A recent completed commission, using some of the vintage indian cotton sent to me by my awesome mother-in-law. My husband made the charm from precious metal clay.

This is a restyle of a commercial doll, a Ty Girl into a gift for one of my dd's friends. Since I doubt that the little girl is reading my blog, I think it's safe to post. We are turning Rockin' Ruby into Elphaba from Wicked . So far I have inserted wire into the doll to make her poseable - much simpler to do than I feared. I opened the back seam where clearly the original stuffing was inserted and my plastic covered copper wire just slid straight in. Next we have used food coloring to color the skin (Jayn's notion) and I was pleased with how it didn't want to run and how economical it is - a tiny drop goes a loooong way. It worked best to use a "pouncing" motion with just a tiny bit on a somewhat stiff brush. Once dry I sealed it with workable fixative. It needed a couple of coats to stop it from coming off on our fingers. Now on to the costume, which we have determined will be sewn on permanently, so that is it more like a collectible doll.

I continue to excite ongoing interest in my plastic bag yarn ("plarn") baskets whenever I appear in public with them. Most people express interest in smaller sized bags, the base of which is a flat circle about 12 inches in diameter, with a depth of about the same, and a single longish handle (good for over the arm or shoulder) or two small handles. This is probably the most useful size, not just for toting stuff around, but also for home storage or as the base of a gift basket. They are strong, durable and conversation pieces. My design uses white translucent grocery sacks as the main body, and incorporates a contrast stripe trim near the rim. I use several at home to hold crafting supplies or projects, and others to transport my goods to craft fairs. Because of the very time consuming nature of making these baskets, I propose creating a waiting list for them. Here's how it will work: You will comment here indicating your interest in purchasing a basket. I will start mak...

In need of employment, I offered to create and edit a sub-blog at a crafting site. However they felt the interest in dolls was limited. But the idea of posting a daily bulletin highlighting the web doings of doll artists, collectors, and vendors still sounds interesting to me. So I am doing it myself. Please help my income by clicking through on ads there if they look interesting. My new blog is called Dolls:Crafting and Collecting and is at www.allthingsdoll.blogspot.com . If you have a site that you would like me to visit and possibly feature, please let me know by commenting, here or there.

Oh yeah. It's coming. Sign ups will start January 26th . The very first thing I made last February was....this blog.

Made from the pieces leftover from taking up the hems of Jayn's new fleece and yoga pants.

I've gone nuts for Ning social networks . I've joined two more in the last few days. I love how easy it is to customize my pages. My purpose is to publicize Iggy Jingles Crafts and events such as craft fairs, and the upcoming Parking Lot Sale , but it's fun. There are tons of special interest networks, even down to high school alumni or college sports team supporters. Now to discover how this Twitter thing works. Other than computer play, I'm spending my crafting time making plarn baskets (check back soon), helping Jayn with a special doll gift project (photos soon), completing the dolls for the Denver contest , and making more small purses for the sale Saturday. Friends advised me to make purses with long over the shoulder straps, so that is what I am doing. Always something to look forward too....stay tuned.

To celebrate the New Year I am entering a couple of contests. Well, one isn't really a contest so much as an opportunity to possibly be published. I have sent a couple of pictures of my plarn baskets to this book project, called Extreme Craft. If you do any kind of reuse or upcycle crafting I would encourage you to send in pictures. They are looking for completed projects, not step by step. But hurry! The deadline is January 5th. The second contest is a doll contest . The theme is Art Nouveau which is great fun. I am making two Dream Star Dolls with heavy encrusted beading and Erte inspired costuming. Whilst I doubt that such small dolls are likely to win any ribbons (although you never know), I do hope to enhance my visibility in the art doll world. I'll post pictures after the event is over. Happy New Year everyone, and keep on making and creating.