I needed a less ‘mommy’ picture for an upcoming project and ended up with a few that I liked – I also wore a new upcycled necklace.  This necklace incorporates vintage buttons, fabric from an old skirt and some chain I bought at a thrift store.

I love Jane Austin and this is my version of a period costume.  She is an art doll I displayed at an Embassy Art show this last weekend.   I call her Still in Rags.  Her outfit is complete upcycled upholstery and drapery fabric.  I did a lot of hand sewing to fit it to her and add the wonderful ruffles.

Upcycled Art Doll

I also used my heat gun to melt the fabric into the interesting shapes in her skirt.

I’m struggling with my holidays this year… I totally forgot about Father’s Day and then convinced myself that it was earlier in the month – yeah a self-induced panic attack.  So when I didn’t have anything for my sweetheart I had to get a little creative.  This year he got something more handmade.

I got the idea from those creative folks over at Cart before the Horse (Dylan and Jo) and did a little cheater quilt of my own with my girls silhouettes.  I painted on muslin and then used some old flannel blankets for the batting and jeans for the backing (seems to make it sturdy).

Each picture was transferred from a photo and a little black and white work in Adobe Photoshop.  I did a pencil outline and then painted with charcoal gray.  After painting the silhouette and frame I did some hand sewing to quilt all the layers together.

This was so fun and I loved the way it turned out so well that I’m planning a few more.

So we finally found an answer for our littlest one’s diaper needs and our pocket book.  We’ve moved to cloth diapers, and we found a great source on Etsy.  Her shop is called QTBUNNS.  We did a custom order for our little girl and I am a convert.

QT’s Diapers are made by Shariee Wisdom a work-from-home grandmother in Anchorage Alaska.  We found her on Etsy after a very unsuccessful foray into another .com’s idea of cloth diapers.  The other company’s diapers were $60 for 3 of them… We felt like that was quite an investment for something we weren’t sure would work.  So I went shopping on Etsy.

Shariee has a great feedback rating and has made hundreds of sales, so we felt comfortable making the leap.  Her diapers cost from $7 to $11 dollars each, depending on the baby’s size.  We got them in good time, even through our APO and they are fantastic!  Washing and drying instructions are included, and easy to do without trouble.

Shariee’s diapers are “made with elastic leg gussets and an adjustable waist, with velcro closures to ensure a snug fit as your little one grows.
Each diaper has an outer layer of flannel material, durable for washing and attractive for style, and an inner layer of flannel that sits softly against baby’s skin. Inside, a thick inner layer of terry is sewn securely in place for absorbency, and a layer of PUL (polyurethane laminate) offers hidden waterproof protection.
All diaper orders include a soaker liner that is firmly attached with a small strip of velcro, yet easy to remove for washing. Soaker liners are made with two outer layers of flannel and two inner layers of thick terrycloth.” (from QTBUNNS diaper description)

My daughter doesn’t get diaper rash and they hold so much without leaking or ruining her outer clothing.  The flannel is holding up well to the washing and the velcro is nice and strong, the elastic around the legs is also good (no leaks).  We are so impressed, and feeling dumb for not making the move earlier.

The magazine is out.  I love the photos that Stampington took and included, the doll looks so nice!  I was flattered to be asked to include the doll in the Artist’s Emporium as well.  If you’d like to purchase her and make a nice donation to Art for Heart a portion of the proceeds will go to charity.

Thank you all for your visits, your kind comments, I feel very blessed.

It’s fall here in Brazil, we’re getting colder at night and still I just can’t accept it.  With Easter just a week or so ago I can’t seem to reconcile myself to this side of the Equator.  So in my home it’s spring and we’re making little pastel houses and decorating eggs with vintage trim.

The little houses are upcycled cardboard with vintage lace.  I’m still at work on the birds who will live in these sweet little homes.

upcycled wildlife

In our backyard we have all kinds of butterflies.  But for my girls they never hold still quite long enough.  So I’ve been using our old aluminum cans to add more butterflies into their lives.

WARNING – cutting aluminum is dangerous, I use a pair of leather gloves.  Also, we keep them in sight but out of reach, they are too sharp for little fingers.

Guess what, I’ve gotten some great news lately and my upcycled geisha doll will be appearing in Art Doll Quarterly’s May 1, 2009 issue. I just can’t wait!

Art Doll Quarterly is published by Stampington & Co. and I love, love all of their books, in fact I’m really excited about their Green Craft magazine that will come out in late Summer. Have a look at the site and if you’ve got green crafts to share, send them in!

vintage market find

In my recent vacation I got an opportunity to visit my brother and his wife in NY. They were kind enough to humor me for a few days and we did a great little open market antique fair.

I’m still not the type to drop too much but there were some great tapestry purses and furniture that would have been wonderful, if I thought I could have fit them into my luggage.

But one thing I did have some space for was some silver plate spoons. As an expat I’ve gone ga ga for Americana and found this great, if tarnished spoon at the fair. It’s already found a prominate spot here back home in Brasilia.

I think I’ve found my theme, I love the spoons I found and in all I spent $3.50. We won’t talk about the boxes I had to mail myself from Colorado, at least not yet.