Doll Town marketplace! Buy my dolls here!

Grand Opening! Visit http://dolltown.ning.com/ hosted by Jane DesRosier. Of course she would come up with this amazing idea! Doll Town sprung out of the well-known Cloth and Clay Doll Group...a group of hundreds of international doll makers who have been making dolls together, sharing tips and techniques, and supporting one another in our doll making journey for several years now.

I will be selling my dolls here so please come by and visit!!! There are so many awesome artists here, you will not be dissapointed!

my little mexico, paper mache catrina, a year later and still no progress... boo!

This is May of 2010, made of newspapers and wheat paste, some elmers glue too. still in progress...















This is now.... I kept three of the Mexican bottles from the shower and placed them next to her, this is the little part of Mexico that I have in my home, some loterias, an ashtray bought in a trip to the pyramids, and now the bling bottles. I guess, Sally doesn't belong. I will find her another place at home.... on a side note, if anyone wants to try paper mache, mix half part water and half part glue into a container. Tear strips of newspaper and add layers to your basic shape made of , yes, newspaper! and masking tape to keep it together and make your basic form, then mold it with the layers of paper strips. Add 2 to 3 layers at a time and wait for it to dry then add more. Its very simple but messy and drys hard like paper clay, even harder I think. Fun project for the kids!!!

blue fairy ornament give away!!! A second chance!

If you wanted the blue fairy on the OWOH giveaway heres another chance to win it!!!! Just leave a comment. More chances of winning this time since fewer people will comment! I wanted to pick a second winner for the OWOH giveaway, but being that mostly everyone that commented was interested in the pink bunny I want to make sure my blue fairy went somewhere where she is really wanted and appreciated!!! My pink bunny ornament is going to Canada!!! Woo, I love Canada, can I come with? Lol! Anyway, winner will be chosen two weeks from today!!!! Good luck!!!!

bird nest ring and charm, some wired jewelry and industrial chic charms

some jewelry, the wired charms, nest ring and bird nest charm I made and wrapped myself... still learning, others just put them together, some charms from Industrial Chic, I love her jewelry, but I cannot compare. These were me just having fun.... still accumulating stuff... looking forward to opening my etsy store.... need to work on the pics though.... comments, suggestions appreciated!!!!

*•.¸★♥★¸.•*´*★*´*•.¸★♥★¸.•*´drumroll please..... *•.¸★♥★¸.•*´*★*´*•.¸★♥★¸.•*´

This was truly a great experience! I found so many lovely blogs and so many lovely blogs found me! But now, the winner of my giveaway is..... #45, I will verify that everything is accurate (no duplicate comments, etc.) and notify the winner. Thanks to all for your lovely comments!

And #45 is Lesley from Harmony Road Studio. Congrats Lesley. Please send me your address and I will ship this out this weekend.

xoxo ziggy

DIY hand dyed and crinkled ribbon

So I had this pink ribbon, and it was just so boring... I was working on some jewelry, like I said; I'm a jack of all trades, so I dabble a bit into jewelry making. I wanted to embellish a piece that I am working on with ribbon, but what I had, well... it just sucked. I wanted a more distressed, vintage look, so I checked out etsy and it turns out that I didn’t want to pay x amount of money for something I already had at home... or... could make at home, right, isn't that how we crafters always think? Lol. so, I said, hey, it can't be that hard! I decided to use whatever I stumbled upon and put it to good use ... food coloring and antiquing paint. I basically just poured a drop of blue dye onto a paper plate ... brushed a bit here and there on the pink ribbon, blue and red make purple, hence the color I ended with. I used my fingers to blend it, bad idea, duh! (use gloves if you attempt this. I had blue fingers for almost two days!)  I also used blue dye on a white ribbon and finished them by adding a bit of antiquing paint on it, then I razored the edges with an exacto knife to give it a distressed look. I crinkled them into a ball, tied them with a rubber band and trash ties (again, what I found at first hand) and let it rest overnight. I did test it the next day to see how the coloring would hold up and I think it will be ok for the use it will have....  I dipped it in a cup of water and the water hardly turned blue, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed! Unless its pouring rain, it will suffice for now, otherwise I will end up with a purple neck. Lol. I will buy some fabric dye or spray mist for this project on my next trip to the hobby store. For now I am content. I also looked on you tube and you can actually use sharpies for this??? Just as long as you don't sharpie your eyebrows paisanas... lol (mexican inside joke) Anyhow, If anyone has any ideas or advise please share!!!

before:

ball of ribbon.

fiesta time!!! decorated bottles and paper flowers

So heres how they turned out:

mexican bling bottles for table decorations!!! WIP

These are for a bridal shower at my school, her wedding has a Mexican theme so I thought these were a good idea. They will hold flowers made with tissue paper. We made a few but decided they are too big so we will try some smaller ones tomorrow. Just brush on the glue by sections and add glitter and there's the bling! Everybody loved these and they took us out of a bind because we had no clue on what to use for the tables centerpieces; and the shower is tomorrow! Its not hard, it is messy and requires lots of patience but its cheap and if you get organized it doesn't take too long. Hope you like!!!

and the Stylist Blogger award goes to....

Thanks Darlene from A Dancing Mango (http://darlenepringle.blogspot.com/) for this special award.  I am honored to receive this delectable award!!

It took me a while to get to this post again and comply with the requirements after receiving it... In receiving this award I must say ten things about myself that some of you don't know. So here it goes....

1. Over 30 years ago, my parents immigrated from Mexico to "the land of opportunity", something that I am thankful for, thanks to that we have had a good life, all my brothers and sisters are hard working professionals, we all have made a good living... my parents are both American citizens now and my father never stopped working not since the day that he arrived here, even after retirement. From him, I have learned to work hard, it always pays off...
2. I am proud of my Mexican culture, I love everything Frida, Day of the Dead and Pancho Villa... Viva la revolucion!
3. I am a rock and roll kinda chic... I love music, classic rock, indie and some punk and underground stuff.
4. I am thinking of getting my Art certification this summer to teach Art in Highschool... but I'm still hesitant.. I love my babies...
5. I secretly would like to learn to play an instrument... the guitar and take singing lessons.
6. It's a secret because my husband is a musician (as a hobby, he has a 9-5) he plays the guitar and sings in a band, and at some point I have made fun of him for not ever giving up his rock and roll dreams....
7. I am very non-traditional.
8. I have a 16 year old who wants to get a nose piercing... what? as non traditional as I am I still said no, why? don't know... still pondering on it.
9. I am starting my Masters  of Fine Arts program in the spring with an Art History emphasis.
10. I want to start a business one day soon... t shirt design... I think.
11. I hate cooking... oh I only needed 10, but this one is important... I REALLY HATE cooking!

Now.... I nominate the following Seven blogs for this great Stylish award. These blogs are all wonderful and interesting and have much to share with you.

1. Dawn from http://goldbettyboop.blogspot.com/  love her pendants!
2. Dawn from  http://dawnintheforest.blogspot.com/ lots of pretty dolls!
3. Novelda from  http://boldgenius.blogspot.com/ beautiful fairies found here!
4. Myra Rene from  http://mayrarene.blogspot.com/ more beautiful dolls here!
5. Gail from http://onefinepencil.blogspot.com/ lots of fun creative stuff!
6. Abigail from http://abigailscreativejourney.blogspot.com/   mixed media art and crafty blog!
7. Patte from  http://odd-dolls.blogspot.com/ who started me in this journey... she does not know it... thanks Patee... I made my first doll face with her creating a witches face tutorial.

Congrats to all of the above Blogs .. .I know you all have worked hard for this recognition.  I wish I could add more, there are so many blogs that I love besides these, but I will have to save those for a later date.

Now each of you please pick up your AWARD and post it to you blog, linking it back to me
and tell us ten things about yourself we did not know.. then choose SEVEN BLOGS of your choice. I know it is a busy time with the OWOH and all so take your time and post whenever you're ready.

♥  xoxo
ziggy

paper doll pattern ***

visiting throughout the OWOH i discovered there are many teachers blogging. i wanted to share some ideas for classroom decorations. these is a little something i make out of construction paper to decorate my bulletin boards. i change them for the season, i dress them or make new one based on the same pattern, once laminated, they can last a long time. i draw the mouth and add wiggly eyes, they turn out super cute and they save me lots of $$$ on decorations for the classroom. once you have the basic pattern you can get super creative and change them up however you want.  they are super easy and fun to make and i have gotten tons of compliments on them. if you scroll down to the end you can click on the pattern and print it. enjoy!!!!