Vintage - swing ride

Vintage - swing ride, originally uploaded by D~Love.

eye candy for today

Impromptu Flea Market Friday

We actually had some decent weather last week, so a few friends (Jane, Beth and Tori) and i hit our favorite Thursday flea market and got our fix. Saw other peeps out enjoying the day as well (Abbie, Holly, Nicola, Stephanie) we all seemed to have the same sort of feeling; that we needed a flea market fix, it was good to be outside, the sun was shining and it was fairly warm. life couldn't be better!

warning, i found lots of creepy dolls; please be kind to them! a few of them i plan to alter in some manner, but a few of them i kept, cleaned, redress and added them throughout the studio.

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here's one of the dolls i got. She cleaned up really well and got a new dress. now doesn't she look sweet holding her vintage parasol as she sits in my studio soaking in all that creativity?



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If you feel like sharing your latest treasures, leave your link here:

handmade Valentines, lots of love

I had several requests to please post the homemade Valentine's that i received from my swap. 20 blogging buddings and friends played along, so here they are in all their glory. It was really fun and i'll plan on doing it again next year.

and if you didn't see yesterdays post, on Friday i will be holding an impromptu flea market friday, so stop by to check out our recents treasures!

an impromptu flea market friday

Since last Thursday was so beautiful here in New Jersey a few friends and i got to hit the flea market, so i thought we'd do an impromptu flea market friday this week. To play, just show us some of your flea market , thrift store or garage sales finds in a blog post. You'll add your linky to my post on friday so that others can see your blog post and then you need to link your blog post back to my blog.

see you friday!

Maggie

My poor little manikin, Maggie, needed a neck. Somewhere over the years, hers went missing! the only thing she had left was a small metal rod.


So this weekend, I decided to make her a neck and then use a vintage lampshade as her head. I took a cardboard paper towel roll and covered it with lace. Then i glued a dead light bulb into the lampshade (inside, where the prongs are) so that it would sit straight. Then i packed the inside of the paper towel roll with foil and added a little bit apoxy to the metal rod on Maggie and then pushed the "neck" on top of it and left it to dry.


and voila! Maggie has a neck.

the heART of friendship

This post is about celebrating art and friendship and how when combined, is good for the heart and soul.

Friendship is one of the most significant choices we have to make throughout our lives. We select our friends; while sometimes our friends select us. It is true that there are no quirks in this world. Some people come into your life, at a specific time, for a specific purpose. Friends come into our lives to deepen this experience which we call life. They make life worth living; they add wonderful colors to our otherwise boring life. When we are old and recall our past, the friends we've made in this life is what we dwell on the most.

Growing up in the military, i cultivated many friendships, but none of them very lasting. We packed up and moved every 2 years. Toys, furniture, schools and friends were are all left behind. As a young child, i didn't mind, but as a teenager, it became painful to say all those goodbyes. Eventually i moved on as i settled into a new location, but as an adult, i kind of miss that i don't have any real childhood friends.


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I've lived in New Jersey for the last 15 years and its only been in the last 4 years that i've actually started meeting people that have similar interests as i do; and it's really been fun. It is so hard to find women that you have something in common with. My core group of friends are all very are very caring and giving and understand the gift of friendship and for that, i count myself lucky. I love when they tell me, "you know i've got your back". (you know who you are girls!) Makes me feel loved!

A few years ago, I accidentally found a very good friend. We have so much in common, it is scary. We both collect some of the most obscure things or we'll find some random vintage treasure in each others house and exclaimed, "oh my god, i have this too". happens a lot............




this is the first time i met Jane. This was how i described the meeting on my blog in 2008:

Meet Jane! Jane stopped by the show i was at to say hi. She found my blog through "Art is" and has been reading and getting to know me. She lives close enough to Bloomsbury that she was able to drive down and introduce herself. We enjoyed chatting with each other and i was really happy to meet her acquaintance. She's fun and spunky and seems like someone that i would enjoy hanging around with.

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Since then, Jane and i have gone on many retreats together, sat in classes with each other, spent many hours on the road driving - destination- ART and having a great time. It always takes us forever to get somewhere because we like to stop at all the antique/flea markets along the way. But i always pack a mean bowl of crackers and tuna, so it's all good!







me and jane at the flea market last week. i know i look like a "bug" in my sunglasses, but unfortunately i have very sensitive eyes, so thus, extreme coverage is optimal for me!


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Fast forward to last weekend, where i went and stayed with my friend, Jane. Before coming to her house, I had showed her these metal forms that i had sitting in my closet. I bought them at Marshall's thinking they'd make a fun project. and we discussed what we might do. It was an art filled/flea marketing weekend. Jane made me good food and her husband Raoul, made Texas caviar for me; yum yum. Sometimes, it's good to go away and be spoiled.

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here's how the forms looked as we discussed head size and what supplies we had to work with.

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here's the heads sculpted as they were drying

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we spent the next day working on our skirts, hands and birdies (to be perched inside of their skirts) This was the point where we finished up and we photographed the two girls together before i left. We had a wonderful time creating our art sister dolls.

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So really when i got home, i just needed to accessorize her skirt, paint her head and face and then distress her. I still want to do something to the top of her head, but am still pondering it. Jane has been busy finishing up her doll as well so go take a peek! the last thing we discussed was possibly making a removable, matching necklaces for the dolls. We will discuss that at our next get together!

current project

just a quickie view of some doll head necklaces i am finishing up for Artfest. Jane and i are finishing up our dolls (took a little longer than i thought) so we are going to try and post about them on Sunday.

Happy Valentine's Day, 2011!

Happy Valentine's Day to You! It is sunny and warm outside and I am happy about that! (but oh boy, the wind is fierce!)

I gave this little vintage donkey Valentine's to Dillon this morning (along with the heart i made for him). He may be 17, but never to old to get a vintage stuffed animal (well, in my opinion anyway!) Dillon is on winter break and is headed to Boston for a few days with his girlfriend and family. I will miss him!

these are the valentine's that i made for the blog swap i hosted. i will be opening all the goodies i got in the mail later today.

this past weekend, I went to my friend, Jane's house and we made the most amazing dolls. We are both trying to finish them up so that we can do a dual posting on them on wed. or thurs. so stay tuned..................

oh, geez, i almost forgot! I picked a winner for my blog giveaway (the old fashion way, but putting all the names in a hat!) and drew out Stefanie from Rose Petal and Rust. Congratulations to Stefanie and thanks to everyone for entering.

**I just opened my Valentine's, that was so fun. A couple of you spoiled me and sent awesome goodie boxes (tammie!). Thank you everyone who swapped, I loved all my handmade Valentine's! We will have to do it again next year.**