Play Date - Caged Santos Dolls

We were all given a basic papier mache covered foam torso from Michaels to play with for this month's play date.

The original concept was to make caged santos dolls like this one (like mine - purchased online)  - but you give 5 ladies the same starting point - they are bound to go off in different directions!

 I found the perfect sized head on a Bratz doll - painted it white and put her unruly greenish hair in a bun, and painted it white as well.  I used an oval embroidery hoop for the base and rulers for the cage.

I wrapped her torso in plaster gauze which helped to secure the tops of the rulers.  I tried nails and glue but the gauze really did the trick.  i used fine wire to attach the rulers to the base.

I threaded a wire through her shoulders and attached arms made from thinner guage wire and paper clay.  The hands are a bit out of proportion - so i can sand them down when they dry fully.  She will get a coat of paint, a new painted face and a cute bird.

 Z.'s santos begins with a vintage industrial thread spool he saved from her grandfather.  she will drape the santos in a skirt of vintage ecru laces and ribbons. Including her grandmother's tatting!

 Without the head - you cannot get the total effect - but you can imagine how awesome it is going to look!

 K. decided to make her torso into a mermade.  she fashioned a head ,arms and a tail out of clay.  She painted them sea green and added beads and other bling.

She will be getting a full head of hair, but for now you can see how cute she is with her beaded fins.  and she is perfectly balanced to sit "just so".

Karen sent us a picture of her painted face she completed after the play date.  WOWSA.  Check out those eyes!

 D. is known to like to go off in a different direction from the rest of us - to push the envelope, so to speak.  So you give a girl a human torso and before you know it it has a clown head and a birdhouse for a "skirt".

 

But then she goes 17 steps further, and adds golf tees for hair, juice tins for wings, and a chandelier lampshade for a base.  And since this is nowhere near completed, there is no telling what direction it might take!

 

We all loved creating these santos inspired dolls and agree that we must create another, or three.  SInce there are just too many fun ideas to try!

Have a Robin's Egg Blue Christmas!

 Here is the angel on top of my bird themed tree,  It is the creative outlet i told you about HERE.

 Here is our petite table top tree with silver and white birds, pearl and mercury glass garland, and jewel toned ornaments.  It looks really sparse here - it looks fuller in real life somehow!

 I've had this painting for a while, up in our guest room.  i got the idea to stencil "peace on earth" watching Emily Henderson's christmas special (Secrets of a Stylist).  She stencilled "joy to the world" on a vintage map as a fun holiday decoration.  She suggested peace on earth as an alternate expression.  I just love how the robin's egg blue balances the theme of the tree.

Here you can see my new caged Santos - i need to find a crown for her head.  (Jim finds her hideous) Also you can see i went a little nuts decorating our 75 drawer apothocary cabinet with glass picture frames, snowflakes and more garland.

 I was blessed to receive some lovely things from my friends - here is a mini tree made with sheet music and burlap squares - topped with a wee birdie, from Z.

 And K sent me this amazing 3-d christmas card in a padded envelope.

 My friend L was moving and gave me a bunch of empty boxes.  She does packaging design - so had a quite a collection.  Here are three that i wrapped up with beautiful decorative papers and embellishment.  They can be used again and again.  The book was a gift my my sister to my husband, we were not supposed to unwrap it - but the amazon box was sooo ugly.  besides, doesn't it just blend in beautifully with my theme?

And here is one of 5 origami birds i made, using a tutorial my neice posted on her blog HERE.  I used these cranes to give my husband gifts we need to go and pick out together.  I printed images of the items on 8 1/2 by 11 printer paper, then cut the paper into an 8 1/2" square.  It took me a while to get the hang of the folding - but by the 5th one i think i figured it out!

For christmas eve, we went out with friends for a lovely gourmet dinner.  Afterwards, we invited them in for egg nog with Grand Marnier and nutmeg, enjoyed some carols and the lovely ambiance of our decorated room.  I hope your christmas is memorable and shared with good friends and family....!