Memory Doll

In January I always challenge myself to try something new. I'd been thinking about doing a memory jug for awhile, and then I happened upon Laurie Zuckerman's blog where she has a memory jug cd available.

In the meantime, I got a great deal on some wreath holders, and decided to make a piece with that. Eventually, the doll's head, the wreath holder and the bird cage came together, and so instead of making a memory jug I made a memory doll. Or memory cage or...well you get the idea. The doll's upper body had a large crack that had been repaired. The glue left a long brown streak along the repair line. I decided to cover that line with some pieces of costume jewelry. This gave me the neckline for her dress. Then I found a small pink vase to serve as her torso. I cut up two necklaces, and put a pin on the back to complete her upper body.

On the skirt, I added some vintage christmas light reflectors. I covered the empty holes with some costume jewelry pearls. The peplum on her dress is made of old book hinges which I wired with pearls.

The pin on the very front of her dress says "Sweetheart" and has a relief of the capitol building on it.

Finally, one day I found the little pink bird in the thrift shop. It matched the vase, so I knew it had to go inside the cage. Getting it in there was a little tricky, but I figured it out eventually.

I am constantly collecting little bits and bobs of things, so this was a perfect project for me. I have several bins started of items that have something in common, and hope to do another one soon.

Little Friends Easter Parade

This is the other collage that I did for the "pastels" challenge with the group that I belong to.

My friend Janet and I were junking when she discovered an old story book that I'd loved as a child. It was called "Little Friends Kittens, Puppies, Bunnies" and it was published by Rand McNally in the 50's. It had photos of animals dressed up in clothes, and I know my father must've read it to me 100 times.

Janet was kind enough to let me have it, and I was really excited to take it home and show it to my children. They did not like this book at all. They thought the photos were "creepy". So, I decided to make a collage. I cut up a few of my favorite photos and decided that it looked like an Easter Parade.

Here are some of the details. Peter Rabbit is hiding eggs in the background. I punched tiny blossoms out of book paper with a hole punch and then added them to a Halloween tree stamp that I have. After that I stippled on some green dots.

These birds came from the fly sheet of another old book that I had. I colored them and decided that they were the spectators for the parade. The cobblestones were done with book paper, and layed with tissue on top. Then I added a coat of clear gesso so that I could use watercolor pencils on top to add depth.

I proudly hung the collage in the front hall until my daughter asked me to please remove it before anyone came to visit!

Oh well, you can't please everyone.

Seventh Folder, Seventh Photo

I discovered this on Patti Szymkowicz's blog, and had to try it.

Go to your computer photo album
Go to the seventh folder
Go to the seventh image
Upload to your blog and tell what it is

(By the way, I am a huge fan of Patty's.)

This is a photo that I took several years ago at Elkwood Crossing Gift and Garden Center in Elkwood, Virginia. Laura at Elkwood creates beautiful little vignettes to find as you're wandering through the greenhouses and gift shop. She also has a very elaborate fairy garden complete with live plants to scale with the fairies. I'll have to post pictures of it in the spring.

I designed the logo for Elkwood when they first opened. I think that photo was taken when I was working on a brochure for them. Here is the logo:

The Elkwood photo is in sharp contrast to the weather that we are having today. Snow, snow everywhere. School is cancelled today and tomorrow. The kids are thrilled, and I have to say I'm enjoying it, too. This little snow family was left as a surprise on my doorstep on a snowy day last winter. Aren't they adorable?

Think Spring!

I belong to a group of artists who meet at Handcraft House in Madison, Virginia. Our challenge for this month was "pastels". We could use actual oil pastels, pastel colors, or anything else that came to mind associated with the word pastel.We've had a few unseasonably warm days and that is all it took to make me think spring.

I've been reading Kelly Rae Roberts' book "Taking Flight" and decided that there had to be a female form in the collage. Then I remembered that I can't draw faces -- no way, no how. So I decided to work around that by using a color copy of an old letter that I had.

I also knew that I wanted to use this fabric for the skirt. It was on sale at the fabric store, with a two-yard minimum, so I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the other yard and three quarters!

The background is some green tissue that I had. I put the circles down first, and then did an overlay with another layer of tissue.

While you're online, check out the great giveaway at http://www.elizabethcreates.blogspot.com/. She is another artist from the 'burg. I haven't met her yet, but we seem to be kindred spirits, so I'm hoping we can hook up one of these days for a play day.

Reach!

I've been so busy creating, that I haven't taken the time to post in a while. I was reading Pamela Jane's blog where she talked about the idea of having a word for the year. After some deliberation, I decided that mine is "reach". I chose this word because to me it implies moving in a forward or upward direction. I feel like I spend a lot of time meandering, and that a map of the direction I've taken in the last few years would look like the cartoon of "Where Little Billy Went" from the old Family Circus cartoons.

So, I thought that showing some of my altered hands would be a good visual to go along with my theme. My friend Jolie has acquired a huge stash of these amazing porcelain glove forms, left from a factory that used to produce latex gloves. We have had a wonderful time altering them. Lately, I've been adding a plate or dish to the bottom, for stability, and also to hold earrings, paper clips, etc. to make the piece more functional as well.

Shown are two beach-themed hands, and one that is covered in images from an old copy of Gray's Anatomy. Let me know if you need some of your own, and I can put you in touch with Jolie. We'll also be selling them at Vendor Night at Art & Soul Hampton this year.

Happy New Year and Hobby Dooby!

When my son was little, he couldn't prounounce Happy Birthday, so he would yell Hobby Dooby instead. This is my birthday week, and between the new year and my birthday I usually try to make a few resolutions, get back on track, and finish up any projects that are leftover from the previous year. So, after a fun and relaxing holiday with friends and family, I'm trying to get organized, which isn't something that comes naturally to me!

I thought I'd take today to show you the project that my daughter and I made for club littlehouse. We had a great time working on it, and the littles we received in exchange were amazing. I'll post those soon.

In the meantime, here are some photos of our miniature "hobby dooby" in a box.

Altered Snow Family

I saw Sue Pelletier's altered snowmen on the cover of the December issue of Cloth Paper Scissors magazine and knew I had to do some of my own. This is one of the few projects that I didn't need to do any shopping for -- I had lots of ephemera, including vintage Christmas items and jewelry that were in need of a new lease on life.

These snow people have been delivered to the post office and are making their way to friends and family. I hated to break up the group. They seemed so happy in my front hallway. Maybe I'll get around to making a set for myself next year!