Lady (Gaga) in Red

This is the third installment of the lady who refused to play it safe when it comes to fashion.

Well, what are you going to do in outfits such as this?

Just dance, of course.

La Famille

It took longer than usual to complete this set of family dolls with diverse hobbies and interests. I was having too much fun painting all the little details!

The only problem I came across was not to get too carried away.

Some details…

It was a toss up between gardening or cooking for the dad…but in the end gardening won out. Any excuse to paint a garden gnome is a good excuse in my book!

I always liked painting a matryoshka within a matryoshka. There’s just something so surreal about it.

For the travel books and map, I had to break out my .0000 brush.

If you’re a Peter Alexander fan, you might recognize the carrier bag (left) that’s been knocked down on the side by the ferret.

No family matryoshka is complete without a beloved pet!

A Birthday Wish Come True

Last year, for my birthday, I asked to cuddle a koala. This wish was granted as the Currumbin Zoo was just around the corner from our house and I got to get close and personal with one of the cutest creatures in the world.

This year, I dared to dream bigger. I wanted to cuddle a wombat.

“That’ll never happen,” Anthony told me. “They might look cute, but they’re really vicious. Unless they wanted to be sued, no zoos would allow a guest to hold a wombat.”

But the Great Organizer of the Universe thought I deserved a good birthday after all. For a limited time and a small fee, visitors of Dream World Amusement Park were able to have a full-on Wombat Experience. For twenty minutes, we could play and hold a baby wombat, ask questions, and indulge in a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Being the best partner in the world, Anthony bought me a ticket and took about a hundred pictures of me playing with Little Orphan Annie like it was my first day in Kindergarten.

I highly recommend an encounter with a wombat…in a controlled environment, of course.

(Of course there was a wombat matryoshka in my arsenal of dolls!)

Do I dare to wish for a swim with the platypus for next year?

Gurrl Power!

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s…

Supergirl!

and…

Batgirl!

and…

Wonder Woman (who, incidently, is in her invisible plane, which you can’t see because it’s, well, invisible!)

With these righteous gals on your side, evil will have to take a back seat!

The Dastardly Divas

Hark! What evil lurks in the depths of yonder? Why, it’s the anti heroines of Gotham City!

Meet Harley Quinn with her pop gun and giant mallet…

Poison Ivy with her deadly kiss, and who can forget Catwoman?

The trinity of evil is here to wreak havoc!

Gaga Menagerie

Here’s another Lady Gaga set!

This set was especially challenging since I had to recall my sculpting skills (or the lack thereof). Here is Lady Gaga with her outrageous lobster head dress. I must admit, though, that I cheated a little by using the legs from this awesome spider ring I got from an educational toy store in Boulder, Colorado.

This has got to be my favorite Gaga outfit, what with Kermit being my favorite Muppet and all.

What better way to endorse a product than dressing up as an avant garde Mickey Mouse?

There’s nothing wrong with dressing up like animals!

Some details…spoing!

A Little Peep

It’ll take a few more days before I produce a new set of matryoshka…I had too much cake and rum on Anthony’s birthday weekend paddle!

This is just a sneak peek of what’s to come.

I finally got some proper Fimo to sculpt this guy…who is going to end up being a part of a certain somebody’s accessory!

Before I get back to my painting (and sculpting), I just want to share with you a little surprise I found on my trip this weekend:

After seeing all those ugly cane toads all over Australia, it’s a real treat to come across this little guy. (Left) Charlie was kind enough to pose with her hand below the frog-let so you can see just how tiny he really is.