Goldie, a falling leaf ornament for fall or halloween!

I have listed my first falling leaf for this fall season. I make these only in the fall. Then, for the holidays, I will make some falling stars!

I have named this one Goldie simply because I made her from gold clay. I begin by using a real leaf to inmprint the clay. Sweetgum leaves work really well because they have lots of veins that the clay picks up and they are shaped nicely in general. Besides, I have two huge sweetgum trees in my front yard, so I never run out of leaves to use!

I came up with this design on my own. I have never seen a leaf, or a star created with arms and legs like nine. I hold copyright to these and hope other artists will respect that.

I hand sculpted each tiny toe and finger individually, just like I do for my dolls, so these leaves do involve a considerable amount of time and patience. For this one, I used black onyx beads for eyes, however, I may change the style of the eyes from time to time.

Goldie has a surprised look on her face as she drifts through the air to land in her new home.....the ground!

You can hang my leaves from a branch or from a suction cup in your window. Just make sure the suction cup is secure so Goldie doesn't arrive on the ground in pieces. She wouldn't like that!

Here's the link to Goldie's auction:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/170903892683?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

jointed miniature dachshund!

I'm so happy you all like my jointed doggies! Heinz, a sweet little dachshund, is my latest offering on Ebay. I am really learning about the features of these different breeds and all of the little nuances that sets one breed apart from the other. Still, they all have cute little pads on their paws, eyes that beg for love, and ears that listen for their master's voice.
Anyone who knows me knows that I love dogs. I love all animals, for that matter. Interestingly enough, I didn't have a dog when I grew up. In fact, I was afraid of them, for the most part. As a little girl, I would often climb up the nearest adult as though she/he were a tree if a dog came towards me. I just didn't understand them because we had never had one in the house. My husband, on the other hand, is "one with the dogs," having grown up with a wire haired fox terrier. I wanted our boys to know the love of a dog and along the way, I fell in love with these amazing creatures. I have loved them, lost them, and cried over them.
So, I sculpt these little miniature dogs with lots of love. I hope I capture the love that they bring with them when you adopt them into your home.

The dogs that I am sculpting right now are thread jointed. I put a hole through the body and then make two holes in the top of each limb so that I can tie a knot with the thread that joints them. This gives them an old fashioned "teddy bear" style. My work is not completely realistic. Rather it is "folk art" in that I do not adhere to specific proportions. I work from instinct and that gives them my look.

To visit my dachshund's auction, please use this link:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/170903514524?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

New puppies! A chihuahua and a pug!

I listed two more puppies today! Muffin is a jointed baby chihuahua and Trudy is a pug. Don't ask me how I can still sculpt this small with the tremor in my left hand. For some reason, God doesn't want me to stop just yet! I have to lay my work on my desk to paint details, but I still manage to hold my work while I sculpt. These sculpts are pretty tiny at only 1½ inches tall in their sitting positions. I used to sculpt even tinier so that my work could fit in thimbles. I think those days are gone forever, but I still feel blessed that I am able to do what I do!

If you'd like to take a peek at these babies, here are the links.

Trudy the pug:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/170899878055?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

Muffin the Chihuahua:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/170899888652?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

Here's my newest sculpt, a sweet baby basset hound jointed "teddy bear style." I thread jointed him with extra strength quilting thread so that he will last for years to come. He is detailed with hand painted eyes and even has the faint line of red that runs through the bottom lid of bassets' eyes. My heart was really into this piece because we used to have a basset hound many years ago. He was a sweetheart.
I gave him the black, brown, and white coloring of our beloved "Milford."

Maggie comes in the cute altered box that you see in the photos. You can either have her sit on top of the box or use it as a background for display. I used a public domain reprint of a basset hound on the top of the box and used the definition of basset from an old dictionary on the side of the box.

Here is Maggie's auction link:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/170898848549?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

A finger monkey!

You've probably seen photos of them on the internet like I have. Finger monkeys are just darling! Would I ever like to hold one on my finger! I doubt I will ever get to do that, so I just had to sculpt one. Of course, I took artistic license, once again. The ones I saw in photos had dark hair, but I wanted to keep with my own http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifshabby chic look so I put white hair on mine and gave her a pale pink ruffle around her neck!

When she is not on your finger, she is quite content to hang around on a tapered candle for display. Just don't push her down on it so you don't break her little arms and legs. She does have wire armatures in them for extra strength, but she should be handled gently.

She is about 3 inches long, not including her little topknot on her head. You can read more about her here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170897123534

Miniature matchbox Teddy Bear

And here is my new tiny Matchbox Teddy Bear! I haven't sculpted this tiny for a long time. With medication for my tremor (Parkinson's) I find that I am still able to turn out a fairly small sculpture. This little bear is only 1¼ inches tall in his seated position. He sleeps inside a small matchbox. It's not one of the utility size matchboxes that I have used previously.
I have always loved tiny things, especially when they fit inside of a tiny box! So, the tiny thread jointed bear can sleep in the little box at night and then you can take him out and display him on top of his box during the day! I like the glitz on this box. It adds to the magic! I used a strand of rhinetones on the top and used an old rhinestone earring for the drawer pull. Altered things are the best!
Here's the auction link for Tiny Ted:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/170889187741?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

Jointed Baby Bulldog

I have two new miniature sculpts available! The first one is a thread jointed baby bulldog. I was in a pet store last week and saw three of these babies and wanted to take them all home with me! They were so darling that I decided to sculpt one. My animals are usually jointed, which makes them a little different than anything you would find in most lines of collectibles. I won't be repeating any
of the dogs so if you see a breed you want, please grab it. I don't get around to commissioned pieces very often.
I used Fimo for this little baby. For jointing, I used upholstery strength thread, so it should last for many years.
She's a wee one at only 1½ inches tall in her seated postion.

Here's the auction link for Sophie, the baby bulldog:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/170889180581?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649