Reno / Iowa Retreat ..Snug Harbor NY 2011

     Woo Hooo .. let me start by  Giving Big Ed ( My Hubby) A huge Thank you and a few hugs and Kisses ..This workshop was a fantastic Christmas Gift , yes I had to wait till summer to use it but it was well worth the wait !
      Sherry Goshon is one of My doll Idols .. I love her work and could only hope Sherry would give a workshop close to me one Day ..That day Has Come !! Reno / Iowa Retreat held in Snug Harbor , Staten Island NY ..Snug Harbor is a beautiful historical Maritime park and botanical garden that was the perfect backdrop for a creative weekend .
       Sherry Came to town with her partner in crime Jean Bernard ... They are a Dynamo combination of Talent ,where one leaves off the other one picks up ..  Sherry is so down to earth and Jean is a little shy, they complement each other making for a workshop full of techniques that I'm sure I will use on many other Dolls ...
       We were supplied with a Simple Doll pattern , head, torso and arms to be sewn and turned before the workshop and a supply list from Both Jean and Sherry... I could only wonder what Sherry and Jean Were going to do with the Ridged Wrap ,Tissue paper, Apoxi sculpt  and Wire ...         
      Sherry Guided us through the basic construction of the Dolls Body and the face up..Jean Taught us the cage .. The cage is totaly encrusted in Glitter and sparkle !! (glitter does not photograph well)  .. I love the way she came out .. I still haven't given her a name 
    
 A BIG THANK YOU TO JEAN AND SHERRY  it was a hoot meeting the both of you !

I hope our paths do cross again  xoxo

      

A back view

I had to give her legs

Dozens of Tiny frosted hearts Adorn the Wire Cage.
My dear friend Sue Milo gave me the hearts
They were white, I tinted them with ranger Alcohol inks.
I used clear crystals and fancy head pins
 to make the small drop pendants.

Sherry Showed us how to shadow a face with
Pan Pastles and watercolor pencles.

I up- cycled a brides made gown to create her costume
and the center Flower . I used a heat gun to shrink and pucke the fabric .

                 
     
     

" ART IS YOU " Day 2

                                                                                              
     Fridays workshop ..."COLD BLOODED JOURNAL "..With  MICHAEL DeMENG...

     You just don't know How Excited I was that morning !!! I think Michael is Hands down the Rock Star of Assemblage Art ..
     I bet Mr DeMeng  never Forgets Me . I almost knocked him off his feet with a big Hug the morning of class , I have to admit He looked mildly shocked  by this crazy red Head , but quickly learned I'm quite harmless.   LOL   Michael is so Down to Earth and Willing to Teach his students All about Assemblage Art .. And make you laugh along the way ! I highly recommend taking a workshop with Michael you will not regret it ..

     
 Yikes... Collage / Assemblage ..Not my Strong point when it comes to ART ..So in the days Before " ART IS YOU " I played with the composition  arranging and rearranging  till I had something I liked.. Leaving me open to learning the techniques . In the End I left class with a Journal Cover  I was very Happy With ..
     The Journal is not Really Finished ,still needs some glazing and and some cool paper on the inside cover ,Maybe a little gold Rub N Buff on the nail heads , Then you know Some More of the USZHHHH,
     As For That Vintage stop watch Case,  I have a plan  for that ... The  "Mysterious Frozen Caveman Trick " page 75 in  Michael DeMeng's Book " Dusty Diablos " the question is should I put a face behind the ICE or a tiny frozen Charlotte  ?  Only time will tell.

" ART IS YOU "

      This Was My First year At " ART IS YOU " and it was one of the best things I have ever done for my self ! ... As the Retreat Approached I Became so excited I thought I might burst..lots of things to pack , supplies for each workshop ,Clothes and Makeup...The one and only thing I forgot was my CAMERA !! oh well can't cry over spilt milk can we .. so all the pictures you are about to see I took once I got home .
      I met Tery at the hotel on Wednesday afternoon ,we unpacked the cars ,and checked in . Colleen arrived later that evening the three of us settled in for the night....
      Thursday Day one , so excited up early .. Breakfast and My first Class .. Thomas Ashman teaching "Glass journal" OMG what a cool guy.. with Thomas's help I conquered My FEAR OF FIRE  in the workshop.

   We learned to make a spine and hinges for our journal from copper.
   Thomas showed us how to anneal the copper and patina it with a torch .. oh what fun it was blasting the copper with the torch. HOT STUFF !!!
   I brought along a vintage bracelet to attach to the journal. I love the way it looks  with the purple in the cover.

A big Thank you to Thomas Ashman for teaching  this fantastic journal to us .

Woo Hoo A chance to win a Cuttle Bug !

     I recently met a Fab and funky Gal Jenny Holiday .  We Met at a class she was teaching at " Art is You " Wow What a class it was ..I came home and after a day of unpacking and laundry .I started Checking out Blogs ..Woo Hooo .. Loved ' Every day is a Holiday " Pink and Sweet just like Jenny ..And to top it off She Does Freaking Give aways ..Yahoo ....Some Cool Stuff .check it out She is giving Away A CUTTLE BUG !!! brand New in the Box !!! gotta Love That .Gotta Love Jenny !!!

www.everyday-is-a-holiday.blogspot.com

Englishtown Flea Mkt

  

     Big Ed and I hit the Road  early today  hoping to get a good parking spot at the Flea Mkt . We didn't leave early enough ! The parking lot was crazy full when we arrived ,So we paid the 2 bucks to park across the street ..and I'm glad we did because we found the  BAR !!!  and with today's unexpected Hot weather an Ice Cold Bahama Mama was the perfect ending to a sweaty hike around Englishtown Flea Mkt .
    " One mans Junk is another mans Treasure "   I think today's treasure hunt went Well , 5 empty pocket watch cases , some kinda silvery Nails , a hand full of small blackish metal things  and two tiny silver magnifying glasses .
      I think I will use at least one watch cases and the Nails at  "Art Is You " as for the rest of the stuff .... Ahhh the Ideas swirling round in my head .....
          

Transparency Film

     Today I  decided I would  print images from the My computer on to Transparency Film ,I need a few for  a Class at  Art is You  in October .  I spent an hr searching for some Vintage Paris Postcards and photos, along with photos of my favorite silent film star Lillian Gish and 1920 bathing beauties , Tuns to choose from !
     About 2 yrs ago My friend Tery Favo  ordered 2 boxes of  "Zelar ink jet  transparency Film" off E-bay , I picked one box up from her , needless to say  I stuck it in my craft closet and there it sat untouched until today

     I'll be damned no instructions on the Box ! So I'll wing it ..HA HA ..I printed out about 10  sheets before I realized they were not drying ... yikes.. So I called Tery up  " ring ring " Thank you MissT.. she told me one side should be a little rough and that is the side I should be printing on  DUH  I was printing on the wrong side !! OK now I know what I'm doing ...NOT ...I printed out 3 sheets of  POST CARDS before I realized they needed to be flipped  ...Errrrr....Well I did finally get it right just as the ink ran out....

Linda Misa Work shop part 3

       I know I have been away from My Blog All summer ,lets just Say I have been very Busy .A couple workshops ,and a creative Weekend Down the Jersey shore ..But the best thing that happened to me this Summer is ..I BECAME A GRAND MOTHER !!!

       First things First ...She is Finished! I tried to get a good photo of her hanging from her parachute but try as I might She kept swaying and twirling in the breeze.. so here it goes ...

                                                                                

    

Bitter Sweet

The Selling of a Doll is always Bitter Sweet for me ..I hate to see them Go  ..But Go they Must ! Said Good By to one of My favorites yesterday ..Good By to City Kitty..  She went Home With Linda Keay ,I'm sure she will Love her new Home among Linda's collectibles

 .

Linda Misa Workshop Part 2

    We all started with a simple sweet Cloth Doll Body with arms and long legs , made from lindas pattern "Phyllis ".  The instructions said we could play with the size ... So I did  ! The  original  pattern I could print from my computer was 90%  I then shrunk that  down to 70 %  the size was perfect  !
    Linda shaired her teqnique for sculpting a head , face  and Hair from paper clay .Even though this was not my first Clay over cloth Doll ,I still picked up many fantastic sculpting tips and tricks from Linda .Making Hair From paper clay was so much fun and a first for me . Linda had this cool little tool with a brass swirl on the tip she suggested I try it , I pressed it into the individual tufts of hair to create Texture WOW I loved it !
    The dolls dryed while we played  at  Altering Fabric with Rubber stamps .clorox bleach pens ,freemotion sewing and fabric paints .We also created funkie little birds from the paper clay and a small styrofoam egg ( more of that in part three )..
    At the end of day one we All went to a local dinner for a bite to eat and more chatting ..Bushed  from a fun creative day we said good night and headded back to our Hotel room for a good nights sleep...ahhhhh
         On day two we did a little sanding and the dolls were ready for paint ...So Exciting This is what I paid for!! Learing Lindas painting style or as much as I could in a day... LOL..  It was so  much fun painting the whole doll top to bottom with BLACK gesso .We  then used a dry brush method to apply the flesh tone of our choice , The next step was to apply washes for shadeing and highlights  .I love the  Retro feel it gave to My doll .For her face I used a combination of  Acrylic paint , sparkling H2O water color, chalks and Gel pens. I also gave her several coats of mat spray by duncan, befor her lips and eyes were glossed with Triple Thick Gloss medium
      I used  acrylic craft  paint in a vintage golden tone for her hair color, I painted it on ,then gently rubbed it off  with a paper towel to expose the texture swirls in the hair, a little cream paint on the tips gave the hair just the little extra something it needed . After the paint dryed  I applied 2 coats of Triple Thick Gloss medium for a high shine.
    

Check back for part three of  the Linda Misa Workshop  ! its all about her party dress !

Peace and love  Heather

P.S please excuse any and all spelling mistakes for some reason the spell check on Blog spot seems not to be working...

I started her shoes  painted them with tiny dots of craft acrylic paint .in pink, black, cream and gold
" I think they look like confetti" then I glossed them up with 2 coats of triple thick .



workshop with Linda Misa . Part One

            Hi everyone I know it has been a long time since my last post . That is because I have been busy living the creative life ,working on Dolls , playing with Paper,  planting my Hippie garden and  meeting new people .
           Speaking of Meeting New People ..I met Linda Misa !!! Yes Linda Misa from Australia  !!!  She was here in New Jersey giving a  2 day workshop at My friend Stephanie's House . Ten days ago Eight fellow Doll makers joined Linda to create a clay over cloth doll with a slightly prim style ,Modeled after Linda's Doll "Phyllis ".
         OMG the workshop was fantastic, Linda Helped each of us bring our doll to life . Linda  shared many techniques with us , from working with  paper clay to build a dolls face and hair to creating our own fabrics . we even made birds from paper clay . But the number one thing for Me was the method Linda used  for painting the doll ...So Cool .. Lets just say I LOVE BLACK GESSO !
          Let Me say Thank You Stephanie For setting up the workshop and for hosting it too ,you are the BEST ! .A big hug and Thank you to Linda for giving us a little bit of herself,  it was a joy to work on a doll with Linda and I hope our paths do cross again .  Oh let me not forget to thank My Hubby Big Ed for giving me the workshop for My birthday . He spoiles me and I love it ... Peace and Love . Heather.




Linda and I  



Linda Misa and The Doll Makers





THE DOLLS


 

A Doll For Charity



My First try at a Tiny Top Hat  I used Timtex a scrap of fabric left
over from the costume , Aleen's original tacky glue ,
Vintage rhinestones .silk flower petals and velvet ribbon
with a dash of glitter glue.



I created this Doll from A Patty Culea Pattern
I made the body face and shoes about 4 yrs ago
And there she sat unfinished  .
About 2 months ago I agreed to make a Doll
For a charity auction ,
This Doll was just crying to be finished .
I think  She is is Happy to be Costumed and ready to Go
I will be dropping her off this week 




here is a view of the back of her Slippers .
Rremember I did them 4 yrs ago .

 














                                                                                  I hope she does well at the Charity Auction !!

I find is Odd how the colors of her costume look so different  depending on the background colors in the photos.

I'm Happy With her finished Look . Patty Culeas Patterns Always Sew Up Beautiful . I'm a Big Fan And Have All of  Patty's Books . Maybe some Day I'll take the Doll Cruise She does.

See you All Soon Till then Keep On liveing the Creative Life ..... Peace and Love Heather.

The Slippers are plum  purple color taffeta with  Ruched Ribbon
store bought organza flowers , Velvet Leaves  & Tiny clear glass beads.
( poor lighting  in this photo )



who doesn't love a paper doll ?



I love to color the Phee Mcfaddlell's  coloring book
pages ... this is one of the puppet pages

                                                                          

    I love to Color  !  I find it relaxing  and after the local flooding the disaster in Japan and the loss of a friend to cancer this weekend .... I needed some Color therapy  .
   A few years ago I was searching the Internet looking for some coloring book pages to print out for my little friend Sierra ,and through my search I found http://www.pheemcfaddell.com/  she has many  coloring book pages  to print out and some pages that have puppets to color and assemble... I have fallen in LOVE with them !
   This is the first time I made the puppets . I printed them out on card stock ,colored them with prismacolor pencils .cut them out  and adhered them to heavy weight card stock with an acid free glue stick . Then I cut them out again  leaving a little of the black card stock around the edges , I think it made the colors POP ...I added gems and Stickleys glitter glue before assembling them I used some foam dots to attach the legs and wings to the body giving them some dimension  .it was a fun and relaxing project . Here are the two I finished this weekend.


My Favorite color is Orange ! I wish you could see
all the sparkly glitter and gems .but my camera just
doesn't get the glitter good . 



A lovely Gift





Thank You Amber Dawn  I love the wonderful little treasures you sent Me ...





I recyled an electrical tape box to keep the Tiny
Treasures in .... if I Didn't put them in this box I would loose
them


    A few weeks ago I received a package in the Mail ... It was addressed to Me from Amber Dawn ..WooHoo ..Needless to say I was excited to see what she had sent me . Inside was a small  envelope with THREE of the sweetest little cupcakes ever !  Thank you Amber I love the Gift

Look they fit on a Dime ..how cute is that

Faces 101 With Maria



step one.. laying out the features  

                                                                                                      On the third Friday of the month the Doll club meets in Neptune NJ at the public Library . When we get to gether the room is filled with creative energy it is fantastic , Most every month we work on something fun ,This meeting was no exception      
For February we did Face drawing and coloring  ,With the fabulous Maria ... She taught us how to section the face correctly .draw the eyes lips and nose , and then onto the best part Shading  and coloring for a realistic looking face on cloth.. we used prisma colored pencils ,chalks ,ultra fine fabric markers and gel pens. she gave us many good tips for Eyes and lips along with techniques for getting a three dimensional feel from a flat cloth face.
I learned so much ,but still have a long way to go to catch up to Maria ..look how beautiful and realistic her faces are!
What is it they say Practice Practice Practice ,that is what I'll be doing  and hopefully I will put out some outstanding faces like Maria .
                                                                     
     


A little shading done

   

My finished face is the one on the right 





Maria's Faces !!! Fantastic looking   .



WOOOHOOO I Won I Won !!!



Yes I won this Fantastic hand Made Heart Pendant .... I won it from Mary Wiseman on Face Book  ..  She is a Friend I met at a Doll Work shop in Kentucky a couple yrs ago .. I love Marys ART  her sassy spirit  and her generous soul too. THANK YOU MARY I love it !    



Solstice has sleeves

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  I hate to say it but I struggle with Sleeves on my polymer clay Dolls and Solstice proved to be No different , the first sleeves were to short and to pouffe ,the second set just didn't thrill me something about the gathers at the shoulder... but on my third attempt I GOT IT !  I'm happy with them .
          I applied  lace to the sleeve that I first Stiffened with " Stiffen Stuff" spray , after the spray dried ( with help from a hot Iron ) I added  some " Stickles" in  frosted lace to parts of the lace...ugh  that stuff took hrs to dry. But gave a nice icy  texture to the lace , a few  tiny dots of golden glitter glue created bead like accents  too . I know that the embellishing of her sleeves has just begun ... check back in a few to see her costume evolve .

Getting Back to Solstice ...

      Wow as Valentine weekend passed I realized it has been a whole month since I took the work shop with Molly Stanton .How Time Flys! I think it is time to get on with finishing my doll.
     I'm never sure the direction a doll will take  me when I start it ,I guess you can say I let it happen . Some times it happens quick and other times I audition many fabrics and Ideas before it all falls into place.
      For Solstice I knew I wanted to Keep her in Blue and white with touches of gold . I tried several combinations before finding just the right icy blue, and winter white .I am still on the hunt for the leather or fabric to make her corset from, Not to mention I haven't begun to pick out findings and jewels
     Check back in a few days and you will get a glimpse of her with some clothes on !
    
     

Valentine Kitty

Sanded polished and ready for paint

      No pink Hearts for this Valentine Kitty ,She is  Mocha and Dark chocolate all the way .
      I started with a recycled Cloth body from a Stephanie Novatski Pattern, and a Styrofoam ball for the head . I used paper clay to sculpt the face,ears ,boots and mittens. Sanded and polished  the paper clay till smooth.. I used acrylic paint to do up her face and paint the leopard on her mittens and boots. I used a little chalk on the cheeks before spraying  with a matt sealer.
      The best part of Doll making for me is creating the costume ,and this doll was no different . City Kitty  has beautiful milk chocolate silk pants and a jacket in dark brown vintage velvet ,all trimmed in fur .She is adorned with a vintage pink broach and Rhinestone collar . when I look at her I think she needs a Hat ,but I haven't come up with one She Loves yet.
     
     



She even has a paper clay tail



I'm so happy with Her leopard Boots and Mittens

I think the City Kitty needs a Hat of some sort But She has not been happy
any of my choices.

" Solstice " the winter Garden Farie




At first I thought the feet Molly
Provided were crazy Big ...But
They look good and The  Doll
Stands on her own

 
    I only name Dolls when I'm going to keep ..I am in love with Solstice ! This is by far the best face sculpt I have ever done . Her Hands Came out beautiful  Too . Thank you Molly .

    I did her face with a verity of mediums .Acrylic paint ,sparkling H2o water color, a little human makeup , chalks and a couple mists of Duncan super matte finish She still needs eye lashes and  shimmer powders  to soften her a little and blend out the tiny imperfections.( a tiny bit of dirt in the clay )

    I don't usually apply the hair before the costume is finished ,but I was looking for her personality. The BIG hair is just what she needed .

   I love the sparkly blue fabric I
chose for her under garment . her shoes  have a coat of paint ,

and need embellishing

    As For Wings.. I have a pair of wings started ,,,I'm not loving them. We will see if I make her a new pair or use the pair I have started , I guess  it All depends on The fabric I choose to create the rest of her costume from

                                                 

                                          




I think she needs more hair on the top of her
Head . she will get a crown of some
sort  , if she needs more hair I'll add it
behind her  head piece

 

A weekend with Molly Stanton

 On January 14th Colleen Athens and I packed up our sculpting Gear and Drove to Quakertown PA , for a fun and educational  2 day  Doll Sculpting workshop on the 16th and17th With Molly Stanton .The Workshop was held  at Molly's Cozy home studio ,about a 20 min drive from our Hotel .We stoped to pick up a light lunch on our way . We arrived a few min before 11 am ,the starting time and were happy to see a fellow sculptor and friend Dea  had already arrived for the workshop . Thank you  Dea for turning us on to Molly and Her work ! 
      Here are a few of the  45 photos I took during the Class .I hope you enjoy them , and that they inspire you to take a workshop with Molly ,she not only teaches doll sculpting but Dragons and creatures too! The Workshop was worth the trip  I know I will be traveling to Quakertown again to sculpt with Molly .



Thanks to Molly I now know How to make Beautiful hands





Look she stands !






<>  This is My Dolls  finished head ready to be attached to the body <> 

Fantastic little hands !

  



I have Fabric , hair and embellishments picked out for her costume ,and have started Jazzing up the wired wings molly provided us with .I have also started to paint slippers on the feet Molly made for all of us .So it shouldn't be too long before I post photos of a finished Doll . 

I learned this Body Suit  for  covering
the wire armature from
Colleen Athens