Tuesday, March 31, 2009

The Hall of Heads

"Here in the Hall of Heads. This is my favorite one." - They Might Be Giants
I sing that song every time I have a head making day...loudly and with gusto...and sometimes in funny voices...just ask my family.
So I thought I would share some pictures from my work table today, obviously I'm making heads...
...that will eventually become storybook dolls thanks to the many wonderful suggestions I received from you, my lovely blog readers. I'm planning a little Red, an Alice with the White Rabbit, a faun, Snow White and Rose Red, Heidi, Pippi , and some kitten girls among others. Okay the last one is not strictly a story but more of something that popped into my head...but if I make 3??? Maybe with mittens??? Hmmm....

And this lovely lady is another Crow Girl. She is waiting for a hat and tells me DAILY that this bow looks stupid stuck on her head. It will eventually go on a hat I tell her, but she doesn't seem to believe me. Note the look of stark disbelief on her face.

And that's what's happening here in the Nest, what's going on in your neck of the woods?

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

More Spring....

I was in the mountains last weekend visiting friends and on Saturday we went wildflower hunting in the woods. A first glance wildflowers seemed to be in short supply, but looking very closely we found lots of these dainty little blossoms.


We looked them up when we got back and they are Rue Anemones. Aren't they lovely? I loved these over the water.

These little moss soldiers were another favorite...

I came home and planted more seeds in the garden in anticipation of the rains this weekend...Yay Spring!

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Welcome Spring!!



Happy Eostara or Spring Equinox!
I can feel it in the air these days, Spring is creeping her way out in fits and starts. A flash of pastel blossom skirt, a bit of perfume that lingers on the breeze, an ephemeral touch of warmth on your cheek, she's making her way here like a flirty young girl into a crowded dance room. I'm so impatient to see her dance!

In case you were unaware, the the holiday name ‘Easter’ was taken from the name of a Teutonic lunar Goddess, Eostre ..from whom we also get the name of the female hormone, estrogen...what fun! Her chief symbols were the bunny (both for fertility and because her worshipers saw a hare in the full moon) and the egg (symbolic of the cosmic egg of creation). So in the spirit of Eostara and that shy girl, Spring, I give you some more bunny pictures and a little spring pixie...Enjoy!

This brown one's name is Jack. He's divinely soft, made from a felted camel's wool sweater...nummy!


And this is Isabella with her little dolly. They love to have tea parties.

And Milly reading a favorite book about Easter bunnies, a job she aspires to when she grows up. Can you tell I'm having too much fun playing with dolls these days?

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

The Warren

I belong to an art doll group called EGADS and recently one of the members( thanks Marjorie!) posted a link to a cool word program. Now you all know a word geek like myself couldn't resist giving this a try so I entered the URL for my shop...and I have to admit that I was a bit surprised by the results.


So what is one of the largest words there? BUNNIES!!! You see what I meant in my previous post about too many? A warren of rabbits is developing in there. They really have been fun to make but it is definitely time to move on. It's The Fairies' Nest not the Bunny's Nest for heavens sake. In my own defense they are so soft and snuggly, ( and the perfect size to fit in a basket...hint hint) and in truth, artists have been associating rabbits and smaller fae for a long time so perhaps I'm not too far off the mark.

Rabbit Among the Fairies, a painting by John Anster Fitzgerald.

So it is a little sheepishly that I bring you my two newest bunnies. Here shown hanging out with Milly are Jack and Isabella.



Again, through April 12th all bunnies in the shop will receive FREE SHIPPING....and just for my readers, if you put the words "march hares" in your message to buyer section, I'll give you another 5% off. And now I'm off to make something new!

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Thursday, March 5, 2009

For the Love of Bunnies!


I was looking around the shop and noticed that there seemed to be a lot of bunnies in there these days ...well you know what they say about breeding like rabbits...and I'm actually making a few more! So I've decided to have a sale. From today through April 12th all bunnies in the shop will receive FREE SHIPPING....and just for my readers, if you put the words "march hares" in your message to buyer section, I'll give you another 5% off (I'll refund you the amount through paypal). But if you want them for Easter please purchase before April 5th so I can get them to you in time...sooner for my friends outside the U.S.
Happy rabbits to all of you!

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

An Unexpected Holiday



Here in the South a snowfall is such a rarity that when it does occur something marvelous happens. Not only do schools and businesses close, but there is an incredible air of holiday everywhere you go. Kids and adults are all outside throwing snowballs, packing white mounds into forts and snowmen, lying on their backs windmilling arms and legs into snow angels, gulping steaming vats of hot chocolate, and gleefully shrieking as they careen down icy hills on anything that could remotely be used as a sled. It is such a lovely thing to see and possible only because we all know how ephemeral this chance to play will be.

Do you know the scene in the movie "A Christmas Story" when the boy looks out his window on Christmas morning and there is lovely fresh snowfall covering everything with glistening white and a sort of tinkly background music playing? Well that was exactly how I felt when I looked out my window yesterday morning...and the wind chimes were playing like mad so we even had the music effect. Here's the sun coming up...



Mattie LOVES the snow!



And here are a couple of shots from the bridge in the park...




Everybody should take the chance to play like a kid from time to time so even if snow is not such a big deal where you live, take the time for a little play...it's exactly what you need!