I have received the Sunshine Award!

What a delightful surprise to receive this happy little Sunshine Award twice from two dear artist/friends  Sue Barton  from Barton Originals and Penny from Angels Door.

Two wonderful women with the most creative and inpirational blogs on the internet. You will be inspired, have a chuckle,  and leave feeling like you just stepped into another world.
I urge you to stop by their creative blogs and take a peek.
Sue
http://bartonoriginals.blogspot.com/ 

Penny
http://angelsdoor.blogspot.com/

Thank you ladies for this special award!  ;-)



Now upon accepting this award, there are a couple of rules that I have to follow.


The Rules are:

- Put the logo on your blog or within your post

- Pass the award to 6 other bloggers, and link the nominees within your post

- Let the nominees know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog

- Give mention to the person that gave you this award and link to their blog

The only part that is hard is choosing 6 special bloggers as there are SO many special blogs I would like to give a shout out too.  But...6 is the magic number so here are my 6 that I would like to acknowledge and pass on the Sunshine Award to the following very talented ladies and their blogs.

http://seagypsystudio.blogspot.com/
Kim

http://twinessence.blogspot.com/
Amanda

http://mammystitches.blogspot.com/
Cheryl

http://rosebreezeboutique.blogspot.com/2008_10_01_archive.html
Pearl

http://thestudioatcrowhavenfarm.blogspot.com/
Michelle

http://inspirationbykaren.blogspot.com/
Karen

OOAK Pincushions and Etsy News!

It is still winter here where I live...and this time of year I yearn for the warmth of the sun and the flowers as they begin to emerge from the ground. I am itching to get outside and work in my garden, go for long rides on my horse and just be outside enjoying the sun.

It is all I can do to stay inside after our long winters until the last remains of the snow have melted and the ground begins to warm up. One good thing about it is that I do get much more work done and have been working on some different items for spring. I wanted to let you know about some changes on where I will be selling my new work. After a few years selling my OOAK dolls together with antiques etc., I have decided to open 2 other Etsy Shops to feature these items.

My OOAK dolls will still be under my shop at          

                                     

http://www.etsy.com/shop/aworkofhart

But I have opened a new shop called

Rose Hart Antiques and Collectibles

     http://www.etsy.com/shop/rosehartantiques

where I will be selling my antiques.

and

                                       

Whoopsie Daisy's

http://www.etsy.com/shop/whoopsiedaisys

My shop for unique handcrafted and sewing related items.

I will slowly be phasing out these items from my aworkofhart shop over the next month.

I hope you will pop in and take a look and be sure to stop by now and then as new items will be arriving in the next few weeks.

Here is a sampling of some new items.

OOAK Pincushions

I have always loved unique pincushions and have been making these little ooak's for awhile now.

Each one is made with unique vintage Salt and Pepper shakers, figurines and little doodads.

The cushions vary by the uniqueness of the item and materials used thus making them a One Of A Kind

never to be duplicated. Perfect for a collection or as a special gift!

I also sell them in my ebay shop.

Polly and Tweets will be posted soon and some other new projects for Easter are on the horizon too.

Thanks for popping in!

Have a Blessed Day!

Little Nun

Bunny Love

(Sold)

Kitty Cat and her Kitten

(Sold)

Precious Bluebird

(Sold)

Purple Cow

Miss Priss Lefton Kitty Cat

(Sold)

Bird and Roses

Honey Bee and her Hive

Tiny Bird

                                                                       

Little Piggy

Wishing everyone a HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

Flossie Flirt

As mentioned in previous posts I enjoy restoring old dolls when I get the time. So I thought I would share another group of photos of a doll I restored about a year ago. This dolls name is Flossie Flirt. She is from approx. the 1920's , made by Ideal  Toy Co. and the thing that I love about her is she has these sweet little tin  eyes that roll from side to side. 

  

When I purchased her she was in such a disarray I felt so bad for her. Chiped paint all over the compostion and dirty. She was dressed in some kind of a German outfit which was totally inappropriate for her. As is with most of these dolls the clothing is tattered and usually not the original style that the doll was dressed in. I really try to dress them as closely as possible to the original style. I am always scouring antique shops and the internet for special dresses.

She did have her original shoes and socks which was nice but she was in terrible shape on her legs. Someone had used bandaging tape to hold her little legs together. Poor thing!  ;-(

Her hair was a mess but still the original wig which I was happy about so I gave her a new do. and  after much sanding, repairing and airbrushing I think I accomplished what I had set out to do. A friend gave me her little dress which looks so much cuter than the awful little thing she had on. A tiny cotton print with soft yellow flowers. I made her a new hair bow with a handmade silk ribbon flower that I made especially for her. I am looking for a little pin to place on the bodice of her dress. I think that would top it off very nicely.

Her dress was a little too long in the above picture and the style for this era was fairly short...showing their little bloomers so I hemmed the dress a little shorter to look more appropriate.

I know some people frown on doll restorations and yes in some instances the are not acceptable but I feel that if the doll so bad that they are not appealing to look at anymore and that further time is only going to damage them  more I believe that is the time to do something to preserve them. Anyway...here are her before and after pictures.  I hope you like them!

P.S. I also have a new OOAK doll that I will be showing real soon called "Polly and Tweets" a sweet little thing just in time for spring. Here is a snippet of one of Polly's friends and some pretty little singing bird music to get you in the mood for her new pictures. Come back real soon!!!   ;-)

Odelle's Opera Dreams

My first new piece for 2010.

This piece incorporates many techniques all of which I enjoyed working with.

The doll is made of polymer clay and has been painstakingly dressed in a lined gorgeous red rose brocade with matching shoes. This fabric is exquisite! I love brocade fabrics and try to incorporate them into my work whenever I can. The shimmer on the dress adds such a statement to the whole of the piece.

Beautiful blue glass paperweight eyes and auburn tibetan hair.

Hat was made from an antique french doll pattern.

She sits upon a little stool inside of a shadow box which I lined with flocked, glittered paper and vintage images. I wanted the feel of a Opera Theater but also the feel of Paris back in the late 1800's early 1900's
I found some wonderful images which I thought captured those times. Some of the images are from The Graphics Fairy a wonderful source for vintage graphics. "Thank you Karen' ;-)   A postcard to her dear love, a special evening in Paris, the performance of a lifetime perhaps....The images portray what this young lady could be dreaming about and leaves it up to you the viewer to decide what they mean.

Vintage Rhinestone Broaches, Red Tulle and French Ribbons accent the box.

Detail of the rose brocade fabric.

Program taken from an actual vintage opera program.

Tiny matching brocade shoes.

She is available for purchase here.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/53442869/odelles-opera-dream-a-one-of-a-kind-fine

Thank you for stopping by!

Sneak Peek

It is hard to believe it is 2010. This year has flown by. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.

I have been working on several new projects which I will be showing in the next couple of weeks.
The first piece is called "Odelle's Opera Dreams"
I am giving you a glimpse as I am putting the finishing touches on her today. It was a large piece... but a fun piece to work on. I should have more detailed photos in a couple of days.
I have also included some of my favorite opera singers for your listening enjoyment and to set the mood for this new piece. Be back real soon!!!

Happy New Year!

Wishing everyone a Safe and Happy New Year!

May 2010 bring you and your family many blessings!!!
Warmly,
Marcie     ;-)