Monday, March 29, 2010

A Fairy Mother

Hello my faithful blog readers, I'd like to apologize for neglecting my blog...and you... lately. I had a terrible creeping crud head cold for awhile last week that pretty much knocked me off my game for several days and when I was well I was working very hard on a special commission that I finally finished today, a mother Fairy and her tiny baby Fae. I'm really pleased with them and I'm reminded why I need to make this type of art doll more frequently. What are you all (or youze guys depending on your location) working on these days?



Friday, March 26, 2010

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

WIPs and Such

There's been lots going on here at The Nest and I have two works in progress that I want to share. But first let me say Happy Spring!!!! Since it's official and we're all pretty happy because last winter was a bit rough. Now on to the projects...

First up; my wonderful husband is building me a new table for my studio. It's going to be a real work horse because I plan to use it in a number of ways. Not only is it big enough to use the top as a cutting table (and thanks to my mom I now have a fold up ironing pad that turns it into an ironing board) but it also is the perfect height to prevent back pain when I have large amounts of fabric to cut or iron. He's going to hook it up for electricity and I plan to eventually set up lights so I can use it as a mini photo studio as well. And of course he designed it with plenty of room for storage underneath, something I can always use.


Isn't it great?! Of course the guy making it is pretty great too...
The second project I'm working on is a larger sized art doll commission. It's a fairy mother and her baby fae. Here's what I have so far...


The mom still needs her "skin" put on but they're coming along pretty well. I love having the chance to make the bigger type doll. I need to make an Alice doll for an upcoming challenge but it's still "percolating" in my head at this point. I think I'd like to do a more Alice Liddell type this time....but we'll see. So what projects are you working on these days!

Friday, March 19, 2010

Well the problems with my computer turned out to be much larger then I had anticipated. The hard drive on my brand new, only 35 days old to be exact, Mac laptop completely crashed. But the folks at the Apple store were amazing and not only gave me a brand new laptop but also spent an entire day retrieving my information off the old one and transferring it to the new. So last night and early today I finally got the new dolls loaded to the shop. Here's a peek!

The Princess and the Frog

The Princess and the Frog

Snow White

and Snow White

What do you think? Also, I've been putting larger pictures on the blog lately and I'd love to know how they look to you. On my screen they're great but are they wonky on yours?

Thursday, March 18, 2010

More to come...

I will be taking better pictures of these lovely fairy tale ladies and loading them to the shop later today, but first I have to take my brand new computer in and find out why it's misbehaving lately. I'm sure it's IT boggles and I'm hoping the Apple Geeks can exorcise them. Wish me luck!

Thursday, March 4, 2010

A Surprise Gift Away


A long time ago in a galaxy far far away...wait... wrong script.... a long time ago, well 2007 to be exact, a group of women led by Amber of Woodmouse got together on Etsy and started the NaturalKids team. It was a small group, with a small presence on Etsy. Since that time members have come and gone but the mission has stayed the same. To be a group of sellers dedicated to creating natural products for children. NaturalKids is a diverse group of artisans who make natural toys, utensils, clothing and accessories for kids and our goal is to support, promote and have fun together while building our businesses.
One of our 1st Team Blog Post read as below and it is still true today....
We are a diverse bunch from all over the globe who have at least one thing in common: we all work with natural materials in our products for children. Oh yeah, and we're all pretty darn crafty & talented too! Wool, wood, cotton...just simple materials direct from the Earth.

brown sheep by mamma4earth
So who are we?
Some of us are mothers of small children.
Some of us are mothers of grown children.
Some of us make dolls, some of us make hats, some of us make toys.
Some of us have been selling our wares for many years
Some of us are just starting to discover our talents and start selling.
Some of us work with natural materials for environmental reasons.
Some of us work with natural materials as part of the Waldorf educational philosophy.
Some of us work with natural materials because we believe they are healthier and safer.
Some of us just like working with natural materials.
Some of us sell our wares for a living.
Some of us sell our wares as a hobby.

Since that time, some of us are also fathers! :)

wooden robin toy by Imaginationkids

And today in honor of Spring, and our team, and heck just because we want to, the NaturalKids team is having a blog-a-thon with many of the team members also having give aways...I know, cool right?! Here's a list of those who are participating so go forth and see!
http://fairtradefamily.blogspot.com http://bananabottoms.blogspot.com
http://woolies-woolies.blogspot.com

And for my part I am giving away one of my Bunkins. Yep that's him peeking out at the top of the post...and here he is in all his furry, all natural, recycled, glory.

To enter all you have to do is leave a comment below and on March 26th I will pick a winner...easy peasy!
And if you want to see LOTS more lovely spring things (ooo a poet!) check this out!

And while you're here you may have noticed that I've added some clickable pages to my blog...they're right up top under the banner. Please give them a look, I'd love to know what you think.


Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Spring Bunnies

Okay it's not really Spring yet. In fact it's snowing like crazy outside as I write this... you know this is the South!?! ENOUGH already!!... but it's March and Spring has to be just around the corner, right? I'm hoping that a bit of positive reinforcement might just hasten the process so I give you a basket of March Hares ready to jump into Spring...now appearing in my Etsy Shop!

March Hares