Alan Grayson's new bill

I love this man!  I don't usually post political content here, but this is so utterly right on sensible that I think everyone needs to read it. Whether you sign is of course your own decision, but his way of presenting things is thought-provoking at the least. It's certainly a unique approach, but of the sort that makes you wonder why no one else thought of it!

A Little New Work

I've actually made a couple of things not for sale lately--one was this strange bird for a "birds of a feather" swap.

And the other is this bracelet, a comission for a gift for a friend's friend.
It was pretty interesting--the style was set & the colors were more or less chosen. 
I had fun figuring out the long cloth beads and making the somewhat disparate elements come together, which I think did happen in the end. 

I'm still struggling with another piece that isn't quite working, but think I'll take a break and play dolls for awhile!

Hair soaks up oil spills

New work on The Creative Block and time for summer selling orders

I've finally made a few pieces from the gorgeous carved stone and glass flowers and the goofy little Pet Milk cans I've had sitting around waiting to be used.  They should show up on the slideshow to the left or, of course, can be seen on The Creative Block, where you can go by clicking any link in the slideshow.

In addition, I'm getting Findings, my supply store, ready for summer. This means especially that I'll be ordering quantities of these black rubber neckcords, which are our best seller, and of the ribbon and cord neckbands, which run a close second.  If you are someone who will need 100 or more of these (or anything else in my shop!) for summer craft fairs, tourist sales, theme conferences, etc., now is the time to order so I'll be sure to have enough.  My order should go in pretty immediately after our citywide Artists' Garage Sale on May 22 and should arrive the first or 2nd week in June. If you need something before that I may have it, but check before the 22nd--lots of things usually sell out at the garage sale.

And now it's back to my workroom--I'm on a creative roll and will be posting more soon

I did it did it did it!

My first etsy Treasury and the first for our new TeamBJD. I am SOOO hyped!!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4bd3e68e511a6d91867f32b2/new-teambjd-new-treasury

Please go and click all the links to the pics, make some your favorites, leave a comment--this helps our google ratings and is important in establishing an online presence for the team.  Many thanks!!

Calais (my CED/BJD doll) gets new clothes

As some or all of you may know, ai've started designing jewelry for BJDs (and other dolls) and listed some of it in my etsy shop.  Calais (formerly Colin) my BJD, and my Ellowyne Wilde doll have been modeling.

Not so incidentally, I'm also in the process of organizing a group of etsy sellers who make, sew for, and/or make jewelry and accessories for BJDs into an official etsy street team.  It's an interesting bunch, and one of the things I've learned is that my dolls, although they're ball jointed, are not, strictly speaking (which most people don't) BJDs, primarily  becuase they have mechanical rather than strung joints, which doesn't bother me a bit.

Anyway, lots of people are making clothes for Ello, and she now has several outfits purchased at prices I figured were less than what the time it would take me to make them was worth.. But poor Cal hasw  been wearing a skirt of Ello's with an elastic waist that barely clears her hips, a partially-finished top made from an old sweater sleeve, and one lovely long sheath made by Marissa, in Poland. I couldn't find pants I liked for her at a price I considered reasonable.  I'd bought a Perfect Pattern for pedal pushers, a halter top, and a short jacket for her on the strength of a recommendation that it was/is the only pants pattern that fits her correctly, but I didn't really like the style and also was trying to concentrate on jewelry.

But Cal kept sitting there half-dressed and looking at me accusingly, so I finally opened the pattern, realized the pants were an easy to tweak 2-piece (well, one front, one back, cut two of each) pattern, and decoded to bite the bullet and make her some pants.  Of course, being who I am, I chose a remnant of gold fabric that I'd forgotten was a remnant because it's awful to work with--sticks to your scissors, the sewing machine soleplate, needles--and crawls into the feed dogs and gets caught there.  Of course I wasn't going to let a little problem like that stop me once I decided to make the pants, and, having made them in this stuff am confident that I can now do it in anything else, but it took most of 2 days and 2 nearly sleepless nights to get them and a matching top, which I simply draped, glued, and handsewed on Cal  to avoid having to pull it out of the feed dogs (don't you hate that?)  and also to make the best use of what was by then a VERY small piece of fabric.

It took almost as long to sew on the tiny snaps as to make the outfit--they're hard to see, needles barely fit through the holes, and the fabric grabs the needle--but it was done in time to go to my Tuesday crafts group, where I crocheted a harmonizing scarf or narrow shawl.

The interior finishing of this outfit is not up to my usual standards, it is not and never will be for sale, and I will not make another like it, but I like it a lot (and so does Cal) and , having ove3rcome my own reservations, will now be sewing more for her and possibly for sale. 

So here are some pics--more than necessary, but it's such fun to pose her! 

National Thrift Store Directory!!!

Check this out!!