Hummingbird

"Hummingbird don't fly away, fly away"
- Seals and Crofts

Ohmygod. I saw a hummingbird today!
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I was communing with the ivy along the front walkway, trying to convince it that it did not want to cross the brick edge work along the stone front path, when there he was. Hovering his tiny self, wings going a zillion miles a minute. He was eyeballing the bright deep orange impatiens in the flower urns containing the elephant ears.
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Now I know what I need for my birthday: a glass hummingbird feeder.
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Although, you're right: if you have to boil the sugar water concoction, I am not going to do it. Much as I adore them, I would not cook for hummingbirds.
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Thank god I don't have to feed Orchid.

Baby Boy

The black and white darling is our baby boy. When we went to the Keys in December, our friendly feline went to his own resort. He had such a good time carousing with his new friends that he did not want to come home.

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This video clip was taken there.

New York Times Fall Fashion

It's all about lace. Lace that is dark and decadent.

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And snakes. Huge, rhinestone snakes.

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I loved this issue and had to beg for a copy from a friend. View what you can of it here: http://www.nytimes.com/indexes/2008/08/17/style/t/index.html

Wedding Veil

Orchid's wedding gown is designed and underway. I've allowed two and a half years for the completion of the gown. The first showing of the gown will be at UFDC Doll Fanciers' in January of 2010.
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The gown itself will be made of vintage silk. Her beaded veil, extending from her head piece, will be longer than the golden train in this picture.
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The elves are practicing now how to carry it.
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For more Victorian children's illustrations visit: www.nocloo.com .

Wired

Some evening, when you're all settled down with your tea, visit: http://blog.wired.com/tableofmalcontents/2007/05/index.html . Dare I say that I liked it and I think that you will, too? Lovecraftian non-lovers need not visit.
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The Hieronymus Bosch action figures really made my day.
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Whether you're there or here, don't miss the link to British illustrator Neal Murren's site which is http://www.nealmurren.com/ .

Crowns

We'd all like to be Queen, even for a day.

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Crowns are being worked on for Val Zeitler's collections.

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Catch up with Val at the Texas BJD convention to see if she brought any with her.

Alice

For the UFDC Doll Fancier's show this January 2009, A.D. and I have decided to enter our Alice for the artists' competition.
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As I work hard to come up with a haute couture dress which will do justice to yet another magnificent A.D. sculpt, I find myself so enamoured of a tiny rose tinted all lace top by Val that surely you will see our Alice wearing it as part of her ensemble this January.
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Catch up with Val in Texas this September and snag your own darling dollie duds. For show info visit: http://bjdctexas.com/main.html

Love in the Time of Cholera

The film begins in South America in the year 1879 and continues, well, for the lifetime of its characters.
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Corsets and carriages, cemeteries and stripes. Enough of our favorite things to distract us from brown paper packages and string.
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Shades of New Orleans, the Outer Banks, Charleston, and the Keys. Reminiscent of Phantom of the Opera and Perfume.
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"And then I discovered to my utter joy that it is life, not death, that has no limits."
- ending line from Love in the Time of Cholera

Spring Vamp

What does one do with a little red haired vampire on a fine Spring day?

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We wandered through the garden, took pictures amidst the tulips, visited with the statuary, rode the animals, listened to a frog concert, had tea, and wore funny hats.

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What would you think that we did?

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If you would like to see the darker side of Vamp, look for her in 'Bebe' at: http://www.richardgardnerphotography.com/. 'Bebe' is the photographic exhibition of my work and my collaborative work with A.D. Puchalski. To catch up with A.D., who has been spending time with darling bears as opposed to little vampires, visit: http://www.angeldevilland.com/ .

Imda Doll

Korean ball jointed bisque work. This link is for those of us who just love the difficult to make Asian artist dolls and who don't mind poking sometimes unintelligible link buttons. When you wonder what we talk about, it's this sort of thing.
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Visit: http://www.imda.kr/

Masquerade

"Masquerade
Everything's a different shade
Turn around
There's another mask behind you"
- Andrew Lloyd Webber, Phantom of the Opera
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As the clock chimes midnight and the water gently laps against the gondola's moorings, where are you and what are you wearing?
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If you are Orchid, then the answer to that is easy: The borders of fairyland have extended to the time of late nineteenth century Venetian carnival and you are trailing swaths of silk over cobblestone streets and you are wearing some sort of elegantly elaborate and magically magnificent mask.
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I have been working feverishly to send some doll sized Venetian masks to Val Zeitler. My intention was to produce a number of unique masks by varying the degrees of elaborateness while ensuring that each was elegant and magnificent. Whether or not we can pull our intended 'Masquerade' theme together in time for the Texas BJD Convention this September remains to be seen. Should the masks make it to Texas, that will indeed be magic. However, rest assured that unusual masks are indeed well past the design stage and will be sent to Val's Rag Patch when Orchid and Alabaster both approve of them.
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Alabaster is very difficult to please. It seems that there shall be no silk mask for him for the wedding.

Cradle of Aviation Car Show

If you're on the island for the weekend of August 23rd, 24th, and 25th you might want to pass by the Nassau County's Cradle of Aviation at old Mitchell Field.
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Yes, the planes will be there. But that's not the point. This is all about cars. The museum is hosting what is supposedly the largest car show ever on the island. However, it seems to be woefully unpublicized, so we will see.
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In addition to some of Hollywood's most famous automobiles including the Batmobile, the brothers' car, Undercover Hemi, running in support of the Wounded Warrior Project and NETO will be on hand for the entire weekend. I'm considering attending with both Orchid and Alabaster; ask for them at the Wounded Warriors' tent.

To find out more about the brothers' and NETO, click the tab below or visit: http://www.neto-nostalgia.com/ . For directions and information on the Cradle of Aviation visit: http://www.cradleofaviation.org/ .
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I love the Batmobile in all its incarnations. To see a jiggly ' 1966 Batmobile at the Cradle of Aviation' video visit: http://hk.youtube.com/watch?v=tDvhkBj8F88&feature=related

Wasting Time

Or is it?

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Blogging for many of us has taken the place of time spent reading paper periodicals. We blog, we chat, we blog some more. It's our version of Alice's Tea Party.

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In your spare time, visit: http://morewaystowastetime.blogspot.com

Bird's Nests

As many of you know, Orchid is often away from home for long stretches of time. She's at the photographer's studio, she's out on exhibition, she travels with us, she's away.
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In order to bring her back safely and to protect her while she's gone, I do what's in my power: I use charms.
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Often Orchid travels with one or more keys to Fairyland. Since Little Cow Harbor is a fairyland, it simply wouldn't be fitting if she were to leave her home, here, without one. For the latest in charms, I've concocted bird's nests. They are tiny wire wonders wire-worked with genuine pearls designed to remind one of the fact that Dorothy learned the hard way: that there is indeed "no place like home".
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I am sending a handful of Orchid's latest charm, the bird's nest, to Val Zeitler for incorporation into her designs. Be sure to ask for them at the BJD Convention this September 2008. For more information on the convention visit: http://www.bjdtexas.com/

Tais-toi Mon Coeur

I was unable to view this with the sound on, but I found the animated visuals alone to be worth sharing.
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For all fellow lovers of Tim Burton and afficianodos of the steampunk style, I present the following short video:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k4bh4RlAKca2qnoAnT

Out of the Closet

The "Rare Bird of Fashion" exhibit which began at the Met, is now waning at the former Frick mansion in Roslyn which is now the Nassau County Museum of Art.
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Ninety mannequins wearing octogenarian Iris Apfel's eclectic combinations of clothing and accessories are on display in seven gallery rooms. The outfits and their display are so captivating that it is difficult to enjoy all of them in one day.
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The exhibit ends September 23rd. If you can squeeze in the time, you really should make the pilgrimage. It looks to me like Iris is going to be the next Chanel.

Miho Satou

This picture is a cover of the Japanese hobby magazine Yaso. This particular issue of Yaso is dedicated to doll making.

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The following link is for Japanese artist Miho Satou. Enjoy!

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://www.ki.rim.or.jp/~miho/&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dmiho%2Bsatou%26hl%3Den%26pwst%3D1

As of this writing, the way to 'operate' this particular website link is in the lower left corner. I've opted to give you the Japanese translation of the site, but you can switch back to the Japanese if you'd like it to be even more confusing.
This particular artist works in bisque.

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Misplaced Heel Shoe

We always talk about interesting things. One of the things this summer was shoes that have no heel. Perfectly balanced high heels completely sans heel .
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The closest I stumbled upon to that design was this one by Marc Jacobs, $596. I'm fond of his designs anyway, so I've decided to show it to you. Visit: marcjacobs.com for more of his stuff.

White Balloon

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This award-winning Persian film was most likely made for anyone who has ever wondered what I was like as a child.
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Not only does the diminutive actress look like me as a child, she displays precisely the same tenacious excessive obsessiveness which has followed me through adulthood.
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Anyone who has followed the saga of Orchid's glittery red shoes for the wedding (said shoes which are now en route from Korea) will think that this is truly a great film.

Shutter

Is it worth sitting through a re-made quasi foreign horror film just to see the dress that the ghost is wearing? Maybe, maybe not. Particularly since I've already searched for a picture and snagged it to show you.
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Val and I were discussing whether or not Orchid would look good in a dress like this. I am sure that one of Val's would be much better and infinitely more darling, but this was the basic idea which we were discussing.
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The English-speaking version of the movie had nice Japanese scenery; maybe that's reason enough to watch it. One nice dress, lots of nice scenery.