WIP Wednesday & The End of 2013

Something special for the end of the year, Fairy Bunnies! These 2 will be the last dolls added to the shop in 2013 & I have to thank Rhissanna for the idea (Thank you!!)... BTW you should go see her wonderful Alice on Etsy...so cool! They should be finished today and I'll post a listing time on Facebook when I know what that will be. Also I'll be closing the shop for the holidays on December 21st, so if there's something you want to order please act quickly. And a big thank you for all your wonderful comments... and of course sales :) They  make my days so much nicer!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Of course there's not much chance of that (snow) happening here, it's supposed to be in the 70s the next couple of days...but in the spirit of the season I've added a trio of snow pixies to the shop.

And then I had some fun with this shot...

Pretend snow!!

A New Nest

I moved into my new studio this weekend and it is wonderful! An cozy place to create and so beautifully organized that it's a dream come true. I wish I had taken some before pictures because it was a disaster of nasty carpet, cracked walls, and flaking paint. I did get this one with my phone but it doesn't really do justice to how awful it was.

 

But I definitely have photos of the after! Here are a couple of my work space...

  

and this is my cutting table/ shipping station...

 

and here is my closet...

and here is the desk area from the "before" shot...

Quite an improvement! I still need to get some artwork up and a few other touches but for the most part it's done and I can get back to making dolls. Yay!

If you're curious about the old studio, search "studio tour" to see pictures.

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod

Can you tell that I have secret dreams to be a book illustrator?  Wynken Blynken and Nod, along with their little boat, are now in the shop... so are these little pin girls...

and this guy!

I've added a few others as well so go check it out!

Happy Hauntings

 

  Meet Eliza and Marley. One day Eliza was at the cemetery with her mum and dad and all her brothers and sisters... it's a very large family but she is the youngest and, according to the rest of them, the most under foot. Eliza didn't understand why they were all being so sad and boring, something to do with granny going to Heaven, which didn't sound all that sad to her, so she wandered off to explore some of the little stone houses that were scattered about, they were just her size! She found a very small and overgrown one in an older part of the graveyard and in it she found Marley...well just his head...but he asked her to put him in her pocket and take him home, so she did! Who wouldn't want a doll that can talk? She made him a little body and hat from an old nightgown and keeps him with her all the time. Funny thing is, no one else seems to hear him or to notice that she has a new doll, but then they never did pay that much attention to Eliza except to shoo her out of the way...and now that everyone has been getting so ill and more of them are going to stay with granny in Heaven...well she and Marley are pretty much able to do whatever they want and Marley has LOTS of ideas...

You can find Eliza and Marley in my shop....if you dare! 

Happy Hauntings...and if you have hauntings posted today, do please share them in the comments!

WIP Wednesday

Tomorrow is Halloween and today's WIP peek is definitely in that spirit. If you could have stood outside my studio door this afternoon you would have heard me chuckling...nay cackling... in delight as I put the finishing touches on this one...SO MUCH FUN!

I love my job. 

This baby doll's head is a bead made by my friend Sarah. Isn't it awesome?! I have a few more so more creepy dollies will be accompanying my Ghastly girls. This one will be listed in the shop tomorrow after I get some photos done. Very appropriate for Halloween!

WIP Wednesday - Chaos Ensues

I'm a little embarrassed to show you my table today...it's definitely a mess. But a creative mess...right?

Hopefully there will be lots of dolls when the wreckage is cleared!

WIP Wednesday

Lots of new dolls on the table today! More pin dolls, a set of lavender babies, and a few Santas...also some new types of storybook dolls....whew! I'm  (finally) making a Wynken, Blynken, and Nod set, a Jack and Jill, an Anne of Green Gables and a Cinderella. Oh and another Ghastly girl, this one will have a doll with a super cool head made by my friend Sarah, I can't wait to show you! As you can see lots to do, so back I go to work!

Caw Caw!

          Hi all! I just wanted to share that I just added some crow girls to the shop.

I love these dolls. If you're a reader of this blog you know crows are special to me and these little sweeties are so cute, only 7" tall. Not the crow girls of Charles Delint's books (though one day I'd love to make a version of those!) but a softer sweeter version...my own! :)

And speaking of the shop, there are only 4 more days to take advantage of my 25% off sale. There won't be another sale this year so don't miss this one!

 

 

Autumnal Equinox Sale!

Happy happy Autumn everyone!! Fall is absolutely my favorite time of year...the cool, crisp, bright days; the smokey, tart smell of fallen leaves; and of course the amazing colors...what's not to love?! So in celebration it's time once more for the big Fall sale here at the Nest. 25% off everything in the shop starting today and ending September 30th...just use coupon code FANTASTICFALL when you check out. I don't have sales often so take advantage of this one while it lasts.

And please do feel free to share this about! I have lots of Fall fairies and witches in the shop as well as some garden pixies and this lovely lady...

      ...who would be so sparkly and beautiful in a Winter Holiday setting. So....

HAPPY AUTUMN!!!!!

Autumn Dolls

It's Autumn here at the Nest...well not really but the fairies being made are certainly trending that way! I just added 3 leaf pixies, 2 small witches and a larger Samhain fairy to the shop. Here's what you'll find!

I love the completely different expressions in these 2 photos...same doll just different angles. This is Jinx, the Samhain fairy who keeps the gates of Fairyland open on that special night. She's a bit young for the job but very determined to get it right.

and here are the other new little folks in the Nest...

 I hope you enjoy this taste of Fall...it cant come soon enough for me! :)

Still in the Dark..

A few more girls from the dark side this week...though I promise something a bit lighter next time. First up meet Miss Delilah Wintershorn...known as Lila to her friends both living and undead. She does wish she had more living friends, but sometimes she just gets SO hungry...

 And next is Katherine. She's been feeling very strange lately. Perhaps it's because of the nightmares...all knives and teeth and blood... they always leave her So tired. Maybe it's because all her friends have slowly begun disappearing... leaving her feeling very...well.. Angry! All she knows is that it started about the time she found her new dolly...the one whose dress is always stained no matter how much she washes it.

Both of these interesting ladies can be found in my shop ...along with some lighter fae folk like this little witch.

See I haven't gone totally to the dark side....yet.

Farmer’s Market Summer Veggie Risotto

  No dolls today, though there are some new girls in the shop if you'd like to take a look. Instead I wanted to share a recipe that I recently created that is perfect for using some beautiful summer vegetables.
  Last week we had some very unusual weather for summer time here in the hot and sticky South, a week of cool wet weather that was a lovely taste of fall to come. I had planned on making a salad for dinner but with the brisk air I really wanted something warm so I took a riff on Jamie Oliver's wonderful mushroom risotto. In that recipe he cooks mushrooms in the rice and then tops it with more that are sauteed and tossed with herbs and lemon juice. It's an amazing dish and the depth of flavors is so wonderful. I looked at what I had on hand...lots of lovely summer veggies from my local farmer's market...and came up with this...and it was absolutely delicious! How could I not share it with you?! I admit that the quantities are approximations because I never measure when I cook this type of thing, but I think they're pretty close.  If you make it, do let me know what you think!

Farmer’s Market Summer Veggie Risotto

3 nice heirloom tomatoes
2 tsp fresh thyme, leaves only
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
salt

2 Tablespoons olive oil
4 med to small size yellow squash, diced
2 large Italian frying peppers or one medium red pepper, diced
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon of fresh thyme (remove tough stems)
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
5-6 cups (homemade is best) chicken or vegetable stock
salt
black pepper


Core and seed the tomatoes and then dice them and put them in a bowl, mixing in the thyme leaves, vinegar, and salt to taste. Set aside.

Have your stock simmering on the stove when you start this so you can add it hot as you go. Heat the olive oil in a large pot and then add the first five ingredients. Saute these for about 5 to 7 minutes on med high heat to allow some of the moisture to cook out. Add the rice, thyme, and cayenne pepper and saute for  another minute and then add the wine. When most of that has cooked in, add a cup of chicken stock and salt and pepper to taste. Stir constantly so the starch will cook out, adding stock as needed until the rice is cooked to your liking and you have a creamy consistency, about 20 minutes.
Ladle into bowls and top with some of the fresh tomato mixture.
Eat.
Yum!

...well maybe just one doll....

Something a little different...

A few weeks ago I decided I wanted to make some little ghost girls in a dollhouse size... the process quickly took on a life of it's own...as they do...and the first of my Ghastly Girls was born. Please meet Charlotte.

Charlotte doesn't quite remember when she first started to feel so hungry but it might have been around the time she found her strange doll. Mummy and Daddy don't seem to be home any more...though she does remember that when they disappeared the hunger went away for a little while...

I'm having such fun making these darker dolls..hmm, what does that say about my psyche? I have been in a bit of a dark place this summer. We've been trying to sell our house and everything has been in a horrible state of limbo for ages...plus it's summer. Yuck. So maybe these little girls are my expression of all that...or maybe they're just fun! Whatever they may be Charlotte is in the shop now and there will be more Ghastly Girls coming...along with witches, big and small, and some Fall and Halloween fairies...because Autumn can't get here soon enough!

How is it July Already?!

Seriously where did June go?! I seem to have gotten behind in posting to the blog again for which I apologize, but that means that I get to share several dolls in one post...so here's what I've made lately!

This is the finished forest fairy from my last post. I love how she came out, the overdress is so much more beautiful in person too!

Tweedles Dee and Dum..

...and an Amethyst Fairy. These dolls were all commission pieces and have left for their new homes, but I also took a couple of new photos of Neve, the Snow Queen fairy, who is still in the shop.

 

I'm working on some little dolls at the moment. An Alice, Dorothy, Mother Goose, some ghost twins, and a few witches should be showing up soon!