Thursday, March 27, 2008

An Oriental Touch by Ruth Nock


This beautifully lighted Asian diorama, An Oriental Touch by Ruth Nock, sold for over $150 on eBay last month. This room-box was designed in 1982. I simply adore the intricate working chandelier!

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Willowcrest by Robin Carey

Seeing how much I loved the stonework on her previous houses, Robin sent me photos of the Willowcrest she had made for Dean Roberts from Greenleaf. The Willowcrest is one of my favorite Greenleaf kits because of its architectural details, and Robin's meticulous brickwork makes this one so very special!

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Animal Auctions by CraftersStudio

Happy Easter everyone! Today I'd like to share these beautiful little animals by CDHM Artisan Susan Cobb. I was checking out the Artist's Offerings section last night on eBay and first stumbled upon her Raccoon, then a Rabbit and then finally a tiny Sugarglider.

All of her items are hand-crafted without the use of molds, and come straight from her imagination. They are full of wonder and whimsy and they look real.


eBay Auction ID: 320230844499


eBay Auction ID: 320230460501


eBay Auction ID: 320230294433

After finding these auctions, I headed over to Susan's CDHM gallery as I hadn't visited it for a few months and really, it's just wonderful.

Here are some of the unique mini animals she makes:









She also makes OOAK (one of a kind) character dolls!





You can check out more of Susan's work at her CDHM gallery
http://www.cdhm.org/user/crafterstudio

Sunday, March 16, 2008

My Princess Suhana

Princess Suhana: as dazzling and regal as the star that is her namesake. She is an incomparable beauty of the Orient, dressed in Indian brocade and exotic jewelry. Her wrapped dress, draped in the style of a sari, is made of a chocolaty plum silken fabric shot with gold: an intricate floral design woven on the achal. Her jewelry is accented in faux turquoise. Her hair is arranged in a braided chignon, but most of her thick shimmery copper curls flow freely about her shoulders.

In Hindi, Suhana means beautiful; in Arabic, it is the name of a star. Princess Suhana will grace a Persian Harem as befittingly as she would an Indian Palace.

I had a wonderful time making this doll, but the journey has been strange to say the least. When I started out, I was quite set on making a blond beauty wearing a Regency styled gown. I had even set aside the goldenrod chiffon fabric for the dress, and made yellow polymer clay roses to make into a bouquet. But when the doll was ready to be adorned, it was almost like she insisted on wearing a different dress: very much like the princess she is! I had been saving this fabric for later, but had to give in. She preferred copper curls to blond that I had in mind for her. And she had to have all the jewelry: even the anklets although they are normally covered up by her long skirt.