Creating the unexpected

 I ask you, did you ever expect me to make something like this little altered doll art piece?

Me neither.

I was just so inspired by the altered dolls I saw in Kansas City last month so I started to check out dolls at thrift stores and estate sales.  When I found this one with different colored eyes that opened and closed, I knew I'd found my muse.

Originally, I wanted to give her arms, too.  Alas, I chose a cigar box instead of my original idea of a tin as her "body" and it was too difficult to cut holes through it.

If I do another one -- I'll give her arms.

I liked the graphics that were already on the black and gold box, and I added to it.

My favorite part of the whole piece is the clock on the front; it's cut from a time-telling flashcard; the hands move, too.  I was sort of playing with the concept of time/winter, can you tell?

I used needlepoint ephemera (old magazine pages) and added some red accents.

For the back, I found another time-themed flash card, and then went off on a little tangent when I found an old drawing of a girl from behind.  Since it was the BACK of the piece, I thought it would be fun to put the picture there.  Then, a phrase jumped out at me from a children's vocabulary dictionary about buying candy, that sort of went along with the girl looking in the store window...

and then I remembered that I'd found these two old pennies inside one of the vintage purses I recently bought, and then there was the play on words with pen/penny and I got carried away -- can you tell?

 Here are some photos from Kansas of the altered dolls I saw...

 that kind of got me going on this kick!

You just never know where inspiration will hit, do you?

When I bought the doll, the estate sale gals, who know me pretty well, had this to say:

"Now I really am worried about you."

!!!!
I must admit, my husband and son are also a bit perplexed.

But -- I love her!