If Anyone has Any Doubt that It's Spring

There are those who think that the last couple of days here on the east coast were a mere anomaly, a fluke. Well all I have to say is that you should come to my back yard. Last week rains served to provide my bulbs with a much needed drink of water.

And these April showers are indeed producing the most gorgeous May flowers.

I also suspect that the predicted rains of next week will do the same for the seed I hope to get in the ground tomorrow!

There is another reason that I know we have turned the corner. The resident papa goldfinch have put on there golden yellow coats and are devouring the Niger seed. And the robins and cardinals have been very busy gathering twigs to build their nests.

Also, I received a question about what kind of camera I used. It's a digital. Canon S3IS. It's a 35mm, auto focus with manual override. I LOVE IT!!!

I've also started on a new doll and have been working on children and adult "Retread Threads". More about that another time. I've been experimenting with armatures and my impatience is getting the best of me. I took some pictures to post and will definitely get to it this week. Wednesday is Opera day(last for this season). But other than that I should be able to squeeze out a post or two. Happy Spring.

Breast Cancer, Service Dogs and Spring

What do these 3 things have in common? They occupy a significant amount of my space in my cranial storage bank. So much so that there is limited amount of space for anything else. As a matter of fact, when I am consumed with anyone of them, I have to put the other 2 on a back burner. I can think about one of them and other less consuming things: walking, swimming, driving, what we're going to have for dinner. But when I'm full tilt into any of one of these areas, nothing else that requires thinking, can penetrate.

This is Amanee. She's named after Amanee Scott who does quite a bit of walking for a cure. I wrote about Amanee and you can find her here. You can also help her by contributing to her walk this year. She's a pretty remarkable young lady and this is her cause. She has accumulated quite a few miles over the past few years doing the 3 day walk. This does not include the mileage she racks up doing fundraisers throughout the year


I found the fabric for these dolls online at eQuilter. They have a full line of breast cancer awareness fabrics; and they also contribute 2% of your purchases to the charity of your choice. Take a look. These are the ones that I bought.

I got this one in pink not blue . I'm not sure if they still have it. I do like the blue and may go back for it.

I admired the work of Gilda Radner from the old days of SNL. Rose Ann Roseannadanna is a classic. Her exit appeared so sudden to me. Though I imagine it really wasn't. Was I preoccupied with other things? I remember being terribly sad and waiting for someone/s to do something. Something BIG. I'm not sure what I was expecting. Every time I see Gene Wilder in one of those old comedies I wonder how he is doing. How he deals with that loss. Even though it is many years later. It also seems like I have more conversations with folks who are spending a great deal of time at our local Gilda's House for one reason or another(their own illness or that of a loved one). Maybe Gilda's House is the big thing I thought I was waiting for. It is probably what she would have wanted and how she would want to be remembered. It may even be what gives her love ones a sense of peace.

This is Gilda's House:

...a symbol of her transformation:

and this is Gilda:

I used the same fabrics on Gilda's House. Her face and hands are sculpted from polymer clay. Her body is fiber. The skirt is a combination of paper mache and fiber dipped in paverpol over wire. The house I picked up at AC Moore (an unfinished birdhouse). Paint, beads, ribbons and a little llama's wool for hair were the balance of the ingredients that went together for this doll. I'm pretty happy with how both of these 2 dolls came out. I do think that I will change the ribbon used to tie the wrists on her blouse. We'll see...

And the Winner Is...


Cindy Celusta at Oops! Desperate Blogger has won this doll and her companion in my giveaway as a part of One World One Heart Blog Event! The irony is that Cindy happens to be a dollmaker also!





If you haven't heard of the One World One Heart Blog Event hosted by Lisa Swifka at the A Whimsical Bohemian, then do yourself a favor and jump on over tothis site. All of the 900+ bloggers who participated are still posted. And you will find that there is a diverse group of artists from all mediums represented. All of them very talented and all very interesting.

WHAT A BLAST

I don't know about anyone else but the past month or so has been a real blast for me. I have had the opportunity to meet the most gifted, talented and generous people. I explored the beaches of Hawaii (thank you Concetta @ Cetta Cheese Chatter), and delved into the wonderful world of Anime (thanks to Ichigo Fields Forever). My palate has been introduced to the wonders of extraordinarily delicious recipes like the spicy Thai Fish Broth over at An Aerial Armadillo, and a fattening Lamington sponge cake dipped in chocolate and coconut (Like the Paisley girl, I'm no fan of sponge cake. But by substituting, a slice of pound cake... OMG!!!) And my next challenge is going be tatting, thanks to the Tatting Chick.

Tomorrow I will announce the winners of my blog giveaways. Since it is Thursday, I will be visiting my grandsons and my daughters (we have a standing date). But on Friday I plan to share with you some more of the highlights from my experiences on the gypsy caravan. There were many 3am excursions. It was an experience that I will not soon forget. Cyber space and virtual travel can be exhausting. I think that I visited almost all of the 900+ blogs. And, those that I missed I will be visiting within the next week or so. Kudos to you Lisa. A tip of the hat, and my open heart goes out to you~

TIMES UP FOLKS

ONE WORLD, ONE HEART BLOG EVENT

WELCOME WELCOME WELCOME

I missed this last year, but was determined to get in on time this year. it's the "One World One Heart" great blog event. It's the third year that Lisa "Oceandreamer" Swifka has hosted this event. For more information about it head on over to this site: One World One Heart. You'll find out about this wonderful event and it will also point you to the 400 plus bloggers who are participating.

As a part of this event each of the bloggers participating is offering a gift to at least one person selected from those who leave a comment on their blogs. As for me, I am offering one gift for every 100 comments left on this site. There are others who are awarding multiples also. I will use a random number generator to select the individuals.

It's a great way to meet new folks and see the great blogs out there.

So, what am I giving away? DOLLS!! What else? These are some that I am working on now. I will pot the give away dolls later on this week. The drawing will be on February 12th. at midnight (Eastern), so I'm cutting off entries at midnight February 11th

So, leave a comment, and make sure you leave contact info. You can enter even if you don't have a blog. Just leave an email address. Now get over there to Lisa's site so you can visit some other sites!

I really am glad that you chose to visit my blog. I hope that you will come back again soon!

Originally uploaded by adilah5

His name is Nathaniel Bowman DePalma


We have a new addition to our family. On November 14, at 7:46am, weighing 7lbs. We are all pretty excited(and a bit tired). Everyone is whole and healthy and we are quite thankful for that. He's pretty dreamy, huh?

A Gift for Big Brother

Recently I found a new product on the web that was just what I needed. I wanted to make a book for my grandson, who is 2, make sense out of the arrival of a baby brother. There are a number of children's books available (I purchased quite a few) as did other members of the family, but none were exactly what I was looking for. I wanted for him to be able to really see himself in it.

Most of the products I found to be too limiting. There was not enough variety in layout, not enough variety in background paper... I suppose I could have opted for some of the professional tools. But, since I was not looking to do mass production or publish for distribution to the masses, I didn't need the cost or time associated with a massive production project.

Inkubook fit the bill perfectly. Now I don't have any affiliation with this company. I did get a free promotional copy for trying it out and inviting a friend, but so did 100s of other folks. You might get one also if you find your way there soon.

Anyway. Take a look at what I got:








I was so pleased with how it turned out. Actually it is close to 30 pages. His father read it to him when we went to the hospital with him to meet his brother.
























If you are looking to create a special project that uses photographs to tell a story, consider using it. I must confess that it takes some time. But the results is well worth it.If you're interested here is the link. Inkubook

New Dolls!!

Well, I've taken a challenge and will actually be selling some of my dolls for the holidays. I've been working pretty hard and am just a wee bit nervous. Please have a look see and let me know what you think. I'll try to post some more as I complete them. I'd really appreciate your thoughts:

This is... Elfin




He's a goodies snatcher. You have to constantly check his hands for snacks. He has really been fun to work on. He's a one of a kind sculpted guy (head hands and feet). I just love his toes. His body is soft wrapped with a wire armature so he can be positioned.




He's done except for some finishing stuff. He's been begging for a hat. I need to work on it!









Would you like to Swing on a Star?

Another OOAK sculpted face , soft cloth body, hands and feet, and a wire armature. I just finished working on the star that she will be swinging from.




One Cold and Snowy Winter Night, Dianna...


This is actually a night light which I made from a lantern that I found. My wonderful husband took care of the hardware construction. It was challenging, but he got the job done. The light is an led which is in her body. There is a scene constructed in the bottom and I cut blue glass for the windows.

This is how the bottom looks with the light on and the door closed.

This is how it looks with the door open.

There is large glitter. Rox stuff on the back windows. A Tree made of air dry clay and lots more snow.

I think you can see where the night light is in this shot. It's actually embedded in her body at the top of her in her skirt.

Spirit of the Ginkgo

I have been working on this piece for awhile. I've been connecting to trees... My father had a favorite tree. It was in front of our home. When he purchased the land, (which was much earlier then he had money to build a home), he marked the trees that would remain when the property was clear. He also determined which street the house would face. It was a corner property. During the later years of his life, he talked of how he marked his days with the life of that tree. The tree is gone now, and so is my father.

Although my father's tree was not a ginkgo, she (this ginkgo spirit) has been on my mind for some time. I have a few more waiting, so I really have to get this one done soon. As you can see she's a pretty big girl. She's approximately 24". She's all polymer and apoxi, with acrylic paint, pearl ex powder and chalk for color. I sealed her with PymII. Tomorrow she WILL get completed. Thanks for having a look.


Here is what the University of Maryland website has to say about the ginkgo:

Ginkgo biloba is the oldest living tree species. A single tree can live as long as 1,000 years and grow to a height of 120 feet. It has short branches with fan-shaped leaves and inedible fruits that produce a strong odor. .

Although Chinese herbal medicine has used both the ginkgo leaf and seed for centuries, modern research has focused on the standardized Ginkgo biloba extract (GBE), which is prepared from the dried green leaves. This standardized extract is highly concentrated and seems to be clinically more effective in treating health problems (particularly circulatory ailments) than the non-standardized leaf alone.

Canine Partners for Life
(People who are making a difference)

Earlier this month the Manning/Bowman/DePalma clan took a field trip with Fenix to Canine Partners for Life, and I have been on cloud 9 and making pins ever since! What an incredibly selfless and caring group of human beings. We were all in awe. Here are some photos that I took that really don't do justice to the experience that we had. But, take a look...