Barbie Body Parts

Some people have a passion for collecting Barbies.  I, on the other hand, have a passion for collecting Barbie body parts.  I know that some find my interest in body parts to be quite disturbing.  Surprisingly, there are many others who share my enthusiasm for this strange fascination.   Just check out the "What to do with Barbies" board on Pinterest!  

I was fortunate to be in San Francisco a few years ago where I attended an Altered Barbie exhibit.  I must have spent three hours studying all of the amazing pieces of art that cleverly incorporated Barbie parts into the works.  My head was reeling with ideas of what to do with a Barbie doll (parts)!  I couldn't resist purchasing this set of Barbie earrings--one side is made from an arm and the other side is made with a leg.  Aren't these just fabulous?

You can imagine my delight when I first met a friend of a friend this summer who used to work for Mattel.  (Barbies are manufactured by Mattel!)  This past week, she gifted me with a collection of Barbie bodies and (detached) heads!  Now I will be on the lookout for the next "Altered Barbie" class.  It's BYOB--Bring Your Own Barbie!

Birthday Candle Bling!

In September, a dear friend of ours was celebrating a very special 90th birthday.  He insisted that no gifts were allowed, but he didn't say anything about giving him a birthday cake!  Over the past year, I have ordered several cakes from Magnolia Bakery.  Abigail, (Magnolia's Regional Director of Operations), has become a fast friend and she didn't disappoint when she created this elegant two-tiered cake for the occasion.  Since the colors for the party were cream and gold, I thought it would be fun to create the cake topper with a very blinged-out "90!"   Abigail loved the blinged-out birthday candles and asked if I would make a set to display in the Bakery.  I made the "20" in honor of Magnolia's 20th anniversary and created this additional magenta "21" for Abigail after I found the candle at a thrift shop! 

July Creations

Though I have not been able to do much art this year, I did get together with friends this summer for some creative fun.  We marbled papers, tags and envelopes with shaving cream.  We made more CitraSolv pages using stencils.  We tried our hand at affirmation stones and even made a cache of painted paper beads!

Paper Tapestry Chunkies

For our June chunky swap, the theme was "Paper Tapestry."  I initially thought I wanted to do some sort of landscape using the iris folding technique.  When I was starting to gather my papers to iris fold, I came across my stash of CitraSolv pages.  I decided I would use them in my chunkies.  If I had used these pages to create a landscape, you wouldn't be able to see the beauty and texture in these pages.  I thought this simple iris fold pattern best showcased the wide array of colors and patterns CitraSolv magically creates!