Hi! My name is Michelle I'm 38 and God (Jesus Christ) has blessed me with a wonderful husband and  two ornery boys.  One is going on four years old and the other is 14 and wants me to say that he is single and available.  He is 5/8 , blonde hair, blue eyes seeking female 14 -16 must be a born again Christian (of course I added that)  Lol!  I live in southern California. My prayer is to someday live in Montana where the rest of my kin (From my Dad's side) live. To me, Montana is heaven on earth. They call it "The Big Sky Country" and if you ever visit, you'll see why. Some of my best memories are of summers in Kinsey Montana on grandma Frieda and grandpa George's farm. God has blessed my family with many talents. My grandpa was very talented with wood working (this must be where I get my wood working ability) This talent was also passed down to my daddy, Arnie (aka Pappa by my kids.)    Grandpa won many prizes at the state fair and made it in the local newspapers. My grandma was always creating beautiful things with her sewing, quilting, and crocheting abilities.  On my Mom's side my grandma Rachel and grandpa Ramon, had great talent.  Grandpa Ramon was very well known for his beautiful ceramics. He gave shows and classes and restored a few pieces at the Bowers Museum of Southern California. I was fortunate enough to take a few classes from him. (This must be where I get the ability to shape the paper clay figurines I make). Grandma Rachel, like my grandma Frieda, was gifted with all areas of needle work. I thank God for the many precious moments my grandmother spent teaching me how to crochet. My love for that beautiful women is so great and I miss her dearly. I can't wait for the day when I will finally see her again in heaven.  My daddy is the one who got me started on the road to wood working. Thanks Dad!  I love you!  I don't know how old I was when I first got my little fingers on a piece of scrap wood in his workshop, but I must have been around the age of ten..  I would tinker with his band saw and tools. God forbid, if I didn't put the tools back when I was done with them, but I learned my lesson pretty fast after he gave me the "Evil Eye" .  I also learned at an early age, that wood working can be very dangerous if you get too confident. After cutting my finger on the band saw I had a very healthy fear and respect for saws and power tools. Of course latter in life I forgot that fear and almost lost a finger. I severed the tendon and vein .  I also  hit the bone. Now I can't bend my finger all the way but I can still use it pretty good (thanks be to God.)  I have some really cool pics of the surgery if you want to see them!  One of the first things I remember making was a music jewelry box.  I even made my 1st peg wooden lady and man with scraps of wood I would find laying around in my daddy's shop. I didn't even know it was called a peg wooden.   Little did I know I would be making and selling these little dolls when I grew up.  My beautiful Mommy, who by the way, is one of my best customers, has those dolls now.  I will have her take a picture so I can post it on this page. I must say, they are very ugly compared to the ones I make now. But, hey, you gotta start somewhere right?  Back to my daddy. Dad got me started with chainsaw carving 4 or 5 years ago when he bought a special chainsaw with a carving bar.  He suggested I try it up at his cabin in the Crazy Mountains. Well, I tried it, and instantly fell in love with it even though I got a mouth full of sawdust, not to mention my eyes, nose, ears etc. were full of the stuff .   If  the chainsaw wasn't so loud and I wasn't wearing my ear protection I would have probably heard my dear ole dad snickering behind my back.  Well now he has that first bear I made that summer and another one my sister and I made together on his front porch.  Check out the picture of the latest one my sister and I have been working on for my daddy's cabin.  My talented sister is going to paint it for me.  

These are the details of how my husband and I make the peg woodens~~.

Sometimes we use redwood but Most of our dolls are made from lodge poll pines from the Crazy Mountains of Montana. My Dad is blessed with 20 acres of private property Where He is building a beautiful cabin. (That man never stops working) !   The trees that have already been logged to help with minimizing forest fires, are cut to the appropriate size, stripped and turned on a lathe, which my handsome, husband usually dose but since he has graciously taught me, I have begun to do some of the lathe work myself. After the head and body are shaped , I carve the hair and facial features.  I usually carve the hair of only wood , but sometimes when I don't have enough wood to work with, I will add a bit of paper clay and carve that.  I peg the legs, shoulders, and knees with wooden pegs so the doll can move and sit.  I shape the little wooden Dutch looking shoes and glue them on.. She is now ready for painting, antiquing and sealing for protection I sign and date all our dolls on back.  All the doll we make are different because they are hand made not factory made.  No two dolls are ever alike. All our dolls are made to look antique so they will not be blemish free.  I coffee stain and sand some of the dresses so don't be surprised if there are little holes or a blotchy look to the material.  The wood will also have little imperfections because, like I said, they are hand carved and very primitive. I think it gives them character and beauty. If you like the primitive look and the look and feel of wood and wood grain ,than you will love these dolls!

To God Be the Glory!  He is the Gift Giver!  <><