Pumpkinhaus at the Tiny Studio

My show at Tiny Studio last friday was great! It was really wonderful to be able to have an event that included both Joe and I. For so many years now, it has either been his performance or my exibit, never really together. Rowan was there and she worked hard on her art, and then showed Mia and then Teatah around the art hop. She is becoming so independant lately... I can really tell how much she has changed and matured over the last year in moments like these. Of course, she loved it that her dad was performing as Harts Horn, and got to show him off as well!

My handspun yarn and art dolls were very well received, and I also ended up spinning for about three hours straight. Everytime I stopped, someone else would come in and exclaim "Oh wow... " so then, I would sit down and give another demo! I don't care though, I love it and could do it all day, everyday! It is really funny the people who are super interested in watching someone spin. Little boys, and grown men alike just really wanted to know all about it, and how the whole process works... my Gramma thought that was just a hoot! Even she was pretty mystified by the whole thing and watched herself for over an hour... lol.

I have so much stock built up right now, and the massive shop update begins tomorrow and should go steady through wednesday, so please stop by often to see what I have to offer! I will start with bright handspun yarns tomorrow, and then more art yarns on tuesday, and round out the update with many new art dolls on wednesday... I am so excited to have so much new stuff!!!

All right... now off to put my tiny haus back together! It is amazing how messy it can get when you are knee deep in preparations for a show!

Prepping for a show at Tiny Studio

I have a gallery show coming up in Kalamazoo, MI at Tiny Studio on June 5th which will feature my art dolls and handspun yarns. I have been spinning like crazy, and I have about 20 skeins of yarn so far... I am going to double that, which means I will spend ano ther whole day carding batts again. It's tough work, but I love it!

For now though, I am spending the next couple of days sculpting some new little sitting gnome dolls. My doll peeps should be glad to hear that! I'll post a preview of those over the next day or two... but, for now, here is a smattering of what I have done so far.

Tiny Studio Music/Arts - Exhibit

Date: Friday, June 5, 2009Time: 5:00pm - 9:00pm

Location: Park Trades Center #219, Kalamazoo, MI

Email: tinystudio@charter

Tiny Studio blog:
http://thethreepeas.blogspot.com/

Joe Davis/ Harts Horn blog:
http://homepunspacerock.blogspot.com/

Harts Horn/ Etsy Shop:

http://homespunspacerock.etsy.com/

Ring a ding ding! Its almost Spring!

Whew! It may still be freezing cold out there, but I can start to smell a bit of spring in the air! I am so freakin' ready for a LOT of sunshine in my life!

I have been busy with many projects lately, I am drafting new patterns for soft dolls with fully jointed arms and legs, and maybe a little turn of the head too while I'm at it! These babies are going to be in three different sizes, and be sure that they will be full of color and life with all sorts of patchwork frenzy!

Another project is finishing up a pile of skirts I started last spring. They are art-to-wear upcycled jeans made into skirts with all sorts of trims and vintage fabrics. Most of them have been stamped and painted by hand. I love these skirts... I have been making these for a long time now, and I have been meaning to get these in my shop from the get go.

I have a few little hand sculpted dollies that need a bit of finishing up as well.... I have a night or two of knitting up pointy hats out of sock yarn while watching Doctor Who with my little family.


And, last, but most definitely not least..... I will be putting the finishing touches on the pdf pattern for the Gnome Hat. Yes folks... I am gonna do it! I have had so much interest in this little hat, I figured it was about time. I can only knit them up so fast y'know! I love this hat, and it really was something that just clicked for me! So now... I will spread the love!

Lil' Totem Softies

Here come the Softies!

I finished up and listed a couple today, and will be listing more over the weekend.

These little softies are based on the Pumpkinhaus Prim. Only they are around 10" tall.... and a bit more colorful!

(click any of the pictures to be taken to the softie section of my shop)

I have been making very small (1") little talisman dolls for my step-dad. He uses them for his clients as an effigy/talisman/totem, He is a Jungian Psychotherapist and a Shaman. I was going to put them in my shop, but it would be so hard to make and photograph many little 1" dolls.... so I decided to make them bigger.

So, you can purely love these for the sake of being a softie lover.... or you can dig in a little deeper....

This colorful little totem/talisman will watch over you and bring you protection. Infused with a natural essential aromatherapy oil of your choice.


Each individual little totem is about 10 inches tall and is made up of a hodge podge of beautiful fabrics (vintage and new), buttons, lace, applique, wool felt and hand dyed and spun yarn (by my favorite! fabulosity.etsy.com).


Lie it on your bed, couch, or drag the little thing around with you everywhere you go for maximum effect!


These are all one of a kind little beings, and there are many, many to choose from so you can find yourself a perfect match!


Here is a list of available oils to choose from:

Anise ~ cheering, mildly euphoric
Bergamot ~ uplifting, inspiring, confidence-building
Cedarwood ~ emotional stress, anxiety, powerlessness
Cinnamon Cassia ~ comforting, energizing, warming
Citronella ~ purifying, vitalizing
Clary Sage ~ centering, euphoric, visualizing
Eucalyptus ~ purifying, invigorating
Grapefruit ~ refreshing, cheering
Geranium ~ soothing, mood-lifting, balancing
Jasmine ~ calming, relaxing, sensual, romantic
Lavender ~ balancing, soothing, calming, relaxing, healing
Lemon ~ uplifting, refreshing, cheering
Orange ~ uplifting, cheering, sensual
Patchouli ~ romantic, soothing, sensual
Peppermint ~ vitalizing, refreshing, cooling
Rosewater ~ romantic, supportive, gently uplifting
Rosemary ~ clarifying, invigorating
Spearmint ~ refreshing, cooling, vitalizing
Thyme ~ cleansing, purifying, energizing
Ylang Ylang ~ uplifting, cheering, sensual
~ or ~
None ~ I don't want to send you a stinky doll if you don't want it!!!

Please note: These little beings are NOT intended for children.

Why? Hmmmmm... not really sure. Ask someone at the CPSA.

Thanks for looking!

A Dress The Color of the Weather

A couple of weeks ago we rented Peau d'âne (1970) ( U.S. title: Donkey Skin) Directed by Jacques Demy. With Catherine Deneuve, Jean Marais, Delphine Seyrig. Demy was also the director of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and The Young Girls of Rochefort, two of my favorite films which I became aware of when I worked at Video Paradiso (cornball name..... great rentals) in Claremont, California.

I am utterly obsessed with the story of Peau d'Ane now. In the story, Peau d'Ane's mother, the Queen dies, and her last dying wish is that her husband never marry again unless the woman is more beautiful than she. Well, as you can guess.... who could possibly be more beautiful than the Queen..... her daughter, Peau d'Ane. Her father wishes to marry Peau d'Ane, so she seeks council from her fairy godmother who advises her that it is unnatural for daughters to marry their fathers.... regardless of whether or not they are king.

She tells Peau d'Ane, in order to avoid marriage with her father, she is to ask her him for the impossible....

to make her a dress the color of the weather.

I will tell you more of the story a bit later.....

Hats! Hats! More Hats!

Introducing ~

The Amelia Flight Hat

Here are the first round of embellished beauties! These were so much fun to make. These are all available at The Pumpkinhaus now!

The Amelia Flight Hat - Paisley Tapestry

The Amelia Flight Hat - Floral Corduroy

The Amelia Flight Hat - Yellow Lotus

The Amelia Flight Hat - Ochre Floral

The Amelia Flight Hat - Yellow Floral

Stay tuned for The Pixie Flight Hat!

~ Thanks for looking ~

Little Leilee and Cora - ADO team Broken Heart Challenge Art Doll by Pumpkinhaus for Valentines Day

Well! She is finished!!! And not a moment to soon!!!

Presenting~

Little Leilee and Cora

Little Leilee clutches her dear heart Cora ever so tightly this Valentines day. She made herself a little baby dear so that she could be reminded that the world didn't always have to be so hard, cold and lonely.

Leilee is 13" tall (sitting - toes to the top of her head) and is hand sculpted out of polymer clay over a rigid armature. She is hand painted and finished with a UV resistant gloss glaze. Her dress is comprised of vintage fabrics, hand dyed vintage lace.... and a pair of my favorite socks that Rowan wore when she was a tiny babe. Her hair is a Japanese modacrylic wig.

Sweet Cora is a tiny ragdoll that can come out of Leilee's arms. Her body is batik and she has vintage fabric embellishments and vintage buttons for eyes. Her braids are made from hand dyed and spun yarn from Fabulosity.etsy.com (my favorite!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You can check out some of her progress here:

http://pumpkinhaus.blogspot.com/2008/12/this-face-makes-me-giddy.html

http://pumpkinhaus.blogspot.com/2008/12/baby-in-oven.html

http://pumpkinhaus.blogspot.com/2008/12/i-painted-little-dear.html

The Rita Cape

This is the second in the Woodland Cape series. As I was photographing this yesterday morning, and Joe and I decided it had a 60's psychedelia feel to it. I can see Grace Slick wearing this on top of the roof in New York city. Or Rita Lee from Os Mutantes, sitting cross legged, singing on Brazilian television.

It is made with vintage woven wool in olive green, and the hood is made from a vintage apron with embroidered little animals. It is secured upon your shoulders with the apron ties. The inside is the warmest, bright pink fleece with a pop art circle design in the hood and a super soft plum colored fleece for the body of the cape, the edge is trimmed in a sweetly woven jacquard trim.

Available now at The Pumpkinhaus!

Hats Take Flight!

Here are the prototypes for two new aviator style hats I have been working on this week for the Pumpkinhaus. I drafted up a couple of patterns and I must say, I am happy with the results so far! These are just pics of the hats ~ plain ~ I will be embellishing theses babies with all sorts of finery! For now, they are lined with fleece (it is still mighty cold out there!) and have all sorts of fine cotton fabrics (vintage and new..... some designer! who .... me? Use designer fabrics..... yup.). Bonnet style Aviator Hats!

The Pixie Flight Hat
You gotta wear pointy hats.... makes you smart dontcha know!

~and~

The Amelia Flight Hat
I named Rowan Amelia after Ms. Earhart. It is only fitting to make a hat after her too.

I need to ask my brother if I can hire Madison for some modeling.... she needs a makeover bad!

Welcome to The Pumpkinhaus Little Lumpkinmaus!

Meet Syl Lumpkinmaus. Poor tiny little Syl... he did make an effort to dress up all cute for the party.... but he forgot to send out the invitations!

And then... there is Miss Marcy Lumpkinmaus.

Little Marcy Lumpkinmaus is so desperate for a valentine this year... she thought maybe a little rouge on the cheeks would do the trick....

Here is the rest of the unruly bunch! All half nakey and ready to be painted.
You know what they say about a little maus who wears a big hat....

They are waiting at The Pumpkinhaus for your sweet lovin'....

I Painted the Little Dear

Here are a few pics of the painted piece. The 2nd and 4th pictures show the under painting. All in all, there is about 6 layers of different colors of paint.

The nose and cheeks are embossed with floral stamps.

These pictures really don't do the colors any justice, her skin is lavender and blue, the nose is blues and greens with an iridescent shimmer over top, and the cheeks are all rosey.