Slingin' Paint

I finished my 3 little Christmas Art Dolls today. They are about 8 inches tall including their stands. They have all been sculpted in paperclay, painted in acrylics and then sealed. I love, love, love them! I have added all 5 Holiday Dolls to my Etsy Store..

Now it's time for bed because tomorrow I have to get my boogedy oogedy on! Happy Halloween to all of my dear bloggy friends and new readers too! Have a spooktacular day tomorrow!!!

Hugs,

Moriah

Elven Lovin'

Three little cuties are on my work table just waiting to be painted and have their true little characters emerge. I am so totally in love with the elf at the moment! He is now drying and tomorrow I will paint all three. Soooooo fun!










Hugs,
Moriah

2 dolls complete

Back to work....

Moriah

Smaller Works in Progress..

These will be about 8 inches tall.. One is drying and now I'm starting on another...

After these 3, I have 3 even smaller ones planned. I'm in sculpting heaven lately!

Hugs,

Moriah

It's Beginning to Feel A Lot Like Christmas.....

I know, I know, it's not even Halloween yet and no one wants to start thinking about Christmas already...BUT.... I've been in Christmas production mode here in the studio so I will just apologize now because you will be seeing a lot of Christmas Cheer on the blog for awhile...

I decided not to stain the Santa doll and just leave him as is... Then I started on the Snowman Doll and after staring at him here and there for about 2 hours I have decided that I will be staining him. So, here they are....minus the stain on the snowman.....

They both measure approximately 15 inches tall and are sculpted in paperclay over armature and then painted in acrylics. I'm debating whether to offer them in my Etsy store or here locally. I haven't decided yet.

Tomorrow I'll stain the snowman and then I'm starting on some smaller dolls much like these two. It's been busy busy around here and I wouldn't have it any other way! I love it when I have so many ideas flowing, makes me feel alive!

Hugs,

Moriah

A Snowman.. In Progress...

What are you working on today??

Hugs,

Moriah

Santa Almost Done...

Just have to stain him tomorrow and then he's finished!

Way late......need sleep...... off to bed.....

Hugs,
Moriah

ADO Holiday Ornament Swap

I signed up to participate in the ADO Holiday Ornie Swap about a month ago. It's being done Secret Santa style in that we don't know who is making an ornament for us until it arrives. We had to make a Naughty or Nice ornament, depending, and mail them out by Dec 1st. We weren't allowed to share pics of them until our partners received them. Well, I now have confirmation from both of my partners that they have received their ornaments that I mailed to them and now I can share them with you..

Here is the "Naughty" ornament I made for Nicole Johnson of Mealy Monster Land...

A little Skelly Ornie sculpted in paperclay over armature and handpainted in acrylics.

AND..

Here's the "Nice" ornie I made for Diane Costanza of DianeCostanza.com:

Also sculpted in paperclay over armature and painted with acrylics. They were both sooooo much fun to make and I'm so pleased that they both arrived safe and sound and have found a place in their new homes!

Hugs,

Moriah

On My Work Table Today...

Hugs,

Moriah

Little Love Bug

Today I made a wee little art doll inspired by the Lil' Bugger doll I had made as a gift for my Sis-in-Law's b-day. This little guy is WAY smaller and stands a tiny 3.75" from base to feeler. I think I'm in love!!!




Hugs,
Moriah

Another Treasury......

Abi put together another great Etsy treasury and was kind enough to include some of my work!!! Thanks so much, Abi!

Commissions

I finished two commissions today.. A matchbox doll and a Snail Tail....

Hugs,

Moriah

Swap Mail

I recevied a package in the mail this weekend from Heather Boyd. She's a member of my MLB Studios on Ning site. We are paired up for the October Fabric Doll Swap and the theme was spooky...

Here's what Heather sent to me!!

I'm still working on my doll for Heather but I'll share a pic when it's finished and on it's way to her. Thanks so much Heather! I love it!

Hugs,

Moriah

Inspiration

I happened to catch a very inspiring program on PBS this afternoon while eating lunch.

I had forgotten all about the guilty little pleasure that is PBS programing! It seems that every station and every program are so dumbed down and seem slap-stick and childish. Not that I don't enjoy those types of programs on occasion too. I just find that PBS seems to have programs that have some substance. Where you are entertained, educated and inspired all at the same time. I just love that channel!

So, today I decided to tune in as I munched down my lunch and caught a program called "Craft in Amercia".

Below are thumbnails of some of the works these amazing artists/crafts persons feature in the programs.




I was glued to the television and when it concluded I was inspired to create from my heart.

As an artist, I tend to get caught up in what will sell and getting noticed and blah blah blah. While all of that is important - (I do after all, make a living by the art I create) - it's equally important to make things that I'm inspired to make or things that tell a story I'm wanting to tell.

Watching this program reminded me to get back to basics and make whatever I feel I need to make from my heart without consideration of the length of time it will take to finish or it's likelihood to sell.

Go, no run, over to the website for a little inspiration of your own and get to creating the stories you want to tell!

Hugs,

Moriah

Another Award...

I received another Kreativ Blogger award today from Shonna of twistedfigures.blogspot.com.
Thanks so much for thinking of me, Shonna!!

7 Random Facts:

I love peanut butter ice cream.
My favorite medium is clay.
All of my children's names start with the letter J. And so does my husband's and my cat's.
I wanted to be an undercover narcotics officer when I was younger.
My lucky number is 3.
I want to spend a month in Ireland before I die.
I hate being in front of the camera.

I now pass this award onto the following Kreativ Bloggers:

Tresa of ReeceDixon.com

Mr. Macabre of MisterMacabre

Kim of Soggy Dog Studios

Jennifer of The Sassy Pack Rat

Magaly Ohika of The Itsy Bitsy Spill

Janine of JustBeans

Flor of Flor Larios Art

We had a wonderful time hosting a little birthday celebration for my sister-in-law. We finished off the evening by watching the Season Finale of "Hell's Kitchen". We were so glad to see that Dave won!

Now i'm catching up on answering emails and ning site stuff. Back to creating tomorrow!

Hugs,

Moriah

Today I'm grateful for wonderful bloggy friends!

Lil' Bugger....

......an Art Doll for my sister-in-law, Katrina on her birthday..




Lil' Bugger is sculpted in paperclay over styrofoam armature.
He is handpainted in acrylics and on a wooden base.

I hope she likes it! She coming over tomorrow for dinner and cake and we'll be giving her this doll, a mixed media painting that I did for her and a painting from each of my daughters.

All three kids worked on a giant banner that we're going to hang across the garage door tomorrow before her arrival.

Now I'm off to catch a couple of winks before I have to rise and finish the rest of the party prep.

Goodnight all...

Hugs,
Moriah

Today I am grateful for being able to sculpt.

Wow...

I was a late comer to the whole Twilight craze. It didn't interest me at all when I first heard about it. I watched the movie online and thought, "Okay, it's better than I thought" but still didn't run out to read any of the books.

About two weeks ago I borrowed Twilight from the library and read it in several sitting over 2 weeks. I was bored, I already knew what was going to happen. After I finished it I returned it and picked up New Moon..

I brought it home Saturday and at about 8:30 pm I got cozy on the couch and cracked it open. 2 potty breaks and 6.5 hours later I read the last page. I haven't read a book cover to cover in more than 7 years! This book had I don't know, about 650 or so pages and I couldn't put it down. Now I'm waiting for Eclipse to become available so i can start that one!

Hugs,

Moriah

I MADE IT!!!

One year ago today I quit smoking! That's 7,299 cigarettes not smoked and $1,441.73 saved! Not to mention the weeks of my life that didn't get knocked off.

I tried to quit several years ago and started again after 6 months. I was surrounded by smokers. I had enough stress for 6 people and I don't think I really wanted to quit.

In 2006 I married my husband and moved to Florida. He doesn't smoke and no one we spend time with here does either. I work from home, so I'm not out where people are smoking very often and when I do encounter someone smoking at the beach, park, or outside of a store or restaurant - I'm repulsed! I walk past them while holding my breath and thinking "That used to be me!"

This quit was easy! I used the patch again and man, I cannot endorse the patch enough! I used each step for 30 days and 3 months later, I started flying solo.

With no one around me smoking and me really wanting to be free of cigarettes, I made it! I can honestly say that after the 4th month, I have had zero desire to smoke. I know people who have quit and say that they still want to smoke every once and awhile but that has not been my experience. Thank God!

I can't tell you how free I feel! No worrying about how many cigarettes I have left, whether I need to go get more or not, standing outside with my family waiting for me while I smoke a cigarette before going in the store. The ash and butts mess, all of it! I am so thrilled that I finally RIPPED that monkey off of my back! Now if I can put the Pepsi down, we'll be good to go! lol

I hope that if you're a smoker you'll be inspired and given hope by my success story and start writing your own today! If I can do it, SO CAN YOU! Yes, it's scary making that decision and yes you'll think there's no way you can do it with all of the stress and the problems, but you can!! So, I challenge you to quit and I'll be right here if you need any encouragement along the way!

TODAY I AM GRATEFUL TO BE SMOKE FREE!

Hugs,

Moriah

13 Nights of Halloween

This is one of my favorite things to do each year around Halloween. My kids are still fairly young so watching Psycho, Halloween, Friday the 13th and the like is not a good idea. So, we look forward to watching the movies shown on ABC Family during the 13 days of Halloween! We gather around the tv with some blankets and popcorn and settle in for some Halloween Family entertainment. Here's what we'll be watching this year:

Night One – Monday, October 19
American Funniest Home Videos Special 10:00 – 11:00 PM ET/PT

Night Two – Tuesday, October 20
The Goonies 7:30 – 10:00 PM ET/PT

Night Three – Wednesday, October 21
Beetlejuice 8:00 – 10:00 PM ET/PT

Night Four – Thursday, October 22
The Addams Family 8:00 – 10:00 PM ET/PT

Night Five – Friday, October 23
Addams Family Values 8:00 – 10:00 PM ET/PT

Night Six – Saturday, October 24
The Mask 11:30 AM – 2:00 PM ET/PT
Hocus Pocus 6:00 – 8:00 PM ET/PT

Night Seven – Sunday, October 25
Casper Meets Wendy 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM ET/PT
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 3:00 – 5:30 PM ET/PT
Corpse Bride 5:30 – 7:30 PM ET/PT
Edward Scissorhands 7:30 – 10:00 PM ET/PT

Night Eight – Monday, October 26
America's Funniest Home Videos 10:00 – 11:00 PM ET/PT

Night Nine – Tuesday, October 27
The Haunted Mansion 8:00 – 10:00 PM ET/PT

Night Ten – Wednesday, October 28
Hocus Pocus 8:00 – 10:00 PM ET/PT

Night Eleven – Thursday, October 29
Scooby-Doo 8:00 – 10:00 PM ET/PT

Night Twelve – Friday, October 30
Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed 8:00 – 10:00 PM ET/PT

Night Thirteen – Saturday, October 31
Batman 4:00 – 7:00 PM ET/PT
Batman Returns 7:00 – 10:00 PM ET/PT
Batman Forever 10:00 PM – 1:00 AM ET/PT

Wanna Swap Ornaments??

Come join us on the Ning site for some Secret Santa Ornament Swapping fun! We will be making one ornament for one person secret santa style! Signups are open until November 1st and ornaments will be mailed out on or before December 1st. Come on, you know you want to! Yes, yes, I know you're busy, you should see my calender too! This is a guilty little pleasure just for you! Have fun making and ornament and enjoy a gift in your mailbox, just for you in return! Awesome, right? I know! So, go, run, sign-up... hey! No pushing! There's room for everyone! Sheesh!

Just click the image below to signup!

See you there!

Hugs,

Moriah

Gratitude

Have you ever sat and really thought about how many complaints you make in one day? Then how many times you gave thanks? I can almost guarantee that like me, the scale is a little heavy on the complaint side. Why is that?







I noticed today especially that I was in a down right crappy mood and was griping, to myself, about what I hated about this and what irritated me about that and how I wish this person would do this and not do that and all I seemed to be doing was griping about EVERYTHING! Not once do I remember saying to myself how grateful I was for ANYTHING. Not once.


That saddened me. At what point in my life did I go from being the forever optimist to being such a grouch? Was there some defining moment in my history? Who knows.


I may not be able to go back and find that moment and change it but I can sure change how I look at things from this moment forth.


Instead of wishing I could win the lottery or land that awesome contract or moaning and groaning about what I don't have or what I can't do, I am going to find something to be grateful for everyday. I do actually have TONS to be grateful for and believe me, I should be ashamed for griping at all! So, today I start a new path and am retraining myself to look on the brighter side of things again.


I will start off today by saying that..............

Gratitude #1: I am grateful to have a home to live in with my healthy family.


What do you have to be grateful for today??

“Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.”

Brian Tracy quotes

Hugs,
Moriah

Ornaments, ornaments and more Ornaments

I signed up for a couple ornament swaps in the last handful of weeks. The first was a Halloween Ornament Swap over at Tresa's Blog Reece Dixon. We were to make 6 ornaments with no more than 2 of the same kind. Tresa sent hers out on time and I, well... was a bit late with mine...ugh. I could have just thrown some together quickly and mailed on time but I opted to be late and send ornaments I put effort into instead. So, they're 5 days late, but they're now on their way to Tresa in CA..

Here are the ornaments that Tresa sent to me... I just love the design on the bat wings, don't you?.....Thanks Tresa!!!

I also made a Halloween Ornament for a Swap on ADO (Art Dolls Only) but I can't share that one until my partner receives it as we're doing a Secret Santa Swap for the ornaments there. I also signed on to do a swap for a traditional Christmas ornament as well but I haven't started working on that one yet.

I'll be finishing up the Monster Under the Bed Doll this week and when he's finished I'll share the final pics of him.

Whew.... I love busy, creative days!!

hugs,

Moriah