Ooops!

So sometimes things don't work out!  I had a dream of a tiny wishing doll that you could hold in your hand.  It had a painted face, but was of a soft cotton.  Well, I decided to make a test pattern just to see how big it would be in my hand.  Below is the sketch & a funky doll I made of flannel.  I didn't allow for enough seam allowance so I got this weenie little thing.  Maybe I'll try again another day!  After I wish upon a star!

RAAK'd

I've been raak'd!  (Random act of art kindness) 

I know I haven't blogged in quite awhile, but I received some precious gifts

from a dear pal here in NM.  Here's a pic:

The center goddess is "January"! 

I told my pal awhile back that I LOVED her! 

So she sent her to me! 

She was part of a series of 12 & I never would've believed I'd get her!

She also sent me a pamphlet on fatigue,

a tea bag folding & 

a wonderful Seeing You watercolor! 

This artist is so generous!  Love you sweetie!

Art Gifts!!!

I am so blessed to have pals who really care for me!  I received some wonderful art gifts!  Here are some I received from a pal in NM!  Thanks so much!

And some from a pal in Hawaii!  Thank you so much!

I really love this art doll!  I want to sleep with her!

Amulet

Been working on an amulet for our new home...also started a talisman, but don't have a picture of it yet. But I've been having a problem beading the amulet. After washing & restuffing, I think it's too stiff. I've already broken needles on it. So not sure what I'm gonna do. It's all part of the process! So I'll work on something else until I have the answer!

Upcycled Experiment Process

OK...below you see the destuffed, cleaned hugables ready to restuff!

And here you see them with their new clean stuffing!

Sewing up the openings...

Ready to be embellished!

And the first embellishment is for Angel, the Amulet for our new home, and a Joy circle for Jolly Mon the Talisman for our new home. Hopefully Jolly Mon will bring us lots of joy, & Angel will give us lots of protection! I can't wait to start beading these guys!!! Yahoo!

Experiment I Can't Resist!

I just couldn't resist this!! One of my fellow beaders on BJP is famous for her wonderful beaded trash to treasure creatures! You can see her blog here! I especially LOVE her May 2009 BJP called "Sprout" which you can see here! Scroll down about 1/3 of the page.

Anyway, I have no idea how she does it, but I decided to try! Ha! LOL! Below you can see the little critters I got at Habitat for Humanity. They were way at the bottom of the bin! Under all the big pretty stuffed buddies. So I picked 11, with my Honey's help, & we paid $1.00 for them all! Yahoo!

Now the first thing I do know she said you have to do is de-stuff these guys! Owee! Above you can also see me starting that process, & the tools I used.

Above is one of the guys ready to get washed! He looks so smooshed!

And here they all are happily hanging up to dry! I wanted clean critters to start with. So now I get to choose which one I'm going to restuff first with new, clean stuffing...and then begins the embellishing process! I wonder how they will turn out? I'd like to make one into a talisman for our new home...and my DH has a special one he wants for himself. I think we'll call his Jolly Mon!

Wish me luck!

Blogoversary Give Away!

Hi, all! Remember these little critters??? Well, it's almost my Blogoversary & I found out that some bloggers have give-aways on those days. Well, I couldn't think of what to give away! Something I made? Something I designed? I had no clue until...one day someone asked me if I would give them some of my patterns for the Tin Folk (goddess dolls) that I made to fit in Altoid tins. Well, now...that sounded like a good idea! I had already researched a bunch of goddess forms, sketched versions of them, including a pecked owl goddess petroglyph form, and had mounted them on board for myself. But if I could let someone use the same patterns for personal use, why not? Plus it would help recycle all those old tins! You could make a goddess, or in my case, Tin Folk, & use the tin as a home for the doll, or gift box! Also, these are small enough that you could use the patterns to make ornaments & then use the tins as keepsake boxes. How you would decorate the tins would be up to you.

So...my Blogoversary is May 24th! That's like almost 3 weeks from now. I will have to retrace the forms onto a sheet to make a pattern, but I think I could get it done in that time. (What's adding one more thing to the list?) ;)

Here's the deal...if anyone wants a copy of a FEW of my patterns for wee dolls that will fit in an Altoid tin, I will email you a copy of the sheet of patterns. You may use these for your personal use, or for pin money, but please to not sell, or give away, my patterns. Hopefully you will be able to use them as gifts, and help our planet by recycling those tins!!! This offer is only good until my Blogoversary, & after I have created the page to email you! I hope that's clearer than mud! :)

So leave a comment, or email me (I will need your email to send the sheet) that you would like the patterns, & I will send them to you as soon as I can. Happy Blogoversary to me!!! Enjoy!

Secret Project Revealed!

So, a year ago, I promised to Pay It Forward to the first 3 bloggers who signed up to also PIF. I wasn't sure what I'd make, & then I saw "Friendship Dolls" online. The pattern was developed by Jill Maas, & you can find it here. She lets you use the pattern for free.

But I know myself & I had to change things up! First I had to make some faces from molds & paint them. Then of course there's the beading around the face. I also wanted to do a funky rolled edge instead of turning the dolls. And I wanted to put a pocket on the back for wishes!

Now that all 3 of my blogger pals have told me they got their dolls, I can finally let you in on that secret project. Here's some of the process as I made them.

I hope they enjoy their dolls. I stuffed 'em with natural cotton & a little lavender for comfort. There's a little saying that goes with the doll, & I think I included them all. Here it is:

Hearts for Love
Kisses for Wishes
Beads for Joys
Flowers for Growth
Colors for Happiness
Gold thread for Health
Stitched with Friendship and
Wrapped with Love.

I LOVE MY DOLL!!!

OK...like a year ago, or so, a couple pals & I decided to do a Round Robin with Bendi dolls. 2 of us on Hawaii, one in New Mexico. So I started out my doll by doing some mud painting on her. (Bogolan fini) I wanted her to have the red dirt from here on Kaua'i blended into her! Then I added her face, hair & heart. Here she is all naked and RTG to the next participant! I gave them lots of info on the Roma, 'cuz I wanted her to be a "gypsy"!

And here she is back home!!! Didn't they do a great job??? I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE her!!! She sits in my studio with me every day! She turned out more perfect than I ever thought she could!!

Project Done & more to Do!

So I got another project done. This one is another wealth talisman:

AND, here's a big project waiting on me to finish! I need to paint all of these faces I molded so they'll be RTG for art dolls & other projects! Whew! It's been a fun, creative time in the studio lately!

Round Robin Art Doll Done

I've been involved in a round robin art doll project for...has it been a year? ;) We all must have been on island time! Anyway, I still don't have my doll back....it's on it's way, but I did get to deliver this one back home. Here is how she looked when she left the first artist:

And here is how she looked before I delivered her. She is a forest sprite & has developed some boobs along the way! She's glad to be home & her mom is happy to have her back!

Erica's Affirmation Angel

Before my niece came to visit, she had just finished up college, & was in need of a break! She'd been working alot too! I wanted to make her something special for her graduation...and her birthday. So, there was an idea I'd had for my store, & I decided to make her the first of the series. Hers is a little larger than the others will be, but they will be the same basic idea. It's a small stuffed angel with a pocket in back to hold affirmations. (I also included a check as a surprise!) ;) I think she liked it! Here's some pics of the process:

Once it was complete, I stuffed it with pure cotton & a handful of lavender. It smells so good! I wrote her a card from her Affirmation Angel! I hope it helps her in the next part of her life's journey!

Aloha Doll for the Comfort Doll Project

During my time with my pal, I was able to finish another one of my Aloha dolls for the Comfort Doll Project. I'm hoping to get her done & put her in the mail this next week. Here she is:

I hope someone really loves her...she's filled with lots of love in each stitch!

CC's Tin Folk

OK...I finally figured it out. Those little people I'm making for the tins? Well, they're not gods & goddesses, but Tin Folk! Not to be confused with any of my Kin Folk! These are just art pieces! They are a product of an artist's imagination, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental! (So Patti, that Little Ms. Sunshine may "appear" to resemble you, but it's really not!!! Love you, Cuz! And Ms. Blue Moon isn't you, honey! Even if you are in touch with your feminine side & really, really love blue!) ;)

Anyway, here's a couple of them finished. Now I just have to make their houses for them out of the tins! I'm sure they will be just right for each one!

These folk will eventually find their way to my etsy store until they find someone who can't wait to live with them!

Tin Goddesses

Speaking of goddesses, I've been working on some for my etsy shop, but still haven't decided on a name for them. I've also found it really different to be beading on felt after this last year of beading on Timtex! Wow! It's so soft, but also floppy! It's a good thing I used an air dry lightweight clay to make the face cab! There's no way it would've held up a polymer cab! So here's a couple pics:

In the first picture, you can see part of one of the stacks of tins my pals have been saving for me. Plus I've been using them to hold the patterns, the project dolls & some embellishment beads, charms & sequins. I can take just a couple tins on the road with me to work on! OOOoooo, and I just bought the softest 100% cotton stuffing! Can't wait to try it on these & my hearts!

Tin Goddesses?

OK...here's a new project I'm working on for my shop. I looked online & in books for different goddess shapes & sketched some out & made patterns. I've had pals saving me their Altoid tins instead of tossing them. I want to make little goddesses to go in their tin shrines. I'm just not sure what to call them! Anyway, it was a really interesting thing to study...these ancient forms. There is even an ancient pecked owl goddess in France! So I included a silhouette of it. Maybe you can pick it out in the picture. I also made some forms/patterns of my own! I have some molded, painted faces, felt, beads, charms, etc. for each of these beauties & their shrines. Should be fun...any help with a name would be appreciated! ;)

First Aloha Doll done

OK...the first Aloha Doll is done & ready to be mailed to the Comfort Doll project. Here she is:

I hope whoever gets her knows every stitch sewn, & every bead added, was made with lots of love! And with belief for a peaceful, beautiful future!