diversions

Look at this boys smile! He's a happy baby, hanging out with me in the studio. Can you believe he's over 16 lbs.? He's my little cream cake.

My new prized possession, my resin ball jointed doll from FairyLand Dolls. The dolls come unpainted from Korea, a blank canvas- no eyes, clothes or hair. I bought an airbrush and taught myself how to use it so I could paint her face and body. It was a lot of fun to create her personality, painting her expression and choosing eyes and wigs. She becomes a totally different doll when I switch out her eyes and put on a different hairstyle. I also made the dress and jewelry.

The dress is unfinished, it needs a belt and maybe a little cape. Making the jewelry was fun, but a little tedious - each piece took all day! I guess I'm slow. The green necklace is for my friend Jessica's doll and is made from 28 gauge fine silver wire, sapphires, green tourmaline, peridot and green garnet. The longer piece features the same wire, with tiny spinel drops and a few sapphires on a very fine chain. I think I'm a little obsessed with my doll. I've spent half the day planning her tiny shoes! I'm thinking scarlett leather...with some hand painted details. Anyway, we've been enjoying having my sister Sheila, visiting from L.A. for the week. We've had a great time, pretty much playing with baby Max and Azalea all day, only broken up with bursts of making things. We have such good times when we get together, laughing at childhood memories and making big plans for projects. This week we're plotting out how to fabricate a watercolor box out of pmc or sheet metal, small enough to fit in the pocket of a traveling girl.