Double...Double..Mix a batch!!!

Bella is so busy collecting her unique ingredients for her special potions. Not every lil witch has the ability to mix some of the ones that she does much less be able to find that "special" ingredient that makes it work so well. Her great grandmahmah was one of the special mixers as well so she learned from the best and even inherited her ancient scrolls, spellbooks, wand and her faithful old spell table. The spell table was grown by her grandmahmah with love and care and is attached directly to her most powerful spellbook. The wand was carved from the same tree....an Apple Wood tree....the tree of love. Since this ancient being (the tree) is one with Bella, all of her spells are spun with love directly from her heart.

Some of Bella's spells use very unique ingredients as I have already mentioned. Take her spell that will give you luscious, long, flowing locks that never need to be curled and always look amazing...she uses a pinch of "Mermaid Hair". The mermaids freely give her a lock or two every 100 years so that she can make this special potion. If you are wanting to have a bond that is true to that one special someone in your life, Bella will make you a potion using her Unicorn Horn. She loves to ride through the forest, holding tightly to the horse's mane and feel the wind blowing her dreadlocks back and away from her face. Before you ask...no unicorns are ever harmed in collecting their horns. Every 50 years they shed the old horn for a newer and more majestic one to take its place. Perhaps you need some extra strength and healing to mend a broken heart. Bella uses her Mummy Dust for this special potion. The ancient ones were so careful in preparing their dead that they actually are immortal but they do need to have their wrappings changed every 500 years or so and Bella does that for them. In return they let her have the old wrappings that supply...YES YES...the dust.
Bella's spells do come from the heart but that doesn't mean they are all warm and fuzzy. If you have someone that is being bullied and need them protected then a potion from Dragon's Breath is what you need. Bella has to be very careful when collecting this one as she wouldn't want to scare the sleeping dragon. You see, she collects his breath from his snores and he is none the wiser.

Outside of Bella's cottage in the forest lives a tribe of faeries. Protectors of the woods and all the small creatures that dwell there. One day a large dragonfly had been injured and even with all of Bella's knowledge and love, she could not save the lil creature. The faeries saw that she tried so hard and was so sad that it broke even their tough hearts. The queen of the fae hovered over to Bella with two gifts....the dragonflies wings and a bottle of faerie dust. Bella looked surprised at the gifts and asked the queen what she was suppose to do with them. She didn't have any spells that called for either. The queen said that because of Bella's strong bond with the Apple Wood, the forest and all that live within its boundaries that they wanted to gift her with the ability to fly. The fae queen spoke a magical enchantment and the wings suddenly appeared on Bella's back. The faerie dust was for Bella to use every time she wanted to take flight and soar with all the creatures of the air. The faeries all sang a song that told of tales that every good deed will be returned times two to those that gift others with love, kindness and a good deed done.

Meet Bella!! She is one of my original clay sculpts with a strong wire armature underneath that has been wrapped in a strong wool yarn to serve as her underclothing. She stands at a tad bit over 9 1/2 inches tall from the bottom of her wooden base to the top of her dreadlocks. Her face, upper torso, hands, feet and boots were all hand sculpted without the use of any molds. Her eyes are hand painted using acrylic paints. Her boots and bustier were washed with black acrylic paints to give them a worn, old look. Her nails are painted black and sealed to give them that just polished look. Her wings are natural, real dragonfly wings that have been sealed and have a touch of faerie dust glitter added to them. Her dreadlocks were made from wool yarn. Her collar and sleeves were made from a vintage fabric taken from a old "simple little black dress". Her skirt was made from a vintage piece of hand embroidered fabric and her underskirt made from orange tulle. Bella is wearing a necklace made from two Swarovski crystals and a glass bead.

All of Bella's potion/ingredient vials were handmade by me. The unicorn horns are made from twisted clay and then detailed using acrylic paints. The mermaid hair is actually doll  hair, the dragon's breath is pulled cotton and the mummy's dust is sand from our beaches here in Gulf Shores. Her bottle of faerie dust she is holding is pretty pretty shiny shiny green glitter. Just love having an overactive imagination...hehe!!

Bella's witch hat was made from black felt, orange tulle, orange ribbon and a pretty little star button. It is permanently attached to the hat stand. Look closely and you can see where the old tree is growing out of the spellbook.

Side view so that you can see the beautiful dragonfly wings. (I so did not harm a dragonfly to get these...if you don't know already about how I obtained this treasure from mother nature then please click HERE)
I have used real wings in my sculpts before and they will hold up for many, many years since they are sealed. Just try and keep your fingers off as the oil from your hands could harm them. I know, I know..it's hard not to touch sometimes but JUST DO IT!! hehe

A close up of the back of the Apple Wood tree....see the little bookworm that helps keep the spellbooks in order? He also helps Bella find the spells, as there are so many!! The two little items leaning against the tree are some of her grandmahmah's ancient scrolls. (made from clay and that have a vellum paper glued on top to give it a real scroll look.)

Bella is available for adoption and can be found in my Etsy shop. She is a true one of a kind sculpt from my witch series. I would like to say that I will not be held responsible for any spells she may partake in while living with YOU!!!

Until next time.........Hugs,
Regi

Hey...what's that up in the sky?

Ohhhhh...we are so blessed this morning to have a cool 74 temp with a light breeze and the sun shining down BRIGHTLY. (I had almost forgotten what it felt like..hehe) It seems that others were enjoying our beautiful weather this morning as well. On the way to take the Chazman to school we looked up in the sky and saw our local aeronaut, Tommy Rachel, flying around in his aerostat....better known as a hot air balloon. It was the one called "Blue Angel" and it is a real beauty. There is just something about looking up into a bright blue sky and seeing one lone balloon floating along. It definitely gave the Chazman and I a smile for the day!!!

I have plans to finish Bella today. I did get her painted yesterday as well as wrapped in her under clothing. Her fabric for her costume and hat were all picked out too. It always takes me some time to get the painting done as I like to let each section dry completely before starting onto the next especially when I am washing the paints down to give them an aged look. (like with her boots and bustier.) I also used real thread for her boot laces and bustier. That takes time and patience. Lots and lots of patience. I think I get more glue on me than I do the sculpt...HAHA!!

I love making the costumes for my ooaks and getting to use some of my vintage fabrics. Her skirt is going to be the piece with the pretty embroidery and her petticoat the orange tulle. I'm going to make her some puff off the shoulder sleeves with the shiny black fabric. Of course her witch's hat will be made from felt (with shiny glitter flakes) and some of the orange tulle, ribbon and the black star button.

I think Bella is a pretty lil witch and something I haven't posted any pics of yet are her wings. Yes...she is going to have wings since she is one of my batty witches. The wings are the real dragonfly wings I found a few weeks ago. I sealed them and added a bit of green glitter faerie dust to them.

Here'e a close up of the potion/ingredient bottle Bella will be holding. She keeps this one just for herself so that she can sprinkle a bit on her wings when she needs to take flight. I mean, sometimes, a girl just doesn't want to carry a broom around.

Until next time........Hugs,
Regi

The List Item #2

Bohemian Bag with felt rose pin attached

Leather & Lace Wristlett with velveteen roses & Earrings

Felt Purse with Mermaid Pin

Large Cuddler Monster

Bag full of Felt/fur Monsters

Bag full of felt/fur animal babies

Cloth sock monkey

Large Rabbit Cuddler

2 year old Keepsake

The leather and lace wristlett is complete and I think it turned out so pretty. I must have my gypsy muse whispering to me because this piece looks and feels the part. I scrunched up a vintage piece of lace that I had on hand and to that I sewed on some pretty purple hued yarn, string and ribbon. Added some glass and silver beading's, velvet handmade roses with pearls and a pretty butterfly charm. Once the lace top piece was complete then I sewed it to a piece of soft black leather. Put sterling silver findings on each end with tiny glass black beads, some links and a closure finding. Attached to one of the closure pieces is a charm I made from tiny crystals beads, silver beads, piece of mother of pearl, tiny peace sign and a tiny sterling silver dragonfly.

I put a few extra links on it, just in case I need to take some off or even extend it some. I couldn't say "Hey ________ (oops..almost said who this gift was for...bad me..hehe) measure your wrist for me, will ya?" LOL She knows that she is getting a handmade gift from her Aunt but I always leave them wondering what in the world it's going to be and with me they have learned that can mean ANYTHING!!  I changed one thing on this gift. I was going to do her some dangling earrings and she does wear earrings...sometimes. Since the keyword about earrings is sometimes I decided to do something that went along with the gypsy feel of the wristlett. I made her a yarn & ribbon scarf or belt...which ever way she wants to wear it.

Now....on to the next gift. Until then....Hugs, Regi

It's Monday Doodle Time!!!

I can not believe that the Chazman kept the same doodle snack bag all week long. Keep in mind that these are just plain old paper bags. Not very thick and they have gone through the abusive "open and shut" of a young child getting his snack out each day.  I think he pouted a bit this weekend because he wasn't going to be able to take the Izzie Lizard to school again this week. I had asked him to decide just what he wanted on his bag for today and he never would answer me. This morning though was a totally different story and he informed me that he had  NOT been pouting....he had been thinking. Ri iiiiiight!!! He said that he really wanted the lazy frog. OMGOSH....had we seen a lazy frog and I had forgotten. Am I really beginning to lost it? AM I.......ummmm What were we talking about? OH YEAH...the lazy frog. HA....haven't completely lost it!!!!

Chaz sits down at the computer and pulls up our photos. It seems that he has a VERY good memory and went directly to the "Lazy frog".

I can't believe that I had forgotten about this lil guy. I have used him in one of my blog post. I told Chaz that it would be a rough drawing since he had pouted taken so long to decide and I only had about five minutes. He said that it would be alright...he just wanted his mommie xoxo doodle bag cause it made him feel like I was there with him. Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww....what a sweet child and he is MINE!!!!!  Not one of my better doodles but this one made two hearts smile today.

So...what made you smile this Monday morning? Remember...even what seems to be a small, tiny thing to one can mean a really big thing to another. Make someone smile today!!!!

Until next time..............HUGS,
Regi

Mingmei Yong...Warrior Princess Faery

In gathering up all my post for today's tour I discovered that I have a faery that was done before I started blogging in June. She was a gift to one of my nieces for her HS graduation in 2008. She is one that I am quiet proud of...the niece and the faery!!! Let me introduce Mingmei Yong...Warrior Princess Faery.

There is an enchanted place, deep in the forest, where if you still believe in magic and open your heart you will see wonders unfold. In this enchanted place there is a tiny warrior Princess that has been given the task of guarding the Fire Lily....the lily that keeps this magical realm alive. All creatures great and small come to breathe in it's gentle fragrance and life force. The Fire lillies are what keep their hearts beating in perfect harmony within the faery world. It's red brilliance gives everlasting light to the faery realm and all of mother natures tiniest creatures.

This warrior Princess goes by the name of "Mingmei Yong" which in our world would translate to "Smart, beautiful and brave one". Her high position in the faery realm is one of  standing tradition, passed down to one special female in her warrior clan. Every 200 years there is a faery born that bears the Dragon markings.  This faery holds the magic within to protect the everlasting Fire Lily's light. Since birth, she has been trained in the heartfelt ways of the Fire Lily. Taught to keep this important flower blooming in bright red brilliance so that the faery world will forever live in harmony, purity and light. To be willing to sacrifice her own life to protect her faery world and to call upon the dragon to aide her should anyone or anything try to keep her from her task.

However, there are those that live deep in the darkness of the caves within the magical realm that want to obtain the Fire Lily....they are known as "The Dark Ones". They can not breathe in the life force of the Fire Lily because of their evil and dark nature. The Dark Ones are ruled by the Elfin Wizard, whom was banned from the light centuries ago.  He wants to put out the light of the Fire Lily so that he will rule all of the feary realm. Mingmei Yong stands guard to make sure that the Dark Ones never touch her world's heart. She stands firm and strong, sword and shield in hand, ready to call upon the Dragon, to guard the precious Fire Lily that she has pledged to protect for the next four hundred years.

Mingmei Yong is one of my gently poseable ooaks. She has a strong wire armature covered in wool yarn. Her face, torso, hands and feet were sculpted using Prosculpt clay. Her face and eyes were hand painted using acrylic paints.  On her back is a hand painted tattoo of a dragon. Her tiny sandals are carved from wood with black rope ties. Her hair is hand dyed lambswool (sheared) Her sword was sculpted from Sculpey clay and then hand painted using acrylic paints and fine MICA powders...tiny crystals can be found on the handle. Her shield is an oriental bone bead. Her wings are some of my hand drawn butterfly wings adorned with several layers of german glass. The black and red in the wings are wool fibers. She stands at 6 1/2 inches tall.

Her base is a dark sealed wooden bowl. Two tiny goldfish swim in the pond surrounding one of the Fire Lillies. They were sculpted from Sculpey clay and then detailed using fine MICA powders. They are swimming in a clear water feature solution. A tiny hand sculpted frog sits on the moss that Mingmei Yong is standing on.

Two tiny friends are standing guard with Mingmei Yong. A tiny butterfly...look close and you can see his tiny face. His wings are some of my hand drawn....adorned the same as Mingmei Yong's. The dragonfly has hand drawn wings as well adorned with tiny gold beading. His body was sculpted from Sculpy clay and detailed using fine MICA powders.

I always enjoying designing and letting my characters come out into the world but there is so much more pleasure in doing them when it's for a loved one. My niece is in college now and still has Mingmei Yong sitting out and tells everyone about her and her story. For Christmas in 2008 she was given another character from the story...Yoshi Yuan, the Dragon. That can be found in another post. As always, thank you for stopping by for a visit to our whimsical world. Come back soon and until then....

Hugs,
Regi

Vintage German Glass Egg..Paper Mache

After thirty many years since doing this wonderful art form, I think my Vintage Easter Glass Egg turned out rather well. On the back of the egg I used a great vintage violet flower print and an awesome dragonfly print (have to add that faery touch) which had the hues of purple in it's tiny wings. On the front of the egg I did in vintage type "A Joyous Easter" and put a few violet flowers on to follow the overall feel. Added some of my hand twisted silk ribbon and flowers and WAHLAH a Vintage Easter Egg.

 

In going through my art journal that I have been keeping for over....well, let's just say years...shall we...I found my notes on doing the blown eggs. If anyone is interested in knowing how to do that just comment and I will post the directions for you in another post. Don't want to bore anyone...LOL!!! I plan on trying my hand AGAIN at doing some of the blown eggs and then decorating them. The real eggs have such a delicate look to them.

As always, thank you for stopping by. I hope that you will come back often...I so LOVE my visitors and especially those that leave comments. hint hint  I'm working on a pressie box for a very special friend so I need to get hopping and get it done so I can get it in the mail. What are you working on today? Would love to hear all about it!!  Until next time....

Hugs,
Regi

Valentine Steampunk Faery Pin

Valentine Steampunk Faery Jewelry. Matching earrings. Would make a great one of a kind gift!!