JUST JACK and a few notes

I just listed this adorable jack-o-lantern in my etsy shop about five minutes ago.  Isn't he fun?  I hope you will go have a look at him, and the other frightful characters that are showing up in my shop.  I still have a lot of Halloween spooks to get listed, but they are all waiting for their photo shoot.  It's hard balancing all the tasks required with the limited number of hours in a day!  I just want to MAKE THINGS! LOL!! 

Anyway, here is JUST JACK with a Spider:

 

 

A few other little notes:

 

1)  My friend LeeAnn of Charmed Confections is hosting a giveaway on her blog to celebrate her first year of blogging.  Time is running out to enter...you must do so by tomorrow.  She makes adorable art from paper clay.  You should go check it out.  And please enter!  Here is the link:

 

http://charmedconfections.blogspot.com/2013/08/sign-up-for-charmed-confections.html

 

2)  Same friend, LeeAnn and Carly Smith of Boggy Bottom Bayou are organizing a Halloween blog hop and have asked me to participate.  It will be coming up in a couple of weeks, so you will want to stay tuned for details on that.  They have gathered together 13 wonderful Halloween artists and each of us will be providing one of our handmade treasures for a fabulous giveaway.  You won't want to miss it!  Here is a sneak peak at the banner they have created for the event:

 

 

3)  My Dracula and His Bride dolls are still available over at Pfatt Marketplace.  You might want to go have a look. 

 

http://www.pfattmarketplace.com/apieceoflisa.html

 

While you are there be sure to check out all the other wonderful artists' pages.  There are still some really great things available.

 

Lots of work to do today, so I better get to it!  Thanks for dropping by!

Lisa







Friday Favorite--Robots Are Awesome by HerArt SheLoves

I'm back with another Friday Favorite.  This time I am featuring a fellow member of the Polymer Clay Enthusiasts Team on etsy, Robots Are Awesome by HerArt SheLoves.  (There is no mention of her 'real' name on her site, so HerArt it is!)

HerArt is a self-proclaimed Uber Nerd who loves all manner of science fiction.  She has combined her love of geekery with her love of sculpting and created these adorable robots from polymer clay and coiled wire.  Personally, I've never been a huge fan of geekery UNTIL I saw these robots.  I think they are wonderful! 

Here are a few of my favorites from her shop:

Patina Paxe

 

Blue Red Fred

 

Rustic Robot Wedding

 

Valentine Cupid Robot Cabe

 

Cheerful Bot Wall Art

 

And don't forget the Robot pets!

 

Mini Mack the Robot Cat

 

HerArt does custom work like wedding cake toppers, birthday bots, pets,  you name it.  If you have an idea for a robot, drop her a line and see what she can do.  I hope you will visit her etsy shop and have a look around!

Have a great weekend!
Lisa

Candy

I just now listed this adorable little girl in my etsy shop.  Isn't she cute?

 

Her name is Candy, and her favorite thing in the world is candy corn.  She likes to have a little bucket of it with her wherever she goes. 

 

 

Her favorite dress looks like a big piece of candy corn.  It is sculpted from orange clay with an orange wool felt skirt trimmed with yellow and orange grosgrain ribbon.  I used a vintage button and added a Swarovski crystal to give it some sparkle.  Her collar is made from crepe paper.

 

 

Doesn't she have the sweetest face?  I love her big brown eyes!  I debated about her hair color--blond, strawberry blond, or brown.  In the end, my husband and I agreed that the brown looked more like fall.  I tucked a little white satin ribbon rose in her hair as a finishing touch.

 

I created Candy as a Halloween doll, but why couldn't you leave her out all year?  At least through the fall season, up until Christmas.

 

My dad always loved candy corn--BRACHS candy corn, to be specific.  Every time I see it or eat it, I think of him.  I only buy it in the fall, when I know it's fresh and yummy.  It just says 'fall' to me.  YUM! 

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Lisa







Zombie and Ghost

After I made the Zombie cheerleader, I thought I should do at least one boy version of a zombie.  I had a lot of fun making her ugly/cute face.  This guy was just as much fun as the cheerleader, though I maybe not so clever. 

 

He is dressed in too-short black pants and a grey and black striped shirt, all sculpted from clay.  Somewhere along the way, he lost his shoes!  But he picked up a little friend along the way.  The ghost has a head made from clay, and then I draped him with cheesecloth and tied it with a bit of baker's twine.  I soaked the whole thing in some watered down black paint to give it an aged appearance.

 

He has a skull-and-crossbones belt buckle and a crepe paper collar.

 

A detail of his face.  He has creepy eyes that are rimmed in red and I gave his pale flesh a wash of black paint to give him that fresh-from-the-grave look.  He has a wild bit of black wool roving hair.

 

Those of you who are drawn to the cuter side of Halloween probably won't be to taken with these zombies.  But I think they are sort of fun and different.

 

You can find Zombie and Ghost in my etsy shop.

 

Stay tuned!  More fabulous Halloween spooks are coming!

Lisa



Friday Favorite--Swan Quarter House

I want to try to get back on my Friday Favorites routine.  I might not get here every week with one, but hopefully at least a couple times a month. 

I know many of you are not quite in the Halloween frame of mind yet, so maybe this is going to seem a bit premature to you.  I, however, have been seriously engrossed in Halloween since the 4th of July holiday was over, so it seems normal to me.  Either way, I hope you enjoy this adorable shop I'm showing you today.

Swan Quarter House is full of delightful needle felted sculptures, inspired by vintage holiday decorations, but with a touch of modern whimsy.  I think Jodi's work is fabulous.  There is something about her whimsical touch that hits really close to home.  She adds the same sort of little playful details that I strive for in my work. 

I've chosen a few Halloween pieces to feature here, but trust me, Jodi has lots of other adorable items in her etsy shop.  I love many of her Christmas things as well. 

Trickster



Pookie

 

Brothers Boo Bunnies

 

Blackie

 

And because I couldn't resist showing one of her Christmas pieces after all....

 

Bitsie

 

Aren't these all just as cute as can be?  I hope you will all take a minute to go check out Jodi's adorable creations in Swan Quarter House. 

 

More Halloween work for me today!  YAY!

Have a great weekend!

Lisa

 

 

 

 

Clara

Every once in a while I create a doll that just simply speaks to my heart.  Clara is one of those dolls.

I had an armature ready to be sculpted.  When I made it, I thought it would be a zombie or perhaps a skeleton.  I wasn't sure.  I know when I mention that I allow the clay to speak to me, you all probably just roll your eyes, thinking I'm just another wacky artist.  But it's true.  Sometimes you have an idea in your head, but the piece says, "Nope.  Don't want to be that."

So I said, "OK.  How about a witch?  Do you want to be a witch?"

It said, "Fine, I'll be a witch.  But make it a good one!"

So I began to sculpt, and this is who came out:

 

This is Clara, the clairvoyant.  She's been at this crystal gazing for many, many years.  And it's left her a little hunchbacked, and her eyes all wonky.  But she just can't stop.  It's her gift.

 

 

Clara has a delicately sculpted, wrinkled face, with one drooping eye and one that is wide open.  I used soft grey wool roving for her hair, which is twisted in a bun in back.  I added Swarovski crystals to her ears and gave her a clear crystal charm necklace.  I've had these clear shooter marbles for about a year, waiting to become crystal balls. (I bought them on the Junk Jaunt last summer. You can read about that here and here.)

 

 

She has slightly saggy breasts, a little bit of a hunchback and some extra 'cushion' on her behind, all products of her extreme age.  I dressed her all in black: a micro suede skirt with a black glittered velvet ribbon belt, a crepe paper collar, and a long fringed shawl.  Not visible are her black and white striped stockings.  Her boots are buttoned up with Swarovski crystals.

 

 

Here you can see her interesting profile and how she is just slightly stooped over.  I like how the reflections change in the crystal ball in every view.

 

 

One of the things I really enjoy about creating these dolls is that I can shop in every department of Hobby Lobby and find something that just might work.  I found this fringe with the upholstery trims.  It makes a perfect shawl!

 

 

I'm not exactly sure what is it about this particular witch that has struck me so hard, but I love her!  Clara is not listed in my etsy shop yet, and to be honest, she might not ever be!  I'm having a hard time with the idea of parting with her.  We'll see.  The next witch I make might be even better, then it will be easier to pass her along to someone else who will love her like I do! 

 

I would love to hear what you think about her.  Please leave your comments below!

 

I'm back to the studio!

Lisa



 













Sharing Some Blog Love

Something different here today.  I didn't do a Friday Favorites last week.  So maybe this could sort of replace that??  I want to share my new friend LeeAnn's blog. 

LeeAnn of Charmed Confections is a wonderful artist who creates fabulous Halloween art from paperclay.  She is a fellow member of Pfatt Marketplace, and also an artist on Spookytime Jingles.  She has an etsy shop, a facebook page, and a delightful blog.  I'm happy to call her my new friend, even though I have never really met her!  The beauty of the internet!  Oh, she also has five of her wonderful Halloween creations featured in the current issue of Art Doll Quarterly. 

So, anyway....LeeAnn is celebrating one year of blogging.  In honor of that, she is hosting a fabulous giveaway on her blog.  Three lucky readers will win one of her wonderful pieces of art. 

First prize will be a Ghastly Ghost similar to one of these: 

    

 

(These four darlings are already sold....she will make another one just for you!)



Two more lucky ducks will win a set of these cute cupcake ornaments!




To get the details on how to enter, hop on over to Charmed Confections and check it out. 

I hope you will all join me in congratulating LeeAnn on her first year of blogging!  (Don't forget to mention I sent you there! LOL!)

Have a great day, and good luck with her giveaway!
Lisa