Done with the Freaky Deaky New Year's Art Dolls!

Whew, I am finally done with the other two art dolls for the Freaky Deaky 2012 New Year's Swap.  I love making art dolls, but I need to get back to making ATC's for fear I may lose my muse for doing them.  Anyways, here is Zombie Girl Avery and Lady Lydia.

This is Avery, who is now a zombie. She got off the school bus, on her way back from an away game, to go to the bathroom. No one on the bus bothered to count the girls to make sure they were all aboard before taking off and she was left behind. The gas station was owned by zombies and when she came out of the bathroom, they gave her the deadly zombie bite and made her a part of their family. She misses basketball and all of her friends. She realizes now the importance of telling someone where you're going and accepts her fate.

Lady Lydia is ready to party and is looking for someone to be her escort!

Getting Down with the Freaky!

This is Toby the wanna-be house elf. Please do not mistake him for his "perfect" brother Doby the house elf. Toby was born with one side longer than the other and his eyesight wasn't perfect either. Toby loves to party and is really looking forward to turning over some new leaves with this upcoming 2012 year. He loves walks in the bog and absolutely hates house work. Aside from the rather severe tooth malformations he really is a handsome guy. Toby is not sure yet what is wearing for the upcoming New Year's Eve party, but he is considering a couple of different options.

I totally don't have the gory, gruesome, or grotesque kind of mind, but I do like the weird and wacky when it comes to creatures.  So, I signed up for the the Dolls: Freaky Deaky New Year's Swap and this is my second doll I have made so far.

Next is Alexander the poison dart frog.   Alexander kills an average of 10 people a year. He never gets invited to parties and when he finally does, he brings his own darts. If you decide to chance playing a game with him beware; very few have lived to tell anyone about it and if you miss his dart board that has been painted on his stomach; he gets a free throw at you!

As soon as I get the other two done I will share those with you all as well!

Still on the Paper Doll Kick!

I finally made my last paper doll for the Art Dolls: Holiday Characters -- Due Jan 10, 2012. I know they aren't due until January 10th, but when I get into something I can't do anything besides just that and I am obsessed with getting something done.  I wanted to post my Leprachuan Steve because I wanted to show you all how just using a white gel pen to highlight my characters.  I am often amazed at how a small thing like a white gel pen can make such a difference.

All of my Art Dolls can be found in my Gallery at ATC's For All!

Before Highlights

 

After Highlights

Seedy Garden People Paper Dolls

I have never "made" paper dolls, so this swap was a bit of a challenge for me.  We had to use vegetables, fruit, and flowers in order to come up with these "Seedy Garden People".  The fruits and vegetables were easy, but trying to fit the flowers in somewhere was the greatest challenge.

I used brads for the four moving parts, which included the arms and legs and then I just secured the head.  The fun part was putting each little person into an actual seed packet, where they will reside until they meet their new owners.

 

We also gave them names and I used word from the catalogs that I received and put them together to give each a unique name.  There names are, from left to right:

Ruby Red Seascape

Paula Nemours

Sarah Blossom

Alcea Bernhardt

What is Happening to Handmade?

I was just over in some of my Etsy team social networks and it was kind of like walking through an empty house. Membership has plummeted and discussions are at an all time low. Is this due to the recession we are in (you know we aren't out of the water yet) or are people just loosing interest in all things handmade?

Even though I sell jewelry, which is usually the first thing people stop buying when they have no money, I still refuse to give up. I will make, market, and keep on making, no matter what and other people who make handmade should do the same.

I have currently started delving back into my artistic skills with water coloring, drawing (showing is my "Wanna Iguana" drawing), and making dolls once again and am hoping that will help boost my web presence again. I am also going to be once again writing articles here on my blog, so keep an eye out for the new and exciting here!