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