Friday, October 31, 2008

Happy Halloween!


Happy Halloween to everyone! Our town did trick or treat last night and we only had 14 kids even though the weather was pretty good, cold but no rain. As much as I love Halloween I just wasn't in the mood to dress up, not even put on a my fav (and easy) witch hat with it's lime green feather boa. I'm still trying to finish my last 2 halloween dolls and having to stop to hand out candy was so distracting. One is a fairy that I LOVE but I still need to finish her wings. Today I'm going to add some irresdescent paint to them. The other one was supposed to be queen of the spiders but I've had nothing but trouble with her. I had planned on doing a skirt with layers of ruffles but didn't like how that came out so I redid her skirt. It's not how I planned but will have to do. I'm finishing up her net cape and then I have to make her some bead and wire spiders. Funny how some dolls come together so easy, like the fairy. and others just drive me crazy.

Sad how slow sales are this halloween. I only sold the 2 small crochet bears I did for halloween and 2 dolls, the mummy and Deirdre the witch. Hopefully after the election people will feel like shopping again. I keep most of my dolls up at ebay all year but since I may close the store from Jan to March, I'll move them to etsy as the listings expire. My groups at ebay have some great items listed all year for halloween so search ebay using SEHA and HA31 to find them. Don't forget to select store inventory in the options on the left of the page to see everything.

Started making lists of the winter dolls I'll be making. I'm getting excited to start cutting them out. I bought some great fabrics at the quilt show I went to and can't wait to use them. I want to make some more Santa elves like I made last winter. Go back to Jan. posts (maybe Dec) to see pictures of them.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

I love Halloween!

Wow! here I am back again. Just had to post a few new pics. This pumpkin lady is Lissette and she's holding a black key wrapped in orange tinsel garland. After I finished her she insisted I just wasn't done and wanted a butterfly mask. I thought about sewing one or making it from paper mache but then I remembered I had bought some transparencies to try making wings for my fairies. I printed a few and one came out perfect so after I get it coated with gloss varnish a few times I'll attach it to a painted wood skewer, add some ribbon, cut out the holes for the eyes and she'll have her mask. I'll post the pic when I get it done. She's up on ebay right now but I'll have to revise the listing when I get her mask down.


This is Stella, a witchy cat. I couldn't decide if she was a cat turned into a witch or a witch who turned herself into a cat. I liked her so much I decided she needed a sister so that's how Calliope came about. When I was selecting the fabric for the clothing I just got the idea that this cat was going to be white instead of the traditional black. I found this great dotted fabric by Moda at a quilt show I went to a few weeks ago. I look forward to it every year and stock up on great Halloween and Christmas type fabrics. Both are up at my ebay store.

Have been thinking seriously about closing my ebay store in Jan. The fees are so high I'm not making much on tatting supplies. I think if I'd spend more time on my etsy store I could get it moving better. Etsy just added a catagory for art dolls so when the ebay listing end I'm going to move them over there. I've found other store owners at ebay don't keep them open all year around because of the slow times and not wanting to pay the rent. Maybe I should have a go at consignment sales for other artists that don't want to have a store? A lot to think about!

Friday, October 24, 2008

Horray for Halloween!

Wow! I can't believe I haven't posted since August. I really (finally!) got busy sewing up dolls for halloween. I just love this time of year with the leaves turning colors and wearing my fav turtlenecks. I love turtlenecks so much I even wear short sleeve and sleeveless ones in the summer. I have short hair now and my neck get so cold (brrrrr). Makes me miss my shoulder length hair but it's another reason to love them.

Have lots of Halloween dolls up over at ebay. Even though Halloween is next week I'm still having fun making more. It's going to be hard to switch over to Christmas dolls! I'm only posting some pictures of a few of the dolls. They're in my store so use the link at the right to see more of them ( and maybe buy a few!) The one above is called a noddy because she's a head on an old rusty bed spring. I also made a witch noddy.


This is the first mummy I've made and she even has her own mummy cat! I used sheep wool for her hair, painted her face, then wrapped her in cheesecloth.


Have to admit it, I love to make pumpkin head ladies! I have another white one I'm finishing up.


This is the seocnd vampire queen I've made. She's Margaux #2 in the series. She kinda matches one I made last year except that one was a tree topper. This one is meant to hang on the wall or door.
This is regina, a ghost bride. Made just like Margaux above she's #2 in a series.

This is one of my favorites. She an elf goth girl out walking her pet bat! I was planning on doing a goth Pollyanna and she came out instead. She even has long pointy ears!