Hand Painted Faces Are A Favorite

Take a look at Lorelei, isn't she amazing?  It is hard to believe that this face is hand painted.  The artist is Cindy Sowers.  And the costuming! Black crepe silk, hand-beaded/sequined and slate glass seed beads and machine brocaded silk charmeuse.

She is button-jointed at the shoulders, Swarovski crystal bead and copper wrapped wire joints at knees and elbows. Wired fingers and topped off with a beautiful hat.

That is a lot of work!  But that is what you get when you buy handmade:  quality.

Cindy has a lot more to offer at her Etsy Shop.  She has mermaids, an Egyptian Queen, fairies and - Lorelei's twin!

Shop Etsy , the place for all things handmade and you will be pleasantly surprised by all the fine artists you will find - including Cindy.

Another Day Another Doll...

I hope everyone reading this is in wonderful health and high spirits today.  The weather in Michigan is changing swiftly to fall (my personal favorite season) and I want to enjoy it as long as I can before winter sets in.  I was going to log off but I first looked at Paula Nerhus's Etsy Shop and I just had to post photos of her wonderful art dolls.  How happy someone is going to be when they own one of her works.  Paula sculpts the heads from paperclay and then paints with various mediums.  The clothing is from reclaimed vintage materials.  If you go to her site, she can explain better than I and you can then take a look at her "thinking inside the box" dolls.



Click Click Click to see all of the photos of this wonderful doll!  I would be thrilled to own just the photograph!  I must mention that Paula is one of the ADO (Art Dolls Only) artist's from Etsy.  Paula is so nice, she even takes layaway.  Someone is going to grab this doll as a Christmas gift so hurry and take a look before it is gone!

I love this guy!  He has such a sweet, innocent look on his face.  Paula's dolls take so many hours to create and they are  truly one of a kind.  You will be amused and amazed when you go to Paula's shop and you will surely have a smile on your face after looking at her creations.




Once again, you will find only the best of the best on Etsy where all things are handmade.  Support handmade artisans - all they do they do with love.

Dolls, Dolls and More Dolls

As you can see, I love to bring to this blog the great doll artists from ADO/Etsy - the place where all things are handmade.  I have another treat for your eyes: DuBuhDu Designs.  The dolls are exquisite and I believe they speak for themselves. 

 

DuBuhDu has prints of her magnificent dolls at her DuBuhDu Designs. Etsy is the place for all things handmade.  There is so much to see from wonderful, handmade artisans.  All items are handmade or vintage - no manufactured items.  Handmade dolls are such a wonderful keepsake.  They each have their own story and the artists put their heart and soul into making their dolls.  Support handmade and you will not be disappointed.    

Don't We All Want A Little Fantasy in Our Lives?

I couldn't let the day by by without showcasing Vania Cruz-Perez and her wonderful Fantasy Whispers art dolls. Vania created these wonderful ladies with polymer clay. The colors are so stunning and isn't her costuming awesome? I love the way she made sure they were PG for websites! Click above to visit her blog and be amazed! Just one more reason to visit Etsy where all things are handmade. Enjoy...

Fall is Here, Halloween Can't be Far Behind! Take a Look at The Fun and Fantastic Polymer Clay Artist Loopy Boopy...

Soon all the ghosts and goblins will be out searching for all kinds of treats but I have one for you today! Take at look at these UNIQUE polymer clay art dolls by ADO Etsy artist Loopy Boopy

This is actually a cake topper - a must for your strange, creepy (but loving!) wedding affair. Isn't this couple adorable?!!

All of the creepy, odd and strange people are handmade using polymer clay and there are more people and ornaments (yes, this guy is an ornament) available at Loopy Boopy's Etsy Shop

Justine is my favorite. Please take at look at
Loopy Boopy's Etsy Shop and support handmade artists! All of the artists on Etsy work very hard at their craft to bring you unique, quality items that you will not find in any commercial store - these are usually one of a kind, limited editions and many artists offer custom work.

Get ready to enjoy your journey into the world of handmade, you're gonna be amazed!

SASHA Has Found A Home!

What a nice surprise today to find out that SASHA has found a home with a lovely lady that donated to my charity (see story below). I know she is going to a warm, caring home and is going to enjoy her new owner. Who couldn't love someone who has such a big heart? She is one of the handmade art dolls that you can find on my website Fabby Menagerie.

My heartfelt thanks go out to the lovely lady who made the donation.

SASHA was adored by many because of the spiritual countenance that always surrounded her. It didn't hurt that she was wearing a beautiful silk dress in such a deep, rich burgundy. She will need the hat and muff where she is going because the weather there is COLD!! Thank you so much for your generosity and SASHA is on her way today. Bye SASHA, don't forget to stay in touch.

Today's ADO Doll Artist Is: Deanna Hogan

If you love the sweet look of this doll, you need to go ASAP to Deanna Hogan's website Blue Heron Dolls! Deanna has quite a collection of these adorable girlies and she also has some fabulous, in-depth tutorials for beginner to advanced doll makers. She is a member of the Etsy ADO team and is a doll artist who loves to share! Please support all the handmade artists at Etsy.

More Fab Cloth Art Doll Artists!

Presenting another one of the great artisans you can find on Etsy, Cindy Sowers. Cindy makes absolutely fabulous cloth dolls and if you know of someone who is getting married in the coming year, this would be a totally excellent gift! You MUST see her other dolls (I command you!). This is an art cloth, one of a kind doll. What could be a more perfect gift for that once in a lifetime wedding day? Here Comes The Bride


Cindy also creates lovely fairy dolls like this one: Zenae the Sorceress

Etsy Friends - Where You Can Find All Things Handmade

This is just one of the many fine, handmade items you will find on Etsy. This is by Abi Monroe and if you scroll down the page a bit under the title "Etsy Treasury", you can click on her shop, An Angel At My Table.

Abi also makes dolls and is a member of ADO (Art Dolls Only) on Etsy. ADO is a group of doll makers in all kinds of medium: clay, cloth, mixed media.

Handmade is a bit more expensive, but what you may not realize is how many hours go into making something really special! These are not manufactured, machine-stamped items..you get those at the dollar store. All of the items are handmade, usually one-of-a-kind.

When you are looking for something really unique for a special gift or for the upcoming holidays, please go to Etsy and support the artists! The person who receives your gift will appreciate your taking the time to find that unique piece and the artist can buy groceries!

Why Am I Here?

Singing and acting were (and still are) a passion and a way to make a living for many years (meeting my bass playing husband was a bonus, too).

27 years, 3 teenage sons and one rescue dog later, I discovered the joys of sewing and doll making. I am still a work in progress but I found my true purpose in life which you will find below.

My sisters and friends were really impressed the first time they saw my dolls; guess they thought I was just another pretty face (LOL!). Why dolls? I don't know. I looked through doll books and was awed by the beautiful dolls people had created. All kinds of dolls!! Mixed media, cloth art, clay, altered and the list goes on forever! As I said, I (specifically skill/technique-wise) am a work in progress.

Last year my three teen sons were diagnosed with choroideremia. This is a rare eye disease that results in progressive, eventual vision loss. If you have kids, you know how devasting this kind of news can be. No cure. Yet. That is where the dolls come in...

I have a fund raising site set up exclusively for donations to the Choroideremia Research Foundation. Visitors can make any size donation (they all add up!) and if people make a donation of at least $100.00, they can choose a doll from my Esty site. AHA! That's why the dolls!  The site is http://www.firstgiving.com/fabbydolls.com.

I wondered why I started making dolls and now I have the answer:



It is hard enough in this economy to get funding and this disease is so rare - it does not get a lot of funding. Thanks for reading.

Have a great weekend!

It's A Beautiful Thang!

Well, that is not a very original title but I am still waking up. I wanted to share a photo I received from my sister. It is a picture of an iceberg from top to bottom.

This came from a rig manager for Global Marine Drilling in St. Johns, Newfoundland. They actually have to divert the path of these things away from the rig by towing them with ships! In this particular case, the water was calm and the sun was almost directly overhead so that the diver was able to get into the water and get this shot. They estimated the weight at 300,000,000 tons!

Can you imagine how the diver must have felt seeing this beautiful image up close? Not many people have this kind of opportunity.





I wish you all well and hope you see the beauty in each day we are here and send good thoughts to all.

Carlotta, Ms Cougar 2009!

Carlotta is a doll I created for the Dimensions in Dollmaking Show in San Diego. I found out about the show through Cindy Sowers (thank you!) and although I was late they let me contribute. I was able to come up with Carlotta over a weekend and was happy I could get her out the door. The theme of the show is "Make Me Laugh" and since I have a couple of friends (who shall remain nameless of course) who like the younger guys, it did make me laugh! I must confess, though that my hubby is 5 years younger than me so maybe I am a "cub".

The lamp was made out of a bra for the Bra Challenge - to bring awareness to breast cancer. I cut the cups out, glued them together, added fringe on the bottom, glued a battery-operated twist light to the inside (it really lights!) and topped it all off with a pull switch. She is relaxing on her favorite chaise and still loves the look of a shag rug! Perhaps Carlotta would like to keep the lights low for now.

The DID shows runs from September 16th - 19th in San Diego (wish I could go). If you live in the area, take a look at the quilts and dolls as I am sure you will be amazed by all of the talent and imagination of the artists!

Etsy Treasury

I was surprised (and honored) to find "Little Amy" on the Etsy treasury created by the lovely Abi Monoe!

Click here to see The Treasury


Thank you Abi! You can find Abi's shop on Etsy AnAngelAtMyTable and you will want to check it out because she has some very sweet items in her shop!

If you want to buy handmade only, Etsy is the place to go! When I was at Mackinac Island this summer, I found some great shops with beautiful, handcrafted items. The sad thing is, there were many more shops who churned out manufactured products that could be found in shop after shop after shop. It really made me appreciate handmade items so much more and I gave myself a pat on the back for being a part of handmade!

Fall is near!

I love fall in Michigan! It looks like it may be coming a bit early here. The trees are starting to turn colors, the air is a bit cooler and I look forward to pumpkins, gourds and mums appearing on everyone's porch!

This is Little Amy, one of the dolls that is currently for sale on my Etsy site. She looks like she is dressed for fall: all gold, brown and cream colors. She was inspired by the Charles Dickens novel, "Little Dorritt". She has a very serene countenance on her face but I do wonder: what is in her little handbag?