I am a BoneSmith.

I'm back at it! I have all my tools OUT...and I'm having fun devising a ball and jointed head/neck and a movable jaw! I forgot how fun this Bonesmithing is! :)

A True Labor of Love

I absolutely love this doll!

Back in November I received a request to make one DEADutante doll with a long black gown holding some roses.

Thus began a journey into doll making that I didn't know I was going to embark on, but I'm so happy I did! 

Because the doll was to be taller than what I was used to creating, it changed EVERYTHING! All the little details were bigger now, and therefore more noticeable. I had to make everything BETTER.

The arms, the ribcage, and the head all had to grow....and I grew as a doll maker as well. 

I must have made 5 different heads before deciding on this one. Either the facial expression was wrong, or the size....but I think the one I settled on was the best choice.

I also put a tiny TINY little heart inside her rib cage. That alone took me a long time to accomplish! (Working with tiny things requires a steady hand!)

I really like her!

Please let me know what you think of my latest creation! :)

Skeleton Doll the DEADutante of the Ball by MelaniesMenagerie

Skeleton Doll the DEADutante of the Ball by MelaniesMenagerie

Do You Squidoo?

Hello Friends!

Not sure if any of you are familiar with Squidoo, but it's a rather interesting website where people create "Lenses" which are pages with a particular topic. As a "Squidoo-er" you can create as many Lenses as you like, and it's a great source to find out information about a particular subject, hobby, or whatever. Just another source on the Information Highway...

Anyway, the reason I bring it up is because I was contacted on Etsy by a very nice person named Shannon. She was making a Lense about skeleton cake toppers. She wanted to include my DEADutantes among the other skellies by other artists. So I thought I would share that link with you!

http://www.squidoo.com/skeleton-cake-toppers

It was cool for me to see all the other artists and their versions and visions of skeleton couples. It's nice to have them all together in one place too. It certainly seems like it would help someone find just what they were looking for.

The DEADutantes

Custom DEADutante Wedding

I finished a fun request I received for a wedding that will take place this November 1st...which also happens to fall on Dia De Los Muertos, also known as Day of the Dead.

The colors were black and yellow with just a touch of the Day of the Dead theme, so I included the sugar skull masks for the ladies to hold.

I tried to match the bride's dress as closely as I could...

There was a junior bridesmaid, and her dress was a little different from the other bridesmaid dresses....

There was also a pit bull named Millie in the wedding party.

This was my first DEADutante animal....

All in all, I had LOTS of fun creating this wedding party, and it's truly a joy to know that my creation will be a part of their big day. :)

I think they were meant to be together...

It was during the week when I found her....a puppet hanging behind the counter at a thrift shop. The store was having a $5.00 Bag Sale, which meant all you could fit in the bag would only cost $5.00.

So when I saw her hanging there, it was almost an afterthought to include her with the other items in the bag. No extra cost involved since the bag wasn't completely full anyway.

I'm not a collector of puppets....at all. I do like marionettes, but they've always been animals. But people puppets...they usually creep me out.

But this one was kinda cute.....and I thought maybe I could transform her into a Day of The Dead skull headed puppet, since she's got that Día de los Muertos vibe going on already...

So of course she was added to the pile of other STUFF I have accumulated, another project to work on sometime.

That weekend I went to a flea market (in a different town) and there was a lady that had 3 old marionettes....a jester, another that I can't remember, and this one that I purchased:

I think I paid $3 for it. The lady said that was "a good deal" and that the puppet was pretty old. I'm thinking since it has that "alfalfa" type face that it must have been made awhile ago...but I really have no idea.

It wasn't until I got him home and put him with the first puppet that I realized how strange it was that I came across these two similar puppets from two different towns in a matter of a few days.

Then I noticed how well they looked together...

Strange....but then again, puppets can be that way.

YES....the DEADUTANTS are back! I love them and I hope others love them too!

Okay....I'll admit: the Deadutants do stray a little from the norm. Especially from my normal CUTE and CUDDLY needle felted creatures. But there's a special place in my heart for these art dolls, and I just feel like there's got to be more people out there that feel the way I do. 

I must admit...I HAVE sold two of these scary cute dolls on Etsy so far....and I was SOOOO elated when I made those sales!  I put my heart and soul into these Fancy Females and when someone actually gives $money$ to me for them....I KNOW THEY LOVE THEM TOO!!!

It's not the money that drives me....it's the excitement of making a sale and knowing someone wants to give their hard earned money to have something I MADE. :)

Also, I spend hours on each tiny detail...so these art dolls are really a labor of LOVE. How appropriate for Valentine's Day, right?

This gal was created with Valentine's Day in mind. One of my favorite holidays, Valentine's Day always invokes really sweet and wonderful memories of my childhood. The colors and textures of Valentine's Day was, for me, was almost as magical as Christmas!

Well, I just wanted to introduce my little Valentine Sweetheart out there to the internet....and maybe a few people will see her. Maybe most will think she's strange, and just doesn't fit in....but I think I love