DOLLISTIC!!

Black Tie in a Box

2011-09-26T19:47:00.003-04:00

Last time I showed these guys, they didn't have feet. Well, now they do, complete with tiny upholstery thread shoelaces. The shoes themselves are acrylic painted poly clay.

These have come along slowly over the past coupla years. When I first found the skulls, I was amazed at how much they resembled tuxedo clad torsos with hands in pockets. First I made them little paper mache heads on sticks that slide down into their skull torsos. A year or so later, I made the paper mache bow ties. Just recently, I added the shoes and called them done!

I really love these little guys. I love the skull torsos. I love their misshapen little noggins. I love their black & white-ism. So much so that I gave them a special display box to live in. I was hunting for an appropriate glass-fronted box when I came across the perfect one for FREE! It was a Wild Turkey display case that arrived with the Plexiglas broken in shipping. (I work at a liquor store.) I brought it home, painted it, gave it new hardware, had a glass pane cut to fit, and Voila! My Black Tie guys have a home.

Off to Florida!

2011-09-22T11:04:00.004-04:00

Nah, not me. Just a coupla dolls I sent to an old school friend who lives in Florida now. We've recently reconnected via email. Who knows, tho - I may have to ship myself down there sometime so we can do some thrift shopping together...

This doll is fabric and fibers wrapped on a stick with a poly clay face. Also some feathers, beading, stitching, skewed acorn boobies, copper wire,,, She's about 7 inches tall.

This is one of the goddess dolls I used to sell at the coffee shop. Fabric wrapped stick, nut head, beads and other metal doodads. I think she's about 7 inches not including her extended arms.

Another

2011-08-26T12:59:00.002-04:00

Here's my second mask.

Similar style to the first mask, but with a bird on his head rather than a lizard.Here're some detail shots.

Wish I could get a better shot of his lips. I love the way the painting turned out on them.

Boo!

2011-08-08T12:42:00.003-04:00

Did I scare you?

This is my first paper mache mask.

Coupla detail shots.

And me wearing it - to show size.

I'm working on another.

Amulets

2011-06-10T00:46:00.002-04:00

Awhile ago, I got this great book, Amulets: Sacred Charms of Power and Protection by Sheila Paine. Shortly after getting the book, I made a coupla amulet kind of thingies. Not sure why or what for, but here they are.

Made from fibers and bones and sticks and bells and buttons and leather and feathers and beads of clay, seeds, glass & metal. The top amulet also includes a little fabric arrowhead I made.

Kiss my Hand with a 'Kiss my Ass' Attitude

2011-05-30T08:00:00.000-04:00

That's what this queen has. She's my latest creation (and a long time coming, huh?). I'm not a real prolific crafter. :) And my photography skills seem to be gettin' worse instead of better. I HATE taking pics of inanimate objects. Oh well, here she is as best I can do with my limited motivation and even more limited skill in the art of photography.

I was just starting this doll when I read that Art Doll Quarterly magazine's next challenge is Bottle Dolls. So I'll probly mail her off to them as a challenge entry sometime before September. Anyhow, I started with a cruet bottle. I was eyeing it up, thinking the cap would make a good crown, when it came to me that I could also use the bottle as a skirt. From there, of course I started in with the paper mache...

Her crown is filled with tiny dried roses from my garden. Her hair is regular old household string painted, and adorned with decorative tacks.

Her bottle skirt is also filled with my dried rosebuds and petals. I created a bottom ruffle with an upside down glass dish that is painted on the underside and embellished with a string of glass beads.

I did some texturing on her paper mache torso and gave her a collar that resembles leaves or petals. Also a 'clump' of glass beads at her neckline.

Her waist ruffle is paper mache that I molded over the glass dish used as her bottom ruffle, topped off with some tulle home decor trim and a couple dried and shellacked rosebuds.

Small oyster shells made great hands.

The old queen looked kinda lonely, so I made her a fuzzy wool doggy with a tiny macrame and beaded collar, french knot curls on her head and tail, and tiny seashell ears. She's mincing around on a metal 'ribbon' leash.

The queen is about 14 inches tall and her friend, Sir Floof, is only 2 3/4 inches tall. I think I'm gonna title this piece "She Emerged Triumphant From Her Exile (to the Attic)". (Yeah, I know it's long, but I've always loved long titles.) The reference to her attic exile is cos she has a kind of chipped and marred antiquey look to her patina.

Nature's Treasures

2011-05-28T06:50:00.005-04:00

I spent an hour or so today sorting thru the beautiful shell fragments I collected at the beach this month. Topsail Island, NC has been restoring their beaches which were eroding badly after numerous storms and high seas. They sucked sand out of the canals and pumped it onto the dunes and beaches. In the process, lots of really old shell fragments were dredged up.

I sorted them into 3 piles - gray toned, cream toned, and pinkish. I plan to do some mosaic art with them.

They're just loaded with color, texture, and pattern. And I betcha a coat of clear sealer will really make the colors pop.

Yippee!

2011-05-26T10:56:00.002-04:00

I finally got my copy of the Summer 2011 issue of Art Doll Quarterly magazine. Why is that so exciting? Cos two of my tiny dolls were chosen for the Tiny Doll Challenge feature! So, of course, my issue got lost in the mail. And then the replacement issue took it's own sweet time getting here. But, finally, it's here - my first ever published dolls. Alas, published under the wrong name - Gail Vanderbout as opposed to the real me, Gail VandenBout. But, whatever... they's mine!

Here's a scan of 'my' page:

And... my little fortune doll even made the Table of Contents page! Next up, Cover Girl! Hee hee.

My Last Art Doll Cool-Aberration 2010 Doll

2011-05-17T21:15:00.003-04:00

MA's doll, Aneelaw, is a fabulous art doll. So artsy & unique. Can't believe she's my last doll in the project.

Anneelaw was more or less a bust when I recieved her - just a head and shoulders (?) and one hand. I couldn't resist giving her some little out-of-proportion legs. Once I did that, she looked to me like a Society Lady sitting in an ornate wrought iron chair getting ready to take a bite from a finger sandwich. So then I decided a patio table was in order to complete the illusion.

Her legs are Barbie-type legs that I paper mache-ed over. The ankles were moveable, but the knees weren't, so I had to cut the legs in half and paper mache them to the proper angles for crossing. Her capris are painted turquoise to go with her hat and overcoated with a turquoise glitter nail polish. Her shoes are purple to match her glove.

The base of the patio table is a black metal thingie that once housed a glass votive holder. Something I just had in my stash that worked perfectly with her "chair"! The top is simply a paper mache-ed cardboard cutout with the top layer being a design I downloaded off the internet.

The table looked kinda empty, so I made a bouquet of paper mache and wire flowers and placed them in a painted mini liquor bottle.

And here're my journal pages.

Soon Anneelaw will be on her way home to MA in Canada. Go here to see all the dolls and journals in the Art Doll Cool-Aberration 2010 project.

Aliens!

2011-04-16T09:35:00.001-04:00

Onoma is another fun doll - my 5th in the Art Doll Cool-Aberration 2010 project. Onoma is an alien with amnesia. Poor thang don't know where she came from or even what species she is...

I thought she needed a bit more "alienating", so I chopped off her feet and replaced them with oyster shells - nice briny-looking alien feet, good for walking on or paddling. She grew matching hands, too.

And what self-respecting alien has no antennae??? So she got those, too - made from copper multi-strand wire and sparkly turquoise fiber.

Lastly, I added a couple ball beads to her head gear. They remind me of planets.

Onoma's journal entry includes drawings of aliens and spaceships done by my brother, Dave, at my request. Alien creatures and spacecraft are subjects he's often doodled thru the years, and I thought it'd be cool to include some of his work in the journal (since I always make him admire our dolls).

Check out our project blog to see the step-by-step evolution of Onoma and 6 more cool dolls.

Poly Clay Magnets

2011-03-02T21:20:00.002-05:00

Made these polymer clay magnets for my brother to enclose with the computer boards he's donating for prizes in a contest.

Prince Charming

2011-02-21T22:01:00.002-05:00

This cool guy, Prince Charming, was my 4th doll in the Art Doll Cool-Aberration project.

He started out with Robyn in California as just a pair of legs! Talitha added frog feet, removable boots, and britches. Amy gave him a torso, neck and cumberbund. Yvonne made his cool frog head.

I made Frog a paper mache shirt and "hands" and a fabric tunic-thing like they wore in medieval times.

The most fun for me was putting a comb in his shirt pocket (to primp for the ladies) and a tin of tic-tacs in his tunic pocket (to sweeten his breath). Both are made from polymer clay.

And here's my entry in the scroll journal.

Go check out our project blog to see his entire story so far. He'll be leaving me for MA and Arlee in Canada shortly.

Lady S

2011-01-28T19:32:00.002-05:00

Lady Sebastian is my third doll in the Art Doll Cool-Aberration project. Go to our project blog to see her step-by-step progress so far.

I added her paper mache dress and feathers. I couldn't decide how to decorate her dress, so I left that for MA or Arlee to decide. Her wings aren't attached yet and her apron is tied on with a ribbon and removable.

I hung a hand charm at the end of her arm, along with a homemade charm that's meant to be the note she found when she awoke in the temple. More can be hung from her wrist loop if anyone is so inclined.

And here's my journal entry with a bit more added to her story.

My part of the story reads:

4 January 1922

Things get stranger and stranger…

I awoke as from a deep sleep - still at the temple, but (as I discovered on my return to the hotel) having lost an entire month. Stranger yet, I found myself clad not in my usual dig clothing, but in a beautiful Egyptian sheath adorned with a wondrous bustle of golden feathers like those in my new wings. In my hand I clutched a penned note saying:

“Fear not, and have faith.
Your father is safe.
As are all who await
your ecclesiastical fate.”

What in the world is going on here?! What more can happen to me as I continue on this journey?

Now to get Lady S mailed off to MA in Canada!

Fabric Book

2010-12-02T14:08:00.003-05:00

Made another book. This one is fabric that I created by felting a crocheted rectangle to a piece of upholstery fabric using my embellishing machine. I left some areas of just the fabric and also loose threads around the edge.

I made a text block using beige copy paper (just cos I had it on hand) and sewed it into the cover. Then I embroidered and beaded the spine with multicolored threads and beads.

I likes it... even tho I have no idea what I'll use it for.

Serenity

2010-12-01T19:15:00.003-05:00

I just mailed Serenity, my 2nd doll in Art Doll Cool-Aberration 2010, to MA in Canada. Here's what I added to her.

As soon as I saw Serenity, I knew I wanted to make her a seahorse centaur. A seahorse is a very serene little critter. Having semi-useless fins, it prefers protected waters like a bay or inlet, and relies on the currents to carry it from place to place. Serenity's posture and long neck, and the shells and moons and horsehair added by Yvonne, all led me to creating a seahorse centaur. Since she was already 11 inches tall without legs, it was also a way to finish her length without exceeding our 12 inch goal by much - she's just shy of 14 inches tall now.

Her seahorse tail is slightly stuffed fabric over a wire armature and is embellished with copper netting (from a repurposed scouring pad) and copper wire. I just had to use the vintage lace with leaves that so closely resemble those in Amy's fabric torso, so I painted it to complement Yvonne's lace headdress and made a paper and lace belt. She could probably use a belt adornment, but I left that for someone else to decide.

Check out our project blog to see more of the dolls and their progress.

The Smoking Queen

2010-11-20T11:55:00.003-05:00

Made this little book just for fun.

It's 3.5" X 7.5" and has a paper mache cover with a ribbon-striped spine.

And pages made from old book pages, gesso-ed and painted.

Art Doll Cool-Aberration 2010 Doll 2

2010-11-08T09:34:00.002-05:00

I have Amy's doll, Serenity, with me now. She came to me from Yvonne as shown here.

Check out our project blog to see all the dolls and their evolutions.

Legs traveling in style

2010-10-30T11:26:00.003-04:00

I made a pretty envelope for Raisa's legs to travel in. Hopefully she'll be off to MA in Canada on Monday.

Mail Goody

2010-10-26T23:45:00.002-04:00

Look what flew into my mailbox! Her name is Scarlet and she was made for me by my internet pal, Susan. Scarlet is only about 3" from the tip of her beak to the tip of her tail feathers. Isn't she a treat? Another tiny treasure for my display case.

Thanks, Susan!

Finished my first Art Doll Cool-Aberration 2010 doll

2010-10-25T11:46:00.003-04:00

I'm the first in the round robin to work on Yvonne's doll, Raisa, who came to me from Texas thus:

Raisa's figure may be a bit "boxy" (hee hee), but now she's got some sexy legs! Four sets, to be precise. Each with a different pair of sexy, high-heeled shoes.

I also gave Raisa a fringed tulle miniskirt and a pink garter that she can wear over her hanging legs or tuck inside her box. I was thrilled when I found the tulle trim -it matches Raisa and her journal perfectly!

Her two-sided interchangable cardboard legs are painted and stitched, and hang on a tiny screw hook I attached to the bottom of the box lid. She can be displayed on the edge of a mantle or shelf with her legs hanging below.

My journal page depicts Raisa's shoe addiction and includes a little bound booklet of interchangable legs and shoes.

I'd love to have worked "inside the box", too, but I thought I better leave that for one of the other participants. I'm finishing up a pretty envelope for Raisa's legs to travel in, and then she's off to MA in Canada.

Itsy Bitsy Book

2010-10-13T23:27:00.004-04:00

I'm still working on Raisa (Yvonne's Art Doll Cool-Aberration doll) and her journal. No reveal yet, but I can tell you I'm working 'outside the box'. LOL. I'm having fun - I just love working on these collaboration dolls.

I do have a tiny little book to show you. I made this to carry in my pocketbook for writing down the names of authors I like. So when I go to the library I can remember who to look for. It's very tiny, but has lots of pages. - for years of reading. I made a very simple codex style using cardboard and collaged paper for the cover.

Speaking of books, I've just ordered some new used books from Amazon and I can't wait till they get here. A couple on book making and some on vintage shoes and hats. Oh yeah, and one on amulets. I love pics of cool shoes and hats and I'll hopefully find inspiration for some future dolls! I put several more expensive books on my wish list (so I can keep an eye out for reduced prices), including a new book about vintage undies (corsets and such) that hasn't been released yet. And a book about horses in African art with loads of pics (also not yet released). I love horse art, too. Apparently, so do Africans - they have few horses in Africa, but they depict lots of horses in their art. Interesting, huh?

I'm having fun!

Paper Doll

2010-10-07T21:57:00.003-04:00

Well, I decided to try making a paper doll for a change. Here's the start of my first.

She's an 8" tall (legless) flapper (I love flappers!), and is actually made of cardboard with a layer of paper mache and some fringed fabric at the hem of her dress. More later as she progresses.

Raisa Arrived

2010-10-05T18:58:00.007-04:00

I got my first Art Doll Cool-Aberration 2010 doll (other than my own) in the mail yesterday. Raisa flew in from Yvonne in Texas. I "borrowed" these pics of Raisa from Yvonne's blog.

Yvonne used a recycled doll head and a wee (2.5 x 3.5") petit point box for her doll start. And Raisa's travel journal is an altered book. Very cool. Check out our project blog to see it and all the other dolls and journals.

I've already started my contribution to Raisa. I found a perfect trim for Raisa at a local home decor fabric shop!

A Wider Face!

2010-10-01T17:22:00.005-04:00

Yep, this one has a wider face for once. And, as you can see, I solved the ear problem, too. LOL. She's a sun burnt beach gal. She turned out kinda boring looking.

I liked her sketch better before I painted it.

And this is Gramps. He's been retired for eons, but still wears a tie every day. From the looks of his ears, he has a bit of Elf in his ancestry.

And another

2010-09-29T14:09:00.002-04:00

This one reminds me of a cross between a pouty Julia Roberts and a pouty Princess Di.

I'm drawing these first in pencil and then painting with acrylics and watercolors. So far my faces are always too narrow, ears a bit too high, and various other skewed proportions. I'll have to try drawing a fat face next and maybe it'll come out right. Sometimes I use a model to get the basic face shape, but then I draw blind. I figure it won't end up anywhere close to a model picture anyways. :)

Expressions

2010-09-27T20:49:00.006-04:00

Another coupla pages for my sketchbook here. I've been playing around sketching and painting faces on top of collaged backgrounds. After I'd painted these faces, I thought they showed certain expressions that combined with the backgrounds to reveal a theme.

This woman looked very sad and downcast, and the collaged newspaper clippings behind her looked like news headlines showing a brazen young woman. So I wrote "DAUGHTER MADE THE HEADLINES" & "BAD NEWS" on the page.

I really like this next one. The girl looked to me like she was holding her breath and listening for something. The background looked like dark nighttime and her face looked lit up by moonlight. So I added a werewolf or grizzly or something emerging from the dark behind her. And she whispers, "Did you hear something?" She kindof reminds me of a girlscout with that hat and sweet blouse. Poor girl better run like hell! LOL!

More Drawings

2010-09-21T20:24:00.004-04:00

I drew these at work yesterday since it was slow. I always like em best upside-down. :)

Here they are right-side-up.

I'm enjoying doodling, so I ordered a book on how to draw human heads and bodies and some new watercolor pencils & crayons. They're on the way here! And brother Dave got me some charcoal pencils that he'll bring me next visit. New stuff, whee!

Meet Audacity

2010-09-14T08:50:00.006-04:00

Got a new art doll collaboration starting up! Art Doll Cool-Aberration 2010. This time there are seven of us participating and we'll wrap up in May.

Here's Audacity, my doll start, and her travel journal. Audacity is a paper mache form built on a stick, not quite 7" tall. She's sporting an old decorative metal hardware piece.

Her journal is also paper mache and 7.5" X 4.5".

I'll be sending Audacity off to Mary Anne in Canada very soon. Can't wait to get my first doll from Yvonne in Texas!

Another Sketchbook Page

2010-09-07T12:46:00.002-04:00

This one is another paper mache page colored with watercolors, markers, acrylics, pen and pencil. These are a lot of fun to make.

Sketchbook Project and Sketching for Real

2010-09-02T09:47:00.005-04:00

Here're a couple more pages for my art journal for The Setchbook Project 2011. The first shown is a paper mache page of 3 denim-clad pals smoking in the alley. (I've started using paper mache for everything - may even start patching stuff here at home with paper mache instead of Duck tape. :) ) I started this page by cutting out the body shapes in cardboard and gluing them to the page. Then I paper mache-ed over the entire page and painted, penciled, and markered over that. The facial features and clothing, etc just evolved from what I saw in the initial paint layers. I may still add some text.

The next page just kindof evolved on it's own. I'd doodled some human shapes I saw lurking in a painted surface, and I thought the expressions were of dismay and perplexity as the people looked up at something. That made me think of the Towers falling on 9-11-2001. At the time, I was also experimenting with embossing some paper using a grid-like metal cake cooling thingie. The embossed paper reminded me of many-windowed buildings... like the Towers. So it all ended up together on this page.

Then, surprise, surprise! I sat down with pencil and paper and started trying to sketch a nose that really kindof looked like... well, a nose. I've never been a sketcher or a drawer. And always wished I could. So I'm pleasantly surprised with these first attempts at sketching faces. No, they're not real good, but they're a hell of a lot better than I thought I could do. I really like doing noses and lips so far. Apparently, I like older faces with character lines and frowns. And REAL, ugly noses!

Totem Dolls

2010-08-30T21:45:00.005-04:00

Messing around with paper mache again. These little totems are decorated with colored sections of the newspaper. Twine hair. The larger one (about 5" tall) is a rattle. The small one woulda been a rattle, but I got impatient and dried him in the microwave, and he ended up not having a hollow inside after that. Oops. :)

Here Goes Nothin'!

2010-08-23T13:44:00.005-04:00

I joined The Sketchbook Project 2011. While waiting for my sketchbook to arrive, I started stressing badly over having joined. Didn't have any ideas for pages (the ones I had when I was thinking of joining had all flown the coop), couldn't believe I'd spent money on joining something I couldn't do (I'm not a sketcher or a drawer), etc. I'm just coming out of a loooooong creative block and I felt like this stupid idea of mine was gonna throw me right back into it.

Well, thank goodness I got past that. It's only a silly little sketchbook and a few measley dollars. It's supposed to be fun. So I'm just gonna fill my pages with whatever strikes my fancy at the time. My theme is "Coffee and Cigarettes" and, since playing in the sketchbook is something I do while drinking coffee and smoking, I figure anything I come up with falls into my category. :)

So here's the first spread I've made for my sketchbook.

It's mostly watercolors (watercolor crayons, which I love) with some pen, magic marker, and cut & paste. I used all my fave colors.

Collage

2010-08-21T12:00:00.004-04:00

I'm not a very good collager, but I was messing around with it the other day. Trying to come up with some background material. Here's what I made from magazine bits and a touch of paint.

A Black Tie Affair

2010-08-15T18:10:00.001-04:00

Animal skulls, sticks, paper mache.

And she came bearing gifts...!

2010-06-25T21:35:00.003-04:00

Not only did the Cool-Aberration gals do wonderful work on Bravura and her journal, but some of them also sent tiny gift dolls home with Bravura!

Thanks (left to right) Robyn, Mary Anne, Barb, and Yvonne! Your wee dolls are living in my doll display case and are much appreciated additions to my tiny doll collection.

Bravura's Journal

2010-06-24T22:19:00.005-04:00

Bravura's travel journal turned out as wonderful as Bravura, herself. It arrived home chock full of art and treasures right to the very last page!

When I sent it off with Bravura last June, my journal cover looked like this.

Bravura came home all purples and greens. So I decided to redecorate the journal cover to match. Mary Anne was kind enough to send me a button like those she used on Bravura's cape.

This shot shows the journal with some of the fold-out pages showing.

If you wanna take a look at all the entries in Bravura's journal, check out our project blog here.

This has been a great round robin project. We managed to stay on track and finish on schedule, and everyone did really nice work on every doll. Thanks so much to my fellow collaborators: Barb, Mary Anne, Karma, Em, Jeanne, Robin and Yvonne. I had a blast and Bravura will be cherished keepsake and reminder of the fun this has been.

More Bravura

2010-06-16T20:13:00.002-04:00

Here's a couple shots of Bravurs's back view without her purple cape on, so you can see more of the cool 'skin' Barb gave her and the pretty fabric flower Yvonne attached. What a vain one Bravura is!

My Cool-Aberration Doll is Home!

2010-06-10T21:58:00.009-04:00

Yep, after traveling about 7800 miles over the course of the last 12 months, Bravura Personified has returned home to NC! And boy has she evolved!

Here's what she looked like when I sent her off on her journey last June - just a raw paper mache torso, head and arms stuck in a glass vase "skirt".

And here's what she looks like after visiting seven artists throughout the US and Canada.

Isn't she wonderful?! She evolved into an old Vaudeville dame reminiscing about her glory days. She's everything I hoped she'd be and more.

Karma in SK, Canada made her air dry clay face. Em in WA beaded around it. Robyn in CA added an audacious headdress and sparkly long eyelashes. Mary Anne in ON, Canada stitched up a sparkly beaded cape to match the glittery purple and green bodice fashioned by Barb in NY. Em in WA crocheted copper wire and beads into a glimmering stole and matching hip sash.

Bravura's skirt includes a photo transfer on hand-dyed fabric from Yvonne in TX, sheer ribbon danglies from Karma, the crocheted wire sash from Em, and a boa belt and strands of beads from Barb.

Mary Anne decorated a bottle for collecting the tears of Bravura's abandoned lovers, and Yvonne sent her home with a luxurious ostrich feather.

Jeanne in OR made Bravura's hands and a cigarette and holder perfectly befitting an old Vaudeville broad. Jeanne even had Barb send some of the boa she'd used, so Bravura's feather cuffs would match her belt.

I hung the itsy bitsy book of broken hearts that Mary Anne made on the prissy lace purse that Barb made. (The book is tiny - only 1/2" wide!)

Yvonne added this beautiful fabric flower to the back of Bravura's shoulder. I haven't gotten any back view pics of Bravura yet.

Now tell me Bravura ain't an exceptional piece of collaborative work! I wish everybody could see her in person. She is so cool. She sparkles all over and you can just feel her snooty personality. She's very full of herself.

Her journal is wonderful, too - stuffed with treasures to the very last page. I'll get pics of it soon.

Kyra of Art Doll Cool-Aberration 2009

2010-05-18T16:58:00.005-04:00

I've finished Kyra, my last doll in Art Doll Cool-aberration 2009. She goes home to Barb in NY June 1.

Kyra is a volcano goddess. When she came to me, she had great big boobies (curtesy of Em) befitting a goddess. But she was really lacking in the hip and booty department. Instead of resorting to more cosmetic surgery, I convinced Kyra to go with a hip flounce that creates the illusion of more hip and fanny. I also colored her body skin to match her face and added some buttons that help blend in her white belt and also go with her tattoos. After securing her wings (by Jeanne) to her shoulders, I decided to restyle her long ponytail into a bun so it wouldn't get tangled in her wings. Last, I made her a torch - every self-respecting volcano goddess needs a torch.

And here're my pages for Kyra's journal. My first page documents the actual contributions I made to Kyra - her flounce, buttons, torch, etc.

The next page refers to Kyra's alone-ness. Earlier in her story, it was revealed that Kyra can't have a lover because her fiery touch will incinerate a mortal.

However, Kyra's heard of some super heros made of metal (Ironman, Man of Steel, etc) who may be up to her fiery embrace. She's rather picky, though... She's already rejected the Tinman without ever having met him. Says he's a nerd...

If you'd like to see Kyra's progress thru all eight artists participating in Art Doll Cool-Aberration 2009, go to our project blog here. Take a look at all our dolls while you're there.

Soul Mates

2010-03-06T11:41:00.002-05:00

I got my next (and last :( ) Art Doll Cool-Aberration doll, Kyra the volcano goddess, this week. Since I hadn't mailed Shudayra off yet, I snapped a couple quick pics of the two of them together. It's obvious they're soul mates, eh?

Kyra belongs to Barb in NY. She's already visited 6 project artists. I'm her last visit before she heads home to Barb.

Happy Birthday to ME!!

2010-02-25T08:58:00.002-05:00

My little paper mache Birthday Queen.

More Shudayra

2010-02-23T11:41:00.003-05:00

Shudayra is all ready to continue her journey. If you're interested in viewing her artist-by-artist progress, check out our Art Doll Cool-Aberration project blog.

I added an eye bead and 3 sand pebbles from Topsail Beach, NC to Shudayra's rune bag.

And here're the entries I made to her journal.

Next she's off to visit Barb in NY. Then she'll be returning home to her mom, MA, in Ontario.

Bye bye, Shudayra!

Brooch Impression

2010-02-21T11:11:00.003-05:00

I really like the way this tag turned out.

It's not real obvious in the pic, but the horse sticks out like bas-relief. I took a small square of watercolor paper and soaked it in warm water for a couple/few minutes. Then I sandwiched it in paper towels to remove the excess water. Took it out of the paper towels and laid it over this brooch. (I removed the pin from the brooch first so it'd lay flat.)

I kindof pressed and molded the paper around the brooch for a couple minutes and then laid it aside to dry.

Next I lightly sprayed a couple coats of Krylon glossy clearcoat to each side of the embossed tag, letting the Krylon dry between coats (it dries really quickly). I did that to seal the tag so I could paint with acrylics without wetting the paper and losing the impression. Then I painted it and added the little text labels.

The tag has been incorporated into Shudayra's journal which I'll picture soon.

Shudayra

2010-02-19T22:58:00.004-05:00

I've been working on Shudayra, MA's Art Doll Cool-Aberration doll. Here she is as she looked when she came to visit me.

She still looks exactly the same. Except now she has her own pony!

Shudayra is on a spiritual and physical journey gathering runes. I gave her the rune Ehwaz which means horse. It implies controlled change, progress, a journey. I altered a horse figurine that I already had. Paper mache'd over it and added the bridle, saddle bag, saddle blanket, and floral wreath.

Shudayra is thrilled to have a companion to accompany her on her journey.

I also made her a paper mache umbrella to give her some shelter from the elements.

I'm working on my pages for her journal now. Pics soon.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-13T23:48:00.003-05:00

Here's my little paper mache Valentine Queen.

Bravura Personified has hands!!

2010-01-28T11:53:00.004-05:00

Here's Bravura, my doll in Art Doll Cool-Aberration 2009, as she looks after visiting five of the project artists.

Doesn't she look great?! She just left Jeanne in Or who gave her polymer clay hands and a cigarette in a holder. Perfect!

This is the page Jeanne added to Bravura's journal.

Just for comparison, here's what Bravura looked like when I first sent her on her travels.

She's in CA with Robyn now, and then she visits Yvonne in TX. Then home to me! If you wanna see her visit-by-visit progress thru the project, check out the Art Doll Cool-Aberration blog.

Miss Elspeth Darkly - Art Doll Cool-Aberration

2010-01-12T10:44:00.005-05:00

Here's Miss Elspeth Darkly, all ready to journey on to visit Barb in NY.

Elspeth originated with Karma in SK, Canada. She's a private eye type trying to unravel the mystery of Fifi, the kidnapped poodle. She's at the masquerade ball now, where "all will be revealed".

I painted Elspeth's upper torso to match her facial skintone, and made her a polymer clay roller skates charm that dangles below her skirt, and a paper mache umbrella rifle.

Here're my journal pages continuing her story.

Elspeth's journal is kindof different and fun in that it's become like a mystery story that we each add a chapter to. Check out her whole story on the Art Doll Cool-Aberration blog.

Happy New Year!

2009-12-31T07:00:00.001-05:00

When we were little, my Mom bought a 'birthday angel' for each of us four kids. The angels were about 5 inches tall and each held something related to the birthday month. I still have my angel who's holding a heart, since my birthday's in February. Now I've decided to make myself a set of 'special occasion' dolls, a doll each for New Years, Valentine's Day, my birthday, St Patrick's Day, Easter, May Day, July 4th, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Instead of angels, I'm making little paper mache queens about 5 1/2 inches tall. This is my first - The New Year's Queen.

Dave's Doodles - Stangely Precise

2009-12-29T09:59:00.004-05:00

Thought y'all might wanna see some more of brother Dave's cartoon art. Here's this year's Christmas card depicting him and me.

Next up is a drawing he did especially for me last year. It depicts him, my other brother, and me at the lake as kids. Mom had that "no swimming for 1/2 hour after eating" rule, so here we're waiting to go back in the water. (The shark in the background is eating our old neighbor, Robbie Downey.)

Dave's always liked to draw baseball players. I think he likes drawing the gloves and hats...

Flying things and dinosaurs and robots are other recurring themes in Dave's drawings.

I call myself the female version of Dave. I can't draw, but we definitely share the same warped sense of humor.

Doodle Book

2009-12-28T23:32:00.003-05:00

My brother draws cool cartoons. For Christmas I made him a book to doodle in. I put a copy of one of his drawings on the cover and filled it with blank pages. The cover is made from regular corragated box cardboard covered in fabric, paint, paper and shellac.

Merry Christmas, everybody!

2009-12-25T10:08:00.001-05:00

Just a little icicle angel I made for a friend.

Elspeth is here

2009-12-22T08:08:00.005-05:00

In the Art Doll Cool-Aberration project, I have Karma's doll, Miss Elspeth Darkly, now. Elspeth is a female private investigator. Here's what she looked like when Karma first sent her out, just a 7" felted torso and head with a clay face.

And here's how she looks now after visiting 4 other artists in the collaboration.

She's a really cool doll. I've already made one addition and am pondering my next. Be sure to check out our Art Doll Cool-Aberration blog to see details on all the additions made to the project dolls and their journals.

Christmas ornaments

2009-12-15T11:15:00.002-05:00

These days I just put up a tiny Christmas tree on my kitchen table (where I spend all my time). I have this thing about digging up small trees that pop up around my place and putting them in pots till they're bigger. Then I replant 'em somewhere they can stay. For several years, I used a potted cedar for my Christmas tree. This year it was just too big, so I'm using a potted holly tree. It's quite cute. For the past 5 or 6 years, I've decorated my trees with colored lights and natural stuff (pinecones, dried flowers, holly berries). This year I dug out a few of my Christmas ornaments including these Shell ornaments I made in the late 90's.

Unfortunately, the tree is in front of a window where I can't get a decent pic.

Peace doll swap

2009-12-10T21:22:00.002-05:00

Here's the Peace Doll I received from my swap partner, Brenda. She has the cutest little feet in tiny sandals.

Christmas Icicle Dolls

2009-12-08T08:21:00.001-05:00

Made these ornaments for my brother's girlfriend and her daughter to hang on their tree.

Pretty Package

2009-12-06T18:33:00.003-05:00

This is what I found in my mailbox yesterday.

I love that Shawn (my 3D swap partner) wrapped the package in gift wrap. Such a pretty surprise to find in the mailbox. And inside, a pretty Christmas angel.

Thanks, Shawn!

Peace, man

2009-12-05T10:29:00.003-05:00

The 3D group hosted a doll swap to commemorate 2009 being the 50th anniversary of the peace symbol in the US. Here's the tiny doll I made for Leslie.

I happen to love peace signs, so I had several kinds to choose from.

I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of my Christmas and Peace dolls from my swap partners. You'll see 'em right after I do. :)

Christmas is upon us

2009-12-01T16:22:00.003-05:00

This is the Christmas ornament doll I made for the 3D group swap.

I was making an angel, but she reminded me of a mermaid... So I decorated her with real seashells that I painted gold. Her face is an earring I picked up in a thrift shop, and she has a spiral halo and a wing of painted chicken feathers.

An odd pair

2009-11-23T10:49:00.004-05:00

Right now I have 2 of the Art Doll Cool-Aberration dolls at my house.

Persia the Pirate Queen is the largest of the dolls in the project at about 2 feet tall. Miss Elspeth Darkly is the smallest at about 9 inches. They make an odd pair, but they like each other. :)

Princess Bitchinbrat

2009-11-22T17:18:00.005-05:00

Princess Bitchinbrat
was certainly that,
her utterances all curses.

Even from birth,
she lacked in mirth,
and scared off all her nurses.

She had no mates,
and nary a date.
In fact, from her all hid.

Queen Mother despaired
lest she never pair,
and, indeed, she never did.

Persia's Journal

2009-11-21T16:54:00.006-05:00

I wanted to show you Persia's journal cover. Em made this felt cover with ribbon and fiber trims.

As Persia's made her rounds, everyone's been adding pirate-ish charms to the cover. Here's what it looks like now, after 4 of us have added to it.

Pretty cool, huh? It's kindof an extra bonus of fun. In my stash I just happened to have a set of earrings I picked up at a thrift store or somewhere. Is this a pirate woman?

If not, it oughta be. So I added one to Persia's journal cover.

Then in my pile of old rusty metal cabinet hardware, I found an old metal drawer pull with a piratey looking ship on it. Perfect! So I made a doubloon and embossed it with the ship and a "P" for Persia and added it to the cover.

On the cover there's also fish, seashells, a parrot, a ship's steering wheel, an old rusty bit of metal, an octopus, another doubloon, a skull, etc, etc... Lots of tiny treasures.

When I was at the beach last month, I bought this little book about pirates for ideas.

I'm sending the book along with Persia for inspiration, and hoping Em's little girls will enjoy it, too.

Finally!

2009-11-20T21:55:00.010-05:00

I've finally finished my additions to Persia and her journal. So, with no further ado, here she is.

I added a pirate belt complete with sword and dagger and a gold flask (Persia is partial to gold).

The flask is polymer clay that I embossed using some jewelry I haven't worn in awhile. Persia is a rum drinker (of course) and can drink most men under the table. She'll also be traveling with her own real bottle of rum - one of those airplane minis.

I bought the cheap knife set on ebay and attached the sheath to her belt. Persia is a lefty.

I love little doll shoes, but I usually don't like making them because I'm not fond of making two of anything. Persia gave me the perfect opportunity to make just one boot! It's paper mache painted with a mixture of black acrylic paint and gel medium which gives a leather look. I attached one of the doubloons I showed in an earlier post to the boot.

Persia's peg leg is decorated with gold paint and stickers and 4 layers of clear polyacrylic. She has 5 notches in her leg now - her method for recording the Captains whose ships she's seized thru the power of seduction.

My journal pages depict Persia's reputation as a powerful seductress with the ability to bedazzle sailors into surrendering all their worldly goods for a night in her bed. If you click on the pics, hopefully you can make out the writing.

Persia was a blast to work on! The added bonus is that I did her last journal page upside down by mistake. Duh. Instead of getting upset about it, I decided to see it as a funny reminder of my normal discombobulated state of being.

Persia of Art Doll Cool-Aberration 2009

2009-11-15T14:00:00.002-05:00

In Art Doll Cool-Aberration 2009, I'm currently working on Em's doll, Persia the Pirate Queen. She's a larger and very pose-able cloth doll. Here's what she looked like when Em first sent her out.

Dontcha love her piratey peg leg?

Here's what she looked like when she got to me after visiting 3 of the other project members.

I'm giving her some pirate-ish gear. Pics coming soon. Meanwhile, take a look at the Cool-Ab blog to see her step-by-step progress.

Teensy Tiles

2009-11-11T20:34:00.001-05:00

More unearthed treasures. Some teensy tinesy kiln fired tiles I made several years back. I meant to paint them, but never did. Maybe I'll do it now.

Bravura Personified after her third visit

2009-11-10T21:23:00.007-05:00

Here she is looking grand and snooty. She just left Karma who added her clay face, headdress, and ribbon flags to her skirt.

Sadly, Karma didn't have time to work in Bravura's journal. I'm pretty disappointed since the art journals are as crucial to the project as the dolls. She's promised to send some pages. I really hope she gets around to it so my journal doesn't end up with a hole in the middle.

On the bright side, that's the only dissapointment in the project so far. The players are really going all out in adding to the dolls and journals. Go check out the dolls' progress at http://artdollcoolab2009.blogspot.com/.

This may make you jealous...

2009-11-10T06:37:00.003-05:00

Here's the thing you might covet... if you're into rusty metal treasures, that is.

A couple years ago, I bought a 5 gallon bucket half full of old cabinet and drawer pulls and embellishments at a nearby junk yard. Some of the stuff is junk, but there're lots of nice ones like I've shown. I'd planned to use some on birdhouses, but (of course) I haven't gotten around to building more birdhouses yet.

Well, today I wanted to make some doubloons for Em's doll, Persia the Pirate Queen. So I pulled out the decorative metal hardware to emboss and stamp the polymer clay doubloons. Here's what I've made so far.

The doubloons above are about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. I painted them with gold and antique gold acrylic paints. Then I was having so much fun, I decided to make a larger one.

This one is 3 1/2 inches in diameter. I used a hodgepodge of the metal designs to emboss it and then made the V (for my last name) over the embossed surface and embossed it, too. Not sure what it's supposed to be - just a pretty to stick in a display case, I guess.

Momiji Swap Doll

2009-11-09T11:55:00.003-05:00

And here's the cool momiji doll I got from Jeanne in the Decidedly Different Dolls (3D) group swap. Momiji dolls have a secret compartment where a message can be concealed. Jeanne used a pill bottle. She made the head by paper mache-ing over a styrofoam ball that fits over the screw-on cap. I can't believe she did such a nice, detailed face with tissue paper paper mache. I love her little bobbed hair do.

Here she is with her head off and the message Jeanne included revealed.

I'll be storing my shark tooth collection in my momiji doll. So I'll have treasures inside a treasure!

Gift in the Mail!

2009-11-09T07:33:00.006-05:00

Check out this gorgeous beaded bracelet my friend Jeanne sent me! I love this bracelet. I'm keeping it in my new display case when I'm not wearing it. It's too pretty to hide in the jewelry box. Jeanne makes gorgeous beaded dolls, too.

And look at the sweet little matching clasp she used. Perfect!

More Unearthed Treasures

2009-11-08T17:34:00.002-05:00

This is Eugenia. I made her a couple years ago and just rediscovered her in my display case. I like Eugenia - she's tiny (less than 4 inches), but huge on attitude.

Forgotten Treasures

2009-11-04T10:23:00.003-05:00

Found these cute little booklets when I was sorting thru my treasures for the new display case. I made these several years ago. The covers are handmade paper I made with dried flowers. And the lavender is my homegrown lavender, pressed and glued on. I believe these covers are all sealed with wax. They're about 5 1/2" X 4".

This is fun!

2009-11-03T13:21:00.005-05:00

I bought an old glass front cabinet a year or so ago and I've been meaning to fix it up to display some dolls and other treasures. Well, I never have done anything to the outside of it, but this weekend I did a quicky job on the inside so I can use it. It had a horrible picture of a hot air balloon glued onto the inside back wall. I got rid of it by collaging over it with pages from some old farmers almanacs and sealing with shellac. I had a small open curio shelf that just happened to fit perfectly inside the cabinet.

This morning, I filled it up with treasures. There's still room for more small swap dolls. The cabinet is on my fireplace mantel surrounded by some paintings done by my mom and her father.

It was lots of fun going thru my treasures and organizing some of them in the new display box.

Finally something to show

2009-10-27T11:23:00.003-04:00

This is the 4 inch doll I made for the 3D group Momiji doll swap.

The tradition Japanese Momiji doll has a compartment in it's base for a secret message. For our swap, the secret compartment could be located anywhere on the doll. For the doll body, I made a paper mache pocket and then wrapped it in fabric and embellished it with fibers, beads, findings, and little gourd seed feet. Next I made an embossed and painted polymer clay head and attached it to a piece of cardboard that slips into the body pocket and has the message written on it.

This little guy went to Lora in NY. I haven't received my swap doll, yet, but you'll see it when I do.

Art Doll Cool-Aberration

2009-10-23T19:09:00.002-04:00

Not a lot to show here lately, but go check out the new posts on The Art Doll Cool-Aberration blog here. The project is going really well; our members are doing outstanding work on the dolls and journals. As you'll see when you go look!

Camille - Art Doll Cool-Aberration

2009-10-20T09:37:00.003-04:00

According to her story started by Yvonne, Camille is an artist, a painter, who wants to travel the world. Well, as Camille's mother Robyn noted, her feet look like she's a dancer en pointe. And then the skirt I made looks a bit like a tutu. I took a pic of her reading an art book and without meaning to, I posed her admiring a painting depicting Russian ballet. I gave in to fate at that point and worked a dancer theme into her story...

We all know it takes money to travel, so Camille has been trying to formulate a plan for funding her journey. As it turns out, she trained in ballet throughout her childhood and early adult years. While admiring the Russian ballet painting, it hit her - she'll join a traveling ballet troupe and dance her way around the world! During her off time, she'll sketch and paint what she sees along the way.

So here're my pages in Camille's journal.

I made the tiny paint brushes from chicken feathers, toothpicks, and paper mache. Decided to put them in her journal.

Camille will be off to Barb in NY shortly. I get Persia the Pirate Queen to work on next!

I got nothing to show

2009-10-18T09:51:00.001-04:00

Everything I'm working on is for swaps or gifts and can't be shown yet. So, shall we just talk? Nah.

Camille - Art Doll Cool-Aberration

2009-10-14T09:32:00.005-04:00

I've been working on Robyn's doll, Camille, and I think I'm finished adding to her. Sometimes it's hard to stop. :)

Here's where she is now.

I made her a flouncy, short skirt out of a map stiffened with a glue & water mixture. Camille's an artist and wants to travel around the world painting what she sees. So her map skirt kindof represents that. Plus the map colors match her hair so nicely. :) I'm hoping someone else will further embellish her waistband.

I also filled in with french knots and beading around her face where Susan had embroidered. I continued downward, filling in her neck down to her shoulders.

Yvonne had added the buttons to her leg. I filled in around them with variegated, ribbon-like fiber.

I wanted to put some of the tiny roses I painted in her hair, but I was afraid they wouldn't survive the handling thru five more artists. So I'm sending some along with her that Robyn can put in her hair when she gets home.

Camille is definitely a girly girl. What I really love about a round robin is getting to work on such a variety of dolls. I haven't finished Camille's journal yet, but that'll come soon.

Got my Halloween swap doll!

2009-10-13T11:53:00.002-04:00

I just got my doll from the Decidedly Different Dolls (3D) Halloween swap. Is he not adorable?! He's only 4 inches tall, 5 inches with his stand. Crystal did a wonderful job making him. I just love these tiny art dolls! I hope to significantly increase my collection of them through swaps hosted by the 3D group.

Thanks, Crystal!

My lonely quilt

2009-10-12T10:29:00.003-04:00

I started this quilt 5 or 6 years ago. Got about 1/4 of the hand quilting done and pooped out on it. It's been stored in a closet untouched for 3 years now. I really would like to complete it someday (since it's my one and only quilt). Did a bit of quilting on it last nite.

Of course Miss Paisleyanne had to get in on the pics. She's such a ham.

My kinda rag doll

2009-10-10T08:33:00.006-04:00

When I'm making my tiny dolls, I enjoy making knots and loops and stitches that show. The problem is, the dolls are so tiny that there's not a lot of room to play.

So I decided to make myself a somewhat larger doll in a similar style. I made a lightly stuffed 8 inch doll form and then used the sewing machine to cover the body in a hodge podge of fabrics. Then I started in with the handstitching and tiny fabric patch additions.

She's a flat doll kindof like my pin dolls.

Here I've added some buttons and more stitching.

I did some stitching with embroidery thread on the upper left shoulder area and didn't like it. As I was cutting it out, I fell in love with the scraggly, feathery look, so I left it like that.

Her body is far from finished and her head hasn't even been started. And I still have her whole back side to play on! I think she'll be a two-faced doll. If I ever decide on even one face...

This is my idea of great fun; I'm a real party animal.

Not just shark's teeth

2009-10-09T18:04:00.004-04:00

I collect shark teeth, and I have some that are over an 1 1/2 inches long and almost as wide. But that's nothing compared to these teeth that were given to my brother and me while we were at the beach. These aren't shark's teeth, they're SHARK'S teeth!

The one below is a little over 5 inches long. Yikes!

The girl that gave them to us collects them when she's scuba diving. Pretty amazing.

3D Doll Swap

2009-10-07T18:14:00.004-04:00

Been to the beach and back since my last post. Good to be home with all my four-legged babies.

Jeanne received the Halloween swap doll I made for the 3D group swap, so I can post a pic now.

It's kindof cutsie, but I like it. The witch stands less than 3 inches. The figures are standing on a tiny doormat so they look like trick or treaters. I made tiny polymer clay masks/faces and did some beading on the tiny stuffed bodies. Here's a shot of the witch alone.

Another pinless pin

2009-10-02T18:36:00.004-04:00

Here's another pin-to-be, this one with a polymer clay head. Still waiting for the pinbacks I ordered.

And the WINNER is....

2009-09-30T22:11:00.006-04:00

The winner of the drawing for my Halloween Witch is Barbara/myth maker. I'll be emailing Barbara at the address shown in her profile. Congratulations, Barbara!

Time to get in the mood for the witches and goblins and, best of all, the candy! The black bag below is the giveaway witch and her goodies, and the orange bag is my doll for the 3D group Halloween swap.

Holiday Doll Swaps!

2009-09-30T10:20:00.007-04:00

The yahoo Decidedly Different Dolls group is hosting a couple new doll swaps - a Christmas icicle ornament doll swap and a Peace Symbol doll swap (to celebrate 2009 being the 50th anniversary of the peace symbol). Both swaps are for small dolls that don't really take too long to make, but could add more fun and a new ornament or two to your holidays! Come join us in the 3D group! And check out our 3D blog to see some of the dolls we've already made in this new group. Here's a couple little 4" cuties from our "anything goes" swap a couple months ago.

MA made the doll on the left and Yvonne made the one on the right. Tiny beauties, ain't they?

Little Cuties

2009-09-29T10:28:00.004-04:00

I just have a thing for tiny works of art. So I decided to make myself a couple little art doll pins. These are my first two and they don't have the pin backs on 'em yet. Had to order some.

I stuck the key in for a size comparison (wonder what that thing's to anyway???) Ain't they cute? The heads are Orchid tree seeds that Yvonne sent me from TX. I used a fine point marker to outline the faces I saw in the seeds. The one on the left is made in one of my fave color combos and the doll is holding a couple of my fave trinkets - a teensy turquoise chicken and a tiny enameled copper heart. I'll probably make a few more before I burn out on 'em.

Pokeberry Ink

2009-09-26T17:33:00.005-04:00

I wanted to make some pokeberry ink and had gathered some berries. But then I read online that the juice color turn brown on paper after awhile. One person even said it smelled bad after awhile. So I was wondering if it still loses its color if you heat set it. So I smooshed some berries and smeared it on paper. While I was at it, I dyed a bit of lace with the berry juice. I heat set the ink/dye - some by ironing and some by microwaving. Laid them and a control sample (unheated) by a window where they get indirect light.

Now I just wait. (That's the part I hate.)

Button Dolls

2009-09-23T20:30:00.002-04:00

I've been working on the new Art Doll Cool-Aberration blog. It's all caught up to where we are currently in the collaboration project.

Looking at Leslie's jewelry dolls on her Etsy site reminded me of these button dolls created several years ago. A friend made me the first dolls, a gal and her horse. Of course then I had to try making one - looks kinda like a Mexican in his sombrero.

Tiny Painted Roses

2009-09-19T11:27:00.003-04:00

Last year I dried a bunch of tiny rose blooms and buds from my miniature climbing rose. I just throw 'em in a basket and let 'em dry. And they always lose their color after awhile. :( So I decided to paint the little suckers.

I used pale pink acrylic paint. After dabbing some on the front of a bloom, I blew on the rose real hard to spread the paint. Then I ran it really quickly under a drizzle of water and blew several times to spread the paint and remove the excess. After they were thoroughly dry, I coated them with gel medium to protect the paint while preserving some flexibility. The stems seem pretty secure once they're coated with the gel medium. Hopefully now I can manage to sew them on as doll embellishments without snapping them.

Art Doll Cool-Aberration - Camille

2009-09-18T23:08:00.004-04:00

Yesterday, I received Robyn's doll to work on for Art Doll Cool-Aberration 2009. She's a very pretty girl named Camille and is destined to be an artist.

Here's what she looked like when she left Robyn in CA.

And this is her too cool accordian style travel journal.

This is Camille now, after Susan and Yvonne added to her.

I can't wait to get started on her!

NEW BLOG FOR ART DOLL COOL-ABERRATION!

2009-09-17T21:28:00.003-04:00

I've started a separate blog just for the Art Doll Cool-Aberration project. It'll be a convenient site for following the progress of the project dolls and journals. Check it out.

Halloween GIVEAWAY!

2009-09-15T00:01:00.002-04:00

I made a small witch doll for the Decidedly Different Dolls (3D) group Halloween Swap. It turned out a tad bigger than required, so I decided to do a Halloween Giveaway on my blog.

This scary witch measures 5 inches from the tip of her hat to the tip of her toes. She's made on a wire armature and her head is a small vertebrae bone I found in the woods. Her broom is made with pine needles. She's ready to hang in a window, on a ceiling fan pull, or from your rearview mirror. She may look scary, but she's really a good witch and will be bringing some other Halloween goodies along to the winner.

TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY DRAWING: Simply leave a comment on this blog entry anytime between now and September 30. Please include your email so I can contact you for your mailing address. Or email me at vndnbt@aol.com. The doll will be mailed to the drawing winner on or before Oct 3 - just in time for Halloween decorating.

Also, if you're not already a member, join us in the 3D yahoo! group. We're a new art doll group and we host regular art doll swaps and challenges - new projects every couple months. Right now you can sign up for our Halloween and Momiji doll swaps (4 inch dolls) or our Momiji or Day of the Dead challenges.

The End of a Season

2009-09-14T21:00:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm going thru tomato DT's already, and my horse, Bones, is soon gonna be suffering the watermelon DT's (Lois the Goat, too). Only a couple left.

We're enjoying the cooler temps, but we're gonna be missin' the garden. I do have maters, salsa, pesto, and eggplant parmesan in the freezer. But nothing beats fresh tomatoes.

A Royal Farewell

2009-09-13T21:24:00.003-04:00

It's almost time to say goodbye to The Queen of Hearts. She'll be visiting Barb in NY next. (Good luck, Barb!)

I've finished her journal. Jeanne made little booklets for each player which she'll bind together into a book at the end. Here's my booklet in it's entirety.

I'll miss the Queen, but I'm excited to be getting Robyn's doll, Camille, soon.

Swapping is Fun!

2009-09-12T08:17:00.000-04:00

Jeanne and I swapped dolls. She made me this great beaded fertility goddess for my collection.

Jeanne designed it just for me. I love the boobies (of course) and the little heart fertility symbol (inspired, I think). She's 4 1/2 inches tall and shimmers in the light. I love little beaded dolls and I feel really lucky to get one from Jeanne. Thanks, Jeanne!

I made Jeanne this mixed media doll.

I made this doll with paper-fabric and then coated her in shellac. The hat is made from a seashell with a paper mache brim and ribbon, and the tiny bird is wrapped copper wire. She's about 7 inches tall.

I think it's interesting that we both went with similar body shapes and a neutral monotone color scheme.

Swaps really are fun and a great way to collect art dolls (or whatever) when you don't have lots of $$ to spend.

Bravura

2009-09-10T20:46:00.004-04:00

MA just posted these pics of the pages she added to Bravura's journal.

I'm tickled with the great work these girls are doing in my small journal (only about 2 1/4 x 5 1/2 inches). Can't wait to get my hands on it in person. But, then again, I'm glad it'll be awhile, 'cause this project is such fun I really don't want it to end.

GIDDYUP!

2009-09-08T07:00:00.001-04:00

Oh dear, I never should have shown the Queen my "Ride 'Em Cowboy" art doll...

Poor Paisleyanne.

Another Regal Woman

2009-09-07T18:01:00.005-04:00

MA just posted pics of her additions to Bravura Personified, my doll in the Art Doll Cool-Aberration project. Bravura is competing with The Queen for most regal Cool-Ab hussy. I'd love to get the two of them together for coffee sometime. :)

Here she is with her new royal purple cape by MA.

Is that not gorgeous?! You can see a bit of her necklace, but here's a detail shot.

MA called it her "Betty Rubble" necklace. Remember, I mentioned in an earlier post that Bravura resembles Wilma Flintstone?

Anyway, MA also made Bravura a tiny book where she records the names of the men whose hearts she's broken and a lachrymatory bottle in which she collects their tears. She's a wicked beauty, that Bravura!

Can't wait to see what MA does in Bravura's journal.

The Queen's a Bag

2009-09-03T07:33:00.003-04:00

OOPS! Meant to say "The Queen's Bag", not "The Queen's a Bag". (Hee hee... Q's gonna kill me!)

Anyway, here it is. (According to Q, the big gold crown ornament isn't gaudy.)

Here's a shot of the "must have" lining.

And Q with her bag.

I know it's hard to tell, but Q's pretty happy with it.

"Won't you be my ball?"

2009-09-01T19:25:00.002-04:00

Queen: "Puh-leeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease..."
Terese: "Absolutely not. I will not do it."

"MAKE ME A BAG."

2009-09-01T08:00:00.002-04:00

So Q was looking at the felt blanket I made for Tabula and, next thing I know, she says, "MAKE ME A FELT BAG." So I showed her the other felt textile I'd made and asked her if she'd like a bag made out of that. "I WANT BLACK AND RED," says she. (Sigh...) "AND I DON'T WANT ANYTHING GAUDY," Q specified. So I set to work and made some nice black and red checked felt and was just starting to sew it up into a bag when I hear, "THIS LOOKS LIKE CARDS. LINE IT WITH THIS." And there she was holding a piece of fabric from my stash that really does remind me of a playing card pattern.

But I hadn't planned on lining the bag... It's just a doll's bag, right? Wrong. It's a Queen's bag. So I made a lining and sewed up a nice simple, lined clutch bag. Then Q says, "IT'S TOO PLAIN." I say, "But you said you wanted something tasteful and not gaudy." She says, "I SAID TASTEFUL, NOT BORING! AND IT NEEDS A SHOULDER STRAP." Sigh. So I'll put pics up once I make a shoulder strap and embellish the bag a bit - tastefully, of course.