Christmas Means Busy When You're an Elf

 Here is my little Pan-cake. Now I know why they call those things made with string "Cat's Cradle". She did this all by herself! 

 Last year I made a doll supposedly for my niece and kept her for myself. Which was a really super Grinch-like thing to do. This year my nieces requested dolls and are not going to let me keep them. Here is the preliminary sketch of the mermaid doll. 

 The preliminary sketch of the ballet doll. I've tried to make things before without doing sketches, but it is just no good. I have a theory for why this might be. Basically, you get to know the spirit of the thing before you create it when you are sketching. For me, the spirit has to come before the body. The personality has to come before the person. The education has to come before the action. 

Okay, you get what I'm saying. 

Then I loop up some muslin so I can embroider. This little mermaid has a fancy beaded tail. Beading is a lot of work, but the process is very pleasurable. When the hands are busy, the mind can rest. So beading gives my poor overloaded mind a chance to take a break. 

I love this quote in the movie Chocolat, and it is so applicable during the holidays.

 Père Henri :

I think we can't go around measuring our goodness by what we don't do - by what we deny ourselves, what we resist and who we exclude. I think we've got to measure goodness by what we embrace, what we create, and who we include. 

Amen!