Out of Hibernation

Hello to everyone. Is it Spring YET?
I have done very little dollmaking this winter, and all of my latest activity is posted on my other blog....http://clothdollsbyvada.com/ where I have posted a few pictures now and then, and today added a pair of  patterns.  (Betty Anne and Bitsy) These were online 'freebies', but I can no longer find them there.
 So I will share them, Sweet Raggedy Ann style dolls, easy to make. Enjoy. (as seen in a much earlier post, betty-anne-and-bitsy)

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

I now also have another blog titled: Cloth Dolls By Vada with it's own domain:  Check out http://www.clothdollsbyvada.com/
I have set that one up with pages for my dolls, dolls for sale directly from me, free patterns (pdf files), my photography, stories, etc., and other miscellaneous nonsense.  The pages there will support the pdf files, as well as many other types, so you can easily download any patterns I post there. I hope to have some ready in the near future. 
Be sure to visit all the pages listed in the menu.

Merry  Christmas, everyone!

All dressed up and ready to go....

 Ready to be delivered.
Final touches included a new hairdo for one, and handbags for both.  

Just in time for Christmas...gifts, that is.

At last,  I've completed the two dolls I've been doing on comission. These have been a challenge, as my creativity was making a great effort to take a vacation. I started with the pattern, Contessa, by Michelle Munzone, from the November issue of Soft Dolls and Animals. I made several tops for the one in pink, before settling on this one, but knew I wanted to use the pink dotted for her skirt. The black and white fabric and dotted ribbon were an easy choice. I made the shoes out of polymer clay, glued on the ribbons, adding an insole to cover them. They were fun to make.
These two lovely ladies, Donna and Maria, have a gift shop here in Versailles,  full of colorful, unique and fun things: Pretty In Pink.

All dolled up and somewhere to go !!

Wow, Those red and green 'silks' provided a real thrill yesterday! (Saturday)  Pluck won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (for two-year-old colts). Watch it here:

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dco5DvqQ89yY&h=54846

And, they're off!.....

Well, perhaps a 'horse of a different color'!

 PLUCK, 

Team Valor's entry in the Juvenile Turf  is very dark bay-nearly black.  His race will be run at 1:50 pm Eastern time, Saturday, Nov. 6th.
The Breeders' Cup World Championships 2010 takes place at Churchill Downs, in Louisville, KY. Nov 5 and 6.
 You can watch them on ABC and/or ESPN.  Pick your favorites, and enjoy a day at the races, from your living room, because it's going to be a very cold weekend !!  We're expecting our first frost on Friday night.

The derby display (below) featured the horse and some of my dolls, in spring, 2006. All the jockeys (fifty of them!) were a special order and became corporate Christmas gifts for select clients! They were a real challenge, and never again will I commit to more than one of anything. Ha! But they were fun, too, and each had his own personality.

One Hundred and Two !!

I made this doll a few years ago, and he reminded me so much of (step-?) uncle Ard, that I named him "Old Mr. Ardmore".

Seemed a logical  subject for a Birthday Card on the occasion of Ard's ONE HUNDRED AND SECOND birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ARD STEPHENS!!!

Nativity Group

Magi, finished

Gifts of the Magi

A couple of links to share regarding the Magi and their gifts.

 Gold is pretty well understood: the universal 'money', always a useful gift.
 But we are less familiar with Frankinsence and Myrrh. To learn more about these ancient herbs, click here:  http://www.itmonline.org/arts/myrrh.htm

The 'wise men from the east', often referred to as the Magi: Who might they have been?  Try this link:  http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09527a.htm

magi, work in process

   

 The Magi are almost finished. Headresses yet to be completed, the robe for the tall dark one needs some trim, or at least, a hem. Also, their gifts are unfinished. 

New and improved shepherds??

I made the shepherd taller by putting him on a taller bottle, so then he'd outgrown his gown, so now he has a new one! I think his proportions are better, now. Thanks to Kat Lees for suggesting that solution to the impression of the head being too large.  Better now.