One Love

I'm in and out all day today (got some cool vintage items though, which I will post about in abit). In the meantime, here is one of my favorite vids from Playing for Change. Here is a little blurb from their site for those of you who are not familiar with this organization:

"Playing for Change is a multimedia movement created to inspire, connect, and bring peace to the world through music. The idea for this project arose from a common belief that music has the power to break down boundaries and overcome distances between people. No matter whether people come from different geographic, political, economic, spiritual or ideological backgrounds, music has the universal power to transcend and unite us as one human race. And with this truth firmly fixed in our minds, we set out to share it with the world"

Hoping you are having a great day!

Speaking of Hats....

Topsy Turvy Designs

I'm not a wearer of hats, however I love to view elaborate hats of days goneby and also fabulous theatrical creations that are contemporary. Hats, especially fantasy and whimsy based ones can be wonderful embellishments for one of a kind dolls. And sometimes a hat can inspire a whole costume for a sculpt.

Last night I was searching Etsy for Marie Antoinette type hats (we all know how elaborate they should be) and I came across a delightful artisan, Kim Brown-Dye of Topsy Turvy Design. She is quite a popular seller on Etsy and I'm sure many of you are very familiar with her incredible designs. She is new to me though and I'm thrilled to have "found" her.

Kim creates everything from small fascinators, to embellished Victorian style top hats, to elaborate tricorn fantasies. Here is just a small selection of some of her hats:

And one of my favorites - I love all the embellishment on this one, Seafaring Pirate Hat:

If you are working on a piece that needs just that extra little touch, or love unique hats, visit Kim's shop (at the moment there are 3 pages of items). And, if you want to "meet" Kim, check out this video that Etsy did on her.

***

In my search last night, and still on the topic of hats, I stumbled across some weird and imaginative ones on Very Bored. Not sure if they are inspiring or just laughable, but here is an example of one of the hats on this site, from the sublime above, to the ridiculous:

Enjoy your Wednesday and see what inspires you!

***

UPDATE: I notified Kim that I had posted a blog about her wonderful hats, and she just left a comment. For those of you who don't read the comments, Kim apparently used to make hats for ball jointed dolls...Check them out here - wonderful!

Monday Costume Gem

I stumbled on this talented seamstress yesterday by following some links of links (amazing what you can find doing that!).

Connie Lowe is in PA and designs and constructs the most delightful garments for bjds. Her business is called Marbled Halls and I love that she uses authentic vintage/antique fabrics in her designs and also in some of them, gives them a contemporary twist by adding some modern textiles.

Love the modern fabric overskirt with the antique lace and the striped stockings!

Please check out her site for more of her wonderful designs.

There are so many other artisans out there that when I look at their costuming, I immediately want to lock myself into my studio and rummage through my stash of laces and textiles. Off the top of my head I can think of at least six artists that inspire me with their costumes, but I am going to leave these for another post.

Do you feel creative?

Sunday Gems

Inspiration can come to me in so many guises. I have blogged before about my love of French female songbirds and wanting to add to my I-tunes library, I was browsing on youtube and came across Emilie Simon. I find some music and videos very inspiring. The music if it appeals to me can be the push I need to get creating on an otherwise lacklustre creation day. Some videos by their own brilliant creativity can spark all sorts of ideas for new figures. Such is the case with "Desert" by Emilie Simon, above.

After discovering the Desert video, I came across "Flowers", also by Emilie Simon. Creepy cute, with a gothic, Tim Burton like charm, this video also planted some kernels for new pieces.

Does music spark a creative yearning in you, even if you are like me and can't carry a note?

Pink Saturday Sickie Wishes

I don't do Pink Saturdays, however the ever charming Tristan of
Enchanted Revelry does and he is feeling a triffle under the weather. What started as an ear infection has progressed over the past couple of weeks to invade his sinuses and throat. (um, Tristan, you haven't been to Mexico lately have you?

Nurse Bob (above) is stopping in with his bag of tricks

....in hopes that his totally awesome pink goodies will make Tristan's Saturday better. First, a listen to the lungs.

hmmmmm....better refer to the handy-dandy Domestic Modern Medical book (pink of course).

Aha...okay here we have it, the pinkus treatmus for not-in-the-pink Saturdays. First, liquid medicine, one spoon as needed.

A handful of pink pills, take as directed

uh oh...a pink antibiotic needle is needed (and yes, it does go there!)

Into the kitchen now with some pink herbs

for a nice soothing cup of medicinal pink tea

Snuggle down with your toasty warm pink heart water bottle

And pretty soon your Saturday will be pink and you'll feel just as good as this guy.

Wishing everyone a Feel-Good Pink Saturday!

Jokes On Me

It's gorgeous out today and after running errands I just did not want to come inside. I know the novelty of warm, sunny weather will wear off - especially when the humidity moves in (uuggghh!). Until then however, I am really having to force myself to get anything done.

Felt guilty because I hadn't posted here yesterday so thought I would look through my vintage pictures file and just throw up a quickie. Found this picture in my files. I'm not sure where I got it from, I do know it is not from my personal collection. I thought this would be a perfect pic to post, a sweet little girl from the late 30s with her frog friend. Had a whole story worked out about the little girl and her "prince"

Yep, would have been cute, except on close examination (and enlargement of the image), I realized that her frog is actually an iguana, so it doesn't really fit. Cute pic though, so here you have it...from my Friday file.

Earth

In conjunction with my previous post today I thought it appropriate to include this trailer for the new Disney movie, Earth. It looks incredible and opens today at a theatre near you!

Celebrate, Cherish, Protect

What a wonderful world.....Indeed! April 22, 2009 ~ Earth Day

We have one life, one earth...

cherish, celebrate and protect both.

Unexpected Drop-Ins and Anticipation

Was just getting some lunch and looked out my kitchen window to see that I had unexpected company. At the far end of our pool (which still has the snowmelt and rain on the winter blanket), Mr. and Mrs. Mallard were checking out the neighbourhood.

They swam around for about 20 minutes then decided that they didn't like my hospitality and left for better accomodations. Check out below how well Mrs. Mallard's dowdiness camoflages her. We had rain and very high winds yesterday and I can see we have quite abit of clean up back there too.

As I was standing on the back deck to take these pics, I noticed that the buds were starting to come out on one of our lilac trees. I LOVE the smell of lilacs on a warm May evening. Pretty soon this:

Will be this:

Beauty!

*Le Sigh*

Spring has sprung! Do I want to sit in my small, windowless basement studio and work? No.

After the snows of Winter,

and the rain showers of early Spring,

My muse seems to have deserted me. I'm sure she is out skipping through the meadows with some of my fellow artists muses that also seem to have taken a slight leave of absence.

Well, me too! me too! The weather is beautiful, sunny and warmer every day. I want to do some fun stuff outdoors, like

go on a picnic with my family.

Hang out and relax with friends

Maybe take my pet for a walk...

Most of all, I just want to get out and enjoy nature's rebirth,

re-energize myself, and then, I will return to my small,

windowless, basement room (feel sorry for me yet? LOL).

Today that is what I did, spent a good part of the day outside, enjoying the weather and the birds singing. Had lunch on the porch with hubby, took my puppy for a walk, and then just sat on the porch some more. Total non productive day, except I do feel slightly recharged.

Once again, most of the pics I used in this post are from Shorpy.com

Cry Me A River

Susan Boyle, the salt-of-the-earth lass who has captured the attention and hearts of all the world, sang this song in 1999 for a charity CD for her small town. Only 1,000 copies were made.
Enjoy

A Friday Giveaway

Key to Your Heart

Oh Boy! Another Friday Giveaway from the fabulous Baroness Bijoutery . The silver tone key hangs from an 18" chain and is paired with a pink swarovski crystal heart. Smaller crystals add extra sparkle. So pretty! To try your luck at winning this lovely necklace, click here.

A Very Special Award

The Renee Award

All awards are special and great fun to give. The Renee award is relatively new and was created by Bella and Ces in honour of their friend Renee, an incredible lady who in the face of a frightening life battle is tackling each day with great spirit and courage. Please check out the blogs of these three creative ladies.

I have been honoured by the beautiful Zan of Wild At Heart Art who has passed this award on to me. Thank you so much Zan!

Here is what Bella says of this award:

"this is a brand new award and I have the pleasure and honor of spreading the seed, watching it grow. I hope it finds it's way to those who are like Renee: the acorn, a small package becoming a tall and sturdy oak, giving more acorns, becoming tall and sturdy oaks, giving acorns..."

In accepting this award, my task is to now pass it on to eight other deserving bloggers who I feel fulfill the same qualities asthe little acorn and the tall sturdy oak who is constantly giving back. I call this a task, because how to I decide on which eight? So, so many of the bloggers I regularly follow qualify. This is extremely tough!

In no particular order, here are the 8 I wish to pass this award on to:

♥ Marilyn Radzat As Seen Through My Eyes

♥ Tristan Enchanted Revelry

♥ Baroness Baroness Bijoutery

♥ Lezlei Breath of Art

♥ Denise DLynne Art Dolls

♥ Joanna Joanna Thomas Art Dolls

♥ Kim Kim's Art By The Sea

♥ Kerin Remnants of Olde

Thank you once again Zan, for this very special award!

Something Else To Make You Smile

A joyous flash mob presentation for unsuspecting commuters at the Antwerp Central Station. I would so love to be at Toronto's Union Station and experience something like this. What an uplifting event to experience on a normal, today-is-like-everyday-routine day!

Amazing

Susan Boyle ~I Dreamed a Dream (link)

Unfortunately, the embedding code for all the Youtube videos on this has been disabled. If you have not seen this on the various newscasts, etc., PLEASE click the above link and be amazed as this quaint, rather frumpy lady from a little village in Scotland appeared recently on Britain's Got Talent.

I had tears in my eyes.

(small note...when I posted this just after 5:00 pm there had been just over 5 million people that had watched this video since the weekend. There are now over 9 million approx. 5 hours later. This video hasn't just gone viral, it is epidemic. Yaaaay for Susan Boyle).

Urm...Yeah

My camera is recharging so put your imagination to work. A small 8 x 8 ft room, jam packed with fabrics, trims, bins of lace,
shelves of trinkets for accessorising and bases, paints - and more paint, several cabinets with drawers packed full of mohair and other supplies, baskets full of woodland type 'stuff', assorted trays of vintage beads....this is just what immediately comes to mind.

When this room is organized and tidy, I usually step through the door, plunk myself down in my chair (on wheels) and with a few pushes of my feet, can reach any surface in my room. For that I really enjoy having a small studio. When I start a piece, I like organization - organization tends to diminish the vast amount of clutter that lives in this room.

I just finished three commission pieces, and unfortunately, when I work, I also create chaos. Scraps of lace, mohair, fabric, don't just litter the floor, they cover it. Open bins stack precariously on top of one and other (also on the floor) from me pawing through the contents looking for that perfect little tidbit to use, small bits of clay are ground into the floor tiles, and the surface of my work table is almost invisible from the paint tubes, bottles and brushes and tools that are happily co-mingling in some weird and nonartistic arrangement. I know I will find at least one brush (usually a new one) that I forgot to clean.

So guess what I'll be doing for the reminder of the day. Please tell me that there are some of you out there that also work like me. You know - misery loves company! haha

Manic Monday

Mondays can be a bit of a shock to the sytem after the weekend, however the Monday after a holiday weekend can be brutal!

If you don't work outside the house, perhaps you are following Grandma's rules of the week, Monday is always washday.

Wash, rinse, wring

Hang out to dry - it's Monday though, so it is probably raining.

Not all of us are lucky enough to be at home (drats, laundry will have to wait!) And, it's off to work we go to try and make a dent in the left over files from last week and all the "urgent" new stuff for this week.

We try and squeeze in some time to run some errands (because everything was closed on the holiday, and guests depleted the milk, toilet paper and wine....and have to remember aspirin!).

Hopefully you were not silly enough to schedule a doctor or dentist appointment for this day!

Time now to fight the hustle and bustle and make your way back home, the new bottle of wine awaits!

I hope your Monday is going smoothly, you are able to accomplish what you plan on, and it is not too manic!

Please note that all the above pics are from a favorite site of mine, Shorpy.com

Easter Wishes

Click to see detail...the little girl on the right has a wonderful expression

Warmest Easter Wishes to Everyone

Two vintage postcards from my personal collection that I thought I would share. I love the one with the two little girls - it reminds me of my sis and I anxiously awaiting to start on our Easter Egg hunt. The more commercial card has a personal message on the back to "Aunt Jane", wishing her luck with her garden, mentioning how "Ern" has just planted peas and carrots in their garden, and sending Happy Easter Wishes from "Mollie and Ern". I love when cards have these personal messages, I like to imagine the people and their lives.

And to all of you, my blogger friends, I wish a happy and joyous day! Bunny Hugs....

Spiral Dance

Dance with the Goddess. Reclaim your power and dance your dreams into being. Spiral Dance offers a reminder of the power we all possess. The power to create our own reality, to create the life we want to live

I saw the wallhanging, read the description and had to have it. This arrived yesterday and I love it. Created by the very talented Jan of Wyldewood Papers, I am thrilled with it. Beautiful and inspiring. If you missed it, I featured Jan and her wonderful lamps (with soul) and more earlier on this blog. I find her work enchanting.

UPDATE: I just added two closeup pics so you can see the wonderful embossing of the paper (it reminds me of leather almost) and the beautiful paint work that Jan has done.