Wool and Needle

I’m a little upset at myself for jumping in so late in the game, but omg, needle felting is so my bag! This is coming from someone who is absolutely hopeless at knitting and with sewing skills that can only be described as amateurish. All you need is a ball of wool roving, a piece of foam and a felting needle and off you go!

I’ve never been the type to just sit around and stare at the TV, so this is a perfect project for me during downtime. I’ve been meaning to get a few small pieces done for some jewelry I’m putting together and the bits I’ve found for them seem wrong. So I trolled around for some alternatives and I felt so strongly about the needle felting that I immediately pounced on it.

This was my first attempt. The hardest part was trying not to hurt myself.

The nest with eggs took all of one commercial break. This is a thrill for me since I tend to spend untold hours painting one element at my work table!

The first elephant was okay, but I want a smaller one.

As soon as I get my supplies, I’m going to make some Peeps and scatter them around the house to see if the Hubs will pick it up and attempt to eat them. I did warn him that it’s not all sunshine and lollipops living with me.

The Zodiac Zoo

While I was in NY this year, I was given some great ideas for a few dolls. While it wouldn’t work as a traditional set per se, it would be fantastic for stand-alone dolls, so here they are, little kids dressed up as a zodiac sign.

Yes, I know, there are 13 of them. Before you accuse me of not being able to count, because accidents involving miscounting has happened to me, I just want to point out that Geminis are twins, ergo, two dolls were painted for that sign.

Capricorn

Highly intelligent and practical, but tends to get a bit gloomy at times. I dated a Capricorn once and boy, the gloom emitted from him was inexplicable—especially when his blood sugar was running low. I learned to keep a couple of Fig Newtons in my purse whenever we went out.

Aquarius

Honest, intelligent, artistic and highly motivated. It’s true. My friend, an Aquarius, was artistic and was so honest to a point that she could always be counted on to point out all of your shortcomings—whether you want to hear it or not—sometimes in front of a crowd of people.

Pisces

Honest, unselfish, trustworthy and often have quiet dispositions and are passionately devoted to a cause. It’s true because my friend Jum, a Pisces through and through, was so devoted to Mexican wrestling that he used to bring the masks to work and have me re-enact a fight in the little mail room we hung out in.

Aries

Creative, adaptive, and insightful, strong-willed, spontaneous, and a real party animal. Perhaps it’s my misfortune not to know any Aries while I was in college because he/she could’ve taken my bacchanalian tendencies to a whole other level.

Taurus

Stubborn, practical and efficient. All the Tauruses I know, and boy, do I know a lot of ’em, are exceptionally stubborn. But it’s fine, because they’re the only friends of mine who have been around for decades.

Gemini

Supportive, affectionate, imaginative, and moody. But hey, who isn’t prone to moodiness now and again? The only Geminis I’ve known are some of the nicest people in the world!

Cancer

Traditionalists, homebodies, truthful and sympathetic. Sometimes I think I should’ve been born a cancer. There’s nothing I love more than to lounge around in my big flannel pants during my alone time and meditate about what is and what it isn’t.

Leo

Natural born leaders, generous, brave, headstrong and willful. Oh, boy, don’t I know it! The hubs is a Leo and he tends to get a bit bossy when we’re paddling in our double kayak. “Slow down! Speed up! Now drink your water, that’s a girl!” No wonder they call double kayaks divorce kayaks!

Virgo

Keen minded, inquisitive, naturally intuitive and have remarkable memories. It’s true, because I, being a Virgo, still hold a grudge against my brother, who, on my 2nd birthday, convinced me to burn my specialty candles on my cake instead of using his.

Libra

Understanding, caring, quiet and shy but ironically make great debaters. My mother’s all of that. She always has a great speech prepared, like why I can’t jump off the roof with my homemade wings or that I shouldn’t prepare a Chlorex Cocktail for my brother.

Scorpio

Everything I know about Scorpio is true. If you decide to run a successful company, you should let a Scorpio run it. They’re cool, confident, and secretive.

Sagittarius

Loyal, focused, intense. Yup. They certainly are. My best friend from high school is all of that—especially when he’s attempting to wash his hands or lock his door before leaving his apartment. What? That’s OCD? This was the best doll to paint not because I had to construct a horse’s bum but I got to put a mohawk and a tattoo on him too!

Wedding Dolls

Here’s a double trio wedding dolls. I doubt they’ll end up on top of a cake, since these are meant to be bridal shower presents. I had to ask the person ordering the dolls to sneakily take a photo of the bride in her gown during the fitting and send it to me!

I was told that the bride and groom enjoyed fine dining. That’s easy. I love painting food.

The bride enjoyed traveling and the groom’s a bujinkan enthusiast, so the last two dolls are painted accordingly.

She’s holding a snow globe in her hand…

Happy Marriage!

Flight of the Conchords Rides Again!

Even though I absolutely adore The Flight of the Conchords and was beside myself when they canceled the series after two measly seasons, I didn’t think I’d paint another set featuring the boys and their cohorts again. But one thing I learned from being the only member of Team BoBo Babushka is to never say never (with the exception of anything involving fur. Now that’s just a bad idea altogether). No, Anthony’s not really a member of Team BoBo B, as he’s been known to run off screaming whenever I suggest that he help out a bit around the studio. Perhaps I should really look into getting myself a helper monkey after all. If they can be trained to serve beer at restaurants in Japan, I’m sure they can be taught to prime and varnish my dolls.

But I’m getting a bit off base here. Let’s get back to Flight. This set was for a very sweet woman right here in Oz. Apart from the fact that they’re no longer a double trio set anymore but a more traditional set of 5s, I’ve made a few slight changes…

…namely Brad’s got on a plaid shirt now. It’s not easy painting plaid, but it is fun!

And of course I kept the painting done by Mel of the boys. Have they made a poster sized one for fans like us to possess? Because I’d love to have one, ornately framed and ostentatiously displayed in my bedroom!