New pieces coming soon!

I have a baby toucan ready to list! I'll be photographing him later today and, hopefully have him listed by this evening or by tomorrow afternoon. He's really cute! I am also at the dressing stage for my flapper doll.

My next sculpt will be a baby sleeping in a match box. I plan to alter the box so that it's feminine and shabby sweet.

So please stay tuned and don't miss out on these one of a kind sculptures!

Follow me on Pinterest!

Follow me on pinterest.com! I post other artists' work that I like. I just might post yours if you sign up for my blog and join me there! It's a good way to expose your work to a larger audience.

teddy bear tutorial

I'm thinking about doing a teddy bear tutorial. Please let me know if you are interested. It would be a jointed bear, either wire jointed or thread jointed. I would keep it simple for beginners. I have taught several teddy bear classes and everyone seemed to enjoy them and everyone's bears turned out really cute!Sign up for my blog to be notified when my tutorial is finished!

I named him "Webster" because his hat and feet are embellished with the definition of "bear" taken from a vintage dictionary. He is thread jointed and aged for a shabby look. I painted a box with white paint, and then repurposed a Trader Joe's paper bag to make a pleated medallion for the top. Rather than buy ribbon, I like to rip organza. This box has a black organza bow around it that matched the ruffle around Webster's neck. I used reprint of a vintage bear to layer on top of the paper medallion. Webster can either sit on the top of the box, or you can use it as a prop with him sitting in front of it or to the side, as you can see in one of the photos.
I am offering free shipping and handling on this piece and Fifi, my baby orangutan.

Fifi, a miniature ooak orangutan!

This is Fifi, my new shabby sweetie that I have listed on Ebay. I hope you like her face as much as I do. I think it is sweet from all angles. She is 2½ inches high, perfect for someone who doesn't have a lot of room left for her doll collection. Here is the link to her auction:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/170827828724?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

I am offering free shipping on this one (within the USA)!

Louisa, a shabby wire jointed ooak doll

Louisa is my most recent listing. Louisa was sculpted from white clay that I aged for a shabby chic look. She is one of my wire jointed dolls. Jointing a doll's legs takes a little engineering. If the angles aren't right, she will not sit up. I cure the body before I finish sculpting the legs in order to get a good fit.

FYI, I will not be listing my dolls for under $49 from now on.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/170822827169?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

Repurposed pasta jar idea!

I can't take the credit for this idea. It's from my beautiful niece, Ashley Burkhardt, who loves to create and repurpose items. She got this idea from the Nate Berkus show. You can use any jar with a lid. In this case, I used a Bertolli pasta sauce jar because I liked the embossed design on the glass. Sand off the lid until all of the wording is gone. Then drill a hole in the center for the knob. I used a knob from Anthropology. It had been hiding in a drawer for several years and it finally has a purpose! I filled my jar with white and natural colored buttons for a shabby chic look. Just think of all of those jars you have thrown out! They could have been treasures! I rethink everything before I toss it nowadays.

Sanibel, a shabby cottage fairy

One thing about shipping a jointed doll is that I don't worry much about breakage. They are just not as likely to break at certain places like the shoulders and hips as with a non-jointed sculpture. In fact, although she is not a toy, an older child might enjoy playing with her, but gently.
I wanted this doll to look "long forgotten." Her eyes speak of an old soul that is from a different time. I like to capture the feeling that a doll has been cast aside by some little girl long ago....one who has moved on to more grown-up things. The doll sits and waits for someone to discover her again, wonder where she has been, and what she has seen in her "better times."
I let my husband name this doll. He didn't hesitate for a moment. The name just came to him.
Sanibel has an antiqued face, simple hands and fingers without a lot of detailing. She is one of my more primitive pieces. Her eyes are onyx, her dress is coffee stained silk, and she has hand made wings from a vintage butterfly print.
Her legs and arms are long and willowy. She has a delicate build.
To visit her auction please copy and paste this link into your browser.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/170818690556?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

Gerard, a baby giraffe

Gerard,my baby giraffe sculpt is now listed on Ebay! I didn't know if I could let go of him, but he has been mine for a little while. I hope he brings a smile to someone else's face! I really wanted to capture the innocent and obliging look of a baby giraffe that I saw on Pinterest. In fact, if you go to my pinterest boards, you will see the one that inspired me. I can't post it here because I dare not post a copyrighted photo.
I am happy with the look I achieved. It was all about the eyes and the mouth. He's adorable, if I do say so myself!
I used acrylics to paint him and then I stained him for an aged, vintage look. Well, you know how I love that look! I strive for most of my pieces to look like one of those old, long forgotten treasures that are kept behind glass with lock and key in an antique shop.
Here is the link to his auction!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/170817539454?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649