Tuesday, April 29, 2014

New doll find and Evening thoughts.

This is true. "Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve."

It's a matter of taking action towards the things that you want in life. I think it takes a lot of hard work to get what you want but in the end it's all worth the blood, sweat and tears. 

Today I made a list of what I need to complete to put into my Etsy store. I just can't believe how long the list is. I have so many things I need to purchase in order to complete all of my projects to my liking. My significant other is a person who hurries though any and everything. When it comes to art and your craft, it has to be exactly the way you want it otherwise there is no point in doing it at all. I don't know that he understands that though :)

Anyways, the doll that I posted about in my previous post is a major trial and error project. I just recently repainted her face because the previous face was just too harsh. Here's what she looks like currently. Not so good of a shot, but you get the point.




 She's obviously not done, I have so much more to go. But when she is done, I'll be happy as heck! 

I went to a thrift shop today and found a handmade doll that was not finished. I immediately fell in love. She has no hair but that is ok. Take a look at her.

Doesn't she have the most perfect face? Someone handmade this doll and embroidered her face. She is in perfect condition. The price tag says $3.99 but I got her for half off that which was $2 and then 25% off of that (because my significant other is a senior citizen!) so she came out to $1.50. ***WHOOP WHOOP**!!

I have to say that I have the worst face drawing skills. I have to go over and over what I draw till my doll is halfway decent. I love this embroidered look. I went online on Amazon.com and found a book called "Storybook Toys" which shows how to embroider a doll face. I had to get it. I did however, find it cheaper on Ebay. I would love to know how to do this. Even though I typically work with clay, I would still work with cloth heads and do this because it is so so cute and perfect! Who ever made this doll did a pretty darn good job on her. But she is getting "revamped" so to speak.

For some odd reason, I felt like I had to rescue her from the store! How strange it that? I mean, it's not like she is alive or anything. 

I'm in a doll group on Facebook and a lady had posted that exact same question today, it went a little something like this; "Do any of you feel the need to rescue dolls from the thrift shop or garage sales?". How funny that she put that up there! Because I had just did that today for the very first time ever and I felt that way, like I had to rescue this doll! Oh my goodness, atleast I'm not the only one who feels this way. There are so many others who do. 

An obsessive doll person I am. But it's not going out an buying them, it's making them. It feels so much like I'm giving them life. Oh my, how strange. Ha ha! 

Well, anyways I thought I would put in a posting on this little blog of mine. It seems that people don't blog as much as they used too. Some people that I followed back in 2007-2012 don't blog anymore. Their blogs are like little ghost towns on the internet. Sad but true. Even if I don't ever get any followers on blogger, I'll still blog. It sets my mind free, after all I need to do that somewhere.

Until next time around,

Take care...

Wendylee

Friday, April 25, 2014

"A girl in the garden" so far.. she's a W.I.P for sure!

W.I.P means "work in progress" by the way (just in case you didn't know) This is the garden dolly I've been working on, she's not done yet. So many more things to do.

I used sharpie markers to draw out her face and just acrylic black paint for her hair. Notice how her arms have green and brown and blue? It's glimmer mist from Lindy's Stamp Gang. I wanted to give her nature colors since she's a girl in the garden. 

She still needs pantaloons or maybe just maybe I'll make pants instead. I don't know yet. I might even add a little hat. Not sure. We'll see.

Anyways, quote of the day on FB

It's so hard to forget the past, but when I read this I realized that I don't have to forget it. I have to think of what I did and what has been done to me and I have to take a lesson from it. 

In other words, instead of getting mad and holding a grudge just think of how you learned and what lesson you can get out of it. 

One major example is the abuse I had to deal with as a child. This taught me a lesson. Don't trust anyone, even if they are relatives. I will not forget the past, but I have gained knowledge from it.




Another one I seen today is this one:

It's really up to each and everyone of us what we want to do with our selves daily. We can be happy or sad. We can let our past dictate our future if we let it; or we can turn it all around and discover who we really are and what greatness we are capable of doing in this life. How we can help others and how we can help ourselves.

Till next time,

Love to all..

Wendylee

Monday, April 21, 2014

Sneek peek of dolly and early morning thoughts..

So far this is what she looks like. I have so much work to do on this doll. Not so happy with the mouth, kind of reminds me of thumbalina the frog lady and I don't want her to look like a frog. It's really not what I was going for.
I have an idea of creating dolls that care for a garden, since it's summer and I'm getting my garden ready for planting, I just came up with an idea of little dolls that take care of the lizards, butterflies and bugs of all sorts in the garden. So, we'll see how this goes.


  Anyways, on to another topic. I was reading this quote on FB. (I always read inspirational quotes because I think they are so cool) and it was this one.

I mean think about this. How many people actually "stay" in your life? When I think about my own life there are not too many who do unless they get what they want out of me and if they don't they leave. I have a really close friend who has never used me in any kind of way. I think God sent her to me because really I'm nothing special but she is and I really and truly trust her. 

I also came across this quote;


 My God this is so true! I never really thought about it this way though so it hit me like a ton of bricks this morning.

Last year sometime I started watching videos on YouTube about "The Law of Attraction" and in every video, all the people who talked about The Law of Attraction would say; "You attract what you think of". Ok this makes sense but I think of things that I never attract and that's because I don't act upon those thoughts. If I become what I want then I'll attract what I want. I have to be it in order to attract it. Example is wanting to lose weight. I think about it, I want it but it's not going to come unless I become the person who acts on it.I have to be that woman who exercises and runs, I have to just be it otherwise it's just wasted wishes. 

I also came across this quote:

 This is also very true. I think we all have to be so careful what we focus on and where we put our energy. 

Being human we can easily fall into temptation and make mistakes, but I think that's good because then we learn what we should and shouldn't do. 

I made a huge mistake today and replied to someone online who replied to a comment that I made about a post. This guy was hateful and I just gave it right back in a smart ass kind of way. I should've just ignored him because I think I really hurt his feelings. Even though he was a jerk, I'm sure he has feelings too. Next time I'm not doing that, I'm going to ignore anyone who does that to me. It's not worth my time, my energy, my happiness and most certainly not worth hurting someone else even if their intent is to hurt me. 

That's all I got.

Till next time,


Wendylee

Sunday, April 20, 2014

I have a new dolly pattern in the works!



I'm working on a new doll pattern. I have never in my life made a doll pattern to sell. I only make them for myself and even then I only use them one time. 

So far, lots of trial and error with sizing. I've done my homework and I know how to draft out an entire pattern from scratch. Hopefully I can get this done by the end of April.

till next time,

Wendylee

Spirit orbs in my back yard.

I don't know about you, but I've always believed in spirits. Whether they are good or bad I firmly believe they exist. 

Last night around 11P.M I took my dog Woody outside so he could do what he needed to do. I happen to have my camera with me because I was taking photos of some of my dolls last night in my craft room. So while I was outside I took photos just for fun and noticed right away that there were orbs. I thought my lens was probably dirty so I cleaned it and it wasn't my lens at all. The orbs continued to move as I was taking pictures.


Pretty cool. I don't feel they are bad at all. Maybe I'll be able to capture more on camera tonight!

Till next time,

Wendylee

Happy Easter 2014!


Here's my dog MingMing wishing you a Happy Easter this year! 

My significant other got me a cute Easter card this year as he always does. 

We sat down and talked about all the old memories of Easter and what we both did back in the day when we were not together. He was telling me about how he had always had a lot of family and friends around, it was a big deal for him. For me, not so much. My parents didn't bother with it. 

When I think about it now, I think of God and how he has risen. It is a big deal. I watch these programs on the Discovery channel and History channel about Jesus and His life and I cry. It literally gives me goose bumps to think of it so deeply. So, today I'm thinking of God and all the things I have gone through that I feel He has helped me out of. 

I can't say "Thank You" enough to God. He has a plan for sure. He has a plan for all of us.

Till next time,

Wendylee

My personal weightloss journey



I've been contemplating putting this information up on my dollmaking blog because it has nothing to do with doll making, but hey I'm human and there are so many more aspects to me than just doll making. So, I've made up my mind and I've decided to put up my weightloss journey as well. It's important to me and it's a huge part of my life. I mean why not? I know I'm not the only one going through this issue and maybe someone out there can relate to me..

I've been on a weightloss journey on and off for years. I lose weight, reach my goal only to gain it back again. I've got a major problem. The problem is binge eating disorder. If you've ever watched "Secret Eaters" on YouTube the people who are on those episodes are just like me. I'm someone who hides food and hides in places to eat massive amounts of food. Not really sure why I self sabotage but I do. I keep telling myself, "this has got to end" but it doesn't end. I start on a great path only to turn around and sabotage myself once again. So, what am I going to do about it? Read on..

Changes

I'm 40 years old now and I've noticed that certain foods make me sick. The foods that make me sick never made me sick before. For instance, if I eat cheese or drink cow's milk I get major digestive issues. Sure, I could be lactose intolerant but there are other foods that have no dairy in them that do the exact same thing plus more. 

POISONOUS FOODS LIST

These are just a few foods that make me super sick and I have to mention these foods because I don't think it's just me with this issue, I bet there are others out there with the same exact problem with these foods. 

  1. The first food is anything from the Special K brand. This includes but not limited to; Special K protein bars, Special K breakfast sandwiches, Special K cereals etc. Special k has the longest ingredient list I have ever seen in my entire life. It's pure poison and it's no wonder why I got sick eating that shit. The symptoms that I had were major diarrhea, stomach aches and nausea.
  2. The second is corn chips and potato chips. I used to eat these like crazy when I was younger but now they make me sick. I'm sure it's also due to the ingredients. 
  3. The third is anything with vegetable oil in it. 
  4. The fourth is almost ANYTHING processed. What I mean by processed is food that has been created by man in a lab coat. I don't mean rice or beans that have been through a food plant, washed dried and put into a bag. That's not processed to me. There IS A DIFFERENCE. Anything that has multiple ingredients and chemicals is pure and utter shit. It hurts me physically and I don't need to keep doing it to myself.
 
 So, I made some super serious changes lately that involve getting rid of almost all the processed food out of my diet. Yes, I'm a little bit miserable because I'm not used to eating so healthy but I'm sure I'll get used to it after awhile. I also started running again. I haven't ran since I was 18 years old. Granted, I can't run that far but I don't give up I keep going. My goal is to run one full mile without stopping. I'm sure I'll reach that goal. 

So, what do I binge on now??

Roasted vegetables at night..


It's true. I roast vegetables during the day and eat them when I want to binge. Also, I'll grab fruit as well, that's if I have a sweet tooth. More times than not the vegetables are enough. 

The veggies that I have here are:

little potatoes
green beans
baby carrots
red bell pepper
califlower
olive oil (2 tablespoons)
1/2 cup water
garlic salt
pepper

Roast at 425 for 30 min. with aluminum foil over top sealed tight. Take off the foil and then roast for about 25-30 min. more.

That's all for today. Will upload before and after pics later.

Till next time,

Wendylee

Dolly Chains



So, what is a dolly chain? I had this cray cray idea to incorporate crystals with some dolls. What I mean by crystals is actual stones with metaphysical properties from the earth such as rose quartz, black tourmaline, tiger's eye, so on and so forth. I wanted to make dolls for healing purposes. I posted these dolls before, but I finally finished the chains on them.


Granted these photos don't do justice. They are so much cuter and nicer in person. 

The doll with the polka dot dress has black tourmaline, rose quartz and tiger's eye. I created her to help with grounding and to protect against negativity. The tiger's eye helps with focus and the rose quartz is to open the heart to love others as well as yourself. The doll with the striped dress has rose quartz, clear quartz and other misc beads for color. I created her to help with loving yourself and loving others, learning to have fun and not take things so seriously all the time. We only live one time, may as well let loose and enjoy!

So, they are done and soon I'll be putting them up in my Etsy shop.

Till next time,

My favorite dollmaker of all time and other tid bits of my WIP'S

The not so personal diary of a dollmaker..

My thoughts for today..

My favorite dollmaker of all time is Nancy Latham


I first found her on YouTube quite a few years ago because I was searching for "handmade dolls" so I could see what others make and how they make their dolls. So I came across Nancy's videos and to this day, I STILL watch them from time to time. 

I love the fact that Nancy  uses so many different colors and her mind just goes completely wild when she creates dolls. She has no fear. What really surprised me is that she's not afraid to reach deep down and create with her darker side. Now that is a FEARLESS woman! (not to mention the creepy music she adds to her videos.. nice touch!) 

Anyways, I try to emulate the trait of being fearless because there are times I say "no, I shouldn't do that because people might think I'm crazy or weird."But quite honestly, who gives a damn what others think and say, I don't make dolls to appease anyone, I do it so I can be creative and "go wild" so to speak. If I don't do what I want when I make dolls then what is the point??

I think people worry too much about conforming to society and the way that society thinks. If we just follow our passion and desires to do what we want without giving a damn what others think then I think we then find our true selfs and we also find true happiness. I remember a time when I was told what I should and should not be doing with my life. I listened and I was miserable. I understand that there are times when you have to do what you have to do to pay bills and live, but that doesn't mean give up what makes you YOU and what makes you the happiest. There has to be time for that. 

So, anyways before I continue on with more rambling. I wanted to show a couple of projects I've been working on. 

The first thing that I've been working on is a shrine. It's supposed to be a place to pray and store your rosary. I went to the thrift shop and found this a couple of months ago. Someone hand carved this..

This is about 18 inches tall. I found it at a Goodwill and automatically thought of Immaculate Conception Mary, Mother Mary, The Virgin Mary.. etc etc. I don't know if the person who carved this had that idea or not but that is who I thought of immediately. So, I bought it and took her home to paint. Now she looks like this..

I read this story about Saint Bernadette at the Gratto and how she saw "Mary". Mary told her "I'm the Immaculate Conception". Saint Bernadette also reported that she saw a yellow rose on each foot. This story inspired me to make a shrine or rosary/prayer box. 

I had my significant other go to Homedepot to buy wood and make a box. This is a total mess right now but this is as far as I have gotten.

 
Once it's all done; all will be revealed. What a mess.. look at my steam cleaner in the back! ha ha! 

The next project is a doll that I originally wanted to make as an heirloom doll. I went to a thrift shop in downtown Prescott Arizona and found some vintage linens which included handkerchiefs and some cute lacy table doilies that you put on a table. There was a pack of them. I thought I could use them to make an old vintage looking doll. So I started creating that then I changed my mind because I was watching "Little Red Riding Hood" on the SYFY channel. I thought, why don't I just make her instead.. she's do much cuter; I mean seriously, the cape and long hair the basket of food she takes to her Grandma's house etc.. This is what she looks like so far..


I have so much work to do on this and this is not a very good picture nor is it a good angle. I had to leave it like this because her head is drying..

The bust part is a very small vintage pillow case that I just stuffed and sewed closed, the skirt are some linens that are shaped like place mats for a dining room table. There's some old vintage lace that I got from an estate sale. 

I went to a thrift shop today and found some perfect red fabric to make her cape with. It's just an old curtain panel but it's going to be perfect for the cape. I'm thinking blonde hair and blue eyes too.. It just looks more innocent that way, however I could change my mind.. as I always do.

Till next time,

Dolly XXXXXXX's and OOOOOO's

WendyLee

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Little updates, little dolls.


Is Doll Making easy?? It really isn't easy because it takes a lot of thought, concentration, trial and error etc etc.  I think people know that though. Everytime I show my work to someone they always say "That looks really hard to do". It's not like climbing up a steep mountain, or studying for a test it's just a lot of thought and concentration on what you are doing. You have to keep changing things as you go along, even if you sketch it out there's always changes.

I have this drive inside me where I just have to do it. I have to make dolls. For some odd reason I just have too or I'll keep on thinking about it till I make a move and start.


Some Tiny Dolls I've been working on..
 
Here's Patty the party girl.. Let out your inner 10 year old and have some fun.. I just have to put the chain on her and she'll be ready to be adopted.





Skyler the Scholar. Here to help you concentrate with your studies. Ya, she needs her chain too..



A couple of rag doll children. I got a free pattern online for the girl. I made the boy with the same pattern, I just couldn't leave the girl all alone.

(The boy needs the rest of his clothes.. Poor thing!)




Here's a little doll in a jewelry box, I haven't finished yet..

So, this is what I'm working on so far. I have another project going in the garage. It's a shrine and I'll upload that information in the next blog.

Till next time,

Dolly XXXXXXX's and OOOOOO's

WendyLee

Sunday, April 6, 2014

Writing my thoughts in this moment; just for today..



I've been really busy working on dolls and other items for my ETSY SHOP I'm currently listed on "vacation" there so I can gather and create what I want to create to put into my shop all at one time. 

I remember when I first put things in there and they went so fast. If this happens again I honestly won't be able to keep up with the demand. Handmade things do take a ton of time to make; that's the way the ball bounces..

Anyways, I was thinking about how I have such a creative mind that if I don't actually do what I'm thinking of I won't sleep at night. I'll just keep thinking of it over and over again till I actually put pen to paper, write it down, draw it etc. Honestly, I have so many ideas in my head that I myself can't keep up with it. The ideas come faster than my hands can produce! ha ha!

I created a journal, a binder if you will to collect my thoughts about what I want to make, just to see if this would help me. The thing is huge. It has paper in it where I can draw, places to put photos etc. I have to say it doesn't help me. It makes me feel worse; like I'm not doing things fast enough. I look over it and feel overwhelmed so instead of that I've decided to just try to block out other ideas while I'm working on a project. Of course I do write things down but I don't over think it anymore. 

YOUTUBE

There are so many "learning" videos on YouTube, it's great. I can't get enough of YouTube when it comes to that sort of thing. 

I recently found a few channels where they teach (yes, I said teach) you how to paint with water colors. I've been painting ever since. I also got a few items to help along such as a doodle book. I'm not such a good painter but it's super fun and takes away the stress so I do it anyways.


Speaking of Youtube I have my own channel and I haven't uploaded as of yet this year. I did remove my old videos to start the New Year fresh in 2014 and I've made some new ones that haven't been released. This year I turned 40, this year I'm supposed to be graduating and getting my B.A in General Psychology, this year I'm planning on getting a career not just a job and this year I'll be launching my ETSY SHOP, even though I opened it a long time ago I'm going to be keeping up with it and producing more dolls more frequently so I consider it a new launch so to speak. 

WEIGHTLOSS JOURNEY

This might not be the place to put my weightloss journey but really it's been apart of me for so long that how could I not mention it. 

I've been on a weightloss journey for years. Literally. The last time I lost a ton of weight and reached goal was back in 2007. I had my priorities straight and I was really super happy before I started losing weight. 

I know this might sound strange but I got divorced in 2007 and was so happy about it that I decided to join a gym and lose weight. I did it and managed to lose about 80 pounds. Oh my God did I look stunning; I bought new clothes and the whole nine. I got so much attention it wasn't even funny...

Then tragedy struck; back to back, two major things that happened to the point I lost touch with reality, fell into the deepest depression of my entire life. Suicide is all I thought about. I gained all the weight back because of what had occurred.

This is life people. But here's what I learned; tragedy will happen, not only will it happen but it will happen when you least expect it to. And when it does, don't lose yourself because yourself is all you have and all you will have. Yourself is the only person you will ever have with you 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Take care of yourself. Point blank. 

Anyways, I'm on a weightloss journey and I'm trying so hard to find some sort of balance in my life but it is hard and it's trial and error. I know this is a life change (Lord knows I've heard that a million times over) and I want to be able to live with what I choose to do with my life. In other words being on a diet doesn't work because eventually I will stop and go right back to what I had done before because essentially I didn't learn anything to begin with. So it goes..

Here's something that I created on my own today. No recipe just threw it together.



I call this my "Strawberry salad". I never really mixed fruit and veg before, but I love it and probably won't eat a salad without fruit ever again.

The ingredients are:

half a head of iceberg lettuce
Strawberries
dried cranberries
pinch of almonds
baby carrots 
and the juice of one cara cara orange (for dressing)


If you have not tried fruit and veg together, YOU MUST!

Till next time,

Dolly xxxxxx's and oooo's

WendyLee