Doesn't Automated Customer Service Sound Like an Oxymoron?

I don't know about you but I am noticing a tidal wave of very poor customer service in almost every communication I have with stores and companies! I am usually run through a series of automated questions only to realize somewhere in the process that I misunderstood an element of an option only to find myself in automated Timbuktu!!!! So I start over and wait more patiently (NOT) to hear MORE options since the the last one really had a portion of the question that wasn't right, again to find myself at the end of the list, without the option of my question answered BUT if I would like to go back over the list press #32!
What BIG companies have forgotten is us!
Give me a Mom and Pop shop any day! The corporate giants infiltrate our communities with there price cuts and goodbye Mom and Pop who used to know who you were, by the way!
Lenae

Convenzione ZNE Show

Convenzione ZNE

April 29 - May 3, 2009
Pleasanton, California

Thank you Claire Bone of Glitter and Grunge for representing Glitter and Grunge artists at this fine gathering!
Drop in and meet my Great American Suffragettes: Beatrice, Evelyn, Adella, Winifred, Minnie, Henrietta, Magnolia, Dora, Vivian, Prudence, Bernice and Lilly!
Yes, Claire has a wee collection on display at this event. I'm so excited about it. I would LOVE to attend this show someday but for now, a little piece of me will be there. For any of you in the Pleasanton, California area...I'm jealous! ...Enjoy!
Lenae

New Notions!

I can't resist these itty bitty hair rollers! I thought they would make a great closure to an altered book or something. It always facinates me what people come up with!
The card stock Lotto cards are a mix of old gray and navy blue. The thickness would make a good core to a project.
Fun little folded dance card! This card has fill in the blank information on the back.

I just always love the little relief bingo numbers! They are very small and the old style font is my favorite part!
I have other fun things to add to the unique notions within the next couple of days...stop back or just check the windlewood collection!
Have a wonderfully inspired spring day!

NEW Suffragettes!

My new Great American Suffragettes! I can't wait to do more!! I'm presently looking for more cabinet cards for just the right images.
This one I call Dora...she is created a little different with little arms and slightly taller than the others.
Her very flowery hat is spectacular! I used 100% organdy, vintage lace and pure silk ribbon for the Votes for Women ribbon.
Lilly is a smart little character with her fancy feathered hat. Her dress is a embellished with Victorian lace.

Tiny high button shoes are crafted from paper clay.
Minnie is dressed in a vintage WOMAN'S police uniform complete with Billy Club...hum. I touched all the buttons with an old gold color for a shiny brass button look. This police officer carries a banner that reads about the Great Scourge and what to do about it! ( Women's suffrage)



This very zealous and sweet Prudence has her message all over her pinafore! I reduced an actual Women's Suffrage Rosette from a picture in the cause colors of purple, green and white. The center reads: Votes For Women but it's so small you can't read it. I added a drop of clear glaze for an official button look.

Vivian has her hands full with literature and her large banner about the Great Scourge.

Winifred is a dainty thing in her solid white pure organdy and vintage lace dress. I made her boots lace up. Under the pure silk ribbon, Winifred actually wears a women's suffrage ribbon.


Winifred all has slender arm with a vintage lace cuff and paper clay hands. The great American Suffragettes stand at various heights on patriotically painted and distressed wooden blocks. The small wooden discs are covered with 1911 print and touched with a golden edge.
I hope you enjoy them. The more I work on this project...the deeper I think about this period in our history...wow!
These little ladies will be available on ebay starting this Sunday. Once they are listed I will link the Dolly to her Ebay page. You can visit the other Great American Suffragettes on Ebay right now, there are 4. They end Sunday.
Happy Spring!

Artful Time Pieces

My new Artful Time Pieces are made from a variety of found items. Have you ever looked at a pile of just stuff (junque) and found something special in it? I'm sure many of you can relate to this. I tend to do it with things as small as seed beads as large as houses! My husband doesn't prefer the later.
I am drawn to cast off stuff! It is usually behind some of my most rewarding artistic adventures.

This large mantle clock, for instance, is created from a ratty vintage wooden box that once contained a China doll. That's right...fun thought huh? I bought it from an older woman and she said that her dad brought home a China doll for her when he was in the war. I have been attracted to the Red Cross theme as well and incorporated it into this design. Be Ever Mindful written in wire across the front is a reflection of the call of the Red Cross.

The book print pendulum gently swings back and forth through a window I created for it. The number 8 is missing from the copy of my vintage clock face so I replace it with an antique #8 typewriter key. This clock rests on distressed golden biscuit feet. I LOVE biscuit feet!
Yes...it's an old book. Well carved out now this is a mantle clock assemblage with all sorts of stuff!
I carved out and replaced some titles with this charming vintage picture surrounded with painted white scallops. I love white scallops too.haha.
I chose the chasing mouse second hand and also replace the #4 with an antique typewriter key.
The edge is a golden washed wooden ruler. (not shown) These new clock assemblages were fun to make. I hope to add them to the windlewood collection in the next couple of days. I've been distracted with my Suffragette Dolls. Well back to work!
Hey..remember...find something cast off and make it into something special!!! Be creative...recycle!
Lenae

New Projects!

Ok... I just discovered a new fun project! Introducing my new Great American Folk Art Suffragette Dolls. I have a 1911 Ladies Home Journal Magazine with an article in it: "Would You As A Woman Like To Vote?" Wow!...we have come so far but can you really imagine living in a time when our opinion didn't count in the political world? It didn't count literally!
The doll I call Beatrice is one of my favorite vintage photos! I think she is so beautiful! Her hat is fabulous! She wears dainty little spectacles as well. You know what's fun about these little characters is that these people were very real with real lives and opinions. They're now incorporated into art.

Beatrice's little high button boots are crafted out of paper clay over wire. Bodies are stuffed muslin.
The Votes For Women banners are transferred onto beautiful two sided silk ribbon with a tin button decoration.


Keeping with the Great American theme, our little dollies are standing on a wooden All American podium painted and rubbed for an aged look.

I used Victorian lace at the bottom of this one. Dolly figures are stitched with golden thread onto muslin.
I'm looking forward to more of these little limited edition dolls. I'm searching for just the right look. They're adorable in a group! They just make me smile. The average size is 6" - 7 1/2" tall. I just put these little girls on ebay.
Hummmm...what else can we get into...

From the Office of the Tooth fairy

From the Office of the Tooth Fairy! Brand new to the windlewood collection are these wonderfully whimsical Tooth Fairy Kits. Created by craftsman in the USA. Check the link for more details. The certificate is completely letter pressed on heavy textured paper for a quality heirloom!
Now...for the reason that when my daughter called me raving about this little kit, that I HAD to have them a part of our Artsy Babies department!
As a child I was ALWAYS fascinated by the little enchanted world brought to us by the marvelous imaginations of well...I guess the story tellers. I was most intrigued by fairy stories. I will add that I still LOVE fairy stories!
I vividly remember wanting to encounter the Tooth Fairy. One specific evening, at the height of expectation (due to tooth loss) I wanted to stay up until she came so I could see her. Now...often as a child my siblings and myself would always end up in the same bed and my little brother was there but I was getting so tired that I threatened my little brother to stay up and wake me up when she comes. Needless to say...I woke up in the morning with my monetary reward BUT my brother had fallen asleep! Drat!
Remember...enjoy creativity and imagination!