Lovely Ladies

Yes.  A smidge creepy.  And perfect.

These came from Kathy at the M&M.  I had to have all three.  Dealer charge.  Thank you very much.

These are French and German "vanity" dolls.  Sometimes they are attached to a big wire frame "skirt."

I LOVE this ones flaming pink hair!  So unusual.

It's hard to see in these photos, but their eyes are so bright and so are their little red lips!

I adore how they all have a different pose.  Want. More. Now.

Not the best photo but this lovely lady hangs in my studio.  She is a French Boudoir fashion doll.  Her head is made of the same plastery/chalk/porcelain the others are but the rest of her body is blocks of wood linked together with metal loops.  Her hands and one foot (missing one) are carved wood.  Her costume is amazing old silk and net tulle with jewels and metallic trim.  Her eye makeup is so dramatic and daring!  Love. Love. Love.

These two bald beauties are my studio mascots, of sorts.  I found these in an amazing old antique store near Twin Falls, Idaho, out in the middle of East Ankle Scratch, and they called to me.  What's different about these is it doesn't look like any hair was ever attached.  Also, their bodies are all cloth and even have some embroidery on them, that I didn't do.  I think the bodies were made and added much later.  And, the pink bodied ones legs are attached on backwards so her feet face to the back.  Love that.  Yes, I dress these dolls.  Weird.  I know.  But I love little doll stuff so when I found the silver sequin and velvet collar, the silk pale blue cape, brooch from New Orleans, and depression era green dress, they had to be out, on display.  A girls gotta love a doll. 

I love me a doll.

I do, I do.

Family Friday

There are people who have money and there are people who are rich

- Coco Chanel

Garden Shed, I love you!

My garden shed.  You know, where the clippers, mower gas, and Spanish moss are stored!

Shed, I adore you.  You please me.  When you were brown, you were sad.  Now you're blue.  With some green.  And you are fun to look at from the kitchen window, all winter long.  You make me happy, garden shed!

You are adorned with my old broom-flying-witch-weather-vane piece that blew off the chicken coop and broke in a wind storm.  You have a vintage mermaid float attached to your eve, the twin of the one I gave Kirsten, after we found them 13 years ago in a thrift store.  Your good luck horseshoe came all the way from England when my best friend in fourth grade visited her grandma and brought it back for me.  Your galvanized bbq table turned potting bench delights me.  You are the best blue garden shed. 

I love the bird house next to you.

I love you blue bench, by blue bird house, by blue shed. 

I especially love you.  Old green rockerless, rocking chair.  A gift from my mama, 16 years ago.  When I was newly pregnant for the first time, young and secretly terrified.  Before your rockers were broken, you held me, rocked me, while I held him, rocked him.  My boy.  Now 15.  No longer rockable.  And you remind me.  That he is still my baby.  Still my little boy.  And I love you green chair.  You held me.