Chocolate fairy

Finally!!
The Chocolate fairy is complete! I changed her original "strawberry blonde" curly hair do to darker straight pigtails....she became more "alive" for me with this hair! The techniques that i learned from the Diane Keeler class were a long slow road!!! Summer is a little difficult to be creative...but i got through !! This doll helped me to see what techniques i need to work on ...and what changes should be made for my next doll. Dont get me wrong...I am happy and excited about this doll.....but I know the errors Imade...and I will work on them for the next doll!

Fiber Textile class with Pearl Moon

This past weekend our doll club was lucky enough to be able to have Pearl Moon from Australia teach for a weekend. Pearl is a phenominal fiber artist and fabulous sculptor who displays her textiles on the doll form. She taught us as many techniques as she could in a weekend. We worked from nine in the morning until abouth midnight both days!!! We were on "creative overload" !!!! but we just couldnt stop working!!!

Most of the work was Free motion machining using different techniques with collaged fabric, fiber, paper, paints, foils and even sewing into "nothingness" ! What looked crazy in the beginning became beautiful works of fabric art for every student! It was an amazing weekend....and we even got a few extra days with pearl to shop for more "ART" stuff...and play with clay and stamps....

Also, we had a short visit from Gloria Winer ! Gloria (GLOWIE) brought her latest "Male form" doll.....he was fantastic!!!!

After the weekend was over ... I really felt fulfilled and thanked Pearl for the wonderful gift that she gave to all of us!

The attached photos includes some of Pears textile dolls and a picture of gloria with her latest "Male" doll....awsome!!!!

New York WOW

I attended the NY WOW last month..and i am working on what i learned since i got home (whenever i can get that creative time!) I attended four days and decided on taking all of Diane Keelers classes...every day was fantastic and i could just about fit everything i learned into my brain....by the last day....I just had to get home To "get to it!"
The first 2 days was sculpting a childs face, then the third day was sculpting "HANDS" and the last day was making a WIG CAP. At the end of the very intense faces class...Diane Demo'd how to make a breast plate, and a moveable head....and how to paint the eyes. She shared so much knowledge and she explained that some of it were her own techniques and a lot of it was taught by teachers.....she was such a relaxed teacher...i believed she inspired us all to bring out our own creativity !
Even though I did not want to part from Diane and all of my new friends (and some old...Gloria Weiner ...it was great to be in her aura!!!) ...i knew it had to end and i also knew that i was starting on my new journey!!!

Nephew Devons doll

hmmm...ya know i just realized...(probably because it was my Nephew Devons 15th birthday...that i didnt remember until AFTER he went to sleep last night!!!!) , that i never put the doll that HE MADE up....so here it is! This kid is an artist...he draws and creates all of the time....just like his aunt col!!!! (i think he's a little more ahead of the game at 15!!!)

Anywaydevon is very good at drawing...he has even started a little business doingdesigns on skateboards.....this is his first doll....i love it!! We will be making more down the shore this summer.......check it out

Scotts "Dad doll"

Finally finished my brother scott"s "Dad doll". This is my dad as a kid...he's holding some string beans and a tomato because thats what he loved...his garden and tomatoes! I made him as an angel...because all of us kids know thats what he is now....helping us along on our "earthly journeys".

I know this doesn't look exactly like the picture i had of him...but he came out a little older...so this is what i imagine him to have looked like at the time. This is just for scott to have a little spirit doll when he just "needs to connect" to his dad, who loved him .... And it is also a subtle reminder to always keep a small part of ourselves child-like (just like our dad....always looking at everything in life as a "funny" thing !!) no matter where we are in our lives !!!!

Another charm group

ok...i worked a little more on charms...soldering is getting a little better!!! and i figured out another cool little soldered charm to make..... i had some leapord glass charms...they were small thick squares....i copper taped them and then soldered ....i added a jump ring on a corner so it appears to be a diamond shape . I wanted it to look a little more vintage so i used alchohol ink in gold to color the solder...to match the other things that were going on in this charm group. I also made the tiny "vintage" tag out of very thin clay that was cut out on my sissix machine....then stamped....baked...and "utee" thick clear embossed. This was a "commisioned" charm ...woo hoo!!!!

Working a little more on charms

Yesterday i worked a little more on charms...practiced soldering a little more....and i found that if that tape is not on the soldered item correctly...FORGET IT! the tape can bulge out,,,be very wrinkled or rip....and the solder goes on as smooth or bumpy as the tape is applied! So take time to burnish the metal tape onto the item correctly...this will save a lot of time (and heart break!!!)

So....i wanted to get a little different look attached to my charms...like smaller charms attached to bigger ones...so i had some sqaure GLASS BEADS...in leapard print....i taped them nice and smooth and soldered...then i soldered the jump ring to a corner instead of in the middle and it looked more like a diamond than a square shape.....i love thisnew tiny hanging charm...now i will search for pretty flat glass beads to solder.....thet have a lot out there now.....check out the picture ........

Today is "back to dolls" day!!!

Charming!!! ....REALLY!!!

Man....i got on the Charm wagon...i dont thinking i'm getting off soon!! This was such a learning experience and i cannot stop trying new ways to make these cool little embellishments for ...well...i dont know....i guess they could be for EVERYTHING....

So.... instead of going for the new L Vuitton pocketbook for my anniversary...i got a new Soldering setup....a circle (lens) glass cutter....a glass/clay grinder wheel...and a new heat gun.
My husband taught me how to solder and cut glass...squares and circles! i'm going to need a bit of practice...but what i did was pretty cool. I learned a lot of cool things from a book called Pretty Little Things...the author made some amazing things and it totally inspired me.....

I also made some charms out of clear rubber tubing......and stamped images on clay and painted watercolor paper that was embossed with clear utee embossing powder...see the attched "Charm" photos

An ART JOURNAL

well...its the end of april already....and i have been LOST in art....last weekend i got together with Tery and Stephanie to create a JOURNAL book. We made them from scratch with canvas board. I created my cover by taking 2 pieces of cardboard and covering them with paper that i treated and embossed, also material that i free motioned and stained....and then glued the covers to a spine ....adding the paper "signatures" with a piece of dyed ribbon. Embellishments were made out of clay....paper...utee...stamps and paint/inks/metalic powders.

Now the pages will get filled in with Art Charms.....!!!!!

Wax medium melted over polymer clay face....

I started an idea for a doll i've had in my head for a while....i want her to look old...and a little beat up...SO...i put wax medium on her face AND HEATED IT WITH THE HEAT GUN....HMMM...I CANT TELL IF IT WILL EVER REALLY DRY HARD.......she will be a very odd...kind of alien like ..i still have to add her ears...and i dont think this hairstyle is working with my idea...(i keep doing the same thing....gotta get out of this) ....She has a pointy vintage hat...i just rolled some tea dyed paper to get the idea...but i will do the real hat in textured clay...and walnut stain it....i have a lot of pieces of old lace and I FOUND a piece of really odd worn blue satin material..with little textured dots....this will be her dress. ok...she is a small doll...a picture is attached ( now, this is only the idea...just starting to take on some life....)

Garden State dollclub meeting

Last week I had the opportunity to be a visitor at the Garden State March doll club meeting. I was invited by ...Diane Kearny.....a very talented doll artist , sewer, quilter.
Members brought in completed dolls...dresses and fiber art...We sat and chatted about art while we created a hat from a doll magazine free pattern....it was a great day of connecting with all of these talented souls! have attached some pictures of that meeting, the women and some of their work....

Stephanies beautiful cat doll

wowee...this is stephanies doll from her original pattern that she sells....hmmmm she must be rich now!!! check it out......

weirdo vintage magnet

OK..this is my last magnet...I used a technique that is from a Sherrill Khann book. I stamped fabric...this was coffee dyed...then i used some flat pink paint all around the image....i sewed on the outside lines...and stuffed her. Then i embellised with some old ribbon...a button from a mold i made from a bracelet(i used light green clay....then painted it that same light pink ...i then distressed the button using temporary quilting spray...then used Ranger distress powders in tattered rose...and heated...ohhh!! it comes gritty and distressed looking...i put a little gold rub n buff on the edges....Now...i sent for the coolest Metal Powders...from the Clay Alley website....and edged the cards. this powder is so cool..it really takes on a very "metal look" .......I stamped the word vintage in a mauve chalk ink...then i used ranger white frost embossing powder...this looks so Cool!!!

Where has this fiber art inspitation come from???

Well... i have to tell you...at first it was just making dolls....dont get me wrong..The Doll is my ultimate first love!!! But we had a new member join our doll club. Well...she's a new member for us...but not new to dollmaking and fiber art. Her name is Stephanie Novatskie (hmmmm...spelling??!) and she has been doing it all! Stephanie has inspired me to really step out of my little cocoon and learn "everything"! I am diving into fibert art and mixed media......clay, which is my main love that got me into dolls....., stamps....ohhhh the stamps.....i'm going broke and running out of shop space!!!!! embossing...blah blah blah.....!

Well....i'm telling you this because there is always someone new to let into your life to inspire you.....there is always a new door to open to allow new creativity to flow in.....and there will always be beautiful art friends that you connect with for life. With that being said....check out an amazing hand made gift that stephanie made me that totally got me creating in overdrive!!!!!

Vintage button magnet

This magnet was made using a sissix frame cut out of batting...the color and texture gave it a vintage feel...i stained it a little with walnut stain. I freemotioned around the frame making little circles....that ended up looking like roses, then softened the whole thing with a piece of ivory tulle........I then ran it through the xyron machine with the laminate/magnet cartidge....only the tulle did not like the laminate...wouldnt stick!!! hmmmm i thuoght it laminated everything!!! oh well...i removed the laminate sheet and it actually looks better...like a tiny quilt with a nice feel! I used a mold for the doll parts....and then i used rubber stamps in colored polymer clay (they were highlighted before baking with sparkly powders) for the wings and crown......Lotsa techniques here! good learning experience......

The KEY to the GATE of my SOUL

i hung out in my shop most of the afternoon today....it started out really clean...and it now looks like a bomb hit it! But... i was in creative MODE! i just kept trying new things...if i failed ...i tried it again....that is very good for me...getting frustrated and stopping is a big problem i have....

OK...anyway...i told my friend evelyn that i would make a pin or magnet for an upcoming charity event she is helping with...i believe it is for senior citizens! Evelyn had made some really cool pins that inspired me...so it started out as a pin...but ended up a magnet... well whatever.... i"m very happy with the results!
I used so many techniques and things in this project. I used a new mold i bought called "Dolly Dangles" then tweaked it so it would look different....i used a wing and crown stamp and embossed it on felt with gold utee powder.....i had a piece of beautiful vintage material my friend tery gave me for the dolls dress....i used my new xyron machine to laminate/apply a magnet to a "fence" stamped image on heavy paper... i added sparkles...rub and buff...genesis paints on her face and i burned her tulle underskirt....i had to make her vintage!!!!

making 2 part slicone rubber molds

man...i love this stuff!!! now i am running all over my house looking for cool things that i want to "make a mold" of!!!! All you have to do is take equal parts of 2 different color putties and mix them together..(QUICKLEY) until they are a uniform color...then cover the object you want to make the mold of......wait about 10 minutes for it to set...and you have the same detail as the original in a mold!! now you can reproduce that "thing" as many times as you like!!!

i made molds of stamps.... charms...fancy buttons....my original face sculpt that i liked...blah blah blah....whatever!!

here are a couple of pictures of the molds and the dulpicates made. you can actually make the duplicate better than the original by tweaking the clay after releasing it from the mold...or by painting it...or using sparkley powders or glitz and glitter!!!

Fiber Art weekend at Stephanies

Last Weekend was a fantastic learning get together for fiber art and mixed media. Myself , Tery, Evelyn and Heidi all went to Stephanies house to do some cool mixed media stuff. We made journal covers by first collaging a bunch of beautiful papers onto pieces of muslin, adding shimmer and color all through. While we let them dry...we started creating beautiful embellishments using stamps..clay...fun foam...utee...vellum....fibers and the Diva Cord Maker! and many other things!! Tery made a beautiful cord and now she has it down pat!!!

We finally went to bed after midnight!!! And then got up the next morning (no time even for showers!!)...finished up the journal covers and then stephanie took us right into making beautiful glimmery shimmery material for a pocketbook....we had to do the rest of the work at home...and they are still works in progress...using free motion embroidery and sewing beads and making cords. We were all on "creative overload" that afternoon....it was fantastic...see attached pictures...

Heidies Doll

Heidi is another very talented doll club member...and actually my very first doll teacher. Heidi taught me a pretty basic EPB doll at the Pocono Sew and Vac. After that class a friend of hers knew that Elinor Piece Bailey was going to teach a class in NJ...so that is how the both of us hooked up with Tery and the newly formed Sew Sew Doll Club (who hosted the EPB weekend) ...The class was fantastic...and we have gotten together every month since that weekend ! Here is Heidi's latest creation... Crow baby ...she made this from a pattern by Ute Vasina....it is absolutely gorgeous!!! See the attached photo ....

Tery's Doll

Today i received a picture of a precious original doll named Annie from my friend Tery. She is so energetic and excited about making dolls! She is actually the founder our club ... The sew sew doll club! Tery is a talented "mover and a shaker"....ugh...sometimes she makes me tired......but i love her!!! I have included the picture of "Annie"