oh… hello there, bloggy pants!

ahhh..okay…i am really gonna try my best to keep this blog semi-updated! anyway…these are some new pieces i’m working on! they’re spool dolls made from some really old primitive spools that i found! i cleaned the up and made the heads from paperclay!! funfun! this is just the first 8, but i have a box of about 100…although the majority of spools are a bit smaller than these. i thought these would be a really fun way to display your favorite yarn or ribbon…or even just a way to store those misc. excess pieces! i won’t be listing in my etsy shop for a while…since i have to stock up on stuff for the sheep & wool festival in october. while it may seem right around the corner…i have limited time to create…and not to mention needle felting takes feeerrrever! ah well! let’s keep our fingers crossed i can pull it all together!:)

Tweet This Post Stumble This Post

Technorati Tags: art, doll, folk, outsider, paperclay, sculpture, spool dolls

July 26th, 2010 | Tags: art, doll, folk, outsider, paperclay, sculpture, spool dolls | Category: Outsiders | Leave a comment

let it be known, that i am not really a chocolate junkie….i’m more of a salty gal…chips….popcorn (i believe the little one is comprised of 50 percent popcorn & 50 percent potato!)…that sorta thing. anywho….hubby stumbled upon these chocolates (he’s got the sweet tooth fer sure!)…& i am HOOKED! HOOKED i say!!! Vosges makes all sorts of oddball chocolate bars….like bacon and chocolate (hubby’s fav!) but i am smitten with their Barcelona bar….which is a thin deep chocolate bar with hickory smoked almonds…and lots o salty goodness!!! while these bars are certainly on the pricey side (the cheapest i found was on amazon for 4 for $24!) i feel they are worth it!! especially if it takes you 3 weeks to eat a chocolate bar like it does me! no joke, the last one i had sat around here for about that long…every other nite or so i just broke off a chunk and let it melt in my mouth (of course i had to fend off hubby who proceeded to ask me every other night, “do you know you have a chocolate bar,here?”…he does that whenever there is some sort of foodstuff that i am not getting around to eating quick enough and he’s eyeballing it!….he especially loves to do this with those little pints of ice cream!)anyway, that seemed to help any weird little craving i got! (now mind you, don’t leave a bag of chips laying around this house…i’ll have them consumed in 2 seconds!!) so, if you’re in the mood for some chocolatey goodness that’s a bit different…give this chocolate a test drive! you won’t be disappointed!

on another note: here’s a pic of the weird little mini painting/collage i did the other night:

it’s comprised of some carbothello’s, acrylic paint,doodle (with a fountain pen & noodler’s ink no less!) on watercolor paper, colored in with those sai brush pens i wrote about last entry! i have a few more in the works also….just need to varnish it (like all my other art work i havent gotten around to!) and it’s set! also…now that you’ve gotten to the end of this post…i apologize for my super crummy pics…all i have time for is pics with the iphone…..as it is now, the little one just woke up from her 15 minute nap….yes folks! that’s correct! a big whooping 15 minute nap! pity me now!

Tweet This Post Stumble This Post

Technorati Tags: candy bar, chocolate bar, collage, outsider art, painting, vosges

April 1st, 2010 | Tags: candy bar, chocolate bar, collage, outsider art, painting, vosges | Category: Outsiders | Leave a comment

okay, i am still alive….really! i’ve just been really super busy with the little one, but am going to give the blog a good old honest effort to maintain! we’re just trying to get down some sort of nap schedule down (which has been loads of fun!) so that she can get some much needed rest…& i can actually get a few minutes to breathe! she’s been on this 30 minute nap kick (if i’m lucky!)….that she can’t break…even tho’ she’s obviously tired upon waking! for the past 2 days we had an afternoon nap of over an hour…so hopefully things will change! anywhoot…with limited time on my hands…& the much needed time to crafty…i found a new passion that has been kindling for quite some time! fountain pens and paper! oh yeah! i’ve acquired quite the mass o’ fountain pens over the past few months…along with journals of all sorts! in the pic below are my current fav’s:

a namiki falcon fine nib, a sailor sapporo fine nib (seems like an extra fine tho’!), sai watercolor brush pens…and my all time favorite…”where have you been all my life??”…the exacompta sketchbook!! i absolutely love these sketchbooks! they’re awesome for almost any type of media….although i probably wouldn’t do more than a light wash! so at least i’ve been doodling and writing just about everyday…which is necessary for my pineapple gland to function properly! something quasi-creative must be done daily or else i’ll loose my noodle! i’m also starting a few mini paintings/collages to help ease the cat-craziness! anywhoot…i strongly advise procuring all these items stat!!! here’s where i found ‘em!:

namiki falcon: (a got a great deal on it!) pam at oscar braun

sailor sapporo: ebay from seller engeika

sai watercolor brush pens: jetpens

exacompta sketchbook: writers bloc

now go…run!!!

Tweet This Post Stumble This Post

Technorati Tags: doodles, exacompta, fountain pens, namiki falcon, sailor sapporo

March 31st, 2010 | Tags: doodles, exacompta, fountain pens, namiki falcon, sailor sapporo | Category: Outsiders | Leave a comment

yeah….finally finished richard! despite a never ending cold…& copious amounts of sleep depravation…i managed to complete this weird lil’ grey bun-bun! he’s of my current affections….clay over cloth….sportin’ a hand-knitted scarf (surprisingly those tiny needles actually gave me a callous!!)…& grandpa’s plaid pants! i say “finished”, but in reality i have to varnish all of them…& complete their paper tags…but in my head…they’re as good as done! here’s a pic of richard (don’t call him dick!) & a pic of one side of the studio wall in which these guys (&gals) are taking over!!:

anywho!….i hope everyone out there in cyberspace had a wonderful thanksgiving! ours was great! super low keyed, but awesome! i didn’t cook the standard fare…since i’m a seafood eatin’ vegetarian and all…& it was just hubby & i. i wound up making homemade crabcakes, homemade mac & cheese,asaparagus, a huge salad, & an apple pie…it was all i could muster in my sinus headache haze and lack of sleep! not to mention, i just needed some sort of comfort food…hence the mac & cheese!! hubby & i know everyday that we have numerous,numerous things to be thankful for…and there is honestly not a day goes by that we don’t acknowledge it in some way!!

Tweet This Post Stumble This Post

Technorati Tags: art, bunny, clay, cloth, doll, folk, outsider, paperclay, plush, rabbit

November 28th, 2009 | Tags: art, bunny, clay, cloth, doll, folk, outsider, paperclay, plush, rabbit | Category: Outsiders | Leave a comment

alrighty! i finally (almost) finished (just need to varnish!) this kitty doll. her name is lenore…& she’s sportin’ a ruffle-y shirt,capris,& mary jane’s with polka dot socks! lenore is my fourth clay over cloth doll…& i’m onto the fifth…along with the smaller pattern!

here’s good ole lenore:

Tweet This Post Stumble This Post

Technorati Tags: art, cat, clay, doll, folk, kitty, outsider, paperclay, plush

November 22nd, 2009 | Tags: art, cat, clay, doll, folk, kitty, outsider, paperclay, plush | Category: Outsiders | Leave a comment

i managed to sneak in some time to make the legs & arms for my new kitty doll this morning. i am overly ecstatic that little butter beans is FINALLY taking a nap! although i should be doing something like laundry,cooking,cleaning…or for pete’s sake getting some much needed sleep….i’ve been skipping all that & just focusing on crafty stuff whenever i have a butter’s free moment! it’s my sanity ya know?…& yesterday was a nap-free day! i’m wondering if it’s a growth spurt….she was not napping good…then for 2 weeks she was great…now back to the nap struggle! luckily, the little sweetpea that she is …doesn’t get too cranky…even when she’s been up waywayway longer than she should be! anywhoot…..here is the pic of kitty in progress:

i think (*hopefully*) sometime this afternoon or evening i may sketch up a small pattern & work on some tiny dolls…not sure if i should keep the body 2d…or get crazy 3d with it! we’ll see………

Tweet This Post Stumble This Post

Technorati Tags: art, cat, doll, folk, kitty, outsider, paperclay, plush, sculpture

November 19th, 2009 | Tags: art, cat, doll, folk, kitty, outsider, paperclay, plush, sculpture | Category: Outsiders | Leave a comment

okay….my second doll is named “abe”! abe sports a “smiths” t-shirt and red & white tube socks! he’s made from cloth & paperclay & painted with acrylics & a fabric marker. i have attached some yarn to the back so he can hang on the wall (i think he looks best hanging!). here’s some pics of abe:

now, my third doll is a boston terrier that i hope to auction off to raise money for the northeastern boston terrier rescue (in honor of my little lenny) …he’s made in much the same way as abe…& also has the yarn in the back to hang him!

if you’re interested in bidding on the boston…i’ll update this blog with all the pertinent info (i.e….when,where,how)….just know…you’d get a funky piece o’ art & contributing to a great cause all at the same time!!!

Tweet This Post Stumble This Post

Technorati Tags: art, boston terrier, doll, folk, outsider, paperclay, plush, sculpture

November 18th, 2009 | Tags: art, boston terrier, doll, folk, outsider, paperclay, plush, sculpture | Category: Outsiders | Leave a comment

it was a very sad weekend for us. we had to say goodbye to our beloved boston terrier, lenny. it was by far the worst decision we ever had to make….regardless of knowing it was for the best. his health deteriorated very badly…he was unable to walk at all and was suffering and crying out due to the pain. it was heart wrenching…& i’m still feeling his loss tremendously. he was a funny,stinky,snortin’,snoring dog that gave us many,many laughs over his 12.5 years of life.

*we love you hambone & always will!*

Tweet This Post Stumble This Post

Technorati Tags: boston terrier, loss of dog, rainbow bridge

November 16th, 2009 | Tags: boston terrier, loss of dog, rainbow bridge | Category: Outsiders | Leave a comment

Once again i had a stellar (albeit short!) weekend! Hubby watched the little butter beans for the majority of saturday nite & sunday…so i was able to complete my doll & even start a new test one! the new test doll is very small & will only have painted on limbs…very simplistic. i’m looking for some smaller projects that i can complete quicker & have that sense of completion i relish! here are pics of the completed larger doll…..

i didn’t wind up “antique” staining him…i wasn’t sure about it…i’ll try it on the smaller one i’m doing though! i also haven’t varnished him yet, but other than that he is all set to go. i also attached some yarn to the back to hang him from the wall! i’m also considering doing some all clay animals a a super small scale…we’ll see…not sure if i have the patience for “super small”! anywho….we also took miss butters on her first real outing to millbrook,ny. we went for a nice long walk in the stroller….she seemed to really enjoy it…& it was so beautiful out i didn’t want to come home!! i could have walked for miles! & on a really gross note….we found out that we ate mayonnaise from 2002!! yep…that’s right i said 2002!!! when we first moved in to the house we bought this mayo from a local grocery store/farmers market kinda place…& my mom made crabcakes with it…at that time we didn’t even notice (& i was 8 months pregnant at the time!!) but yesterday hubby went to make a sammich…& lo & behold something tasted funny! sure enuff, when he checked the date on the mayo jar he nearly vomited! 10 year old mayo! yippee!! so my friends…the moral to the story is …always always always be on the look out for 10 year old mayo!!

Tweet This Post Stumble This Post

Technorati Tags: art, clay, cloth, doll, folk, outsider, paperclay, plush, sculpture

November 9th, 2009 | Tags: art, clay, cloth, doll, folk, outsider, paperclay, plush, sculpture | Category: Outsiders | Leave a comment