February In The Niche

February is the month where there are lots of red, pink, and hearts are everywhere you look.  That is the theme I chose for this doll, which is a Barbara Willis design called Field of Dreams.  I took this class when I was new to doll making at a store I adored because of all the bright colorful fabrics.  And it had a fantastic name, Cotton Candy!  But, that store closed some years ago. The teacher was Judy Brown (pictured below). Judy is a patient encouraging teacher who, over the years since first meeting her at Cotton Candy, has become a doll making friend.

One of the features of the design is that the doll can stand on it's own.  I put it on a stand for display purposes but the picture below shows her standing without any help.  Strong ankles are the key here which means the feet, ankles and legs need to be stuffed firmly.

The doll has a pancake face with the corners of her mouth sculpted.  The facial features are all hand painted.  The pupils are size 11 seed beads which also give some dimension to the face.

The costume was a lot of fun to make.  She has a lined jacket, pantaloons and billowy skirt.  This was the first time I made shoes for a doll too.

Hair is Tibetan Lamb.

I would consider this an advanced beginner doll.  Barbara Willis also has some beginner patterns and the next picture shows both Field of Dreams and the beginner pattern Sea Side Sadie.

January In The Niche

Ari Briavel of Winter Wild Woods took up the spot of honor In The Niche in January.  The pattern is a Barbara Schoenoff design and part of her Elfling Series.  The doll features wooden bead jointing, which you cannot see because of the clothing, that allows the elbows, wrists, knees and ankles to be manipulated for posing.  The picture below shows the beaded joints.

The costume consists of blue ultra suede and on the hat and jacket I couched fiber with free motion embroidery.  The fur is real and I got the pelt for free at a Guilded Lilies doll club meeting in Columbus, Ohio.  One of the members was moving and brought in heaps of fabric and other goodies that she didn't want to move.  I believe she got this at an estate sale and it was part of a stole.  Sorry the picture is blurry.  Hair is Tibetan Lamb.

Here is a better picture of the costume as I was making it.

 Close-up of the boots.

Close-up of the face.

This doll was made in a class sponsored by Time For Dolls in Akron, Ohio.  Barbara was the first professional designer/teacher that we had come and teach to our group.  Unfortunately, the group disbanded shortly after I moved to Colorado.  They were the best group of women and I miss them all.

The Opposite Side of the Cold Front

For the past few days a massive cold front with snow and freezing temperatures have gripped the midwest and east.  We, here in Denver, are on the back of that front which means we have warm temperatures and sunny, blue skies.  I got a new pair of walking shoes last week and took them out for a test run today.  I wanted to know how long it takes to walk to the local recreation center.  It took just over 17 minutes.

There were lots of families in Central Park, runners, dog walkers and cycling families.  I usually just look at all the park activity out my windows.  I longed to be one of those enjoying the out of doors.  I wondered why I never found the time to take a walk.  I have discovered that finishing my art studio has freed this little voice in my head that said I was not allowed outside until that room was finished.  I could shout the "free at last …." part of Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech.  I do live on one of his namesake boulevards after all.


Here is a little of what I saw today on my walk around the neighborhood.

There are several benches on the trails so that you can rest and enjoy the scenery.

There is also lots of artwork sprinkled here and there.

There is lots of work being done on Westerly Creek.  They are fixing and improving the flood plain because the 500 year rains we experienced in September damaged them.  Stapleton had 12 inches in a 24 hour period.

It is January 3, so I know the snow and cold will return soon.  As for now, I am grateful for mostly sunny skies and 60 degrees!

New Year - New Art Studio

One year ago today, my husband and I were on a plane to Denver to finalize the purchase of our new home.  We drove to the building site soon after we landed. Here is what it looked like.

We spent the next four days signing documents, deposit checks, rental checks, and choosing all of the finishes for the interior of our home.  The bedroom in the basement with the large walk-in closet was going to be my new art studio.  I chose a wood grain vinyl for the floor for ease in clean-up of the occaisional art mishap.  I also requested that they do not hang the closet shelves but to leave it just drywall because I wanted that room to hold my cutting table.  In May of 2013 we moved into our finished home.  Here is a picture of what the basement looked like after the movers left.  Most of these boxes came out of the two rooms and two closets I used for my office and art studio in Ohio.  Now they would have to fit into one bedroom and one closet.

Some seven months later, I have finally finished unpacking and organizing and have this lovely art studio to start the New Year!

I designed the counter height workstation from IKEA kitchen cabinets.  I have two work areas so that if I have a sewing project going but want to start a beading project I won't have to put away the sewing.  The turquoise cart is in one of the work spaces.  The shelves on the walls and the cute button rug are from IKEA as well.  The cutting table is from Pottery Barn and it has bookshelves on the side for my library of craft/art books.  Sprinkled here and there are some of my Longaberger baskets filled with UFO's!  I still have some finishing touches to do like under cabinet lighting and adding the hanging containers on the towel racks, also IKEA kitchen components.

Since my studio is in the basement, I chose a soft yellow for the walls called Banana Cream Pie. I also used that color in one room of my studio in Ohio because it is very, very cloudy there.  My accent color is turquoise.  A nice reading chair finished the room by making it feel cozy and inviting.

A nice new place to create surrounded by the things I love.

December - In The Niche

If you know me then you know I love folk art.  When we lived in Stow, OH, there was an art gallery that sponsored Charles Wysocki every year.  We stood in line one year to have him sign the print we bought, our first, but it was such an ordeal!  After 3 hours in line, a little girl waiting with her mother and grandmother accidentally knocked over an original oil that Wysocki had for sale.  Mr. Wysocki was so upset by this that he ended the signing and walked away.  We were only one person away from meeting him and we were both so disappointed.  He ended up signing all of the prints that had been purchased but in private.  After that we would buy the print and have him sign them without standing in line.  Our house is loaded with Uncle Sam figures, stars and American flags in every medium including our area rugs.  Like I said, I love folk art.

December brings our first Christmas in the new house in Denver.  We decorated like mad for a week but I knew right away that the Santa Folk Doll would be in the Niche place of honor.  I made this doll two Christmas' ago and is another Leslie Molen design.  Go to the link to read the story behind the design.  I used a French General solid fabric for the hands and head and I went through my stash of scrap fabric including quilting cottons, silk and rayon velvet, satin and upholstery fabric for the patchwork squares.  The beard and eyes are hand embroidered as well as his mitten hands, sleeves, some of the squares and the flowers on the front of the doll body.  The flowers are hand appliquéd with the same silk velvet that is in the coat and hat.  The doll was a challenge but oh so worth it!

Three doll friends in Ohio are making this doll as a group project this year.  Carolyn, Teresa and Paloma, how are your Santa Fold Dolls coming along?

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas!

In The Niche

I love our town home.  It has a very modern design with angled walls, open concept, open stairway, 10 foot ceilings, unusual windows and my favorite design feature is an art niche in the main living area.

I use it to display dolls I've made.  This month I have my Santos Cage Doll featured.  I made her in a class taught by Leslie Molen at Artistic Figures in Cloth in 2011.  Leslie is such a wonderful teacher.  She inspires me to put my own personal voice and details into her original designs.  My Santos doll is in memoriam to my beloved dog companions.  I stamped their names between the slats and added a copper heart picture charm for each of them above the velvet embroidered heart.

In The Niche will become a regular monthly post here on my blog.

Not As Easy As Apple

I am having some Blogger learning curve issues.