If I had a hammer...

This project is proceeding as planned...painting done...now I get out my tool box for hammer, screwdriver and drill.  

 The third head - this is a keeper.  I painted small wooden beads for eyes.  No ears since her hair will cover that up.  Must decide about the hair...

I think the hands turned out well - using wire, copper tubing, tape and clay.

 The chipboard snowflake is cut in half and adhered with wood glue and small brads to the back of the chest as wings.

almost finished....

Linking to:

Inspire Me Fridays

Photo Art Fridays

Photo Friday

Katherine's Corner
This or That Thursday

New Shoes...

Walking 5-8 miles every day, my shoes take a beating.  I need to replace my walking shoes 3 - 4 times a year.

Now I need to consider buying new socks!


Linking to:

Wordless Wednesday

Katherine's Corner
This or That Thursday

Thanks Isaac...

Naples was lucky and except for some wind gusts and heavy rain, Isaac left us alone.  It looked like a lull in the rain this morning, so I took the chance to do my morning walk - big mistake!  Within 5 minutes after leaving the house, the skies opened up.  My husband drove by to offer this damsel in distress a ride home, but I was so wet by that time, I decided to keep slogging along.

I had a hat, rain jacket and sunglasses on - no sun, of course!

I had to peel my wet clothes off in the laundry room - I left my mark on the rug ;-)

I admit this wasn't the smartest thing I've ever done, but it's not the dumbest thing either.  There was the time I.....

Linking to:

Sweet Shot Tuesday

Here's Mud in Your Eye...

A mud mask - I know it looks weird (not painful despite the look on my face).  My skin feels great after a final rinse!

"Ephemeral" texture courtesy of Pixel Art Photo Dust

Linking to:

Inspire Me Fridays

Photo Art Fridays

Photo Friday

Katherine's Corner
This or That Thursday

Color Me...

I took this self-portrait while sitting under the hair dryer at the salon.  My highlights are baking!

Linking to:

Wordless Wednesday

Whatever Happened to Baby Jane...

In case you have ever wondered what happened to Baby Jane Hudson, I can tell you she is alive and well in my studio!

The doll head has gone from scary to ridiculous.  (This is my second attempt mind you.)   I showed it to my husband and we both could not stop laughing.  She's is so ugly...poor thing.

"Dream It" texture courtesy of Kim Klassen.

Linking to:

Sweet Shot Tuesday

Texture Tuesday

try, try again...

I made another doll head.  This one is a bit happier - painting should help a lot too (I hope!)

Bad Hair Day?

Today was devoted to making hair and a crown for the figure head.

Decorative yard sandwiched and stitched between sheets of tissue paper

Second pass of stitching

Crown made from double sided fusible interfacing sandwiched between silk strips; stitched; cut to size; embellished with sequins and beads

Hair combed and glued to head; crown affixed to head.  The hair needs some styling - hmmm....

Hands and arms still need to be constructed - mulling this over.  The chest has been sanded and painted with a coat of white gesso.

No Raving Beauty...

This doll is coming along.  While she is no raving beauty, she will certainly have a lot of character.

Here the eyes are revealed, nose sculpted and mouth placement made.

Eyelids and brows sculpted; addition of teeth (oh my!) and neck built around a dowel.  (My intention is to add the doll head to the top of a wooden chest of drawers.)  Her lips are too full IMO.  Since this is my maiden voyage with this technique, I'm taking notes.  Hopefully I will not make the same mistakes next time!  She's already been baked - so no way to change that now.

You can see here that her ears have been added.  I'm painting in the face with acrylic paints and pigment powders.

I drilled a hole on the top of the chest - this is where the neck will be glued into place.  Her stare is so piercing - kinda scary, huh?!

Next step will be her hair - gotta think about that...

Mani-Pedi

Every two weeks I treat myself to a manicure and pedicure - so nice to be pampered!

My signature color is OPI Red - what's yours?

"Beauty" texture courtesy of Kim Klassen.

I cannot begin to tell you how difficult it was to take this shot!

Linking to:

Inspire Me Fridays

Photo Art Fridays

Photo Friday

Taking Shape...

I love making dolls and trying new products and techniques.  I usually hand sculpt my dolls using cotton stretch fabric.  I read an article recently about a product "ProSculpt" and thought I'd give it a try.

The head was fashioned using simple carving tools, aluminum foil, glass eyes and ProSculpt.  It is starting to take shape.

Getting Serious...

I've got my work apron on - this means I am serious - no more excuses - getting creative in the studio today!

Linking to:

Wordless Wednesday

What's It Wednesday

The Tragic Death of Mighty Mouse

Sad news - my dear little Mighty Mouse died.  I've had the little gal for years and will miss her.  She's been replaced by a new streamlined version - the new Magic Mouse - woohoo!

Linking to:
Sweet Shot Tuesday

Hot August Days...

I'm back home after spending five delightful days with my daughter and granddaughters in Illinois.  I got really lucky with the weather.  It had been in the mid 90s before I arrived - hotter than Naples!  It cooled down to the mid 80s and even the 70s while I was there - perfect!

I haven't seen my daughter, Jennifer, in more than a year.  She is a dear and we always have a great time together.  We took the girls (Emily and Abby) to the forest preserve for a little outing.

Emily on left - Abby on right

Tuesday found us in Geneva.  I took this photo of my reflection in a shop window.  "The Little Traveler" is a cool old house converted into a shop with a rabbit warren of rooms - each devoted to something different - jewelry, clothing, crystal, kitchenware, bath - you get the idea!

Jennifer is a good sport.  She posed with me in the yard.  Oh boy - we took a ton of pictures!  I had a scare too.  I thought it would be a good idea to download the photos to her computer.  Her technology didn't match my memory card.  I could not load the photos to her computer or printer.  When I put the card back in my camera, a message popped up saying the card was corrupted - yikes!  Thankfully, once I got home and put the card in my computer, it downloaded fine and my camera is happy too!

Emily is 14.  She's very creative - just like her mom!  She likes to make jewelry.  Here I'm wearing a ring she made for me out of duct tape - who knew!

You may wonder what happened to August 10.  I was flying home that day and didn't think to take any photos.  I was so happy to get to the airport without any problems.  I am not used to driving on the expressways - and at rush hour - oh my!  It was a stressful drive to say the least.

Richard and I on our usual Saturday night picnic on the beach.  We eat in the gazebo at Lowdermilk Park followed by a beach walk.  We have enjoyed this Saturday night ritual for years.

Sunday morning crossword and Jumble.  The Jumble is not usually a problem for me.  The Sunday crossword - forget about it!

leaving on a jet plane...

Tomorrow I fly to Chicago to catch up with my children and grandchildren.  I can hardly wait!

Packing for a 4 day trip is a challenge.  Can I possibly cram everything I "need" in a carry-on?  The quart size bag for liquids fills up fast.  The camera case, and all the cords for the phone, battery charger, GPS and I-Pad2, plus the camera, GPS, phone and I-Pad2 - this bag will weigh a ton - egad!

Do I want to bring walking shoes, exercise clothes and the like...will I have time or want to exercise while I'm there...so many things to think about.  Time is running short and I haven't decided what clothes to bring.  Will I need more than one pair of shoes?   I did all the ironing the other day - that's a relief...

next stop...O'Hare International Airport.

5 Facts

Kim at Reflection of You wants 5 facts.  Here are mine:

One Size Fits All...

I hate shopping for clothes!  It's so annoying -  a size 10 in one brand fits me perfectly.  Another brand  - same size - I can barely zip it up - I mean really - is that fair!!

Roll It Up...

My quilts need to be shipped to the Florida Museum for Women Artists.  I'm going to Chicago for a few days next week to catch up with my children and grandchildren.   Since I'll be away,  my dear husband will take them to Fedex for me - what a good guy!

I will have five quilts in the exhibit.  Four of the quilts (and hanging slats) can be rolled into the shipping tube.  The fifth will go in a square box since it cannot be rolled up.  These sturdy shipping tubes come from Uline.  I use them over and over and over which is a good thing because they are expensive.

Linking to:

Inspire Me Fridays

Little bird...

Just having some fun with my camera in the backyard.

(You realize the bird is clip-art don't you?)

Linking to:

Katherine's Corner
This or That Thursday

Workday Wednesday

When I'm in my "do" mode, Richard doesn't know where to hide.  When I was still working outside my home, I cleaned house on Saturday.  Then we retired.  Richard volunteers with Habitat on Wednesdays, so I changed gears and now clean on Wednesday.  I think you know what I mean.  When I'm in the "zone," get out of my way!  (Much less stress for both of us!)

Oddly, it seems like it's always Wednesday - time flies so fast.  I dread Wednesdays...

Linking to:

Wordless Wednesday
Another Wordless Wednesday

What's It Wednesday