Mermaid RR in progress

We finally got the Mermaid RR off the ground and into the water! So many of us had health issues this summer, either with ourselves or our family, that it just paid to wait a bit.

Here is Andine- body by Sherry Grove and face by Sharon 'Harry' Solly. I think Sherry gave me the sequins, as well, and the little Czech fish. The button was from Bebee Goddard, so this is going to be full of memories, as well.

I can't wait to see how he looks when he comes home.

Happy Creating!

What to do...

when a friend wants to join in a beaded doll RR, but just finished surgery and doesn't know about keeping to a set schedule with many beaders?? Have a private round robin, that's what!

Stacie (Squirrely Ducks blog - http://squirrellyduck.blogspot.com/) and I are doing just that, and she sent me a form, so the round robin is a sort of sisters exchange.

Here is her doll, which I wanted to stand up. I tried some smaller beads, but the size of her face and the pattern of the material cried out for something larger. We settled on 12mm smokey quartz rounds, left on their original stringing material (which was tied into a tight, glued knot), and then attached with Stealth Spiderwire 10# braided thread at each thread juncture between the beads. Add some 4mm roseAB bicones to fill the gaps and a line of copper-lined 11s over the tops of the beads and she looks as if she has a fancy ruffled edge.

Plus, she stands proudly!

The fabric is so beautiful that I am going to use much of the pattern for beading inspiration....

Click on any photo to make it full-size. Feel free to right click and save, if you wish.

Happy Creating, everyone!

Face Swap at Beaded_Art_Dolls!

These are the faces I received from the swappers- there are slips by

most of them, so you can see who made which face. Click on the photo

to make it full size! What fun....so much inspiration!

These are some extras from the hostess- Sherry G shared

some bits and bobs for dolls with me, and I passed the rest

onto Joetta, so Joetta gifted both Sherry and I!

Makin' Faces

Way too much fun. Mica powders, acrylic paints (left over from a paint-by-numbers set my daughters had), Alcohol Inks- sealed with Future.

The round blue plate are those going to the Beaded Art Dolls yahoogroup swap, and the others are for my personal stash, though some of those might switch around. Not too many folks like the larger faces, so the golden sort-of-Oriental one and the blue one might switch over to my group, and the turtle woman and owl woman to the swap group. I can always make more of those.

Hope you enjoy looking.

Winters Queen

It is a wonderfully rainy day- great for the plants and us, but lousy for taking photos. Still, I wanted to share Winter Queen, as she is finished. Each of her snowflakes has a Sterling Silver spacer bead, inside which nestles a 2.5 or 3mm Swarovski bicone, held in place with a 13o charlotte, supposed to be silver plated, but the plating comes off with wear. Each snowflake is different, and is done with circular peyote stitch. Her bodice reflects the different colors of the dark we know in the Northern Hemisphere's Winter, as well as the phases of the moon, which stands out so clearly without leaves to obscure its faces.Dark blue swirls for the winds of Winter, swirling the snowflakes.

As always, click on any image to enlarge.

I hope you enjoy her.

Gig's Love

Form by Sherry Grove of VA. Round Robin at Beaded Art Dolls

Yahoogroup.

North Wind Pin

It's both fun and a challenge to work in a single palette...I am happy with how he came out!

It's ba-ack!!!

Lynn M has decided to re-open Beaded Art Dolls yahoogroup, with the hopes that the folks who join will be as excited about beading, dolls, and harnessing your Muse to those, as well as sharing photos of your creations!
I am so happy about this- Bead Embroidery is my first love in beads, and when BAD went silent for this past year, it took a little something out of my creative process. I don't know about you, but being the only person for miles and miles and miles that loves this, I depend on sharing via the internet, to push my techniques, sense of color and reach for new styles.
If you are interested, visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/beaded_art_dolls/ and hit that 'Join this Group' button at top of page.
Hope to see you there!!

Round Robin doll going home!!

The Jungle Dolls Round Robin @ Beaddreamz yahoogroup is coming to a close this Dec 15, and I worked hard getting Jo Adam's doll finished and ready to go home early! There are many gifts I have still in my head that need to come out and get into my hands, so they can wend their way to friends and family, so Orchis, the beads, Diane Fitzgerald's The Beaded Garden and I sat down for a two day marathon, in between cooking for eight! LOL!

I hope you like the results!

Beaders included; Dian, Gail, Jo, Sherry, Ruth and myself.

I can't wait for mine to come home- she is going onto the tree..

Come join the next Round Robin at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/beaddreamz/ and have some beady fun!

And, as always, click on either photo to make it full-size.

Fyre, companion to Pele, Goddess of Volcanos

Many of the beads that were put on her during the round robin were falling off, due to thread that was literally rotting. It looks like regular cotton thread, and I think the beads that were used had sharp edges, and cut through it til the thread gave out.

So, off with the old, on with the new.

Her fabric patterning cried 'Fire' to me when I made her, so am working with that patterning to showcase the different aspects of fire, some helpful, some harmful, but all just fire in its many glories and colors.

I hope you enjoy watching her 'grow'.

Going home

Opal is on her way home to her mom, so she can get the rest of her beady little self together!

I enjoyed the challenge of working with only pastel, opalescent seed and glass beads for her.

Safe journey, Opal!

Opal

is a doll that was created by Dian of AZ, and went on her journey during an ill-fated Round Robin, the last of the Beaded Art Dolls group before that group closed. It finally made its way back to me, and has been patiently waiting beads, along with Ann of OR's doll.

Now is the time, and here is a sneak peek of what is happening. Opal is a birthstone doll, to be done in opalescent colors, which opens an entire palette of soft greens, pinks, creams, blues, purples, oranges and yellows!

I am sure having fun, and hope to have Opal ready to travel back to her mom, for a bit of beading to be added by Dian, before she joins the ranks of the dolls living in Dian's AZ home!

A wonderful learning experience..

I went with a silversmith friend, Harleen Powers, to the Summer Solstice show in Greensboro, NC. We shared a booth, and while we both sold only one item apiece, the value of me finding out how much folks enjoyed my beaded art dolls was worth all the travel time, money and heat exhaustion! People actually came to the booth after being told by their friends that they needed to come see, and several gallery owners were interested in me bringing the dolls to their galleries.

Of course, it goes without saying that Harleen's silver, gold, copper and bronze creations were much drooled over, but the crowd, which happened to spend an awful lot on tattoos (from what we observed) just didn't have it in them to purchase one of a kind, real jewelry.

That's OK, there's always another show, and Harleen has her own gallery owners to satisy with new pieces before Fall.

But this whole thing got me re-inspired to finish Celebrate the Dance- a doll in honor of the Mardi Gras and Carnivale style celebrations world-wide, held under the same sun and same moon we all enjoy....I hope you like her as much as I do!

Mysterious Mystique

She belongs to a friend of mine, who lives in VA. In an round robin

on a group I no longer belong to, she 'disappeared', or at least the

person who had received her (thanks to tracking, we knew THAT,

at least) would not return phone calls, emails,nor letters.

Surprisingly, after 3 years, Mystique showed up in a box with her

journal, and a note saying the person had found her and was

returning her! Hooray!

I asked to bead on her, and after her mom and I conferred, realized

the navy blue, white, and christmas green beads did not belong on

her branches...which the person who beaded her thought were arms.

Oh well, off the beads came, as well as the flower beads that were

scattered all over her form. You can see the beads in the bottom shot.

The flowers went to the great multi-colored flower field at the base,

on her back, filling that in nicely. The crystals are being reserved to

go in a dropped swirl by the pink curls at the side of her mask, when

the other bits are finished- nothing like swarovski bicones being pushed

back and forth while the rest is being worked on, to cut their threads!

I have pretty much filled in her face, and now have a sock on it while I

get to her branches....she is going home to Sherry on Thurs, and I want

her to be a good surprise!

Petroglyph Frog

He wanted to be symbolic of all frogs have been to mankind,

both icon and warning, with his symbols and colors.

He hopes mankind will not totally destroy the environment

for amphibians, and ultimately, mammals, in their greed

and shortsightedness.

Round Robining again!!

You would think I had enough on my plate; a kumi rope and fully beaded doll, representing a 'Woman in Art' to be done by the end of September, plus the Hand and a beaded animal, which have until the end of Oct...and my DH's birthday, looming ahead on Oct 3, but who can resist working on these beauties?? The dolls are part of a Birthstone RR at Beaded Art Doll, with the doll above belonging to Sue O, and named Sapphire- her birthstone. I did her hair, and the part down her back.

This Jester belongs to Jeanne of OR, and she did the scrumptious beading using the swarovski bicones- peridot AB, that I cannot get to photograph true in all the rain we keep having. Indoor lighting just doesn't work for them. I did his left side; the leg, body and arm.

Stay tuned for more pics as things progress!!

dolls since march 09

these are the few dolls i have been able to do since march.....more to come

Dances With Hearts

She was to be my swap doll, for the Spread the Love doll

swap at Beaded Art Dolls yahoogroup, but my dear MIL

needed me, and I forgot Dances at home. She is just now

finished, and I am so happy with her.

Her face came in a swap, and was made by my dear friend

Sherry's daughter, Rachel, who lives in Pennsylvania. I

thought the face looked somewhat Balinese, so I wanted to

reflect that in both the pose, and the beadwork. So, she is

dancing with her arms upraised, wearing both an ornate skirt

with circular pattern and leggings. Her shoes are strapped with

upturned toes and her hair is both up and braided in back, with

hearts dangling from the ends. She stands 5 inches tall, and looks

sublimely serene, as she dances with her hearts, and with Heart.

Summer Dreamin'

Was it Loggins and Messina who sang 'Summer Dreams'? that song was running through my head the entire time I worked with this doll...from choosing the colors and beads, to the very last stitch. Yes, I am finally tired of Winter- LOL!

It helped that she was created during my visit to Durham, and the temps in the 70s during the day, the spring flowers and scents surrounding me, and those balmy breezes, that while not there to stay, were certainly welcome, and helped me focus on my Feb. doll for the Beaded Art Dolls group challenge.

Some of the flowers I collected from BeadFX in Toronto, Canada, during our honeymoon in 2004, and some just over the years, from the bead store in the Cotton Exchange in Wilmington, NC. The flat roundelles on the top of her back are actually plastic; now don't go ballistic on me or think I have lost my mind! Bebee found these in a packet, and they are called Pastel Souffle Fancies, sold originally in a store called 'The White House' for 59 cents, and were distributed by Franken Trimming co, 20 West 37th St, NY18, NY. Now, how long ago was any address in NY shown like that, without a zip code but with a district number?

The packet included other shapes as well, which I am saving for some other dolls- 6 pointed stars, shells, and hearts...

So, they are plastic with a history, and if I wasn't careful, were a bit brittle, but should hold up fine used on a doll.

I hope you enjoy her.

October's Doll

I wanted to do something radically different with my doll for the October part of the Year Long Challenge at Beaded Art Dolls, and two leaves in my yard stood out, saying 'Pick me! Pick me!' to help out.

I scanned them, then used EasyBeadPatterns' free program to recreate the leaves in brickstitch, shrinking them to 3" and 1" tall, and holding them to only 12 colors each.

Both beaded up quickly, and I always love how brickstitch allows a piece such sturdiness! I did 'forget' how to do the decreases at first, and went to Silverhill's free site for a video refresher.

http://www.silverhilldesign.com/tutorials/BrickStitchTutor.html

Look under the 'goodies' link for other tutorials that are really, really helpful.

But, that is why you might see a stray thread here and there....

Still, I am most happy with Autumn Flame, and she will make a nice pin or pendant!