!! I sooooooo need to go back and just spend a week hoping from place to place! Anyone wanna come with me???

Well, while I was there, I talked with some of my great friends about blogging. Well, I made it a goal of mine to get my butt in gear and start keeping up on my blog.

So here ya go! LOL!!!! I'm determined to NOT edit what I write.....just let it flow......whatever my little fingers type.......that's what you will read! OH BOY!!!!

OK! So while I was there I talked to my friend Megan. We were discussing how AWESOME she looks! We got on the subject of all the meds she/we are on. She mentioned that when she was on Zoloft she would just LOOK at food and would gain weight. Well, DUH! I'm on Zoloft! No wonder I can't keep weight off. Not that that's my entire excuse, but hey, WORKS FOR ME! LOL!! So I decided to lower my dosage and see how it goes. Went from 150mg to 100. been a week............I think I've decided that I would rather be "fluffy" and happy than skinny and suicidal! Been on edge, yelling at kids, annoyed.....you name it! So, back up I go! LOL!!! Guess I'll just have to work the treadmill twice as hard.

This last weekend I watched my brother's two kids. Tab (14) and Ryan (10). We had a lot of fun! I thought it would be much more stressful than it was. Ryan is autistic. He functions quite well though. He hadn't been to church in quite a while so we decided to take him and see "how it goes." When we told him he was going to church he quickly came back with, "Church is BORING!" I just told him too bad and get in the car! He did VERY well!!!! I brought fruit roll-ups for him to snack on. He even sang the hymns with us! He was too CUTE!!! He would occasionally lean over and put his arms around me and squeeze me tight and say, "I love you Karen!" Awwwwwww!

We picked up their parents at the airport today and took them home.

Lets see.....what else.

I listed a doll on Etsy! Yay!!!! She was made using a pattern by Tonya from Back Porch Pickins! Isn't she CUTE!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=25540657

OH!!! I went to Hobby Lobby today to get some good muslin (right now I have the cheap crappy kind that is flimsy....HATE it!) and some tulle for the ladybug. While the gal was cutting my fabric I was looking at all the other fabric and all of the sudden......BAM! I had a thought! A new line of dolls!

BUT you're going to have to wait and see them!!!! hehehehehehe

Needless to say I walked out with MORE than just muslin and tulle! LOL!!!!! The spark is BACK!!!!

Holy COW!!!! What a LOT of Snow!!!!

2008-12-22T10:30:00.004-07:00

Well, I thought the title was quite fitting considering this weekends events!
We left Utah for Seattle on Friday hoping to get through the pass before the big storm(s) hit. We made it through the pass with no problem (with the help of Kirby Wilbur pod casts! LOL!)
We got off the freeway at North bend and traveled the back roads through Duvall towards Monroe. The roads were compact snow and ice so we were driving quite slow. We got within 10 minutes of our destination when we passed a cow farm on the right just off the road. Well, we didn't expect to actually SEE a cow in the middle of the road! She was is the left lane just standing there. She looked like she was going to continue her trek across the road when she saw our headlights and immediately turned toward our car. Rick started saying "Here we go! Here we go!" I just thought he was excited to see a cow so close! LOL The I realised that we weren't stopping and neither was the cow! We hit her right in the right shoulder. She spun around and her backside hit the back driver's side door!!! The girls all screamed thinking we just killed a cow! Rick stopped the car and got out to assess the damages. I watched his face and he held the flashlight up to the front corner and mouth "C R A P!" He went to get the farmers who then found the cow (Still alive!) wandering around, no doubt very stunned! They corralled her back in the pen with the other cows. We had the police come out and take a look. He got a kick out of it! LOL!!
Anywho the front driver's side is mushed in. The grill, hood, headlight, and side panel have to be replaced. The passenger door also has to be replaced.

Now, for the second half of the title! After we got here it started snowing...........and hasn't stopped! We have about 2 feet of snow! The power went out last night but has since come back on! Yeah!!!!
Rick decided he was going to see how frozen the pond was.......well, as you can guess he fell right through the ice! Apparently he was out there yelling for dad to come save him! but eventually got himself out. We had no clue what he was doing until he came in soaked up to his chest! When I asked him what on earth he was thinking, he just said, "I wanted to see how far I could go!" Well, he got about 2 feet! LOL!!! He then added, "When it happened, it happened FAST!" Duh! LOL!!

HUGE E Pattern sale going on NOW!

2008-11-07T13:35:00.000-07:00

WOW!!! It's been a while since my last post! Time flies!!! I'm making a quick post right now to say that I have a HUGE pattern sale going on right now ans all through the month of November! Buy1 E Pattern get 1 FREE!! No limit! This sale doesn't come around very often so now's the time to shop! :) Offer is good on all my sites!
http://rk-creations.com/store
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5584533 http://patternmart.com/patterns/search/section/All/RK+Creations%2C+Karen+Nieforth/All
Just email me your free pattern choices at karen@nieforth.com! Sale ends Nov 3oth!

Soooo....You Want 'em ALL do Ya?

2008-05-21T14:54:00.000-06:00

You've asked for it! So here it is! I've listed a CD on ebay that contains ALL my patterns to date! That's 75 PDF patterns!! Worth over $400!!! Take a looksie! :)

I Want Them ALL Collection CD! 75 PDF Patterns worth over $400!

Well....you asked for it! So here it is!! ALL of my e patterns to date on CD!There are 75 total! ...
Price: US$75.00

New patterns and an Etsy Listing! :)

2008-05-17T21:01:00.000-06:00

Well, I can't believe that we are working on Halloween already!! I've added a few new patterns to my site!

Andrew and his Boat

~~~~~~~

And Thelma and Her Cat!

~~~~~~~

I just finished making another witch doll and listed her up on Etsy! You can find her here: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=11857967

FREE Pattern! Jacks!

2008-04-20T19:04:00.000-06:00

I've been known to come up with some unusual patterns! I love to challenge myself to see if an item can be created out of fabric! Well.....here is one that I just finished up for you! Click below to download it! :)

FREE Primitive Fabric Jacks E Pattern PM

Very unique pattern!! These jacks are about 7" wide X 6" tall when finished. Make great bowl ...
Price: FREE!

I would love any feedback you may have about any of my patterns or requests you may have!

NEW PATTERNS!!

2008-04-15T17:21:00.000-06:00

Meet Annie and her Teddy Bear! She is about 22" tall and her teddy is about 11" tall. I just listed the finished Annie on ebay! :D Feel free to check her out! ;)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230244483739
You can find the pattern for her on my website and on patternmart.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finally!!! Seems like it's been a while since I've created a new pattern!! Meet Prudence!! She is about 22" tall when she's all finished! E pattern is available on my websit http://rk-creations.com/ Or you can instatnly download it on patternmart http://patternmart.com/patterns/search/section/All/RK+Creations,+Karen+Nieforth/All

Garden Fairies

2008-04-04T13:32:00.000-06:00

Finally got off my buns and made something! These are my Garden Fairies! Megan, Amanda, Emily, and Jessica! The dolls are made from a Sweet Meadows Farm Pattern. I added the wings and bugs! :D (just listed them on da bay)

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZrkcreations

Penny and Her Pocket Full 'O Posies

2008-03-11T19:36:00.001-06:00

Here's something different for me! :) Meet Penny Posies!

This gal was made using a "Bird in the Hand Primitives" pattern. You can get Robin's AWESOME pattern here:http://www.ipmpro.com/item/2658/Pocketful+O__squot__+Posies+Annie+E+Pattern/

I usually don't do extreme prims but I just LOVE how this gal turned out!!!

(And yes! My family is scared of her! LOL!!!!)

You can find her on ebay! :)http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230231499767

Pattern Sale!!!

2008-03-01T13:29:00.001-07:00

I'm having a party and you are invited!!! Since my birthday is on the 7th of March I've decided to celebrate and have an E Pattern sale! Buy 1 E Pattern get 1 FREE!!! No limit!!! Just email me your free pattern choice(s)! Sale good on my website http://rk-creations.com and on pattern mart http://patternmart.com/patterns/search/section/All/RK+Creations%2C+Karen+Nieforth/All
Sale end at midnight on my birthday! :)

Check out this Etsy Shop!

2008-02-28T10:29:00.000-07:00

My cousin just opened up her Etsy shop! She makes aprons....but not just ANY aprons! Check them out!!!! I LOVE the "French with a Twist" apron!!http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5652238

Shamrock Angel

2008-02-26T18:52:00.000-07:00

Well....this gal has given me some grief! LOL!!! She just didn't want to cooperate! After much hum-ing and ha-ing this is what I finally ended up with. I've added that pattern to my site and pattern mart and put the finished item up on ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=230226926003&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=013

FREE Cabbage Pattern

2008-02-23T21:58:00.000-07:00

I've actually had this pattern done for about 2 years! Not sure why I never published it! LOL!!! Well....with Spring coming (SOON! I hope!) I thought it was time to finally dig this pattern out!

And yes! It's made from muslin! ;)

Hope you enjoy it!! :)

You can download it FREE here:

http://patternmart.com/pattern/4941/FREE+Cabbage+Pattern+PM

Just listed the finished Mandy and Bunny on etsy! :)

2008-02-20T12:49:00.000-07:00

Here is my first attempt at selling one of my finished items on Etsy! Fingers crossed that she sells! :)
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=9709368

New Pattern!

2008-02-20T12:08:00.000-07:00

Well!! I FINALLY have come up with a NEW pattern! This is Mandy and her Bunny! I got the fabric she is wearing from Jo-anns and just LOVED it!! I had to make a new dollie to wear it! LOL!!! Mandy is about 20" tall and has a needle sculpted and painted face. Her bunny is made from plush felt that I primmed up to give him a nice worn look.

Pattern is available at my website http://rk-creations or you can download it instantly on pattern mart.

http://patternmart.com/pattern/4921/Mandy+and+Bunny+Pattern+PM

The finished Mandy and her Bunny will be up on http://Etsy.com soon! :)

What's that smell????

2008-02-13T22:44:00.000-07:00

A story how USPS' policy on box sizes may have saved the day!!!"

It STINKS up here!" That's what my daughter (Emily) kept saying to me! I asked her "What does it smell like?" Since I've been sick all week with the flu I can't smell to good! LOL!! She tells me, "It smells like you're cooking something horrible!!" LOL!! Then hubby comes home. "Dad! It STINKS up here!!" hubby says, "What does it smell like?" dd,"I don't know! It just STINKS!" Oldest dd chimes in..."Ooooo!! It DOES stink up here!" I'm just laying on the couch wondering what the heck is going on! Then Emily says, "Oooo!! You can REALY smell it in the office!!" Of course oldest dd and hubby HAVE to smell too! All I hear is "Oooo!!! Yuk!" Finally oldest DD says "It smells like burning dust!" Ahhhhh!! Finally! We have almost identified the cause. They all go sniffin around the computer. No one can find the cause!!!
Well!!! As the night goes on, I come up to the office to print out a shipping label. Still oblivious to any "Stinky" smell! As I go to paypal and type in all my info for shipping, it gets to what size box you are shipping in. CRAP! Gotta find a stinkin tape measure! So I go looking around the office to find one! (Office is also my craft room.....it's a MESS! LOL!!) As I go over to my craft table I notice my little mini iron laying on the floor. No big whoop....I knew it couldn't turn on unless you flip the switch! Well.......somehow it DID get flipped! Because when I looked closer...I saw a beautiful brown patch of cheap melted crapet...oops I mean carpet! (I hate my carpet...can you tell! LOL!!) When I picked up my poor iron it was all black and had melted carpet on it! I started to yell at the carpet! "How could you DO this!!! Don't you know Rick (dh) got me this for Christmas???" Anyway...I finally got to smell a little bit of it! I had to get really close though! LOL!!!

So...there's my story on how USPS' shipping policy on box sizes may have "saved the day!"
Oh! And I did find the tape measure! LOL!!!

Welcome to my Blog!

2008-02-11T10:40:00.000-07:00

WOW!!! I FINALLY have joined the blogging world! I plan on posting free patterns, how-to's, discounts for my website, and all sorts of other goodies here! Be sure to check back often!
A little bit about me:
I am a stay at home mom to 3 beautiful girls! Amanda is almost 13 (heaven help me! LOL!), Emily is 11, and Meagan is 5. I have been married to a wonderful man, Rick, for over 15 years! He is from Seattle, WA (Monroe/Snohomish area to be exact!) and I am from Bountiful Utah. Hubby and I got married in 1992! I was just a young-in! 19!!!!! But here we are almost 16 years later! And we STILL get on each other's nerves! LOL!!! But we have a wonderful sense of humor that keeps us going!
After we were married Rick dragged me up to Washington. The first few years were hard for me! I was used to walking just around the corner to church! LOL!! Now I had to drive for a half hour! I could be at the store in less than 2 minutes in Utah.....took me 30 to get anywhere! And the mall......almost an hour! We lived in the "sticks." Five acres of trees and a beautiful pond! We lived there for the first 10 years of our marriage. I grew to LOVE it there! Hubby was an insurance agent when we lived there. After the events of Sept 11th companies started cutting back and hubby just wasn't able to get as much business. So we took a job that was offered to us in Salt Lake City, UT. And here we are! In Syracuse! Just a stone's throw away from the causeway to Antelope Island!
We miss Washington very much and hope to return soon!

OK! Now for the crafty part of me! LOL!!!
I've been crafting in one form or another since I was little! I remember when I was about 8 I would ask my mom for her old pantyhose. I took some cotton balls and stuffed the pantyhose then needle sculpted them into faces! LOL!! Let me tell you!! They were scary little things!! LOL!! My mother also taught me to tole paint when I was about that same age. (probably because I was taking all her pantyhose! LOL!) I loved it!! Although as I grew older I stopped painting and turned to drawing! LOVED art in school! I was always doodling! My favorite thing to draw was eyes and noses! LOL!!
I took sewing in 8th grade. Learned the basics and then moved on. Didn't sew again until I was in my 20's! I sewed a few simple dresses for myself every now and again, but nothing fancy!
After my first daughter was born, I began to get antsy! I wanted to DO something. I started painting again! I eventually started creating my own painting patterns. I started to look for ways to get my patterns published. I went to craft stores and looked in the front cover of all the craft books and took down the publisher's info. I contacted each publisher and sent them pictures of my work. I got accepted by Miller Woodcrafts! I published 3 individual books and many combined artist books with them! They were GREAT!
After being with them for several years, they decided to get out of the craft business. I was left to find another publisher. It was then that I stepped back and thought if that is what I wanted to continue to do. I looked online for other options. I happened to find a link to an online craft show! A place called "Prim Mart." I decided to check it out. I signed up for a booth in their Fall Craft Show. It was there that I learned of a new style! PRIMITIVE! WOW!!! I was hooked!!! I saw all the WONDERFUL things that were being made! "I want to do that to!" I thought! So I started buying doll patterns! I fell in love!!! As I did more and more I started to gain more confidence! I started to design my own patterns! I found I wasn't very good at designing dolls! LOL!! So I started looking at common, everyday things! My first pattern was a willow tree! Then Fruit....I found that I was challenging myself ,when I saw something I liked, to see if I could actually make "that" out of fabric! That is why most of my first patterns are not dolls. I eventually got up the courage to try making dolls. I always said, "I just don't do clothes very well!" And I still hate doing doll clothes! LOL!!

Well....that's about it....feel free to email me with any questions, requests, or comments! :)