Monday Morning Mosaics

Creativity comes in a wide variety of talents and is spurred on by the imagination of the creator. Today's Monday Mosaic explores a variety of wonderful artists with an abundance of imagination and the talent to share the fantasies in their minds with everyone else!

Blue Dog Rose - The Rabbit Tarot, Animal Paintings, Sculptures & More!

Nakisha Elsje VanderHoeven from Seattle, Washington

Little White Rabbit paintings, bunny art and watercolors, the Rabbit Tarot, original animal sculptures and more abound in this beautiful and fanciful shop filled with wonderful ideas for home decor, nursery decoration and more. Not only can you find original artworks but also calendars, cards, books and lots more to browse through.

Nancy Adams Clay Artist - Flora and Fauna Ceramic Art and Vessels

Nancy Yturriaga Adams from Applegate, Oregon

Hand carved and hand modeled vessels and boxes inspired by the flora and fauna of nature. Each piece is breath-taking with beautiful detail and a quality that can't be matched. This talented artist's work has been included in the Spencer Davis collection which is held by the American Museum of Ceramic Art in Pomona, CA.

Dark and Twisty Dolls - OOAK Art Dolls & Creations

Lacey Michelle from Gilbert, Arizona

Art dolls, mini dolls and photography prints combine in this shop with an original flair and a dark and gothic flavor. Whether looking for art to hang on the wall or tuck on a shelf, if you like creepy or are shopping for someone who does this holiday season, this shop is one you won't want to miss stopping by to take a look around.

The Little Clay House - Cute Clay Animals, Spirit Guides & Sculpture

Denise Ferragamo from Navarre, Florida

Adorable hand-built clay sculpture and vessels that are made with love to be one of a kind pieces that speak to the heart. Pieces are influenced by fairy tales and story books to a variety of historical and modern influences. Ornaments, clay animals and sculpture sit beside wall art, jars and vessels, plates, bowls, jewelry and more in this shop filled with sweet ideas and creativity to make you smile.

The handmade marketplace and the talented artisans you'll find there are a terrific alternative to commercial products and with the added bonus of personalized care and an attention to detail and quality that commercial products lack.

With holidays just around the corner and the shopping season gearing up into full swing, don't forget to browse through artisan works and see what you can find, you'll be surprised at just how much creativity, originality and quality is out there!

Monday Morning Mosaic

Little people need love too! Today's mosaic is inspired by my mother's collection of beautiful dolls.

As a little girl, I loved to try and sneak in and play with her art dolls and collectors dolls. Not a good idea, of course, but I just loved them all so much and insisted that they needed that love just as much as the dolls I was allowed to play with however I wanted.

Shroompers - Miniature Dolls with Gigantic Personalities

Charlotte Kolff and Damon Langlois from Victoria, British Columbia

I LOVE this shop and I can't describe these dolls any better than their creator: Creativity and imagination are critical for the wholesome development of young children. Shroompers are intentionally simple in design with neutral expressions in order to encourage children to project mood and emotion into the dolls themselves. They imply a world and a story but don’t complete it, letting the imagination fill in the rest.

Joelle's Dolls - OOAK Art Dolls & Handmade Cloth Dolls

Joelle McAndrew from Syracuse, New York

One-of-a-kind handcrafted art dolls and handmade cloth dolls for children populate this shop. There are collectible dolls, princesses and ballerinas, bride dolls and grooms, pirate dolls, guy dolls as well as handmade baby dolls, mini pocket pal dolls, and cats and dogs all available for adoption and waiting for some love.

Art of Felting by Daria Lvovsky

Daria Lvovsky from Rehovot, Central, Israel

From needle felted Waldorf Christmas ornaments and needle felted tapestries to adorable animals, fairies and more... this shop is filled with love and wool. Daria Lvovsky makes art dolls and children's toys felted from wool which include animals, Waldorf-like people and gnomes, mystical creatures, owls, flying pigs, bunnies and more.

Zime - OOAK Dolls, Illustrations, Jewelry, ACEOs and Love

Ximena Carreira from Buenos Aires, Argentina

Although art dolls aren't the only thing that Zime has to offer, it's what first drew me into this wonderful shop filled with beautiful illustrations, jewelry, ACEO prints and, of course, colorful hand-painted art dolls filled with love and creativity from the fingertips of this freelance graphic designer and children illustrator.

The handmade marketplace and the talented artisans you'll find there are a terrific alternative to commercial products and with the added bonus of personalized care and an attention to detail and quality that commercial products lack.

When shopping for toys for your children or art dolls and other collectable items to add to your collection don't forget to browse through artisan works and see what you can find, you'll be surprised at just how much creativity, originality and quality is out there!

Monday Morning Mosaic

Halloween is only a little over a month away and shopping for Halloween decorations is in full swing!

As my favorite part of the year and my absolutely favorite holiday of the year, I wanted to share with you some of the terrific Halloween decor I've found on the handmade market place this year.

Here's a few shops you won't want to miss out on if you're shopping for some fresh and fun Halloween decor for your personal space!

Lotus Asylum - Creepy Handcrafted Asylum Art Dolls

Lotus Asylum Dolls from Portland, Oregon

If you're looking for some creepy decor with a little bit of fun, this is a shop you won't want to pass up stopping by for a look. Filled with unique one-of-a-kind art dolls that have a gothic flair and border just on the side of scary, these Asylum Dolls are not just unique but something could very well set any Halloween decor apart from the rest!

ThatSallie - Primitive Dolls, Decorations, Ornies and Bowl Fillers

Sallie Johnston from Bourbonnais, Illinois

Primitive decor is the mainstay of the season year after year and this year is no different! In ThatSallie you'll find a wide variety of primitive art dolls and decorations for your personal space at home, the office or anywhere else that needs a touch of the season. The items in this shop range from harvest favorites to Halloween fun!

whobyfire - Spooky, Scary and Whimsical Creatures and Dolls

Who by Fire from Trollhättan, Sweden

Sculptures of strange dolls and curious creatures inspired by the darkness and melancholy in life that have been created from clay, super-sculpey and steel wire fill this shop and are perfect for the season with their spooky, Gothic feel. Each piece in this shop is one-of-a-kind and handmade and has its own personality perfect for Halloween or Goth gifts.

BrooklynLoveDesigns - Handmade Wallets, Bags and Pincushions

Megan and baby Liam from Kenai, Alaska

I fell in love with the little pumpkin pincushions in this shop and I'm so happy to be featuring them here! BrooklynLoveDesigns, of course, also sells a wide variety of handmade wallets, card holders and bags with beautiful quality workmanship, but the pumpkins are perfectly adorable as well as both practical and decorative at the same time!

The handmade marketplace and the talented artisans you'll find there are a terrific alternative to commercial products and with the added bonus of personalized care and attention to quality that commercial products lack.

When shopping for home decor or any type of product, don't forget to browse through artisan works and see what you can find, you'll be surprised at just how much creativity, originality and quality is out there to find!

Monday Morning Mosaics

Today I'd love to share with you a handful of amazingly talented artisans that have yet to be discovered on Etsy!

Using the "Pounce" feature on Etsy that allows you to discover active artisans still striving for their first sale, I stumbled upon these four artisans that create beautiful (and often cuddly) art dolls that you'll love browsing through and possibly fall in love with just as I have!


Charming Bears ...creating one being at a time.

Mony Vesseur from Vancouver Island, BC, Canada

Adorable bears with cute little faces and lots of inspiration behind each doll that's created, this shop has a handful of charming bears looking for new homes and ready to soak in lots of love. The collection includes not just bears but mohair cats, hand-stitched sock monkeys and more!

mary187 - Marina's Passion for Dolls

Marina Yax from Gerrardstown, West Virginia

A shop filled with unique one-of-a-kind art dolls created by hand with attention to detail. Each doll is entirely handcrafted without the use of molds or patterns. The faces and hands are hand-painted and the costumes worn by the dolls are filled with extravagant details for a special touch and unique style.

Studio10359 - We make, paint, draw and build things.

Anna and her Two Sisters from Studio10359

The handpainted faces of fabric dolls with pretty dresses and lovely hair sit beside herds of fabric doll horses in this shop ran by three sisters with an over abundance of creativity and lots of personality. Offered among these beautiful dolls they also offer a handful of pretty fabric pounces as well!

Natalie Drest - Funky Handmade Doll Clothes

Natalie Drest from Canberra, Australia

What's the fun of having cute dolls to play with if you don't have pretty clothes to dress them up in? This shop is filled with lots of creative, colorful one-of-a-kind doll clothes designed using re-purposed fabrics combined with fresh and funky style. Merino and Alpaca wool, cotton, felt, lace and natural threads abound!

Each of the artists listed above has shops filled with creativity that abounds. Some are new, some are older and just need a little love. Be sure to stop by and take a browse if you see something you like and I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Goth Strange Odd and Creepy OOAK Art Dolls

Okay, I admit it. Every once in a while I'm attracted to some really strange stuff. And when I was on the Etsy forums a couple weeks ago I ran across this seller who had the mot intriguing avatar.

Little did I know, when I first saw the avatar, that what I was looking at wasn't a drawing or a painting... it was a doll! And when I went to see the shop behind the avatar I was instantly charmed by these very strange and creepy dolls that she sells there, not to mention impressed by the photography.

LoopyBoopy is filled with pale, creepy sad-faced little dolls.

And they're just adorable.

Okay, so they're creepy. But, sometimes creepy can be adorable too, and Colleen Down's dolls definitely prove this.

These sculpted dolls are heart-rending in the emotions they portray and they're photographed in a way that makes them almost look like paintings. In fact, I really think she could sell her pictures as prints... and that they would sell really well. Each of Colleen's dolls are one-of-a-kind and have a personality all their own, and if you like goth and creepy, you're sure to be inspired to adopt one... or a few for that matter!

TO VISIT LOOPYBOOPY ON ETSY, YOU CAN CLICK THE PICTURE ABOVE OR, IF YOU'D RATHER, CLICK RIGHT HERE! YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY LEARNING A BIT MORE ABOUT LOOPYBOOPY'S DOLLS BY VISITING HER BLOG.