Hobbyaholics Unite!

I'm addicted to hobbies.

Big hobbies, little hobbies, hobbies no one has ever heard of before. Cross stitch, puppetry, sewing, computer animation, gymnastics, ice skating, cake decorating, ballet, miniatures, Dungeon and Dragons, cross country skiing, horseback riding, fishing, jewelry making, beading, sculpture, pottery, scrapbooking, video games--if it's safe, not too expensive, and lots of fun--I've probably tried it at least once. (Except for the bungee jump my sister tried to convince me to try many years ago) I can't seem to help myself. Don't even get me started on the different things I've tried collecting over the years. I haven't got much room for storage anymore so I try to limit myself to hard to find items these days. For example--as a child, I loved mermaids but was extremely disappointed in their lack of imagination when it came to their attire. Fairies had all the best outfits made of flower petals, dew-laden spider webs and brightly colored leaves. Why shouldn't mermaids have something just as fantastic? I collected figurines of fairies for years but as for the mermaids, none of them looked the way I'd always imagined them. It became an obsession for me to find and collect mermaids with fantastic outfits--and let me tell you, it's near impossible--but a lot of fun trying.

The other thing I've been dying to collect is a fine art doll of a full grown man. (G.I. Joe and Ken dolls need not apply) I've searched for years to find one but have had no luck. I recently discovered the perfect doll--the only problem was, I didn't like the clothes he came in. Did I let that stop me? Of course not, I'm the queen of hobbyaholics--hear me roar. Or perhaps beg would be a better description, because that's what I did to one of my dear, uber-talented co-workers who could sew fantastic costumes in her sleep if she wanted. She created the most stunning outfit for my elf prince doll from scratch. I'm including photos of the final product for your perusal. (Donna--you rock! I could never have done it without you.) Now if I could just get around to finishing that glow-in-the-dark ghost marionette in time for Halloween this year . . .

I'll keep you posted. : )