Little tiny skeletons dance through my head

Wow, it's been a while since I had time to sit down and write a blog entry. I don't know how much in the way or "writing" you're going to get from me right now either. I've been so busy, but for great reasons! I posted about my little Day of the Dead Poppet Pendants a while ago. I wasn't so sure about the first one I made, but then my beautiful friend Emelia bought it and posted a picture of herself wearing it. Lots of people liked it! Emelia owns a great store in Boulder Creek, Ca called Air and Fire and after a little talk we decided that I would send some Poppet Pendants to her to carry in her store! I'm also going to send some Sacred Heart Pendants. I'm really really excited about it.

A few days after that I went into a great shop in Livermore called Charlotte's Web wearing the previously mentioned Sacred Heart pendant and it sparked a conversation with the lovely owner and now as of next week Charlotte's Web will be carrying a few of  each type of pendant in both their Livermore and Berkeley locations!

So with both of these things in place AND wanting to have some of these on my Etsy shop it's been a very busy week here in ye old Redroom Studio. I haven't been feeling my best either, but I have been working every day and I am so happy with the results! A few of my standard sneak peek iPhone pics for now.

I love the violet flame one!

All nekkid before color. The mermaid sold before I had a chance to list it.



The "B" sides . Um am I dating myself?

I don't have any pictures yet of all the front sides yet.

On the other side of things my Grandmother passed Wednesday morning. I am going to miss her a great deal, but am relieved that she no longer has to live in pain and suffering. These things are really my inspiration and attraction with Day of the Dead imagery. I feel it is so important to remember and honor your direct family that has passed as well as all your ancestors. To me little things like these remind me to do that on a daily basis. Your relationships don't end, just change.



Fellow Artists and Etsians

I want to take the time to introduce you to some of my favorite artists and crafters our there when I get a chance.

Today I want to tell you about a wonderful lady who makes gorgeous things. I was lucky enough to recieve one of her necklaces as a gift and I have to say I love it. So get clickin and check out Shadowofthegoddess on Etsy. You can also catch her at http://tribalhorsedesigns.com/.

Bleeding Love

I am really really close to finishing up my Geisha/Hannya doll (I guess I should give her a name sometime soon). All I need to do to finish her is put her kimono on, tie her obi, and put her hair decorations in. This could be done in an hour probably, so of course I'm procrastinating! When I got her to the point she's at now I somehow veered off into something completely different.

I've been obsessing with hearts lately. I started out with sculpting what was to become a Sacred Heart Pendant, and I love love loved how it turned out after painting. I was really excited and had taken it to the kitchen to show Cyd, somehow on the way back into the studio, graceful as ever, (a dancer you say?) I tripped over something and watched the necklace go flying clear across the room. It then proceeded to slide along the floor until it was way under the bed! I am still not sure what I tripped over. I'm pretty sure it was my own feet. Sadly the middle flame broke off. I was able to glue it back on but I would never try to sell it like that. On the bright side it became my necklace! I am quite fond of it. I am not fond of being such a klutz though!

A couple of days later I got the urge to start working on a pair of earrings that popped into my brain at 2:30 a.m. I really like these also. I call them "Bleeding Love". I wanted to give the impression that the hearts had been through the wringer and were pitted, beat up, cracked and drooping, and then added the chain and the red glass beads to look like blood drops, but to me they are also like tear drops. None of my jewelry is turning out to be the most delicate looking stuff in the world, but I am kind of liking that. What about you?

Click to see on Etsy!

Keep calm

Wow, today has been a strange day for me. I decided this morning to finally make a page on Facebook for Night's Vision it would be awesome if you would LIKE it (clicky here) . I have been thinking about it for a while, but have been putting it off for some reason.

Cyd and I then went out to grab something to eat and then to haunt Michaels because they are starting to put Halloween stuff out. If I could spend all the months between now and Halloween looking at Halloween stuff every day I would squee and squee all over the place. That is always good for me because summer is sometimes rough on me emotionally. I always say I have reverse seasonal affective disorder. While we were out we discovered that something is on fire, like big time on fire. Most of Tracy is covered in smoke and near Michaels you could see ash swirling all over. The wind is really kicked up today, so that can't be good. Since it didn't seem like a good idea to be breathing all that smoke we came home.

There was a package on the doorstep when we got here. We both just kind of looked at it for a minute. Neither one of us has ordered anything lately because we just can't afford it right now. Maybe we were both suspicious the other had broken the pact. He reached down and grabbed it and said "Art Doll Quarterly". I said "omgitismydollgivemethat". I sent in a submission last August and have anxiously waited around the publishing time of each quarter to see if it would show up in the Show and Tell section. I am not a good waiter. I am not a calm send it out to the universer. I am a type A OCDish basket case a lot of the time. It has killed me not knowing what was going on. So I shook the whole time I opened it, thinking that there would be something inside telling me yay or nay, that I would finally be put out of my misery just to KNOW. My friends, there was not. There was just my beautiful doll and now I have a brain full of guesses. Did they decide they would never use it? Will it be in the August issue so they were able to send her home? Will the universe implode along with my brain? I guess I won't know for a few more weeks now.

Anyone who has been in ADQ know the way it works? 

Older close up picture of the lady in question

Day of the Dead Poppet Pendant

I had such a great day yesterday. Between the gorgeous day they were having in Santa Cruz, and the great company for dinner in Boulder Creek I don't think I could have asked for more. Of course a long day like that always exacts a little toll on my body and today I have been a bit sore all over and slightly cranky to be back in this horrible heat! A fish out of water indeed.

I did a bit of moping today and didn't think I would get anything at all done, but I got a bit of energy a few hours and managed to photograph and list the Day of the Dead Poppet Pendant on my Night's Vision Etsy Shop . It was a bit frustrating to take the photos and I am not really happy with them. I wish I hadn't gotten sick in the middle of that photography class!

I'm a little bit embarrassed to admit that sometimes receiving no feedback on my work can put me into a little bit of a depressive, and anxious state. I was hoping I would get some good views yesterday on my shop from the showcase spot I bought, but not even one little heart. I know it's a hard time for everyone these days, but that kind of thing does make you question yourself a bit. I've always figured my stuff isn't the norm but it's stuff that makes ME happy and there has got to be a few people out there in the world that have similar taste, no? Good thing I'm stubborn and don't plan on stopping what I do anytime soon. If anyone ever has any time I'd always always love to hear what you think! Thanks!





Ocean and poppet pendants

I'm taking a break today. It has been a long time since Cyd and I have done something we really enjoy. So today, as I write, we're heading to Santa Cruz to wander around. Of course we will spend some time at the beach so I can get my fix if ocean. It's been way too long and I've been drying out way out here in the valley... Not to mention all the time we spent in Arizona. The desert is beautiful but I , somewhere deep in my bones, come from the water and seriously hope to return there someday. I know that sounds bizarre coming from someone that doesn't even really swim.

Yesterday I finished listing all the Milagros Poppets on my Etsy shop. Check them out they need some love. Actually they need new homes!

Since Poppets have been on my brain I had a new idea one night as I was going to sleep. Day of the Dead poppet pendants. Tiny little sculpted and hand painted necklaces. Here is an iPhone pic of the first one. It's a bit glarey.





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Long time...new poppets!

I can't believe it's been so long since I posted. Actually, I can believe it and only part of it's excusable. I've had a lot going on these past few months. I actually spent most of June away from home. I was with my family in Arizona as my Grandmother has been very ill and has begun hospice care at home. Cyd and I went with my mother to offer as much support for everyone that we could. I wish there was more we could do.

We brought my Mom's cutie dog Raven home with us because my mom will have to fly home. We hadn't been home but a few hours when I noticed something was wrong with her eyes. We still aren't sure what it was even after numerous vet visits, but finally after a cycle of prednisone and tons of eye drops she seems to be doing well again.

Before we left I'd been working on my Geisha/Hannya doll, but when we got back I haven't felt like working with he yet. Instead I went in a totally different direction and came up with a new series I am calling Milagros Poppets. I like the combination of different folk magic traditions, and I have some great Milagros to work with. After a few weeks I have ten new poppets that I am listing on Etsy tonight and tomorrow. Each one of them has had their fabric selected carefully to match with the Milagros I have chosen for them to wear on a chain around their neck. I've also made herb blends that correlate to go in with the stuffing. I added a pocket to the back of each one so that there was a place to further personalize them. They started off as a much simpler idea but as I work my dolls always start dictating what they want done. These were no different and I found they all had wonderful faces waiting to be brought out. At the moment I have Gambler's Luck, Happy Home, Money Draw, Breast Health, Day of the Dead/Ancestor Remembrance, Land Travel, Air Travel, Sacred Heart of Mary and Yemanja/Yemaya/Sea Goddess. In the future there will be a few more also. I started listing them tonight on Etsy. You can SEE THEM HERE under the Milagros Poppets section. Only three are up right now, but I think I will list the rest tomorrow. Here is a picture of most of them together.