At work we have an annual ornament competition (mainly to decorate our department tree). This year we were each given a clear glass ornament and a prize was given to the most creative ornament. Originally I was going to do an elf face, but felt that wasn't creative enough. I came up with the idea of doing a naughty/nice ornament. I knew I wanted to have the naughty side sticking his tongue out, unfortunately due to the hair, you can't really see the expression on the eyebrow. One side is nice & one side is naughty. I had to do one face and then bake the ornament and then do the other face. The biggest challenge was to get the ears to look good from both sides - I'd sculpt one side & it would look good, but it would mash out the other side. Once he was baked, I had fun finishing him - the stocking cap is the top from a sock. His hair is a strip of rabbit fur. He was really fun to do - oh & I got first prize (a gift card, which I took to Michaels & got a great book on painting fairies, angels & mermaids in watercolors).

Sneak Peak

Here is a sneak peak of the two tote bags I drew to donate for the Opportunity Table for the Enchanted Doll Artist Conference that I'm attending later this month. The first tote is a beige tote with a pocket. I used Prismacolor Permanent Markers on this tote. The second tote I did (because I had so much fun doing the first one) is done on a white canvas tote with Tsukineko Fabrico Markers. Both totes have been protected with ScotchGuard.

These totes with either be raffled or be silent auction items to raise funds for the conference. Doll artists can carry lots of doll making supplies in these colorful totes adorned with doll faces.

I saw some shoes at a local store that were kind of cool, but more than I wanted to spend and the designs weren't exactly what I wanted. However, it did spark an idea so I went in search of plain white canvas shoes. I found the first ones at Target and later at Walmart. My friend found hers at DSW & the slipons I got were from Old Navy. Once I obtained the canvas shoes, I went to town. I normally sketch a light pencil outline prior to adding color with Prismacolor Permanent Markers. I do the detail lines with a Sakura Micro Marker (and some other ones that I have that are no longer on the market). When my friends saw the first pair, the custom orders started flowing in and I'm having a great time doing these shoes. Later I'll show you the tote bags I did as a fund raiser for the doll artist convention I'll be attending next month.

Once my friend Lisa saw the shoes, she had to have a pair, so she commissioned me to do her a pair. Since we are attending an art doll conference this summer, I did doll faces on her shoes.

She loved them! Here are both the front & back views of her shoes.

Our friend Vicki is also attending the convention this year and wanted a pair of shoes of her own. She doesn't care for the lace ups, but found a pair of Keds slip ons that she liked. As Vicki is a master gardener, I did her shoes to reflect her interests.

The first image is at the start of the process, with one shoe detailed and the other with just the color.

One more image showing the side. Once I did the shoes for Vicki & Lisa, I loved the slip on style and also the doll faces, so I found a cheap pair of slip ons at Old Navy and did my own doll face shoes to wear at the convention.

Start of doll shoes without any of the detailing - just the basic color laid out.

Finished shoes with detailing.

Lisa had the idea that the shoes might look good just black & white. I wasn't sure, but the last pair I did was a different canvas. It wasn't working doing the pencil lines first, so I laid in the basic lines with the permanent detail markers. I figured I would do all the lines & detailing first and then add the color. Picture shows shoes in progress. Once I finished them, though, everyone seemed to love them as they were - so I'm leaving these black & white. I'll be selling this pair.