text: 11 ORGANIZED CRAFT SWAPS / The Swap Gallery / Halloween in the 11th Hour - GALLERY on: October 22, 2016 11:50:30 AM
  12 Craft Swaps / ARCHIVE OF SWAPS THAT ARE TOTALLY FINISHED / Halloween in the 11th Hour CLOSED on: October 14, 2016 11:40:23 AM
  13 MORE ART, LESS CRAFT / More Art, Less Craft: Completed Works / Fawn Ballerina Art Doll on: September 02, 2016 05:50:48 PM
  I made this for Nodsu in the most recent IYP swap. She is made with a variety of new and vintage bits (mostly new ). I had a lot of fun with this piece. Thanks for looking!
  I added a loop for hanging on a wall:
  14 PURSES, BAGS, WALLETS / Purses, Bags, Wallets: Completed Projects: General / Balloon Twisting Apron on: July 10, 2016 11:20:54 PM
  So, my honey and I are balloon twisters and a couple of weeks ago my sweetheart expressed wishing that he had a balloon apron for greater variety in our offering (being able to wander from our booth, etc.) Well, a quick search online will give you balloon aprons for a pretty penny so I opted to make my own. There are not any instructions online but through looking at a variety of photographs and deciding what our needs were that needed to be met I was able to come up with a plan. I did a lot of sniping and ripping and just guessing at what size felt right, but in the end I am extremely happy with how it turned out and my honey loves using it.
  Here he is trying on the apron after I finished it. (I brought it to the festival we wanted to use it at because I had some hand-sewing on snaps to do before calling it done.) The black strips at the top are removable with three snaps on each strips. There are ten Velcro sections per strip for bundles of twisting balloons. The sides have zippers so it is easier to load the apron. There are many pockets for rounds and pens and such as well as retractable cords for scissors and a pump.
  Here is the apron partially loaded. It worked so well I hope to make myself one eventually.
  I did not take many in progress pictures because it was a bit frustrating to figure out, making it up as I went along. But here are a couple...
  15 NEEDLEWORK / Needlework: Completed Projects / Captain Sashay on: July 02, 2016 12:20:06 AM
  I made this for my partner in the monster swap. This is Captain Sashay, one of the Minority Monster characters. I had never heard of these until this swap. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this web comic. Anyhow, Captain Sashay is a genderqueer merperson. I enjoyed making this but started making the stitches so tiny that I ran out time at the end, but had to keep the stitches relatively consistent. Enjoy!
  16 TOYS, DOLLS AND PLAYTHINGS / Toys, Dolls and Playthings: Completed Projects / Monster Bunny on: July 02, 2016 12:12:33 AM
  I made this for my partner in the monster swap. This is actually made from a super soft pink throw that I bought to craft with. It was hard cutting into that velvety fabric for the first time but it's done now!
  I made the details out of felt and added little dots of acrylic paint. I had a hard time getting this one away from my young girls (four and two). I must now make more.
  17 ORGANIZED CRAFT SWAPS / The Swap Gallery / Strange Doll Swap Gallery on: June 23, 2016 08:16:52 PM
  Strange dolls by artist Scott Radke.
  artsycandice <---> dessadoll
  cmarion3 <---> WiccadWitch
  emilywilde <---> Sarasmile
  LovelyMiss <---> JoyfulClover
  PromisedHeartbrk <---> pioneer9
  suereal <---> Ludi
  petskin <---> PerfectlyBohemian
  18 MORE ART, LESS CRAFT / More Art, Less Craft: Completed Works / Beistle Inspired Art Doll on: May 29, 2016 02:34:08 PM
  So, there are these fabulous vintage Halloween images that I had no idea actually a name! You should check them out here: Beistle. Thank you Pottermouth for that. I had never heard that word before seeing it on her questionnaire. So, I was completely inspired by them and made this doll for her in the Everyday is Halloween swap.
  The body beneath I stuffed with fiber fill. His limbs can bend, but won't hold their post. The shimmering costume is made from shirts I bought at a second hand store. The ribbon around his neck is a scrap piece I got from an artsy reuse center.
  With his mask:
  Picture by pottermouth
  Holding a little fabric pumpkin with a sculpted clay stem:
  His little snazzy shoes. I sewed on the teeny buttons that wrapped the ribbon around them.
  I didn't take an exact measurement but I think he is about two feet long.
  The mask easily goes on and lifts off.
  If you don't want to hide his face the mask can be hung from the pumpkin stem.
  His handsome profile.
  I sculpted the face out of Sculpey clay (the flesh colored oven bake stuff) along with his hands and the pumpkin stem. He is painted with acrylics. First I painted all parts black them used a little sponge to apply two shades or orange together. It allowed for some wonderful dimension to appear.
  You can barely see the wire hanger here for hanging him on a wall.
  I wish that I had taken progress pictures. You can't tell, but when I sculpted the head I added a large clay block poking off the top of his head. This is to have something better to glue the hat to. The hat is a piece of card stock with fabric glued to it. The buttons are sewn on but the trim is glued down.
  The buttons on his costume were a great find. They are plastic but the black centers are raised and fuzzy, like velvet. I was going to sew the on but the back protruded too far and made the buttons dangle down so I cut the backs off and used some heavy-duty glue on them.
  He was soooo much fun to make, I want to make more! Thank you so much for swapping with me. Your were a wonderful inspiration.
  19 Craft Swaps / ARCHIVE OF SWAPS THAT ARE TOTALLY FINISHED / Strange Doll Swap (S/U CLOSED; S/O 06/28/16) on: May 13, 2016 09:37:47 AM
  Swap name: Strange Doll Swap
  Sign-up date range: 05/13/16 - 05/24/16
  Date to send item by: Tuesday June 28, 2016
  You will make one strange doll for one partner . Your strange art doll might incorporate any of the following: fabric, clay, paper, metal, wood, etc.
  * There is a long crafting period for this swap, please check in at least once a week so we know that you are still crafting away. And, please post at least once before signing up to ensure you will receive notifications for this swap.*
  ** If you will not be able to complete your obligations please get in touch with me and your partner as soon as possible so an angel can be found **
  What exactly is an art doll:
  From this article, Art Dolls: Facts and Fancies, on Etsy:
  There's no hard and fast definition to be found for an art doll. They can be made out of almost any medium or several different media. They come in various shapes, sizes, styles, and designs. They can be very realistic or abstract with barely anything recognizable on them. They can be human, humanoid, anthropomorphic, alien, fantasy, sci-fi, or just about anything in between.
  From Wikipedia, Art Doll:
  Art dolls are objects of art, rather than children's toys, created in a wide variety of styles and media, and may include both pre-manufactured parts or wholly original works....Art dolls production demand a wide range of skills and technologies, including sculpting, painting, and costuming. They are often multimedia objects made from materials such as fabric, paperclay, polymer clay, wax, wood, porcelain, natural or synthetic hair, yarn, wool, and felt.
  These doll will not necessarily be kid friendly (you don't have to use safety eyes, can have wire hair poking out, etc.). So yeah, whatever you want to do, rigid or squishy, humanoid, or other. Your partner will likely influence the form and direction your doll takes. I am getting pretty excited about this one now.
  Here are galleries from previous doll swaps for your enjoyment:
  Junker Jane Style Doll Swap
  If you want to participate, please send the following information to the organizer: artsycandice
  Name of swap: Strange Doll Swap
  Do you have any size requests?
  * Only fill this out if you have a box or something that your doll needs to fit into, otherwise, leave it blank please. *
  Are there any allergens in your home? (pets/smoke/other):
  Do you have a Pinterest you could share for inspiration?
  * Please refrain from including extras. This swap is for one amazingly strange doll only. *
  20 MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS / Completed Projects / Balloon Sculpture on: April 29, 2016 08:17:23 PM
  Which is really just a fancy phrase for balloon twisting.
  In an attempt to stand out from the other balloon twisters at the local market I decided that we need to up the quality and offering of our work. So, Over the past couple of weeks I have been learning some new balloons designs. These are inspired by what other balloon artists have done but certainly have my own "stamp" on them.
  I learned four new flower designs this evening to make this awesome bouquet happen. I think I will offer it as a Mother's Day special. The bouquet includes, an iris, a daffodil, a rose, a daisy, and some sort of salvia.