Monday, November 30, 2009

A Winter Fae and an Okra Digression



Well I managed to get her finished in time for the last day of free shipping in my shop...Whew!

And since I have you here, I thought we might discuss Okra. For those of you wondering what the heck does okra have to do with anything...I'll get to that. Since some might not even know what okra is, let me start there. Okra is widely grown and eaten here in the South. It's used to thicken stews, sauteed and frequently dipped in batter and fried. Frankly I'm not a fan, I think it's slimey and disgusting however you cook it. BUT a dear friend of mine has for years now been making the most incredibly beautiful ornaments out of dried okra ...the best use for it in my humble opinion! Each one takes an incredible amount of time to make, all that hand painting and gluing of individual beads, and they are simply stunning on a Christmas/Solstice tree. I have about 30 on mine that I've acquired over the years so I can attest that they are fantastically durable too. But probably the best thing would be to show you, so check these out.....



Aren't they amazing? I would go blind putting on those beads! She also turns tiny ones into beautiful brooches.
And the best part is that she has now opened a shop on Etsy, Fabricated By Dena, so go right now and take a peek. If you're looking for something truly unique to add to your wishlist this year, I think you may have found it... and you don't even have to eat this okra to love it!

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Free Shipping!


Don't miss out on Free Shipping world wide on all items frommy Etsy shop, the Fairies' Nest, today and tomorrow only. And just in time I've added a couple more pixies to the shop ...


I'm hoping to add another bigger doll as well so stay tuned!

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

New Dolls at last and a bit of a Sale!



At last... meet Holly my new art doll! Yes, I have finally finished a new art doll as well as a couple of little holiday dolls. There are two more of the larger dolls on my table almost ready and I'm all caught up on commissions, so I'm feeling pretty productive these days. Of course I'm spending the rest of today and tomorrow getting ready to serve Thanksgiving for 23 people so I imagine that feeling will be very short lived.
But here's a little Holly pixie as well....

And in the big news folks it's sale time once more! All items in my Etsy Shop will have free shipping for 4 days; Friday Nov. 27th through Monday Nov. 5th. So come by and take a peek!

As I mentioned, Thanksgiving is almost upon us and I am very thankful for all the wonderful folks that I've met through my blog this year, thank you so much for the support and love you've shown myself and my creations.
Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Welcome to the Nest!

I've been nose to the grindstone the past week...I've always wondered about that phrase, how could a bloody nose possible infer hard work? but I digress...and I have lots of work in progress but nothing that's ready to show yet. So I thought that this week that I'd take you on a virtual tour of my studio. Ready?














As you can see I tend to be ridiculously organized...except for work table which, despite last weeks excavations, is already starting to be lost under piles of fabric again. It's not there yet but I bet by the end of next week we'll be talking serious mess...okay maybe just serious for me the neat freak.


I have added a couple more mice sets to the shop (and they're pretty darn cute) as I was able to carry them with me when we went out of town last weekend to celebrate my mom's 70th birthday. A delightful party was hosted by my sister, and my brothers actually managed not to set fire to anything, so a good time was had by all. (Seriously, the fire thing is an issue with them but we love them anyway.) Hopefully I'll have some new dolls next week and a bit of news as well. See you then!

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Of mice, bunnies and best laid plans...

Okay I truly did intend to make a new art doll after my last post, but I'm afraid that my own compulsiveness got in the way. Here's what happened.

First I decided that I needed to clean off my work table before I could start anything as it was piled sky high with all the debris left from my last several pieces. So I did... and it was a bit like an archeological dig, I kept finding dolls in various states of completion. When I was done I had;
1) a bag of lavender baby heads
2) a sweater bunny all made up and waiting to be dressed
3) some beautiful wool yarn I was planning on using to develop a sweater pattern
4) the completed heads and paws for two mice that needed me to design them bodies

So I decided that I need to get all of these finished before I started anything new. And here's what they all became!
The heads!
The bunny and the wool.
(This is my first attempt at designing a sweater. I like how it came out but there are some changes I'll make for the next one. Maybe I'll post the finished pattern here?)

The mice

So now my table is (mostly) clear and I'm ready to start a new doll...but what will I make? You'll just have to wait and see!
And I'll leave you with the marvelous pumpkin that our resident master carver created this year...hope you all had a wonderfully spooky and fun Halloween!