Retro Café Art Gallery: Cool Charms, Santos Doll Inspiration, and more Birdy Fun!

Hi everyone! I hope you are having a fabulous weekend! I have several new goodies for you this week, many inspired by other goodies. Last week when I was playing with our 3-D Bird Cage Doll and Chipboard Bird Cages, noticed that the cages were already the perfect size for Doll Skirts! So some new ladies were born and I didn't even have to re-size for the Medium gals! I also realized that the decorative door on the 3-D cage would make fantastic windows, so there you go! (or there I went). We also have several cool new charms. I'm loving those nesting dolls of course!

I love both of the new dolls so much that I decided to do one of each style. I did a small and a medium, and started with the same basic base of VerDay Paints. Scroll down for a little tip!

Supplies Used: Medium Articulated Scalloped Dome Bird Cage Doll Shrine Kit, VerDay Paint and Patina Kit, Angel Wings, Gothic Arch Scroll Window, Fairy Doll Head Paper Cuts, Large Brass Heart Skeleton Key Charm, Gold Wire, White Sharpie Paint Marker, Glue N Seal Matte, Diamond Glaze, 25mm Clear Cabochon, Poe Circles Collage Sheet, Prima Mulberry Paper Butterflies

Supplies Used: Small Articulated Ornate Bell Bird Cage Doll Shrine Kit, VerDay Paint and Patina Kit, Angel Wings, Santos Doll Head Paper Cuts, Hello Dollie Valentine Collage Sheet, Gold Wire, White Sharpie Paint Marker, Glue N Seal Matte, 12mm Pink Metal Rose

For those of you that have used this cool paint, you know you can achieve several combinations. Normally I use a combination of all of them, but I wanted the body and cage to have contrast. This much I know: If you want just a rusty look, start with a base coat of Brass, and then use only Iron as your top coat. For the lovely blue/green patina on the bodies, start with a Base of Brass and then Use only Copper as your top coat. For all coats, cover entirely. I used a sponge brush and did one coat of each. You can get your paint to go a long way by dabbing it on with a sponge brush rather than trying to brush it!

Now, if you are impatient and a slight perfectionist like me, you might want to add more of the rust color. I was able to do this by mixing Burnt Sienna and Yellow acrylic paints, and dabbing it on with a sponge brush. I also forgot to VerDay my Wings, Crown, and Scroll Window, so I used this same technique for those pieces as well. The dark Masonite base is perfect. Just dab on certain areas, letting the Masonite show through in parts.

I just had to share this stunning steampunk Santos doll created by artist Lisa Rupp using our Small Santos Cage Doll Kit, Angel Wings, and Gear Cut Outs. Lisa posted this beauty to our Facebook page and I nearly fainted. Personally, I think she looks like she should be in a museum! Lisa is amazingly talented and you can view more of her work on her website, Mixed Media Max. She also has an Etsy shop where she sells her creations. Thank you so much for sharing Lisa!

Just in time for Valentine's Day, Design Team Member Linda Cain has created this stunning gal using our Medium Dress Form Doll Kit. Look closely at her skirt. Don't you just LOVE how she left the "back" parts natural to create more dimension? I thought that was just brilliant! Not to mention the cool stamping on her body. Hop on over to Linda's blog for more photos and instructions. Amazing Linda! See more HERE on Linda's blog. Go say Hi!