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.

Four or five years ago, my husband gave me the best Christmas present, a trip to the local animal rescue shelter so that I could adopt an orange kitty. But when I got to the shelter, this gray striped cat named Gigi was so sweet, purring and rubbing her head against me so much, that I had to bring her home, too. It was almost like she picked me instead of the other way around. So I got two kitties for Christmas that year. Gigi is still nice to me, but she hisses and swats frequently at my husband and at our two other cats. Mike says that Gigi is a fraud who fooled us by  pretending to be a sweetie when she was at the shelter.

My sewing room is awash in fins, seaweed and seashell bikinis today. I'm making a batch of my Mermaid Dolls. They'll be similar, but of course, unique and different than the one in the photo on the left. Funny, the thing that seems to take the longest when I make a  Mermaid Doll is finding seashells that are the right size and shape for a bikini top. The Mermaid Dolls always sell very fast whenever I have them at shows. I'll put them on my online shop when they are finished. 

I just sold one of my Bride Dolls, the Blonde. I'm really happy about that. The brides are my fanciest (and most expensive) dolls. They  wear lots of lace, even lace garters. I wonder if the buyer is about to become a bride herself or if the doll will be a gift for a bride. Weddings are so much fun! Good luck to all couples planning to tie the knot this year. I've been married for 30 years.
In my shop, I have two Bride Dolls left, a Brunette and an African American. There's a Groom Doll. I'll be making more Brides and Grooms this year. Send me a note if you want to place a custom order.

Just posted my first new big doll of 2012 in my online shop. It's a Purple Gypsy Doll. You can see it in my Gallery of Dolls on this site or in my Etsy shop. I've been busy sewing mini dolls, cats and doll outfits. Lots of big dolls are in the works, too. Stay tuned.  

Monday, I was in Philadelphia visiting in-laws and we decided to go see some sights. We went to the Philadelphia Magic Gardens, the creation of mosaicist Isaiah Zagar. The Magic Gardens is a totally mosaicked indoor gallery (even the ceilings are mosaic) with a beautiful outdoor garden with paths that twist through mosaicked rooms and walls. This is one of the most unique folk art installations I've ever seen. If you are ever in Philadelphia, check it out.

I'm at the very tail end of the annual rush of online orders from people purchasing dolls for Christmas presents. Usually, around this time, I turn my attention to making doll gifts for my own extended family, for the children of nieces, nephews and cousins. That is always a lot of fun because I get to actually see their children's eyes get big when they open their handmade presents. This week I have to finish making 5 dolls for relatives. I might need some help from Santa's elves.

As soon as Christmas is over, I will start making new dolls to sell next year. My first 2012 craft show will probably be the CNY Maple Festival in Marathon, NY, on March 24-25. I need to make dozens of new dolls before then.