Introducing Sir Maxwell Webbington the 3rd!

Hello!
Isn't it SO exciting when summer turns to fall?! Our fall is probably a lot different from yours, but if I imagine hard enough, I can put myself back on the east coast, where rust colored leaves fall like snow as I drive through the windy, shaded roads. All it takes to bring me back there is for it to be cool enough to put the window down, feel that little chill, and smell someone's barbeque smoking. Ahhhh... Fall is my FAVORITE season and Halloween my FAVORITE holiday!

My mind is bUrStInG with ideas for Halloween little creatures and things. I am in a mad dash to get them all out before it is too late. Girls, I don't think I am going to make it!

I did, however, accomplish a lot yesterday and wanted to share with you my progress. First, some of you might remember my spider girl I did a year ago? Well, every spider lady needs a spider suitor right? I mean, isn't life more exciting when you have someone wooing you? Not wanting to leave her lonely, allow me to introduce Sir Maxwell Webbington the 3rd!

See his spats?! He is also sporting an orange tuxedo ruffle shirt and a crumbled, yet still stylish top hot!

A suitor always comes bearing gifts, but flowers are of no use to my spider lady. Sir Maxwell knows better and can be seen here presenting fresh, dead flies! See the x on each eye...catch of the day I tell you! :)

Little side note: I love that with this journey I can do the unexpected. However, it makes your stories kind of odd to other people that don't get it. Like once, I was telling a friend a story and it started with, "I was making detective capes and..." She outright started laughing and said, "How often does someone start out a conversation saying they were making dectective capes?!" I see her point and it has stuck with me over time. While I think life is more interesting the way I am living it now, I know I'll get a similar reaction if I tell anyone but you all about the time I was making dead flies and my hands kept shaking while putting on the wings! It was frustrating, but also funny too...like a game of operation!

So anyway, thanks for listening to my odd stories!

Here is a WIP photo...this is the one my hubby drew for me! He is so talented on so many levels, especially with wood. I draw him a picture and he will make it for me in wood. This time, he drew me a sketch and wanted me to make it. It is awfully nice to return the favor!

For now, it is just a race against time. Will it dry fast enough to finish before it's too late? At least I have the remnants of an Arizona summer on my side!

Have a great day ladies! Make it count! :)

PWGL Giveaway!!

Happy Monday! Are you in the mood to win a Halloween treat?! Well then! Head on down to Prim & Whimsy to be entered into their Tricks & Treats Blog Giveaway! My Witch's Tea Party print is up for grabs along with lots of other Halloween goodies!

Our whole house was hit with the flu- and Lil and I caught it TWICE!!! We are all finally on the mend! I am so happy to actually feel like doing something again! I have orders to ship and then 2 Halloween sculptures to finish before the 9th. What do you say girls? Will you hold me accountable? :)

I hope you are all feeling well and that you stay that way! :)

Wanted to Share...

This is by Pam Warden...I love her sense of humor! Love this!! She gave me permission to share this with you. You can check out more by going to her blog. :)

Have a great day! I'm off to feed my sick girls...poor babies!

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! :)

I've been having a "wicked" time...

Hello my pretties! :)

Here's hoping you are all having a great weekend! :) I've been so exicted for Halloween...been making all kinds of creatures. Even my hubby has gotten in on the act! He drew me a sketch and I can't WAIT to make it!

For now, though, I have a bunch of witch items all finished up and ready to go to new homes. Can you tell I'm reading "Wicked?" LOL

They are already up on ebay and etsy with ooodles of pictures...feel free to fly on over to check them out! I had a great time coming up with the descriptions...especially on the sisters...so I hope you'll at least go for the read and a good chuckle. ;)

In all the excitement, we made a video for you too! Come see how witches get their supplies...over at Potions & Cackles...your everyday store for things so very NOT everyday!



Have a mAgIcAl day! :)

Poll: Who is your favorite doer of the week?

Poll: Who is your favorite doer of the week?

One of our very own...Johanna Parker, has been picked by Martha Stewart for the Doer of the Week contest. Ten weeks, ten doers, and Johanna is one of them! Let's shoot her to the top...what do you say? After all, think of all the eye candy she has given us! :)

Thanks so much!

In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning...

Oh, I am sure that you know how it goes. The house starts to get quiet. You think to yourself, "I might get some time to paint tonight!" You put your family to bed. Oldest daughter, snoring. Youngest daughter, tucked in bed and watching a cartoon. Hubby already asleep. Yes!

You sneak downstairs. You think about what favorite music/movie you want playing while you have your time. My choice was an old black and white...surely AMC or TMC would deliver. Nope. The best I could get was Cleopatra...the Elizabeth Taylor one. I'll take it!
Then...all hope vanishes. Just as you get the primer on your surface, down comes hubby. The commotion of that makes Madeline curious and she's out of bed now too...into my paints and all excited. "Is it time to paint, Mommy?!" No Madeline...it's after 10 o'clock...back to bed....both of you!

Maddie is so excited that she can't sleep. I lay with her and hubby in our bed, hoping they both fall asleep before I do so I can sneak back downstairs to play.

Well friends...I made it! I will pay for it tomorrow I am sure. At first I was just going to paint until midnight, but I only got to start at 11pm instead of 10, so when I saw that it was 5 minutes past my deadline, I shrugged it off. How much longer would I be, anyway?

Yeah...okay, so now it is 2:15am!! I got lost...never looked up at the clock after that. I painted feathers...why would anyone ever think to look at the clock when they are painting feathers?! :)

I knew YOU would understand. And that is why I am staying up even later to share the result of that quiet place I snuck away to. Because you get it!

A while back, I posted this sketch on my facebook...I couldn't wait to paint her. She is a wallflower. A young woman at a ball in a Victorian Village who is too shy to dance. But oh, does she love to watch the taffeta and lace twirl this way and that. She is a Victorian Villager. More on that to come! Oh! And you must know...that after I took the photos, I realized that she didn't quite match my sketch. The girl in the sketch had hair more appropriate for a ball...a bit high. I like her better know...these people I create live in my "world," and in my world, no one has to have flat hair! Plus, it makes me want to go out and buy a bump-it!
That's all for now...when you are reading this, I will probably be sleeping in. That is, unless Madeline still wants to paint!

Thank you for your visit and sweet dreams!

What I Did on My Summer Vacation Part 2

Well, HELLLLLOOOO there! Madeline Mae here to give you the second and last part of what we did on our summer vacation! Mommy would be here to tell you herself- she feels bad for being away so long, but August was a crazy month for us! Lots of car repairs and a couple surgeries (Daddy and our puppy dog) kept her away from the 'puter. She did paint and squish stuff around a lot though...I know because I painted along with her. I LOVE painting.

She promises to show you all the little witches she's made soon! That's what I want to be for Halloween you know! Mommy said I could dress up as anything I want and people will give me CANDY...can you believe that?!

We took a very little trip to the beach! Since we are 6 hours away, we camped out nearby! I love tents...they are fun to run in and out of. Sissy even showed me how to play with her DS. I wanna be like her someday...

The beach is SO much fun! I only went to the water once...the waves were a little scary, but I did catch a couple of them. I kicked them and said, "Bad water, bad!" The rest of the day I played in the sand and all my toys with my friends, Katlind and Lucas. They are cool!

We went to Mission Beach...isn't it pretty?

Here is sissy with Kay Kay. I LOVE Kay Kay. Sissy is pretty cool too.

Mommy couldn't get over the sunset...it was SO pretty. It was her birthday and she was so happy to be there with Daddy, us, and her grown up friends Miss Holly and Mister Dan and their kids! They even brought dinner at the fire pit and a cake too! Thank you Miss Holly! It was yummy!

Mommy thought it couldn't get any prettier...until she saw THIS:

That wraps up our summer...onto this Halloween thing and lots of fall fun! Mommy promises the next posts will have lots of paintings and sculptures, and thrifty finds too! :)

What's your favorite beach story? What's the prettiest beach you've been to?

Have a good day! From Madeline Mae! :)

What a Wonderful World...Love this!

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! :)

What I Did Over My Summer Vacation, by The Victorian Lady Part 1

This is what I did on my summer vacation.... I flew across the country out of the desert and into the green. I appreciated every leaf and blade of grass...it was a drink for the eyes.
I met up with a wonderful friend and we drove to Virginia to see this wonderful friend get married. Guess what else? Her mom was my Brownie leader! :)

It was witnessed by this amazing and supportive family. My friend's road in life has been bumpy, and they were there for her at every mile, cheering her on.We stayed with another friend at her campground and were treated like Queens...thank you dear friend! :)

The next day we went to Williamsburg...we saw things like this apothecary...

The church of the presidents...

The garden of my dreams...

Lots of beautiful old treasures. The blacksmith shop actually had large spirals of metal that the huge trees had grown around, trapping them there forever. It was beautiful.

Then treats of all treats, look what was there that I had NO idea about:

!!!!!!!! Can you believe it??

I even took some video...just for you... Sorry it's not edited and snazzy, but the I think the beautiful paintings are enough. :)

Back in my hometown again...this was my great grandfathers house...my Dad grew up there. It was a magical place next to Longwood Gardens where my great grandfather did all the beautiful water fountains. They would hold water shows where they would light the water different colors and make them go off to music...very enjoyable to watch! :) They still do them...if you are nearby, don't miss this massive garden delight!

The house is actually FOR SALE (I want it SO bad!) Even if it didn't have all kinds of family history, it is still my dream house. The lady who owns it actually let us in! We showed her where the laundry shoot was...she didn't even know it existed!

The above tombstone is for Dani. I've never seen another like it and know she'll appreciate it! :)

Just as I appreciate your visit! Thanks for stopping by and stay tuned for part 2!

Wow.

Hello Lovelies! I know I've been a bit absent, but I was at the beach for my birthday! We had SUCH a great time, until our ac broke on the way back! Yes, 3.5 hours with 118 degree air beating into your face. It is official, I want out of Arizona!!

But that is icky stuff, and I don't want to focus on that. What would be the point? I won't waste my life like that. SOOOO, please enjoy the video below...I LOVE this artist...I am sure I will hear her on the radio someday.



Oh, and while I was sweltering in that unbearable heat, I came up with a few ideas for you all! Some ways that we can have fun together! Sound good? I think so too!

Toodles!