bra doll & other

Well, today is the first day since my sinus surgery on the 16th, that I can actually say I feel great. I had a bout with bronchitis the weekend due to drainage, but after a course of Steroids I feel invincible. I did have slight problem on Monday. Did you hear my scream? I got a call from HR at work saying that the Doctor released me to go back to work. I could barely breath and was wheezing. I actually did one of those "WHAT?" moments like in "Harold and Maude". I told the HR representative that it was impossible, and I hadn't even seem my Doctor for the 1st Post-Op appointment. She was surprised and told me to just tell them that I needed more time off to recuperate and to just have the Doctor's office fax in a release to work form change. When I saw the Doctor the next morning, he was confused about my release and told me he did not authorize that. Went out to the office staff and came back to tell me it was taken care of. Then he did some things to my poor nose that I am not sharing, but I'll tell you that even though I work in a hospital lab and have seen everything, this was outside of everything! He then gave me steroids for the bronchitis and told me he'd see me next week. As I was walking through the Pharmacy to get my prescription filled, something happened that I never realized before in my LIFE! At that point, I knew I was a changed person. As I walked down the make up aisle, I could smell things that I'd never in my life been able to detect before. Later on, I called my sister, Cheryl, and asked her if make up always had a smell. She laughed her head off at me, then got serious and asked did I really think make up was scentless. Well, I did until Tuesday!

Okay back on the track of art. I've had so much energy with the Steroids only sleeping 5 hours a day, that I've got so many projects completed that have been partially done. First off, I'm sharing an almost completed doll of Ruby the Troll. Ruby is a character in Terry Prachett's Discworld books. She is for a display the Doll Street Dreamers is doing for AFIC. She is almost finished & yes! a recycled doll. She started out as a thrift store reject. I cut the head off & made a felted head with a Styrofoam ball. The ribbon on her head was off some Christmas present from the Past (Yes, I'm that big of a hoarder), and someone at the Guilded Lilies' retreat last month gave me the red glass buttons which I cut the shank off of. Those which are on a very visual display give her her name...Ruby. Her microphone was the ice cream cone the doll was using that I encrusted with beads. I still want to embellish the stand some with some ghoulish things. She is a Troll, you know?

The next doll is from Barb Keelings' Bra Doll Challenge. You can read about it on her blog, and zip over to her website (which she shares with husband Doug), and purchase the pattern with a part of the money benefiting Breast Cancer Research. There are 5 patterns to chose for for $10.00. Barb is working on an article for SDA (Soft Doll and Animal), and is looking for people to send her pictures of completed dolls using recycled bras. AND YES! Another recycled doll. This time it is the bra which was an old purchase I made at Victoria Secret back when I could still wear VS! I only used half of the bra as I want to make another Bra Doll with the cups. It was fun to puzzle together how these pieces would work together. Now, I didn't really paint that face. I'm not going to lie to you, but I for the life of me cannot paint faces. This is a stamp from Barbara Willis that I colored with gel pens. I also used some recycled fiber for the hair. Jody Miller had given me a bag of goodies for hosting a Stitch & Bitch for the Lilies. I opened it up. saw that green fiber, and realized HAIR! Also recycled is a plastic horn from a dollar store purchase. So her name is Tootsie. She Toots Her Own Horn about her sewing skills. NO, I'm NOT TOOTSIE!!!! LOL. If you saw me sawing these dolls up, you'd know that. Enjoy.

breathing through my nose! dot