Cake Toppers & Ornaments

I have a little trouble with consistency.  I would like to promise that I'll post once per week from now on, but that wouldn't last long and then I would have lied to you.  So instead I will promise to post when I feel inspired, and hopefully that will be more often than once per month!

Here are a few cake toppers and ornaments from February:

Baby shower sock monkey cake topper for a girl

Red and blue bird ornaments for spring and summer.  Who said ornaments are just for Christmas?

Beach destination topper without the water, just a sand colored base with flowers and shells

3 inch sock monkeys with a heart.  It is a cake topper and an ornament too.

This little sock monkey smash cake topper has been so popular that now I offer him in 3" and 4" sizes, as well as with a name on the base.

Just click on the pictures to see them in my shop.

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

Waxela (wa-shay-la)

aka SpiritMama

"Inadequacies Exposed/ Confession"

I'm going to level with you.  Most of the time I am pretty good at looking good, making appearances, being where I need to be when I need to be there, and getting my kids taken care of.  But sometimes I just have a huge lapse in social graces and I bomb.  It usually happens right after a period of doing really well at maintaining a properly presenting balance in life.  But the truth is that good-looking balance isn't completely authentic and there is a price to pay for attempting to maintain the illusion of perfection.

A little background into my personality...
I am extremely independent.  I am not the kind of mom who cries when my kids get on the school bus for the first time.  I am more likely to jump for joy and yell "FREEDOOMMMM!" after the bus turns the first corner (again maintaining the illusion of proper conduct).  Of course I love my children and family, I just value my alone time (aka creative/ productive time) soooo very much.  My husband says I leave everyone in my life wanting more of my time, yet I always want more time to myself.  

We all have our struggles with balance.  Mine is mostly with my personal time and the time shared with people in my life.  I could be a hermit.  Yet I'm pretty sure the hermit life would give me bouts of exhilaration and creativity followed by extreme loneliness and depression. 

I just had some revelatory experiences in my life (I'll save the details for another post) which led me to desire to be more social. Within a period of three weeks I took on more social activities than I usually do in months, including two that were hosted at my home.  All the while my husband, who really enjoys social activity and who usually helps me prepare for these events, was sick with strep throat AND influenza B.  That meant I was running the kids around, grocery shopping, and doing lots of things that he usually takes care of in addition to being uber-social. 

We had a party at our house on Saturday night and it was great.  We had lots of people, children, food, conversation, wine, and it was everything I wanted it to be.  Everyone left and I sent my nearly recovered hubby to bed while I cleaned up and fed our 4 year old son who should have been in bed hours earlier.  Finally I went to bed with conversations from the evening swimming around like fish in my mind. 

Sunday mornings are a time reserved for visiting my great aunt who is 98 years old.  I always go because let's face it, any Sunday could turn out to be the last one and I don't want to forever regret skipping the LAST ONE!  Well this week (Sunday morning after our party) I hit a wall and I didn't go.  I also didn't go to my son's play date later that day, and I have skipped a number of events in the following two days.  In fact I've barely left the house since Saturday. 

Today I had one of those looser mom moments when I went to pick up my son from his preschool and realized they had their Valentines Day party today.  Many moms were already there because we were INVITED.  So not only did I not show for the party, I forgot to send his treats and cards (which were purchased but not opened or labeled because I thought I had a few more days).  Ugh.  I also made mistakes on my hotmail calender and told off my insurance agent yesterday.

So the balance returns.  I'm not perfect,  I'm no longer a socialite who can keep up with a very active social life like I did in my 20's.  I am an artist and a mom.  I make mistakes.  I enjoy friends, family, and the special people in my life and I enjoy them more when I take time out to be unsocial. 

Ahhh, well that feels better.  I guess this is the blogging equivalent to confession.  Thanks for letting me spill the beans on my desire for balance, social life, parenting, and mishaps.

Thanks for stopping by.  I would love to see a comment so I know you're real, especially now that you know I am :)

Blessings,

Waxela (wa-shay-la)

aka SpiritMama

Toy Story Character Schulptures #2

For the first post showing Bo Peep, her 3-headed sheep, Chuckles the Clown, and the Hockey Puck, see this link: http://spiritmama-art.blogspot.com/2013/02/toy-story-inspired-character-sculptures.html

Here are a few more Toy Story inspired sculptures I've done over the last 18 months.

Trixie, Bonnie's dinosaur toy-
Trixie was my most time consuming Toy Story project, and definitely the largest.  This was by far the most difficult replica I've done.  She is over 16.5" long and it took me 60+ hours to complete.

The Robot:
 I made two of these, and they took about 40 hours each. They are 9.5" tall.  The robot has so many details that were challenging, yet the result is really fun.

 Now I need to show you the snake, because Robot and Snake are best buddies and they are almost always seen together in the Toy Story movies.


Snake is pretty fun to make.  I have made several snake replicas, they are jointed and each section moves.

That is it for today.  I have many more sculptures to share with you, so check in again to see the next round.

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,

Waxela (wa-shay-la)

aka SpiritMama

Toy Story Inspired Character Sculptures

I have had a group of Toy Story collectors asking me to make 3-D reproductions of various Toy Story characters over the last 18 months.  Making 3-D reproductions of computer animated toys is not my favorite thing to do, but I have continued to do it because these collectors are VERY persistent and some of the characters are a lot of fun.  They have all posed challenges, and some were not fun at all to sculpt. All of them take a lot of time (usually way more time than I expected). Overall I think I am a better artist now because of this work, and ultimately that is the most valuable thing I have received from doing these sculptures.  Here are a few of the Toy Story characters I've reproduced:

Bo Peep's 3 Headed Sheep-
This is one of my favorites.  I just love the character of the sheep's faces.

Little Bo Peep- She was one of my most difficult sculptures.  Everything is so detailed on her, and I was SO HAPPY the day she was finished!

Chuckles the Clown-  This one was actually pretty fun.  He has a soft body with sculpted head, hands and feet.  I love sculpting clowns.

Hockey Puck-  This is an obscure character from the first Toy Story movie.

These are just a few of the many I have made.  I'll post again soon with some more images of Toy Story Characters.

Thanks for stopping by!

Waxela 

aka SpiritMama

XOXO

Sock Monkey SMASH CAKE Toppers

Sometimes when ambitious party planning moms create fantastic parties for their little ones they have a regular sized cake for the party guests and they also have a very small "smash cake" for the birthday boy or girl to dig into.  This makes for fantastic photo opportunities!  Until recently I had a very tiny mini monkey serving as a smash cake topper in my shop, however at the request of many photo hungry mamas I was asked to make a slightly larger, more photogenic smash cake topper.

So here you have it...

 Smash cake topper with polka dots (and a red balloon add-on) for boys or girls.

and smash cake topper with flowers (and a red balloon add-on if desired) for girls.

The smash cake topper is only 3" tall.  I also made a matching 4.5" topper for the big cakes.

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope at your next sock monkey birthday party everyone has a SMASHING good time!

XOXO

Waxela (wa-shay-la)

Kama, Fire Dragon Goddess

I have been really delinquent in blogging lately, but that doesn't mean I haven't been working.  Sometimes we have to prioritize to get life in order and my poor blog didn't make it to the top of my to-do list.

I do want to share my latest art doll.  Her name is "Kama" and she is a Fire Dragon Goddess who comes around to stir things up and get things moving.

 Kama is a OOAK (one of a kind) art doll mixed media sculpture.  Her head, bust, arms and hands are made of polymer clay.

 Her gown is made of various fabrics including vintage silk, a printed Thai cotton, velvet, and tulle.  I used wire and fabric starch to create the spiraling, undulating textures of her firey gown.  

 Her black hair is made of lambs wool, and I used colored feathers in her head dress.

 Her wings have a 14" wing span and they are made of Fantasy Film.  They are dynamically iridescent and look different colors in different types of light.

Kama was so much fun to create, I am looking forward to creating a series of goddesses and guides this year.

Thanks so much for visiting!

Waxela (wa-shay-la)

XOXO

DDLM Day of the Dead Cake Toppers

There isn't much I'd rather do than make Day of the Dead cake toppers for my clients.  I get emails full of people, pets, dresses, bouquets, hairstyles, and veils, all to be recreated in the skeletal form. 

I am usually doing this in August and September for the upcoming Halloween and Dia de los Muertos weddings.  I have had a long time fascination with those who choose to have dead replicas of themselves as their wedding cake topper.  Is there an element of tempting fate?  Is it a statement that even death can't separate them?  Whatever they are thinking, I love the quirky unique style of a couple with customized skeletons atop their wedding cake!  Here is a tribute to those beloved clients who have trusted me to create their toppers:

 

Thanks for stopping by!

xoxoxo

Waxela (wa-shay-la)

Latest People Wedding Cake Toppers

I do lots of sock monkey wedding cake toppers, as you may know by now if you follow my work.  I also do people...aka "Bride and Groom" cake toppers.  Here are a few of my latest people cake toppers:

 This one is for a groom's cake with sharks surrounding them in a "shark cage"!

Thanks for stopping by!

xoxoxo

Waxela

Latest Sock Monkey Wedding Cake Toppers

It has been a very busy summer and early fall, and I have been doing lots of new Sock Monkey Wedding cake toppers.  Here are a few of my favorites from the last several months:

Thanks for stopping by!

Waxela