Art Dolls by Du Buh Du Designs: February 2011

Art Doll Anastacia

Well after spending a few hours eliminating duplicate posts we finally have a winner. The Random number generator picked no. 591 , which is Sarah of Black Eyed Suzie~Congrats! Sarah is also a dollmaker, in fact we both got our start in doll making thanks to the influence of Dame Darcy. Be sure to drop by her blog and see her amazing dolls. :)

A HUGE thank you to all of those who left comments. I hope I never sound like a broken record here but I am overwhelmed by the kind comments you have left.!.You have been generous in your kind words regarding my doll(s) and the music, movie, book and name suggestions! I have a large book in which I keep the doll names and I will be including all those suggested in it and will continue to use those for my future dolls. I was especially surprised that a few people were inspired to write a brief story* about Anastacia~thank you so much for using your creativity this way. You just gave me an idea for a future giveaway:)

Thank you to all who participated in the Fifth and final One World One Heart Giveaway. It's been an incredible past few years getting to meet bloggers from all over the world. When Lisa of A Whimsical Bohemian announced this would be the last we were a bit sad but she has since announced a new Blog Event for next year that is somewhat like an open studio for artists to share their work. Please be sure to head over to her blog and read all about it! And be sure to drop by and thank Lisa for her hard work at putting this event together for five years :)

As I mentioned in my previous post I will be pretty busy attending to personal business but hope to be back soon!

*Here are a few stories posted on my giveaway:)

From: "Smitten", Anastacia, Queen of the Swans

Back before I became even more famous than Clara Bow, they told me I was odd. They told me I didn’t belong. Weird starry eyes, a flush to my ivory skin, and black hair that was so uncharacteristic of my family with their broad shoulders, bright blue eyes, and golden curls. Mother worried what the neighbors would say. I was slight, and small, and light on my feet, nothing like the clod-hopping big feet and large work-reddened hands of my sisters and parents. I was often known to frighten Mother when she was in the pantry, catching her by surprise when I snuck in for a cookie. Instead of asking for my help rolling out the pie dough for guests, or dusting the black cherry furniture with Grandmother’s lemon oil recipe, or go out back and repair the chicken coop gate, she just shushed me out of the kitchen, back up the stairs, and into my small bedroom underneath the eaves of the house. I was almost the daughter who didn’t exist. I wasn’t fit for the life of the farm. Instead of farm work, I was inside the house all day, tending to the fabric of life: the darning, mending, hemming, and stitching. Life on the farm was hard, just like life everywhere is supposed to be hard. But I knew there was another way. A way finer and more grand than butchering the pig and milking the cow and shelling the peas. In that little room, I dreamed. I danced. I created costumes with scraps of fabric. I stitched a gilded pair of leather slippers and saved the extra goose down (from sister’s wedding mattress) to stitch a pair of wings to fly away. And one day, I did. On that train ride out of Nebraska, I knew that any day now, somebody would sew me the finest dress from the finest feathers of the most elegant swans to accompany me on stage. And my name in lights on my first marquis would say, “Anastacia, Queen of the Swans”.

From: "liisa" The Strangers Waltz...

Once upon a time there lived a princess called Anastacia. Who lived in a castle high up in the clouds....Rainbows, and music notes danced in symphony at the sheer beauty of her. Whispered scents of roses filled the air whenever she entered a room. One day a flock of white swans flew by, One swan in particular left the group, as he knew she was the one. Peering through a crack in the hedge, he could see and hear her singing in the royal garden, flowers were dancing in a circle all around her...she was so beautiful! all of a sudden, Anastacia heard a rustling, she went to see what it was, there infront of her was a beautiful white swan.. So the story goes....That whenever swans fly by they are really prince's in disguise, off to magical places where whimsical dancing, and love notes turn into beautiful butterflies, searching for their princesses' to embrace in a magical tune known as the Strangers Waltz.

Floral wreath of Helleborus flowers

It's nearly the middle of February and I'm just getting around to posting..ugh. I will be having to put the dolls I'm currently working on, aside for a few weeks to take care of this in addition to a wonderful opportunity that has come my way. It's not something I can talk about but it involves creating some new pieces with a deadline or two in the very near future. I'm pretty excited about it, pinching myself in fact, and will talk about it at a later date :)

In the meantime I wanted to let you know where I was at since those on my mailing list know I was planning for a shop update later this month but it will need to be pushed back a little, as part of my Spring update. I did want to give a little hint as to what I had been working on. Since my last doll Anastaica, I have been creating more floral crowns, wreaths. These two pictured are made using sterling silver wire, silver dipped beads, and watercolor paper. Each flower/leaf is handpainted with gouache and watercolor. I can never find exactly the kind of flowers I want and when I do they are often the wrong size, so I chose to make my own. They aren't finished and I'm not sure that I'll be using these two as they are a bit too "static" and I want ones that are more lively and full of movement and a bit more realistic looking. I have plans for more assymetrical wreaths to adorn the heads of my future dolls.

Have a wonderful weekend & Happy Valentines :)