Stay with me.....

Stay with me

Don't be so quick to go,
please stay with me.
It's been so long since
I've had any company...

by Flora Thompson

My entry for EHAG Tombstone Challenge,I wasn't sure if I was going to make the
hand gorey or whimsical, I decided I didn't much care for gore....
I think it was a wise choice.

Simple base


clay characters added




clay letters added and painting begun


Although not a good picture you can see what it was going to look like with the bones painted to look as if the were poking out...


Blessings,Flora

Once upon a time...

In the enchanted kingdom of "Burkhardt" lived a beautiful princess named "Kinsley"
The king and queen of this kingdom proclaimed Saturday June 20th, to be "Princess Kinsley" day and so all the royal subjects came bearing many gifts for this special celebration......
My sweet Grandie Kinsley celebrated her 1 st birthday Saturday

Here she is in her adorable tutu!!!


Then modeling her beautiful Birthday dress!!I made the banner behind her.


Just look at that AWESOME cake!!


A few good pictures before all the fun begins




Cake time, Mom Chencha, Kinsley and Dad Brian


Hey mom who's the redhead over there?


Kinsley a bit overwhelmed with all the gifts and people.


Cousin Avery and friend checking out all the goodies


Cousin Avery ,Kinsley and Chencha




outside,under the tents, the jars are filled with gumballs to hold up the balloons


A few brave souls who didn't melt in the heat of the day...


I didn't get a picture of the cottoncandy and icecream lady...or the blow-up
pink castle....

but they all lived happily ever after!!!
Blessings,
Flora

ADO Invites You to Create an Art Doll!

Art Dolls Only challenges you to make an art doll along with us.
Your inspiration is the elements (fire-water-air-earth) and we challenge you to make an art doll using one, two, three or all four of the elements as your inspiration.



Sign up starts today and will run until July 16th.
To sign up simply email: artdollsonly@hotmail.com
Please include your name and a link to your blog.
Then get working on your doll!!


On Friday July 17th participants post their art doll to their blog.

Saturday July 18th and Sunday July 19th begins the fun of seeing all the art dolls that have been created! All participants will be listed in the ADO sidebar for easy visiting.


Any and all artists are welcome to participate, including non members. Here is your chance to explore the wonderful world of art dolls. First time doll maker, old hat or have not created in a while, all are welcome to join in on the fun!

Please use this badge to show everyone you are participating with a link back to the ADO blog.

*If you have signed up and can no longer participate, no biggy just be sure to let us know so we can remove you from the blog roll.
**Don't have a blog but still want to participate**
Deanna over at Blue Heron Dolls has graciously offered to host your finished dolls pictures. Simply visit her blog and let her know!



Sounds awesome huh? I'm going to submit my Seahorse doll why don't you give it a try too!!!
Blessings,Flora

TAODA.gallery show....

I had two special guest who came to see me, my two beauties Kinsley and her mom,my daughter, Chencha. Kinsley was so good, she even flirted a bit with Neva's husband, but mostly she amused herself with one of her toys. Kinsley loves to taste everything, Much to her mom's dislike, so everything that looks good must taste good, right? ahahaha!!!This is my most favorite age!!!


The Ladies of TOADA,
L-R standing Gwen Ross, Joyce Patterson, Wilmer LaBome,Marsha Krohn, Beth Akin,Karyn Jewel,Annette Foley, and me (Yes I know, Chunky monkey)
L-R seated Donna Simms, Neva Waldt,Pepper Hulme, Janet Bodin, and Annette Money


Well It was very Texas, that's for darn sure!! The heat was very HOT? hehehe
Honestly I think I melted a bit, but I had loads of fun!!!Sure wish all this extra weight had melted off too!!!
I got to meet Marsha Krohn and her sweet mom, who reminded me of my mom!
So many beautiful creations by so many talented women, if y'all get a chance, go by Somerville and do stop in ART C's Gallery,the wonderful and gorgeous hostesses, Cathy and Cheryl, I hope I got those names right, are the nicest ladies around.

There were too many beautiful art dolls, I have to say my most favorite was done by Neva Waldt of Art Dolls by Neva
This one is called " Harry was always a leg man " Harry is the puppeteer and he is holding on to string that are attached by magnets to the the jointed legs, everything Neva does is so clean and precise, just perfect!!!



This is called " All Dressed up and no place to go" again another wonderful piece!!!


Gwen made this sweet one and 2 other creations, she really does great dioramas with her dolls, my very favorite one of hers was a very large detailed piece with two musicians and a conductor,I wasn't sure if I could show it here, but it is spectacular, each instrument was so detailed ,I know I use that word a lot, but it's so true, the details do make a big difference,from the expressions on her face to the positioning of the bodies


Janet's of " Expressive Figures of Janet Bodin" , pieces are always so sweet and gentle with little elves or sprites,
this tree's bark ,she said was made of dryer sheets!!! which she has painted and
made to mimic the look of tree bark...!!!The little characters have caps made from acorns, too cute!!


Marsha's of "Shreds and Tatters" art is all elegance and so exquisite!!! I could look at her art all day long and never tire of it!!!Her beautiful art reminds me a bit of the art made by Marlaine Verhelst and Ankie Daanen


Pepper Hulme of " Dollworx " shown with two of her entries,this lovely art doll is dressed in beautiful lace and I looked but never found out how she was attached to the base, it's as if she floats on air, I wonder if she'll share?

Annette Money of " Just 3 more stitches---" stands next to her adorably whimsical creations , I love the colors she chose!!!



Joyce Patterson of " Fabric Images by Joyce",is from my hometown or just a hop, skip and a jump away from where I grew up!!!!!small world, such a lovely lady, she was getting ready to go to another show out of state, My dd loved these, full of fun and whimsy!!! I kinda favored the pirate!!!


Wilmer La Bome, with one of her entries, a patchwork angel, very fluid
and sweet!!She must have been the only one of us who didn't melt!!!Well her and Gwen!!!


One of my favorite artist is Donna Simms of " Donnas Art World ", she has to be one of the sweetest ladies on the group!!! I adore her art dolls and so did everyone who came by!!!


This is the little guy that made such a big hit, Donna was very generous with tips on how he was made!!!I think it's so funny how she said she does all her dolls differently, mostly because she can't remember the exact steps from the previous !!! I can so relate!!!


Annette Foley is another artist who made 2 sweet little girl dolls and a clown, the top one is hers,called Eleanor at 5,too adorable!!!She said one of the funniest lines I have ever heard, something about a " Slippery Slope" leading to "and pretty soon we're all crack whores" in referrance to once we start missing group meeting,I thought I was going to die laughing!!!All good fun and so funny,you had to be there to appreciate it!!!!?

The art below , next to Annette, is one of Angela Jericki's gorgeous entries, her dolls have beautiful fluid lines, a must see!!

Karyn Jewel is near my neck of the woods too, Lake Jackson!!!!She's a very quiet and sweet lady,who's dolls are full of whimsical fun, these two are mixed-media,I like Lola the one on the right,the colors she chose are like her, jewel-like!


And last but definitely not least is Beth Akin, next to one of her creations,a dimensional cross stitch entry, with it's bright brilliant coloring!!!


Here I am, isn't it strange how we don't always look the way we think we do? I gotta
start exercising, starting tomorrow.....


One last picture of all of us at lunch,


The Margarita's with Patrone were excellent!!!

Blessings,
Flora

Blogger problem?....

I have been experiencing problems with my blog, I keep getting bumped off, I was sure I had fixed that problem when I put my followers widget lower on my page!!
I've also had problems with SOME of my friends blogs too, and now mine is acting up a lot again!!!I usually just click right back on on the back button of my browser and I'm good to go, Is anyone having the same problem? It really is annoying!!

I wanted to show y'all more pic's of my " From The Sea " doll so that y'all can get
a good look at what she looks like,but couldn't and now she's at the gallery!!
I didn't get the ones with her and the fins all I have are the ones prior to me adding them to it.?? OH!! Bother!!!! Here are some pic's of her before the fins.

She really is a sweetie,


I love her little belly with it's freckles



along with her cute tiny hinie!!!!!!


This is the start of the seahorse mask.






Premier clay is so good for details and I love being able to make it do what
I want it to do, with a bit of water on hand, works like a charm! I have given her
alpaca hair eyelashes and her eyes have wells in the center that were painted then filled with a dimensional medium for depth. Mica powders give her a subtle blush throughout. her lips have an extra bit of glossy varnish for a wet look.


blessings,Flora

From the Sea....

Just a small peek at what's been keeping me quite busy these days, among other stuff...



This is the doll I was inspired to make after doing Octoboy for Zan Asha's "Under the Sea" swap, I was going to make her, but decided to keep her for the gallery art show that I will be in this Sat.at Art C's Gallery this is my first show ever!!!
I'm very excited nervous and busy, these days I hit the floor running and don't stop till the wee hrs. of the morning, I know I'm being silly but when you've never done this before it really gets your heart pounding just thinking about it and it is!!
I also had some little cone dolls accepted for TAODA & Hands on Houston at HCCC
art project:


the simple design is my own but the sweet little faces are stamped on, as we needed something quick, in hindsight I could have just as easily drawn something myself but
I'm such an airhead, sometimes it's a wonder that I can even chew gum and walk at the same time??
I have more good news ,I have been incontact with "Cloth,Paper,Scissors" magazine, Many thanks to my wonderful friend Cheryl Prater of " Praterposte"
I could possibly have a publication of one of my older dolls, more later.

Her befores aren't very many because I was so busy but I managed to get something.
foamcore base

clay body finished

didn't like the "too cute " face, so off with her head...er eyes...


I think I need to have Alice's white rabbit's saying on my forehead!!!
" I'm late / I'm late / For a very important date. / No time to say "Hello." / Goodbye. / I'm late, I'm late, I'm late.
Disclaimer ,the publisher takes no responsibility for the many typos I'm sure y'all will find here...

Blessings,Flora