I have a book commission I’ve been working on for some time now, mainly because I haven’t had time to really sink my head into it. It took awhile for me to come up with a design, then I needed to make sure the customer liked it (she’s very easygoing but I still want it to be exactly what she wants), then find some materials (I needed some antique-looking buckles for it) which took a while to come up with, and finally do some last-minute discussions on the text block, etc. Here’s the main design on the front cover:

Picture of skull to be used on the front cover

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Come join the summer fun as members from our Bookbinding Etsy Street Team grill up some yummy prizes. The Virtual BBQ Scavenger Hunt starts tomorrow and runs through midnight EST on Monday, August 3. One lucky participant will win a $30 gift certificate good at participating BEST shops on Etsy. For more info, check out the details on our team blog.

What better way to enjoy a BBQ without the calories!

I decided to try out a new gallery plugin on my blog here but I’m not sure how the various setups on the gallery look in a post so you get to enjoy some picspam today (I’m sure everyone is faint with excitement at the thought).

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

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Pierre with the suitcase base--a miniature mint tin

One idea I had for Pierre’s accessories was a suitcase. Mainly because I have these little tins (I don’t remember where I got them from) that were the perfect size for a little suitcase for someone Pierre’s height. I believe they were probably promotional mints/tins at some point in their lives but I, of course, won’t be using any of them for that.

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Here's Pierre with his walking stick and journal in hand.

So, I have to be honest and say that the traveling dolls have been getting more difficult for me as we get closer to the end of the project. I can’t imagine having more dolls to work on after these last two because I’m reaching a point where I’m stumped on what to add to these dolls since they seem so complete already.

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My youngest daughter’s 5th birthday was today. We’ve gotten into a tradition of doing some kind of family adventure for their birthdays, sort of like a mini, local vacation (or “daycation” as my girls like to call it). We went to the Bob Bullock Museum last year for Alexandra’s birthday. This year, their grandma from New Jersey was down visiting during Alex’ birthday so we did some sightseeing downtown, around the Alamo, etc.

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Some of the other ladies on the Etsy Bookbinding Team (BEST–Bookbinders of Etsy Team) were discussing how they have maps on their walls and every time they sell a book to someone in another country, they add a pin to their map. Now, while I love this idea and I really would like to have a map on my wall (I’ve always wanted to have a big old antique-looking map on my studio wall), I’ve never had the wall space for doing this.

From a 1923 Map

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Judy and Jessica, originally uploaded by ladyartisan.

Ok, this really more of a test run to see how well I set up coordinating my flickr account with my blog. Thought I would use an “awwww” picture. My daughter Jessica (on the right) with a small bjd (Dollzone BB Judy, 27cm).

My current Travelling Doll visitor is tiny…as in very small…as in not large. At all. And my bright idea for putting my personal touches on this feller? Make him a travel journal. I mean, he’s become an adventurer, with adventuring type clothing and all, so obviously he needs a travel journal to keep track of his adventures. Right?

Here's the little guy "holding" a book that I digitally added to the pic.

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A collage of the dolls I've worked on to date.

I signed up to participate in ADO’s Traveling Doll Project. Art Dolls Only is a team that I help start on Etsy–we wanted a place for those of us who make dolls for art rather than toys or children’s dolls. The team has grown by leaps and bounds…so much, in fact, that we finally had to limit our membership because it was becoming more than we could really cope with. We wanted a team that’s close-knit where most of us know each other and we feel comfortable working together. And, even more important, we wanted a team that we could promote and advertise for easily. People with a likeminded goal of promoting our dolls, our Etsy shops, and our team.

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