Minnie the Queen of the Carnival & The Furry Children

This is my newest doll, "Minnie". I think she turned out so sweet. She is holding some vintage balloon birthday cake toppers. Did I mention that I love balloons? I can't remember if I have but there is something so innocent and comforting about them for me....they take me right back to childhood.

I attached these little copper bells underneath her frame skirt and they reminded me of the old flying saucer rides at the carnival. When you blow on them or a slight breeze comes up they swirl in circles. Her skirt reminds me of the tents the carnival rides would hide beneath waiting for the excited little child to discover. And, a chance to paint a girl with pink hair and violet eyes? Yes please!

We just lost one of our kitties; sweet George. I will tell you about him at the end of this post. And, I realized, I didn't have many recent pictures of him. So I thought I would post pics of all of our furry children today because, as we've been grieving his loss the last few weeks...you never know when you may lose one. And, there is no more unconditional love then from these little guys.

Above is Bagheera but we call her Boo. She is the sweetest girl and will be 14 this year. Below, is our little Chloe. Both of these ladies were strays from the street and it took Chloe a long time to warm up to us. But, she is a love now...she will be 11 this year. We found out that she is a diabetic about 2 & 1/2 years ago. I have been giving her 2 shots of insulin a day ever since. You can't believe how well she tolerates those shots.

That little one hiding down there? Well, she's not so little...hehe. That's Sake. Another girl from the street and she will be 10. She is shy but when you get her on your lap you'll get a belly up of fatty goodness. :)

Below is Henry, also a stray that we picked up from the shelter a couple of years ago. He is 4 and he is the sweetest most grateful little dog we have ever known.

This is his "sister" Sunday. She's 3 and cute as a button as you can see. Sunday believes she is a princess and we all act accordingly. Even her farts don't stink. I swear. :oP

Below, is Nemo, also from the shelter. He will be 8 this year. He is a true little boy full of energy and curiosity but can also be a big love.

Look at this sweet girl in the window! This is Kitty and she will be 5. Kitty is truly, one of the sweetest cats I have ever had the privilege of having. She lets the kids lay on her and plays with Sunday & Henry. She is sweet like no other and pretty darn cute to boot.

And, sweet, sweet George below. :( We moved into our house in 2002 and had three of our other cats already. We don't let our cats outside because where we live there is a lot of traffic and coyotes. But we noticed this sweet orange and white cat staring in the windows at us. He would even sit on the outside wall and stare into our bedroom window at night. We asked the neighbors about him an they said the old owners just left him. Whaa! Well he defintely loved to be outside so we built him a house and bed by the back door and decided that he would be ours if he would have us. We joke that George really adopted us. So, we're not really sure how old he was when he came into our lives possibly 2-4? Then we had him with us for the past 10 years. We miss him terribly.

He was that sweet face sitting by the front door whenever we came home. Sometimes, he would be sitting on the corner of our cul-de-sac and when he saw our car would start running towards the house. I love you Georgie. And, I know you're in a better place laying in the sun and chasing birds. Until we meet again...

xxx

Primrose... Art Doll

I finally have a new little lady to share with you all. She is 11 X 7" approximately and is filled with the colors of love and spring. I found some very old vintage lace trim that I had to use for this dress. She also holds some vintage millinery and also has a few flowers and a touch of lace in her hair.

All in all I'd say she turned out to be pretty delicate thus the name Primrose. :)

She also holds a wee little locket that can be opened to include a picture of your loved one.

She is in my etsy shop for any of you who might want to treat yourself to a Valentine treat. :)

Well, most of you know that we love Disneyland and go there at least once a month. I know, it is slightly gluttonous. But, it always provides a family bonding day that all three generations seem to enjoy. But because we live about 45 minutes away we never stay there. So a few weeks ago we decided to surprise my sweet Daddy and stay at The Grand Californian which is right next to the park.

The boys never had so much fun jumping on the beds, we almost didn't need to leave the room. And, this is the view from the top floor where you can watch their light/water show. We didn't want to go home. :)

I hope, as always, February has brought in some love and creativity for you all! See you soon,

xxx

New Prims Feature and my WORD/HOPES for 2012!!

I hope you all are having an inspired and blessed start to the New Year! I am so grateful to be able to share my dolls in the Winter 2012 Prims magazine. There are three more lovely pages to this article and sooooo many other awesome artists and inspirations in this magazine.

I love the feel and aesthetic to this Stampington publication. Possibly it's the vintage inspired pieces? I just love the worn out looking treasures that tell a thousand stories and these pieces all seem to have that same history even through they are new....magical really. :)

And, this is my newest painting, "The Last Dance". It sold already but there are prints in my shop if anyone is interested. :)

I have seen a lot of other artists picking a word to be inspired by and thoughtful of throughout the year. This idea has truly inspired me and made me very contemplative.

What do I want to accomplish during 2012?

What do I have to be thankful for?

(SO MUCH!!!)

Where do I want to place my priorities throughout this year?

Well, first I would LOVE to LIVE MY PASSION.

In other words: to paint, create, construct, teach, every day and then maybe, just maybe, I could quit my real job.

I do love my "real" job. It is extremely fulfilling and something I don't talk about in social media because it deals with people's private lives. But, suffice it to say, it has blessed me tremendously over the years. Yet, it is still not my passion. And so, to LIVE MY PASSION would be something empowering indeed.

Secondly, what am I thankful for?

The easy answer would be EVERYTHING, and that is true.

My children, my health, my family and friends.

But, what I am really thankful for is God's blessing in my life.

I'm thankful for my babies, for my belief in true love, and my faith that ANYONE can achieve ANYTHING if they keep TRYING.

WITH God's blessing.

Thirdly, my priorities have always been my family, my friends and my art. In that order. But, I do recognize that God needs to be in there.

I have had some struggle with certain religions as they seem to be so exclusionary to other faiths' and to other people's beliefs. So, I have set my faith on a shelf and it has become a little dusty.

This is not at all what I wanted.

I want to respect all religions, faiths, belief systems and still know that I LOVE GOD and that GOD LOVES ME.

Is this possible without calling myself a certain religion? I believe it is. But, I must put HIM first.

You all know, I never talk about these things here but I am hoping that by putting them in writing I will lay the foundation for what I will hold myself accountable for throughout the year.

:) So, thanks for listening!

In summation:

LIVE MY PASSION

GIVE THANKS
NEVER STOP WORKING TOWARDS MY GOALS

PUT GOD FIRST

So, My Word? Oh you knew I couldn't pick one!

Thankfulness & Faith

xxx

Happy New Year! :)

Happy New Year everyone! I hope that 2012 has found you safe, renewed and hopeful for the promise of good things to come. I just wanted to share a couple of things with you. The first is Polly. She is my third doll in my "Little Artist" series. Her little painting is of a man holding many colorful balloons strolling through the park. I am loving painting these wee, tiny paintings! This one is only about 1" X 1.5". But after i painted it, I found this material for her skirt and knew that the two were destined to be together. :)

I'm loving these lighter colors right now. They are so inviting for me.

And, just for some FUN! I thought I would share these pictures from when we visited Madame Tussauds in Hollywood. It is a wax museum that let's you "interact" with the celebrities. Hollywood is about 30 minutes from our house but we never go there. It is a very, VERY eclectic and colorful place but filled with LOTS of people at ALL times. But, we thought, with the day off it would be fun for the kids and, let me tell you, the big people had a LOT of fun too. :)

That's Conan. Simon Cowell was sitting on the couch a little further to his right but no one was taking pictures with him. Hmmmmm? ; -P

Of course, we love Will Smith!

And, I love Hitchcock! Note the scary figure creeping up behind me with the knife. Heehee. They even let you get inside the bath tub!

Life is like a box of chocolates, isn't it? You do never know what you're gonna get. I just hope I don't get anything with nuts. Seriously.

And, finally good old Rocky. You can't believe how real some of these wax figures look up close. It was, well, in a word, creepy. But, pretty fun too.

I hope you are all enjoying the New Year!

See you again soon. :)

Julie

"Little Artists" (New Limited Series of Dolls)

I made this little doll for my niece who loves horses and to draw. I wanted to have her hold a wee tiny painting of a horse. It was actually quite fun to paint something on such a small scale and to make a little canvas/ frame that she could take with her on her adventures.

My dolls, of course, aren't really for children but she is of the age where she will be able to enjoy it on a shelf. But, it did inspire me to do a short series of dolls called "Little Artists"

So, with that, I made the little artist below. She is much taller than the first doll as her cage skirt is much larger. I have to say I do LOVE how she turned out. There is something about a cream, white and black palette....simplicity....that I am always drawn to.

She holds her botanical painting as she sets off to travel to her first art show. I picture her during the turn of the century (the last one) :) and her dress is embellished with lots of yummy vintage lace.

During a time when there were not as many prominent women in the arts she has some butterflies in her stomach. But, nothing will stop her from pursuing her dreams. xx

She is on the precipice to the beginning of a journey where she will pursue her passions, with a fervor....particularly for painting. A path that, once chosen, will lead her to places and discoveries she had never imagined.

I wish you all the Happiest and most Prosperous of New Years! Please be safe so that I can see you again in 2012! :)

Julie

Christmas Blessings

Wow....is Christmas already over?! All I know is I feel stuffed! Stuffed with the delicious food and abounding love that makes me grateful and humble all at once. :)

I hope you all enjoyed your day and were able to spend it with your loved ones or doing whatever makes you happy and content. I do truly love being together with family for the Holidays and enjoying the seasons with the little ones.

This is Eudora...my newest, little lady.

She has a very soft face and sweet countenance. Her body is an old salt/ pepper shaker and her little porcelain arms are movable.

Eudora holds a paper garland with little copper bells to hang in her tea garden for the many, many parties she hosts for her dear friends and family. She loves a celebration and so her little tiara seems quite fitting.

I enjoyed making this dress...it's hard to tell in this picture but there are many, many layers of material that shape the hem. She is in my shop now. :)

Here is a little Christmas snapshot of my mantle. I just love this red, tin Hoosier from some little child's play kitchen of long ago. The doll heads seem to finally have a place to belong and, now, it appears there is room for a couple more! ;-)

Well, I guess it's time to rest and be thankful for God's blessings. I hope the New Year brings you all peace and prosperity...or, at least, some renewed creativity. It seems as though each New Year brings a new creative path and I enjoy seeing the path you all are on as you always inspire me. Thank you for visiting!

Angel of Light

As you can probably guess this was our old porch light. Original to the house circa 1956. I'm not sure why my husband wanted to change it but after he replaced it he said, "You know I think this could be really cool if you made it into one of your dolls". Progress. :)

I have to agree with him. I love how she turned out. Her face is paper mache with light acrylics to allow the paper to still show through. I love that you can put anything you want in the glass base. Glass ornaments, seashells, candy corn, buttons, spools....whatever your heart desires! And, with my sale going on through December 24th she would be marked down from $64.00 to $44.80!

She measures approximately 11 x 5". She reads, "Make of yourself a light".

We went looking at lights on Friday night. Little Vann was able to sit on Daddy's lap to look at the lights. I love seeing things through their eyes. He was delighted at all of the magic.

Hope you all are enjoying the season! :)
Julie

30% OFF everything in my Etsy Store through Dec. 24th!!

WoooHooo!!! 30% Off everything means everything! Including Originals! All Prints are only $12.60 each with this discount as well! :) So please stop by because I am bound and determined to clean up my messy studio to get ready for some fresh projects for the New Year!

Below is my newest print available in my shop titled, "Into the Woods".

I don't believe I've shared any of the paintings I did in the last few months so I thought I would go ahead and share them now. :) This one is, "The Doll Collector".

"The Exhibitionist"

"The Promise Keeper"

"The Star Gatherer"

Thank you for visiting! Have a great week. :)

Julie