I'm Giving Away Santa.

Are you in Santa's hat? If this doesn't make sense to you, please read on.

I thought a giveaway would be a great way to get more people to visit my blog. It seems fitting that my very first giveaway would be my very first paper mache Santa. I made him last year. He isn't the first Santa that I ever made, just the first one made from paper mache.

I think that my Santa's have improved since his creation, but I am still proud of him. He is the Santa that got me addicted to working with paper mache.

If you are interested in winning this guy, all you have to do is follow me publicly on google friend connect, and let me know by email that you want to be included in the drawing. It's that simple!

1. You need to actually click on the google follow button, and follow the prompts.

2. Email me and let me know that you are following me on google and ask me to put you in the hat.

3. Obviously, if you already follow me, you may skip step one, but you still need to email me. Just say "please put me in the hat".

On July 31, I'll place all the names of the interested parties into a "hat" and draw one. Santa has agreed to lend me his hat for the purpose.

So, tell all your friends who love Santa (and who doesn't?) to come and follow my blog. If you blog about my giveaway, let me know, and I'll enter your name in the drawing twice. Just email me the link to your post where you mention my giveaway.

Good luck,
Maggie

A Leprechaun from Leftover Bits and Pieces

If you read my last post, you'll remember that I had been thinking about combining some left over and/or rejected parts to create a new piece. Sort of like Dr. Frankenstein creating a new person from old parts. Well, I did it. Meet Patrick, my little Leprechaun friend.

Patty likes nothing better at the end of a busy day than a mug of ale with his leprechaun friends. They tell tall tales about what mischief they've been up to. I tell you, there's a lot of laughter and knee slapping when those guys get together!

I combined all of the parts that I mentioned in my bits and pieces post. The dome shape became a large mushroom. I sculpted three additional, somewhat smaller mushrooms.

I lengthened his beard a little, and gave him some little pointy toed boots. His hands look more like they belong to him, now that he has arms. Last of all, I mounted the sculpture on a slice of a Christmas tree trunk, and added some real moss that I had collected last fall.

I hope he might inspire you to take some of your rejected bits and pieces, if you have any, and turn them into something new. I think he's pretty cool, if I do say so myself. I doubt that I would have even thought to create a Leprechaun if I hadn't been exploring what I could do with those "leftovers".

Speaking of leftovers, I really need to go clean out my fridge. 'Bye for now!

Have a great day,
Maggie

Bits and Pieces

Have you ever just taken bits and pieces from unfinished projects, or that you had rejected for some reason, and combined them into something totally different than your original intention? If so, I'd love to hear about your results!

I had a santa head with a too-narrow face, some cold porcelain hands that had shrunk more than 30% when they dried, a weirdly shaped mug, a domed shape, and several other bits and pieces that had been intended for four different projects.

I had been planning to finish the humpty dumpty character that I had started, when I began wondering what it would look like if I added these leftover parts to my humpty dumpty body. Fortunately, he was only a body with two legs. I hadn't added arms or facial features to him yet.

I can picture this roly-poly character sitting on a rock/hill/mushroom, a mug of ale in one hand... Viola! I think I have a leprechaun or dwarf going on here, what do you think? I wonder if I should actually make this franken-dwarf, or elfen-stein with these bits and pieces, or just keep making my humpty dumpty character?

It would be fun to have a bits and pieces challenge, or a swap of some sort, don't you think?

OH! Before I forget, I want to direct your attention to the button on the side bar titled My First Giveaway!

Right now I'm going to go make some arms for those little hands and see what I come up with.

Thanks for dropping by, I'll see you later.
Maggie

'Twas The Night After Christmas

** UPDATE!! **

This Santa OOAK Art Doll is going to be published in the Nov/Dec/Jan 2012 issue of Art Doll Quarterly! In newstands on Nov. 1, 2011. I'm so excited and thrilled to be published with so many wonderful artists.

** ** **

'Twas the Night After Christmas, and Santa was having a bedtime snack of cocoa and gingerbread cookies. Mmmm... why don't we join him?

This sleepy Santa is made from paper mache, paper clay, fabric, acrylic paint, and more. He was sculpted with paper mache over a wire armature. I used crumpled newspaper and masking tape to "fill him out" before applying the paper mache. I sculpted his head seperately from his body so that I would be able to attach it after dressing him in his night shirt.

He wears a night cap made from red and white striped quilting fabric. The cozy nightshirt was sewn from solid white flannel that I embroidered with red and tan thread. His gingerbread cookie was sculpted from air dry clay, and his cup of cocoa started out as a miniature wooden bucket.

He stands 12" tall, including the base (which is made from a slice of a Christmas Tree). He is standing on an old fashioned braided rug, which I made from paper mache clay. The main paint colors used on this Santa and his rug, mug, and cookie, are Santa Red, Warm White, Winter Blue, Toffee Brown, Mississippi Mud, Evergreen, Santa Flesh, and Adobe Red.

I couldn't resist giving him fuzzy bunny slippers! They are sprinkled with crystal tinsel glitter, however it doesn't show up in the photos. His painted on long red underwear has a "drop seat" with two buttons. Not shown, Santa is modest, and after all, this is a G rated blog.

I hope you have enjoyed viewing my Night After Christmas Santa. I appreciate any critiques and comments you leave.

Later,
Maggie