Wrayoflight

I love Crafsanity Podcast

2009-07-05T21:19:00.000-07:00

I love craftsanity podcast. Here is the link http://craftsanity.com/. Podcasts are free and so interesting. It's like craft talk radio. Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood is the creator and host of the show. She has made 99 podcasts so far. She has had some great guests: Violette Clark, Jenny Hart, Emily Martin of Inside the Black Apple just to name a few. If you haven't listened to her podcasts then I highly recommend you give it a try.

This is my Du Buh Du inspired doll.

2009-07-03T20:49:00.000-07:00

Isn't she cute?
I am very happy with her face.

Clothespin dolls

2009-06-29T21:47:00.001-07:00

The two on the left were painted by my son. They are Iron Man and Titanium Man.

I made these clothespin dolls to wrap my ribbon around them so I could see my ribbons and they would look cute. I'm wondering if I should submit some to Somerset Home or Art Doll Quarterly.

Happy Father's Day- late...well the post anyway..

2009-06-25T17:35:00.000-07:00

Bill's special gift. Two clothespin doll representing Tara and Cole.

Each one has a message wrapped around it.

New Blog

2009-05-13T16:56:00.000-07:00

I just started another blog called Flying by the Seat of My Pants. I wanted a blog that I felt comfortable putting any topic or art project on. I know it's my perogative to post whatever I want no matter what the name is, but I just wanted a new area for it.

Stuff I've Been Working On

2009-03-30T21:03:00.000-07:00

My three dolls. The sweater and poncho were made from a recycled cashmere sweater.
Reliquery Girl. Inspired by the book Mixed Mania
This is a man's t-shirts that I made over. Please ignore my ugly shorts.

Rodeo Girl close-up. A mixed media piece

Rodeo Girl. A project from Suzi Blu.

Happy Spring!

2009-03-20T09:47:00.000-07:00

Gorgeous Mountain Lion!

More view

Cole and Tara

Look at that view. This photo doesn't do it justice.

Yesterday the kids and I went to Tucson, AZ to visit the Desert Museum. It's a kind of zoo but they also talk about different plants. It is so beautiful. It is in the middle of preserved lands. Just driving to it is a visual treat. Tucson is about a two hour drive from Phoenix. I lived in Tucson from about age 4 to 10 and then again when I was about 21 to 25 years old. I have such good memories of living there. It's kind of artsy and a college town (University of Arizona) so it is laid back and people who live there walk a fine line of keeping it small, but keeping a thriving economy. So that concludes my social studies review of Tucson Arizona.

Suzi Blu Love

2009-02-20T16:42:00.000-08:00

These are two paper dolls I made for my daughter's class bulletin board.

They were inspired by Suzi Blu's layering technique. The picture was taken at home on my daughter's bulletin board.

These are pictures by Suzi Blu

I love her work and her workshops

http://suziblu.ning.com/group/BeDivine

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T13:54:00.001-08:00

A Doll I am working on.
Emma with her Valentine Gift

Close up of the cake. I love the colors.

Kissy Frog

Valentine's Day Cake from Super Target.

Have a great day.

Pictures

2009-02-13T16:15:00.000-08:00

This is a small painting I did for a Friend of mine.

I used acrylic, watercolor pencils,stickers, tissue and embroidery floss.

Stella

Happy 2009!

2009-01-01T12:31:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! 2009! I can't believe it. I have so many things I want to paint and sew. My resolution will be to make as much art as I possibly can. The kitchen can be dirty for a while and the laundry can pile up. I feel like I say this every year, but I guess I need to keep saying it until it sinks in. I had a great Christmas. I got a classic i-pod and a dress form. I already altered a man's t-shirt to fit me with the dress form. It was great. These photos I have posted are from my Suzi Blu Be Devine workshop. The pages are about Hestia, goddess of the hearth. The form is a paper mache dress form with positive comments about my body. I made the tree on my torso to represent my stretch marks and that I received them through giving birth to my daughter and son. I had a lot of fun stitching all over the pages with embroidery floss. Mixed Media is so fun. I wish everyone to have a Happy and Properous New Year.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-23T19:05:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone has a Happy Holiday. Here are two of my dolls(of the four). I have made them underwear and a camisole. One even has a little beanie hat. They make me so happy. I may have a hard time posting them on Etsy.

Doll Assembly Line

2008-12-19T08:42:00.000-08:00

Well I decided I needed to jump back into making my dolls. I traced out four dolls at once and began putting them together. The pattern is from Toys to Sew by Claire Garland. She wrote the Knitted Babe series of books. As you can see from my pictures I modified the hand and arm. I shortened the arms and made the hand a better proportion. One of the dolls has an appliqued felt face. The others will be painted. I stuff them while I watch a movie, because I find the stuffing part a little boring, but it is very important.

I am working on my Suzi Blu workshop and I put a link to it below my etsy link. Everyone should check it out. She is a wonderful artist and teacher. I like to watch her videos and she makes great pdf sheets for her workshops.

Today I am going to try baking some cookies. This is the first day of the kids winter break. Yesterday I was wrapping presents like a maniac. I was enjoying it because I love to make the present look beautiful. For me it is part of the joy of receiving a gift. I have a love hate thing for gift bags. They are convenient but not very inspiring. I have to be careful not to get all weird about perfection because it can stop me in my tracks because it is hard to live up to perfectionist standards.

Well I hope everyone is having a great Holiday. Relax. Relax. Relax.

No dolls yet

2008-12-12T08:05:00.000-08:00

I haven't been making any dolls lately because of the Holidays. I have been decorating the house and working on my morning pages. Morning pages are done every morning. Three pages written in just free association or stream of consciousness. They really clear my head. Still working on my Suzi Blu workshop. I love it.

Goddesses

2008-12-06T06:55:00.001-08:00

I have been working on my goddess workshop that I am taking with Suzi Blu. I have always loved the stories of the goddesses. I remember reading about it in college. Gaia, mother earth, and women were sacred because they could make life just like mother earth. Family lines were matrilineal (mother) not patrilineal(father). That makes sense to me because we give birth to the baby. It is definitely our child. Yet, I took my husband's last name and I am okay with that because I am a strong woman. I respect our culture but believe in quiet change. I teach my children to be kind and caring, but to also know that they are important. I don't know if that makes sense in words but I know how I feel.

Okay so this is my Aphrodite page. Goddess of Love. Love of self and others. She is sensual comfortable in her body. I would say I am pretty comfortable in my body. I do wish I could lose a few pounds, but I am not putting my life on hold waiting for it. I buy clothes I like right now. They are not clothes that don't fit because I will lose ten pounds and then fit into them. Live in the now. We don't know what our future is going to bring, but I do know that I am not getting any younger or better looking so I will work with what I have right now.

I have come to this realization in the last few years. I would see pictures of myself from a few years back that I remember just hating it when I first saw it, but now I think, " I don't look so bad. Why was I so hard on myself?" That was when it hit me to just be kind to myself. We are always changing(for better or worse) so just give yourself a break and be happy for your health, shiny hair, pretty eyes, great legs, great voice, whatever...Just love yourself! Be Aphrodite!

Bean a dog for the White House

2008-12-03T11:18:00.000-08:00

Check out this site: http://aplacetobark.blogspot.com/ She is showing a dog named Bean that she hopes the Obama's will pick as their new puppy. How Cute.
I had a great Thanksgiving. I hope everyone else did to. I have been neglcting my flickr, blog, etsy, everything. I have however signed up for Suzi Blu's Be. Devine. class. It is now closed but if you spot another workshop of hers you should definitely participate. She is an awesome artist and teacher. http://suziblu.ning.com/

Neglect is a terrible thing.

2008-11-16T15:41:00.000-08:00

Wow! it has been a long time since I have posted anything. I sold my doll Penelope a few days ago. I ended up making her a stand per the customers request. I think it turned out pretty cute. I also got a commision to make a custom earring organizer(see http://www.wrayoflight.etsy.com) . It turned out very pretty. I am going to post it in a little while. Then I will post it on my blog.

I am trying to purge some of my stuff to simplify and neaten my work area. My husband put up cabinets and I would like almost all of it to fit inside said cabinets. Wish me luck.

Happy Hallowen!

2008-10-27T22:19:00.000-07:00

Okay, I have been neglecting my blog. Here are some photos of my witch picture finally finished. I really like the way she turned out. I am going to make copies for cards and I might even do a photo tranfer and put her on a t-shirt. The other photos are of my tea time doll that I now have posted on my etsy shop http://www.wrayoflight.etsy.com . I really like the way she turned out. Her face makes me happy. Please feel free to leave me your opinion in the comments section.

I'v made a few other drawings that I am going to copy onto cards. I 'll post those later. Well in case I don't post before Halloween...

Happy Halloween!

Les Petite Dolls and Witches

2008-10-07T18:16:00.000-07:00

This is some work from my Suzi Blu workshop. I am having so much fun. I am so glad that it is October. I love Halloween and autumn.

Pictures

2008-09-30T22:52:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from taking Elinor's Class.

I love Suzi Blu!

2008-09-29T22:38:00.001-07:00

Find more photos like this on Mixed Media With Suzi Blu

Long time no post.

2008-09-26T08:25:00.000-07:00

This week I went to classes with Elinor Peace Bailey. I took "The Doll as Messenger" class then there was a potluck and discussion about dolls. That was on Monday. On Tuesday I went to her class about making flat dolls. We made them out of paper and then with fabric that was fused to heavy interfacing. That class flew by. She gave me some great ideas to include some paper dolls in my next zine and discuss what I learned in her class.

So now I am bursting with ideas beacause I am also taking Suzi Blu's Les Petite Dolls workshop. She is awesome. I'll post picures in another post.

Finally! Here are some photos of my balloon.

2008-09-10T17:38:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of my balloon. I am very happy with it. Thank you to Du Bu Duh Designs for your advice and encouraging comments.

I will try to post more in a few days. I am getting over a head cold. Blah.

Candace step by step

2008-09-05T09:10:00.001-07:00

This is Candace. She is a bendi doll that I have altered ever so slightly. Her hair is made of feathers. I painted on her underwear, bra, socks and shoes. Then I became obsessed with making her pants

just right. I made a pattern from paper towel. It's flexible like fabric but you can trim it and not worry about messing up on your fabric. Anyway, I am very happy with her outfit. Her scarf is made with scrim fabric. It has a cool woven effect that is good for the dolls scale. I now have her on her stand. I really like her. My daughter doesn't want me to post her on my etsy shop. What a nice compliment, but I think I will anyway because that is why I make these dolls. So I can sell them and share my work.

I have a flickr account!

2008-08-25T22:39:00.000-07:00

I have a flickr account. It's under shannonbailes. Let me see if this works ...http://www.flickr.com/photos/28729207@N04/. I believe that will connect you to my flickr account. I have joined etsy's self portrait thursday group. It's kind of fun and challenging. Sorry, I am not very talkative today. Maybe more tomorrow.