I took these photos to document Cecilia and Winnie’s new outfits, which are quite elaborate and took months to find and put together. In April, May, and June, it seemed I was constantly scouring eBay for well-aged pinafores, petticoats, and pantaloons in extremely rare sizes. …
For several weeks in July I labored over this portrait of Josefa, a sweet little doll I adopted in 2019. It was a very challenging project for me as a beginner in acrylics. (I said “Crap!” a lot as I worked.) I had no idea …
I spent the last couple weeks painting this hilarious portrait of my teddy bear Marigold. (Yes, I know. I’m a ridiculous fool.) I worked on it every night after work and early in the morning on weekends. It was so much fun sitting at the dining room table painting and listening to episodes of Frontline and American Experience on YouTube. Meanwhile, Buntin, my totally devoted, cute, fiery little tortie cat, would be napping close by in a shoebox full of paintbrushes.
It’s so much fun taking pictures of my toys, but I want to get better at it. I want to acquire some better props (a petite parasol, a pint-sized picnic basket, a very small vanity) and make use of more exotic locations (not just my …
Here’s a look back over the years at some of my best Goodwill finds. Goodwill is my favorite store to shop for clothes. I love saving money and rescuing perfectly good garments from a grim future in the landfill. Our local Quincy Goodwill is a …
In the eighties, when I was in high school, my mom took a doll-making class and made three porcelain dolls, one for me and one for each of my sisters. During this time she was working as a night nurse at the hospital, putting in lots of overtime, raising four kids, and dealing with the demands of a difficult husband.
Her life was tough. She was only getting a few hours of constantly interrupted sleep each day (I can remember her dozing off when she was trying to eat supper), and yet she found the energy to take a doll-making class. That’s amazing to me.
Mom doesn’t consider herself talented or artistic, but she is—and I have never met anyone with such a strong creative drive. When we kids were growing up, she was always struggling to make things nice and pretty for us, even though she was broke and even though Dad made fun of her projects.
Mom spent months painting the porcelain dolls and sewing their elaborate dresses and bonnets by hand. She gave us the dolls for Christmas 1982.
Here is my doll, India, posing in my daffodil patch. I’ll try to take pictures of Kris and Bunny’s dolls too and post them here soon for you to see. Kris’s doll is a dark-haired toddler in a light blue dress, and Bunny’s is a newborn baby in a pink dress.
I’ve made a few new ornaments for my Easter tree! I like to spend the dark winter evenings making funny, ridiculously cute Easter ornaments and dreaming about spring. I’ve only recently started crafting again after a 30-year hiatus. I grew up crafting because my mother …
I know it’s after Christmas now, but I just have to pay tribute to my mom’s Christmas spirit. Even at 81 years old, she can still create Christmas magic like nobody else. At Christmastime (and, really, all the time) there’s a wonderful feeling at Mom’s …
This morning I finished up another felt Christmas ornament–a ballerina bear! I’m afraid I hit a snag when I was working on her tutu, because it turned out looking more like a cape than a skirt. Oh, well. She’s still super cute.
A book I ordered on feltie-making arrived in the mail this afternoon, so I should be able to pick up some tips. I can’t wait to start reading! I want to make a hippo with angel wings next–and then a hedgehog wearing a Santa hat. Hopefully these characters will turn out looking a little more professional!
