What I've been up to the past few weeks...

Well, I said I'd post about what I've been up to for the past two weeks. I took a little break from creating holiday art and made some cute little dolls. They are made from paper mache and/or air dry clay for the heads, and the bodies are cloth, made from my own patterns. The legs are jointed at the hips so that they can sit or stand (with help). All are in the 6" - 7.5" range. The photos aren't the best, I used a cell phone, and I don't know how to turn the flash off.

Mrs. Churchmouse lives in the little Church in town with her daughter, Elsie. Their extended family includes several animals, and two little girls, all orphaned at a young age and adopted by Mrs. Churchmouse.

Here we see Mrs. Churchmouse, Romeow the cat, Juliette the bunny, Elsie Churchmouse, Audrey, and Mildred.

Mildred and Audrey have teddy bears that wear ribbons to match their hair bows. (You can barely make out Mildred's brown and white checked hair ribbon in this photo). They like to have little picnics in the yard on the quilt that Mrs. Churchmouse made for them from quilt scraps found under chairs after the Tuesday Afternoon Quilting Guild ladies leave the Church.

Romeow and Juliette join the girls in their picnic on the hill in the yard. They are step-siblings, and not to be confused with the ill-fated couple, Romeo and Juliette.

Mrs. Churchmouse keeps their home clean and tidy, and usually mops the floors while the children are outside playing.

Elsie is quite tall and lithe (for a mouse). She enjoys a good game of tag with Romeow, or as they like to call it, "Cat and Mouse".

Mildred and Audrey have paper hair. I cut little strands of paper that I had previously painted on both sides,and glued them to their heads, then curled each strand seperately around a needle. Mildred is quiet and shy, and Audrey, smaller of the two, is outgoing and has quite an attitude.

Well, now you know I'm completely Off My Rocker, for sure! But seriously, I hope you have enjoyed looking at the characters from my imagination.

Later,

Maggie



Cold Porcelain

Ok, I'm not talking about the cold porcelain in my bathroom...

My sister, Maddy, and I got together last week and decided to do some science experiments. Actually, it was just an excuse to visit. We spent five days goofing off. We made cold porcelain clay, but I don't know yet if I want to sculpt anything with it. Maybe small things, like toys for my Santas, or something like that. It goes by many names: Porcelaina Fria and Biscuit, to name two. If you are not familiar with it, it's the stuff that many artists use to make realistic, life-size and miniature flowers.

It air dries and looks a lot like traditional polymer clay. However, it shrinks quite a bit as it dries, as much as 30%, I hear.

Nothing to show you yet, I just wanted a little break from paper mache, and I thought that cold porcelain might be a lot cleaner. I'll play around with it for a little while, but I think I'll be going back to paper mache and paper clay. Paper mache takes a little longer to dry, and it's a lot messier, but I'm used to it, and I know what my results will be -- usually ;-). Besides, I can recycle newspaper and paper bags for the paper mache.

Speaking of paper mache and paper clay, I need to photo the five little dolls I've been working on the past two weeks. They have cloth bodies, and their heads are paper mache and clay. Maddy went a little crazy over them, but I think she was just trying to make me feel good. They are in the range of 7-8 inches. I'll get some photos up in a couple days.

I can't resist showing you this photo of Caden. He's two weeks old. Can you believe that he's grown 2-1/2" in two weeks? I was really surprised when Jordan told me!

I hope you all have a good Sunday!
Later,
Maggie

A Wonderful Experience

Do you remember reading about my granddaughter, Jordan's wedding? Well, Jordan is now a mother! Just in time for Mother's Day, too.

Jordan was 10 days overdue. I think she was just stalling ;-o. Her Dr. decided to induce on Wednesday. They started the pitosin drip at about 11:00 a.m., and at 5:31 p.m. she turned me into a great grandmother. I hate to admit I'm old enough to be a great grandma, but I guess I've been in denial. Jordan was a real trooper. Here she is, just before she transitioned into active labor:

And here is Jordan and her son, Caden:

Caden weighed in at 8 lbs., 5.3 ozs. Since my granddaughter is such a tiny little thing, I was really surprised that he was such a big boy! He is a really good little baby, too. Not very fussy, and Jordan reported that he is a hungry little pig! He nursed for 50 minutes straight at one time.

I hope Jordan doesn't mind my posting her and Caden's photos. I know I should have asked her first, but I am not able to call her because I washed my cell phone in the washing machine and it won't work anymore.

Just wanted to share one of my happy moments with you!

Happy Mother's Day to all of you moms out there, and especially to you, Jordan. Have a great day,
Maggie