REMEMBERING DENISE CANGELOSI

It was a little over a year ago, July 31st, to be exact that I received news of one of my dear doll making friends passing away unexpectedly.  Denise was 57 years old and way to young to leave this life.  I am going to post some of the photos of her exceptionally detailed whimsical dolls.  She and I had a bond through doll making, both of us snail mailed each other various doll making fabrics across the 6,000 plus miles between California and France, and again when she was living in Germany for a time too.   We both enjoyed reading fantasy about fairies, hobbits, wizards, dragons and I think that is why we became fast friends over the internet.  She was initially from England and had a vast knowledge of Celtic lore and also medieval lore.  We would write very long emails to each other talking about everything from cabbages to kings.   Enjoy the photo tour of French photos she took and also of a few of her dolls.

Granny Weatherwax from one of Terry Prachett's books.

Virginie.   I love the rich fabric on this doll and her beautiful hair and those shoes!

An incredible winged Elf with the most amazing feet!

The expression on this forest Fae is amazing.  I love the belly button and the tail!  Denise was truly a fabulous doll artists.

France

Denise did not take this photo but I am including it as it really gives you the 'feel' of France.

Thank you for viewing these photos and hope you will share precious memories of friends you have lost.

posted by Teresa

AYALA ART IS HAVING A GIVEAWAY UNTIL TODAY, AUGUST 15TH

HURRY ON OVER TO AYALA ART BLOGSPOT FOR HER SWEET GIVEAWAY!
I was unable to put the link up for it so hope you can find her on a Yahoo! or Google search!
Thank you!

posted by Teresa

YAY!!! IT'S TIME TO ANNOUNCE THE WINNER OF THE MAD TEA PARTY GIVEAWAY!!!

THE WHITE RABBIT SAYS ITS TIME TO ANNOUNCE THE WINNER!!!

I tossed all of the names into a hat and swished them around three times to the left and then swished them around once to the right (like you would do to tea leaves if you were going to read them) and then I pulled one name out of the hat. (My camera was being obstinate as I DID have photos to show you of the UN-Birthday hat and the name I pulled out!)

                                          AND THE WINNER IS!!!   DOGS MOM

HURRAY!   CONGRATULATIONS!!!  DOGS MOM,  I WILL BE SENDING YOU AN EMAIL TO REQUEST YOUR SNAIL MAIL ADDRESS.

AND SO WE BID ADIEU TO ALICE AND THE RABBIT AS THEY FINALLY FOUND EACH OTHER AFTER THE PARTY AND ARE HEADING HOME UNTIL THE NEXT MAD TEA PARTY.

WONDERFUL THANKS TO LOVELY VANESSA AT HER GLORIOUS BLOG 'A FANCIFUL TWIST' FOR HOSTING THIS AMAZING BLOGLAND MAD TEA PARTY!!!

posted by Teresa

IT'S TIME FOR THE MAD TEA PARTY!!!

Once upon a time....
Oh...you know the story

One fine day when Alice was getting sleepy, she spied a rabbit and decided to follow him.

Alice followed the rabbit and ended up in a garden.  "Curiouser, and Curiouser" she remarked to herself.
Where can he be off to?  She looked around and he was gone.  "Now, where could he have gone?" She asked herself.  "He seems to be in such a hurry!  I must follow him and find out where he has gone!" She exclaimed.

Alice found a lovely rose garden but the rabbit was no where to be found.

Alice decided to look some more for the rabbit, for surely he must be somewhere nearby.

She found a lion in another part of the garden and thought certainly the rabbit would not be near a lion.  She was hoping maybe the unicorn was there too, but there wasn't one.

Then Alice saw the rabbit up ahead.  She tried calling to him  "Mr. Rabbit! Oh! Mr. Rabbit! Where are you going?"  But the rabbit was in too much of a hurry to take any notice of her.

As the rabbit hurried off, Alice saw a caterpillar smoking a hooka. 

"Who are you?"  asked the caterpillar.
"Well, I'm not quite sure at the moment.  I seem to have lost myself and I have been following a rabbit who keeps running away from me."   The caterpillar had no answer for her except to tell her to eat one side or the other of the mushroom and maybe it would make her realize she didn't need the rabbit to find out who she was.  Alice decided the caterpillar was of no use to her at all.  She thought she saw a cat off in the distance sitting in a tree.

Yes! It was a Cheshire Cat! 

The cat was huge and had a very big grin on his face.  Alice asked him if he had seen a rabbit.
The cat said "Yes, by the way, I have."
"Which way did he go?" asked Alice.
"Oh, all ways here are the Queen's ways.  It doesn't matter which way you go, you will eventually end up in her garden, and that is where the rabbit is going." Said the Cheshire Cat
"Thank you!" said Alice, who was getting so frustrated at not finding the rabbit.  She stomped her foot and went in the direction of some loud music and ended up at the Mad Tea Party....Finally!!!

Alice sat down, too exhausted to say anything to the rabbit as he was just scurrying away.  The Cheshire Cat had appeared out of nowhere and was sitting on the table. 

"People come and go quite suddenly around here." She said to the Cheshire Cat.
"Yes, they surely do." He replied "And I think you'd better be off to see where the rabbit went off to or you'll miss all of the tea and cake!"
So, up jumped Alice, again, and she ran after the rabbit.  She found herself lost again in a labyrinth of pathways.

Alice finally saw the rabbit and ran off to the Mad Tea Party.

The tea things were stacked so high it was hard for Alice to see who all was there.  She did get a glimpse of the Red Queen who was quite pretty but had a stern face.

Alice saw many of the Queen's ladies who were doing a photo shoot. She couldn't name all of them as there were just too many!

The Cheshire Cat, and the rabbit, and the pig (who used to be a baby) all had their photos taken too!

Alice enjoyed having a piece of the German Chocolate Cake!  It was delicious!

Alice was getting quite tired now, as Wonderland had made her a bit giddy what with all of the running around trying to get from one place to the other.  So she found her way down the garden path and back to her own world.

Alice bids everyone a pleasant day as you travel around blogland to other Mad Tea Parties.

I am having a giveaway for an Alice in Wonderland Pillow embellished with Wonderland characters.  If you would like a chance at my giveaway here are the rules:
FOR THE GIVEAWAY:
l.   You MUST leave a comment with your EMAIL ADDRESS INCLUDED ON YOUR COMMENT ON THIS MAD TEA PARTY POST, so I can contact you.
2.  I will contact the winner via their EMAIL ADDRESS and I will ALSO post THE WINNER on my blog next Saturday, a week from the Mad Tea Party.
3.  You MUST follow these rules in order to be in the random drawing all others will be disqualified. There will be no exceptions to the rule.
Thank you and I hope you had a very fun time in your journey around Wonderland at the Mad Tea Party.
posted by Teresa

THE MAD TEA PARTY IS COMING!!!

Are you all ready for Vanessa Valencia's Mad Tea Party???   Yes?????  It's almost time!!!  Some people will begin their Mad Tea Party at mid night.  That is exactly what I intend to do!!!
At the stroke of mid night just hours away when the clock strikes for Saturday, July 28th, get ready for some Mad Tea Party madness!!! When the party begins, please remember to click on 'A Fanciful Twist's' Mad Tea Party link on my left sidebar for more Mad Tea Party madness.  It all begins soon!!!

Oh my ears and whiskers!  Is it almost time for the Mad Tea Party?

 posted by Teresa

A DAY OF MOURNING FOR COLORADO

Today was a day of mourning around the world for the tragedy which struck innocent victims in a movie theater in Colorado.  Today I reflected on the preciousness of life and how it was taken away from those unsuspecting innocent people.  It is a tragedy which touched the lives of those who lost loved ones, and  touched the lives of all of us.  There is nothing wrong with the world of fantasy, but when a mentally unstable person cannot perceive the real world from the imaginary one is when things go wrong.
May God comfort the hearts of those who lost loved ones and comfort those who were wounded, and bring justice to pass, and may God have mercy on the soul of that unstable young man who committed those horrible crimes against innocent people.

Love and Prayers go out to those who have suffered the loss or injury to loved ones.

Posted by Teresa
July 20th, 2012

SUMMER IS FLYING BY!

I know just about everyone has been hot and bothered with extreme heat in most of the country;  Strange weather and strange storms causing major power outages and terrible fires in seven mid-western states.  My heart goes out to those who have lost their homes, and also to those who were unable to go to work as no computers work if there is no power.   At least the gasoline prices have come down, for a while, at least.

On to more cheerful doings.  I am preparing for Vanessa Valencia's yearly Mad Tea Party.  What to do! What to do!  It is always such a fantastic event going to the various blogs who are participating in the tea party.  Here are some copy-right free Alice themed artwork for your enjoyment!  Until July 28th, do have a wonderful summer!

Alice and Wonderland dolls in a museum.

The Mad Hatter himself!!!

An incredible polymer clay Cat sculpture by an artist named John Anderson which is in my collection of dolls and creatures.  It does look like a Cheshire Cat!

Another view of this amazing cat sculpture.

I do believe this is Arthur Rackham's Alice.

The Cheshire Cat

From Tim Burton's version of Alice

A lovely Steam Punk version of the White Rabbit

I guess that just about wraps up these quirky photos in hopes that you will also participate in the Mad Tea Party on July 28th.  See you soon!