There may soon be an entire ballet troup of Ballerina Dolls in my online shop. I have already put four Ballerinas in the shop this week. So far, there's a Ballerina in a Blue & White Lace Tutu, Ballerina in Pink Tutu,  Ballerina in a Peach Tutu and the Ballerina with Stars on Her Tutu. I never took ballet lessons as a girl. But when I attended Point Park College in Pittsburgh, there was a large performing arts department there. There were girls and guys running around in leotards all over the campus. My Ballerina Dolls have been popular with young girls learning ballet,  but older ballet fans also like to purchase them as unique pieces of art. Maybe I should take some to Point Park the next time I visit?

The Joelle's Dolls Mini Dolls recently got mentioned on the After the Dress blog, a very nice sewing blog. The blog's author sewed a fabric doll house for some friends' daughters, and purchased some of my Mini Dolls to be the residents. Thanks Gwen! 

We have three sons, Philip, 27; Tyler, 25; and Raymond, 19. All three are creative, which can be a gift and a curse. As adults, they may not enjoy the feeling of security that a job with a weekly paycheck brings. That's scary for parents. But hopefully, they will love what they do for the rest of their lives, and make enough money to pay their bills. When our boys were growing up, we encouraged them to chase their dreams, to chase them hard, even while we worried that their dreams might be a sure path to poverty. Our oldest son dreamed of being an illustrator and cartoonist. I think Phil is right on the cusp of finding success. His website is great. Our middle son, Tyler, dreamed of being a writer. He is attending University of Pittsburgh in the MFA creative writing program. He had a short story recently published in Redivider, a literary journal published by Emerson College. Ray, our baby, is a talented musician who plays drums and guitar. The Syracuse police came to his show last night and shut it down. The cops weren't music fans, I guess. 
Do we worry about them? You bet we do. But for now, I'm not worried that they will be filled with bitter regrets over what might have been. 

I did not make any special Valentine's Day-themed items this year. Sorry about that. But I have been busy. Here's a photo of a Mermaid Doll with a beaded tail that I just finished and put into my online shop.

I just finished making a little girl Doll in Easter Bonnet. She is in my online shop. I hope I didn't miss the Easter shopping rush Isn't that a weird concept. In the good old days, the only thing you bought for Easter was chocolate candy and new clothes to wear to church. Now retailers are trying to make Easter a gift-giving occasion. Well, if you want to make a child or an older doll collector happy with an Eastern gift, my Doll in Easter Bonnet will do the trick. She is a cloth dress up doll whose clothes are easy to take off and put back on. She's even wearing fancy bloomers under her frilly pink dress. 

I think I will be putting four Mermaid Dolls in my online shop this week. I put the first one there today, a Mermaid Doll with red hair and a purple tail.