My Girl Prudence has her own blog...

Hello all, I just wanted to announce the new blog for my proper girl Prudence McSassy. She is getting ready to get out of the house and go on an adventure and will be documenting her gallivanting on her blog at http://www.prudencemcsassy.blogspot.com/. Be sure to check it out. Here is her picture. I knew she had a bit of a wild streak in her that has finally come out - LOL. Till next time....

I'm back...here is Lady Godiva and Marcimellow...

Wow, did not realize it has been so long since I posted. I survived Main Street. Made a little money, learned a lot, not sure I would do it again. I do have several dolls made now, so an see if there are any galleries or shops in the area that I can put them in on commission. We shall see.

Well, here is a picture of my Lady Godiva and her horse Marcimellow. The Lady is from Mary Tressler's Goddess of Abundance pattern and the horse is a pattern by Nancy Gawron. The horse and I have been fighting for over five months, but I finally finished her and she actually looks like a horse, imagine that.

I think that is it for now. Will be posting pics frequently over the next few weeks of all my new dolls. Till next time...

Dolls, dolls...everywhere...oh no!!

Well, here are the boxes of my doll bodies that are now waiting for their faces to be sculpted and painted and then their costumes put on. I think there are at least 20 bodies in their little baggies in these two containers. I have four weeks until Main Street and if I do not have the faces done on these girls by Monday my booth is going to look really empty, as I am soooo off schedule.

To me the costuming goes the quickest, at least the way I do it. I do not normally cut out patterns, fussy cut, etc., I drape the fabric, pin and sew. I then add a lot of embellishments to cover any funky seams or such and then we are done. A couple of these girls are going to get leather boots, which is a little added work, but I just glue the leather to the leg and then either stitch or glue around the seams and there you go, little boots. I went through my boxes upon boxes of fabric last week and mixed and matched coordinated fabrics for each doll and then put the fabric in the dolls bag so I have everything in one place.

I just love those gallon size baggies, as I can put a doll and all her trimmings in one releasable bag with her pattern and don't have to worry about sorting and trying to figure out what goes with what. Great time saver. I then take those baggies once the doll is done with the pattern pieces and any extra parts and staple them to the main pattern book I have and then if I want to make another one of a certain doll, I already have my pattern ready and possibly already cut out pattern pieces. Shear genius, huh? LOL. Well till next time...

Where does the time go??

Well, here I sit realizing Main Street is in less than seven weeks and I have unfinished doll bodies lying everywhere with next to nothing finished. This really is not good. I have been slammed with work and have lost my day off somewhere. I am so tired and right now feel I am at a crossroad of how to pay the bills, but still be able to make a living from my passion. Hard choice I guess, as I like having a roof over my head, the lights on and running water, but I am so tired of typing, typing, typing that I could just scream. Hmm, I think my Zoloft has quit working - LOL. I guess in this economy right now I should be glad I have so much work, but sometimes money isn't everything. Oh well, hopefully this weekend I can get the last 8 doll bodies done that I have left to sew and then I can start costuming, painting faces and finishing dolls, so then I can feel more prepared for the upcoming show. Till next time.....

Trying to get organized, is it really possible?

Hmm, I went today and got a new drawer/shelving unit to sit next to my bed, as right now I have bags, sacked on top of boxes, stacked upon who knows what of the doll supplies I use when I am watching TV and working on dolls. Container Store is having a sale and I got one of those nice metal shelf racks with trays that pull out and was normally like $100 and I got it complete for $45. It was a display model. I will now have a tray for my paints, one for my doll parts, one for other assorted stuff so maybe I can actually get on my side of the bed. What a novel idea, LOL. Now my sewing room, that is a completely different story. As long as everything in there is in boxes and not falling on my head I think we will be fine for a while. I did have a whole can of beads fall on my head a while back when I was sewing though. Talk about a shocker. I was sitting there just a sewing and this cookie tin with big pearls and other types of beads comes crashing down on my head and these beads go everywhere. I am still finding beads and that happened several months go.

On a different subject, the doll pic in this post is a doll that won one of Mary Tressler's witch challenges and I have no idea where this doll flew off to. I had her in a booth that I used to have in an antique mall here locally and when I went to move out my items had been moved to another booth and she was missing. I still have her hat and broom, but who knows where she is. I hope she is in a good home, as I kind of miss her. Oh well, I saw her pic in my picture folder and thought I would let the world see her. Who knows, maybe somebody who sees this blog can tell me where she is - he he he. Till next time.....

Oh my goodness...where has the time gone????

Last night I pulled out my calender and realized I have 8 weeks until Main Street in Fort Worth, Texas. Oh my goodness, when I was accepted I had like 5 months, plenty of time, now I only have 8 WEEKS!! Honestly, where does the time go. I figured I have to finish at least a doll a day for the next 4 weeks to be close to where I need to be. I also have to get a merchant account, setup my display, make table skirts, make small pin dolls, etc........ Hmm, I think it is time to make a check list of everything I need to do and start daily updating and going down the line. I currently have 30 doll bodies in different stage, but they are all sewed and just about stuffed, so that just leaves hair, faces and costuming, which takes a while, but at least I am close.

I think the big thing is that this is my first show like this ever, so the next shows will be easier, as I will already have an idea of what is expected, how many items I really need to have finished, and already have my display setup and ready. Well, this is quite the learning experience, but even though I am stressed about getting everything done, I am feeling so good about this. It is like a new door opening, a new opportunity, I guess the first step to actually doing what I enjoy. Well, till next time....

Count down to Main Street...

Wow, I just realized today that there is only a few weeks until the big show. I am so behind and have so much I need to get done still. I am trying to figure out my booth setup and what I need to be sure to display my dolls in their best light. I basically have to make a doll a day for the next two months to be sure to have enough product to stock my booth well. I also want to make a lifesize doll to sit in a chair at the opening of my booth to get people's attention. Goodness, so much to do and so little time - ;o).

I am at such a crossroad right now. I am so tired of what I do for a living right now. I am a medical transcriptionist and have been for the past 9 years and it is just getting to be too much. I make less now than I did 9 years ago, work longer hours, and am tearing up my wrists. I have to make some major decisions as to what I am going to do to get myself out of MT work and into something I enjoy, have passion for, that will also provide me and my family with a good living. That last part is going to be the hard part. I have been a writer for years and think it is time to really start focusing on learning how to take my writing skills, along with my passion for fiber arts, and start opening some new venues to provide multiple streams of income. I know this can be done, it is just finding the time, which has always been a problem for me, as my time management skills really do stink, but I am working on that. I obtained a Daytimer and am going to start listing everything I want to accomplish each day, each week, and make goals in writing that I can follow. I remember being told many years ago that failing to plan is planning to fail, so failure is not an option around here. LOL. Well that is all for now. Till next time...