LATEST ARRIVALS

I thought you might like to see what I’ve being doing since the last post where I complained and whined and moaned about having trouble coming up with something to do with my free time and not so creative spirit.  I’m still not feeling very creative but I have managed to put together two new additions to the family and have made a big mess in the process. I mentioned the mess for those who have expressed concern over my work area being too neat.

Meet Olive, a sweet little girl who doesn’t say much but who has been great company. Hey Sweetie pie, you have bed head!

She was the first to come along but was soon joined by Lavanda who is just as sweet but a lot more talkative and outgoing. Lavanda's hair reminds me of the character in the movie 'Brave'. Don't you just love all of that red hair? 

They both still need clothing since nothing in the trunk fits either of them.

They were lucky to find some pajamas that came close to their size so they don’t have to sit around in their birthday suits as cold as this house gets during the long winter months.

 That's right girls, you may as well get comfortable this may take a while.  

As you can see here, Lavanda is the taller of the two measuring 13 ½ inches tall while Olive is just less than 13 inches tall.

Lavanda has strong ideas about what she wants to wear but Olive has expressed no opinion at all so little Miss Lavanda will more than likely get her clothes first. It’s the squeaky wheel principle at work.

It will take me some time to cloth both of them as they’ll need shoes and socks along with everything else and the first step is making patterns.

 So here they both sit..........waiting

and waiting.....

I guess I'd better get started on drawing those patterns. They're making me nervous staring at me like that.

I want to wish you a happy and creative week and as always thanks for stopping by.

SORTING & CLEANING

I almost always make the most terrible mess in my Craft Room/Art Studio/Sewing Room in the months leading up to Christmas so once the holiday is over and year has come to an end there is only one thing to do….. Yes, you’ve guessed it. It’s time to rent a fork lift and steam shovel and maybe even an earth mover to take care of the mess. Okay, maybe the heavy equipment isn’t necessary but it is really tempting. What I did instead was spend two days in here sorting and putting away and throwing things out. You heard me right, I threw some things out. Not many things but a few things anyway. I still haven’t emptied the waste basket so if I wanted I could take a photo for proof.

I mentioned in my last post that I’d brought home a gargantuan heap of doll parts when I helped Maggie so I decided now was a good time to sort through those too. Just so you know I wasn’t exaggerating about the gargantuan heap I took some photos.

This is the heap of dolls that I sorted into containers

                                    

Here are two of the containers of ones that are close to being completed.

I also took photos of my neat work area. I even vacuumed and dusted. I had to empty the canister twice and there isn’t a lot of floor space to vacuum.   

There’s still a pile of junk, miscellaneous valuable items heaped in front of the closet door. Since I won’t need to get into the closet for a while I’m not too concerned.   

Since I finished cleaning in here I find that I really don’t want to mess things up again so I guess this is the end of me making anything ever again.  You believe that, don't you?

Actually, it’s almost too neat and it’s making me nervous. I think I’m going to have to make a mess really soon.

I've been trying to post this off and on for the past several hours but have had a terrible time because for whatever reason blogger won't let me upload photos in the usual way. Have you had any problems uploading photos to your posts?

Now that I've finally gotten this post finished I have to start putting away the Christmas things. I’m not looking forward to doing it because it always makes me a bit sad and wish I could leave everything the way it is right now.

Have a good day and as always, thanks for stopping by.

THE TALE OF TWO ELVES

This tale starts with my sister Maggie.  Those of you who know Maggie and visit her blog Off My Rocker know that one of the things Maggie does is make dolls. Not so long ago I helped her pack up her craft rooms and she gave me a number of doll parts and nearly completed dolls that she had for one reason or another decided not to finish. Among the gargantuan heap of miscellaneous doll parts were two that I assume were meant to be elves.

Once I brought them home I pretty much forgot about them. I’d tossed them on a pile of things I’d been gathering to donate to the thrift store because they were too large to fit in any of my regular storage containers and there they lay. Naked, although one was wearing a brown stocking cap, with no hands or feet and their faces with only hints of needle sculpting.  Now that pile of crap donations for the thrift store was blocking the door to the closet where I store my Christmas gift bags and wrap so I had to move it aside and there they were lying in the pile of discards looking right at home there. Neither of them was “speaking” to me as to what they were to become and for a moment I was tempted to slit a seam or two and salvage the fiberfill and forget about them. I was really close to doing just that but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. One of the reasons I’d brought them home in the first place is I can’t stand to see anything with a head get discarded. Yes, I know, it’s silly but what can I say? It is what it is.

After the crazy days leading up to Christmas were behind me and the big to-do with friends and family was a thing of the past I had some time to relax. I also had time to clean up the mess I’d made with all of the sewing and gift making and while putting things away I noticed the two elves again and boy was I surprised when they spoke to me. Well, not literally of course but I could finally see what they wanted to be and by golly, I was going to give them a chance, and faces and clothes and maybe even some personality if it was the last thing I did. The last thing that is before cleaning up my mess because that is number one of the list of goals I have set for myself as part of my self-improvement for the New Year. Number two is drink more water so you can see I’m really serious about these goals.

I've always loved shoes like these.

So, here they are the two newest elves in Santa’s work shop. The one wearing red and green is Jingles and the other one is Loomis.

They both stand approximately 15 inches tall and are made from unbleached muslin with faces that are needle sculpted and colored in with pencils. This is the first time I’ve made a doll that I’ve used pencil instead of paint and I really like the way it turned out.

I jokingly mentioned goals earlier I have made some goals that I wish to work on this year. I don’t make resolutions because I just don’t have that kind of commitment but I do have goals I would like to see come about. How about you? Do you look at the new year before you and think of it as an empty journal to fill? Do you make resolutions or do you set goals of things you wish to accomplish or do differently? I know that many people start out doing something major like stop smoking or start a new diet or exercise program. The goals I’ve set are nothing major but small things like get a few paintings done this year. I would also like to finish some of the projects that I’ve started and this year I want to start working on my Christmas cards and gifts early enough that I’m finished with everything months before Christmas to avoid the stress of trying to get everything done at the last possible moment.

So here’s to a brand new year to make with it what we can and hopefully we will come out of it at the other end as someone who has achieved what we’ve set out to do. Now I must go and make a birthday card for my daughter. It's her birthday today and here I am waiting until the last moment to make her card. That is so me. Is there a chance I'll ever change? Naw, it's too late for me to really make that big of a change.

As always, thanks for stopping by. 

THE EGG MAN

One of my favorite doll artists is my sister Maggie. She is not only a talented artist she can spin a good yarn when she has a mind to.  

A while back she created three shelf sitter dolls as part of a challenge for Art Doll Quarterly and all three were chosen to appear in the magazine.  My favorite of the three is an adorable fellow who she calls the Egg Man. From the first time I saw the Egg Man I was smitten. He's so perfect I can't find a single thing about him I'd want to change. He's home now and Maggie has posted his story and some photos of him on her blog.  Here are a few photos of this amazing fellow.

Maggie has listed him in her Etsy store and I'm betting he won't be there long.

To see more photos of the Egg Man and read his story head on over to Off My Rocker.

Life is keeping me busy. Summer is over and there's a lot to things to take care of so I'm ready for those long winter months. Where I live winter seems to last forever so I'm doing as much as I possibly can outside now because it won't be long before all of this wonderful sunshine is gone. I hope you're enjoying your day and as always, thanks for stopping by.

NOT OF THIS WORLD PART II

I thought I'd have had this fellow finished up a few days ago but for whatever reason it took me longer. I'm going to blame it on the weather and having too many other things taking over the time I normally use for working on my projects.

Here's the second of my Extra Terrestrials.....

At first glance he appears to have the same body as his mate but I can assure you this is not the case. He's much more muscular and has a heavier tail. Although his head is covered with a shell-like layer it does not in any way look like the female of this species and his coloring is paler than that of his mate.

Shown here side by side you can see that the female is much more delicate. (Shapelier too.)

The males tail is not only heavier it is also longer and joins his body at a different angle then the females.

Originally I sculpted three heads that were alien in nature but awhile back one of them was reworked and ended up becoming a Munchkin. That's the way it is sometimes. Things aren't always what you think they are.

I hope you're enjoying your weekend. I'm going to spend most of mine working in the yard. I know that many of you are getting tired of summer and longing for autumn but I have always felt that summer is too short. I could do without the high temperatures but I do love the sunshine and the green grass and having a garden to tend to. Our growing season starts rather late so I'm just now getting a few grape tomatoes and summer squash. In my opinion there's nothing better tasting than a tomato from your own garden.  Today I'm having a salad for lunch with a handful of grape tomatoes that are from my little garden.

So, enjoy what's left of your weekend and as always, thanks for stopping by.

I'VE GOT MAIL

This was a great week for mail at my house. As some of you know I won the magic wand that the Angry Gnome and his very talented crew created for the Celebrate Oz event that was held on July 19th. Our mail carrier delivered it to the door on Wednesday. It was inside this humongous box marked very fragile and when I carefully cut open the top flaps I found  a piece of paper with a warning that said,

"Careful opening the wand. I hope you don't hear any sound of broken glass! I have bubble wrap and taped all around & the top paper part is fragile, as well as the glass bowl. Oh heck- maybe you better not even touch it! Just leave it wrapped in the box!"

Well, that didn't sound like any fun at all so I threw caution to the wind and dug right in. Talk about bubble wrap. There were three kinds of bubble wrap and then there were the Styrofoam peanuts and all of the tape and then more bubble wrap. I've got enough packaging materials now I won't have to buy any for years to come. It took forever to get to the wand but when I finally did I was so excited I nearly dropped it. I've got to have a display stand built for it but for now I have it stuck in a vase full of sea shells.

Isn't it beautiful?!? There is so much detail to this piece that I can't even begin to tell you about it all. I was going to take more pictures but as fate would have it, the camera battery went dead. I had taken other photos with it earlier this morning so I managed to get a pic of what came in yesterday's mail as well.

I've just added another photo trying to show the detail in the globe of the wand but this is as good as it's going to get. I'm getting a reflection off of the glass so you really can't see the witch and the flying monkey or see how the poppies and everything fits together so magically.

You remember Dillywink my Munchkin from the Oz posts? That was his name here but his new momma gave him a nickname, Dilly Boy and now that's what he prefers to be called.  He's so happy at his new home so he asked his new momma if he could send me something as a thank you for sending him to live with his new family and she told him he could send me anything his little heart desired so he chose to send me these:

Aren't they wonderful?? It's a  set of 18 of the most delightful Oz ACEO cards and I was flabbergasted when I opened the package and saw them. It wasn't the first time that I'd seen them they were on the July 19th Celebrate Oz blog party post on Ireland Brady's site. I'd never visited this site before and hadn't seen any of the work created by Karen Anne but once I did see it I wanted to see more. I took my daughter blog hoping to see what everyone else had posted for the Oz celebration and she fell in love with the artwork on this site too. Karen Anne is not only a talented artist but also one of the nicest people you'd ever want to meet. That is one of the wonderful things about blogging. You meet some of the nicest people. I am so happy I took part in the Oz celebration and am thankful for the new friends I've made by doing so. Thank you so much April and Karen Anne and you too Linda for bringing so much joy by being the lovely people that you are.

Remember the pale Santa in the last of my Oz posts? I finally got him painted and took a few photos of him. I've named him "2 B & a D" (two bears and a doll).

I have one more Santa to finish and that will take care of those three Santa heads that played "What's my Line" awhile ago.

Wishing you a happy weekend. Thanks for stopping by.

THE PARTY IS OVER

Chapter four

Here we are again. You’re undoubtedly thinking to yourself, “What else could this din-a-ling possibly have to say about Oz that she hasn’t already said in the past three posts.  You have to understand the reason I keep going on and on it because I find Oz to be so amazing and wonderful and I’ve always wanted to live there. It all started when I was eight years old and I read my first Oz book. I was completely head over heels in love with this magical place. I’ve always thought that it is quite possible these books are what turned me into someone who loves to read. By now you all have a fairly good idea of how crazy I am about Oz and all things Oz so instead of giving you any more facts gleaned from the many books or the wonderful movie I’m going to pack it all in. Yep, I’m not going to say another word on the subject. Instead I’m going to let you take a peek behind the curtain and see what the others have to say before we get to the part where we find out where Dillywink will be heading off to no doubt the main reason you’re here.

"I was beginning to think she was going to make this party last all week. There must be something wrong with the workings of her mind. No one in their right mind would go on and on like this for so many days."

"Thank goodness that's over with. If she had made us pose for one more photo I was out of there. It's such a relief to be sitting down, these diamond slippers are killing my feet. I don't suppose any of you know where my wand got off to?"

"Stop your whining, at least you can sit down. She's done something to me so now I can't even sit and these shoes are pinching my toes and mashing my bunions. I've noticed you can't seem to keep a hold on that wand of yours. You're probably sitting on it."

"Dorothy, did you hear I'm getting a new home?"

"Yes Dillywink, I heard."

"Dear, we've all heard about you getting a new home so there's no need to keep telling us. It's not likely we're going to forget.

Now my bottom is going numb from sitting here and my dress is starting to wrinkle."

"Just listen to you whiny babies. None of you have anything to be complaining about. I don't see any of you stuck in a plastic bag. Plastic doesn't breath you know and it's probably 110 degrees in  here and my nose itches and I can't move my arms so I can't scratch it. I don't suppose one of you two could lend a hand."

"We didn't even notice you laying here. Who are you and what are you doing in That bag?"

"What do you mean, who am I? I'm the Red Queen, that's who I am. Who the heck are you two? I don't recall seeing either of you until this morning but of course I've been laying on a shelf and haven't seen much of anything since she stuck me in this bag and surely you don't think I agreed to being stuck in here. How stupid are you?"

"Hey lady, did you hear I'm getting a new home?"

"Yes you dumb twit! I've heard you say that at least a dozen times now. Instead of being so annoying do something useful and scratch my nose since neither one of those other two would do it and can't get a hand free."

"Sure thing. Hey maybe I can help you get out of the bag. Whatcha' think, Queenie?"

"Well, would ya look at this?!? There's a little girl hiding in here."

"How humiliating!! This is no way for the queen to be treated!

First I'm stuffed in a bag and then hidden away on a shelf and now this?!? That last bit is the final insult! I'm the queen and this will not do!

Off with his head!"

"Hey Mister, did you hear I'm getting a new home?"

"Yes, I've heard, and about 30 times in the past half hour. Why don't you give it a rest son?"

"I see you've found your wand Glinda, can I touch it?"

"Sure, but only with one finger. It has powerful magic you know."

"What's with the old man over there? Do any of you recognize him?"

"There's something wrong with him. Did you notice except for his head he's all pale and colorless? You three need to go over there find out who he is and what he's doing here."

"So, you say your name is Santa Claus and you are a symbol of Christmas and you know when someone is naughty or nice and you bring toys to the good little girls and boys? That's your story?"

"Yes, on Christmas Eve I get in my sleigh that is pulled by eight flying reindeer and we fly throughout the night from house to house and I leave presents in the stockings hanging from the mantel of the fireplace or under a decorated tree."

"And you say you get into the houses by going down the chimney? Isn't that a bit risky? I mean, what if there's a fire or what if there isn't a fireplace so there's no chimney?

 Another thing, how do you know who's naughty or nice? Oh, and where did you get reindeer that fly? Are you some powerful wizard?"

I think you have some idea of what it is like around here so without further ado I'm going to announce who has been chosen to provide a home for Dillywink.

Before telling you who it is I'll explain the process that was used in selecting who it would be. It's a simple but well thought out process and it goes something like this:

"Ken do me a favor and pick a number between zero and ten." (me)

"HUh? What time is it? Is it time for breakfast?" (my son Ken)

"No it's still too early for breakfast. Just pick a number between zero and ten, okay?" (me)

"Why did you wake me up if it isn't time for breakfast?" (Ken)

"Just do it for me, okay?" (Me)

"Eleven." (Ken)

"Real funny! Now, just pick a number will you? I don't want to get out the throwing knives or dart board." (Me) These are methods used for choosing winners in previous giveaways.

"Whatever! Six. Okay, now will you leave me alone so I can go back to sleep?" (Ken)

So looking at the list I see the name in the number six position is:

Ireland Brady.

Ireland Brady would you please get back to me with your mailing address so I can send little Dillywink on his way? As you've probably noticed he's really excited about heading out to his new home.

"Dorothy I'm going to miss you most of all."

"Yeah, yeah Dillywink, I'll miss you too."

"Does anybody know why she's got so many boxes out? Why would she need so many? Look, there are more of those bags like the one the queen is in. You don't think she's going to stick us in one of those do you?"

Thanks for putting up with my silliness and for coming back day after day to celebrate with me. It's been fun for me and I hope for you as well. And a special thanks to you Oma Linda for hosting this fun affair. I know you had to give me a shove to get me started but once I did get started there was just no stopping me. I so enjoyed seeing what all of the others who were participating in this affair had to offer and I even won a giveaway. Until next time.

Enjoy your week and as always, thanks for stopping by.