Introducing Clara and Clarabelle

Meet Clara and Clarabelle. They are conjoined twins, born sharing the lower half of their body. Their lives have not been easy, of course, having to do everything together all the time, but as they've grown, they've learned to compromise, and most times, things work out well. Clara (on the left) is the musical one, and is a virtuoso of many stringed instruments, including cello, viola, and ukulele. Clarabelle is an artist of the fine variety, and seeks out fields of flowers and oceansides of blue to paint on canvas. Together they enjoy escargot, sailing, and building upon their gigantic ant farm. They refuse to attend any carnival.


Clara and Clarabelle are fourteen inches tall, and created in my usual way. If you would like to meet them in person, they'll be for sale at my solo show beginning April 3, 2010.

Snow Day!

Okay, looking at someone's snow pictures might be boring (I personally love 'em), but hey, snow's a big deal around here- we don't get much of it in middle Tennessee. I think they're calling it a "snow event". We got four or five inches yesterday, and last night, it turned to ice; today, we're supposed to be getting a little more. I'm a person who needs snow in winter, so I'm having a ball (although I don't like being stuck at home because TDOT didn't brine the roads around here).

Pippi enjoys the snow, too. She's a snow doggie. And as soon as she gets outside, she starts eating it...


And racing around in it...


This is YD in my hat. Ain't it cute? The fun stuff you get in a swap...


This is this morning. My cat Ollie is standing on the snow-- that layer of ice prevents cute little kitty prints, I guess. He lasted about three minutes outside- my cats aren't snow kitties.


When the wind blows, you can hear the ice-laden trees cracking. I'll be inside most of the day, listening to that, the ice, and trying to figure out how to make an outfit for a conjoined twins doll (they share the same body, so this is a stumper for a sewing novice like me).

Happy Saturday, everyon!

The Kindness of Strangers, Friends, and Loved Ones

The Kindness of Strangers:

Over the past few weeks, I've been planning a few dolls to debut at my solo show at the beginning of April. For one of them, I knew I needed a bug- something big, showy and colorful. Not wanting to go out and kill one, and it's too cold for big bugs anyway, I looked around on the internet, but bugs are pricey! So, I contacted Michelle of silentcheesecake. I'd bought a couple of pendants from her years ago, know that she works with bugs, and asked if she knew of an inexpensive place in the U.S. where I could get a flashy bug.

She returned my message quickly, told me she had my back, asked me what I needed, told me she had plenty of bugs, and she would send me free of charge anything I needed. I was floored. What an incredibly kind, generous gesture! After some pictures, a week later, she sent me five beetles. The picture below doesn't do them justice, but they are incredibly colorful-- I love the iridescence of the three cricket-looking ones-- and one will look perfect in the doll.


If you haven't heard of silentcheesecake at Etsy, I urge you to check out her shops. She makes really cool stuff. And she's a seriously nice person.

The Kindness of Friends:

See the dead cicada in the balm holder at the top of the above picture? That's from Miss Wednesday Wandered. It was sitting on the table at our last coffee meetup, awaiting me. She knew I needed a bug, and saved this one for me. He will definitely come in handy someday. Besides giving me the bug, I thank goodness Miss WW is here in town. We all need a real friend to vent to and laugh with, and over the past year and a half, she's listened to a lot of woes from me. It also helps that she shares my sarcastic sense of humor.

And just in case you're wondering, I think I'm going to need Mr. Calm's help to handle the bugs, because bugs are icky.

The Kindness of Loved Ones:

A few posts back, I wrote about how hard 2009 was for me, and some of it was family problems. Over the last couple of months, my youngest sister and I have been leaning on each other a lot, discussing things. I never feel like I say enough, or help enough... I'm a little cynical, and don't like spouting platitudes, because I'm not sure they really help. Well, I didn't know how much my sister appreciated talking with me (and God knows I appreciate talking to her!) until I stepped outside today, and found a package on the front porch.

I had no idea what was in the largish box. Mr. Calm, even though it wasn't HIS present, ran to get a knife so we could open the box. The package inside was wrapped in bubble wrap, and as I pulled it out, he muttered, "Miss Millificent?" Dopishly, I said, "Huh?", and looked at the side of the box. Hey, those are my dollies there!


Then I finally looked down. "Athena's Doll Parts", it says. "Oh, my God, what's she done?" I asked, a little apprehensively. I'd actually been looking at German bisque doll arms and legs earlier in the day, so that popped into my head, but I was also thinking creepier... darker... things...


But instead of weird little appendages, this was inside! Fat quarters of really cool fabric, rolls of ribbon, very fine yarn that I can use for hair, beads, and a bunch of sculpting tools that I haven't been able to make myself spend money on. There was also a wonderful note from her, thanking me, and hoping that I could use everything (uh, yeah!).


This was such a wonderful, unexpected surprise, and just the gesture means more than everything in the box (though I love it all!).

The Kindness of Strangers:

I have seriously cut down on junk food, but I finally gave in to a three-day-old craving around eleven a.m. for McDonald's fries (the best... if they're HOT and FRESH). While I was waiting in the drive-thru, I saw a man near the exit, wearing a sign on his chest, holding a stack of papers. I knew what he was selling, but wasn't sure what the sign said. As I pulled closer to him, I saw that it said something about how the vendor earned all the money collected for the papers.

I never knew that. I guess if I'd stopped and bought one before, I would have, but today was the first time. I handed him a dollar, got my paper, and told him to stay warm. I sincerely wish I could have talked to him more. Maybe this is selfish, but I hope I made him happy for a minute, because as much as the gifts have, he made me happy, too.

So, I'm going to be buying a lot more papers from The Contributor- I always have a dollar in my purse. And if you can, you buy one, too-- they're in a lot of cities. And it helps people get back on their feet. :)

Off With Their Heads!

After a little bit of experimenting, I am now offering a couple of doll head necklaces in my Miss Millificent's Mesdamoiselles shop.

This is Suzette...


And this is Maribel...


The first trio together. You may recognize Oletha, she of the white hair-- she's offered in my One World One Heart Giveaway!


All the doll heads are roughly 2x2 inches (Maribel's hair hangs longer, however), and the hair is made from soft brushed yarn. They all come with ribbon necklaces. Their eyes are set in brass or silver lace cabochons. They will be available for sale this week.

And don't forget to enter my OWOH Giveaway-- you have until 12:01 a.m. February 15! #318 on the magic carpet...

One World One Heart Giveaway 2010

Today is the start of the "One World One Heart" giveaway. It's the brainchild of artist Lisa Swifka of the Whimsical Bohemian blog, and she began this yearly event in 2007. From her blog: "The original idea behind this giveaway event was to bring bloggers together from around the world who may never ordinarily meet. It closes the gap of the blog community and enables us to interact, discover new and wonderful people, and in the process possibly win a prize or many prizes along the way." You can click the following banner (or the banner on the right) to find out more details. I personally think it's a great way to find new interesting blogs, and I'd been wanting to do a giveaway, anyway. ;) So... let's begin!

ETA: 1/28/10: Because of the overwhelming response to my giveaway, I'm now offering three different sets of prizes to three different winners! I dug into my stash of things I don't sell anymore to come up with more goodies for you. :) But I have to apologize in advance that you'll have to crane your neck to see some of the prizes; they were skewed when I uploaded them, and I don't know how to fix them!



Many blogs, I'm sure, will be 'riding the Magic Carpet' in this giveaway. I unfortunately couldn't get ahold of a magic carpet, but I talked it over with Jack, and he agreed to be your guide. So, we've got Jack Skellington in his magic car, to show you what you could win...

"Hi, I'm Jack! Won't you come along with me as I speed around in search of prizes? Hang on-- I'm sort of a reckless driver!"


Prize Set #1: "Hey, would you look at this? It's Oletha, the art doll necklace! She looks like she's completely handcrafted from polymer clay, paints, pastels, and yarn. Using my handy-dandy measuring tape, I see that she's approximately 2"x2", and hangs on a 22-inch ribbon necklace. I'm crazy about her lop-sided ponytails, and I love her big, starey eyes- just like my Sally!"


Beep-beep- moving on!

"Next stop: Cake Land! Well, look what we've got here. Looks to me to be a miniature polymer clay cake charm; white cake with yellow frosting, topped with pink roses. Well, how kee-yoot!"


"Driving around the back, I see that it also has little pink polka dots! This cake is a big ole charm, about an inch-and-a-quarter in diameter, and just over an inch high. If it were really edible, you bet I'd dive right in and eat it! Although I do prefer pumpkin cakes..."

"And now, I'll just race a few inches to the left..."

"Well, now, I was wondering what happened to the missing pieces of cake! Looks like they turned into a pair of earrings. They're the same height as the cake, and fitted for pierced ears."

Prize Set #2: "Wowza, look at this stuff! I see that one is a one-inch square glass pendant featuring a reproduction of Athena's "Meditation in Shades of Pink", and a reproduction of Athena's TTV photograph, "Pinky Potty Piggy". Cute- I love piggies!"


"Moving on-- oo, skellies just like me! The Day of the Dead ladies are a set of laminated pink and magnet, and two Dead Dollie Head magnets! Looks like October around here!"


"Lastly, we've rolled around to a Dead Chickie and matching Egg charm! Makes me wonder... which came first?"


Prize Set #3: "Ah, another glass pendant, and silver pendant! These feature "Meditation in Shades of Green", and that ever-popular TTV photograph, "The End of Friendship". Aw, poor Halfsie bunny!"


"And here we are at October again! Another Day of the Dead pin and magnet, and another Dead Dollie Head magnet set!"


"Rolling around to the end of our giveaway, we've come upon a Dead Rabbit and matching Carrot charm set. Easter isn't exactly my holiday, but I do love me some carrots..."


"And that's the end of the giveaway, folks! Thanks for riding around with me-- you can swallow your heart back down your throat now!"

Okay, so here are the rules:

1. The giveaways begin on January 25, 2010, and end at 12:01 a.m., February 15, 2010. Sometime on February 15, I will use a random number generator to pick three winners. First winner gets Prize Set #1, second gets Prize Set #2, third gets Prize Set #3.
2. To enter, you MUST leave a comment on this post, and leave a way for me to get in touch with you (blog, email address, etc.). If you don't, I must move on to the next person.
3. Everyone in the world is welcome to enter.

That's it! Thanks so much for entering my giveaways, and have fun visiting all the other blogs. I know I have!

(And for clarity's sake, I must say that Jack Skellington in his little car is NOT part of the giveaway. He's my toy, and I like chasing my dog around with him sometimes. :))

January Featured Etsyblogger: Nico Designs!

January's Featured Etsyblogger is Nico Designs! Yay! I feel I've come to know Erika quite well over the past year or so- I read her blog regularly, and I bought a stylish little handmade clutch from her a few months ago (which I take with me to every gallery crawl). She's also bought from me before, which makes her AOK in my book, too. ;)

In addition to her purses and baby shoes, she's been making and adding very cute art dolls and birds to her shop. Check them out!



If you want to find out more about Erika/Nico Designs, go here:

Nico Designs Etsy shop
Nico Designs blog

Introducing Sara Shelf-Sitter

Time for a new dollie...


Sara Shelf-Sitter sits on shelves... or on the edges of tables, too. She was created for this, and is happiest in this position- as happy as glum Sara can possibly be.

Sara Shelf-Sitter is, with her hair, seven-and-a-half inches tall. She is created from polymer clay, paints, pastels, yarn, and recycled and vintage fabrics. Her arms are semi-posable, her legs are not.



Sara was fun to make, and I absolutely am in LOVE with her hair (my youngest sister, who has very curly hair, asked why the doll had her hair, heh) - the yarn did exactly what I wanted it to do! I don't know if "duochromatic" is a word, but that's what I was going for in the color scheme. My YD says Sara has "scary feet".

Examining her face, she looks, to me, more like Tim Burton's creations than any other doll of mine. I think I'm coming up on a final decision on whether I am going to accept all the other comparisons and just go with the flow, or go crazy and start screaming at everyone who dares say that ("Well-- sputtersputter-- you-- you look like DOO DOO!"). It's not a bad comparison-- good Lord, I could be called worse. But there does come a point when an artist just wants to be thought of as their own original, if that makes sense. I guess a point of mine is that it is not a conscious decision to look like his work-- this is just the way it comes out.

Sigh. Anyway, the last picture, if it looks good printed, will most likely be in my solo show (beginning April 3 at the MIR Gallery in Nashville, TN!). That picture had a LOT of post-work done to it. My poor camera (for anyone interested, it is a Canon S3 IS, a point-and-shoot) seems to be nearing the stage in its life where it needs a walker and soft foods. Hold on, camera! I can't afford to replace you!

Sunday Fun

I found out last night that I have three things in two treasuries! These are some fun ones.


true love and blue skies

Twisted Like Tim Burton


I was also reminded of something I did years ago for one of my husband's clients. They needed someone to record an opening for the site. So, if you want to hear what I sound like*, go here: Athena's voice!

*Honestly, I didn't like listening to it. How many of us, when we hear our voices, think that sounds like us? My voice, when I'm not reading a script, is lower than that. And I don't... think... I... talk... that... slow....

Have a good Sunday, everyone!

January 15th Etsybloggers Blog Carnival: New Outlook

One of the topics of the January 15th Etsybloggers Blog Carnival is: "Now that 2009 has come to a close, what will you remember most about last year?" I will most remember that 2009 wasn't such a hot year for me.

I don't post much about really personal things here, because this is primarily a blog for my creative side, but 2009 was a doozy in terms of personal crap in my life. Because of the recession, my husband's business (he's a self-employed web designer and music promoter) suffered greatly; we went into a hole that we're thankfully slowly climbing out of now. Because of this, and a few other familial things, I sank into a depression. Yeah, I was able to find many things to laugh at, and a few people were very supportive and listened, but I cried so much last year. There were weeks in a row that I cried every single day, and they were horrible periods. It's sad when you begin to gauge days by the fact that you didn't cry. And I really let myself go physically, but hey- when you don't care and you're sad and anxious as hell, what's the point?

I've been treated before for depression: meds, psychiatrist, and all, back in my twenties. From that, I learned to be more analytical of my emotions, my thoughts, etc. I forgot those tools most of the time in 2009, but toward the end of the year, I began to put things back in order. I've got a regiment going now, health-wise, and I'm trying very hard to not take things so personally and seriously. I have decided not to take on other people's (family) problems, which had a lot to do with how I felt, too. And I've decided to let what will be, be. I have no control over it; worrying over it won't help.

So, while last year was a crappy one, I'm working toward making 2010 a better year. Fingers crossed. :)

Wordless Wednesday: Master Chess Player