Six Months Ago...

I decided to take a leap... a risk...just for the sake of taking advantage of every little moment...



Well, that leap led to a big surprise and my face pretty much looked like this for the rest of the day! There was also lots of screaming and grabbing my head in disbelief!

I was told it would be a while before anything would actually happen. All the while I kept wondering, "Was it real, or just a dream?" as well as the imfamous, "Are they going to come to their senses and change their mind?"

Until one day, after opening the mailbox, I felt like this...

Now, I just can't help but smile when I think of it...

So what's the fuss all about?!

My Alice doll is one of the features in the latest Art Doll Quarterly!!!
The whole experience was just so much fun, from the beginning to the end. Making her, lol, make that figuring OUT how to make her, selling her, meeting Suzan and corresponding with her while we repaired her from her fall. From being nervous about sending my submission off and feeling like I won the lottery when Jana told me they wanted an article about her, writing my first ever article outside of school, to having her show up in the mail, glossy photos and all, it has been a blast! :)

I hope you get a chance to pick up a copy- there are some crazy cool dolls in there- including art dolls that move!

Can you believe it?! I'm still wrapping my head around it! Thank you for giving me such happy moments! Your visits mean the world to me! It also wouldn't have happened without the lovely and helpful editor of ADQ, Jana Holstein, and Suzan, Alice's sweet and VERY funny owner, who actually drove Alice over to Stampington herself and gave her up for several months just so she could have her photo shoot!

If you are visiting me for the first time, WELCOME!! Be sure to check out Alice's original post, the one about her latest fall down the rabbit hole, and the cream pie fight, I mean video I made about my adventures in Wonderland!

Hugs to all...I'm off to my next adventure! In celebration, nothing but painting, smushing clay, and playing for the rest of the week! Woohoo!

With gratitude,

Uh oh! It's an Art Emergency!

DEE doo DEE doo DEE... make way!

Look what arrived in my mailbox! I could hear the sirens from inside my house! Unfortunately, this was a box I was expecting, but definitely not all painted up like this! This lady rocks, I have to say...and she even included some blooming tea for her plastic surgeon! Thank you Suzan!

You see, Alice arrived at her new home in California. She was all packed up ever so carefully in a excessively painted box. Her new owner was very happy to have it until someone she knew dropped it from her hands and well...let's just say that the Queen appeared to have gotten her wish for Alice after all! Oh my!

Thankfully, Alice was able to be saved! Here she is in the operating room...she asks that you please pardon her current condition. Her collar was all cracked and her nose and forehead were broken. She is now making a speedy recovery.

Here is another WIP...does he look familar? ;) I will give you a hint...he has a girlfriend...who lives in New Jersey!

This is the top of an old trunk I found. It has embossed metal on it and it felt very Henry VIII to me. Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that my husband was sick for his birthday and we spent it having a Tudor marathon! So here is my Anne Boleyn...

That's it for today girls! Have a great night! :)

P.S. What did YOU make today? Tell me and I will come see! :)

Hello my lovelies!!

This is my Alice Story Doll. I have finally finished her...she was meant to be finished for the Mad Hatter Tea Party, but she needed more attention than I could give her. She is the last Alice thing I will be doing for a while. :)

The point of these dolls is to put the character's passion where it belongs, inside the doll because it is defines its character.

Don't our passions drive every sense of our being?

When we are not following our passion, does it not constantly call to us to come back?

For Alice in Wonderland, what drives her is her curiousity. After all, without it, she would have never followed that untimely rabbit down his hole, not to mention deeper and deeper into Wonderland!

The diorama part of the story doll has a lot of detail. If you recall, the hole was lined with furniture and shelves, full of all things a rabbit would need.

My favorite?

The portrait of the Rabbit himself.

Other things you will find: clocks, books, candles, carrots, bi-focals, etc.

The rabbit is suspended in the doll, caught in time as he dives down further into the hole.

A yellow heart is on the back of his red vest...it matches his yellow buttons.

A clock rests snugly in his pocket.

What is YOUR passion?

What are you doing today to make sure you follow it?

Haven't done it yet?

Get those feet up and moving! :)

There is Always Time for Tea

Sure, Alice was very busy chasing that cute little rabbit. She knew she had to find her way home soon too. As preoccupied as she was, Alice still managed to find the time to sit down with the Mad Hatter and enjoy a cup a tea. Good for you Alice! May we all learn a lesson from you!

Alice wants you to know that no matter how late you are for your very important date, there is always time for tea. There is always time to stop and smell the roses, whether they be white or red! She is on ebay right now.

While the roses here in the desert are few and far between, your blogs, my dear friends, are roses to me. The weather is heating up and I am going into hibernation mode, but I so enjoy the words and photos you all share. As busy as I am, I simply don't fill guilty about that. :) Thank you!

I have also taken Alice's advice, as well as the advice from a wonderful blogger, Cheryl from Confections by having afternoon tea with my daughter everyday after school. Like Cheryl, I too experience that crazy hour after school and have found that having this time with her really helps! I have tons of china that I use in my business, so she gets her pick everyday. Sometimes I bake one thing...usually a half hour before I go pick her up and combine it with some cut fruit. I'm a tea fanatic, so I have a nice selection of tea for her to choose from. This has been a big hit! So big in fact, that she told her friends at school and now a couple of times a week, one of the neighborhood girls join us too! "The cousins" have even been over for tea!

I think it's funny how even though I started taking Lillian to tea at 18 months, I never thought of having it at home. Thank you Cheryl!



Here is Lillian during one of our teas. I swear she didn't put on the dress for tea or the photo...she is going through a very feminine stage right now and dresses up for school like this. I had to stop her from going to school in her Christmas dresses! The apron, though, she did put on for tea. It belonged to my grandmother- Lillian is named after her. She was a registered nurse in the 20's and 30's. She wore the cap and the navy cape and everything! She would be so happy to see Lillian now. No matter what, she was always a lady and dressed like it too. :)