Into the Woods Again...

I told you I have had this 'Northwoods' concept in my head this year.  A few weeks ago I showed you a collection of snowmen I created with that theme.  Today, let's look at some Santas.

WHITE CHRISTMAS

 

I love the idea of a white Santa.  There is something very old world about them.  I sculpted this one from a pearly white polymer clay, and gave him a brown belt and boots and green mittens, all sculpted from clay.  I used an assortment of brads for his buttons, belt buckle and the buttons on his boots.  His face is sculpted from clay, with hand-painted green eyes.  I used a super soft and wonderful bit of natural kid mohair for his hair and beard.  The cloak and hood are cut from luscious ivory wool and trimmed with real rabbit fur.  The cloak seemed a little plain at first, so I dug around in my extensive stash of 'stuff' and found that ivory flower trim. It was the PERFECT color and it gives the illusion of hand embroidery on the cloak.  LOVE IT!  A sisal tree and a little sprig of enamel holly finish off this lovely St. Nick.  Oh, the clay base is covered in vintage mica flakes. 

 

(White Christmas is no longer available.)

SNOWFLAKE SANTA

 

This is Santa on a more casual day.  He is wearing pine green pants and mittens and a red sweater with a snowflake on the front.  Who doesn't love a snowflake sweater on a cold winter's day?  I cut tiny bits of clay to create the snowflake pattern.  His brown clay boots are trimmed with tiny brads and natural cotton chenille.  His face is hand-sculpted, of course, with hand-painted green eyes.  I used more of the kid mohair for his hair and beard, and topped his head with a little pine green houndstooth wool hat, trimmed with a bronze bell and a little bit of greenery.  Santa has gathered a bunch of pine cones, berries and greenery to decorate his holiday table.  This piece is dusted with a bit of vintage mica flakes.  I had 'finished' this Santa, but thought he needed a little something more.  The turtleneck sweater made it seem like his head was sort of floating too much, so a cut a scarf from ivory wool.  I think it fixed the problem nicely.

 

(Snowflake Santa is available in my etsy shop.)

GATHERING CHRISTMAS

 

This Santa sort of straddles the line between the traditional red-dressed Santa and an old-world style Santa.  He has a bit of vintage quality to him, I think.  I sculpted his red toggle coat, green pants and mittens and tall brown boots from clay.  Once again, I used tiny brads for buttons on his coat and boots.  His hand-sculpted face is covered in a kid mohair beard.  (I just love how these mohair beards look so real!)  I sewed a little hat out of deep red houndstooth wool, and used a few scraps of the same wool for his boot toppers.  Genuine rabbit fur trims his coat and hat.  He is carrying a bundle of cinnamon stick 'logs', a bit of greenery, some pine cones and berries.  A tiny sprig of greenery adorns his hat.  I gave him a dusting of vintage mica flakes and a bit of fine Japanese glass glitter for sparkle. 

 

(Gathering Christmas is no longer available either!)

 

NORTHWOODS NICK

 

Here is the St. Nick that started this whole series!  He is similarly dressed in a red toggle coat and green pants, a houndstooth cap and socks and rabbit fur trim.  (For the record, rabbit fur is very tricky to work with, and it makes a HUGE mess, but I think it is worth it.  It really adds a nice touch to these outdoorsy Santas.)  The same mohair is used for his beard.  Nick carries a miniature Christmas tree in one arm, and a bouquet of greenery, berries and pine cones in the other.  A little white bird is nestled among the pine cones.  More mica flakes give the illusion he is walking through the snowy woods. 

 

(I actually am keeping this piece.  I made another very similar one, but it is also sold.)

 

 

I have really enjoyed creating these Northwoods Santas, so I am sure there will be more coming in the future.  Not this year, however, because I still have a ton of orders to get finished!  Better get after it. 

 

Oh, and I'm sorry that I'm showing things that are not available.  I'm not trying to tease you, honest!  I just want to show you the best of the best of my work, and these are certainly in that category.  I am honored that they have found themselves new homes with people who love them as much as I do!

 

Have a wonderful day!

Lisa

 





Peppermint and Pfatt

Pfatt Marketplace will be updating today, so I thought I would give you at peek at what I have available over there for this month.  Each of these pieces is only available on Pfatt Marketplace.  None will be listed in my etsy shop this year.

I have sort of a peppermint theme happening here:

PEPPERMINT NICK

 

I wanted to do a few Santas that were not what you expect Santa to look like.  He doesn't wear that fur-trimmed red suit every day!  This time he is wearing a red and white striped shirt with bright green pants.  (I know they don't look that bright in the picture, which is a little dark.)  His black clay boots are trimmed in red chenille and little gold brads.  A red stud buckles his belt and his collar is made from crepe paper.  I sculpted his face with a trim white beard.  His traditional hat is hand-sewn from red wool felt and trimmed with white fluffy chenille and a little holly button.  He is holding a large peppermint candy tied with a green organza ribbon.  Glass glitter covers his base.  It sort of looks like sugar, doesn't it?

KRINGLE CANE

 

This Kris Kringle is wearing a white shirt and green pants, striped stockings and black boots, all sculpted from clay.  I made a vest and matching hat from deep red velvet and trimmed the hat with white chenille and a little gold bell.  A green crepe paper collar finishes the look.  He is holding a big acrylic candy cane that is as tall as he is!  Either that's one big candy cane, or he's one tiny elf, I'm not sure which!

 

HAVE A COOKIE

 

I love making elves!  They always look so fun!  She is dressed in a green polka dot body suit and a little red pleated fabric skirt.  Hidden from view is her black ribbon belt.  Her little black boots have pointy toes and are trimmed with white chenille.  Her collar is crepe paper.  I love her quirky little smile and her pointed elf ears!  She has a lot of unruly light brown curls made from curly wool roving.  I hand-sewed her hat from green felt and trimmed it with tiny pompom fringe, a little red bow and a silver bell.  She is carrying a tray of freshly baked gingerbread cookies. 

 

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This elf is no longer available, but I thought I would show it to you because he is the companion piece to the girl.  He wears a similar outfit, and is carrying two chenille candy canes and little holly-trimmed gingerbread man.

 

 

 

I hope you will all head over to Pfatt Marketplace this afternoon (it updates at about 11:00 Central time) and check out all the wonderful, original art offered by all of the very talented artists represented there.  I still feel very honored to have my work shown on the same website as many of them! 

 

Off to work....(I wish I had those two elves up there busily finishing my orders!)

Lisa

 

 

More Ornaments

December is upon us, and it's about three weeks to Christmas!  Time is zipping by and I am beginning to panic!  I don't know why.  Things always tend to get done, somehow, but when your to-do list is as long as your arm it gets a little bit stressful!  How, exactly, does Santa manage? 

I thought I better show you a couple more of the 2013 Limited Edition Ornaments today.  I'm sure you all have your trees up and decorated by now, but these ornaments also make wonderful gifts!  I still have these designs available in my etsy shop.

JOY

 

Some people like Santa.  Some people like snowmen.  Some people like both!  This ornament has a little bit of everything!  Candy cane-striped letters, a snowflake with a Frosty face in the middle, bows and holly, and a tiny Santa hanging from the side of the Y.  Christmas Joy for everyone! 

DECK THE HALLS

 

This jolly Santa is set against a glittered bright blue background.  Holly and a classic ball ornament complete the scene.  I used teeny-tiny pieces of clay to create the holly garland trim on his hat and coat.  It adds just a little 'something' to the design. 

 

 

I hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving and are greeting the Christmas season with hope and joy!  I love this time of year, even if my to-do list makes my head spin!  Speaking of which.....I better go get a few things crossed off!

 

Lisa



Woodland Winter

It seems winter is going to start here today, with snow in the forecast.  Not a big snow, but snow nonetheless.  So in the spirit of our first snowfall, I think I will introduce you to a few of my newest snowmen.

I've had this 'woodland' theme in my head this year, and I'm really pleased with the direction it is taking me.  These three winter friends are all dressed up in toggle coats, pants, boots, warm wool hats and scarves.  My sister once told me that she liked the snowmen with clothes better than the 'naked ones', and I always think of her when I am putting clothes on a snowman! 

All three Woodland Snowmen are available at A Piece of Lisa on etsy

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Woodland Wreath

 

A red coat, dark pine green houndstooth wool scarf and hat, a bottle-brush wreath trimmed with a red bow.  A tiny felt poinsettia trims his hat. 

 

Woodland Garland

 

An olive green coat and brown pants, with a lovely red houndstooth wool hat and scarf.  He holds a garland with red berries.  A tiny sprig of greenery is tucked in his hat.

 

Woodland Tree

 

A navy coat and moss green houndstooth scarf and hat.  He holds a tiny snow-dusted tree.  A burgundy felt flower trims his hat.

 

 

I love the hats and scarves.  I buy these beautiful hand-dyed felted wools from two different shops on etsy.  They are so soft and pretty and the colors are just lovely.  You can find them here, at Three Sheep Studio, and here, at Quilting Acres.  Both shops have lots of gorgeous wools.  Some of them are just too big of a scale for my work, but I would love to have a swatch of EVERY ONE!  Mostly I stick to the houndstooth because the pattern works so well for my dolls.

 

Do you have a favorite shop on etsy that sells wonderful supplies?  I would love to hear about it!  I'm always on the hunt for interesting things to use on my dolls, and I love to support small business when I can!

 

Have a great day!

Lisa

 

 

 



Santa and Elves

Time to show you a few more of my 2013 Limited Edition Christmas Ornaments.  How about Santa and a couple of elves?

Ho! Ho! Ho!

 

This is actually one of my more simple designs.  I feel I need to have a wide range of ornament designs in my collection.  While I love the ones I make that have lots of tiny pieces and minute details, those are more labor intensive, and therefore more expensive.  Buyers might appreciate them, but they might not be within their budget.  So each year I design a few ornaments that I can produce more quickly and sell for a little less money.  This Santa fits that bill.

 

He is dressed in his bright red suit and green mittens, holding a sign with his classic holiday greeting.  The "Ho!Ho!Ho!" is cut from very thin coils of clay.  "Merry Christmas" is handwritten in bright green ink.  A sprig of holly and the year 2013 trim his hat.  He is simple, but cute!! 

 

Ho!Ho!Ho! is still available in my etsy shop and also at Pfatt Marketplace.

 

Elvin

 

This adorable little elf is another example of one of my more simple designs.  He is dressed in a green and red elf suit, trimmed with white.  I used red striped baker's twine to tie a little silver jingle bell to the tip of his hat.  I love his pointy ears and his big, mischievous grin!  Has he been naughty or nice?

 

You can find Elvin in my etsy shop.

 

Peppermint Patty

 

One of my favorites this season!  She has quite a bit more detail than the Santa and the first elf.  She is dressed in classic red and green, with striped stockings and holly on her hat.  She is holding a big candy cane and a disc edged in candy-cane stripes.  Nothing is painted on this ornament except for the tiny white dots in her eyes. 

 

Peppermint Patty has been sold out already, but I wanted to show her to you anyway.  I think she is really adorable!

 

 

I  actually finished up the remainder of the 2013 collection last week!  YAY!!  Normally it's a scramble right before Christmas to finish up and have enough ornaments to give to my family.  This year it's done early!  YAY!!  (did I already say YAY! ??)  Unless I have a huge selling run at A Piece of Lisa on etsy, or at my final show, I should be OK for the year and not have to add another design or two.  (My family would NOT be happy if they missed out on their ornaments this year!)

 

The ornaments may be finished, but there is still a lot of other work to do in the studio, so I best be off to do it!!  Have a great day!

Lisa

 



Don't Forget About Autumn!

Sometimes I feel autumn and Thanksgiving get a raw deal.  We fill our homes with Halloween decorations and our bellies full of Halloween candy, and for some, as soon as the last Snickers bar is consumed and the ghosts and goblins have been tucked away for another year, the Christmas tree is already up in the front window!  There is this whole month of November when we can celebrate the beauty and the bounty of fall! But it seems to get shoved aside in favor of the red and green.  Don't get me wrong....I LOVE Christmas, and I LOVE to decorate for it.  But I have a strict rule about not putting up my tree until the first week of December.  OK, granted.  A lot of that rule stems from the fact that I don't have time to put up my decorations until show season is over.  But honestly, I wouldn't even if I did.  I like to keep the magic of Christmas in December.

(Now, I'm not scolding those of you who have already started decking the halls.  If that's your thing, great.)

Today I'm going to show you a couple of fun little characters I created just for fall.  I had such a good time making my funny Jacks for Halloween, I thought to myself, "Why not an autumn pumpkin man?  Pumpkins are not just for Halloween!"  And here is what happened when I listened to that voice in my head:

Sunflower Garland

He has prominent facial features accented with lovely brown eyes.  The hat is hand-sewn from wool felt and trimmed with chenille and a autumn-colored ribbon.  He holds a garland of greenery and sunflowers. 

 

Autumn Jack

Also sculpted with a prominent nose and big brown eyes, he features a similar hat adorned with a sunflower, and carries a bouquet of autumn bounty.  Both pieces have golden yellow and green stripes on their arms and legs, green mittens trimmed with chenille and brown boots.

 

I'm really pleased with how these two autumn Jacks turned out.  I love the colors of fall so much!  You can find both of these adorable fellows in my etsy shop, A Piece of Lisa.

 

Happy Fall!

Lisa





Let's Get Started....

with the 2013 Limited Edition Christmas Ornament Collection!

Each year since 1990, I have put together a collection of ornaments.  The first year I just made random designs, all basically one of a kind.  Maybe I would make another of a particularly cute design if it sold right away.  The following year I decided it would be fun to create them in limited editions.  I chose to do five of each design.  I thought that would be a manageable number.  I was also doing five holiday craft shows that season, so I figured that is one per show.  And that is how the tradition of my limited edition designs started!  I have now created somewhere in the neighborhood of 450 designs.  Multiply that times five and that's a whole lotta ornaments that I have cranked out, individually, by hand, over the years.  It sort of makes my head spin!! 

Every year I think it's going to be harder and harder to come up with interesting ways to portray the classic Christmas characters we all know and love.  Santa.  Snowmen.  Gingerbread.  Baby Jesus.  I admit, it does present a challenge, but somehow I am still able to pull a few new ideas out of my head each year! 

Snowmen are a perennial favorite.  Who doesn't love Frosty?  After making dozens of designs in the classic, perfectly-round-ball style, I decided why not switch it up a bit?  Give him some personality.  A few quirks.  An odd-ball shape.  Here are two designs in which I have done just that:

Friendly Frosty Faces

 

I happen to love this one!  I was inspired by my own collection of Quirky Snowmen that were published in the 2012 issue of Holiday Crafts Magazine. (More about that here.)  I like the flat oval shapes of their heads, contrasted with the unusual shapes of their black hats.  Even the size and shape of their carrot noses is something out of the ordinary.  I placed these two quirky guys on a light blue pearl background scattered with snowflakes.  All of my ornaments have the year on them in some way.   

Mr. & Mrs. Snow

 

I took the oval shaped snowman and turned it on the side to create these two tall skinny snowmen.  (Well, one is a woman of course!)  This happy couple is dressed up in sweaters, scarves and mittens and each wears an unusually shaped black hat.  She is holding a long candy cane.  I built this ornament on a background of light blue pearl clay scattered with snowflakes, and a drift of snow.  It's edged with silver and a sprig of holly adorns one corner.

 

 

Each of these designs is currently available in my etsy shop.  But you should hurry if you want Mr. & Mrs. Snow, because as of today there are only two left in the edition. 

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Lisa



Behind Schedule a Little Bit

I fully intended to get here with this news last week.  November 1st was a good day for me!

First of all, November 1st is always a good day for me, because that is the anniversary of the day I married my very best friend!  This year David and I celebrated 27 years of marriage.  YAY!!  (I use the term celebrate loosely here.  David took the day off work, but I spent all day on last minute preparations for my craft show the following day.  That evening we set up my display.  It was after 8:00pm before we enjoyed our "romantic" dinner of McDonald's!  LOL!!  We were tired and starving....I was about ready to chew off my own arm!  We will make up for it with a nice dinner another time!)  In some ways it is hard to believe it's been 27 years, and yet, I feel like it's been forever.  We've had a good run so far, and I anticipate many many more wonderful years ahead!

Secondly, and more relevant to my blog, November 1st the newest issue of Art Doll Quarterly hit the newsstands!  I am THRILLED once again to say that my work is featured in the Show and Tell Section.  While this is the third time my work has appeared in this fabulous publication, it never ceases to amaze me to see it on the pages alongside such talented artists!  It is very validating, to say the least!

So, here are the two Santas they chose for this issue.  I created these pieces last year, and blogged about them here.  Since you have to submit entries for the Winter Issue in June, I sent in pieces I had on hand because I didn't have time to create something brand new for this year. 

Santa's Sack of Sweets

 

Dressed in a classic red suit trimmed with tinsel-flecked chenille, this Santa carries a hand-sewn grey wool felt bag adorned with a felt poinsettia and filled with 3 tiny clay candy canes.

Stocking Stuffer

 

This jolly Santa is dressed in a red suit with white chenille trim and a black ribbon belt with a gemstone buckle.  He carries a little teddy bear made from clay and a stocking hand-sewn from red wool felt and trimmed with white mini pompom fringe and a glittered Christmas tree.  Two tiny candy canes fill the stocking.

 

 

If you are interested in purchasing this magazine, here is what to look for:

 

 

You can find it at Barnes and Noble or at stampington.com

 

In the coming days I will begin showing you the fun Christmas figurines I have been working so hard on, as well as my limited edition Christmas ornaments. 

 

Hope you all had a frightfully fun Halloween!  I anticipated more trick or treaters than we had.  Which means that I have waaay too much candy left over.  Which means I'm eating waaay too much candy these days!  EEK!! 

Lisa

 



 





HAPPY HALLOWEEN from Hagatha Crow

It's Halloween already!  This month FLEW by more quickly than a witch on a broomstick! 

Of course, in some ways, it's seemed like Halloween for months at my house, because I have been working on my Halloween art dolls since the 4th of July.

I've saved my very favorite witch for last.  I know I mentioned that Clara was my favorite and that I might have to keep her.  Well, a few days later I made Hagatha Crow and SHE became my new favorite.  In the end, I did offer Clara for sale at my shows, but I kept 'forgetting' to put Hagatha out on display.  Now she is proudly sitting on the end table in my living room. 

 

I went all out creating Hagatha Crow.  The top of her dress is sculpted from black clay and she has grey speckled stockings and black boots.  I had lots of fun dressing her up!  I sewed a skirt from black satin fabric, raveling the edge a little bit.  I used a gathered velvet and organza stretchy ribbon for her belt.  I added a crepe paper collar, but I wanted something really special for her cape.  I'll get to that in a minute.

 

I love this view!  It shows how hunch-backed she is and also gives a great look at her long, pointy nose.

 

Here you see her cape.  It's made from real feathers!  Now that I use all sorts of 'stuff' on my art dolls, part of the fun is shopping in EVERY department at the craft stores!  I found this wonderful black feathered trim in the upholstery department at Hobby Lobby.  The feathers were already set into a black satin ribbon binding, and they happen to be the perfect length for a cape!  I love it when the details fall into place nicely like that!

 

Get a good look at her green hand-sculpted face!  She has lightly blushed cheeks and lips, hand-painted grey eyes lined with black.  I even added dark shadows on her face.  And yes, that is a wart on her chin!  She wears a skull and crossbones necklace, Swarovski crystal earrings, and carries a little black bird.  (This bird was actually white. I painted it black and added an extra feather for a longer tail.  At the time I couldn't find a CROW or a real BLACKBIRD anywhere in the stores and everything I found online was way too big.  Since then I've found some at Michaels.  They are much bigger than this one, but will work great in the future.  I stocked up for next year!)

 

Hagatha has grey wool roving hair twisted up in a bun beneath her tall witch's hat.  It's covered in the same satin as her skirt, edged with chenille, and adorned with a big black feather and another Swarovski crystal.  (There are also crystals on her shoes.)

 

Hagatha Crow is a very fancy old witch.  She looks pretty wicked, but I think, actually, old age has tamed her a little bit.  Good or Evil, I love her no matter which!!

 

Well, I think I've shown you nearly all of the Halloween spooks I created this year.  There are a few that didn't get featured.  Some of them are listed in my etsy shop, if you want to go browse around there. 

 

A Piece of Lisa is also beginning to look a lot like Christmas!  Ornaments, Santas and Snowmen are trickling into my etsy shop almost daily.  You won't want to miss out!  I'll begin to feature those on the blog next week.  Until then.....

 

HAPPY HAUNTING!

Lisa

 





For the Love of Candy Corn

I didn't get here all last week!  What's up with that?  Well, it's 'crunch time' as we like to call it at our house---that time of year when fall show season is in full swing, and I spend 90% of my waking hours in the studio.  Sometimes even things I love to do get kicked to the curb.

I also traveled out to western Nebraska to do a little craft show that benefits the community rest home and assisted living center.  When my Dad was alive, he was very involved with the rest home, serving as President of its board for many years, and serving as interim Administrator for a couple of years. He also established a non-profit foundation to help with funding projects that are not in the meager budget.  Dad quite truthfully gave new life to a place that was in danger of being shut down.  Sadly, it is in trouble again.  I know he's looking down on it and is NOT PLEASED!  Anyway.  They have a craft show each year to raise a little money for projects, and I set my booth up in honor of my father and his great work with the place.  The show is NOT worth doing from a financial standpoint for me, but it's for a worthy cause.  I also got to spend the weekend with my Mom, which was very nice, and I got to see my brother and one of my sisters.  So it was not a total waste of time! LOL! 

So that's where I've been.  Now I'm back and ready to show you another ADORABLE Halloween witch.  Meet Candys Cornwall.

 

Candys Cornwall was inspired, obviously, by candy corn.  I love candy corn, but only in the fall around Halloween, when I know it is perfect and fresh.  (My Dad loved candy corn, too!)  I wanted to make a witch that is as sweet as this favorite holiday treat.  

 

The top of her dress is sculpted from white clay.  I found a fun orange print for her skirt and trimmed it with some yellow crocheted lace and rick-rack.  I added a ribbon belt to ease the edge between the fabric and the clay.  I finished the dress with Swarovski crystals and a crepe paper collar.

 

I love her hat!  It looks very much like a piece of candy corn!  I pieced it together from wool felt and trimmed it with a band of white chenille.  It needed a little 'something' so I made a tiny black cat face pin and tucked it into the hat band. 

 

I think Candys Cornwall has one of the sweetest faces I have sculpted!  Every time I look at her I smile!  She has soft green eyes and lightly blushed cheeks.  I used a pretty auburn curly wool roving for her hair.  I think it sets off nicely from her dress.  The finishing touch on this adorable witch is her little black cat, Licorice, that I sculpted from clay. 

 

Candys Cornwall is still available, and you can find her in my etsy shop, A Piece of Lisa. 

 

I've nearly wrapped up showing you my Halloween characters for the year.  I have a few more, but soon we will move on to Christmas!  (I hope you don't think it's too early for that!)

 

Have a sweet day!

Lisa



Another Skelly

For those of you who enjoyed Mr. and Mrs. Bones, here is a look at another, more casual, skeleton.  He is still available and will be showing up later today on my PFATT Marketplace page. 

Skelly Boo

 

Skelly Boo is wearing an orange and white striped shirt trimmed with chenille cuffs and a crepe paper collar.  He has on short black pants with an orange stud belt buckle.  I used a wash of black paint to accent the details of his bones.  He has a ghost tethered to his hand, so it won't float away in the breezy Halloween night.  The ghost is made from clay and wrapped in cheesecloth tied with baker's twine. 

 

Be sure to go to PFATT Marketplace and check out my newest listings there, along with the fabulous work of all the other talented artists featured on that site. 

 

Have a great day!

Lisa

 

OH--one other thing...My friend LeeAnn Kress of Charmed Confections has entered one of her wonderful ghosts in a contest on the Creative Paperclay website.  She needs votes!!  If she is chosen a winner she will have the wonderful opportunity of becoming a designer for the Creative Paperclay Team!  How awesome is that? 

 

 

Here is a link to the Creative Paperclay website where you can vote:

http://www.creativepaperclay.blogspot.com/2013/10/link-up-party.html

You must scroll down to the bottom of the post, and find the 'comments' button.  Click there and leave a comment saying you want to vote for LeeAnn Kress (#21).  She will sure appreciate your vote!!  







Saying Goodbye...

My first show of the season wrapped up over the weekend and I declared it a success.  But the hardest part, of course, is saying goodbye to these little characters that have worked themselves into my heart.  I'm talking about my art dolls, of course!  They are my babies, and sometimes it's tough to let them go.  Dear David keeps reminding me that I make them to sell them, not to keep them all, but it is a little bit like selling off a piece of my soul.  I take heart in the fact that they will be going to loving homes. 

Some of my favorites left me over the weekend.  (Well, we all know I tend to have a lot of favorites!)  But there are certain ones that are just a little extra special to me.  Like Trick-or-Troll, who will be joining three of my other Halloween spooks at his new home with Melissa.  And Clarice the gypsy, who I will actually get to visit from time to time, because David's sister bought her! 

Here are a few that found new homes that I hadn't shown you yet.  I never allow any of my babies to leave home before they have had a photo shoot!  I need to be able to remember all of these one-of-a-kind darlings!

Witchy Bones

 

Witchy Bones is all dressed up for a very fancy Halloween party.  I love her dotted tulle skirt and the glittered pumpkin head wand.  I thought for a long time about how to make a skeleton without having to make very delicate bones that would end up being very fragile.  It suddenly occurred to me that I could dress them up and just make a skull and put marks in the hands and legs to give the illusion of bones.  I used a wash of black paint over the white clay to bring out the details.

 

Mr. Bones Goes Haunting

 

It wouldn't be much fun to go to a party alone, so here is Witchy Bone's companion.  I actually made Mr. Bones first, then thought it would be really cute to make a female version of a skeleton to go with him.  Mr. Bones is wearing a fancy black suit trimmed with glitter and Swarovski crystals.  He is carrying a jack-o-lantern and a Halloween greeting.  A little spider charm is hanging on the edge. 

 

I really love these two skellys and I know they have found a wonderful new home with Pat, who is an avid collector of my art.

 

My little jack-o-lantern guys were pretty popular.  I don't have any left!  Here is my very favorite of the group:

 

Punky and Spook

 

I thought this one ended up looking more like a girl.  Maybe it was the purple eyes or the flowers on the hat.  I think she is pretty adorable!  I love her little ghost friend.  It's made from clay and draped with cheesecloth tied with a bit of baker's twine.  It is floating on a wire twisted to Punky's arm.  I know she found a good home too. 

 

While these three and many other found new homes over the weekend, I still have plenty of Halloween spooks available over in my etsy shop, A Piece of Lisa.  Pfatt Marketplace will be updating in a couple days as well.  I still have one piece left on the current offering, so hurry over there to check that out.

 

I try not to get too attached to my creations, but it's hard.  But it also warms my heart to no end knowing that others love them enough to pay for them!  I am so blessed to be able to have a job that I LOVE and to be able to bring a bit of whimsy into the lives of others. 

 

Thanks to all my wonderful customers who welcomed A Piece of Lisa into their lives!! 

Lisa

 

 

 









Another Spooky Spirit

A few weeks ago I showed you Spooky Time Spirit.  Today I am presenting his younger sister, The Keeper of the Keys.

 

 

Keeper of the Keys is sculpted from polymer clay, wearing a grey body suit and white stocking under her ethereal cloak.  Her face is sculpted from pearly-grey clay and detailed with hand-painted grey eyes and dark shadows.  She has long, wispy grey wool roving hair flowing out behind her.  Her cloak is made from strips of shimmery white tulle and silver organza ribbon.  She is holding a ring of keys in her right hand, and another set of keys is pinned to her bow.

 

You can find The Keeper of the Keys here, in my etsy shop.  Or if you are in the Omaha, Nebraska/Council Bluff, Iowa area this weekend, come visit my booth at the Fall Arts and Crafts Fair at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs!

 

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This week I have been working on Santas and Snowmen.  I will have those available at my show as well as all my frightfully delightful Halloween characters.  Another artist is working on snowmen as well.  Brenda, from The Rusty Thimble, is hosting a giveaway over on her blog.  She makes adorable primitive folk art.  Those of you who participated in the blog hop will recognize her work.  Those of you who didn't should pop on over to check it out!

 

http://therustythimble.blogspot.com/2013/10/welcoming-october-with-new-giveaway.html

 

Here is a picture of one of her snowmen.  Cute, huh?

 

 

Talk to you soon!

Lisa