A Little Brightness To My Day

Not feeling great today so thought I'd share something I'm kind of proud of. I'm a terrible gardener and my yard really is a mess except for these lovelies. Thank goodness they can take care of themselves! They add a little brightness to my day and I hope you'll enjoy them too!

Worktable Wednesday...so much going on.

I've been approached to possibly have some plush at a Tech conference this summer. They were especially interested in my plush Tardis since the Doctor Who show is gaining popularity here in the States. But I can't just sell those so I started playing around with some new designs to go along with the Tech theme. A Nerdy Guy and A Robot. Thinking about A Nerdy Girl too. What do you think?

The other side of my worktable holds 2 of my Pirate theme plush dolls that I've had on hold forever. They were in my unfinished projects pile. I dug them out and started working on them until this whole "Tech" thing came up so they may remain unfinished for a bit longer.

Messy, crazy worktable! I'm usually pretty good about tidying up but since I'm in the thick of working right now it's going to stay a mess for a while. What does your worktable look like?

A Silly Easter Story About My Mom.

O.k. so some of you may remember the story of my mom and the Turkey that was a ham at Christmas? Well here's another silly thing my mom did. After church she decides to go to the deli and pick up more meat. We were having an Easter buffet lunch this year. We didn't need more meat, we already had turkey, roast beef and ham. Anyway she goes into the deli that's open on Easter Sunday and asks for ham. LOL! It's a Jewish kosher deli! Somehow my mom didn't realize that and couldn't understand why they didn't have any ham cause it was Easter and probably knowing her got a bit loud about it. Oh to be a fly on the wall there! So I guess they were nice and explained why they didn't have ham and my mom felt like an idiot once she finally understood. She did come home with more turkey and some fabulous corned beef! Still we didn't need more meat so I don't know what she was thinking to begin with!

Mom holding Lita after we ate.

My daughter and my 2 year old nephew

working on an art project.

My brother did show up with his boys for Easter. I called him and read him the riot act after he said he wasn't coming cause his soon to be ex wife was starting drama. She was going to be at work all day anyway and our mom never gets to see the boys so I told him to grow a pair. Apparently he did and we had a nice time.

Hope you all had a nice holiday dinner whether it was Easter or Passover.

Jumping into Paper Clay

After making the fun little head from my last post I got excited and realizing that Mother's Day here in the US is May 8th and the fact that I'm flat broke right now I decided to make my mom a paper clay sculpture. I might have bitten off more than I could chew. I tend to turn the simplest thing into a huge deal. UGH! I also have way too big plans for that little head! I'm trying to rein myself in a bit but well we'll see.

Here's the start of the new piece. It's larger than I probably should be doing, but I'm working with what I have in stock. Not sure my idea will work. It's telling me it want to be something other than what's in my mind. See I'm just giving myself stress...sigh. 

I haven't given up on my plush or soft sculptures just moving slower on them, it's been a rough month. The female Rabbit has new legs and can stand now. Working on her bonnet then need to add arms then she's done.

I hope you'll come back and see what other crazy thing I'm doing.

Quick WIP,,,and an Uncomfortable Realization

I really don't like talking about myself but I feel this needs to be said. To all my new followers who may not know and also some long time followers ...I suffer from a chronic and very painful illness that enjoys pounding me to the ground on average twice a month. I'm telling you all this not to gain any sympathy for my sad little self but to explain why I suddenly seem to drop out of blogging, twitter, facebook, etc on occasion and also to give an explanation of why it seems to take me forever to finish projects and why some just never get done.

When I'm feeling well I start all kinds of large projects with the full intention of completing them. I pretend that pain isn't lurking around the corner waiting to pounce.Unfortunately I usually only get part way through then I am down for the count. I find it's a struggle to get back into the momentum. As much as I hate to admit it, there is a depression element to my illness too which really doesn't help my creativity.

Now on to my uncomfortable realization. Some of you may know I design stationery and have my own little business doing that. Well after 5 years of suffering from this illness I can no longer keep up, meet deadlines and focus properly. It was a very difficult decision but I've closed that business. The stress level isn't fair to me physically and my not being able to do quality work isn't fair to my clients. I'll greatly miss those lovely clients and hope they will understand.

Meanwhile on occasion I have little bouts of lower pain times that I use to sketch or sew small items. Last night I had one of those times and pulled out the Paper Clay looking for something small and creative to do and made a little face. I've been so encouraged by Moriah of MLB Studios and Pam of Yoborobo to give clay a go. So I did. It was fun and since it needs to dry in between it was something I could do when I could and leave to dry when I can't. One day hopefully it'll go on a body and make a doll. Anyway here's my little WIP.

Lumpy and bumpy and full of eyes.

A little more detail.

Oh look a face.

RIP Sarah Jane Smith

Yesterday I was saddened to hear of the death of Elizabeth Sladen. Most Americans won't know her name but I do. She played Sarah Jane Smith on Doctor Who, a long running British sci-fi series. She was the Doctor's companion from 1973 to 1976 and was companion to first the Third Doctor then my favorite The Fourth Doctor. She was my all time favorite companion. She was a feminist, a journalist, nosey, strong, full of humor and had the great sense to travel through time and space with The Doctor. What an adventurer! I wanted to be Sarah Jane when I grew up.

I was beyond thrilled when Elizabeth reprized her role with Doctor 10.

She is also the only companion of the Doctor to have a spin off show, The Sarah Jane Adventures. Sarah Jane led the way for strong female companions like Martha Jones and Donna Noble. 

 Elizabeth Sladen's portrayal of Sarah Jane was such a large part of my childhood and my initial love of sci-fi that I for one will greatly miss her. RIP Sarah Jane.

Creative Tangents Good or Bad?

Has this ever happened to you? You are chugging along on a project that has multiple pieces and are excited to start work on the largest and most skill demanding one you've ever done and then....your brain demands that you stop and do a series of Rabbits?!

 Well no, probably not but maybe something similar has happened to you? 

I can't figure out if it's my ADD or some force guiding me. Am I afraid of failure on the other intended project? I mean it's not like the Rabbits aren't demanding and challenging, cause they are and wow are they taking three times longer than I anticipated. And I tend to do some of my best work when I go off on creative tangents like this. So should I just go with the flow even though it's not what I had planned? Or would it be better to stick with my original plan and make myself finish that before moving on to things like....Rabbits? I'd really love your advice.

Cold Mornings and New Legs

It's been in the low 40's here in the morning, nothing new for this area. But for the 2nd day in a row Lita my pup has asked for me to heat up her blanket. I do this by putting it in the dryer. She sits in front of the dryer waiting for her blanket to come out. She's a smart girl, she knows what the dryer does. Lita is a Chihuahua and they have trouble maintaining their body heat even long haired ones like mine.So when she gets cold, she's really cold. She'll lay wrapped up in the heated blanket for up to 2 hours.

Here she is yesterday and she's wrapped up just like this right now.

This is Binks and he's a weird one. He won't go under a blanket, it freaks him out. He knows where all the heat vents are or he'll lay close to the dog. I don't worry about him.

Made another set of lady legs (on the left, the gray ones are for another male rabbit). I made the feet larger and the legs more sturdy to help support the weight of her skirts. I really want all the rabbits to stand nicely. The legs stand great on their own, the true test is when I attach them to the bodies. Fingers crossed! I really wanted the other 3 rabbits finished by this weekend but that doesn't seem to be possible right now. UGH!

Worktable Wednesday

It's been a frustrating few days. I've been working on one of the female rabbits and it took forever to get her clothes the way I wanted. She also turned out to be quite a bit taller than the male rabbit and I don't know why, same pattern, hmmmm. 

 She also has a wonky leg but she stands just fine. That is until I put her skirt on, then she just fell over.....perhaps in relief to not be half naked anymore?.....annoying me terribly.

Now a little surgery is in order because a lady cannot just go ass over teakettle in public! Wish me luck!

Worktable Saturday

Lots to keep me busy!

Debut of a Finished Piece

It's been a long time coming but here's the debut of Monsieur Renard Lapin. (just quick studio shots, it's gloomy today). He's a gentleman carrot and lettuce farmer. Renard is a great lover of silks and lace. He believes a gentleman should present himself a certain way. One to attract the ladies and two to earn respect from those below him. Renard thinks of himself as an educated and tolerant Rabbit. He would be surprised to know that others think him a dandy and a fool.

Monsieur Renard Lapin

Renard is a plush soft sculpture art doll. He's approx 24.5" tall. He's the first doll I've made that can stand up entirely on his own. I was so excited about this! I love animals dressed as people, it excites my sense of whimsy. I thought the idea would work really well with my creative style too.

 Renard is made from eco felt and bits of high end home decor fabric I scored at my mom's church rummage sale. He's completely sewn by hand and is NOT a toy. He's the first in a series of 4. Once all 4 are completed and their stories told they will be up for sale in my etsy shop. I hope you enjoyed seeing him as much as I enjoyed showing him off!

Wanted to Show A Finished Piece But.....

I ran into a problem with not having a long enough needle to attach the arms. Sigh! It's always something. I need to run out and get a doll making needle but the Handyman is here painting so I'm stuck home for now. 

I did tell people that I'd show what I was working on but I really wanted this piece to be finished before I debuted it. So I'm waffling back and forth on what to do.

 How about a photo of Lita to keep you occupied until tomorrow when I can show you a finished piece? Look at that face. Doesn't she make you happy?

Worktable Wednesday

The very last things to finish before the doll is complete.

Where Lita likes to hang out. She watches the world

and can turn a see me working too.