Now I'm A Parrothead

I took a short hop to the islands on Saturday night. From the minute I sat down to a cheeseburger (in paradise) and a cool Corona at my sister and her husband's pre-Buffett party - I was on my way to the tropics.

It took awhile to get there (First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre) only because there were people coming from not only the Chicago area but many surrounding states and the traffic was being re-routed all over the place - but upon entering the parking lot a whole new world opened up.

Parrotheads to the left, Parrotheads to the right.

The most enormous tailgate party I have ever encountered. Cars decorated with shark fins, entire tiki bar set-ups, guys in grass skirts with coconut bras, and all kinds of parrots! What a crowd!

The concert was absolutely amazing -- we had lawn seats which I think were much nicer than sitting under the canopy in chairs. Thankfully, the weather was very cooperative, but I have a feeling it probably wouldn't have mattered much to most of the soused crowd if a blizzard had been going on.



The stage was set up to resemble the Bama Breeze, a beachside bar, with the aqua blue ocean behind it and a tropical sky which changed colors through the show. Jimmy entered the stage on a bicycle, barefoot and in shorts and t-shirt. The whole show was laid back and key wasted - just the best description I can come up with.

Even if you're not a die-hard Buffett fan, you can't help but have a blast at his concert. And if you are a Buffett fan or even if you just love the ocean - as soon as you begin that long trek back to the parking lot, you will be counting the days till Jimmy's next show!




The Daily Southtown has a review of Saturday's show at the First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre: "Buffett & Co. deliver again"

A big part of a Buffett concert is always the atmosphere, from the gaudy outfits of the fans to the sound of the steel drums and pedal steel guitar to the comely backup singers to the free-flowing libations. But the bare-footed beach bum and his band of cohorts Saturday once again showed that if you strip away all the accoutrements you still have the music. And Saturday, as always, it was like a good tropical drink: cool and satisfying.

"Haily/Katey"

I wanted to share my latest doll creation. This doll is from a kit by Wendy Dickison called "Haily". The kit comes in five pieces - a head, two arms and two legs - no hair, no paint! It is in vinyl, deep pink in color. I renamed this doll, "Katey" after I had finished.


Below is a photo that shows the hair somewhat. The "hair" that I use is pure mohair which is purchased in locks. I separate the locks into individual strands which are then rooted into the doll's head using a very fine needle which grabs only one or two hairs per insertion. Since you can see that Katey has a lot of hair, you can imagine how long this process took. Not to mention how many needles are broken in the process. But in the end, it actually looks as though this hair is growing right out of the scalp!

My earlier dolls mostly had wigs, but the more recent ones were hand-rooted. Like Katey.


Backing up, I usually do all the painting first. On this doll, the original vinyl color was rather deep pink. I wanted a paler look so after doing a light green wash to neutralize the pinky color, I simply gave the skin mottling by using a combination of very pale pink and white paints. I always add touches of pale blue here and there for shadowing and depth. In real babies you can usually see these blue undertones if you look carefully.

The fingernails and toenails are painted in a rose color and tipped in white before being sealed with a satin varnish. The lips are painted in the same color and also sealed with satin varnish.

Eyebrows are painted, but eyelashes are rooted in a slightly lighter color than the hair on the doll's head.

The head and limbs are then all weighted, the ends are sealed and then attached to the cloth body - which is also weighted and stuffed with a combination of poly beads and fluffy polyester.

And then you have -- a baby! I have already had offers for this doll, but I was very lucky to obtain another kit by the same artist and I will most likely create a twin brother for Katey. At that point I may sell them together...or who knows - maybe these will be the ones that I keep for myself!

A Bunch of Buttercups

I confess - I love babies! From the little toes to the button nose, I find them irresistible. In fact, I think that if babies could stay babies forever -- well, we probably wouldn't get any sleep. But anyway, I thought I'd share some photos of babies that have been at my house:


















These are just a few. The truth is, that there has been over 100 of these babies in my house and the surprise is that I made them all! Amazing!

I have to be honest though, I am not superwoman - these 'babies' are all dolls and my business is Buttercup Babies Nursery. Now, I didn't actually sculpt these dolls or mold the plastic. The dolls are all play dolls - basic vinyl 'dollies'. The process of making a plastic doll like this:


Into a 'baby' that looks like this:


is a long and tedious process, but I find it to be a rewarding and challenging hobby.

For two years, I sold my dolls on Ebay. My first doll sold for $238. My highest doll sold for $1,875. I produced one doll a week during that period of time. And I became one of the best known and 'in demand' reborners on Ebay; 'reborner' being the term for someone who transforms a doll into a work of art.

After a couple of years of this, the demand for these dolls, in general, began to slow down. Just like the Beanie Baby phenomenon, the fad was losing momentum.

But there are still a lot of doll collectors out there who well recall Buttercup Babies. On occasion I will pick up a plastic doll that appeals to me and enjoy bringing it to 'life' as they say in the business. Or someone will send me an email asking me to work on a doll for her, maybe to try to make a doll that resembles one of her children or grandchildren as a baby. And I love to do it!

So, enjoy the photos of my Buttercups. All of these babies have been 'adopted' (again, business talk!). But, there will be more to come.

If you are interested in seeing a photo show of more of my Buttercup Babies, click on this link:

photoshow.comcast.net/grayhenry

and on the right side, click on the Buttercup Babies gallery. Enjoy! Let me know if you like my creations.....