frozen charlottes, victorian dolls, textile bundles and digital collage sheets…

…and really a lot more than that!

i’ve been a busy bee, re-stocking the altered bits shop with heaps of new goodies, including but not limited to frozen charlottes, little victorian dolls, other vintage and antique dolls and doll parts, a whole new page of digital collage sheets (these were up weeks ago — i’m just slow to share), new embellishments and found objects, vintage photo bundles, textile bundles and vintage crocheted lace… all kinds of little pretties.  if i add five things per day to my shop over the next seven months, i should be caught up.  😉

a few new items were added to my etsy junk shop too… cleaning out the house in a new year is a great thing!!

i literally have hundreds more dolls so if you’re looking for some, let me know.  i’m not going to be able to add them all for awhile (takes a LOT of time to photograph, resize/enhance, write code/add to site, create buttons, etc.).

on a totally random note, wanna swap? i’m looking for a cute little boy cdv, cabinet card or tintype and will swap you for other photos (i mostly have adults), dolls of whatever sort, vintage lace, or whatever you may want from my shop(s) of relatively equal value.  i’ll even throw in some digital collage sheets for fun.  🙂  i’m really quite picky about this photo… typically i don’t use children in my art, unless they are fetuses.  in fact, this will be my first child.  but in the spirit of accuracy, i need a little boy (around age 10 in the first decade of the 1900s, named sam) for the historically accurate ghost book i’m working on.

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red as blood: elizabeth bathory’s secret

thank you all so very much for your concern for my sweet little man — i will catch up on emails and respond to each of you over the next couple of days.  we ended up taking him back to the hospital last night as he had a high fever AGAIN and tremendous stomach pain.  it was the “stabbing” pain he explained to me that made me wish to take him back in, just in case.  they thought appendicitis.  kidney infection.  bladder infection.  pneumonia.  seems none of the above so we were sent home.  today, high fevers but no more pain so we shall see how it goes.  after a week (minus friday) of burning up i’m quite worried, but he was jumping around like he felt great by bed time so that is indeed a good sign.

so, i mentioned yesterday that i had started a couple/few cuffs the other night.  this was the first i started, and i finished it today by adding a few blood red crystal beads and some black glass beads.  then it felt complete.

while creating it, and sewing on a tiny little royal looking key i had just aged a bit, a tiny voice sounded in my head “elizabeth bathory’s secret…”  i was perplexed by this curious voice but thought little of it as these sorts of things are rather regularly occurring with me.  but after a bit, i couldn’t get the thought of this lady out of my head.  i did a bit of research and found this photo of her…

once i found this image, which was just one of a very few i found of her, all was made clear.  apparently she and i both have an adoration for red ruffles, black lace and intricate cream lace.  at that point i realized that “elizabeth bathory’s secret” was the name of the cuff.  i really wish to wear it for a day or three to find out just what this secret is.  or perhaps that was her key to something mysterious, divine and unknown?

now, if you don’t know who elizabeth bathory (or erzsébet báthory if you prefer) is, you may be pleased or displeased to know that, in short, she was a countess who has been labeled the most prolific female serial killer in history.  she is also known as “the blood countess” as she allegedly bathed in the blood of her victims in order to retain her youth.  you can, if at all interested, read about here on wikipedia.

i wish to keep this, but have posted it in my etsy shop instead.  i’ll make myself a new one when i don’t have two huge hospital bills to scrounge money for.

happy fourth of july.  we had a FANTASTIC show of illegal fireworks as we seem to each year in our neighborhood.  we literally did not go a whole second (i’m really not exaggerating this time) without a flash or bang during the early dark hours.  was wonderfully fun for not being able to go out… and we probably saw more than we would have at home had we ventured away from home.

summertime… finally

geeze.  until a week ago, us poor portlanders hadn’t seen but three days of partial sun all year long.  finally, this past week, we were blessed with nearly endless rays of warmth and light.  i swear, i went from jeans and a sweatshirt and heavy coat at night to not wanting to wear a damn thing due to heat within about 10 hours.  summer, finally!

because it’s so gorgeous out, i’ve been horrible with follow through.  haven’t finished a load of things i “should” have, though i did get one commission piece done (and like a flippin’ idiot forgot to take photos).  he loved it and i’m going to go get some next weekend.  i’ll at least have that to share, and the finality of debrina’s pulp book.  i know, i know.  i’m horrible.  should have mailed that off weeks ago!

i DID do something productive though (other than planting three new garden beds while my modem was non-operational due to explosion)… i started a new etsy shop.  i realized that antiques really don’t “go” with the whole arty, found object “thing” i have going on on altered bits so i now have salvaged bits, a place where i am parting with some of my antiques and one of a kind stuff.  i may be building a second studio but that doesn’t mean i have room for everything i own.  plus we are short for a trip we must take to visit my in-laws this summer, so… perhaps this will help me to contribute to the family need for airfare.

if you missed kerin’s latest post, she mentioned that (quite ironically) she started a second etsy shop on the very same day as me.  or i as her.  go check it out!  the naughty cuff links she mentioned?  they are here:

what are you guys working on this week?  i’ve been slowed down by summer break and kiddo at home, but managed to do more on my new series of assemblages, more on a few paintings, started two more pieces — a shrine and a 3d collage, and worked a tad bit more on my newest book cover.  here is the tiniest of peeks:

this book is for myself as i haven’t actually made one to keep in many, many years.  i’m also starting another for a collab with kerin.  those will probably end up being 2.5 feet thick and we’ll have to meet half-way to swap ’em rather than trying to ship them.

now that i have internet again, i’m coming ’round to see what you’ve all been up to!  xx