Dollybelle's Peepshow

bright eyed

Cece inspired me with an email she sent me about vegan food. I have been really into super fresh produce lately..ya know, the farmers market variety...and also I just finished reading an incredible book called In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. The book really talks about how to bring consciousness to what you eat,for your body and your environment. Great book. Anyway, we got on the subject of one of our favorite bay area restaurants Cafe Gratitude and how lovely the food is there. I happen to have to cook book, and make this wonderful breakfast recipe often. It is fresh and feels really good to eat it, and it is really simple.
Here it is in case you would like to try!

I am Bright Eyed pecan Porridge
1 large apple
5 large ripe strawberries (or other seasonal berries)
2 1/2 cups coconut milk (I use way less cuz I don't like it too watery)
1/2 raw pecans
1/2 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
BIG pinch of cinnamon

Wash, core, and rough chop the apple. Wash and top the strawberries. Put all ingredients in a food processor, and pulse until desired consistency. Adjust spices if necessary. (again I like a lot of cinnamon and way less coconut juice.
Top with a few fresh berries! Yum!

french beaded flower workshop

The gals came by today to help me develop one of my new workshops! I will be teaching a French Beaded Flower Bouquet workshop at the ZNE Convenzione in northern Cal next spring, (along with a shadowbox workshop) and we spent the day making beaded flowers! Hours went by and seemed like minutes. We were all concentrating so much on our creations, but not too much so we could have time
for gossip and snacks!
Who wouldn't want to spend all day playing with gorgeous beads, and dreaming about all the wonderful possibilities! Here are a few pix of the fun.
I think everyones flowers came out so beautifully! Can't wait to teach more!
I have been cooking up several new workshop themes, so more great workshops to come. Email me if you are in the LA area and I will put you on the student list. I usually do my test workshops with small groups for free.
So much fun!
xxoo
Dollybelle

Pasadena college flea market

First Sunday of every month is the glorious Pasadena Flea Market! Not to be confused with the gigantic Rose Bowl. I find the Rose Bowl great, but totally over whelming, so I often bail just because I can't deal. Even though there are so many lovely things awaiting my purchase....
But the Pasadena College flea market is a totally different scene. Awesome vendors, not too many, great stuff, some sun, but a large portion of the flea market is actually in the nearby parking structure. Which translates to hours of shaded shopping. For those that know me, you know I melt in the sun, and usually have a hat or a parasol or something to shield the evil that is the sun's blasting rays.
Parking is free, the scene is mellow, and there are snacks..
I love it! I spent my allotted budget within about a half hour this time.
Victorian lace bits, and silver ware with a rose pattern. Boy $100 bucks goes fast!
Here is a sneek peek, and be sure to stop by booth 735 for all the delightful vintage toys you could ever want!

goodies

I went to the fabulous San Gabriel Bead Company yesterday and got a bunch of goodies! I am teaching a class on French beaded flowers, so I got a few things for that.
My favorite thing I got was a metal box with tiny round containers to hold all my findings. I have seen these around on other blogs, but never had my own until yesterday! It was like Christmas organizing all my new toggles and such.
Great way to organize your goodies!
The seed bead selection they have there is drool worthy. Every color is luscious. I went nuts. Spent way to much...sigh...but can't wait to start playing!

inspiration book

I have been keeping inspiration books for many years now. I am so inspired by the works of other artists, and sometimes want to remember a color here, or a detail there, so I assemble all my collected pix into books. I try to arrange them pictures into small collections and little environments.
Here are some of the pages I have put together lately. You can see little glimpses of Nicol Sayre's   exquisite dolls, brooches from
Liquid Sky Arts, jewelry from Amy Hanna, and snippets from Ullabenulla all nestled amongst the flappers and tinted ladies! I find the creativity of others so wonderful!
Thanks for inspiring me!

thrifty finds

I have been slowly getting a few things for our house. As you know, we did not have any furniture or dishes or anything when we moved to our beautiful victorian bungalow.
I found some amazing things on craigslist here in LA! I wanted to share a peek into the latest finds!

Beautiful antique bed frame and pictures from Craigslist!

Lamp, table and picture all from same awesome lady on Craigslist!

Beaded lampshade from thriftstore in Burbank. $2.99!

Lamp from my friend Weezy, and the Japanese dish from a thrift store.

Pencil holder....  .79 cents!

Porch chairs same craigslist lady. Sheltie not included..

birthday

Well, the big day kind of came and went. I just couldn't decide what I wanted to do for my birthday this year, so I ended up just working a bit in my studio, and making pea soup. I guess the older we get, the enthusiasm wanes a bit. But Morgan and I will probably celebrate this weekend.

I have been wanting to get a beach cruiser with a basket, so I can pack an nice lunch and ride along the beach trail in Venice. Living in LA has it's perks, but amazing how we don't seem to take advantage of them that often. The beach is one of them. I will keep you posted!

Thanks for all the B-day wishes!

xoxo

Christine

soldered relics

Here are a few of the relics I made in Sally Jean's   class at Art and Soul.

back from art and soul

I am back from my trip to Northern Cal to Asilomar for Art and Soul.
Despite having a horrible cold, and it being freezing up there, I had the best time!
Asilomar is a beautiful retreat by a beautiful beach cove near Monterey. All the buildings were designed by the fabulous Julia Morgan.    Every building had a glorious cozy feel complete with fireplaces, and frolicking deer. In fact the deer are very domesticated and it is not uncommon for them to saunter by eating spring grass with not a care in the world.
The classes I took were great too. Two by the lovely Sally Jean Alexander , and one by Ramona Dolan. My jewelry ideas are really inspired! (thanks to Sally Jean! Check out one of her beautiful designs below! My friend Diane won this one in the silent auction..)

Beautiful Necklace by Sally Jean.

But my most treasured memories of Art and Soul will be the long fireside chats and beach walks with my beautiful friend Diane! Same time next year!

doll challenge

As part of the doll challenge sponsored by Faerie Window,  I am sharing a few of my dolls. You may have seen them in the back ground of some of my pix already, but here they are featured close up!
Darla is a 1920's boudoir doll that is in desperate need of a little TLC. Poor honey is missing eyelashes and clothes and everything else, but I think she is so beautiful. Wonders await Darla as soon as I have time to fix her up!

I love  paper mache doll heads. I am constantly searching ebay for just the right ones. I recently found this lovely doll from Mexico that I named Estella.

My friend Ron gave me this beautiful bobble head/ pipe cleaner doll, that I love. She has weird poodley fabric for her skirt. I named her Ronette.

Finally  I have two geisha dolls that I really like. One is a pixie style geisha in porcelian and pastels. The other is more traditional with beautiful details. She stands on a small jewelry box.