The Land of Charlottes!
"Come one, Come all,
to the Land of Charlottes!"
Since late last summer I have been in complete doll mode and it all started from a Vintage Charlotte/Penny Doll that I bought on one of my travels. Since I was a child, I have loved my dolls and toys, always creating stories revolving around them, making clothes, accessories and displays for them, even making dolls of my own from the materials I had in my house.
Here is the First Charlotte I ever made called: Queen Lilly of Charlotteville!
Creating my own imaginery worlds allowed my imagination to soar, I still have many of the toys/dolls from my childhood, and from my mom's childhood, others I have bought throughout the years. My favorite vintage dolls are: The celluloid carnival dolls, kewpie dolls, dolls from around the world, China Dolls and the CHARLOTTE/PENNY BISQUE DOLLS, these vintage delights have become part of my artful world, from a handmade mold, I have been able to reproduce them in a variety of ways, turning them into dolls revolving around different storybook and character themes, used them to create doll heads/parts for my artwork and to sell in my stores for others to use in their artworks as well.These dollies have been sold all over the world, they have been customized through an option in my store, purchased already made and ordered for wedding showers and parties. They have graced the inside of my jar fairies/glass vignettes, inside altered art books, in assemblages, as wands, tassels and in ornamental bulbs. They have become cupcake picks, cake sticks and found on ATCS's, in jewelry, as charms and on boxes and tags. These dollies have allowed me to re-create that vintage world and explore other vintage dolls and story books.Some of the styles are apart of my charlotte doll line such as: The Queen Lilly Style and The Harlequin Wizard Style! Each one of my dolls are pressed into one of my many handmade molds, then smoothed, sanded, painted, triple glazed and embellished with a variety of materials both vintage and new.Some fave materials I use in my dolls are crepe paper, tulle, velvet, sequins, vintage piano paper or storybook pages, tinsel and German glass glitters.This is one of my latest Charlottes called: Betsy Has a Birthday.Here is a later version of Queen Lilly standing next to her friend: Queen Elizabeth!Here is another Charlotte I made, which is my take on the Mad Hatter meets a Victorian Socialite who loves the Garden, Sewing and Soirees, I call her Betsy Winklesby is from New England, A Socialite with family roots from England, South Africa to Nantucket and the Hamptons, currently Betsy resides in Nantucket, who set up a New England Sewing Society, where ladies will crochet, cross stitch, weave, sew and tatt for charity and personal admirement.

Betsy is an advid quilter and doll maker in her spare time, she teaches her children and friends children how to sew and donates hand sewn costumes to the Candyland Ball beauty contestants. Here is Betsy in her sewing best on her way to the Mad Hatters Sewing Tea Party.Here is Lana's Custom Charlotte I made for her called: Sweet Marie: reminiscent of Marie Antoinette in her garden soiree gown which is also similar to a Southern Belle strolling through her plantation garden.Meet Queen Charlotte II, Queen Charlotte is a sweet Queen from Charlotteville who loves dancing at soiree's, the color pink and tinsel tiara's.

Charlotte even has several pink and tinsel ball gowns and sparkly shoes, because you never know when a soiree will come up.Here is Sierra, The Sea Pageant Queen, all ready for the Seaside Ball.Meet another mermaid beauty, her name is Misty Plumbach a flapper mermaid from the 1920's, who loves to party, dance and sing in Sea York City.Meet the Seahorse Soiree Attendees: Maude and Miranda!No under sea party would be complete without the Fiji Mermaid, complete in her coconut throne, and glowing tinsel shells. This piece was made from a broken coconut shell I recycled, my charlotte doll head, crepe paper body, shells, dresden trims, tinsel, glitter and more.

To see over 200 photos of my various Charlotte Dolls, Projects I have made with them and the Charlotte Doll Supplies to purchase, see their images here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/moonfaires16/sets/72157619461473554/ to purchase these
dolls visit my Etsy Store: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5074220
and Website Store: http://www.moonfairesworld.com/curiosity_shoppe.htm

For custom charlottes which range in price from $25-30, contact me.

Look for my new doll head supplies I just made from 4 new doll molds I just finished, they are: China Head Doll Heads 2.25 inches in size and available un-finished and painted, I have Kewpie Style Heads 1.75 to 2 inches in size, again available un-finished and painted. I have a Large Baby Doll Head about 3.25 inches in size available un-finished, A 2nd Tristan Style called: Harley which is almost 2inches in size, the Marie Antoinette style have been added in painted form today, ujn-finished style added tommorrow, I hoep you enjoy them all!

Magic and Joy!
Lisa!

A Sunday in New York, Part Deux!
The Carousel of Bryant Park!
I love love love the magic of a carousel, it can just sweep you away into another world, a storybook place from long ago, as gracefully glide up and down and all around while listening to sweet melodies reminiscent of the carnival, circus or seaside boardwalk, perhaps a picturesque park or fairgrounds in Europe. Carousels are crafted from the finest artists with unique and eccentric details, made from wood, metal, brass, porcelain and fiber glass, each one setting the stage for a new performance every few minutes.Some Carousels have all horses, some have Horses, animals with fins and well seahorses, sirens, rabbits, even fairies, pegases, unicorns and birds. Some have an underwater fantasy theme, others a circus theme, fairy garden or royal theme, there are no limits in the creation of one, but one rule, it must bring delight to all. Now not every carousel is going to be in a covered tent, under a canopy, inside a carousel hall, ultra large, colorful and bright, some are smaller in size with muted vintage colors, just like my fave carousel located in Bryant Park, NYC!http://www.bryantpark.org/amenities/carrousel.php This carousel is called: "Le Carrousel" and made by the Fabricon Carousel Co., Inc. Brooklyn, NY circa 2002, This might be a newer piece, but it has been made in the vintage and timeless style of the originals, the colors, the fantasy theme, its beautiful, I could see this on a park grounds during the Victorian Age, or in Coney Island's: Dreamland Park or Luna Park, couldn't you?This beautiful horse is called: "Granny's Folly", Isn't she a beauty, look at the details!If I wasn't so tired from strolling around the BEA (Book Expo America) and from Glenny and I taking turns lugging a heavy book bag, we probably would have lingered longer in Bryant Park and I might have rode the Carousel, but I can always head back anytime and do that, LOL, but trust me, I was thinking it, so instead I took loads of pictures to remember the moment and share with all of you.This rabbit is my fave carousel friend and would probably be where I sit when I go on the Carousel, LOL!.Even the Ticket Booth is too cute!
No trip to Bryant Park would be complete with out A. A snack from Wichcraft Cafe http://wichcraftnyc.com/ B. A cupcake from Crumbs, or C. A lunch or dinner at The Bryant Park Grill, which is one of my fave restaurant. http://www.arkrestaurants.com/
http://www.bryantpark.org/amenities/dining.php view the menu here:
http://www.arkrestaurants.com/section_home.cfm?section_id=1&location_id=1&restaurant_id=2&sub_section_id=1&menu_type_id=4
Here is a photo I took of the Bryant Park Grill!The whole park has a French and European Design, which is why I love it so much, its such a great place to visit all year, but especially from Spring through Fall, even to just grab a coffee or tea and sit down on one of the many benches, park chairs or by the beautiful fountain and just relax and envision beautiful days and endless magic!
http://www.bryantpark.org/
In exploring the park, you will also come upon the glorious and ornate fountain, however this fountain is more then just a beautiful facade, it was designed by the famed architect Charles A. Platt who created this fountain to commemorate social worker/reformer Josephine Shaw Lowell. Shaw, born 1843, is said to be one of the first woman to be honored with a major monument in New York City, after her death in 1905, this is probably due to the fact that Josephine Shaw Lowell she was the first female member of the New York State Board of Charities, serving the years, 1876 to 1889.

The fountain has a 32-foot-wide lower basin and 13-foot-wide upper basin, was installed at the east side of Bryant Park in 1913, then in 1936 the fountain was moved to the west side of Bryant Park, where it resides today. In 1992, this glorious
fountain was restored/refurbished by the Bryant Park Restoration Corporation and I believe is a must see in the park.No matter where you look, you will definately be transformed to another place, even if only for a moment, just sit back and illustrate this world in your mind, create a new memory that will bring you magic and joy, that you can come back and visit over and over again.

This Parisian-esque park is located:
Between 5th & 6th Avenues, West 40 & West 42 Streets, for additional information visit: http://www.bryantpark.org/
For more pictures from my day visit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/moonfaires16/sets/72157619084136905/
Carousel sites: http://www.carouselworks.com/
http://www.carouselworks.com/PR/PRTK10-30-08.htm
http://www.hoopla.org/Carousel/how.htm
I hope you enjoyed my adventure: A Sunday in New York, Bryant Park!
Magic and Much Joy to All!
Lisa!

A Sunday in New York, Part One!
This past weekend the BEA aka Book Expo America was in town at the Javitts Center in NYC, this is an industry event filled from bottom floor to top floor of the Javitts Center with Publishers, Publishing Reps, Publicity Personel, International Publishing, Self Published Groups, Magazine/Press, Established Authors, Illustrators, and Up/Coming as well.Isn't Clifford the Dog too cute!You will find every style book there: Art, Children, Table, Sports, Special Needs, Selected Genres, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Reality, Religion, Spiritual, Adult, you name it, that book was there. At these events you get a chance to really learn about the publishing industry and to find that publisher who is right for you and by no means be shy, come equiped with your business cards and if you have a small postcard showcasing some of your best works, bring it with you, and come polished, not sloppy, appearance can be everything on your first encounter.Here are the new and amazing art and books coming out at Quarry Books, Don't you just want them all, I know I do. Some new ones I saw coming out are: Who's your DadA by Linda and Opie Obrien and really cool studio book from Lynn Perrella, these look AMAZING, Have you seen Amy Hanna's Book, its a must have so is Cloth Doll Artistry by Barbara Willis, these two books are my new fave's, so inspirational.Here is Miss Candy from Quarry and Me, she is beyond words AMAZING! ( I say amazing alot, don't I?, LOL, but everyone is AMAZING to me) It was so nice to meet her in person, this whole staff just rocks!

The BEA has a special place in my heart, it always will, it was here that I met my AMAZING publishing group back in May 2007, after walking for hours compiling info and researching the companies in my field, I came across Quarry, and I knew this was the group I wanted submit my work to, they were extremely friendly, helpful and well amazing, and 2 years later, here I am, published with my book; "Altered Art Circus!" with one of the greatest groups I could know. Now you see my personal attachment with this expo, it just fills me with smiles and joy, not to mention getting books to buy at a huge discount, some are free and others get signed by the authors/illustrators that are on hand! I do suggest since the books are out in tghe open, that you ask questions and see if they are for sale and that is when you will know if you can purchase it on the spot, if not, where to order it or if its free, remember respect these companies, they put alot of hard work into setting up for this event, and by Sunday, I am sure they are exhausted.Here I am with author Lawrence Guido author behind The Comprehensive New Testament at the IBPA Booth, quite interesting. I also picked up a book called: "Prophecy of the Sisters" by Michelle Zink, met her son, he gave me the book and said his mom was signing, so I walked on over and had her sign it, and I must say this is going to be the next book I read when I am relaxing at the beach, it looks like a Twilight style book with a bit more.

I also picked up a vampire pop up book, 500 cakes by Susannah Blake/Sellars Publishing-this cake book has some really good recipes including a recipe for lemon lavender cake, I got a Do it for less weddings hint hint, LOL) by Denise Vivaldo and some pet books about kitties, puppies and one on Goldens.

Afterwards I headed over to Dalton's to meet Glenny, then after a late lunch we took a stroll through Times Square on our way to Bryant Park with a stop at Crumb's Bakery for cupakes and cookies. Okay we ate the cookies before we got to the car, LOL. But I must say I am a huge Magnolia's Bakery Fan, the cupcakes at Crumb's have more variety flavors like peanut butter filled, cookie dough, strawberry banana, etc., I'd say hit them both when you visit NYC!

I'll be blogging tommorrow about Bryant Park, The Bryant Park Carousel and the Park's History!

Have a magic filled day!
Lisa!

P.S. If you bought my book on Amazon, leave me a review, I'd love to know what you think. Thanks sooooo much!

Memorial Day Weekend, My Book Signing in Allentown, PA!
Hello All,
I am sorry for the delay in blogging and visiting your fabulous sites, but this past month has been really busy, but that's good, LOL!
I wanted to share some photos and my experience at the Book Signing and Demo I did at the Grand Opening of ACMoore in Allentown, PA, a huge thank you to Catherine and Candy at Quarry Books, and Indee and (Here is a photo of Robin and Me)Robin from ACMoore who all put this event together, each of them did a tremendous job, Robin Beam is the director of Education for ACMoore and made my experience at the event that much more enjoyable as did the entire staff, if in Allentown, you have to visit this ACMoore its the biggest I've ever been in, LOL, lots of fabulous stuff to buy!Here are a few photos of me signing!In this picture I can be seen demonstrating one of the projects in the book with a new twist, I was making jar fairies, but this version was more vintage in tones, using gold corse glitter, vintage doll images and distressed papers, while creating opera style scenes inside the jar and out!This is Robin's JarThis is Sarah's and Robin's Jar:
Tiffany's Jar:Here is Tiffany, her mom and her Jar!Tiffany, Elizabeth and Emily:Miss Samantha and her jar:Samantha is my step niece, isn't she just the cutest, she's my little buddy!Here is Josh, Elizabeth, Little Josh, Emily and Me!Sara, her jar and her book! Sara was amazing, she was so much fun to hang out with will I was at the event, she added to the joy!Glenny, Sandra and Glenny's Dad!And here I am with Crayola Crayon in person, a perfect ending to a perfect day. I hope you all enjoyed my adventure and signing, Thank you for your continued support!
Magic and Joy!
Lisa!