Black Friday Sale... Ring in the Savings

Hi! I'm almost all moved into my new (but old) digs. I have about 15-20 more boxes to unpack before I can start creating more santas and dolls.

In the meantime, I'm going to have a Black Friday Sale in my Etsy shop. Beginning on the Friday after Thanksgiving, and continuing to the last day of November, I will offer a 20% discount on any and all purchases, not including shipping.

Ring in the savings with this coupon code:  OFM113112. You must enter the coupon code upon checkout to get the discount.

Pick out a Christmas gift from my Etsy Shop for that someone special.

If there is something that you've been wanting for yourself, or to give as a gift from my shop, this is the time to get it! The sale will only run through the end of November. I will try to get as many items into my shop as possible by the start of the sale, but if there is something that you've seen in my posts that isn't in my shop, just email me for availability. If I still have it, I will put it in my shop with a Reserved for you title.

I hope you are all well, and have plans for a great Thanksgiving!

Later,
Maggie

Surprise!

Was I surprised to receive my complimentary copy of Art Doll Quarterly two days before it came out on the news stands? Yes! I usually don't get it until three or four weeks after the day it hits the stands, after emailing a few times. There's another Maggie Anderson who submits artwork to the magazine, and somehow they managed to send my copies to her. Three different times. Fourth time's the charm. Yay! They finally got my address in the computer just in time for me to move...

I was on my way out the door when the magazine arrived, so I just opened to the "Show & Tell" section to see my "Pere Noel" on page 115.

Yesterday I decided to take a little break from packing for my move this weekend. I sat down to peruse the magazine. Was I surprised to see my "Pinocchio" on page 65 in the "Book Character Challenge"? That was a total surprise.

Then, I turned a few pages and there was my sister, Maddy's, "Lula" on page 68! She had no idea that her doll was selected, either. So, I got to call her and say "Surprise!" Good thing that she was sitting down!

 

Lula is just, wonderful, Maddy. I love all her bling! Congratulations, you deserve it.

And, I hear that Maddy's  "Topsy Turvy Doll" has been selected for the Challenge in the Spring 2013 issue.

And now, I'm off to pack some more. I can't believe how much stuff I have. I hope I don't have to do this again anytime soon.

Take care,
Maggie

Ebay Listing

This is a test... I've decided to try selling in an auction format on Ebay again. So, for the first time in over a year, I've listed one item on Ebay.

Hortense, my Fourth in a Series of Thirteen Witches, is currently listed with a starting bid of $79.99. As Halloween will be here soon, she is only listed for a five day auction to allow time for shipping.

I have deactivated her Etsy listing temporarily, where she was for sale for $150. If she doesn't sell on Ebay, I'll probably reactivate her Etsy listing.

If you know someone who is a collector of Halloween OOAK art, please let them know about my auction. You can click on her photo (above) to go to listing number 190738264565 on Ebay.

Later,
Maggie


 

Folk Art Santa

Tried to keep it simple with this Santa. I wanted a smaller, more primative, folk art Santa. He stands about 9-1/4" tall. He's made entirely from paper mache clay, with a cardboard armature.

He stands on a mound of "snow". The base has been trimmed with vintage and newer buttons all around for a more folksy look. All the paints are acrylic. The red parts of his costume were underpainted first with a deep purple. The red was then drybrushed over, letting a lot of the under coat show through. I used a thinned down neutral mix of blue and brown to wash over the white areas so that it would sink into the low spots. It accentuates the texture, and makes him look like he's been around for some time.

This will probably be my only post this month. I'm getting ready to move, so I'll be busy packing for the next several weeks. What a chore. I hate moving!

Have a great week!

Later,
Maggie

Hortense on a Broom

I made a broom for Hortense, my latest witch. Just a wooden dowel, and some raffia. I also gave her a book of spells and potions. And, I added ruffles to the bottoms of her sleeves. It didn't take Hortense long to learn how to fly on this broom. She took to it as if she'd been flying all her life!

 

It was hard to photo her here, hanging from my dining room chandelier, she kept wanting to fly in a slow circle, and there was too much "stuff" in the background. So, I hung her on a wall:

I didn't like the lack of color in the background, so here is what Hortense would look like flying through the night sky:

As I photographed her over my dining table, I was thinking how cool she would look at a Halloween party, hung over a centerpiece. Or, maybe keeping watch over the Halloween goodies!

Later,
Maggie

The Witches of New Hampton Shire... Fourth In a Series

Meet Hortense, my fourth in a series of 13 witches, titled "The Witches of Newhampton Shire".

Hortense has thick white hair, and almost all of her teeth, just one missing on the top! A few warts, one on her nose and one on her chin. (I think they're required.)

Hortense is a shelf sitter doll. If she were able to stand, she would be about 19" tall. In her seated position, she measures approximately 12" from her seat to the tip of her hat. She has a scary Jack-o-Lantern, that she carved from a pumpkin.

 

 

Unlike her sisters in the coven, Hortense has a stuffed fabric body, which allows some leeway in posing her. I may, or may not, make the remaining witches of this series with fabric bodies, too. Her hair was made from "mandala wool", whatever that is. I found it at the craft store when I was looking for wool for hair. Her bottom is weighted with poly pellets, and all she needs, if she were to start leaning one way or the other, is to be tapped gently on the shelf. Her head can be turned to face right, left or forward... or backward, if you want to be really creepy.

Her body and clothes are sewn from black and white fabrics, and natural colored osnaburg for her shawl. Hands, legs and shoes are painted with acrylic paints. The position of her legs would allow her to "fly" on a broomstick, if you happen to have one her size. I couldn't find a broom the right size, but I am going to try to find a broom, or make one, before I list her for sale.

I think Hortense looks like a retired, spinster school teacher. At least she reminds me of one teacher I had as a freshman in high school, whose name just happened to be the same.

I like her pointy toed witchy shoes.

I hope you have enjoyed viewing the newest Witch of Newhampton Shire. As usual, any and all comments are welcomed.

Thank you for dropping by, and I hope you are all having a great week.

Maggie

The Egg Man, Revisited...

They used to call him "Humpty Dumpty," when he worked at the circus. He would sit on a wall, and circus visitors would pay to throw balls at him. They paid five cents a ball, and he only got 5% of the profit... Well, as you probably guessed, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. Actually, he had several. This job just wasn't all it was cracked up to be. The last fall was so bad that all of the Kings horses and all of his men were just barely able to put him back together again. His doctor told him that they might not be so lucky the next time.

The Egg Man was already rethinking his career, and had been considering what kind of work he could do. As fortune would have it, the next small town they came to, he found a tiny pumpkin farm for sale. "This is just what I need," he thought, "and, I'll be my own boss." He bought the farm with his small savings, and never looked back.

When he left the circus, he took a discarded, old, broken circus wagon. The elephant had grown too big for it.

Turns out, all it needed was new wheels, and an axle. A new paint job wouldn't hurt, either. And, as a bonus, the best fertilizer for his pumpkins was right there, in the bottom of the wagon! After restoring the wagon, it was perfect for hauling his crop to Saturday Market. He grows the finest pumpkins in the land. Nowadays he's much happier, and he gets 100% of the profit!

And the Egg Man lived happily ever after.

The Egg Man came home from Art Doll Quarterly last week, after his appearance in the Shelf Sitters Challenge. I'd been thinking about creating a prop for him to sit on, and with Halloween approaching, this just seemed right. He'll be in my Etsy shop if you're interested in owning him.

I hope my Egg Man cracks you up!
Maggie

Tree Trimming Santa with Christmas Light String

Here is my latest Santa. I can't think of a good name for him, so I'll just call him a Vintage-Look Santa with Light String.

I just love the tiny little Christmas lights he's holding. The bulbs are plastic, or resin with one tiny air bubble inside each bulb. Very realistic. They are Jolene's, and made for scrapbooks, but I think they're just the perfect scale for this Santa, who stands approximately 10-3/4" tall.

I chose not to use crackle finish on this guy, and I went for a less shiney look. I sealed him with one coat of brush-on satin sealer, then rubbed antiquing glaze on him, wiping it off immediately. The antiquing glaze soaked more in the areas that had fewer coats of paint, like the fur trim on his hat and coat, which had been painted with one watered down coat of white that soaked into the paper mache.

I had planned on using glitter on him, but after antiquing him, I decided against it. His finish looks exactly like a vintage painted bisque santa from the 60s that I have in my collection. Of course, this Santa is made from paper mache clay. I finished him off with two light coats of a satin spray sealer.

I went for a simpler, primmer look when painting him, including his face. I like the result. He'll be in my Etsy shop in a few minutes.

In case you missed my August 20% off sale, I've decided to extend it through Labor Day, tomorrow. Any item in my Etsy shop can be purchased at a discount of 20% until midnight on September 3, 2012. Just use this code when checking out: AUG0812. Discount will be applied to all items purchased in my shop (and on my blog).

If you're looking for something that isn't currently in my Etsy shop, but you've seen it in my posts, just email me and I'll let you know if it is still available.

Thanks for dropping by to see my newest Santa. I hope you're all having a great Memorial Day Weekend.

Later,
Maggie 

Off My Rocker Etsy Sale...

Hi! I've decided to have a sale in my Off My Rocker store on Etsy... save 20% through August on any item in my Etsy store, or on any of my blog posts. You must enter a coupon code to get the discount. The code is: AUG0812. Discount will be applied to all items purchased in my shop (and on my blog) during the month of August. You can get to my Etsy store by clicking on the photo below:

These pics are just some of the items that are in my store, or on my blog. There are Halloween items, Santa items, of course, and you can purchase any of the items in any of my blog posts if they are still available. If it's not in my Etsy store, just email me for availability, then if you like, I will place the item in my Etsy store as a reserved listing just for you. First-come, first-served!

Don't forget to scroll back through my older posts, you may have forgotten about some of the items.

Have a great week,
Maggie

More Hallowe'en Raggedies

Well, I'm back with more Raggedies. Meet Homespun Pumpkin Andy and Annie. Quite the strong family resemblance, don't you agree?

Andy is Annie's big brother.

He's wearing a homespun plaid shirt in fall colors, with mismatched buttons, and a pair of black trousers. A scrap of homespun around his neck for a bow tie. Rusty bell on his tie, and black lace-up shoes complete his outfit.

Andy's little sis, Annie, is dressed in a primitively sewn homespun plaid dress in Hallowe'en colors of orange and black, and has a rusty bell attached to a scrap of homespun cotton fabric tied around her waist. Her shoes are trimmed with buttons.

She's holding her Halloween Trick-or-Treat Bag in her left hand.

Both are sewn from osnaburg cotton fabric, and painted with acrylic paints. Andy is 9.5" tall, and Annie is 9" tall, not counting the green ric-rac vines on top of their heads. Annie's Halloween Pumpkin Bag is made from paper mache.

Both of these little cuties will be in my Etsy store.

Thanks for dropping by, and please leave a comment so that I'll know you were here.

Later,
Maggie

Folk Santa

I've been slowly working on Santas. I don't intend to create as many in a year as I have been. I want to work on other things, or just only work on Santas when the mood hits.

Here's my newest Santa. I wanted to create a more primitive, folk art look. His face is not as smooth as my other Santas, since I didn't add any clay over it. And his features are a little more primitive. I'm happy with the way he turned out.

He carries a bottle brush wreath in his right hand. The large pockets on his coat are slightly open so that something like tinsel garland can be stuffed into them. They have a design that I stamped into the wet paper mache with a rubber stamp.

He stands a hair over 12" tall. He's made from paper mache clay, of course, except his hands are stuffed and painted cloth. He's been coated with acrylic, and glazed with an antiquing glaze.

I hope you've enjoyed viewing my latest Santa. He's in my Etsy shop.

Have a great week,
Maggie

Hallowe'en Raggedy Annie

Hi! I've been working on a Hallowe'en style Raggedy. Meet my first Pumpkin Annie.

SOLD!!!

 She's dressed in a primitively sewn black and orange dress, and has a rusty bell attached to a scrap of homespun cotton fabric tied around her waist. She is 9" tall, not counting the green ric-rac pumpkin vine on top of her head. She's as sweet as pumpkin pie!

Wonder why she looks so surprised? In her left hand is the paper mache pumpkin Halloween bag that she picked out herself. Her eyes just about popped out of her head when she saw one that looked almost like her!

Here is another view of her, from the back:

She is going into my Etsy shop this afternoon. *UPDATE: She sold right after I listed her. Thank you, Joyce!

Her BFF, "Homespun Pumpkin Annie" is going into my Etsy shop, too.

Tomorrow I'll be posting my latest Santa. I hope you come back to see him.

Enjoy your weekend.

Later,
Maggie

New Etsy Shop Grand Opening

Hi! This post isn't about my latest Santa or art doll.

I'm overwhelmed with buttons. My stash is huge. So, I decided to destash some of my surplus on Etsy. If you're interested in that kinda thing, please check out my new Etsy shop, 1 Button, 2Buttons... Here's a link:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/1Button2Buttons

There're a lot of great deals. These are a few examples of what I'm offering. I hope you check them out. I've started with 13 listings, and I'll be adding one or two more listings a week until I get them all up.

And, I'm having a Grand Opening Special. Order any two or more offerings, and I'll include a free gift in every order.

So, if you like buttons, come over to the new shop. Or, if you have a friend who's into buttons, or hoarding, let them know.

I have my grandson staying with me, so I've been putting my art on the side burner. But I've been cooking up a new Santa.  I'm just putting on the finishing touches.

I hope you are all having a wonderful summer!

Later,
Maggie

Downy Woodpecker Sighting by a Real Boy

This little guy was spotted recently on a wooden limb. Sorry if you birders were expecting to see the real thing.

The birder who spotted him is my little wooden friend Pinocchio, seen here. Hey, buddy, turn around so we can get a better look at that woodpecker (oh boy, I hope my dirty-old-man brother-in-law doesn't read that sentence)!

That's better! Hey be careful, you don't want him to fly away!

Well, that is a really cool bird, Pinocchio. He looks especially interested in that long nose of yours. By the way, isn't your nose shorter than the last time we met?

You should probably keep him at arms length (or nose length), and away from your face! What? Did you say the blue fairy sent him to trim your nose back to normal length? And you're going to let him do that? Uh, that sounds painful...

Pinocchio stands almost 9-1/4" tall. He is made from paper mache clay, wood clay (appropriately), and his arms are stuffed fabric. All have been painted to resemble wood. He sports a white cotton collar with a handsome checked ribbon bow tie. His little bird companion is made from wood clay and is about an inch long.

Pinocchio was a lot of fun to make, but now it's time to get back to my REAL "job" -- creating Santas.

I hope you've enjoyed your visit today. Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment!

Maggie

Just checking in...

I really didn't drop off the face of the earth. I was taking a little break from sculpting paper mache Santas so that I could give a few other projects my attention. Guess I'm just not a multi-tasker, or high-energy person. So, I've been working on this and that... planting a garden... sewing a baby shower present... sleeping in... watching too many movies. Currently, I'm working on a character for an upcoming Art Doll Quarterly Challenge.

Speaking of ADQ Challenges, last week I received an email from the editor of the magazine. Surprise! They are going to put my three "Shelf Sitter" Challenge dolls in the next issue. Please forgive me for shamelessly tooting my own horn, here. I can't wait to see how their photos turn out. If you didn't see them in my posts, here's a group photo of them. It's a little out of focus, and the lighting is a little dark, sorry.

The dolls were so much fun to make, and I'm thrilled that all of them will be in the magazine. (I guess that there weren't very many entries.) Anyway, I just LOVE the ADQ Challenges! I hope I get the next one finished in time to enter.

What are you working on? I'd love to hear from you. Please leave a comment if you stop by.

Warmly,
Maggie