Enchanted Tree

At the bottom of my last post I showed you a photo of an enchanted tree that Maggie had designed and is selling the pattern for it on her blog. I really love this little tree and had to have one of my own so I had Maggie send me the pattern.

While making this little guy I learned a couple of tricks from Maggie that I hadn't known before as I really haven't made any fabric art dolls this size. One thing I learned is it's not easy turning something this small right side out. I called Maggie and asked how in the heck did she manage it and that's when I learned about using a soda straw. Huh? I asked when she told me to use a straw. What does a straw have to do with turning something inside out? She told me that's how she turns fingers and such on her art dolls and then told me how to do it. You insert the straw inside what you want to turn and then poke the fabric with the smooth end of a crochet hook into the straw. It works like a charm. See, you can teach an old dog a new trick. Not that I'm old or anything.

Here's Maggie's Enchanted Tree:

Isn't he the cutest darn tree ever? I love the fabric she chose for the tree and how it goes with the fabric she used for her crow. When I shopped for the fabric for mine I kept that in mind and found a black and a brown that that had a matching pattern.

Here's my Enchanted Tree:

Maggie used doll eyes when she made hers but since I didn't have any I constructed mine with white felt and black beads. I also gave mine a pipe cleaner nose instead of wrapping a wire with fabric mainly because I had a brown pipe cleaner. 

Here's a closeup of her crow:

He looks so cute sitting on the branch. What's really fun with these guys, the tree and the crow, is they can be positioned in so many differented poses. The fingers and arm and branches if you want them to have wires inside. When Maggie posted this guy she had him assume different poses. I've been doing that with mine since I finished him yesterday. I'm going to wear him out at this rate.

Here's a closeup of my crow:

If you think the leaves on my tree look different than the one's on Maggie's it's because I made them differently. My sewing machine was acting up again and wouldn't let me stitch the edge of the leaves without messing them up so I decided to make them without sewing. I glued the fabric to both sides of some heavy paper and them traced the leaf pattern on the fabric and cut. I used paint to add the detail to the leaves.

I think one of the things I really like about this pattern is the flexibility you have when making it. There are three sections to the tree and when joining the sections you have the option of putting section "A" on the right side or the left side and by doing so have changed the appearence of the tree. As you can see by looking at Maggie's tree and mine each is unique. I'm thinking of making this tree in different fabrics for the different seasons and different rooms in the house. I'm also thinking about making one for my daughter and another for my granddaughter as gifts.

Well, I've got to run. Places to go, people to see and things to do. This month in moving along too fast for my liking and Halloween will be here before you know it. I still haven't finished my decorating and I don't have much time left. I do want time to enjoy it before I have to take it all down and start decorating for Christmas.

As always I want to thank you for stopping by.

My Sister Maggie

As many of you know, I have two sisters who also are artists and who have their own blogs.  One of my sisters, Maggie from Off My Rocker is going to have one of her pieces in the November issue of Art Doll Quarterly.  I'm thrilled for her. She is an amazing artist and I decided  to do a post showing some of her work.

The following is a sample of her work:

This is one of her paper mache clay Santa figures. I love this piece and am hoping I get this one for Christmas. [hint]

This Santa is another of my favorites. Don't you just love the bunny slippers? Check out the mug of hot chocolate, it has mini marshmallows melting in it. It's all in the details for Maggie. She never misses a thing.

Here's another of her wonderful Santa figures. You have to see this one in person to fully appreciate it. The little bunnies alone are a work of art.

How about this young lady? Have you ever seen anything quite like her? You should read the story that goes along with her.

This is one of  a series of 13 witches that Maggie's will be working on over the next two years.

Here's one of her fabric art dolls. I love this piece and wouldn't mind getting this for my birthday. [hint] Her name is Audrey and she is stunning, don't you agree?

I visited Maggie shortly after she had made these little lovelies. I fell for these six little dolls in a big way. I cannot stress enough how pictures do not do them justice. The painting on the pieces alone is something you need to see in person. I wouldn't mind having this group end up under my Christmas tree. [hint] 

This is one of Maggie's fabric art dolls and she's selling the pattern to make it. Guess who has one of the patterns. Yep! I'm making it as soon as I get to a fabric store. I thought I had enough fabric on hand when I ordered the pattern but discovered I was way short. Darn.  I love that the tree, the crow and leaves can be positioned however I want them.

As you can probably tell I'm a big fan of Maggie's work and am terribly proud of her. If you haven't been to her site you're missing out on something wonderful.

As always, thanks for stopping by.

GHOULS NIGHT OUT

You may have guessed from what I said in the post featuring Wisteria that I was making another ghoul. I'm not good at keeping secrets and I let things slip without meaning to.  Wisteria has a BF named Beatrice, who prefers to be called Batty. The two of them are pretty much inseparable and have been for nearly all of their lives.

I know some people believe ghouls are hideous and off putting, but not all of them are. Just like not all ghouls are meat eaters. Wisteria and Beatrice are vegetarians preferring to eat rotted vegetables. They don't have a lot in common with other ghouls so they stay clear of them and go about doing what they both love to do most. They shop. 

Because they can't go out and about during daylight hours and venturing out in public can cause a panic, they shop at night. They can frequently be found looking for bargains at the city dump. It is their preferred place for one stop shopping for clothing, household furnishings, for food and just about anything they could need or want.

Here's Beatrice wearing an ensemble that she put together during a recent shopping excursion.

She's wearing a long dark cherry red gown topped with a midnight blue jacket. She was unable to find a matching pair of gloves but is satisfied with the way these two gloves go together. The hat looks like it was made for this outfit and the clutch bag is in near perfect condition.

Like Wisteria, Beatrice's face has been painted with a beautiful pattern. It really was their lucky day when they found that box of paints.

The reason she chose this jacket was the pattern on the back and the sparkly trim around the bottom edge. Batty has always liked shiny things.

Here's a closer look at the jacket. The pattern looks a whole lot like the ones the two friends painted on each other's face.

Batty likes the way the jacket is cut shorter in the front and tapers down in a long sweeping curve in the back.

Now if only I could find that mirror so they could see how lovely they both look. I hope you've enjoyed seeing the latest figure in my all things magickal series. 

Beatrice is just under 12" tall and approximately 4" wide and like the other figures in this series is available for sale in my Magick Shop.

As always thanks for stopping by.

A BABY IN THE HOUSE

I'm sure that you're familiar with the concept that all babies are cute. I never agreed with that statement completely as even baby snakes and baby spiders creep me out.

There is a saying that a baby might have a face that only a mother could love. There may be truth in that one as I've seen some pretty homely babies. They may be beautiful in the eyes of their mother but to the rest of the world it's not so obvious.

I'm going to show you my latest creation and at first I thought she or he would be terribly ugly but then I started getting a warm and fuzzy feeling when looking at this sweet little creature. I'm going to let you be the judge as to whether this is a face only a mother can love.

This is Jocko, a baby troll who has come to live with us. This little one is cutting teeth and is not even a little bit happy. I've tried to stop the crying by letting Jocko play with some of the stuffed animals, but nothing seems to be working.

Minerva tried getting him or her to stop the crying by singing to him or her but had to get Winnie the goose to safety when Jocko tried to chew on her.

It looks like Jocko may be getting interested in the animals. I'm not sure if this is something I want to watch.

It would appear that for the moment at least, the animals, all except for that poor buzzard that Jocko has a strangle hold on are safe.

Now that you've seen Jocko from head to toe I'm going to leave it up to you. Does this little one have a face only a mother could love?

I hope you've enjoyed meeting my newest addition in my all things magickal collection.

As always thanks for stopping by.

Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun

Or maybe it's, "I just love being a Ghoul". I really wasn't sure what title I was going to give this post.

This ghoul is my first but maybe not my last. She was such fun to work on that when I got ready to paint her I had several different ideas but stuck with the original and putting the rest into the maybe file.

There were a couple of firsts with this piece, one of which is she's the first of my figures to have an actual neck. That leads me to another first. Since the neck needed to be strong enough to support her head I needed to leave the armature for it in place.

So, here she is, my first ghoul which would lead you to believe there may be more, who knows, maybe there will be.

This is Wisteria. She has been around for many years and has adjusted to "life" as a ghoul. Although she has lost her once beautiful hair, she still feels feminine and pretty. Since she's discovered face art, she is constantly seeking out mirrors to admire herself.

"Oh my.....

Wisteria's gown has lace embellishments around the neck, down the front and at the edge of her  jacket. She also has lace as a band around her head.

Wisteria stands just over 11" tall and is approximately 4" wide. She is painted with several layers of acrylic paints and sealed to protect her from the elements. Like all of my other pieces, she is a one of a kind figure created from paper mache clay without the use of any molds. She will be listed for sale in my Magick Shop.

Just a reminder, Maggie is having her drawing for the wonderful Santa today, so don't forget to pop over to Off My Rocker to see who's the lucky winner.

I hope you've enjoyed meeting Wisteria and as always, thanks for stopping by.

Grandmother Goose

This is the third witch that I've created since going over to the dark side. I started her at the same time as I did the other two. The idea I had at the time I started the three was to make the witches and then go back to sculpting Santa figures.

Since then I've gotten carried away creating these little magickal beings and have started four other creatures of the night. They're not witches but something else.

I don't know if I feel like going back to the place where it's Christmas year round. What can I say? I'm having fun and something has gotten a hold on me. I've even taken to watching movies like, "Practical Magic" and "Hocus Pocus" and "the Witches of Eastwick". Does anyone have suggestions for other good movies along these lines?

This latest witch I have named Minerva. She has spent the day in the herb garden where I found her earlier and asked permission to take some pictures for this post. Here she is with her pet goose Winnie.

As you can see, the sun is much brighter today. I can't seem to catch a break. It's either too dark or too bright for picture taking. The jack-o-lantern at her feet was made by my sister Maggie.....it's really cute.

Minerva is wearing a gown of dark blue topped with a black cloak lined in a deep shimmering green. Her hat is made to look like leather of the darkest brown/black. The hat band is moss. Winnie has snowy white feathers and a black bill.

Minerva's hair is pulled to the back of her head and fashioned into a large coiled bun.

She seems to like my herb garden and would probably like nothing better than stay there, but I'm afraid that she wouldn't continue looking her best if I left her there. Even sealed, things made from paper mache are not meant to be used as outdoor decorations.

When I took this picture I asked Minerva if she would mind coming into the house so I could take a few more photos. I'm not going to repeat her answer as I don't say words like that. I had to coax her by offering to make her a cup of tea and promised to introduce her to a unmarried wizard by the name of Balthazar.

I really have got to get a light box built for taking my photos. These photos don't even begin to capture her beautiful coloring.

Minerva is going to get along great with the Crone and Ginger. They've just met and seem to have hit it off. I can hear them cackling while I'm writing this.

This little figure is made entirely or paper mache clay and is painted with many layers of thinned acrylic paint and sealed with matte acrylic varnish. She and the other magickal creatures are now in my new shop located as a stand alone page on this blog.

To celebrate the opening of my new shop, there will be a 10% off sale on everything in my two blog shops, North Pole Gift Shop and The Magick Shop,  starting today and continuing until the end of the month.

Just a reminder that the drawing for the Santa made by Maggie from Off My Rocker is happening at the end of this month. If you haven't entered to win the Santa there is still a few days left so hurry over and get entered. I have seen this Santa and held him and would love to win him, so I have to ask myself why am I sending you over???  

I hope you enjoyed meeting Minerva and as always........
thanks for stopping by.

The Witch with Sprinkles

I couldn't wait to show you this little witch. I just wish my camera would show you how she really looks. I've decided my problem is I have to use the flash as the lighting usually makes it necessary and even though there is no shine on the piece it always looks shiny in the photos.

This little green witch is named Ginger. She got her name because of her hair which is red or 'ginger' in color. She is fair skinned and is covered with a 'sprinkle' of freckles, hence the "Green witch with sprinkles" title.

Ginger practices "Natural Witch Craft." She works with the energies of natural objects like stones, gems, herbs, animals and the elements and believes all of these things have a spirit or soul. 

I've so enjoyed working on this little witch as she has such a joyous spirit. From the moment I had her face roughed in I knew she was going to become one of my favorites. 

Ginger is 100% paper mache clay with the exception of her wand and the handle of her broom. She has an owl perched on her hat that I didn't make, and a feather tucked into the band of her hat. She has been painted with many layers of acrylic paint and sealed with acrylic varnish. To make her a bit more magickal  she has the tiniest touch of sparkles on the feather and band of her hat and in her hair and on her collar.

I think I'm going to take Ginger outside later today and see if I can get a better photo so you can see how sweet her face really is, and hopefully get a better look at the colors in her clothing and her hair.

I can't help but smile when I look at this little witch's face. She just looks so happy and good natured.

Even though the colors aren't true to the real thing and the flash flattens everything I hope her sweet nature is still evident. I so enjoyed working on this piece and hope the last of my three witches is a lovable as this one.

These last two photos are obviously from outdoors. I couldn't resist taking the whole witchy trio out to see if the lighting made any difference. Maybe a bit. What do you think?

Just a reminder, there are only 4 more days until the drawing for the mystery Santa. If you are interested in entering the contest/giveaway you still have time.

Hope you enjoyed meeting Ginger, and as always, thanks for stopping by.

The Crone:

Although I mentioned making a witch with sprinkles in my last post this isn't her. That little witch is still drying but the witch I'm going to show you is just as nice. I call this one The Crone.

The Crone represents age-old wisdom. She cares for the Maiden and the Mother. She stands at the door to the other dimension and understands that the journey is just another step on every one's path. Because of her years of experience, she is one who counsels well. Many Elders carry stories that can teach everyone so much. In today’s world, so many traditions are being lost because the younger generation has no interest in keeping the legends alive. The Crone's age range is late forties and older. Her colors are black, purple, brown, indigo blue and gray.

The Crone is a protective figure, and a helpful crone is often linked to fairy godmothers whereas a wicked fairy godmother often appears in the guise of an evil crone.

She is called “Dark Mother, Hag, Mother Death,” and has become perverted into the archetype of the ugly Wicked Old Witch found in fairy tales.

The Crone is the Queen of the Night, and is associated with night and darkness; the waning moon and especially the dark moon, the unconscious realm, dark colors especially black. She is associated with menopause and the aging process; death and decline and the underworld realm and the end of cycles.

She also represents wisdom and power, healing and transformation. We think of the Crone in connection with winter and the Winter Solstice, the direction North; spiders and webs; the elderly and the outcast; cauldrons of transformation and regeneration.

We associated her with old seed pods, hibernation, dormancy and retreat. The animals associated with her are  Owls, Vultures and flesh-eating birds, black birds especially ravens and crows. We think of her at times of transition, such as dusk, dawn, and midnight and associate her with divination, prophesy, and scrying.

This is the first of three witches I’m working on. I’ve no intention of doing the Maiden, Mother and Crone, but have done some research on the three. For whatever reason I find that I’m drawn to sculpting the older witches and so all three of the ones I’m presently working on will be crones. This lovely crone was painted with many layers of thinned acrylic paints and has been sealed with three coats of acrylic varnish. Her hat and cloak are black and she has a dark green shawl. Her gown is a dark grayed brown.

She has her book of spells tuck under her right arm and her wand in her right hand. She holds her broom stick in her left hand. On close inspection you will see her right eye is covered with a cataract and she has a snaggled tooth smile on her face.

While I was sculpting her, I used myself as a model and exaggerated everything a wee bit. For one thing, my hair isn't as thick and my teeth aren't quite as yellow since I've been using this new tooth paste. My nose may not be quite so crooked.

This is pretty much what I look like from the backside except my hair is thinner although it's about the same length and the style.

For some reason the profile gets me every time. I think it might be an  Alfred Hitchcock thing. I like the way the broom turned out. She looks like she's ready to get down to business, doesn't she?

As I said earlier, I'm working on two more witches and will have them both finished in the coming week.....if they ever dry.

Speaking of the coming week. This is the last week before the contest/giveaway drawing. If you haven't entered, go to my contest/giveaway page to see the rules and then come back here to enter. Remember, you can enter as often as you like.

As always, thanks for stopping by.

Not Quite Another Santa, Is It?

My daughter saw my latest piece a few days ago and made the statement that this isn't a Santa is it? I have no idea why she asked that as at the time he was faceless and all beige and tan and really pretty rough looking. He wasn't even close to being completed and at that point he sort of resembled Santa.

I've mentioned how I often make what I call a blank and then add PMC to create a figure. A blank is pretty much what it sounds like. If you go back to an earlier post where I did a WIP you can see what a blank looks like. It's basically sort of cone shaped. I often make several at a time and have them drying so I don't have to wait for that particular step when working on a new piece. When I decided to depart from Santa sculpting I decided to see what else I could make with a blank.

This is what I ended up with. Meet the wizard Balthazar.

You may see a slight resemblance to Santa in the shape of the piece, but aside from having a beard he really doesn't look much like Santa to me.

He holds his wand in his right hand and a small crystal ball in his left. His gown is a blue black and his robes are a nearly black green. The lining of his robes is a deep purple.

I have him leaning slightly forward to give the appearance of movement. His wand and the crystal ball show up better from this angle.

Although he is wearing a hat, his robe has a long pointed hood that hangs down his back.

Balthazar is wearing gold rings on both of his index fingers and the middle finger of his left hand.

I know he isn't that much of a change from my usual offering, but there was enough differences that I didn't feel like I was doing the same thing again. For one thing I had to do fingers on his hands. Not easy with PMC.

I'm thinking of making a nice friendly little witch for my next project. Maybe even one with green sprinkles.

Don't forget there are only nine more days until the drawing for the Mystery Santa, so if you haven't entered there is still time. Remember, you can enter as many times as you want.

Hope you enjoyed meeting Balthazar and as always, thank you for stopping by.