Vagabond Creations

Where Are The Brakes On This Thing!

2012-02-09T10:31:00.000-08:00

Whooooooa Nelly!

These last few weeks have been the sort that leaves you bug eyed, but also very grateful for the fun and furious work. It's been good to get back into the swing of things, but perhaps the swing could use some brakes every now and again!

I mentioned waaaaaay back in the last post that I was accepted into the wonderful PFATT group. They hold a marketplace the 10th of each month, and so there was much tinkering in the Vagabond studios for just the right magical item to add to their online market.

Here are my offerings:

A bit of paint on a log piece...

Mix in some imagination...

The final piece: The Star Messenger

This couple is also looking for a new place to dock their boat!
The Owl and The Pussycat in burned and painted wood!

They also join a few other familiar woodpieces for their PFATT debut!

You can find all of these FEBRUARY 10th at the PFATT marketplace, under this humble shoppe name Beyond Vagabond

The PFATTIES, meanwhile, are having a wonderful giveaway on their blog, in time for Valentine's Day! While my work isn't part of the wonderful festivities, I strongly suggest you hop over as some other amazing artists are offering up some wonderful prizes. It's a great group of creative magic-makers, indeed.
CLICK HERE to be taken directly to the giveaway!

Finally, much of my time, lately, is not necessarily involved by art, but by another more far-flung project. There is THIS horse drawn journey I have decided to undertake, and there are lots of plans underway. If that world catches your fancy, I'd love for you to join the journey. There is still some work afoot to finish the informational part but this should be done by tomorrow.
I'm not sure if I can keep up as regularly with this art site, but that one intends to be a nice mix of both, so perhaps that is some consolation.

As always, THANK YOU for your curiosity into my funny little life!

Humble Offerings, News, and A Question....

2012-01-19T07:05:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone!

As usual I'm late, I'm late for a most important date! I might as well get a T-Shirt with this as a logo, since it's pretty much a motto around here!

In my last post, I showed you a few works in progress and mentioned that the works would be for sale the next day. Sure enough, this crazy thing called Life got in the way (it has a funny habit of doing that)!

So, instead, here are my finished offerings for Valentine's Day!

Vagabond Sweethearts

These two are woodburned, AND handpainted wood. Nice larger size. Perfect pair to dedicate to someone for Valentine's Day..or any day!
Also, I can paint in the name of a loved one on the big purple heart! You can find them HERE

And these guys look familiar, right?

What is it with owls that people so love having them, and I so love making them!

HEART OWL

Lovely Wooden Painted Ornament!
SOLD! Thank you Theresa!
(By the way, Theresa is an amazing artist friend! If you are looking for unique jewelry and other bits of whimsy, see HER WORK and life HERE

However, I DID make another set of owls!

LITTLE DARLINGS

These two sweeties carry a heart between them. Mother and baby? Little Friends? Who knows, but they add a whole lotta cute to their tree-hollow home! FIND THEM HERE

PLUS! We are back to working with our bees' wax!

(you DO know I'm a third generation organic beekeeper, right?)
We have our new 100% organic beeswax ornaments
SO GET SOME HONEY FOR YOUR HONEY...err, or something like that! FIND IT HERE

In the meantime, some news:

*One of my goals this year was trying to expand my art further. To that end, I've tentatively been reaching out to various art groups to see if I even remotely qualified to their esteemed groups..and I'm happy to say:

I AM NOW A MEMBER OF PFATT MARKETPLACE!

After I recovered from fainting, I have to say, I did a BIG happy dance--I am humbled to have been accepted, since many artists that I admire are long time members, and the group consistently turns out AMAZING work! Wow!
So be on the lookout--I am trying to put together new pieces for their February 10th showroom!

However, this brings up a big question for me, one that constantly bugs me:
Do you see a stylistic similarity between these pieces?

Can you recognize these as something done by me?

And now this?

(Yes, this is the beginning of my first ever CLOCK!)

Ok, my problem is, I feel sort of disjointed with my style of work. I draw and create whatever comes into my head. But, I don't know if it these translate to a cohesive style. Parts of it look very particular (Like the little elf Vagabonds), but then the woodburning and the animals sometimes don't, I think. The only consistent part of ALL of the works is that there is a dark staining of the cloth or wood before I paint something...

....so, I'm doing the very professional and scientific analysis of the whole thing by...umm...just asking people who might even remotely be interested in helping for: thoughts, comments, ideas..encouragement?

My biggest problem is that as I widen this little business out I really WOULD like people to recognize and seek out the work (ha! I am assuming that more than 4 people like my work)... I also find myself leaning back toward my own style, which is much more "realistic" than what I've been doing (as seen in the sketch on the clock):

But this tends to be even less stylistic or uniform than all of the other work. HELP! Am I making this too complicated? Am I over thinking this (most likely, but any extra input would greatly be appreciated!)

THANKS!

New Art and New Beginnings!

2012-01-11T08:17:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends!

I hope the New Year so far is treating you well! There are a lot of things going on around here, lots of changes behind the scenes and, as usual, lots of artwork! How is YOUR New Year so far?

Right now, a few new Vagabonds are sitting on my art table, almost finished!

And just in time for Valentine's Day!
These two are quite the pair!

Woodburned wood, fully painted, they just need a few more details! I can also paint the name of a loved one in the big heart hey are holding!

And of course, there always seems to be an owl here and there! This little fellow is "Valentine Owl"...he also needs some work as well....

And I hope to have another creation done shortly, as well...

They will all be in my Etsy Shoppe tomorrow!

So stay tuned for them, and some more interesting and important news, coming soon!

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T08:05:00.000-08:00

Each New Year's Eve, I put out the same sentiment, because I believe it....

Happy New Year my friends! Bring your best game, your light, your hard work, your joyful noise, your whole heart to this New Year. May your big or even little dreams be realized and may the spirit and friendship be a comforting force.

Thank you for all of your support, my friends! And above all....

SHINE ON YOU CRAZY DIAMONDS!

Happy Holidays!

2011-12-20T08:38:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends!

Wow, what a busy holiday season! Maybe you’re like me, scurrying about getting all sorts of wonderful things done?

I have managed to finish the LAST of this year’s Vagabond Creations, this little owl spoon:

Would it surprise you to know that this spoon is already sold? It most certainly surprised me, as the wonderful new owner asked for it before I had a chance to finish it!

In fact, I have been AMAZED, surprised and humbled to find that many, MANY of you have been so kind as to buy several of my wares, whether an art piece or some of my own treasures in the blog sale.

You have no idea how much these little gestures have helped me, and I can say that with conviction: each time you bought a little item, you helped with THIS little dream, and you made it easier for me to rely on my crazy regular job to pay off bills and more. This is the art of truly supporting each other, and it’s the reason I’m so adamant in true LOCAL business. It’s the inspiration for THIS post, showcasing local farmers, artists and small businesses.

THANK YOU for your support, even for the kind words, as I understand what it’s like to want to buy an item, but be short on funds. Sometimes even a word of encouragement is enough!

Now is the time to enjoy the Wintertide. While there is no pressure to produce art for the next few weeks, I will probably do a lot of painting and creating for fun! Of course, there will be time spent with my family, and general holiday mischief.

It helps to have a snow dog as part of the family! Polly The Great Pyranees is tuckered out from all the festivities!

We are not doing too much gift giving, but I am trying to find creative e and fun ways to help them. We will also be doing far too much eating since my mother comes from a long line of amazing cooks!

What are your holiday plans?

HAPPY HOLIDAYS, Friends!

BLOG SALE ~ Toys!

2011-12-08T13:15:00.000-08:00

WELCOME TO TODAY'S BLOG SALE ! PLEASE NOTE THESE ITEMS are coming from my house in FL...please order according to this location

Sales help with my little farm and horse and carriage dream, and helps me move some stuff out of the house!

PLEASE CHECK OUR OTHER SALES SECTION TODAY for more sales!

Here you will find most unusual items that myself and my sister have collected over the years! This is the TOY section

Remember:
1. I will do my best to describe each item below. You will see the price under the description. Please CLICK PICS to enlarge!

2. PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL PRICES INCLUDE SHIPPING. SHIPPING IS VIA STANDARD Mail prices.

3. IF you wish for your item to arrive via express shipping please contact me.

4. If you are INTERESTED in purchasing an item, or have a question about an item, please email me at BEYONDVAGABOND@gmail.com

5. I take credit cards and paypal payments. I will let you know where and how to pay me once you contact

6. Happy Shopping and THANK YOU!

GRINCH

Cute, movable, singing toy! Our favorite Grinch is ready for a good home. He's 9 inches sitting, bobs his head and sways slightly to the song "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch." Solid, comes with batteries.
$15 INCLUDES SHIPPING.

2 LITTLE BEARS

Two cute fuzzy bears, great condition. They are both about 5 inches, in a sitting position, maybe some good stocking stuffers?
$9 EACH INCLUDES SHIPPING!

POLICE RHINO

Cute Rhino dressed like a police officer, nice uniform, not removable. Not sure about this one, has a logo on the back of the police outfit that says "Rhino Aqua," otherwise very charming. 8 inches tall.

$9 INCLUDES SHIPPING!

FIREMAN RHINO

Apparently Officer Rhino (above) has a brother! This is fireman is fully suited up--yellow shoes, firehat coat and suspenders. Not sure but has a logo "Rhino Aqua" on the back of his coat. Otherwise very nice.8 INCHES Tall.
$9 INCLUDES SHIPPING!

VALENTINE BEAR

Cute Valentine bear has hearts plush burned on all of the red parts of the fur, roughly 10 inches tall.
$10 INCLUDES SHIPPING!

PINK VALENTINE BEAR

This Pink Bear is similar to the red one (above). Has cute pink burned plush hears along its body, very cute. 10 inches tall.

$10 INCLUDES SHIPPING!

BABY FLAMINGO

This teensy flamingo is adorable. Pink plush, looks like it's got beany stuffing. 4 inches tall, fuzzy hair top.
$8 INCLUDES SHIPPING

GIRAFFE

Cute plush giraffe with mohair type mane and tale. 12 inches from horn to hoof.
$12 INCLUDES SHIPPING

LION

Lion looks like he came with giraffe (above), faux fur main and tale, mane a bit fuzzy. Very cute. 11 INCHES
$9 INCLUDES SHIPPING

TEENY BEAR

Super cute and small. Looks like it's part of a keychain (See pic 1 for the loop at the top) 3 inches.
$6 INCLUDES SHIPPING

PANDA

Cute panda with multicolored shirt that has hearts on it. Roughly 7 inches tall.
$9 INCLUDES SHIPPING.

WINTER PENGUIN

Fuzzy little Penguin with earmuffs and a cute little bowtie with hearts. About 6 inches tall
$10 INCLUDES SHIPPING

LITTLE CHICK

Cute little chick with blue and white suspender overalls! 4 1/2 inches tall
$8 INCLUDES SHIPPING

BROWN BEAR

Cute fuzzy brown bear. Roughly 11 Inches in diameter.
$8 INCLUDES SHIPPING

BLOG SALE ~ Interesting and Unique Items

2011-12-08T13:14:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the "Unique Section" of this little blog sale. Here you will find most unusual items that myself and my sister have collected over the years!
PLEASE NOTE THESE ITEMS are AT MY PARENTS' HOUSE IN FL, please order according to this location

Remember:
1. I will do my best to describe each item below. You will see the price under the description. YOU CAN CLICK TO ENLARGE

2. PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL PRICES INCLUDE SHIPPING. SHIPPING IS VIA STANDARD Mail prices.

3. IF you wish for your item to be delivered via express shipping please contact me.

4. If you are INTERESTED in purchasing an item, or have a question about an item, please email me at BEYONDVAGABOND@gmail.com

5. I take credit cards and paypal payments. I will let you know where and how to pay me once you contact

6. Happy Shopping and THANK YOU!

RUSSIAN BLUE JEWELRY BOX

This was given to me by my sister from a Russian Market, I believe it to be hand tole work, with iredescent gold paint and blue flowers on a black lacquer box. It's 4" in diameter and a pretty light box, which makes me believe it is either very light clay but more likely paper mache. Covered by a satin varnish, very shiny and beautiful, the insides are all shiny black. Makes a nice jewelry box or centerpiece.

$15 INCLUDES SHIPPING

EGYPTIAN BOX

A really lovely box gotten from Egypt in the Grand Bazaar. This is a woven CLOTH exterior over a solid box form. It depicts a classical scene of King Tut and his Wife (as seen in a relief in his tomb). Tons of vibrant color. The sides of the box have traditional heiroglypics and the INSIDE also has a reverse phantom picture on the lid (see picture 2). Overall a stunning piece with lots of work put in! 7 inches, length, 5 inches in height.
SOLD!!

Plate From Kenya

I bought this from a local street fair years ago and it has been hanging faithfully at my house for years. My understanding is that it is made in the traditional fashion and you will find these sort of scratchplates all along central Africa. Very sturdy, heavy, beautiful, decorative and high quality! 10 inches in diameter
$40 INCLUDES SHIPPING

TURKISH PLATE

This lovely plate is hanpainted and from Turkey. Vibrant folkloric plate handcolored on what appears to be a brass plate, has a hanger for hanging on the wall. 9 Inches in diameter.
SOLD!

INDIAN PLATE

This is a lovely brass plate that has been etched and then hand colored in a folkloric flower scene. From India, and can be hung from the wall. 9 1/2 inches diameter.
$22 WITH SHIPPING

Japanese Scarf

A nice silk scarf depicting masks used in Japanese theater, these are usually of Japanese gods and goddesses. Please email for diameter info, I did not take it out of its protective plastic enclosure. Beautiful brown and gold border.
$12 INCLUDES SHIPPING

Peacock PASHMINA

This lovely pashmina is super soft. Eggshell white with graceful red peacock feathers on either side, brown eyes. Great scarf, veil, shawl. Roughly 3 feet long. Beautiful!
$20 INCLUDES SHIPPING!

Flower Cloth

Stunning embroidered flowers on a sheer black cloth. Amazing for veils, costumes, more. More than 3 yards.
$20 INCLUDES SHIPPING

Paisley Cloth

This is a very lovely cloth, sheer black with embroidered flower paisley design. Great for veils, costuming or more. More than 3 yards...lovely!
$20 INCLUDES SHIPPING!

BEAUTIFUL SCARVES

These scarves are used around the hips, to dance in the Middle East. You may wear them over the hips to accent your clothes, as a very fancy head-kerchief or....? Lots of great options!
(Please note: in my haste to get these all photographed, some of the scarves were not properly steamed for wrinkles, so you may see a few of them wrinkled...however, they are now steamed and wrinkle free!)

ALL SCARVES: $23 INCLUDES SHIPPING!

Orange Scarf/Silver accents

Pink Scarf with gold accents:

Blue Scarf with Silver Accent

Lavender Scarf with Gold Accents

Lavender Scarf with Silver Accents

Red Scarf with Gold Accents

Blue Scarf with Gold Accent

A Few Quick Notes About What's Going On Around HERE!

2011-12-06T15:19:00.000-08:00

Hello Folks!

Many many crazy things afoot today! How are your holidays going?

First--a little note on a revamp. A couple of days ago I finished this owl, but in haste to get him online, I didn't really notice how dark he was in daylight (I usually create these lovelies burning the midnight oil). So back to the studio he went for a little retouch and here he is NOW:

He looks much better if you ask me! He's back on sale and looking for a home! You can find him HERE.

I am also working on a big BLOG SALE here THIS THURSDAY! I'm actually vacationing at my family's house for Christmas, but there are tons of great things we'll have here for sale, so stop on by!

I'll have some new art here as well.

How is your holiday going?

Give A Hoot!

2011-12-01T07:17:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends!

The Winter Season is here, and around here, there's Holiday Cheer! What about you? How are you celebrating the holidays?

It's been a busy time, but I wanted to thank each of you for being so encouraging about the funny little bits of artwork I post here! Thank you for the kind words, and purchases! I am so humbled, and you've helped me more than you know!

Speaking of which...I'm hearing, left and right, that apparently OWLS are the big thing??!! Who knew? Not me! And yet I've heard comments from friends, comments online..ALL SORTS of comments about wanting owls OWLS OWLS!!

So...off to the little Vagabond Cave I went, and out I now come with..... OWLS! Hopefully these creatures might appease the inner owl frenzy in some of you? They certainly were fun to make!

Amongst The Stars, A Painted Barn Owl Wooden JOINTED/Movable Ornament!

MORE HERE

The Red Berry Owl, A Painted Great Horned Owl JOINTED/ Movable Ornament!

MORE HERE

SUPERFLY! A Medium Great Horned Owl Wall hanging!

This ONE will be listed this afternoon--he just needs a star to carry around!

Whew! That's an awful lot of owls in a few days!

I may have one or two holiday creations left (non-owl, I'm afraid, but equally as fun to make!) to go, and then I've promised myself I'd actually enjoy the spirit of the holidays!

How are your holiday plans going?

CYBER MONDAY Goodies!

2011-11-28T06:05:00.000-08:00

Hello My Friends!

The holiday season is here! So, a few things going on:

First--I must apologize: I thought I'd have a whole slew of my own treasures for sale on the blog today, but the THANKSGIVING holiday snuck up on me and I felt it a bit better to share love and laughter with friends than to spend the entire weekend photographing and cataloguing items. So please forgive me.

THAT ONLINE blog sale will now happen THURSDAY DECEMBER 8th!!
Fun items, great prices!!

HOWEVER!! There are new items HERE and in THE ETSY shoppe, in time for CYBER MONDAY!

Alas, NO new OWLS have been made, though I'm quite surprised at how popular they seem to be! Perhaps I can materialize another, if I have time!

In the meantime, here are some new works for you to enjoy (and hopefully take home)...

NOEL a OOAK Christmas doll/ornament (yes, I remembered I make art dolls, too!)

SALE!! FIND NOEL HERE

HARE and STARS - a OOAK Wood Burned Ornament!

MORE HERE

LITTLE POLAR EXPRESS!

If these look familiar, it's because they are a smaller version of THESE TWO, and therein perhaps a bit more budget friendly?

MORE HERE

This lovely is NOT new, but is on sale!

MORE HERE

NOW, SOME ITEMS NOT ON ETSY:

And this beauty isn't listed on Etsy, but priced very well!

Swan Pendant/Ornament $12 (includes shipping)

100% Handpainted, works wonderfully as an ornament or a very large pendent. Fairytale charm in a little round circle.

EMAIL ME: beyondvagabond(at)gmail.com if interested!

And up-coming works....

This lovely needs highlighting, and then off it goes....

And apparently there is an owl in the works, too....if I can deal with his wings!

Hopefully all of my unfinished works will be finished within this week's time...?

And as always, thank you for the support! It means so much to me!

A few Sales and Other News!

2011-11-25T11:25:00.000-08:00

Hello Lovely Friends!

Well, it seems the official kick off to Christmas season is here. So I have a few items at sale price and I am hoping that some of you might be more interested in the traditional arts created by a humble, small artisan rather than a large mass producing corporation?

So here are a few of my modest offerings, all handpainted, some wood burned, and all based in the style of old European fables, fairytales and mythos. You can solidly blame my sweet little European mother for telling me these as bedtime stories!

Sale on Snow Owl, a wooden JOINTED ornament/hanging:

SOLD! THANK YOU THERESA!

Sale on MOON Owl, a wooden jointed magical ornament/hanging:

SOLD!! THANKS JEN!!

Sale on QUEEN of Hearts, Fully woodburned, wooden jointed doll:

She is HERE

And don't forget these two new offerings!

THE POLAR (BEAR) EXPRESS

STARCATCHER

....and more lovelies for the holiday at THE ETSY SHOPPE.

Also, please check back on Monday And Tuesday. Tuesday will hold a few fun announcements, and a FULL blog sale of various NON-ITEM THINGS I am trying to clear out.
If you like exotic Eastern textiles, clothes and jewelry, fun vintage items and more, stay tuned!!

Quick Post and Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-23T07:54:00.000-08:00

Hello All!

Just a little posting to let you know about ONE finished work, and a few finished works for THIS FRIDAY through MONDAY!

Lots of things afoot, but I wanted to quickly show these two off, in case anyone is interested in purchasing them before the holiday madness is afoot?

THE POLAR(BEAR) EXPRESS

These were a joy to make, though challenging since (as usual!) I tried experimenting with various woodburning techniques and painting techniques.

The piece is WOODBURNED about the edges and shaped with the wood burning tool. It is dark stained than painted in the negative spaces, with layers of paint creating the lighter spaces. I've used irridessent gold paint on the little Elf's hat, and a heavily glittered star hangs from this piece. It's a larger sized ornament or wall hanging, and is great for the holidays, and maybe even the nursery? Tons of work and detail, but tons of fun to make.

SEE THEM HERE

Also, I wanted to mention I have several new pieces coming up, and a few surprises in my etsy shoppe from FRIDAY TO MONDAY...in time for BLACK FRIDAY through CYBER MONDAY. Great prices, and more, so please check back starting Friday and Saturday!

AND to everyone: HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

A World Of Works in Progress!

2011-11-10T07:04:00.000-08:00

OOPS!

How does this happen to me? One moment, I think I've got my life totally under control, the next, it's all over the place!

To be fair, there has been tons of art happening, and just now is some of it getting done!

It's been a wild month, so I'd thought I'd show you various stages of works in progress:

Remember this wooden piece? It's meant to be a wee vagabond sitting atop a wolf on a crazy forest ride.

(Click to enlarge all pics!)

I wanted to call them "Messengers of Love," but I think I've had another fox-running with hearts piece of a similar nature and name. Apparently there's some sort of theme running through my brain!

Here is the rest of it!

Stain, then painting...

And the finished piece!

At least I think it's finished. Something feels missing to me, but I'm not sure? What do you think? It's meant to be hung by two ribbons from the sides, but I wonder if this doesn't need more detailing?

Speaking of works in progress: I've got owls on the brain...

Here's one meant to be a medium sized snow owl ornament:

Yes, it's got a movable wing, made so by a clever snowflake brad button.

I have to say, I'm quite excited as to how this is working out--I'd never really done snow owl art, so LOTS of figural studies on how to paint them; I think I've done a good job so far...still needs some work on the detailing and wings, but should be up by tomorrow for your early holiday season

Speaking of owls--this one's a barn owl and the most complicated wooden piece yet:
he's shaped through a wood burning technique....

...then dark stained, THEN painted.

And here's the final bit...actually, he's supposed to be carrying a glittered star, so there's a bit more to go, but hopefully he's in the shoppe by tomorrow morning!

He's a rather large piece, so I think would do well for the holidays!

Now here are two cloth ornaments in the very beginning stages. Hopefully will be completed in time for the weekend.

LEFT: Santa and toys. RIGHT: Ice Queen and baby seal.
Both are shaped to be figural on one side, and the opposite side will be Christmas trees. It is interesting trying to fit their characters into a Christmas tree shape!

And there are some WOOD BURNED SPOONS IN THE WORKS!

Anyone like dragons?

Front of spoon

Back of spoon...

This one should be finished this afternoon!

Now--one that is a FINISHED piece...this wood-burned MOON and SUN SPOON!

BACK of the spoon has a sun and stars!

The Front of the spoons is a moon, clouds, an stars! Tons of burning work, but it was fun to make!

You can find THIS SPOON HERE

And find all my work (as I finish them! Phew) here at the VAGABOND SHOPPE!

Black and Orange Spots!

2011-10-20T08:24:00.000-07:00

Holy Candy Corn, Batman!

Wow, what a WEEK! I had wanted to post here much earlier, but as usual, there seems to be a mind-boggling myriad of things to do around here! So much news and so little time.

Firstly, it should be noted that the title of this post actually describes what I've been seeing ALL week long--that's because I've been trying SO hard to finish up the last of my Halloween goodies, that I've literally spent the last three days furiously painting and painting and PAINTING...and you can guess the color scheme, right??

So, is it a bad sign if, once you stop painting, that you're still seeing black and orange spots wherever you go? Hmmm...I thought so!

Nevertheless, for all the interesting side affects, I DID manage to get 90% of my goal done, and that's more than usual for me, so I'm sort of proud of myself (and a little dizzy from lack of sleep, too)!!

So, here's the latest Vagabond News:

See these two Munchkins?

I'm pleased to say he, and two of my Halloween ornaments are now being sold at New York City's Dinosaur Hill Toy Shop!
Pam, the owner, is an absolute gem and I am humbled that she chose my work to be featured amongst other handmade dolls and toys from around the world. Dinosaur Hill has been around for at least a quarter century and offers ONLY quality handmade toys, antique toys, hand knitted and sewn children's clothes and quilts and puppets. It's a treasure for "kids of all ages." If you live in New York or are visiting, swing on by East 9th street between first and second avenues in Manhattan ---and while you're there you get extra brownie points, you know...if you happen to BUY my little creations, but I wouldn't blame you if you found yourself distracted by all of the other magical items.
You can find more information about Dinosaur Hill HERE

I may also have my little published kitties put into yet ANOTHER NYC handmade store, so feel if you're so inclined, feel free to adopt these two now before they pack their traveling bags for a temporary home at a toy shoppe!

In the meantime, new creations keep springing forth!

See these two wee witchen
(yes, I am fully aware that witcheS are the plural here, but these are no ordinary witchen,you see!)....

If you think they look quite identical, you would be correct: they were actually made of the same pattern, but with slightly different techniques:

The closest to my true idea for these witches is the one on the RIGHT....

My original pattern called for a "bat hat" of sorts. Betty the Batty Witch was actually made in "repose"--which is a term I like to use for this little technique of taking muslin, painting it fully in fray guard (so the edges don't fray), staining the piece in a dark color and then sewing both sides of the doll RIGHT SIDE OUT--in that, the doll never gets turned inside out. The doll is then stuffed and painted. Here, Betty gets a bit of glitter on her bat hat, and fancy buttons galore!
You can find more info, including purchase info HERE

Meanwhile, the doll on the left--Wee Witchy, is my smallest witch yet!

She stands at a little under 5 inchesand is a dwarf to the other wee witchies! She was made with the same pattern as Betty, but in turning her, the opening area for the actual bat was too narrow to properly turn it, so I readjusted the hat, and now she has a pom-pom top! She doesnt seem to mind, however! She is fully painted with a teeeny weeny brush and has a button at the back in case you want to hang her as an ornament!
You can find her information, including purchase info HERE

Here is a nice group shot of all of my Witchen, up for grabs! So grab yours for Halllowwwweeeeennn!

Next up...

See this? It looks like a cute Halloween painting, you'd be half right--this actually will be the first painted
PINCUSHION I will be offering!

and I hope to finish it by tomorrow, so it might go to at least SOME last minute Halloween person, or someone who likes cute and creepy stuff all year round. The bottom half is painted and the "roof" of ye old haunted mansion will be made of felt, so that's where the pincushion will go. I conceived of the idea LAST year but this is the first year I've dared to try it!

Now, if you notice the dark pin object on the right of the cushion in the top picture--well, that's the "fun" part of the piece (although I think it's ALL fun!)....

TA-DA! These are my BAT pins! They are made of shrunken plastic material heated on the pin (yes, really, it works!)...this will be colored fully black and ready for mischief, along with a group of batty friends...

I am working on these as we speak--so, as I mention, this should be up in my Etsy Shoppe Bright and Early tomorrow!

Finally, I haven't forgotten about Halloween! Here is my offering!

A Magical Spooon!

The back of the spoon!

The front---emblazoned with the word "MAGIC"...perfect for kitchen witches and imaginative types! This is sealed with food grade mineral oil and CAN be used to cook--or just to adorn your magical kitchen walls!

LOTS of woodburning work and details!
This should be up THIS AFTERNOON in ye old Etsy! Or email me if you're interested in any of these goodies!

Until next time, friends--I'm off for a NAP!

Spotty Eyed Cats and Other Madness....

2011-10-12T12:34:00.000-07:00

Alrighty Friends!

Firstly--WOW! Thank you for all your kind comments on my last post...I wasn't even sure if anyone was even following this little blog anymore!! I feel very grateful that you all seem interested in keeping up my humble spot on the interwebs!

Having said that I am happy to report that my little published dolls in PRIMS have now made their way safely back to me, and are ready to find a home with ONE OF YOU! They have tons of work and TONS OF LOVE put into them....

Here they are in their magazine debut!

...so if you are interested in providing these lovelies a home, you can find them HERE

In the meantime, those two spotty cats seemed to have brought out the Spotty Eyed Cat Brigade (or just confirmed that I have a Spotty Eyed Cat problem)! Here is the evidence:

THIS little spotty eyed wonder...

Comes with a Halloweeny friend!

THEY BOTH ARE LOOKING FOR HOMES...

So find them HERE if you are looking to adopt!

And more Spotty Eyed Cats to follow....

This fellow is SLOWLY getting finished. Just when I think I'm done, more things need to be worked on!

But THESE two ornaments have already been completed and have found homes!

As well as this little guy!

If I'm not careful, I may soon be over-run by Spotty Eyed Felines!

However, I have now counter balanced them with a few NEW WORKS! So stay tuned to my Etsy Shoppe TODAY AND TOMORROW...and hopefully you'll find something to enchant you this Fall !~

And now...it's time for me to go back into the hovel and create more items!

Take Care, Friends!

Yoooohooo!

2011-10-06T07:03:00.000-07:00

Well HELLO There!

Wow, I know I've been a STRANGER here at this particular blog, but so much has been going on!

I thought I'd update you on a little bit, and hopefully explain what I hope this blog might be!

First of all, most of my little journeys can now actually be found at BEYOND VAGABOND. I'd love for you to join me there!

What I had originally intended for this blog, before it became quite hectic over the Summer, was for it to be a simple sales page. However, it look like my art friends are continuing to follow me here....

And exciting news! This LITTLE DUO is NOW featured in PRIMS Magazine (thanks PRIMS!)...you can pick up PRIMS on your newstands right this very moment! Besides myself, there are amazing doll artists showcasing some wonderful work!

....so, NOW I think what I might simply do is continue to feature my art AND objects for sale HERE, while giving you a bit more detail on the background of my work, and my life, at BEYOND VAGABOND. I might also continue the lovely doll swaps that I usually host here (yikes, if I have time!)...

Hopefully, that makes sense? Again, thank you to all my online friends and family that continue to support my art and work. Most of you are in the same boat--the one listed as "artist"--and so it's wonderful that we can all support each other!

Thank you, Friends, for this amazing little creative community!

And Now...A LONG OVERDUE Post!

2011-06-07T14:44:00.000-07:00

Yikes!

Forgive me friends! This is what happens when all of your interests start spiking all at once!

I had meant to write you..ohh...say..three weeks ago. I could have told you, then, about all my new ideas and artwork, all of which were being created for an enchanted trip to IOWA to teach beekeeping. But, alas, the DOING of all of the art overtook everything since I was, after all, on a deadline to get all of the artwork done BEFORE I actually left. And so, what ended up happening was a huge rush to finish everything and a huge rush to pack and actually get there. And then after Iowa it was time to decompress. Except in New York City, there's no time to decompress! So off I went running, once I got back from Iowa...and...well...you get the idea right?
Here we are. Three. Weeks. Later. Or is it four weeks, or five, at this point?
Nevermind.

Instead, I have a few notes and perhaps some questions for you, dear friends:

First, I wanted to let you know that I did NOT manage to sell too much of my art in Iowa so I DO have some lovelies FINALLY in the Etsy Shoppe, including SOME DOLLS! And MORE Woodwork, of course! I will have them all up THURSDAY on Etsy, but here's a preview!

"Hare amongst Stars"

"Messenger of Love" Original Woodburned pattern of fox dashing through the forest with hearts!

Kittenfish!

My woodburned spoons!

Remember, the sale of all these little goodies goes to fund the farm and horse-and-wagon project!
Speaking of the traveling dreams, you can go ahead and read ABOUT the Iowa journeys which took me out and about and away from this blog over at BEYOND VAGABOND.

In other news, I was recently honored by my friend Lisa Johnson, dollmaker extraordinaire of Skunk Hollow Country Store, and who also features a whole host of doll artists of Whymzee Art Friends. How she has time to do this, I don't know, but she is an amazingly kind person to do this! She recently featured me on the Whymzee blog and asked nothing in return!

THANK YOU LISA!!

If you are interested in wonderful patterns and equally whimsical and prim dolls, LISA is the one for you, please visit her sites, they are lovely!

Finally, a question for my faithful friends and readers. You may have an inkling about the many crazy things I do during my day. Unfortunately, my interesting workload is not getting any lighter, anytime soon. Besides THIS blog, there is the horse-vagabond blog, The Renegade Farmer website (and radio show), and now Bronx Bees...in addition to actual beekeeping, art, oh, yes...and the day job. So I was thinking of getting rid of this blog altogether. But this means (hopefully!) that everyone must move over to the Vagabond blog to read my stories.
This gets complicated because:

1.I don't know if people are interested in reading about farming, dreaming, bees, or anything other than the art I've done here.

2. The "flavor" of this blog is different than the Vagabond blog. Also, I don't know if I can randomly place items for sale, artist features, or doll swaps over there. Which is why they were over here. But now I'm not even sure if I can keep up with the dolls swaps and such, anyway!

3. So I guess this can just be a sale page, and all else goes on over there (and yes, it seems like I periodically talk about making this JUST a sale page, but it just never seems to happen! DOH!)

Any thoughts? Advice? I really cannot work FOUR sites, 3 different sorts of jobs, and keep my sanity! Oh. Wait. The sanity was out the window YEARS ago!!

I'd love to hear from you and I'll keep you posted as to what happens!

A Quick Hit And Run Posting

2011-04-01T09:10:00.000-07:00

YIKES! Why aren't there enough hours in the day?
Oh Dear---anyhow---I know I'm supposed to show you art, but I've decided to have a nice weekend Etsy sale this weekend, along with a blog sale here, of some of the NON-HANDMADE stuff (think: cute stuff I've acquired over the years) I have, in order to clear out a VERY crowded apartment. Let my treasures now become yours! So stay tuned all weekend long and I'll slowly be adding things to the ETSY STORE and RIGHT HERE.

Because heaven knows there's a LOT of thing I will need funding for, lately. Oh, speaking of which, you can mosey on over to MY OTHER BLOG to SEE TODAY'S OTHER BIG NEWS!

Nice News and An Important Update!

2011-03-30T07:57:00.001-07:00

Hello Folks!

Alright, after a week of thoughts on the matter of art, and through your mostly heartening words, I am encouraged enough to continue on this humble art path. You'll forgive me if I pulled the last posting, I've decided it's probably a bit too heavy for this little chapter of my life, so I'll focus on the news at hand, and there is plenty of sweet news afoot!

I have to say, I've been buoyed by the happy faces of those who have received my art. This little lady was given my wooden owl painting for her birthday. These sorts of pictures just make me happy:

Then, my good friend, and amazing artist Jen Traynor won one of my OWOH giveaways. The winning was technically one of my beeswax ornaments, but I sent a little Easter rabbit for her sweet daughter Zoe. Jen sent me the most lovely thank you, and sent this endearing picture of the little art bunny, hanging out with Jen's garden goddess!

You can probably guess how delighted I was! By the way, you can visit Jen's gorgeous blog and view her spectacular art at Gypsy Mare Studios.

Speaking of OWOH giveaway, a BIG belated THANK YOU to Robert Brawley, of HALLOWEEN FANATIC who sent me THIS lovely as a prize from MY OWOH winning! (yes, I know, that was quite some time ago!)

Isn't this the SWEETEST Snowman? He will definitely enjoy sharing the house with the other enchanted creatures!

I even love the cute little brown paper ENVELOPE he came in! Very decorative! If you don't know, Robert has the cutest pug named Twinkle, and he dedicates cute art dolls to her, in her likeness. Lucky dog! You can see the little stamps of her in the hand drawn outside of the envelope, above!

More hand-drawn goodness! I love it!

Robert does some amazing whimsical work so check out his website HERE!

THANK YOU ROBERT!

Now for some BIG NEWS! *Ahem* the sweetheart FINALLY got ME a RING!!
It's a sweet ring, a little different than my other ring, with a lovely amethyst stone...

Can you tell I had a bit too much fun shooting photos for this?

No idea when a wedding might be! Too many projects seem to be coming at both of us fast and furious this year---for example:
I am apparently going on a beekeeping/art/bellydance teaching adventure in IOWA (and possibly beyond) in late APRIL. I will explain more, but you are most likely to find this story on my OTHER site, BEYOND VAGABOND, within a day or so...

Speaking of which--and this is an issue I've brought up before--I am thinking of going back to the idea of simply keeping this strictly a sales blog, and continuing the doll-making/performing/nature/beekeeping/etc stories on the other site, simply because it's clearly becoming too much work to write two separate stories on these two blogs/maintain a professional farm site, apparently start a beekeeping blog...oh yeah, and do the 10 hr DAY job, and actually create art! Oh yeah, there's that "sleeping" rumor I keep hearing about, too. One day I'm gonna hafta try it!

So, even though I sort of dropped the ball in my original plans to do this--because I keep telling the stories of all the humble creations I make, I think it really is time to just update with a pictures and where to purchase Vagabondish items! In the meantime, feel free to hop over to the Beyond Vagabond site if you want to read more about my peculiar life!

Speaking of which, here are a few new fresh faces, you'll probably see them at my Etsy Shoppe in a day or two, once they're finally "tweeked" to perfection!

For some reason, foxen keep making their way onto the wood:

"The Messenger in the Wood"

Fox Bringing hearts through a labyrinth of leaves. This took a bit of time, and is probably my most elaborate pendant to date!

"Heart Hunter"

Here is a new technique I am using, where I'm using the pyrography tool to actually burn through the wood. So you *can* see through the wood where the hearts have been burned through. I hope you enjoy the new look!

And a few others might make it onto the scene, including an Easter themed art doll (you remember when I used to make THOSE!)....so stay tuned!

Feel free to buy them in order to help pay for the "wedding fund", "touring fund" or "rainy day money fund". And thank you in advance!

DrumRoll, Please.....

2011-02-17T17:22:00.000-08:00

Wow!

Are we ALREADY DONE with One World One Heart? Eegads, it's been so crazy around here, I haven't even had a chance to properly go through all the wonderful blogs or enter all of the wonderful giveaways!

Oh well! But big thanks again to LISA SWIFKA of A Whimsical Bohemian for the genius of this event!!

Ok, onto the IMPORTANT TASK at hand! We need a winner to take this munchkin home:

I cannot believe that 261 PEOPLE want to take Cupid Home!!

That's the number of comments I got! AMAZING!

Thank you all so much for commenting and having a look at my humble little online life!

Anyhow--so after going to the trusty old Random Number Generator, I managed to get #224 which is......

PAULA of Serendipity!!!

Congratulations! I'll be sending over an email to let you know you've won!

And to everyone else, many thanks, and happy Spring!

Valentine Mayhem!

2011-02-04T07:30:00.000-08:00

One World One Heart Participants--my OWOH POST IS HERE

Hello Friends!

WOW! What a week!

Of course, it started off with the One World One Heart Giveaway...and I have to say I am VERY HUMBLED that so many of you seem so interested in my offerings and my curious little blogs! Thank you for all who joined here, and at my Beyond Vagabond Blog! I am so happy to meet you! You are all so wonderful and creative!

Besides One World One Heart, there have been a WHOLE LOT of other hearts going on around here! It's been a whirlwind of painting and wood-burning and other crazy-fun activities, all in the name of Valentine's Day goodies for YOU!

"HEART OF THE FOREST" Two large great horned owls! This is on a large 9 inch heart! $45 + shipping

Because I loved the look of the large owls, I'm finishing up a smaller heart with the same sort of motif:

$24 + shipping

All 100% free hand drawn and/or painted by me...no stencils!

I should have these lovelies up in my ETSY shoppe, LATER TODAY!

HOWEVER! If you are interested in one of these pendants, just email me at beyondvagabond{at}gmail(dot)com, I can discount these slightly since I won't need to add on the "Etsy Fee" for listing them.

I can ALSO WOOD BURN a dedication on the back, in case this is a gift for Valentine's Day! Email me for more info!

HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY, FRIENDS!

One World One Heart Giveaway 2011!

2011-01-30T20:59:00.001-08:00

Hello FRIENDS!

Wow, it's that time again! The Echanting and Amazing Lisa Swifka of A Whimsical Bohemian is hosting OWOH, and I'm sad to say it's the last year (PLEASE CHANGE YOUR MIND, Lisa!)...

This is my THIRD YEAR participating in this wonderful event, in which bloggers from all over the world "Blog-hop" and meet each other. For those of you who might not know who I am--a short intro:

My whole life has been entangled in art. I started as a child, painting, drawing, and storytelling. I grew up to become a performing artist, and now I have come full circle back to the arts. Since I love folklore, fairytales, and old lore, Vagabond Creations is a reflection of that--the items that I love are the sorts of things you may perhaps find in enchanted forests. I also love nature, animals and farming, and so lots of my time is split between art, animals, and agriculture!

Anyhow...I am so glad to meet all of you! And I hope to visit all of your blogs. So, I have a tiny friend who is looking for a good home, and she is my giveaway!

HERE IS "CUPID"

Like all my dolls, she is 100% cloth that has been painted acrylic, and embellished with buttons.

Here is her back. She has hearts painted on her jacket, and a button on her hat if you want to hang her as an ornament!

She is a tiny thing! Here she is in my hand for size measurement.

She would LOVE TO GO HOME WITH YOU!

Here are the rules to win (please note these are pretty much standard rules for OWOH):

1. You do NOT need an active blog to partipate.
2. Please leave A COMMENT here ON THIS POST ONLY. Comments left elsewhere on the blog will not be counted.
3. PLEASE LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS along with your comment, EVEN IF YOU THINK I HAVE YOUR EMAIL. I had a situation last year where one of my initial winners did NOT leave her email, and sure enough I could not find it, so I had to go to another winner. So please, make it easier for BOTH of us by leaving an email :)
4. Only ONE comment per person please!
5. I will pick A WINNER FEBRUARY 17th! Good luck to all of you :)

Also, please see my OTHER OWOH giveaways on my OTHER blog http://beyondvagabond.blogspot.com

THANK YOU!

I'm Late...For a Most Important Date!

2011-01-29T21:12:00.000-08:00

Oh Dearie Me!

Where has the time gone? I'm like Cinderella, running right up to the stroke of midnight, I'm so late with this post!

I apologize, friends...I truly DO have work to show you, but to be fair, I constantly forget how much WORK goes into my work! Somehow I'd like to think that *POOF*--whatever is in my head can go straight out into the world.

I forget how slow I am at painting and..honestly, what I call "The Virgo Factor" (read: perfectionist tendencies), tends to make me fuss with the littlest detail.

Particularly this go-round, I also had to deal with woodburning, and how MUCH burning has to happen to achieve the right affect....you'll see what I mean momentarily.

(click to enlarge)

But first--you remember this owl?

TA-DA

Here she is in all her glory!

This is "Special Delivery"--I'm not sure why I call it that, since I think of storks delivering babies, but I suppose the heart is a special delivery, and I equated this favorite owl species of mine not coincidentally; I love the heart shaped faces on these wonderful creatures.

The whole scene painted in acrylics, but the heart also has ~*GLITTER*~ on it, which you can see here (or at least I think you can see it, if you click to enlarge):

And, I threw a bit something extra in, with these ribbons, which are bedecked with bird and leaf charms!

Then, I decided to incorporate ANOTHER owl into a star wood-work, this time (or is it, once again?)--here as my favorite children's poem, "The Owl and The Pussycat.":

Here is where there was wayyyy too much crazy woodburning! I love the effect, but wow, did time fly with this one!

The first Owl and Pussycat I did was quickly snatched up by Marie Patterson, whom I adore!

However this ornament stays truer to the poem:

The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea
In a beautiful pea green boat,
They took some honey, and plenty of money,
Wrapped up in a five pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,
'O lovely Pussy! O Pussy my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are,
You are,
You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!'

Pussy said to the Owl, 'You elegant fowl!
How charmingly sweet you sing!
O let us be married! too long we have tarried:
But what shall we do for a ring?'
They sailed away, for a year and a day,
To the land where the Bong-tree grows
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood
With a ring at the end of his nose,
His nose,
His nose,
With a ring at the end of his nose.

Dear pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling
Your ring?' Said the Piggy, 'I will.'
So they took it away, and were married next day
By the Turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined on mince, and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon;
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
They danced by the light of the moon,
The moon,
The moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.

In any case both of these pieces of work SHOULD be available tomorrow... but until then, I'll be prepping for tomorrow's...or, umm, later today's...One World One Heart Giveaway! Hopefully I won't be LATE for that!

PLEASE join me HERE TOMORROW!

2011-01-28T07:39:00.003-08:00

So, you might be asking yourself why the heck I'm posting TODAY, asking for your to return TOMORROW.

Well, as usual, I'm HOPELESSLY behind, but there are a few of you who have expressed interest in some of the works I mentioned in the LAST POST (everyone DID visit there, right? Because there were quite a few new and fun art pieces I finished).

In case you missed it -- I had this beauty in the making (and I AM almost finished!):

AND a few NEW wood spoons are coming along, like this one:

AND, I will be finishing a couple of larger "Owl and Pussycat" pieces and more Valentine hearts. Now, there's a bit of urgency to all of this because SUNDAY I will be offering up something lovely for OWOH.

And...umm...I suddenly have quite a bit of woodburning to do. My mother decided to become a BIG supporter of this new little art burning endeavor of mine. Yes...a BIG fan. In fact she sent a BIG package to me the other day--with THESE INSIDE:

One part of me is excited and grateful...the other part of me is screaming "help!"

Needless to say, I will be wood burning ~~until I am old and gray~~ for AWHILE--but I'm sure I'll finish burning ALL of these BEFORE the snow around here melts!

And, in order to make room for all of these upcoming goodies in the Etsy shoppe, perhaps one or two of you might want to take a few goodies out of there? Umm..please? :)

In the meantime, stop on by tomorrow to see some of the finished art!

Winter Weekend Wood Working!

2011-01-25T14:13:00.001-08:00

Enchanted tree art...still looking for homes!

Hello Lovelies!

I hope today finds you inside and TOASTY, as it appears much of the country is in the midst of serious winter lock-down, the likes of which are unheard of here. I shudder to think that later TODAY I am spending most of my day outside in something like 5 degrees Farenheit weather! PLUS, there's MORE SNOW in the forecast!

But for now, I wanted to show you the fruits of a WHOLE weekend of art labor!
I do believe I mentioned that this year I would make more time for art, and I had that rare opportunity when the whole weekend presented itself! Apparently, I got QUITE carried away with the woodworking, and so I've got new slew of Woodenware:

First--there was this box, that I mentioned in my last post:

Wood Burned "Stars And Birds"

YOU CAN FIND IT HERE

Now...the rest of the woodenware!

TA-DA!

Up for grabs today:

"Fox Hunt," a deeply woodburned pendant, ornament, decoration.

The Fox is actually hunting birds (indeed--NO animals were harmed in the making of this art piece!).

Slightly smaller than the heart and hare pendant seen in the pic at the top of this post.

One sided, can be worn as jewelry, or to decorate the home. This took a bit of work to get the dark color.

SEE MORE HERE

Because I liked the way "Fox Hunt" came out, I then did a slightly lighter burn for "Rabbit Run". Rabbit and Star motif. Same size as "Fox Hunt." One sided, and can also be worn as jewelry, or used as an ornament.

SEE MORE HERE.

And finally, for a touch of old world wood burning, I've made another Valentine-ish woodburning with hearts and birds, based on European folk art, the sort of thing native to my mother's country.

This ornament is DOUBLE SIDED. Here is side one...

Here is side 2....................

SEE MORE HERE....

So hop on over to the Vagabond Shoppe to see those and other whimsical lovelies...

Meanwhile, I am still working on what I intend to do with Vagabond Creations as a whole, but it seem as though, right now, it's being overtaken with woodburning...

Speaking of future plans...
I also have THIS painted work coming up. She just needs a few details and edging. I have to say, I'm feeling a bit shy about branching into actual PAINTED work, since most people know me as a doll artist....but I actually started out, as an artist, with painted works....

Anyhow, I'm hoping to finish this lovely sometime this week....

And then THIS is the next ~~victim of my pyromania~~ item being prepped with the wood burner.

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a....spoon?!

Find out in the next post!

Until next time, friends, enjoy a magical day!

Winter Weather and Wooden Wonders

2011-01-13T15:56:00.001-08:00

Wonderous Woodenware

Perhaps another "W" I should add is "Whoa!"

Outside there is a huge snowstorm raging. Apparently, it's been that sort of weather all winter long, in the U.S. So if you're on the East Coast, bundle up and be careful on the roads! I've officially decided to call this "The Year of the Snowpocalypse." I think it's fitting, don't you?

While the weather outside is frightful, I thought I'd update you on a few bits of news--

1 ~ First, I will again be participating in the One World One Heart Blog event.

This will be MY third time in this wonderful online celebration, and also Lisa Swifka's LAST year doing this amazing event. If you are interested in more information on OWOH or would like to participate, click on the red link, above and you will be taken directly to the site. In the past, OWOH has drawn over 1000 participants from all over the world in a wonderful display of friendship and creativity! THANK YOU LISA for this amazing idea, and all your efforts!

2 ~ An update on the HOLIDAY DOLL BALL SWAP from December. A few people have asked me who MY partner was, and I'm sorry I didn't make it clearer, because my partner SHOULD be a professional doll-maker, but instead is a humble wife and mother and DOES NOT even sell her dolls.

HERE is LOTUS's doll to ME!

Her name is Moxie, and she is a cloth jointed doll with SO many details. Isn't she amazing?

Lotus's blog is called Whymsical Lotus--and you can also see the step by step construction of MOXIE HERE....will SOMEONE besides me please go visit her and tell her she needs to do professional work?

Finally, in my last online rambling, NEW YEAR POST, I mentioned that I had resolutions involving my creative work! I realized that I forgot to mention--*and I think this is important for ALL artists*--that another of my resolutions is to GIVE MYSELF credit for all of the hard work I do in creating my art, in the form of pricing my art FAIRLY. I I know this is probably crazy, and quite the tricky field to navigate, as so much consumer thought tends to favor "cheaper (often foreign made) goods." But I have to believe that people will appreciate my work. Or at least I'm crossing fingers that they will. So please bear with me as I'm trying to fairly factor creation time and materials cost towards my these little art pieces....

Speaking of art, you'll remember that I showed you my slew of woodburned curiosities! Here, they are in their individual glory!

(click to enlarge)

Vagabond Easter Ornament
SIDE 1

SIDE 2

Vagabond Valentine Doves
SIDE 1

SIDE 2

Vagabond Owl Love
SIDE I

SIDE 2

Vagabond Folk Flowers and Swans
SIDE I

SIDE 2

And the grand piece...

BIRDS AND STARS
A Woodburned Trinket Box!

....which I will try to get into the shoppe tomorrow!

Meanwhile, all the other lovelies are now in the Etsy Shoppe!
Hop on over to read how each is made! Perhaps you'd like to take them home with you?

New Year Metamorphasis....

2011-01-11T08:22:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year, My Friends!

The New Year's Eve Table at my parents' house. Hmm, you think my first resolution would be to lose weight!

Whoa! It's funny how some things never change, and it seems I'm still busy enough to be quite late with my New Year Greetings! But changes, they are a'comin'! I've picked this auspicious (if interesting) day--1/11/11-- to tell you about my plans.....

It's been a strange, steep winding road, 2010 was. Full of challenges, but intertwined with fun and imaginative things, too. I am still grateful to have moments of magic, and still be able to keep my sanity (though it's barely hanging there by a thread at times)!

2010 saw SO MANY HAPPENINGS:

1. Our 3 beehives became 6, and this was the first year we harvested honey!
2. I became a manager of a small urban farm, and oversaw the growing of veggies, herbs, even pumpkins. And we even managed to celebrate Halloween in style!
3. The last of our two family dogs died. But we got the white haired SWEETIE IN THIS POST to help heal broken hearts.
4. I grew a garden, and THREE chickens (I really need to tell that story one day!)
5. NEW TECHNIQUES WERE USED in "the art department"...and more are on the way....

Which brings me to my New Year's Resolutions. I don't know about you, but I usually avoid resolutions like the plague. Something about this year, though, compels me to be more...orderly...so I decided to set myself a few goals (we won't call them resolutions, right?). And, in fact, I'm happy to say that I've already started being proactive on a few of them.

What are your ~~resolutions~~ goals? Here are a few of mine.

Remove more stresses in my life. I actually managed to REDUCE a few hours of my wickedly busy day job. Which frees me up for more art, bee adventures, and looking for the dream farm. Speaking of which....

Buy the Farm. Ummm, not figuratively! If you've been reading this little journal in blogspace, you may know I have a bit of Farm Fever. It tends to manifest itself HERE and HERE. I am still looking for a little piece of farm heaven. And, in fact, I will probably be focusing more on those blogs this year.

This year, I intend to make THIS blog a sales page only, along with any art related posts, such as my swaps and blog parties. So if you are interested in following me (including posts on doll making!), your best bet is to *follow* my BEYOND VAGABOND blog.

Swaps: yes there will be another two this year. They do seem to fall during Spring and Wintertime. I will be announcing the next one after Valentine's day. And I also wanted to thank all of you who always seem to participate in my online art shenanigans. What beautiful, talented, wonderful people you are!

Promote myself more, artwise. I am horrible at this. Or rather, I don't have time to even advertise that I am this little folk-ish artist. All last year, I'd watch in awe as so many of my favorite artists and friends created or participated in various art groups, while I stayed put at my tried and true ART DOLLS ONLY group. Which is an AMAZING group, indeed! But maybe I'm selfish and want to break out a little! Can't a girl be part of the Halloween, rustic arts, folksy groups, too? I feel like the proverbial braces-and-glasses wearing kid trying to get into the cool kids club!

Hmmm...I do believe that pretty much sums up the main goals....

And now, the last bit of news:

A few *NEW* offerings!
You might remember awhile back that I started working with wood burning techniques. I was quite proud of my little wood ornament, "The Owl and The Pussycat," which you can SEE HERE (and a BIG THANKS TO MARIE PATTERSON for giving it a good home!)
Well, over Christmas, I shuttled the wood burning equipment with me to my parents' house, and with ALL of that free time, quite A LOT got accomplished:

TA-DA!

More on that story soon! In the meantime, if you're interested in these beauties, you can snatch them up at my Etsy Shoppe tomorrow!

(And, I big thanks to all of you who bought our beeswax ornaments! We still have a small lot for sale, and they make great decorations the whole year through. Get yours before next fall, as we have only allotted a small amount of natural wax from our beehives)!

What about you? What do you wish for this year?

Big Hugs and a Wonderful New Year, my Friends!

Winter Well Wishes!

2010-12-30T10:23:00.001-08:00

Hello Friends!

Just stopping by to wish you Happy Holidays! Wintertide is cause for wonderful celebrations with my family, and I've had the great fortune to visit my parents for the past few years, which means high festivities . Hopefully your winter celebrations are much like mine: full of food, fun, family, furry pets and friendship!

Here are some pictures of my family's house, in Florida. The past week has been a flurry of baking, tree trimming, present opening, tradition carrying, hugging, and creativity galore! It's always wonderful to be a part of the little traditions my family carries on with, in house decorated to rival anything St. Nick could come up with could come up with!

(CLICK TO ENLARGE)

Home Sweet Home....

We live across the street from a forest. Could there be a better view on a crisp winter morning? (This is winter in Florida by the way. No crazy snow to shovel in the morning!)

My mother is an impeccable baker. Her mother was a cook and baker for German nobility. Suffice to say: no one stays skinny at our house!
Baklava...

London Bars...shortbread crust, peach filling, ground nut topping...yum!

One of the great things about my vacation is that I finally had the chance to work on an idea that I always wanted to execute: to make all of my gifts handmade. The idea is to give my family gifts that were 100% made by me. This year, I could proudly say I did this (and you can too!). After starting at the end of November, I managed to give everyone a fully handcrafted item:

My father loves owls, so I made an old fashioned, clay headed owl doll in a dapper cloth body and suit:

Here is a doll I made for my sister. Since she lived, for a time, in Japan, I made a two sided geisha doll.

Here is the blue geisha, as my sister loves shades of blue:

Here is the second side: the geisha is completely made of pink and peach colors...

And, of course, everyone got beeswax ornaments!

The other wonderful thing about this time of year is that it allows me to be quiet and reflective about life. I often find myself, in the hustle and bustle of my metropolitan life, often wondering: "what am I doing here?" and "am I making a difference in the little piece of the world I am in?" Often, I sometimes wondering if I am leaving any sort of good on the path I'm on, but sometimes, I can say that I am doing something wonderful--

Meet Polly...

Our two family dogs, the love of my parents' lives, both died a year apart. Being the staunch family lovers we are, we started looking for a sweet new friend for my parents. When I went home last summer, we went to the pound and found this sweet Pyranees, which is a livestock guardian dog, originally from the Pyranees mountains in France.

This poor thing was held outside in a yard on a rope, underfed to the point she was only HALF her weight, and was matted. Of course, she was a lovebug....

We love her and immediately adopted her. Isn't she cute? AND she matches the Christmas decor. Our own personal Snow Dog!

I am so grateful for so much this year. I have my health, the ability to make art, so many wonderful friends, including YOU!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Official Vagabond Sales Page!

2010-12-17T07:43:00.000-08:00

GUIDELINES to HOW THE SALES PAGE WORKS -
PLEASE READ, IT WILL SAVE YOU A LOT OF HASSLES LATER!

This is the official SALES PAGE of BEYOND VAGABOND.

Items here often will not fit into ETSY categories, so I am selling them here. Amazing items taken from my eclectic little life can now be yours!
ALL PROCEEDS fund my little farm dream and horse drawn wagon tour!

I have tried to break it down to be as simple as possible!

1. I will ship ALL PACKAGES USPS unless otherwise directed by YOU.

2. ALL PRICES INCLUDE STANDARD SHIPPING TO THE EAST COAST. No extra, messy, shipping fees to figure out! West Coasters, I'm sorry, but because the post office has suddenly become crazy with their fees, WEST COASTERS, ADD $2 to these prices. If you're not sure if you are a West Coaster, email me and I'll let you know! :)

3. EXPEDITED SHIPPING (Priority Mail): ADD $4 to the price. Please email and let me know if you would like Priority Mail as your shipping method.

4. INTERNATIONAL BUYERS (ha! I'm assuming more than 3 folks from some part of the USA read this blog!), please email me with your interest in any item. I will have to specifically calculate shipping for your country.

5. If ANY ITEM SELLS, THERE WILL BE A HUGE "SOLD" underneath the item, so please read carefully!

6. All items will be described to the best of my ability. Any questions or comments, please email me! I also will send extra pictures on demand. Please note that all items are sold "AS IS" so please don't hesitate to contact me with questions BEFORE YOU BUY!

7. If you have any questions about an item, or would like MORE PICTURES, please email me, I will be happy to assist.

8. EMAIL ME AT beyondvagabond@gmail.com

9. I TAKE PAYMENT AND CREDIT CARD THROUGH PAYPAL. PLEASE EMAIL ME FOR MY PAYPAL ADDRESS, IT IS NOT THE SAME AS MY EMAIL!!

Alright, without further ado...here are the items:

Holiday/Winter thermos ~ this red and white thermos is enameled metal and 9" tall. Great for keeping foods hot and cold. Hillside scene of rabbit moose and birds! $10

Cute Metal Christmas tree. Several metal golden metallic looks make up this Christmas tree. Glittered metal stand. Little metal round colored ornaments on each "bough." Golden wired star at the top. 9 1/2 " tall. $10

Bellydance fringe with silver coins ~ This is a great piece for a dancer, or daring someone for a night on the town! black and metallic silver yarn which is crocheted around the hip area and falls to a fringe which is ankle length. Almost 3 feet length, and can fit 42" waist comfortably. Silver coins form triangular patterns along the hip area, adds extra jingle, but not too much weight! $30

Cute little ballerina bear figurine! Ceramic, almost 3" tall Sweet gift $7

Cute little sleepy-time bear and his bear! Ceramic! 2" tall. Great gift! $7

Gold colored metal coin belt. LOTS of jingles in this one! Great for Middle Eastern Dancers or some bold person for a night on the town!. Gold coins held in loop patterns, on metal chains. Hooks closed. Fits up to a 38" waist comfortably. $30

Metal Headdress: This is Indian inspired. Two metal clasps wrap around the sides of the temples and the top piece goes over the crown of your head and attaches to the back of the head. Copper/Goldish color $12

Winter Market Day 3: "Tree Dainties"

2010-12-15T09:48:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends!

Wow, how the time is zipping towards the holidays!

As such, I am happy to report that there are finally a FEW NEW THINGS at Ye Olde Vagabond Shoppe!

One is rather Holiday oriented but the other is quite different, and I think both could be used all year round! And then I have a WHOLE other group of ornaments, made of a MOST interesting substance!

(feel free to click to enlarge pics)

*First:

This ornament seems to have to have taken forever (you can see it in posts HERE and HERE), but that's me being quite the perfectionist painter! Just in time for the holidays, spread some

"Polar Bear Love"!

This ornament was entirely done freehand (no stencils here!). In the pic below, you might better see that the outside circle is filled with glittery goodness, and "Mama Bear's" scarf is made of iridescent silver paint, so there's tons of sparkle-glittery good magic to be had with this wonderful ornament!

Take this lovable family home by visiting them HERE

*Then! You remember THIS POST where my fingers were bandaged (scroll down a bit to see the so-so carnage)?
You will now learn the secret of why....I was learning to use a WOOD BURNING tool, in order to do pyrography! What is pyrography? It's the art of creating wood...umm, art, by burning! This technique was part of the "experimental" phase of art I was doing, and was done at the same time I was working on the shrinky dinks ornaments (by the way the SNOW QUEEN is still available here)!

So now, HERE is the result of all the hand-maiming work:

A Woodburned "Owl and PussyCat" ornament!

I always liked the owl and Pussycat, but always felt the cat should be a ruckus fiddle playing Tom, and so now he is! And the owl is a shy girl here!

Yes, all of the dark lines, dots, and even the sky background is made by BURNING the wood! Even Mr. Pussycat's coat is a very light burn! This took quite a bit of time, and control to be able to get the desired darkness..but I hope you like the results!
I think this ornament would be great for the holidays, a baby's nursery, or just anyplace where you might something to brighten your day!

YOU CAN TAKE HOME THESE two HERE

OK--finally...some of you MAY know I'm a beekeeper (amongst other things!) and that I have honey for sale. But I also have a lot of beeswax. And what better way to make use of it for the holidays than make BEESWAX ORNAMENTS!

TA DA!

These ornaments are made with our 100% pure beeswax, without coloring, heating, or an other process that would adulterate them. AND THE SCENT is divine! -Molded as beautiful old world, "colonial inspired" ornaments, they are perfect for the holidays, or any time! These hold a special place in my heart, as my mother (and grandfather) made ornaments of beeswax, as a European tradition!

I have the beehive, rabbit and (soon) meadowlark for sale HERE and you can request MORE THAN ONE, as I have lots of beeswax to melt down! Or, if you'd like some raw beeswax for your own fun, contact me, as I have that as well!

TOMORROW ~ I should have ONE or two more items up for sale, PLUS I'LL BE PUTTING UP the official sales page here on the blog...

AND THEN OFF to visit my family for a holidays in a week! What are your holiday plans!

A HOLIDAY BALL SWAP PARADE!!

2010-12-10T15:30:00.000-08:00

HELLOOOOOO!

Wow, what an event, setting up this wonderful BLOG post! Today is the big day, folks! After months of wonderful artists' imagination and work, the Holiday Doll Ball Swap Parade is WELL in place!

Firstly, I WANT TO THANK ALL OF YOU WONDERFUL SOULS who seem to always jump on these crazy band-wagon swaps of mine! It is an honor to see all of this wonderful work! Bravo and thank you for the spirit of creativity and community you have each brought! What wonderful dolls!

Second, I know I mentioned I might discuss some of my ornaments and what-not, but honestly, this is going to be a PICTURE HEAVY POST (33 doll entries!!!), so I'll wait another day to do anything but FEATURE THESE GREAT DOLLS!

Before we start, HERE ARE THE PARTICIPANTS!

Moriah ~ MLB Studios
Kaerie Faerie ~ Twigs Fairy Land
Sonia ~ Dark Raven's Nest
Kim ~ Prims by Kim
Cindy ~ ThimblePrims Studio
Marina ~ Marina's Dolls
Trish ~ Crafty Creations By Trish
Susie ~ Oriel Studios
Kim ~ Soggy Dog Studios
Sue ~ Rabbit Hollow Prims
Michelle ~ *The Studio At Crow Haven Farm*
Bridget ~ Wynd Swept Acres
Denise ~ Odd Imagination
Nicole ~ Mealy Monster Land
Hope ~ Pixie's Ponderings
Matty ~ Matty's Dolls
Cody ~ Cody Goodin Arts
Cathy ~ SnuggleBug Blessings
Christen ~ Fantasies From Within
Raedell ~ DellaRae Dezines
Diane ~ Dianie Mac Designs
Amy ~ The Heart of A Seed
Vonda - Vonda Hart
Deanna ~ Blue Dragon Arts
Deirdra ~ Deirdra Doan
Stephanie ~ Pixies In The House
Jan - JDConwell
Helen - Helen Fern Originals
TraceyAnne -Jasmoon Butterfly
Jacqui ~ Odd Dollz
Amy ~ Bumble Bee Lane Cottage
Grace ~ Little Black Crow Studio
Carisa ~ Goblinfruit Studio
Eru ~ Shop Eru
Marfi ~ Incipient Wings
Georgina ~ La Llarona Arts
Wilma ~ Empress Wu Designs
Kim ~ Dark Horse Dolls
Lotus ~ Whymsical Lotus
Caroline ~ Bent Whims Studio
Theresa ~ Sycamore Moon Studios
Zan Asha ~ Your Host

And away we go.......

'Twas the week before Christmas. Come One and Come All!
To Marvel these Art Dolls for the Holiday Ball!

Dolls of every shape and description
Come from Far and from Yonder
As a celebration of their artists
And Holiday Wonder!

So off we go!
Pull up a chair!
And now take a moment
For our Holiday Fair....

The Ball features characters of every celebration
Here they are, for your adoration!
(CLICK PICS TO ENLARGE, if you like)

There were cute Halloween dolls....

This little skull clad cutie by Sonia of Sonia Rodriguez Designs/CKO House

Los Dias Del Muertos doll by Marfi of Incipient Wings

"Moxie" by Lotus of Whymsical Lotus

Halloween doll by Kim of Dark Horse Dolls

Halloween dolly by Michelle of Studio at Crow Haven Farm

And a bevvy of cheerful Christmastime Elves!

This Christmas elf by Moriah of MLB Studios

"Sonny the Studio Elf" by JD Conwell

Elf by Kim of Soggy Dog Studios

This cute elf by Stephanie of Pixies in the House

And of course let's not forget our Halloween witches,

This little green witch by Caroline of Bent Whims Studio

"Tess and Her Broom" by Raedell of DellaRae Dezines

As well sweet Easter characters that keep us in stitches....

"Bunny Boy" by Denise of Odd Imagination

"Eoster/Easter," Goddess of Spring by Deanna of Blue Dragon Arts

And lovely winter dolls, made of magical wishes.

"The Spirit of January" by Theresa of Sycamore Moon Studios

"Shiver, A Child of Ice and Snow" by Cindy of ThimblePrims Studio

"Merry Christmas" by Helen Fern of Helen Fern Originals

And dolls celebrating a holiday of KISSES!

This heart doll by Tracey Ann of Jasmoon Butterfly

"Lady Val" by Georgina of La LLorona Arts

There are men made of snow...

This snowman of by Hope of Pixie's Ponderings

Snowman by Grace of Little Black Crow

And dolls quite festively dreamy.....

"Dreaming of A White Christmas" by Wilma of Empress Wu Designs

"Tilda" by Marina of Marina's Dolls

"Celeste"By Susie of Oriel Studios

"Miss Wu Goes to the Sockhop" by Dierdra of Dierdra Doan

Sweet and fun darlings....

Christmas Angel by Eru of Shop Eru

"Thanksgiving Prairie Doll" by Amy of BumbleBee Lane Cottage

This sweet doll Matty of Matty's Dolls

Mischevous Elfling by Christen of Fantasies from Within

...and a few dolls, it seems, are magnificently creepy!

"Matilda" by Jacqui of Odd Dollz

Interesting creatures brought happy jubilation...

This Christmas tree doll by Cody of Cody Goodin Arts

"Bat Diva" by Kaerie Faerie of Twigs Faerie Land

And a few dolls were truly a holiday combination!

"Muertos Bunny" by Carisa of GoblinFruit Studio

This Halloweeny Santa by Nicole of Mealy Monster Land

And now that we've reached the end of this post, I'll leave you with the doll from your's truly, your host!

HALLOWEEN QUEEN by Zan Asha

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! AND THANK YOU!!!

PS--Please visit these wonderful artists and BUY HANDMADE if you can for the holidays!

All sorts of Things A'Happ'nin' Tomorrow!

2010-12-09T08:02:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends!

Just stopping by briefly, in the midst of a flurry of activity, for a few notes of interest: LOTS of stuff is happening!

1. DOLL SWAPPERS- TODAY is your LAST CHANCE to send me pics of your doll for the big HOLIDAY DOLL PARADE TOMORROW! Don't miss out! Everyone will see your work! I'm getting this post together as we speak...ummm...write... so email your pics to beyondvagabond@gmail.com

2. WOODEN ORNAMENTS: I have two that I will unveil tomorrow in the same post as the swap!

3. Over the weekend, I will start posting picks of yummy things that I've held onto for years, which need to be cleaned out of the house. If you've seen pictures of my house, you'll know I have WAY tooo much stuff. So I'll have them for sale HERE on the BLOG for your pleasure! So stay tuned!

Winter Market Day 2 and ADVICE NEEDED!

2010-12-03T08:48:00.000-08:00

Hello Fine Friends!

Here we go again--I've only NOW gotten back to posting, but there are very good reasons WHY, and I'll need your help regarding that...but first, A FEW ANNOUNCEMENTS:

First, THIS LITTLE GUY (and his polar bear friend) are up for sale at ye olde Etsy Shoppe (for a very nice price!):

Check him out HERE

Next--and the reason I'm rather late getting back to you this late, is that I've been experimenting in the "Enchanted Vagabond Headquarters."
You remember THIS FELLOW, that I'd mentioned HERE:

Right. He looked perfectly fine in those before pics, but when I shrunk him, his paint actually discolored a bit on his face and he REALLY DID SHRINK (click all pics to enlarge):

See how small? And the face is a bit discolored....

So I'm not sure how viable he really is for sale, though I really did want to appease all my Halloween loving Christmas friends with a Halloween themed ornie!

Next, you remember "Jack Frost"? He looked super spectacular (and took 4 HOURS to detail and paint!) before:

Now the shrinking. Since he was probably the LARGEST ornament I had yet made, once I placed him in to shrink, she started CURLING. I managed to get him flattened out and he looked rather nice:

BUT--there is a small bubble to the right of him, near his elbow. It's not quite noticeable on the one side. But on the opposite side it's visible.

See it as a "shiney section" on the right, under the elbow?

You can kind of see the bubble on the right side, under the elbow, when I hold him to the light.

There was nothing I could do to flatten it back out, even when the instructions suggested that I put the art back in the oven to soften it. I tried 4 different times unsuccessfully to remove the bubble/dent before giving up.

**I think for the most part, it's unnoticeable but then again, I CAN see it, so now I'm wondering whether it's worth putting this (or the little owl) up for sale. Since there was a VAST amount of work put in, maybe I should offer this up for a lower price and explain?

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

That's where I need your help! Advice here would be soooo greatly appreciated! And please feel free to be honest! I'm a big girl and can take it!

At this point, I think I will put a halt with the shrink plastic art, since I seem to be getting such mixed results, though I think it's a great medium for some artwork!

In the meantime, I can say that my next offering (which SHOULD be later tonight), is coming along much more nicely--this wooden ornament:

Up next: wood ornaments galore!

Winter Market Day 1

2010-12-01T10:32:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends!

How was your Thanksgiving? I actually had to work through Thanksgiving (and there were moments that I really had to remember that I was so THANKFUL to be employed) but it wasn’t quite as busy as my normal days, I FINALLY managed to make some art magic.

Now two things were simultaneously going on these past few months that slowed my art making down further than normal.

ONE: You remember THIS post (scroll to the bottom to see the artwork...or you can just read the whole beautiful thing, which involves Dianie Mac, who I REALLY owe an email to!) the one where I talk about my previous life as a regular illustrator and artist…

For awhile now, I’ve wanted to expand my art past doll making (don’t get me wrong, I LOVE doll making…well, the PAINTING part of doll making more than anything), and in fact VAGABOND CREATIONS was a place where my love of ALL arts, and nature, combined.

I also really, really love the idea of art being functional. I believe my mama instilled this in me from a young age, where crocheted lace were doilies and embroidery became linen towels and tablecloths. There was beauty, but beauty AND function are two gifts in one.

TWO: in order to create some of my new work, I decided to work in new mediums, which meant A LOT of experimentation…..and you know how THAT goes…lots of time taken up. But well worth it, since I LOVE learning new things!

As a result, there are a WHOLE new crop of Vagabond Creations!

First….remember Shrinky Dinks? Sure you do! Yes, they might be great for little kids--but I wondered…could they be more functional, beautiful, and useful? Time to find out!

How about some ornaments? Making winsome designs and painting them, one shrinks the plastic through heating it. Since the size then becomes one-third smaller, it probably helps NOT to get too detailed about it…

Virgo perfectionist that I am, I couldn’t resist treating each one like a normal painting. Of course this meant I would later scream in horror, err....I mean: watch as the detailed became tiny or non-existent as the shrank away.

Here’s my first attempt. I shrunk it before I realized I probably should have taken a proper “before picture” --

"JOY” is a winter vagabond aboard a friend polar bear. The painted side took on a very textured affect--almost like snow! Glitter everywhere, and dots:

On the opposite side you might notice a different star pattern on the little vagabond’s outfit. And a bit less glitter. Oh yeah, “JOY” is given a mirror affect, spelled backwards here, but if you like double-sidedness, this should work for you.

Now--to see the size difference (and probably get a better view of the sparkles on the vagabond’s little cap), check out this picture of the ornament in my hand (and ignore the bandaged fingers. As I said, all SORT of new techniques were being played around with this weekend, some more dangerous than others!)

"JOY" should be in the Etsy shoppe by tonight!

Next up--an ornament for Halloween-o-philes, inspired by a vintage Halloween. Here’s the before of Mr. Owl and his Jack O Lantern. Again, front and back are a bit different (can you spot the differences?).

I have yet to shrink him down, I'm currently enjoying his full size. I'll show you the affects tomorrow, methinks!

Finally, my most ambitious project was the “Ice Queen”--though she’s not so icy that she can’t hold a cute little fur seal pup in her arms. This style of drawing is a bit less stylized, and more of the type of drawing that I used to do:

Here she is after shrinking. Very sparkly and shiny!

I was rather pleased how she turned out!

Bouyed with the success of “Ice Queen” I am planning to add "Jack Frost" tomorrow. Here he is before shrinking:

I might also have FULL sized (8" x 11") of both Ice Queen and Jack frost tomorrow as PRINTS, so if you're interested in glittery, wintery art, then those are some gifts you might consider.

Also up tomorrow, THIS ORNAMENT, which I shall be finishing in the weeee hours of the morning:

And FINALLY: A Vagabond Creations work that I had "help" on! I am now selling my own honey at the Etsy Shoppe as well! Stop by if you love RAW honey made by old-timey beekeeping methods!

More from the magical Vagabond shoppe TOMORROW!

Winter Extravaganza and Other News!

2010-11-30T08:30:00.001-08:00

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!

2010-11-24T07:51:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-22T07:14:00.001-08:00

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

2010-11-20T08:03:00.001-08:00

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!

2010-11-18T07:13:00.001-08:00

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!

How To's for Halloween!

2010-10-26T20:18:00.000-07:00

So....as we get closer to Halloween, and it becomes a weeeee bit crazier around here, I've left the posts "OPEN" for whatever catches my fancy, Halloween-wise, at least.

Today, I thought I'd find you some Halloween How To's on the web. So here goes:

A WHOLE SLEW of How Tos can be found by a site with the same name:
HowToHalloween.com

In case you are lame at the Jack-O-Lantern making, there's a whole site devoted to pumpkin carving, including showing you how to pick the RIGHT pumpkin (really, there's a "wrong" pumpkin in this whole scenario?) for your JOL project: Pumpkin Carving 101

Need help making Halloween cupcakes? Here's a video to help you out HERE

And, I suppose, if you want to make HEALTHY alternatives to those cupcakes, you can go HERE

In the "totally random" category, here's a place to learn how to make ORIGAMI Halloween Shapes

In a totally "cool" category, here's how you can make YOUR OWN WAND

And, for the witch in all of us, here's HOW TO MAKE A BESOM (that's a "witch's broom" for those of you not in the know)!

And, in the totally hilarious category, or unbelievable category (or proof that you CAN find anything on the interwebs), here's a video series on HOW TO RUN FROM ZOMBIES

And with that, I'll leave you until tomorrow! Mwahahhaaaaaaaaaaaaa

An Urban Farm Halloween!

2010-10-25T21:28:00.000-07:00

Hello Folks!

So today, I thought I'd share a little of MY Halloween escapades....

But first, A REMINDER...I STILL HAVE THE PUMPKIN SPATULA GIVEAWAY! Deadline to sign up for a free, cute HALLOWEEN-Y SPATULA ENDS OCTOBER 28th! SO SIGN UP HERE

Alright--so far, you've read all sorts of fun and informational Halloween posts throughout the month. Today, I thought I'd show you a little of my Halloween celebration!

Some of you may or may not know that when I am not doing art, I have a serious love of nature and farming. In fact one of my maaaaany jobs is as part time farm managers at an urban farm in New York City. This past weekend, I organized our farm's Halloween festival and we were happy to host the community in this fun celebration!

Here are some pics of the day (feel free to click to enlarge):

Yes, I am trying to be a gypsy here....

The whole outfit, complete with old fashioned bucket.....

Believe it or not, we GREW all of these pumpkins on the farm...it's 3 acres, so I guess it worked!

Demetrio, one of the leaders of the farm, in a pirate outfit. Note both the New York Graffiti, and the cow painted "barn." By the way, painting the cow spots: my idea!

One of our volunteers, looking ominous....

Cute kids, everywhere....

And my friend Mimi and her Tribal Dance Troupe, Manhattan Tribal, stole the show!

...and posed pretty, with their drummer Luis...

What a great festival! Hope everyone else has a great Halloween season!

CRAZY Halloween Costumes!

2010-10-24T20:16:00.001-07:00

Hello Folks!

Wow, what a crazy weekend it's been. I'll post about the farm Halloween Festival I produced in the next round of postings. First, a couple of things!

YOU KNOW WE HAVE ANOTHER GIVEAWAY, right? CLICK HERE to check it out!

We also have a photo contest where you can wins some very cool art supplies like buttons, ribbon, stickers, and more!

JUST SEND ME YOUR HALLOWEEN pictures of: your funniest or craziest outfit, your kids celebrating Halloween or your pet celebrating Halloween. Send no more than 2 pictures BY HALLOWEEN to beyondvagabond@gmail.com and you can win!

Please note that I will be posting all of the Halloween pictures, so make sure this is something you think people want to see. I reserve the right to disqualify pics that I deem racy or inappropriate...so keep it cute and clean, folks!

And speaking about pictures, here are some amazing and hilarious costumes to get you in the Halloween mood!

Crazy and imaginative costumes for adults....

And for pets.....here, these animals are dressed...well, like other animals!

Even babies get in on the act...in this case, they seem to be dressed as food items...

What do YOU plan to be for Halloween?

Tomorrow...A Halloween Festival on an Urban Farm!

Moonlight Magic and Tea Under a Full Moon!

2010-10-23T05:35:00.000-07:00

Hello Dearies! Oh Dear...I was to put a Magical Moon post up in this month-long Halloween Carnival roll, but I just plumb ran out of time....

So today, I decided to combine that with the Tea Party Under a Halloween Moon, hosted by
Frosted Petunias!

I see the Moon.....

The Moon is scientifically known to have an affect on sea tides, weather, and more. It is said to affect women more often then men, including their hormones; thus the moon has often been portrayed as a female entity, while the sun is often "masculine."

And the Moon Sees Me....

The full moon was, in ancient (and modern times) said to be so powerful on the psyche of humans and animals that the Latin word, lunacy, meant "to be affected by the moon," but is a euphamism for "craziness."

So I invite him to a tea party!

Superstitions about the Moon's Affect on Weather - When the moon points up, the weather will be good, when it points down, it will rain - When a large star, or planet, is near the moon, the weather will be violent - Fog and a small moon bring an easterly winds

Superstitions on the Moon's Affect on Tides: - When the moon is low, the tides will be higher than normal - When the moon is at its brightest, the tides are high - Deaths occur most often when the tide is going out, and births occur when the tide is coming in

And the guests? Why they are Halloween Dollies!

Good Luck brought on by the moon: - People once believed the moon was made of silver, so they would ask the moon for help and jingle the change in their pockets, as they gazed at it's glory.

- Legend says that to cure warts, catch some moonbeams in a metal basin and wash your hands in it, saying "I wash my hands in thy dish, 'O man in the moon, do grant my wish, and come and take this away"

- To see the thin crescent over ones left shoulder is lucky

-Amulets in the shape of a crescent moon, are used to protect you from the evil eye, witchery and advance individual prosperity. - The Crescent must always point to the left, this represents the first quarter of the moon, when things prosper and grow. - In Roman times, women used to wear silver moon crescents on their shoes to ensure having healthy babies.

Favors are set, and guests will arrive soon

Bad Luck: - It was thought that to sleep in direct moonlight caused madness or blindness.

- It is unlucky to view the first new moon through glass or through a tree, it is also unlucky to point at the moon.
- It is bad luck to dig a grave or bury a body during a new Moon.

I stir the tea with this magical spoon!

- The new moon is an auspicious time for planting, courtship, the starting of new business ventures, or trips.
- It is also the best time to cut the hair and fingernails for better growth later on.

- An old English tradition holds that a housewife seeing the new moon for the first time, should run quickly to her bedroom and turn down her bed to ensure a happy marriage.

- At first sight of the new moon, one should turn a silver coin in his purse or pocket and make a wish.
- Seeing a new moon for the first time on a Monday will bring you good luck.

- If the first time you see a new moon, is over your right shoulder, it is a sign of fun times ahead.

- If you happen to be holding something, in both of your hands, when you see the new moon for the first time, you will never want for anything.

- A wish made whilst looking at new moon will come true within a year

Why thank you for coming Mr. Moon!

Thank you for joining my Tea Party Under a Full Moon! In the meantime, we have a whole month-long Halloween Carnival going on here! So come back for fun giveaways and more!
And enjoy blog-hopping, Dearies! Mwhahahahahaaaaa!

Pumpkin (s)Patch-ula Giveaway and more Halloween Fun!

2010-10-21T18:38:00.001-07:00

Hello Friends!

Are you still keeping up with these Halloween posts? We're more than half-way through!

Alright--see this cool gadget?

Yep, it's a spatula in the shape of a Jack-o-Lantern! And--yes--it is functional! How fun would breakfast be on Halloween Day?! Or any day, if you are a Halloween-o-phile like me!

Anyhow-- I will try to keep it simple(r) this time around:

To be considered for this Jack-O-Spatula:
Just follow this blog, and leave a comment to say you are a follower, just so I know who's interested. You have until October 27th to leave a comment.

I pick a winner October 28th!

So start leaving those comments! In the meantime, here are some more fun Halloween links!

Ben and Jerry's have a whole section of their site devoted to fun and cute Halloween games! Great for kids and kids at heart!

For all things Halloween, Halloween Online Magazine has all sorts of activities, tips, games, recipes and more to make your Halloween one to remember.

For the truly macabre, you can find the grave--yes, the grave--of anyone, at the aptly titled Find A Grave site. I suppose this would be interesting if you were curious as to where famous and infamous people are buried!

If you are a haunted house fanatic, then the Haunted Houses site is your spot! Designed with cool graphics, this site will locate tons of REAL haunted houses, restaurants, wild west spots and other eerie places, AND also haunted house attractions for fun. You can' t get more haunted than that!

If you want to practice your pumpkin carving skills, you can do so at Spookathon or at Online PumpkinCarving, my personal favorite, which then "lights up" your finished project like a jack-o-lantern once you're finished!

If you want to see some cute PETS in Halloween costumes, mosey over to THIS SITE and get ready to laugh. Dogs, cats, and even an IGUANA get into the holiday spirit!

...and finally! For the poetry fans--why not enjoy a Halloween Haiku?

TOMORROW! The Full Moon alights! So Full Moon Magic is in order for tomorrow's post!

Ta-Da! We have our Winner (Giveaway #2)

2010-10-20T20:27:00.000-07:00

Whooooooa! How could I forget? Oh dearie me! Time flies when you try to run a daily Halloween blog!

So forgive the late posting! Today's winner will win these two lovely TREATS:

Organic Lavender and Honey (from Zan's garden and BEES!)

Hmmm...I have to say I was surprised I only had 17 entries for these lovelies! Maybe not too many honey and lavender people out there?

Ahhh, nevertheless---more chances for our entrants to win! So off we go with the Random Number Generator again...I entered the number of entries--17--and got a random number (which I still can't copy and paste here! I REALLLYY need to figure that out!!)

And that number is #7!!

SO-- THERESA OF FAIRY MOON CREATIONS, YOU've WON!!

Send me your address via my email: beyondvagabond@gmail.com

And congrats!

And thanks all for participating.
NOW! THERE ARE STILL A FEW MORE GIVEAWAYS AFOOT!
TOMORROW, I SHALL TELL YOU HOW TO WIN THIS:

Cool Pumpkin Spatula

SO stay tuned, Dearies!
Mwahahahahahhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Werewolves and other Creeeeepy Creatures!

2010-10-19T18:51:00.001-07:00

Hello Lovelies!

The Magic Halloween Carnival rolls ON! Don't forget, the LAVENDER and HONEY giveaway ENDS TOMORROW! I will PICK A WINNER TOMORROW EVENING! So don't miss out and join HERE!

Anyhow...onto today's post...which focuses on the creepy creatures that go BUMP in the night! mwahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaa!

WEREWOLVES

Werewolves have held intrigue from ancient to modern times; the idea of possibly shape-shifting and becoming the "beast" that lurks further in our primitive ancestry has always held fascination.

The possibility of one shifting into animal form has been regarded as possible by those superstitious and sometimes ultra-religious factions of the world, and one can see the idea of sorcery, witchery, or just plain mutations in those beliefs.

Various methods for becoming a werewolf have been reported, one of the simplest being the removal of clothing and putting on a belt made of wolfskin, probably as a substitute for the entire animal skin . In other cases, the body is rubbed with a magic salve. To drink rainwater out of the footprint of the animal in question or to drink from certain enchanted streams were also considered effectual modes of accomplishing metamorphosis.

In Italy, France and Germany, it was said that a man could turn into a werewolf if he, on a certain Wednesday or Friday, slept outside on a summer night with the full moon shining directly on his face.

In other cases, the transformation was supposedly accomplished by allegiance with the Devil for the most loathsome ends, often for the sake of sating a craving for human flesh

The curse of lycanthropy was also considered by some scholars as being a divine punishment. Werewolf literature shows many examples of God or saints allegedly cursing those who invoked their wrath by changing them int werewolves. Those who were excommunicated by the Roman Catholic Church were also doomed to be werewolves.

Curiously, the power to transform humans into beasts is attributed to saints, as well as sorcerers. St. was said to have transformed the Welsh king Veriticus into a wolf. Natalis supposedly cursed an illustrious Irish family whose members were each doomed to be a wolf for seven years.

In other cases, lycanthropy was brought on by association with the Devil.

A notable exception to the association of Lycanthropy and the Devil, comes from a rare and lesser known account of an 80-year-old man named Thiess. In 1692, in Livonia, Thiess testified under oath that he and other werewolves were the Hounds of God. He claimed they were warriors who went down into hell to do battle with witches and demons. Their efforts ensured that the Devil and his minions did not carry off the grain from local failed crops down to hell. Thiess claimed that werewolves in Germany and Russia also did battle with the devil's minions in their own versions of Hell, and insisted that when werewolves died, their souls were welcomed into heaven as reward for their service. Thiess was ultimately sentenced to ten lashes for superstitious beliefs and idolatry

Becoming a werewolf simply by being bitten by another werewolf is common in modern horror films and fiction but this kind of transmission is rare in legend, unlike cases of vampirism. Another modern convention that did not exist in werewolf lore: susceptibility to silver bullets.

OTHER CREEPY CREATURES (not necessarily associated with Halloween, but scary nevertheless)

MANTICORE

The manticore is a composite beast from ancient India, meaning it has body parts that are of different species. It supposedly had a "blood-colored lion's body", the face of a man with blue eyes, and a tail resembling the sting of a scorpion. It's supposed existence was first traced in Ancient Greece, when Pliny the Elder wrote of it from a visit to East Asia. It can leap great distances and is very active. It eats human flesh voraciously. Its voice is a whistle that sounds like a melody from pipes. Some say it can shoot spines from its tail, and in any case a man who meet the Manticore is doomed to die.

BIGFOOT

Bigfoot, also known as Sasquatch, is purportedly an ape-like creature that inhabits forests, mainly in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Bigfoot is usually described as a large, hairy, upright humanoid creature. The term "sasquatch" is an anglicized derivative of the word "Sésquac" which means "wild man" in a Salish Native American language.

A majority of scientists discount the existence of Bigfoot and consider it to be a combination of folklore, misidentification, and hoax, rather than a legitimate animal, in part because some estimate large numbers necessary to maintain a breeding population. Nevertheless, Bigfoot remains one of the more famous and controversial legends. The Yeti, or Abominable Snowman is another humanoid on the same scale as Bigfoot, and is known as a humanoid creature living in the mountains of Tibet and/or Nepal.

CHUPACABRA

The most contemporary of the creepy mystery animals is the Chupacabra. Chupracabra is literally a latin translation from chupar "to suck" and cabra "goat", (literally "goat sucker," though some say it was meant to mean "blood sucker"), is a legendary creature rumored to inhabit parts of the Americas. It is associated more recently with sightings of an allegedly unknown animal in Puerto Rico (where these sightings were first reported), Mexico, and the United States. The name comes from the animal's reported habit of attacking and drinking the blood of livestock, especially goats. Physical descriptions of the creature vary. Eyewitness sightings have been claimed as early as 1995 in Puerto Rico, and have since been reported as far north as Maine, and as far south as Chile. It is supposedly a heavy creature, the size of a small bear, with a row of spines reaching from the neck to the base of the tail. There has been no factual evidence to prove chupracabras as more than lore.

LOCH NESS MONSTER

The Loch Ness Monster is reputed to inhabit Loch Ness (lake Ness) in the Scottish Highlands. The most frequent speculation is that the creature represents a line of long-surviving plesiosaurs (ancient water dinosaurs). It is similar to other supposed lake monsters in Scotland and elsewhere, though its description varies from one account to the next. Popular interest and belief in the animal has fluctuated since it was brought to the world's attention in 1933. Evidence of its existence is anecdotal, with minimal and much-disputed photographic material and sonar readings. The scientific community regards the Loch Ness Monster as a modern-day myth, and explains sightings as hoaxes. Despite this, it remains one of the most famous examples of The legendary monster has been affectionately referred to by the nickname Nessie. In general, most sightings involve a semblance of a long head or what are believed to be dorsal spines, above water.

Garden Witchery and Lore!

2010-10-18T21:42:00.001-07:00

Hello Friends!

I hope you are enjoying the merriment of the Magical Halloween Carnival! Forgive me for the late post....I was with a few doll friends of mine, including Pattee of Odd Dolls, who is staying with me for a few days! Yay!

Alright, on another note, don't forget...THIS GIVEAWAY IS GOING ON STILL...so jump in!

And so is THIS PHOTO CONTEST....so jump in some more!

And now on to today's post!

GARDEN WITCHERY and FLOWER LORE and MAGIC!

The art of caring for a garden grew out of millenia of humans tending to nature all around. Plants were healing, as well as foodstuffs, and eventually MAN found a way to manipulate these (as with most other aspects of nature) for his/her benefit. Gardens were visual masterpieces and kept plants in a controllable, orderly, convenient, and attractive way.

Obviously, the art of herbalism, flower care and medicine, and food preparations were crucial to early peoples, and ways of working with plants was an important part of living for early peoples. The art of garden witchery was usually passed down from mother to daughter, or from old herbalists to apprentices. These were tried and true ideas that were part old lore and superstition and also quite a bit of tried and true experimentation with plants.

These included:

All our shade-giving trees were once believed to have guardian spirits living within, but it was the oak tree that was to be worshipped with its variety of magical powers.Two of its claims being the presevation of youth by simply carrying around one of the acorns, and the ability to cure a toothache by driving a nail into the trunk.

The European mountain ash supposedly had the power to ward off witches, hence its previous name the "Witchen". Another that gave protection against witchcraft was the small flowering elder tree.

The symbol of good hope belongs to the hawthorn tree and was also considered a charm against sorcery by the Romans. Crowns made of hawthorn flowers were once worn for luck by the Athenian girls at weddings.

But still our gardens of herbs hold a wonder of cures and have come a long way since medieval times. Although, some may have become proven remedies, others were based on the powers of magic.

The angel herb "Angelica" was the one to grow when guarding against plague and pestilence. This holy plant also had a reputation as an extremely strong deterrent against witchcraft, its power supposedly discovered by a monk.

Parsley was believed to be followed by disaster and should never be given away. It was also an added ingredient in concocted brews that were taken to induce abortions.

As for heart disease, this was treated with the herb trefoil, simply because of its heart shaped leaves.

Also used was the purple-belled foxglove, although extremely poisonous, a derivative of this plant is used by physicians of today for cardiac conditions.

An antidote to the powers of witchcraft was supposedly a dose of the mallow flower. The rowan berry was used to protect your offsprings, and mugwort to shield you from the evil eye.

If you are wondering what you have laid to rest in your flower bed, then beware of the daffodil. Greek legend has these golden blooms tied in with the spirits of death.

The christian symbol of eternal love may spring from the carnation, but it was previously believed that this popular buttonhole flower once sprang from the grave of lovers.

The anemone with its wealth of color and perfume brings withered hopes as it wanes in the chilly winds of its short life, leaving the message of hope to be delivered by the almond blossom.

Sorrow is the periwinkle growing in the cool of the shade. Her wreath of flowers was once worn to executions on the heads of criminals. This wreath of sorrow was also worn by the dead infants of Italy.

But, all is not doom and gloom, as flowers have always spoken the language of love. Representing truth is the white chrysanthemun, while a love that's true is forever the forget-me-not.

Incidentally, the Victorians took flower lore and meanings to new heights and a miss or mister might tell his intended any number of things by what they put as a combination in their bouquet of flowers, here are some flowers and flower colors with special meaning:


Amaryllis	dramatic
Anemone	fragile
Apple Blossom	promise
Aster	contentment
Azalea	abundance

Bachelor Button	anticipation
Begonia	deep thoughts
Black-Eyed Susan	encouragement
Camellia	graciousness
Carnation:
pink	gratitude
red	flashy
striped	refusal
white	remembrance
yellow	cheerful
Chrysanthemum
bronze	excitement
white	truth
red	sharing
yellow	secret admirer
Cosmos	peaceful
Crocus	foresight
Daffodil	chivalry
Delphinum	boldness
Daisy	innocence
Freesia	spirited
Forget-Me-Not	remember me forever
Gardenia	joy
Geranium	comfort
Ginger	proud
Gladiolus	strength of character
Heather	solitude
Hibiscus	delicate beauty
Holly	domestic happiness
Hyacinth	sincerity
Hydrangea	perserverence
Iris	inspiration
Ivy	fidelity
Jasmine	grace and elegance
Larkspur	beautiful spirit
Lavender	distrust
Lilac	first love
Lily:
Calla	regal
Casablanca	celebration
Day	enthusiasm
Stargazer	ambition
Lisianthus	calming
Magnolia	dignity
Marigold	desire for riches
Nasturtium	patriotism
Orange Blossom	fertility
Orchid	delicate beauty
Pansy	loving thoughts
Passion flower	passion
Peony	healing
Poppy	consolation
Queen Anne's Lace	delicate femininity
Ranunculus	radiant
Rhododendron	beware
Rose:
pink	friendship
red	passionate love
red & white	unity
white	purity
yellow	zealous
Snapdragon	presumptious
Star of Bethlehem	hope
Stephanotis	good luck
Statice	success
Sunflower	adoration
Sweetpea	shyness
Tuberose	pleasure
Tulip:
pink	caring
purple	royalty
red	declaration of love
white	forgiveness
yellow	hopelessly in love
Violet	faithfulness
Wisteria	steadfast
Yarrow	good health
Zinnia	thoughts of friends

And finally, one more interesting garden witchery aspect...

Gardening by the Moon ~

Planting by the Moon: Gardeners for ages have known that planting by the moon can help grow better crops.

In very general terms, waxing moons (time before the full moon) is better for handling above ground crops.

Waning moon (after the full moon) is better for some root crops and doing garden maintenance like weeding and trimming.

HOLIDAY DOLL BALL SWAP PARTNERS!

2010-10-17T19:43:00.000-07:00

HELLO DEARIES! Wow, I wanted to post much earlier but I keep forgetting that the task of choosing swap partners is a heady and lengthy one! I am one of those that agonizes over choosing the right swap partners for my participants, so I can only hope I did a good job!

Swappers! REMEMBER: your doll must be AT LEAST 4 INCHES TALL and you must have it in the mail by DEC 5th.

If you are delayed, kindly tell your partner! In the meantime, I've emailed most of your with your partner's email address. If I don't email you by early tomorrow, it means I've somehow lost my mind and missed you (which is likely to happen--me losing my mind, that is!).

Here are the pair ups! PLEASE EMAIL YOUR DOLL PICTURES TO ME BY DEC 10th, as we are doing a Holiday doll parade on Dec 12th on the blog!

Nicole/Mealy Monster Land - Denise/Odd Imagination

Marina/Marina's Dolls - Sue/Oriel Studios

Stephanie/Pixies in the House - Deanna/Blue Dragon Arts

Hope/Pixie's Ponderings - Grace/Little Black Crow

Cody/Cody Goodin Arts - Christen/Morton-N-Friends

Georgina/La Llarona Arts - Marfi/Incipient Wings

Wilma/Empress Wu - Dierdra/Dierdra Doan

Helen/Helen Fern Originals- Theresa/Sycamore Moon

Vonda/Vonda Hart - Eru/Shop Eru

Cathy/SnuggleBug Blessings - Amy/Heart of A Seed

Jacqui/Odd Dollz - Carissa/GoblinFruit Studios

Moriah/MLB Studios - Raedell/Della Rae Dezines

Tracey-anne/Jasmoon Butterfly - Kaerie Faerie/Twigs Faerie Land

Kim/Prims By Kim - Diane/Dianie Mac Designs

Caroline/Bent Whims Studio - Kim/Dark Horse Dolls

Kim/Soggy Dog Studios - Jan/JD Conwell

Trish/Crafty Creations by Trish - Amy/Bumble Bee Lane Cottage

Bridget/Wynd Swept Acres - Sue/Rabbit Hollow Prims

Sonia/Dark Raven's Nest - Michelle/Studio At Crow Haven Farms

Zan/Vagabond Creations - Lotus/Whymsical Lotus

AND MAY THE DOLL CRAFTING BEGIN!!

A Halloween Blog Party!

2010-10-16T06:13:00.001-07:00

Hello Dearies!

Welcome to a Halloween Blog Party by the amazing Vanessa Valencia of ~*A Fanciful Twist*~

If this is your first time here, please note that this is just one of a whole MONTH of Halloween posts that are happening here on this little blog of mine! Feel free to peruse the Halloween madness of the Magical Halloween Carnival by clicking on the links of the list on the top left-hand side of the blog!

Now, onto our posting!

Once upon a time in the "Big City"
Lived a girl and her world, which was ruled by THREE!

Here in her house, on Halloween
Three pumpkins greet you merrily!

And up near the rafters hanging from the eaves,
are several bat signs, one-two-THREE.

round bat candle holder, the back of an upside down bat candle holder, and bats on a "Spells" sign

Three Halloween bowls stand a-waiting

And three works of art await to be painted!

Three clay heads are dolls waiting to be

And Three haunted houses sit spookily!

Halloween is fun and importantly
The HOLIDAY is about THREE:
Besides me
friends and family!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!

Next post: Some new Vagabonds in the shop and Doll Swap partners!

Winner of the Spirit Giveaway and Doll Swap News!

2010-10-15T14:43:00.001-07:00

Hello Lovelies!

Wow, it's been quite an adventure so far! Hoping you are enjoying the Halloween posts! So today is the day when I finally ship of Halloween kitty Spirit to her new home (her sister Spooky, on the left now has a new home with Lisa of Priti Studio, thank you very much).

Now, before I get to the big announcement, a quick word to my Holiday Doll Ball swappers (what?! You thought I'd just jump in with the Giveaway winner announcement? Then where would all the anticipation be? Of course, you can always scroll past this part if you want to see the winner's name!)

~FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING in the Doll Swap--TODAY IS YOUR LAST DAY! So tell me you want in by MIDNIGHT EST at the latest!

~Also--if you have emailed me to confirm you are in, or you think you are--PLEASE DOUBLE CHECK THE LIST OF PARTICIPANTS AT THE TOP RIGHT HAND CORNER. If you ARE NOT LISTED, EMAIL ME at beyondvagabond@gmail IMMEDIATELY as something has gone awry and I somehow don't have you confirmed!

~I am trying to get to emailing everyone with a few questions. If you haven't received an email with questions, please just email me back and tell me 1. If you can do international shipping and 2. Which 3 or 4 of the participants you'd ideally like to be paired with. I can't promise you it will happen but I'll at least get a sense of the doll styles you like!

Please send these answers ASAP!

FROM THERE, I WILL EMAIL YOU WITH YOUR PARTNER ON OCT 17th! And the mayhem shall begin! You'll have until Dec 5th to mail out your doll!

Whew! Alright!

Now, with that announcement over with----HERE'S YOUR WINNER (and thank you for your overwhelming responses, by the way)!

I used the random number generator and added in the numbers up to 57 (the number of comments left for the giveaway) and---hmmm, I never know how to get the actual generator posted on the blog--I'll have to work on it---

but I GOT THE #3 --BUCCANEERS AND BALLGOWNS
(oh, dear, I don't know your actual name!)

But please email beyondvagabond@gmail.com with your address and info so I can send sweet kitty to you!

Now, never fear, friends, there are still plenty o' giveaways left, and the next one is well under way! Just click here to ENTER THAT!

TOMORROW! A Fanciful Twist's Halloween Party! Join me here bright and early as we meet some more Vagabonds!

Well Now, This Is Interesting...

2010-10-14T07:09:00.000-07:00

Hmmmm.....

It seems I've somehow scheduled my Halloween posts so I've gotten AHEAD of them somehow, and I DON'T have anything to post today. Yes, there is a gap between yesterday's post, and today's post.

However, this works out well because there are MANY MANY things going on here at this little Halloween Carnival that you probably should be reminded of. So today's posting is just catch up for you, Dear Reader!

~DOLL MAKERS! Tell me by sometime tomorrow that you want to be in my FALL DOLL SWAP! We've got a nice list going, so feel free to jump in NOW BY CLICKING HERE

~YOUR LAST CHANCE FOR THE KITTY DOLL GIVEAWAY ALSO ENDS TOMORROW in the MORNING! Leave me SOME COMMENTS AT THIS LINK to be QUALIFIED!

~If you miss out on the first giveaway, you now have a chance for GIVEAWAY #2. CLICK HERE for details!

~ AND, THERE IS ALSO A PHOTO CONTEST GOING ON, where you can also win other fun stuff! CLICK HERE for details, and start sendin' in those photos!

Alright, hopefully, that's quite a bit of Halloween fun for everyone! Stay tuned for winner announcements tomorrow!

A History of Vampires...and Giveaway #2!

2010-10-13T06:15:00.000-07:00

Helloooooo Everyone! We continue our Halloween Journey with a new post!

Awww...baby vampire bats. Cute, right? RIGHT?!?

But once again, a few notes! THE DEADLINE FOR THE DOLL SWAP is in TWO DAYS! LAST CHANCE TO SIGN UP BEFORE THE 15th is HERE

The last chance for the kitten art doll is also the morning of the 15th! SIGN UP IS HERE!

....AND! YOU NOW HAVE A CHANCE TO ENTER A SECOND GIVEAWAY!

YES! I KNOW that we have yet to pick the winner of the FIRST giveaway, but hey, with only a month to fit in FOUR prizes, a girl's gotta double time the schedules!

SO HERE GOES:

See these two wonderful herbal-y and natural-y things?

Organic Lavender and Honey (from Zan's garden and BEES!)

They can be YOURS!

YES! This is my SECOND HALLOWEEN GIVEAWAY!
Plus, I'll add some bonus goodies to your package, if you win!

To ENTER --Once again, you'll follow the rules for the first contest:

1. Just leave me a comment telling me you want the prize (I don't mind what sort of comment it is, you can even just say "hi") for ONE chance to win.

2. Become a FOLLOWER of this blog for another chance to win--PLEASE COME BACK AND LEAVE ME A SECOND COMMENT if you become a follower or if you are a follower.

3. IF you've posted my little blog link of the "Magical Halloween Carnival" on your blog, leave me another comment for a third chance to win.

WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED OCTOBER 20TH

NOW---If THAT wasn't enough of a posting for ya ~ I STILL have to get to today's macabre post!

THE HISTORY OF VAMPIRES

The idea of drinking blood to be immortal is not a new concept. Ancient Indians, Greeks and Christians have all culturally believed in this concept at one time. Drinking the blood of another is sometimes understood as obtaining the "life-blood" of someone else for yourself. Therefore, the idea of the vampire stems from cannibalism, and the concept of putting someone's body inside your own to obtain more life.

Almost universally, it is believed that vampires are creatures that maintain immortality by sucking blood from humans and animals. Their behavior was initially likened to that of bats (or vampire bats, the only other mammal to exclusively live off of blood). Thus, vampires were thought to be night creatures, and superstition held that the sight of sunlight turned them to stone, or sometimes dust.

Through the ages, legend, and even media, the stereotypical vampire (if there were such a thing) is characterized by black capes, long corpse-like bodies and the ability to fly, although whether or not these characteristics were included in the original vampire myths is not known. They sleep in coffins, and scream at the sight of garlic and crucifixes.

In ancient times vampires were very real concerns. European countries such as Romania, Hungary, and other Balkan areas, as well as areas such as Italy believed that vampires were demons, or those possessed by them.

In Romania, they were known as strigoi (witch), and strigoi voi are live witches who will become vampires after death. They can send out their soul at night to meet with other witches or with Strigoi mort who are dead vampires. The strigoi mort are the reanimated bodies which return to suck the blood of family, livestock, and neighbors.

In various countries, a person born with a tail, born out of wedlock, or one who died an unnatural death, or died before baptism, was doomed to become a vampire. Also suspected to be prone to vampirism: the seventh child of the same sex in a family, the child of a pregnant woman who didn't eat salt or was looked at by a vampire, or a witch. And naturally, being bitten by vampire, meant certain condemnation to a vampiric existence after death.

The vampire was usually first noticed when it attacked family and livestock, or threw things around in the house. Vampires, along with witches, were believed to be most active on the Eve of St George's Day (April 22 Julian, May 4 Gregorian calendar), the night when all forms of evil were supposed to be abroad. St Georges Day is still celebrated in Europe.

A vampire in the grave was confirmed by holes in the earth near it's buried coffin, an undecomposed corpse with a red face, or having one foot in the corner of the coffin. Living vampires were found by distributing garlic in church and seeing who didn't eat it (Hmmm, so what happens to those vampires who don't go to church?).

Graves were often opened three years after death of a child, five years after the death of a young person, or seven years after the death of an adult to check for vampirism.

Measures to prevent a person becoming a vampire included careful preparation of dead bodies, including preventing animals from passing over the corpse, placing a thorny branch of wild rose in the grave, and placing garlic on windows and rubbing it on cattle, especially on St George's & St Andrew's days.

To destroy a vampire, a stake was driven through the body followed by decapitation and placing garlic in the mouth. By the 19th century people were shooting a bullet through the coffin. For resistant cases, the body was dismembered and the pieces burned, mixed with water, and given to family members as a cure.

The most latent historical figure to first shape the Vampire mythos was probably the Transylvanian-Hungarian known as Vlad Tepes, or "Vlad the Impaler." A fierce and blood thirsty warlord, his father was known as "Dracul," an offshoot for the word Dragon, but which has since been the base word for "Dracula"....thus we now have the origins for the word, and for the mythos of Transylvania being the home of Vampires. Vlad the Impaler was ruthless, often taking out whole towns of those who opposed them. He crucifixed entire villages, including the bodies of women and children, and it was said that after he leveled one town, he had his army draw and quarter it's citizens while he ate lunch and watched the procedings.

It was Vlad the Impaler, the "Dracula" that was the basis of Bram Stokers novel. The novel was a Victorian sensation, chronicling demonic behaviors that were taboo in the straight-laced era. Similarly, the novel would influence the novels of Anne Rice, including Interview With a Vampire, which further explore the definition of a vampire. Her vampires are immortal, jaded and mostly ordinary people caught in something they cannot understand.

It is interesting to note the way that the concept of vampires is used in the literature that contains it. Stoker's Dracula was an unconscious comment on Victorian England, and underneath its plot one can see female subjugation. Stoker himself was torn between the convention of the sexes in this day, and underneath this book one can see his inner struggle. Similarly, Anne Rice uses vampires to examine the reaction of the modern world to the magical and horrific. In Interview With A Vampire, the main character asks to be made into a vampire. The vampire he asks is unwilling to comply.

Today there are actually some cults of "vampires" that exist. These people drink small amounts of blood from willing victims in keeping with the ancient belief that it will bring power and life.

The story of vampires continues to be explored in the Twilight saga, and much more. It is clear that modern society is still fascinated with these dark creatures of the night.

So beware.....mwahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!