Calamity Kim

Day 1 in the year 2012

2012-01-01T21:40:45-05:00

Last night we stayed up late watching movies.

That's pretty unusual for us, but the neighborhood fireworks are a difficult lullaby and so after watching the old Hollywood Knights (Michelle Pfeiffer was a baby in that!) we watched Something Borrowed and it was sweet- a total chick flick but entertaining. I couldn't believe it was 2:30 when we finally went to sleep. We remembered to kiss each other a Happy New Year at about 1am.

I thought about the new year ahead as I drifted off to sleep and said a prayer for all good things to come.

Today was a beautiful day. The weather here is so perfect- warm, sunny, a good day for the beach. We talked about going, but decided after a late breakfast to just stay home and watch more movies. I worked on more paper dolls and played with the bunny. It was nice and low key- quiet- and restful.

This is Stu-he's an angora bunny my friend Lorene bought for me for Christmas and he is a constant source of amusement and affection as he hops around the house nibbling books and getting into mischief. He is about 11 weeks old now and will only get to be about 5-7 lbs. He eats a lot of timothy grass and if I could come up with a craft project involving rabbit poop I'd be a millionaire! He graciously gives us an above average daily amount- thank goodness there is no smell- it's just reconstituted grass! He goes in his litter box and is really very sweet.

I'm using some old pictures- I hope you don't mind. I just wanted to blog today, start a new year right. I'm also killing time until Hell on Wheels is on. It's a western on AMC, set back in the railroad building days and I must confess it has grown on me to the point that I have missed it not being on over the holidays. You know I love the wild west and love clothes from that era. I do have a rather bohemian poor gypsy magnolia pearl style and am going to dig out my linens and crochet laces to transform into clothes that reflect that.

I hope this year I can make some bloomers, pinafores, and felted dolls and get really good at binding books. I am cleaning out drawers, cupboards and closets to purge all the stuff I have saved in the hopes that "one day I would make something from it". If I haven't by now, then chances are I won't! I have high hopes of doing some indie craft shows this year and so I am aiming to come up with a product line and a website. Go big or go home, right? I am always dreaming of new things to make and there is never an empty day when I am not doing something- and I really want to get back to blogging it here too.

I wish you all a wonderful new year full of inspiration and JOY, as well as happiness and prosperity.

with love,

calamitykim

Paper Art Dolls: The Vintage Modern Mermaid

2011-12-30T19:47:07-05:00

I am not sure what it is about the Gibson Girls that captures my attention so completely but I have several stamps with different faces from that genre and I really enjoy using them to make paper dolls.

I often use Kimberly Crick's templates and rubber stamps as well as Catherine Moore's Character Construction stamps. I love the combination of vintage and woodland themes together and am also working up some circus and steampunk designs. I used to make paper dolls quite often and it has been a while since I returned to visit them but I have set aside wool, fabric and spinning wheel to get my paper on for a while.

Paper dolls aren't just for kids and my dolls can be used for decorating trees, wreaths, packages, worn as pins, necklaces or charming wall decor. I use acid free glue and papers and I decorate and embellish them with glitter, paper flowers, hat millinery and tiny ephemera.

Today I visited Retro Rosie's in Bradenton to grab some vintage lace and old letters to use in new dolls. Rosie and Nancy have a lovely shop filled with vintage clothing, shabby chic decor, wedding dresses, kitsch and aprons- as well as sewing notions, barkcloth and lots of good paper ephemera like tintypes and photos.

I love to combine vintage photos with water colored tails and will soon have a batch of finished mermaids- once they get some arms!

I am going to do some that are valentine related and some for Easter- assuming that I stay with it I should get them done in time to list on Etsy. Let's keep our finger's crossed and say a prayer to our patron saint of persistence and consistency- can't hurt- might help!

I joined the Selby Gardens Nature Printer's this year and I hope to be printing some fairy paper dolls using real leaves and flowers for their skirts and wings. No pictures of that yet- just playing with the idea and getting it worked out in my head before I begin printing them.

Monday begins a new year and I hope to be back here blogging more and sharing my adventures. Thank you for the five years of readership and for sharing links to my blog and all the love. Blogland is a special place and my life would not be the same without it. Happy New and Wonderful Year Ahead to us all! love, calamity

Alpha Stamps Giveaway!

2011-12-26T10:25:54-05:00

So....the big day is over and you're surfing the net looking for fun and something to do...

Go visit one of my favorite sources for stamps, ephemera and embellishments and sign up for their awesome giveaway (with a mermaid theme no less!) and tell em calamity kim sent ya! Here is the link for Alpha Stamps.

I am off for my daily walk and then I will be back to share some new mermaid stamped paper dolls of my own.

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas celebration (or Hanukkah or Kwanza or Festive us).