More Creepy Doll Heads

Latest project to get said creepy doll head attached. I love them but the husband is starting to get a little wigged out about where the might show up next. This one is going into the bedroom, or maybe on the bathroom vanity, for extra jewelry storage.

He's advocating that I make some for the etsy shop. He's sure they'll be incredibly popular and I'm betting it doesn't have anything to do with his hope that they'll live somewhere else. :)

Recipe Box

This is a sneak peek of our baby dining room remodel. It was mostly a paint job with some furniture rearranging and some desperately needed accessories updating. But, you can get a glimpse of my old plastic recipe box that I've had for about 14 years. I was on the hunt for a new one and after a week of searching online I finally realized I was crafty and could take care of this myself. After a quick trip to Michael's with my 40% off coupon (Rolland's new nightmare since I make him go through the line with my other goodies) and a bunch paint - throw in some rhinestones and a doll head - then viola my new recipe box. I think she's going to look great on the book case.

Pink Box

This one has been on the desk for a while just waiting for it's own post! I had been working on this one for probably 3 months as I was just never happy with it. It was bland and empty but I didn't want to do too much so finally I just grabbed my charcoal pencil and went nuts! The top was clearly my attempt just to see how the pencil would work versus paint and I love the result. I'm not sure if comes across in the photos but it's really hard to tell what was supposed to be there compared to what would be there "with age". These pieces really are much more fun to think of as something I would've found in an old attic somewhere.

p.s. I have a giant shipment of doll heads coming pretty soon and have no idea what else I could with them! My husband is growing very concerned. :)

Art filled week

It was a lovely art filled week. First I received this lovely ribbon from Maija and it looks gorgeous next to the other sparklies and goes especially well with the collaged spoon as this was another gift from this incredible artist. We did a swap based on our mutual adoration of all things doll part related and I just love it! Perfect colors and image - seriously, I couldn't have imagined a better piece to have as inspiration in the studio.



















Yesterday, Suzanne, Jen and I packed up and headed west to the Main Street Art Festival in Ft. Worth. It was incredible weather with the perfect temp and slightly cloudy so only a tiny sunburn this year. We saw some amazing art including these wind catchers that were spectacular with the most incredible glass. We also found a woman who makes unbelievably intricate etchings on copper and then creates prints from them. Everyone found several pieces that had to come home with us. I think one may have to head into the office with me just to keep some things that are lovely around at all times. It definitely makes the space much more inspirational.




Our next excitement is heading to New Orleans in May for a girls weekend in honor of Suzanne's birthday. Clearly more fun is ready to be had by all!

Doll Shrine - no more peekaboo

This is the finished doll shrine that's been sitting on my desk for weeks waiting for her close up. In case you're wondering, I filled the bottle with teal ink so it's almost an etch-a-sketch shrine. :) If I had to play favorites with all the shrines I've made recently, this is it. It's girly, covered in doll heads and pink with glitter sparkles. I did notice a speck of something on the INSIDE of the glass but I can't bring myself to rip off all the solder and foil then re-foil, re-solder and then re-patina. I'm learning to live with and love imperfections.

Last week's doll box

I think Dollhouse has made a bigger impact than I thought. I'm hooked on the doll boxes! This one has been in progress for a while but finished last weekend. I just got behind on the posts. You can see one of the doll shrines I made peeking from the corner she also needs pics and then a post. I've gotten a little behind in all of my fun art stuff including blog updates. Turns out, there are only so many hours in a day. Who knew!

This weekend I'm playing catch up on all my art projects including some fun ATC swap action, a charm exchange that I want to get ahead on and a commission from my friend Suzanne. I know exactly what I want to do for all of them now I just have to "make it so"... such a geek. Since I've already outed myself, I just finished the latest in the Kate Daniels series and it was awesome. My husband jokes that I read to fast to get my money's worth but the truth is I read them too quickly and get impatient for the next installment. Luckily, my book buying habit keeps me well stocked!

Happy Saturday and I'm sending you good thoughts that you're having some incredibly beautiful spring weather too!

Bad desk new shrine

This is how my desk looked when I came into work in the studio this morning. Yet, it seems like I need the mess to get things done but I think this was the breaking point! I did manage to create this shrine in the chaos and now have several pieces that require glass and soldering so more pics later once I can get to the workbench past the Christmas decorations!

The little bottle is filled with Bombay ink (teal) that swishes like a snowglobe when you shake it.

Dolls, Dolls, Dolls

That's the theme for at least January in the studio! I finished the doll box I have been working on for a few days and have decided I'm pretty happy with the result. I had intended to do lots more to the outside of the box (homage to Lisa Kaus sort of thing) but in the end I just loved the antiqued finish and slight touches of sparkle.

Now, I have to work on projects to reduce down the German dolls a little bit. Thoughts? :) Also, if anyone has any terrific ideas on how to incorporate them as necklace centerpieces without them appearing to be hanged I welcome your input!

I had a terrific New Year's with the family in Kansas, although snow would've been perfect at least it was chilly, we've returned home to 70 degrees and sunny. Nothing left to do but fire up the grill and enjoy the new patio. Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

Wow, Christmas is almost here!

This year has really gotten away from me. I mean, I am totally wheels off in my shopping, wrapping, decorating, etc. We didn't even put up the big tree! I do have baby trees scattered throughout the house and two in the studio but the big tree just seemed like a lot to bother with when it's just us. I finished up shopping for gifts I had to give today... uhm, this morning! Seriously, I don't know what it is with this year but it definitely got the best of me. I  have big plans for next year though!

In the meantime, I've had some gorgeous girlies enter my life and just had to share. The lovely bottle beauty was made by the fabulous and lovely Maija and she is going to be the queen of the doll head collection I've got going on the shelf by my work desk. The other lovely little girl was made for me by Kecia in an exchange we did a while back. I just love this piece! Kecia creates pieces with these dolls like no one else!

Doll Heads a Plenty

It's been a crazy week and weekend here in the lonestar state. Work was nuts and lots of stuff on the home front to keep us busy all weekend. It would've been nice to go to LA this weekend but as tired as I am already, I just can't imagine it after another weekend of travel. I finally got around to opening my ebay packages one of which included these treasures. Rolland is beyond creeped out but I love them. I can't wait to see where they end up.

Besides some studio straightening the entire house got a scrub down early yesterday. It left us plenty of time to do some fun shopping (new iphone for Rolland) and cute glitter covered pink house for the holidays. I was also able to pick up this cookbook for a song at Sur La Table. It's been on my wish list for a long time. Ever since our trip to Vegas I've had more kitchen inspiration and pulling out the cookbooks. This weekend also found me in front of the stove so now the freezer is stocked with tomato sauce, oatmeal cranberry cookies ready to bake, extra cinnamon roll filling and Irish Soda Bread. This doesn't include the pumpkin bread (with raw seeds on top) on the cake plate and the 3 pans of cinnamon rolls I've got ready to take to work tomorrow.

The key for all this productivity has been a serious cut back on television, at least on the weekends. We had been spending far too much of our weekend time, pre-Vegas trip, vegging out in front of the tv. We just didn't have much energy left over from the work week but I've set the alarm and made sure we get up pretty close to when we do during the week and most importantly, I try to go to bed earlier to accommodate the alarm. So far so good since I've also been headache free. This has been awesome! I've been reading some headache prevention books and trying to do most of the suggestions including the diet - some days are more successful than others - but it's been a definite improvement in my quality of life.