Momma Squirrel

Ursula is almost ready! ~ Make Mine Pink Monday Show and Tell :)

ursula3, originally uploaded by mommasquirrel.

Hello,
I have almost completed the lovely Ursula. I am so excited with her progress! I just need to make a couple of more items for her basket and she will be ready to find her new home.
Since last we talked I have found her a lovely little basket and painted and sanded it to Halloween perfection. I made her a little felt frog (for her potion, shhh dont tell the frog, I would hate for him to hop away on us, LOL)
I have also added a lovely vintage lace collar, I had just enough of this pretty lace to do her cuffs as well. I love this lace and have been trying to find just the right project for it as there was only about 3/4 yards of it left.
Ursula has a pretty new skirt made from orange and black homespun, (very practical for traveling) and a pretty pair of pantaloons underneath. I took some of the skirt fabric and used it to sew a tie on her pretty cloak. It worked out perfectly as it covered the open seam from where the hood attaches the the cape, this gives a nice finished look to her "unfished looking' cloak. I also added a few rusty bells to the tip of her hat and the closure of her collar.
the real ingenuity came in when I was trying to figure out how to make her able to be displayed hanging as well as sitting. I usually use a nice strong ribbon and a pretty button fastened at the back of the dolls neck for hanging. But I did not want to cut a hole in the cloak so that the ribbon would poke through nor did I want to just hang her from a ribbon on the cloak as it would make her look like her cloak was litterally hanging her. So I came up with a very clever solution. I took a vintage shank style button and attached it to the back of her neck, then I made a pretty loop on the middle inside of her cloak to fasten to that button, and put my regular style loop and button on the outside back of her cloak. This worked perfectly as she is able to hang from the wall with her pretty cloak still on.
Any who, All she is lacking now is a couple more goodies for her basket. I am trying to find a little bottle I can grunge up and I will probably make a little pouch to put in as well. She should be up tomorrow for auction.
Thank you for sharing a bit in my creative process.
Hugs, xoxoxo
Colby

Don't forget to visit Make Mine Pink to meet more lovely and incredibly tallented ladies and see their clever and unique wares!

Ursula, I think I love you :)

ursula2, originally uploaded by mommasquirrel.

The lovely Ursula is really capturing my heart. I love how goth she is looking. I really like this new little turn my art is taking. I have done round head dolls before and never really quite loved how they turned out, but Ursula is quickly changing my mind.
I have finished her stockings and her shoes. I did her stockings in Autumn Harvest and Real Black, both watered down and I used a strong coffee mixture to keep the brush wet. I also went back in and added more highlights to her hair with Warm White and Fawn. I
hardened the edges a bit more to give her hair a crisper look.
I went in and did some shading on her bodice and undershirt. I used Burnt Umber for that and then only used paint on one half of the brush in order to get the color gradiated properly. I also added in her ties on the corset as well.
Her cloak is finished but I will add a tie at the neck and sand it down to soften and age it.
All I have left to do now is make her some pantaloons and a skirt and maybe a basket to hold her potions. She is on her way to the Southern Witches Assosciation Fall Convention or SWAFC (lol) and has a lovely new potion recipe to share.
Hugs, xoxoxo
Stay tuned for more on the lovely Ursula's progress. :)

Ursula

Ursula, originally uploaded by mommasquirrel.

The lovely Ursula! I had such a great response to the photo of Ursula in Monday's Show and Tell that I decided to I would like to show her off during the creative process.
Painting hair is a somewhat new process for me, I had tried the technique out on a couple of vintage style dolls that I made for my very young neice and for my son as well. I really like the way it frames her face. I used a burnt umber base and then went back through with a bit of fawn and golden bronze metalic to give it some depth and highlights.
Her eyes are done with a single layer of warm white then I apply her iris with a blend of cocoa brown and pearl white. and then the pupils with black. I smudge around her eyes with thinned black and outline and fill in her lashes with straight unthinned black.
Her lips are black cherry and cardinal red, blended and then outlined with a smidgen of watered down black.
I always do the blush last and it is a watered down cardinal red.
For Ursula's shirt I started out with a layer of watered down black and then did an over layer of autumn leaves. I want the black to show through a bit so I will sand her down a bit as soon as her paint cures. Her upper bodice and cuffs are a warm white thinned with coffee.
Tomorrow I will be working on her cloak, legs, and shoes so stay tuned for more. :)
hugs, xoxoxo

Sarah Smile

I just wanted to share my newest creation with everyone. I have never tried to use the photobucket sharing before and am giving it a try out.
I loved making this lovely little lady, she totally made me smile when I was done with her, hence the name Sarah Smile. I am so in love with the little strawberries and am going to make my first tutorial on them.
I have several new designs coming out in the next couple of weeks and I think everyone will be as pleased as I am at the direction my art is taking me. I am so stoked and my muse must be working overtime as the ideas are flowing in a steady stream from my mind.
Hope everyone has a lovely weekend and I will see you all next week. ((Big Hugs))

Mermaids and Mojo!

Mermaids, originally uploaded by mommasquirrel.

Hello, Lovely Ladies! I know it has been a bit since I posted something new. But I’ve got my mojo back now. I guess I just need a bit of a breather.
I also have my mojo back in the designing area. I am working on a new design for a set of mermaid dolls and of course for some inspiration I only have to drive a couple of miles down the road to Weeki Wachee Springs.
I love Weeki Wachee Springs, its old time charm combined with the natural beauty of the head spring and river are absolutely stunning, and a delight to the senses. We have spent many a pleasant day strolling the pathways lined with fabulous gardens and taking a little ride on the River Boat cruise. We also go to the Weeki Wachee Halloween special every year ~ the children have so much fun and we love the night-time mermaid shows, and the haunted forests. They really do put on a lovely show. Also they have a Christmas program that they put on, we went there for the first time in 2007 and it was fantastic. They had a beautiful light display winding its way through the gardens and a live nativity play, plus another wonderful underwater show, with singing and dancing. I really have to give those mermaids credit for getting in that water at night. I would freak out if an alligator came cruising by in the dark! Yipes!
But my all time favorite thing to do at the park is to canoe from the headspring all the way down to Rogers Park. It is a 4 to 5 hour trip through some of the most beautiful natural scenery I have ever seen. It is so wild and beautiful that it takes your breath away. There are manatees, aligators, turtles, and fish called sheephead (?) don’t know why they call them that. The trees and banks are filled with wildlife. The water is so clear that you can see straight down to the bottom even when the bottom is down 20 feet or more. It is an amazing trip and I would definitely recommend that anyone visiting the area who wants to see Florida at its most beautiful to take this canoe trip. Whenever I go I feel a renewal of spirit and I wonder at the beauty that the Lord has created.
If you ever get down this way stop on by and see me and we will go see the mermaids!

Eriu, Fotla, Banba

Eriu, Fotla, Banba
Originally uploaded by mommasquirrel

I just finished this lovely trio of precious Irish cuteness ~ they will be listed tomorrow in my eBay store :)
I love their auburn hair, green eyes and the softly aged pastel green dresses! The largest one is named Eriu ('eeṛ-iu) the second is Fotla (fo-la) and the tiniest little pin-keep doll is named Banba (anə-va)
I am including this exerpt in the auction descriptions to give an idea of where the inspiration for thier lovely names came from :) I love the Irish Legends!

The story of the 3 sisters and how Ireland came to be known as Erinn
“The Milesians (for so, following the Irish annalists, it will be convenient to call the first Gaelic settlers in Ireland) began their march on Tara, which was the capital of the Tuatha Dé Danann, as it had been in earlier days the chief fortress of the Fir Bolgs, and would in later days be the dwelling of the high kings of Ireland. On their way they met with a goddess called Banba, the wife of Mac Cuill. She greeted Amergin. "If you have come to conquer Ireland," she said, "your cause is no just one." "Certainly it is to conquer it we have come," replied Amergin, without condescending to argue upon the abstract morality of the matter. "Then at least grant me one thing," she asked. "What is that?" replied Amergin. "That this island shall be called by my name." "It shall be," replied Amergin.
A little farther on, they met a second goddess, Fotla, the wife of Mac Cecht, who made the same request, and received the same answer from Amergin.
Last of all, at Uisnech, the centre of Ireland, they came upon the third of the queens, Eriu, the wife of Mac Greiné. "Welcome, warriors," she cried. "To you who have come from afar this island shall henceforth belong, and from the setting to the rising sun there is no better land. And your race will be the most perfect the world has ever seen."
"These are fair words and a good prophecy," said Amergin. "It will be no thanks to you," broke in Donn, Milé's eldest son. "Whatever success we have we shall owe to our own strength."
"That which I prophesy has no concern with you," retorted the goddess, "and neither you nor your descendants will live to enjoy this island." Then, turning to Amergin, she, too, asked that Ireland might be called after her. "It shall be its principal name," Amergin promised.
And so it has happened. Of the three ancient names of Ireland--Banba, Fotla, and Eriu--the last, in its genitive form of "Erinn", is the one that has survived.”
~ Celtic Myth and Legend ~
by Charles Squire
[1905]

St Patrick's Day inspiration!

in honor of St. Patrick's Day
Originally uploaded by mommasquirrel

I have been in the valentine mode for some time now and decided i would like to start on some St. Patrick's Day dolls for my eBay store :) Definitely needed some inspiration as i am feeling maybe a bit too into the pink and green at the moment. Don't get me wrong I LOVE pink and green, but I feel the need to work with green and cream ~ I think the combination will make for lovely dolls dresses:) With these lovely photos, how can I not be inspired! I can't wait to get started.
I love flipping thru the flickr photos, I could probably spend hours there just drifting from one picture to the next in a dream awake. But unfortunately and fortunately I must go back to the real world and work :)
Check back soon for some more pictures of my Valentine, and St Patrick's Day dolls. Also I have been organizing some ideas for articles on other artists, both in the group I belong to on eBay and here in blogland! I am facinated by other artists and where they work and what they make ~ how they process the creativity into the finished product. I look forward to doing the interviews.
Hope everyone has a Blessed week!

Maria and Clara

Maria and Clara
Originally uploaded by mommasquirrel

This is what my favorite colors inspired me to make :) They turned out just too precious and i really had a hard time parting with them. (i always have a hard time parting with my babies) I will definitely be making more of them with different color combinations and hair and eyes just the same pattern!

my pink and green favorites mosaic

my pink and green favorites mosaic
Originally uploaded by mommasquirrel

ok :) its no secret that pink and green are my favorite colors :) and i also love vintage and cottage! Here are some of my favorite flickr photos in my favorite color theme. I love the happy thoughts these pictures invoke. Looking at these beautiful pics is like taking a mini vacation for me and it inspires me to make pretty things :) Enjoy!!

First Doll of Forest Brownie Series

Caila Adahy mosaic
Originally uploaded by mommasquirrel

Once upon a time while our country was first being settled, a group of immigrants from Scotland settled in the beautiful mountains of what is now north eastern Georgia in an area near Tallulah Gorge. Little did they know that their little House Brownies, afraid of being left behind and wanting to continue serving the families that they had served for centuries packed up all their belongings and followed their families to the new land.
Well let me tell you, while the little House Brownies were busy helping their families build new homes and taking care of the livestock and doing various chores, another group of little people that the Cherokee who lived in the area called Yûñwï Tsunsdi', (or “little people”) were watching the new settlers and immediately fell in love with the little Brownies and visa versa.
Any ways to make a long story short, the little Brownies and the Cherokee “little people” began to intermarry and soon a whole new clan of little people were born, I call them “Forest Brownies” as they are a perfect mixture of the two cultures, both keeping watch and caring for the forest creatures as well as helping out lost travelers and working with livestock and doing other outdoor chores for the people who live in more rural areas. You don’t often see them anymore as they live deep in the mountains and the Yûñwï Tsunsdi' are very private by nature also very few of the House Brownie families are still in the area. But, the little people of the Forest Brownies are much easier to spot as they like to help people who get lost find their way, and they are much brighter colored in both complexion and dress, taking on the beautiful colors of the mountain foliage.

“Caila Adahy” first in my series of naïve folk dolls, based upon the Forest Brownies.

I had just the best time making this doll and writing the background history for her people. I can't wait to make another :) HMMM? what color should the next one be.?