She's got legs!

Although she can't use them, yet. Tomorrow hopefully her arms will be attached and all her limbs stuffed and sewn shut. Then her body needs to be stuffed and sewn, and her breasts added on and she'll be born... okay, maybe NEXT weekend. Still, there's been good progress, her feet are beautifully shaped with lovely green claws and I've learned a lot listening to the book on tape "The Mind's Eye" by Oliver Sacks. Wow, our eyes and the way our brains process what we see is far more complicated, individual and wondrous than ever imagined!

The Lady emerges...

Noses are a mystery. I have made many noses, some quite perfect and interesting in their shape but I never know what will happen. I feel strangely out of control when it comes to noses. They become whatever they want to become, regardless of what I planned.

Last weekend was exceptionally lucky for working on the lady bear that will be paired up with Tammi's dragon. However, her nose... after three tries I thought to say "screw it!" and make a Fimo nose, which can be quite nice (like Miss Wix's). However, I tried one last time, and this nose was perfectly even and well placed, although a very different shape then what I was going for. It's almost wing-like in its shape, very fitting for this project but not a typical nose. I suppose I prefer this unique nose.

And the lady needs a name. Lady? Lady Fenwick? Lady Teah? Lady Corina? If you have any ideas, please send them along! (PS The green background will become her dress.)

Spring in London!

London, Ontario, that is! I've signed up to take part in April Norton's London Doll Show, taking place on April 29th! Check out http://www.londondollshow.com/ for all the details.

I signed up for three reasons: 1.) it will motivate me to make stuff 2.) I'll get to see everyone else's stuff 3.) it's really important to support local shows. So now it's off to the races, so to speak, to get enough new critters for my table!

And I'm extremely pleased to announce that April, famous for her amazing porcelain dolls, will again be part of the Hallowe'en tour!

Oh, my ratty!

Now that Valentine's Day is over... yeah!!!! Yes, I DO love the red and white combination but the sentimental mush is... mush.


Now, on to a realization, made entirely by accident:
All these years I had it wrong... rats have FOUR toes on their front feet, NOT five!! Only four! Well, since I've never been blessed with a pet rat, it's not the easiest thing to see, but I could have been more thorough in my anatomy research. Up side: I only have to make 18 claws per rat (instead of 20) and there is always room for improvement!

Happy Valentine's!

(This adorable card is available on www.zazzle.com.)

and...

Happy Valentine's from... Krampus? Yes, here he is, from a 1910 postcard. Well, why not, after all Valentine got his head cut off, right?

My kind of Valentine!

with a Dragon Year...

... there be dragons! I came across this piece of magic at http://transplantportation.com/2011/04/27/my-wife-is-having-a-dragon/#more-2088 and am dazzled!!! Oh, what it would feel like to find one!!

un-Valentine

My friend Melanie over at melbears.blogspot.com is roughing it out this February (although she's posting some really funny stuff). Anyway, in sympathy for her pain, I'm posting this bit of un-Valentine:


You fit into me
like a hook into an eye


a fish hook
an open eye


--Margaret Atwood

bless the computer gremlins!

My email is working again!!
My internet issues have been corrected (well, I don't want to jinx it but all is working well!). I had to ditch Teksavvy and sign up with Mornington Communications and everything went well with them from the start!! What a relief!! Needless to say, if you are having port issues, it may not be you!!
So, now I've been spending a lot of time catching up with my email and editing my websites to completely get rid of woosel@total.net. This email address will cease to exist very soon, please use woosel[at]scratchingatthewindow.com.

My Saturday was spend on all this, but I did get to my bear on Sunday. She's got all her darts sewn up and I'm starting on her body parts. The warm caramel brown mohair is super nice to work with, and so far so good.

Preparing for Valentine's...

...found snuggling at http://www.discover-pet-rats.com/pet-rat-valentines.html

February is here, ACK!

Even though I haven't been doing what I wanted to do artistically, I have been engaged creatively. I've been catching up with 2 years worth of photos and enjoying laying them into albums. (Reminder to self: don't get so far behind again!) Also, I've sent off my handmade miniature Valentine to my one true love. He happens to be a troll who lives in Tennessee (I'm not joking, he IS a troll). Here's his Valentine:

The front... and inside...

(You can find Lou the Candy Troll's picture at http://www.thefiligree.com/gallery/filigree-newspaper-photos/ Have fun!)


Other projects I'd REALLY like to finish: my papier mache pumpkin:

and this necklace. I bought it 2 years ago but it's poorly balanced and needs some sort of weight to be added near the bottom. I have a bead which should work well... Maybe this weekend?!

(Wow, what dry hands!!)
Instead of making a Krampus cookie cutter from scratch, I thought perhaps to bend a pre-made cookie cutter (like this one) into the right shape. First, I have to design the shape and cut it from a solid material, wood I think.


Oh, and I had a very nice birthday.