This is it, I sent it off yesterday, the two happy matrimonial monkeys will arrive at their destination on Wednesday.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Shoes!
by Waxela (wa-shay-la) Sananda aka SpiritMama
We love them, we desire them, we must have them.
There is something about the sole of a shoe that completes the soul of the character we portray. And so it is with our dolls, the shoes are the final touch that completes the personality, bringing a doll one step closer to life.
There is something about the sole of a shoe that completes the soul of the character we portray. And so it is with our dolls, the shoes are the final touch that completes the personality, bringing a doll one step closer to life.
I have had a fascination with shoes for a very long time. I used to sculpt tiny shoes out of polymer clay, before I made art dolls with tiny feet to place them on. Here are a few miniature shoes I made when I was 10 years old:
When making shoes for an art doll there are many things to consider…
Fairy shoes…
Boots…
And sometimes it's best just to go with some warm, cozy socks...
However we choose to sole our dolls, they have an amazing ability to walk you through fantasy worlds, fairy realms, ancient times, unknown lands, sorrow, joy, fear, and silliness. If you'll just take a moment to walk in their shoes.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Sock Monkey Wedding Cake Topper
I'm so excited about my new project! It's a sock monkey wedding cake topper. I've been planning to do one of these, but had not started until I got a custom order for one.
The colors are orange, yellow, and magenta, with gerbera daisies. How fun is that?!
Here is the picture I have t work with (the wedding invites!)
I started last night, and these monkeys are anxious to be finished. I'll post pics when I have them.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Are you sure this is safe?
Baby G took his first ride in the jogging stroller yesterday. He got this really concerned look like "I'm not too sure about this, not to mention these shoulder protectors look like elephant ears."
But he hung in there and had a pretty good ride. He's a trooper, and those atv tires make for smooth sailin' over rough terrain. I may loose the rest of my Baby G belly if we keep this up!
Monday, January 19, 2009
One World One Heart Giveaway...whooohooo!
I'm participating in the biggest blogger giveaway known to bloggers (or at least to this one)!
Please click the link above to learn about this fantastic world wide giveaway, and to jump on the Gypsy Caravan and take a ride around the world, through amazing blogs by amazing people!
It's the One World One Heart Giveaway, and all you have to do is leave a comment on THIS POST with an email or blog address so I can contact you if you win. I will choose a random winner on Feb 12. Click on the logo above to learn more about it. My giveaway is open to everyone, even if you do not have a blog.
Here is what I am giving away:
Strange Bird Owl Man Ornament
This is an odd little guy. He is Owl Man, a strange bird indeed.
He is strung on blue cord so you can hang him on a tree or anywhere you want him hanging around.
Owl man is made of polymer clay, he's perched on a real twig, and he has some feathers on top. He is handmade, ooak (one of a kind) and he is about 3" high, not including his blue cord.
AND:
Calavera Earrings Dia De Los Muertos Sugar Skulls
I Love La Dia de los Muertos, so I had my first rubber stamp produced from my own ink drawing of this skull, and I couldn't wait to get started using it!
Here I have some wonderful skull earrings with sterling silver earwires and vintage black faceted glass beads. The skulls are polymer clay which I stamped, cut, baked, painted, buffed, and glazed for your enjoyment.
The backs are painted with shiny enamel black acrylic paint.They hang 2.75" long1.5" wide.
They are very light weight and will not hurt your ears!
The first winner will receive both gifts, and I have decided to do a second giveaway in honor of my love of goddesses.
It's the Nile River Goddess on a blue batik flag.
The second winner will receive the Goddess flag.
If you only like the owl/skull giveaway, or if you only want the goddess flag be sure to note this in your comment!
Sign ups end at 11:59pm on Feb 11, winners will be announced on Feb 12!
Have fun and good luck!
Blessings,
Waxela (wa-shay-la)
aka SpiritMama
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Meet ADO!
Here are a few members of the ADO (art dolls only) team. Our team blog can be found at: http://artdollsonly.blogspot.com/
Nicole from Mealy Monster Land:
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Super-Simple Polymer Clay Doll Eyes Tutorial
I originally saw a similar eye tutorial by Susan Spinks on “the clay store . com”, and I decided to try my own version of it, simplified.
Materials:
white polymer clay
wire
acrylic paint
2 wood dowels (optional)
small paint brush (or tooth picks)
clear glaze
1- Start with some plain white polymer clay and roll two balls the same size. If you want to make several pair of eyes at once, roll lots of balls and pair them up.
1- Start with some plain white polymer clay and roll two balls the same size. If you want to make several pair of eyes at once, roll lots of balls and pair them up.
2- Stick a small gauge wire into each eye, it doesn’t matter how long the wire is because you can cut it to the right size later. Stick the wire end of the eye into a chunk of clay and bake.
3- Now you’re ready to paint the eyes. There are a few different ways to do this. One way is to get two different diameter wood dowels, one for the iris and one for the pupil. The other, less exact way is to wing it (this is the technique I prefer : -)
If you are using dowels, dip the larger dowel into your desired color of paint. This will be the colored part of the eye. It could be green, blue, grey, gold, maybe purple, whatever you desire. Stamp the dowel onto the eye, and let it dry. Next stamp the smaller dowel (the pupil) with black paint in the center of the color and let it dry.
If you want to “wing it”, take your white eyeball and dip the end in your colored paint. I like to have a damp cloth next to me so I can wipe the paint off and try again if necessary. When the colored paint is dry, dip into a tiny bit of black for the pupil, or if you want more control, just paint the pupil on with a tiny brush. It may take some practice, but I really like the results I get with this technique.
You can add stripes or dots to the irises for special effects, I always add a tiny spec of white on the pupil to look like a light reflection. You can also try vertical striped pupils for cat eyes, or sideways stripes for frog eyes. Hint- I use a toothpick to paint on the stripes.
If you want glossy, wet looking eyes be sure to glaze them with your favorite clear glaze or sealer.
I used this technique, including stripes on the iris, on my ADO Broken Heart Challenge Doll:
If you try this technique and use it on a doll, be sure to send me a picture at waxela22@yahoo.com, write ADO tutorial in the subject, and I may include it in a future post!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
The Making of "Sarah Lost Her Lover" art doll
I mentioned in my last post that I joined a new team called "ADO" for Art Dolls Only. This group is so fantastic, I'm really growing as a doll artist because of my participation with them. I just completed my first ADO challenge doll, the theme was "broken hearts". I made a doll called "Sarah Lost Her Lover" and I documented my steps, so I will post them here and you can see how she came together.
Step 1: Armature and head
Step 2: Add some boots, bake, and put fringe on boot tops and paint (watch for tassles later)
Step 3: Add makeup (acrylic paint) and tears in eyes and cheeks (sculpey glaze), and wrap armature in cloth
Step 5: Hair
Final Step: Accessorize
Here is the story:
Sarah has a broken heart, her lover has left her with nothing but a box of memories.
Sarah comes with her box of memories, containing a photograph of her lost love, some dried flowers from their first date, a letter from him, and a tiny white ring box.
Sarah is a one of a kind art doll sculpted by myself, Waxela Sananda. She is a mixed media sculpture and she sits only 4.5" tall. She took me about 22 hours to complete.
You can see more pictures of Sarah, including "The Making of Sarah Lost her Lover" on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/spiritmama/sets/72157612451809277/
"Sarah Lost Her Lover" is for sale in my shop on Etsy.
Step 1: Armature and head
Step 2: Add some boots, bake, and put fringe on boot tops and paint (watch for tassles later)
Step 3: Add makeup (acrylic paint) and tears in eyes and cheeks (sculpey glaze), and wrap armature in cloth
Step 4: Add clothing! I love this part, it took me about 5 or 6 hours to complete the clothing, after the clothing I made the hands and placed them on the armature.
Step 5: Hair
Final Step: Accessorize
Here is the story:
Sarah has a broken heart, her lover has left her with nothing but a box of memories.
Sarah comes with her box of memories, containing a photograph of her lost love, some dried flowers from their first date, a letter from him, and a tiny white ring box.
Sarah is a one of a kind art doll sculpted by myself, Waxela Sananda. She is a mixed media sculpture and she sits only 4.5" tall. She took me about 22 hours to complete.
You can see more pictures of Sarah, including "The Making of Sarah Lost her Lover" on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/spiritmama/sets/72157612451809277/
"Sarah Lost Her Lover" is for sale in my shop on Etsy.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
New Year's Goals
I'm starting the new year with some business goals in mind.
The first is to join a new networking/ promotional site, which I did on Jan 1 (how's that for gettin' right to it?)
I joined ThisNext, a very cool site for promoting anything and everything you think is great. There is a wonderful social aspect to the site, and it is really fun to put my fav's on there. Check it out here: ThisNext
My next goal is to be more active in my art doll making. I have already joined ADO "Art Dolls Only", a group on etsy that includes doll makers, and some fantastically great ones too! I'm working on a "Broken Hearts" challenge doll, and I'm loving the challenge. I've never done a sad doll before! I'll post pics of her later.
My third goal (an I think 3 is enough) is one my hubby thought of, and I love it. It is to "create" the perfect person to market my artwork. I'm not much of a self promoter beyond my online marketing, and I frankly would rather be in the studio than pounding the pavement to find gallery shows and shops to have my art in. So we will create the perfect marketing match, someone who loves and knows the art world, and my style of art. I think I'll do a vision board to call that person in.
The first is to join a new networking/ promotional site, which I did on Jan 1 (how's that for gettin' right to it?)
I joined ThisNext, a very cool site for promoting anything and everything you think is great. There is a wonderful social aspect to the site, and it is really fun to put my fav's on there. Check it out here: ThisNext
My third goal (an I think 3 is enough) is one my hubby thought of, and I love it. It is to "create" the perfect person to market my artwork. I'm not much of a self promoter beyond my online marketing, and I frankly would rather be in the studio than pounding the pavement to find gallery shows and shops to have my art in. So we will create the perfect marketing match, someone who loves and knows the art world, and my style of art. I think I'll do a vision board to call that person in.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
January Feature
The featured designer of the month from my etsy blogger team is Rose Works Jewelry.
Ruthie is the woman behind RoseWorks, and she is a creative one indeed. Ruthie is an active and helpful team member and artist. She has been a beader for years and after some encouragement from friends and family she decided to open an etsy shop to sell her work.
Way to go Ruthie!!!
Visit her shop here: Rose Works Jewelry