Happy belated thanksgiving

So how was every ones thanksgiving? great i hope...mine was nice...beautiful fall day with blustery winds...my husband and i had a nice meal...turkey, ham, mash potatoes and dressing, steamed veggies, and yeast rolls,,,barely any room for home made sweet potatoe pie...lots of food for just two people, but we made several plates for neighbors and friends who were not able to get out until today...afterwards we winterized the house, raked leaves to burn off those excess calories...
 this christmas i have entered so many swaps, i love swaps but i am swamped with christmas orders and gifts, and of course my online swaps so very little time left for making items for resale...next year i will remember this as although holiday is a time of giving and i do enjoy it so...i really need to focus on marketing...but i truly hate that aspect of art...yes i enjoy the extra money but my sole purpose of making art is more personal than just for resale yet i need to still take a more active role in generating sales...uuugggg...so with that said i will be persueing sales and facebook, twitter, ect as well as my online stores with a renewed vigor and energy i've yet to put into it...

 I've been painting again...i always enjoy that...now of course i've made dozens of clay ornaments and a few dolls i will have to hold off on posting those as  i mentioned are swap items and i do not wanna ruin the element of suprise that goes with not first seeing what is coming in the mail...lol..so today i will share the paintings i've completed, and soon i will post the swap items in detail with photo's just give me another week or so...

I'M BACK.....

Well the surgery went well and i'm almost as good as new with only a few aches and pains but not enough to keep me from my fall creations...oh how i love fall...with cooler air and changing leaves...what a truly wonderful time of year.

i've been busy making some fall witchypoo's and boohags...haunted children of witherspoon manor and jointed dolls i call toodle bugs...you see...toodles was my childhood nickname...lol...lol...

  You'll have to wait on the toodle bugs...these are still WIPS and need clothing...no nekkid toodle bugs allowed...hehehe...but here is a larger pic of a jointed doll i've recently made...but she isn't finished...i've made her a mask but have yet to photogragh that yet...
   well folks that my news for today...hugs...christen

new art doll and fairy paintings

This is my first post since the spectacular Alice in  wonderland blog event held by the lovely ladies and gents over at artdollsonly.blogspot.com...and i have several new paintings and one rather large art doll to share with you today....My mother and her husband came to visit from Ohio...and they brought me a very large supply of art paper and assorted paints...mostly water colors...water colors are a new medium for me and will take a bit of getting used to but are great fun....and being that my original love is painting i have been busy, busy, busy....here are some photos to give you an idea of what i'm working with...see all the awesome types of paper my mother and stepdad brought...wasn't that the sweetest thing....there is nothing like having the support of family...my mother is ever incouraging to brooden my artistic ideas and to go a more traditional route such as landscapes, florals,,,although more than likely she is right as mothers often are...i'm drawn to the fantasy art...fairies, day of the dead, the dark side of life so to speak...although i do like pink and pretty fairy princess's...go figure....seems the exact opposite of dark...doesn't it...oh well what can i say...i am a gemini and gemini's have two sides to their personality and i believe it is often visiable in my variety of creations...here is a few of my latest and all my new lovely paper...

these are my attemts at water colors...the day of the dead zombie picture is a mixture of acrylics and water colors...and my blue sprite is all water color...not sure why she looks so mad...i was in a good mood when i painted her...hehehe.

and there are more....i've really been excited about painting again...this lil' fairy on the scull needs work...the scull needs improving but hey this was my first attempt at painting such a large scull....so maybe with practice....it'll improve...i'm also working on a very large two by three feet painting of mother earth in the goddess form but she is still a wip...so no photo's of her yet....and last but not least here is a picture of my latest artdoll fairy princess...she is huge...eighteen inches tall and free standing...her head, hands and shoulders are polymer clay and her body is soft sculpt on a candle pedastel...i've yet to create her wings and floral beaded crown....but this is her so far...and a few pictures of my living room and doll collection.... 

and hall way...can you tell i love dolls...all kinds of them...even mass produced....(gasp) but i do prefer hand made one of a kind...and last but not least here is a collage photo of my fur babies....co-co, tarbaby and trouble such sweet animals and all rescues....these characters are truly my best friends...and funny too...always a source of happiness...well thats my news for awhile...i'll be undergoing another surgery on my right arm...third one in one years time...hopefully my last for awhile...so i'll be recovering for about a month and then i'll be back to creating...until then...hugs...christen

Stepping out of the box

after many nights of staying up late to sculpt, paint and collage....my newest art doll has come to life and is stepping out of her world into ours so to speak,,,and basically that is how i feel about creating in so many words...i often must step out of the box...mentally, emotionally and allow the clay to take on a life of its own...even when its not comfortable or I'm unable to see just where i might be going with any certain project...to try not to second guess the muse but to follow where he or she may lead....a metaphor for life,  this creation speaks to my inner hopes and fears and i hope encourages others to do the same....blessings until next time....christen

Goth art dolls

Well seems another month has just flown by me...where does the time seem to go...between art and gardening and house hold duties seems i rarely find the time or energy to blog..right now today i'm in the middle of cleaning my studio and setting up a new sewing room...i'll be posting photos probably in the next two weeks of each work space...one is for my sculpting and painting while my other is all sewing things related...i've put off setting up this space due to no air conditioning in that room but since i'll be getting one next week i can't wait to start sewing and learning my "new" antique sewing machine...yes its new to me but is over fourty years old yet in mint condition all the attachments kept in their original boxes ect...a lovely machine and perfect for the simple seamstress i aim to be...mostly in the past i've only done hand sewing but i'm looking to add more detail to my costumes and need the help of a sewing machine to achieve this goal....i have so many ideas and plans for very detailed doll gowns...only problem being most of my dolls do not bend and there for must be hand sewn directly on too the art doll...but a sewing machine still will be helpful for adding layers to skirts and dress's as well as making perfect hems with even stitches...not to mention other things i might decide to sew as well...maybe some mini wall art made from hand painted and rubber stamped fabric...my head is swimming in idea...but first i must arrange the space to be able to use it in a proper way...clutter seems to upset my creative energy...i need neatness, organization...these things are a must if i'm to create successfully...so i'll leave you with photo's of my latest goth doll nose ring and all...is'nt she cute? and of course i'm working on a whole set of alice and wonderland creations for the ADO blog challange...so much excitement...ohhh i just love art dolls...also please visit my other blog at http://www.wickedwhimsies.blogspot.com/

new night light artdoll and mixed media paintings

i sure am bad at blogging...seems i just get so carried away with family and art that weeks slip by and then i realize i've not blogged any...which i do enjoy writing and i love blogs so i should be very good at it but actually i'm a pretty lazy blogger...rather be making art...hehehe...any onme out there entering the ADO's alice in wonderland challenge? well i can not wait to see what people come up with...how exciting!!!!

affordable craft and clay supplies

I'm always on the look out for affordable sculpting or painting supplies or any type craft materials really and i must say its getting harder and harder to find good deals that are quality as well but the other day at our local dollar tree...which by the way is a chain store and they might have a location in your area as there are hundreds of them all over the united states but i do not know if there are any over seas...i found a metal nail kit that usually sells for six to ten bucks at wal-mart for a buck at the dollar tree...these minauture tools are great for sculpting and cutting and trimming clay finger nails...plus these came in a neat hard plastic container that will stand up to heavy wear and tear...i also found a eye glass kit in a nifty case that has the tiny screw drivers and magnifing glass...both really good for adding texture to clay and seeing what your doing in tiny spaces like eyes or teeth sculpting...these were sturdy tools not your regular flimsy cheapo stuff...plus i was lucky to find crocet hooks and long razor blades great for cutting canes...so for less than five dollars i got some awesome new tools in there own carry cases...heres a picture...

my new etsy shop

http//:fantasiesfromwithin.etsy.com

Avatar...the movie

The movie avatar is an awesome movie...and believe it or not there is a free site on the web that'll let you watch it for free...yes free...but its in two parts and the first part plays out its seventy-four minutes and makes you wait one hour hour to view the rest....some thing about band width or some thing....the website is http://www.letmewatchthis.com/  when you get there...type avatar in their search bar or look in the A listings of their movies for avatar...click on the movie...it will take you to a list of several links for this movie...choose the one offered by fairyshare and click on watch...this opens another link that then begins streaming the movie free...enjoy

my life feels just like the song....manic monday

the first monday of march and already i've had a busy busy day...lets see...went and had my oil changed ...purchased and had new back tires put on the car....went to the grocery store...drug store...cable company...insurance company...book store...then lunch...burger king...mailed my dads birthday present...bought stamps and package supplies...mailed my morgage payment...and made my cats weekly batch of home made cat food which consists of whole chicken leg quarters...fresh parsley...grated parsnip for kidney problems...and brown rice all boiled...cooled and divided into daily servings and guess what...its not even noon here yet and i am ready for a nap...but no rest or the weary...this wednesday i'm sheduled for my fourth and hopefully last surgery in the past six months and i've got a million things to finish before that...knowing i will not feel like doing anything but sleeping for awhile afterward i'm faced with the pressure of remembering all that must be done in order for my life to run smoothly while i recover...i guess thats about all the news for today ...until next time folks have happy and creative thoughts...hugs...christen

the monter mash

oh ...i can not wait till next halloween....can you believe i'm already planning my very next halloween eight months in advance...crazy huh? Underneath this post you'll find one of my favorite halloween tunes...enjoy

why is'nt my blog showing

seems i'm having trouble with my blog getting an error code....who knows just how long this has been happening...i think thats probably why i have no followers...hmmm...how to fix this?

WHATS FOR DINNER?

Its cold and wet here in the Chattanooga valley and the forcast tomorrow is calling for sleet and snow...brrrr...not very southern like weather if you ask me...so today my husband and I stayed in and snuggled under blankets and watched old movies...court shows...and ate yummy comfort food...homemade chicken and egg noodle soup with carrots, celery and saut'ed garlic with fresh rosemary and piping hot yeast rolls with whipped honey butter, boy was it good...plus the house felt so homey with the smell of fresh bread and soup floating in the air...all in all a cozy winters day with loved ones just can not be beat...our two cats Tarbaby and Trouble and dog Co-co under the covers snuggled up...i'm so blessed and to think i'd would have never dreamed life could once again be good..oh, we've all felt that i'm sure,its been a long ten years but my life is finally stable and for the most part...productive...oh happy day!!! the first pic is of a wall sculpture i've finally finished and the second is of our yummy chicken soup.

creepy molly and her dolly sculpt

wow, where does the time go...already the third week into the new year...and i have so many creative things i'm doing...my most recent prodject has been a really creepy art doll and a shadow box....i call it...creepy molly and her dolly and her imaginary friend manson. As a child did you ever have an imaginary friend? Well i most certainly did...and not a one of them was a human...one just happened to be an animal and the other was a friendly brownie like creature who was responsible for turning the frig light on and off...creating my imaginary characters was great fun...i'd love to see any imaginary friends others care to share...just seems an interesting subject to me....what do you think?

summers end

Finally the end of a sweltering hot and humid summer, hot weather is great for acrylic painting but awful for sculpting with clay. It seems as though the heat takes all of the life right out of the clay, its sticky and mushy seeming to have a mind of its own but not in a good way at all, so I'm just now getting back to a more serious sculpting mode, the ideas are fresh in my mind, exspecially with the coming of Halloween, boy do I love Halloween, the ghost stories and the costumes, the television shows that start every year at the beginning of October and the best part of all nice cool fall weather, the wonderful fall colors and the abilty to create with unsticky clay, yeah...fall is finally here, and i'm posting some of my paintings and such....

WIPS, so much to do.....

This is my work station on any given day and a mess as usual, i've got a lot of half finished projects, a few that are rejects and a few that have just ol' left me puzzled, the paper mache doll, well, his/her legs are to short and her head is to big so i'm leaning in the direction of it being a halloween pumkin head doll that way it'll look like i ment to make it that way, no one will know just us and any one reading this page, and speaking of reading this page i'm feeling a little lonely out here in blogger world seems to be just me and my dolls hanging out together, oh well.

more pictures...

Don't let her looks fool ya, she is one mean wingless fairy. I think the fact that she is wingless is part of the story as to why she has such a hateful disposition,legend has it that an evil witch trapped her in a cage and ruthlessly removed her wings under the false belief that by doing so she too would have the powers our fairy freind held sacred, so much to the evil witches regret, this was not to be true, she died a painful death and now Kilah roams the earth as a bone chilling bringer of justice to those whom, like herself were most vulnerable, so if you happen to be a shady person, oh dear, you better watch out, cause Kilah Mekenah is always lurking ready for her justice to be carried out....

ON THE DARKSIDE/ooak doll Eurnestene