Wisteria Lane

We have a beautiful wisteria plant growing in our front yard (thanks to my husband the constant gardener). It has been in full bloom for about a week, and yesterday the winds came up and I had to go get some pictures before all of the petals blew off of it!

Baby G loves flowers!

So does Daddy!

Lokelani Speaks Up

Lokelani (lo-kay-lan-ee) is a Hawaiian mermaid activist. She started a group called MPETH (like "empath") which stands for

"Mer People for the Ethical Treatment of Humans".

Lokelani speaks out about speciesism, focusing on the poor treatment of humans, who are believed to be of low intelligence, and are known to be very gullible.

MPETH is particularly concerned with the sirens, a group of merbeauties who lure human sailors out to sea, often causing them to be lost or drown. The sirens' have been known to sink a ship, then loot the treasure for sport.

Lokelani holds a pearl of knowledge and hope. She implores all merpeople to end speciesism, and to work with her to build a bridge of trust between the mer people and humans.



Lokelani is a one of a kind handmade art doll. She is 9" tall including her base. The shells in her hair were picked up on the beaches of Kauai, and she wears a piece of sunrise shell (a rare and beautiful shell the color of the sunrise) in back. Lokelani is mostly polymer clay. I used a starfish from a vintage box of treasures I inherited, and I did not buy it, you know they kill them just to sell to tourists at the beach, so please don't buy them new!

A Sea Monster and Journal about to set sail!

I t's nearly time for the ADO traveling dolls to be shipped to their second location.

I just couldn't send little sea monster off without a nice travel log, so I added a cover and some pages today. Now let the journey begin! Tomorrow the swampy little bugger will make it's way East to New Orleans, watch out Loopy Boopy, it's coming your way!

My New Ornament

I went to the mail box today, and when I got there, guess who was waiting for me???

Just the cutest little ornament I ever have seen. She came all the way from Pennsylvania, from The Studio at Crow Haven Farm, and I LOVE her so much!!!

She was handmade by Michelle Schafer, a wonderful artist and ADO team member, and I was the lucky winner of this whimsical lady ornie in Michelle's recent blog giveaway. Woohoooo!

Thank you so much Michelle, I love your work and she is such a joy to have around, she'll go in my studio for inspiration, and a reminder of the generosity and creativity of my bloggy sister at Crow Haven Farm!

Mama FreeBird Soars into Hearts

Here she is, the lovely Mama FreeBird:

Mama FreeBird is a delight to be around. She is a big lady who has overcome the stigma attached to her largeness, and now her heart is as free as a bird.

Mama loves the beach, dangling her toes in the water, and walking barefoot in the sand.

She is very motherly and nurturing. You'll never find a better listener than Mama FreeBird. She'll listen to your problems and stories all day long!

Mama FreeBird is an art doll and not a child's toy. She is 11" tall while seated.
She is sitting so that her feet can dangle over a shelf or countertop.
Mama's head, hands, feet, and ample bum are made of polymer clay.
The rest of her body is made with wire, batting, and repurposed clothing.

Mama FreeBird was inspired by Nicole Johnson of Mealy Monster Land. She made a large circus lady for our traveling doll project, and I just couldn't get that big round doll out of my mind! Thanks for the inspiration, Nicole!

Mama FreeBird joins the Carnival Soiree!

Mama FreeBird is a WIP (work in progress). She doesn't have arms yet, or hair, or makeup, but she INSISTED on coming to Alice, the Socialite's Carnival Soiree anyway because she loves this kind of thing!

Here she is on my work table yesterday afternoon. We were discussing the carnival, and she said "You know, I'm not concerned with hair and makeup, oh it's true, I do have a lot of fun getting all made up, but all I need is a dress to cover this slip and I'm ready to go!"

So we threw together a pretty flower dress (which Mama LOVES), I sewed on her legs so she could dangle her feet in the water, or maybe enjoy a nice swing some day.

And now she is having the time of her life at the carnival!

Check back in a few days to see Mama's progress. She has a really great story of transformation to share, but that's for another day. Now why don't you join us at the carnival? We'll see you there!

Meet ADO!

In Honor of the "Carnival Soiree" blog event by Lisa Kettle I have chosen to feature three of my ADO (Art Dolls Only) teammates who's dolls look ready for a carnival!

Our blog can be found at: http://artdollsonly.blogspot.com/

"

Carousel Faery" by DLynne Artdolls

"Funky Fun" by Amelie Fimocadabra

"Natalia and Genevieve" by Sheri DeBow

I Got A Blog Award!

Thank you to Michelle from The Studio at CrowHaven Farm for this Fabulous Blog award! Michelle is one of my team mates at ADO (art dolls only) and she makes fabulous art dolls which have been published in Art Doll Quarterly!

I am to list 5 of my addictions and then pass this award on!
My 5 addictions (this is so easy, by the way):

1. red wine

2. chocolate

3. the internet

4. art dolls

5. beads

Now this blog award will go to the following blogger:

Raphaella at http://heartfulart.blogspot.com/

A Sea Monster Is Born

Ooooh, I'm so excited about the Traveling Doll Project with ADO. I'm doing a sea monster. I will be sending it off to New Orleans soon to let Colleen work on it. After that, it will travel to Schertz, Texas; Rainer, Oregon; Bellingham, Washington; El Dorado Hills, California; and then back home to Austin Texas.



Here is my start:

Click on the Traveling Doll Project badge on the right to see more of this doll, the accompanying journal, and my teammate's dolls and journals.

Wedding Cake Topper

I took some pictures with a black background on top, and the veil looks better on black so I had to share. I'm taking them to FedEx this morning!

sock monkey wedding cake topper -done!

This happy couple is about to get hitched in Beaverton, Oregon. Aren't they sweet? He's just too cool in his black glasses!

Sock Monkey Wedding Topper Teaser

This is just a tease, it's almost done and they are really sweet!