New Winter Witch finished

Finished her last week but forgot to post pics. Love making these! Now I have a complete set again. Still have another head left. I'll have to let her tell me what witch she is!

Hostess Gifts

I have been making Hostess Gifts for the Holiday parties we have been invited to. Unfortunately because of my MIL's broken ankle/leg, only one of us can go - someone has to stay home with her. Here are a couple of the gifts I made. Some of our friends are planning to relocate away from the Jersey Shore when they retire, so I thought a Jersey Mermaid would be appropriate. I also made them a set of note cards - hope they also look masculine.

And so it begins again - Hoffman Challenge 2011

Thursday I received my order of Hoffman Challenge 2011 fabrics. Last year I ordered most of mine (I was a little late and they sold out of many) from Quilt-Kits-On-Line. The service was excellent and FAST! This year I ordered their "1/2 yd Challenge Package" and increased the main fabric to 1 yard. The fabrics are just stunning! I love them all and have an idea in mind for my doll. It's so nice to open the package and see them all together. Thanks so much Cindy and Don!I also have started my new Winter Witch. Here she is with just her bodice on. I rusched some metallic ribbon for the top of her bodice. I am doing her in blue and light purple touched with grey and pearl.

Just in time for the Holidays

I have been working with my Witches pattern - I sold the Winter Witch and needed a new one. I started by using holiday fabric and made the arms and legs but decided to stick to the original colors. Here are the heads I did - 2 is always better than 1! I thought the arms and legs would work great for an elf so made a couple heads for one. Like the smiley guy, so used him. I used the Witches pattern and made a few adjustments - new head, bodice piece, jacket and modified the bloomers by pleating the bottom and adding a folded piece of fabric for the band. The shoes are from the pattern (Winter witch). He is sitting in a chair gifted me by a dear friend Mary Louisa (Dreamlitdolls.com). I am posting the modified pieces and head here for anyone to use! Hope you like them. Enjoy. PS: you are on your own for the ears! I have named him "Santa in Training"

New items posted for sale on Etsy

I have added some new items to my etsy shop. I love making the faux dichroic glass cabachons and beading them to create brooches. Here are a few of them. I finished two more - aqua and eggplant/very deep purple. I really enjoy making them. I have a bunch ready to bead-colors include lime, copper, orange, dark burnished gold and red. I am trying to match them with some gemstones I have including garnets and peridot stones. The purple one has real amethyst. Haven't taken pics yet, but hopefully tomorrow. I also added the Ghost Witch, Arachnia.

End Stories

Here are some pics of finished projects doing what they were meant to do. First is the Christening gown worn by baby Cecelia who is being held by her Mother Felecia who actually wore it first - when it was a wedding gown. Beautiful baby and beautiful mother.

Next is the heart quilt that was an EGA project. It was donated to the Deborah Hospital in Browns Mills, NJ. Unfortunately, I couldn't attend the handover, but I plan on driving down to see it in its new home in the lobby when the remodeling is completed. The framing was done by Carol Martin of U-Frame It in Matawan, NJ. She sewed the quilt to the backing. The hospital required it to be encased to prevent any dust. I think it looks wonderful and I am so glad it has a good home and will bring some joy and beauty to those who see it.

I also received back my Hoffman Challenge doll, Morning Serenade. She came back in perfect condition and she is already sold. I just need to refasten her feet to the base and off she goes. She was purchased by the owner of the bead store, The Birds and the Beads, I frequent. How fitting! One last pic.

More Cards

I finished all my Christmas cards! Yeah! I tend to save the cards I get in the mail and this year tried to recycle them into my new cards (the ribbons, ornaments, stars, flowers, Noel words). I used my Sizzix and also my Cricut to cut the shapes. Love those two toys! I didn't make these as dimensional as last year as I had to smoosh them so I didn't have to pay extra postage. These pics are samples of the basic designs. I made about 70 cards. I also made a few sets of Thank You cards but didn't get the thank yous lined up perfectly so I may add something to them to cover the crooked words. These sets go together quickly once I pick the papers. The paper lace was cut with punches by Martha Stewart and EK Success. Love these!

New Cards

This has been an eventful few months - two weddings, a milestone birthday and anniversary, and a christening so I have been making cards. Unfortunately, I didn't take pics of the wedding cards, but here are pics of the others. My parents' 65th Anniversary, my mother's 90th birthday, my grandson's christening and some thank you notes. For the thank you notes, I created the background paper in Word and printed it out in brown ink on ivory and black ink on white for the combos. The heart, butterflie and lacy border are Martha Stewart Punches. Very cool!

Latest Doings

I have been working on creating a christening outfit from a Wedding gown for a lovely new baby girl Cecelia was born late September. Mother Felecia is a very petite and so is her gown but I love a challenge! Her lovely gown was silk satin - probably not the best fabric as it has a lot of body. Felecia also wanted a "convertible" outfit which I found very interesting. It is rompers (for a boy) with a button on overskirt (for a girl). I was amazed I was able to get all the pieces out of the dress because there really wasn't that much fabric to the fitted and flared gown, but I did it and here are the results. First the gown (was she trusting or what!) Felecia was sent my way by my SIL Nancy. I made a christening gown for my nephew Brian (now 28 and just married last weekend!) from her wedding gown. I didn't even remember doing that! LOL The skirt has an attached sash which can be tied in front or back. I embroidered the baby's name on a piece of ribbon and attached it inside the skirt bottom. Lots of room for other names. Final pic is of the gown with the skirt attached and the sash tied in the back. I couldn't use the ribbon sash from her gown because the ribbon was too wide and too heavy. I did use all the buttons from her gown. For the back, I used vintage pearl buttons. The Bodice is lined with a fine cotton voile.

Halloween

Yesterday was Halloween and look who was out trick or treating? My 6 mo old grandson, Jake dressed as a monkey with his little monkey pal. What a cutie pie!

I was going to post my latest witch but after looking at her, I felt she needed some spiders. I had shopped for them but couldn't find any I liked so I made some out of beads and wire. Here she is, the Ghost Witch. I was going to call her Ghastlea, but I think Arachnia better suits her. Her skirt was misted with Gold Perfect pearls in water and then the webs were outlined with Gold, Silver, and Crystal Stickles. I also used perfect pearls on her hair to add a little glimmer but applied it with Perfect Medium. Her jacket is white velvet that was colored with Alcohol inks. Love how they don't change the hand of the fabric. She has three underskirts on, first one of glitter tulle, then a slip of feathers, and another one of glitter tulle. I had to make her legs twice - I used a halographic lame that turned out to be more fragile than I thought it would be so I remade them with an iron on interfacing backing. Don't you love that little skull and bones charm at her neck? I didn't even know I had it until I started looking for a spider! Her head is recycled cloth over clay over cloth and then I put messy mix (see Deanna's blog here First time I tried it and not sure I will do it again - too much sanding! but interesting.

Long time No Post - But I have been productive!

Mike and Michelle's wedding was beautiful. They loved the house and I must admit it did look good sitting there. I also discovered I need a purse to go with my dress which was a soft muted grey-purple. I have been playing with making roses out of paper so I got the idea to make one to put on the front of my purse. The body is purple lame with black burnout velvet over it. The color of the flower matches my dress perfectly. The center of the flower is a vintage rhinestone button from my collection. I am really pleased with how it turned out. Got lots of compliments too!

A friend Mary and I went galavanting a few weeks ago and stopped at a quilt shop. They had a purse made up that caught my eye - I like the design. Looked like it was made from only 2 pattern pieces that formed the bottom and sides. It was cute but a little too large for me but I thought I could design my own to suit my needs. I had a lot of upolstery pieces given to me so thought I would play. Here are the results. I made the flowers from pieces of leather from old belts and other sources. The pink flowers are construction paper fabric! Love the stuff. It's a fun purse to carry. I think I am going to make another from some cotton fabrics that have been waiting for just the right project. I am going to incorporate the flap into the back so it won't be a separate piece.

Yesterday was my grandson Jake's Christening. It was a wonderful ceremony and a fun family dinner followed. I really wanted to make his outfit but wound up buying one - size 9-12 mos that JUST fit. He is 27" long and almost 20 lbs already - and just 5 months old. He is going to be tall like his father. I'll have some pics later. Here is the card I made for him using my Cricut and the shoe files created by Nancy, here is a link. She makes beautiful cards. The scalloped background I created. It was embossed with a Cuttlebug folder and colored with Adirondack ink pads.

Card House is Done!

Here it is - done. In case you don't notice, I remade the garage side wider so I could get the two garage doors there. I think it's a fairly accurate image of their house - as accurate as you can get with foam-core, ribbon, and silk. I added a little sparkle to the roof and flowers. I purchase those deep purple mums months ago and when I was ready to add them, I couldn't find them! Of course they were where they belonged - in a large vase in my MILs room I keep all my future use flowers in (and also buys I couldn't pass up!) Here are side views. I think the gable roofs came out OK. The ivy leaves around the base were lightly sprayed with gold and silver metallic paint. The vines are the same ones I used on Katie's house. They started life as a wreath from AC Moore's Clearance Aisle. I'm glad I bought 2!

Back in Wedding Mode

The dolls were shipped via Global Priority to Australia where they arrived (only took about 1 week!) safe and sound to a great home. Thanks so much to all who shared their creation with me and all the wonderful comments. I felt like I was sending off a rainbow!

Now, I am finally making the gift card house for my nephew Mike and Michele's wedding which is Sept 25th. I wanted to make it look similar to their home but I did take some artistic liberties. Here is their lovely house. Here is how I am building the gift Card House. first I start with a wooden frame made by 1"x1" wood (my DH cut down some 1" x 2" for me). Next I skin the frame with foamcore and cut out the windows and door. The roof, which is made from machine embroidered purple silk, is put together with an opening in the center and then laid on top. The roof is also trimmed with french lace I dyed to match. It actually will be attached in the front only so it can be lifted up in the back and the house emptied of it's contents. I wrapped the house in felt. To imitate siding, I next wrapped the house in overlaping rows of beige satin ribbon and cut out the doors and windows. I also attached the house to the base before I added the siding. Now I am working on the front creating the gables. When I finish them and the door and windows which will be off white satin with white satin ribbon sashing and beaded trim, I'll attach the gables and add their roofs, then the little porch over the front door and roof over the garage. Final embellishments with be foliage around the base and more white trim to define the roof lines. Right now, this pic has the gables pinned in place. Sorry guys, I had to eliminate one of your garages! I wanted to emphasize the front door a bit more.

Tomorrow is Labor Day and we plan to spend it with family. Hope you enjoy too!

Early Halloween - Excuse me while I put on my face

Cloth Doll Artistry is having a Halloween Blog Hop. It actually started yesterday, but I wanted to post something "new". In the newest issue of Cloth Paper Scissors, Michael DeMenge decontructed dolls and skeletons and made quite an interesting doll so I thought, after a trip to the dollar store, I would play too. I bought a Barbie look alike, some rubber creepy crawleys and a bag of skulls - the vase I had. There is a rat in the bottom of the vase though it is hard to see. I think she needs a pet crow or two or maybe a bat. I also bought a full skeleton and have an idea for that!