It starts out innocently enough. You're cleaning up your work area, folding some fabric scraps to put away, and inspiration hits. You fold the fabric in half, sketch a basic doll body shape, and sew the body. Then you are sitting there holding a body wondering what to do.

I had this happen the other night. I was putting away the scrap fabric from the ill-fated I-can't-cut-a-pattern-to-the-right-size shorts. It's a beautiful cotton with shells printed on it. My muse decided ththathat is when she needed too stop by. I ironed the fabric real nice and sketched on a basic doll body shape. Before I knew it, she was sewn and stuffed and ready to be decorated.

My original idea for this girl was to cover the areas with now shell printed on it with vintage, hand carved shell buttons. At some point, after I spent a grueling ½ hour trudging through my vat of buttons looking for just the right tiny shell buttons, the design was changed. She decided she wanted to be a little more glam and a little less folksy. So we searched through the seed beads. I found some beautiful gold aurora borealis beads that almost match the background color. Each shell printed on the fabric was outlined with a row of beads.

Then came the buttons. She wanted the buttons, but she wanted them cascading from her hands. I didn't have the heart to tell her that she didn't have hands; she's probably demand that I carved her a pair from abalone.

Her face and hair turned out to be a bit of a compromise. I didn't like the way her head shape turned out and I couldn't find a button I liked for her face. I played plastic surgeon on her head (with a knick-knack, paddy whack, I gave the doll a dome); used sequins for a short summer hair style, and found two awesome shell buttons for a face.

She is now signed and names. My I introduce Shelly Sells-Seashell Buttons, an Angelvista's Whimsy Doll.

I'm mainly working on some clothes for myself at the moment, the fruity pebbles socks are almost finished, and a few small dolls.