Winter Extravaganza and Other News!

Wow, what a crazy few weeks!

I am still working on catching up with all of the lovely items I'm making, but there are a few life-altering things going on around here (that I'm sure I'll tell you about, soon, but first I have to see if they work themselves out, first).

Are you ready for Christmas? I know I am (especially a vacation!)

In the meantime, a few announcements!

1. DOLL BALL SWAPPERS! Don't forget, the DEADLINE to have your doll into the post is DECEMBER 6th (it WAS December 5th until someone pointed out to a certain *ahem* ninny, that Dec 5th is SUNDAY). If you have fallen behind and can't send the doll out on time please let YOUR PARTNER and me know, most folks are very understanding of "life getting in the way."

2. ALSO, SWAPPERS, if you'd like your doll and work profiled, PLEASE SEND A PICTURE OF YOUR DOLL TO ME BEFORE DECEMBER 10th at: beyondvagabond@gmail.com. We will have a huge doll parade on DECEMBER 10th!

UP NEXT ~
Vagabond Creations will be hitting this blog over the next week or so. I will be selling NOT only dolls, but other art AND some wonderful items of my own, since I need fewer items in my life, and MORE pennies for my new adventures (which go back to the whole "life-altering" secret which I will tell you about later, mwahahahaaaaaaaa!)

SO, stay tuned here TOMORROW:
{click to enlarge}

See you here tomorrow, Lovelies!

Art Doll Friends, MF TOY SHOW, and more!

Squirrel Doll by Carisa Swenson, MF Toy Show 2010

Alright, now that Halloween is out of the way, I can update you on some of the more recent things going on over here, and it’s been quite a ride!

First, this past Saturday, I had the chance to join up with a BUNCH of dollmakers! It was a doll artist extavaganza, I tell you! The MF Galleries was holding it’s annual toy show, one I’m told has been going on for 8 years (how come I didn’t know about this? Oh yeah, THESE dolls were a bit twisted, while mine are…well, more cute and fluffy!).

As proof, the show hosted some of the more daring artists I know! Sheri DeBow and Jacqui Gallant are fellow Art Dolls Only members, while Carisa Swenson is a fellow New Yorker and online friend. I also met Jenny Alcantara, of SanFrancisco and Christine Benjamin of San Jose, CA.

AND IF THAT WEREN’T ENOUGH…I would be traveling with friends, and respected art dolls artists, to the show. DanI Nelson is the powerhouse behind Spookytime Jingles, and Marie Patterson is a STJ member and ADO member to boot…and sweet friends of mine. I also met Tracy Nuskey-Dodson, a wonderful collage artist and painter. All three of us would be taking a subway over into Brooklyn, where the MF Gallery was located.

Now, since I was the “local” and the designated tour guide, I printed out the directions, which was simple enough. And indeed, while we were on the train, we got there in good time. But once we got off, the directions were muddled, at best, and we soon found ourselves wandering in a big circle.

Not all of this was bad, as we soon found ourselves on a rather enchanted block, where Christmas lights were already up on the streets (click to enlarge pics):


And Christmas music was being pumped out by some unseen speaker, filling the streets with wonderful old-time Christmas tunes (I have to admit, I might have swayed a bit to the music, out in public).

Of course, being the fun and crazy doll people that we were, we had to stop so DanI could change her shoes into fancier heels. For the show. Out on the street:


I tell you she’s a wild woman!

Anyhow, it eventually became apparent that we would need a cab, and after hailing one, we eventually found ourselves waaaaaay out “in the boonies” where the gallery was located. While it was a rather unfortunate location, the gallery itself was lovely!

AND…we FINALLY met our art doll friends IN PERSON! It was a whole PASSEL of doll artists in one room!

Here they all are!

from Left to Right:

Carisa Swenson of Goblin Fruit Studio
Sheri Debow
Tracey Nuskey-Dodson
Marie Patterson of Marie Patterson Studio
Jacqui Gallant of Odd Dollz
Dani Nelson of Ambitions Design/Spooky Time Jingles
Jenny Bird Alcantara of Jennybird Art

And here’s another picture:

LEFT TO RIGHT:

Christine Benjamin of CBIllustration, Carisa Swenson, Tracey Nuskey-Dodson, Marie Patterson, Jacqui Gallant.

NOTICE the wild-haired girl who snuck in, at the far right!

Here is Sheri, standing next to some of her amazing dolls….



Here is Carisa, next to her wickedly good rabbits….



Here is one of Jacqui’s twistedly cute dolls:


There were plenty of other artists, too. I love these evil sock monkeys!



Alas, I was so busy talking shop with all of my art friends, that I didn’t really get a chance to photograph as much of the amazing art as I’d have liked. But it was quite an amazing night! I loved meeting everyone.

NOW--other news!

Some time ago, I participated in my friend Nicole Johnson’s Mealy Monster Land monster giveaway (by the way, Nicole is the head of our Art Dolls Only group!)…..and I was lucky in that I WON one of her amazing monsters! I love her dolls!

So yesterday, I hopped on over to the post office and got THIS LITTLE GUY:

He appears to be a Christmas MealyMonster. He has a doll in one...umm..tentacle, a bear in the other, and a candy cane in a third, behind his back!

I don't know how Nicole does it...these details, like the button eyes, are very SMALL. The claywork is fantastic!

Isn’t he a gem! I love him in all his grumpy-evil-cuteness!

THANK YOU NICOLE!!!!!

FINALLY-- art!

I know I had mentioned in my previous post that I would have art for you by now. In fact, I seem to do this often and am observing my life makes it VERY difficult for me to do art. Take one girl who works 12 and 13 hours for 5 days, and who is VERY slow at painting, and you have a recipe for disaster. Or, at least, a lot of unfinished art lying around, to the point I almost want to call my art “The Unfinished Art Brigade.”

Anyhow, this weekend will be a small reprieve in the art making so I’ll be putting the art up as I get it together, starting Friday and going through to Monday (or later!), so please bear with me because there are ornaments, dolls and possibly pin-cushions for Halloween and Christmas involved!

And, this also brings up yet another subject--there are a few life-altering decisions sitting before me, so I’ll keep posted about all of the exciting and insane developments as the happen!

Until then.....

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Halloween 2010 Part II

Hello again, Friends!

So today is the second part of the Halloween Mayhem this past October. Part ONE is HERE, if you are interested in cooing over a very handsome little man, and reading of the the Pumpkin Festival travails in New York City.

Today's post happened on Halloween proper, Sunday. If you're anywhere near New York City, the place to go is the Village Halloween Parade, one of the oldest and largest in the country. Thousands of people attend this festival yearly, and it's been big enough to be featured on the Sci-Fi channel, and elsewhere. I covered this festival last year as well, and I've gone almost every year for a decade now. You can read about the Halloween madness LAST YEAR, HERE.

Anyhow, I usually dress up as a witch for Halloween (don't ask me why, I've always loved the old Victorian witches and those sort of old fashioned costumes that they seem to invoke: lace, belt buckle shoes, big dramatic hats), but this year it was time to go as something different!

TA-DA!

Yes, it's Zan the Geisha. You can thank my sister for spending two years working in Japan, and sending me all sorts of beautiful things years ago.

Anyhow, after I got my outfit on, it was time for me and a certain someone significant to go off to the Village Parade.

I have to say, it was much less attended than usual, which surprised me, but Mr. Significant Other pointed out that it was Sunday, it was cold (and it was!), and that economic times probably all contributed to a lower turn-out. Nevertheless, a "low turn out" in New York City is still A LOT of people!

And of course, there was so much madness to see! Tons of people in various crazy costumes and accessories! New Yorkers can never be accused of NOT being dramatic!

Here are a few photographic highlights (click to enlarge):

Tops of stores decked out in Halloween finery....

These skulled adorned the top of a car...that curiously looked like the "ghostmobile" from Ghostbusters!

Folks in interesting HATS.....

Yes, the one in polka-dots IS a dog...

And really cute kids in really cute costumes! "Excuse me, young man, but isn't it waaaaay past your bed-time?"

Probably one of the most interesting bits of "Halloween paraphanalia" that I've seen in awhile. I don't know what's scarier, that someone went out with this, or that I thought it would make a really COOL purse!

Of course, let's not forget the parade, itself, made up of all sorts of crazy and interesting floats..

A giant snake puppet, commandeered by several volunteers. This is one "character" that shows up year after year in the parade...

Parts of the "skeleton crew," also known as the "Dias De Muertos" section of the parade....

Look at these outer space creatures!

And, of course, the revelers themselves, joining in the parade...

....all of which made this Halloween Girl VERY HAPPY!

UP NEXT! NEWER NEWS! Meeting some art doll friends at a Gallery show this past weekend! And some new DOLLS and ART! All coming your way!

HALLOWEEN 2010: Part I

Hello Friends!


How was your Halloween? If you’re like me, Halloween IS the official holiday of the year, and I’m the sort that draws it out through several days (or--*ahem*--apparently over a month on this blog!), so it helps that Halloween fell on a weekend day! If you don't believe me, check out LAST year's THREE DAY posting: HERE, HERE, and HERE!

Here’s a slice of the fun Halloween bedlam this year:

Saturday: One of my best friends, her husband, and her baby, decided to go to a free event in Central Park. For those of you who aren’t aware, Central Park is one of the largest and oldest parks in NYC. Over a hundred acres, it sits smack in the middle of Manhattan, and is filled with all sorts of fun things to do recreationally. If you’ve been following this blog long enough, you’ll have seen me post about it HERE.

In this case, there was a Pumpkin Festival, specifically geared towards family and children, but I wanted to tag along because they advertised it as an old fashioned country type event with a “pumpkin patch” and “hay rides,” and you know my inner farm-girl wasn’t about to pass it up!

In any case, baby Rob Junior, only a year old, was dressed up as Chewbacca (yes, the wookie from Star Wars!), and here he is with his cute costume, in the stroller:

(click pics to enlarge)

Isn't he adorable?

And yes, I wanted to squeeze his cheeks for all of that cuteness!



Anyhow, when we got to the park, it was MAYHEM. THOUSANDS of people and their children were there. More people than I could imagine! It probably had something to do with the fact that it was a FREE EVENT.

Hundreds of costumed kids, in all sorts of cute and clever outfits, dispersed madly throughout the park. They, and their parents, seemed to take this event seriously:

I don't know....they could be dressed up for Halloween...but since this is NYC, these COULD BE their NORMAL outfits!


I am hoping that one of this girl's parents is under there!

There was also an entertainment area and farmer’s fair in one section of the park, where entertainers and vendors of all things Halloween mingled:

I juggling, unicycle riding skeleton....

Pumpkin Carving:

Yes, this is a real pumpkin. Yes, it’s just a weeeee bit bigger than your average gourd:

We eventually wound our way throughout the acreage, to the VERY LONG LINE that would eventually lead us to the Pumpkin Patch:



I imagined beautiful pumpkins on green hills in the park. What we got was…ummm…a bit more different, a bit more city-like. The pumpkins were placed all around the concrete section s of a fountain area of the of the park. As were hay bales. To some degree this made for “atmosphere” but honestly, it felt less than bucolic to me. That and the fact that TONS of children crowded into this small space, screaming, and grabbing and kicking at pumpkins. Even little Rob wasn’t into it; he really didn’t smile and looked rather concerned….

Not the greatest pumpkin portrait in the world....

Mommy steps in to make it all better....

We did eventually get him into the spirit of things, but I don’t know if I would go through those maddening crowds for an event like this again!

Daddy gets baby Rob to smile!

I will say, the children's costumes were cute...


And I DID enjoy this innovative idea of putting pumpkins in the fountain....



Later that day, I rushed home to finish cooking for my big Halloween party. Every year, I host one of these shindigs, a big party with tons of food and friends in costume. It’s usually a low key affair but it’s friendly and fun.

Besides my friends coming...


...there was another familiar face, in yet another cool costume!

Little Rob, "Man About Town!"

And that was just DAY ONE of the Halloween Extravaganza!

Up NEXT: Part 2, where Zan transforms herself into a GEISHA, and heads out to the Village Parade!

WOWSA! Back from the Beyond, and a Prize Winner!

Holy smokes everyone!

What a crazy past few weeks! I’ve been lost in both the cyber world (the computer crashed and stayed down for almost two weeks) and the real world (can we say a new 12 hour work week?!)…..

So I apologize for not finishing up my monthly Halloween roundup, but I’ve now returned (crossing fingers no other crazy “life moments” happen!) to finish up the Halloween Carnival. Because, you know, I LOVE HALLOWEEN. Hopefully you had a great Halloween, too.

Before I get into today's CatchUp Posting, a few announcements:

1. Holiday Ball Swappers--you have roughly a little more than TWO WEEKS to get your doll in the mail! Remember! Dolls must be postmarked December 15th to your partner!
****ALSO, PLEASE SEND PICS of your FINISHED DOLL if you want me to put them on display on this blog, BEFORE DECEMBER 10th!

2. Some time ago, I put this Victoriana Halloween matchbox prize up in one of these Halloween Giveaways, but I never explained how to win it.


I've decided to give this to one of you who was consistent in posting throughout the Halloween Carnival, up to date, and who hasn't won a prize already.....and that person is:

Jeanne of Wildwoods Studio!! Jeanne, email me your address at beyondvagabond@gmail.com AND CONGRATS!!

Ok.......
Anyhow, I believe I last left off with ADO’s Halloween dolls. While this may seem pointlless at the moment, I know there are some of you who LOVE Halloween Dolls, even as Christmas gifts, so here are a few from my friends, and talented Doll Artists at Art Dolls Only.
Art Dolls Only is a wonderful group of doll artists who are very supportive of each others work. I love them!

Remember, too, that they have TONS of other dolls, not just in Halloween theme, so check out the links to these great artists, provided in red, above each doll.

Frieda Kahlo Christmas by Dierdra Doan
A bit of Halloween AND Christmas all rolled in one!

La Muerte by Melody of Allegro Melody

Various Halloween Ornaments by Raedell of DellaRae Dezines

Vampire Showgirl Paper Dolls by Yve Hooson of Freaky Little Things

"Halloween Witch" by Lorraine of Pie Cake Primitives

And that, my friends, is part of Halloween Catch up for today! Stay tuned tomorrow as I tell you about MY HALLOWEEN! Mwahahahaaaa!