Skully Dolls

 I've been making these for about a year. They're peg dolls, meaning that their bodies are clothespins, and their heads are round wooden beads. They have a sculpted base to help them stand. I used to use air-dry paperclay for the base, but now I use Apoxie Sculpt, a miraculous two-part putty that dries as solid as armor. They're incredibly fun to make, and much faster than my stitched and embroidered dolls. I got the idea originally from the cute little pincushion dolls from PicalilliPatchwork, when they were featured in Art Doll Quarterly. I've diverged a fair bit from hers, though. The clothespins and wooden beads are available at most craft stores; I got mine at Jo-Ann's. (You can also get a starter kit from Picalilli's Etsy shop here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/122855583/make-your-own-lily-unpainted-clothespin?ref=shop_home_active)

More Mardi Gras

Top to bottom: Fog in the French Quarter, the view of the city from Algiers Point, me in my Mardi Gras wig and headdress, St. Ann's Parade.

Mardi Gras! Only 4 months late!

We had a lovely time! My sister and her sweetie were in town, so we had a proper Mardi Gras posse. We started the day with a healthy breakfast, and then a slightly less healthy second breakfast (booze). We walked with the St. Ann's parade (first picture) down to the Mississippi River (second picture), which was completely socked in by fog. It was quite magical, and we hung out on the levee for some time, visiting with friends, singing songs, and, of course, drinking booze. (Though nobody got too ridiculous.)

Then we took the free ferry across the river to Algiers Point, and hung out over there for a while. Then we very, very gradually walked home, with many stops along the way. We managed to stay out until almost 10pm, which is a full 12 hours of Mardi Gras, which is way longer than I made it the previous two years.