Black and white and finally done

I don't know who this girl is who keeps hanging around but she's getting on my nerves. I found this doll hidden under my bed this morning - did she think I'd start another one before Emmeline was done? Not likely. Thanks to Kelly for her suggestion of the parasol, it was the perfect touch. For those of you who took my Headdress class - add a scrunchie between two wraps of the turban and it will look like a big hat. At least I think it does. It looks better in person.

I kept her 'makeup' colors quite pale so she didn't overwhelm the rest of the color scheme. Her eyes are grey and her lips a pale pink. She has shading in a light lavender and her cheeks are rose pink. If that girl tries to steal this doll she's going to be very, very sorry.

..the further adventures of Goldilocks

... while Goldy was waiting around for another doll to appear she wandered into the doll maker's bedroom. She found two bears in there.

One was a needlefelted bear from Tonya in Serbia. It was soooo small. The other bear was a teddy made from sheared beaver fur. This bear was very confused, it didn't know what he was. Was he a bear or was he a beaver? If he was a beaver was he a he or a she? The bear engaged Goldy in a long conversation about flora and fauna and when she left he was watching Victor/Victoria. That bear was sooooo weird. Then Goldy found the doll maker's workroom and sitting on a table was this doll. It was black and white and not quite done.
Hmmmm, thought Goldy, the first doll was just white, this second doll is black and white, what would the next one be? She decided to stay for a few more days to see if something with a bit more color appeared. Goldy made her way back to the main room in time to see the doll maker closing the door to the oven. "Is that dinner?" she asked. "Oh yes", said the doll maker, "we're having Gretel tonight".

... to be continued (again) .... or not ....

Goldilocks and the 3 Dolls

Goldilocks is back in town. She was walking through the Forest of New Ideas when she came upon a doll maker. The doll maker lived in a lovely little gingerbread house and she invited Goldy in. She said she had to make a doll to teach to brand new doll-makers, so she thought she would make a stump doll. The first doll was just two pattern pieces and was toooo skinny, so the doll maker added more pieces. The second doll was toooo fat. Goldy thought she might be an opera singer. The doll maker cackled and told Goldy that their arms came from the boneyard and Goldy became afraid.

But Goldy wanted a doll so she waited around. After a while a third doll appeared, and this doll was just right. Except it was pretty plain. Goldy wasn't too thrilled about that. She figured she'd better hang out for a few days and see what happens with it. She even offered to cook some porridge for dinner but the doll maker said something about having a Hansel, whatever that is.


... to be continued ... (or not) ...

How to make a lightweight quilted fabric shelf

My local quilt shop has a design wall that is used for class samples. For wearable art or quilts it’s quite easy to display the sample, but for dolls it’s another story. They either get put inside a basket that is tacked to the wall or, horror of horrors, the doll itself gets pinned to the wall. I didn’t want my mermaid to face that fate so I decided to design a lightweight fabric shelf that could be pinned to the wall. This is what I came up with ….

I wrote a 3 page tutorial that you can download. This will work for little lightweight objects. My mermaid is 10" so that's a guide of sorts, I suppose.

The mermaids are back ...

I really love the big hair - I think this mermaid is from Texas .. down around Corpus Christi. This mermaid was made for a private swap - my partner and I are going to swap mermaids. She makes mermaid pincushions and I do love pincushions. I also love this seaweed looking fabric. I have lots of it left too.


I tried coloring my 'pearls' with alcohol inks - the white just stood out so much - it works nicely. I have no idea what the 'pearls' are made of - some type of plastic I imagine.

I wanted to say thank you to everyone who has bought the mermaid pattern - I appreciate it and I sure hope to see photos of them in the future.

I'm still here ...

I'll have lots to show tomorrow! I made this really strange fabric shelf and I'm nearly done with another ..... mermaid! I am teaching the mermaid down at the quilt shop and didn't realize that I only have flat faced ones here at the house. I was making one for a private swap and I if it's okay with my swap partner I will use her as the sample. It's nice to have the mermaid in pattern form - I don't have to take measurements for her sleeves and top.

Altered charms for charm bracelet swap

I'm involved in two charm bracelet swaps. This is the first set of charms that I've made. They are pretty simple but I'm happy with how they turned out. Here's the scoop:
Materials:
1" wood disk
Various collage images
Crystal Laquer (made by Sakura Hobby Craft)
14K Gold leafing pen
Ultimate Glue
Dremel w/tiny drill bit
20 gauge wire
Various beads/charms
Acrylic paint/varnish

First drill a hole near the top (on the face of the disk) big enough for a jump ring. Then drill a hole on the side of the disk - in line with the top hole. This is where you will add your dangle. Paint the entire disk in your choice of color. Cut a collage image to fit the disk (use a 1" circle punch if you have one - I don't but I'm going to buy one soon!). Glue it on. Cut out your words - glue them on. Color around the edge of the disk with the 14K gold leafing pen, also color the edges of the collage image. Squeeze the Crystal Laquer around the edges of the disk then proceed to fill in the disk wiht the laquer. Let it dry for an hour or two. Take your 20 gauge wire and cut a piece about 1 1/4". Bend the very tip over and squish it. Dip the tip into the Ultimate Glue and then 'screw' it into the hole on the side of the disk. Let dry for a few minutes. Add beads and bend wire into a spiral or a design. Make a jump ring for the top if you don't have any on hand.

Disk for a round robin journal

I got the round robin doll that has been living at my house for the last few months ready to hit the road. I am SO glad that this group is not anal about timelines. We kind of get to the dolls when we get to them. I have another one heading my way so I knew I had to finish the current one up. I can't show a photo because I don't want to spoil the surprise so what I will show you is the 'disk' that I made to hang on the outside of the journal. Nat .. don't look ... if you want to be surprised ...

Everyone seemed to have used some type of face mold or actually sculpted a face for their disk. I thought I would keep the theme going but the only faces I had looked terrible. I did have this little plaster fairy though that I received as a gift. So I decided to paint her as my 'sculpt'. Yeah. I had to use a freakin' magnifying glass to see what I was doing. I don't know how people do the miniatures. Must have better hand/eye coordination than I do, ha ha. Anyhow - this is my pathetic little attempt at it. It actually looks better in person because a lot of the paint is Lumiere -which you couldn't tell at all with this photo.

Ruby of the Sea; 10" mermaid

I'm excited to announce the release of my very first pattern. Ruby of the Sea is my mermaid business card holder. She is very easy to make and is 10" long from head to tail. I know that a beginner doll maker can make this mermaid because I had two beginners make it for me and they were very successful. Let me tell you what you can expect from this cloth doll pattern - face sculpting instructions, face coloring instructions, how to use fancy fibers (yarn) for hair, and how to make the illusion of costuming. Oh - she also has a flat face option too.

Have the pattern emailed to you as a PDF file for $6.00 US. IMPORTANT: Check your bulk/junk/spam folder for the email with the attachment. It has been showing up there for a lot of folks. I normally email within a day of payment.

Cherie just received the pattern and here's what she has to say:
What a great pattern! You did a wonderful job. It's clear, easy to understand and very professional - and it looks good too!. You should be very proud!
I'm looking forward to making Ruby!
Thanks so much,
Cherie :)

Make a studded wristband for your doll

These are quick and easy and look pretty good. You can make studded wristbands, studded collars, or whatever you want to be spiked. First take a piece of scrap leather and cut it to the length and width you want. Now take it out to the garage. Put it on something solid and hit it with a hammer. I used an anvil but most people don't have one hanging around their house.
Angle the hammer so you get some rough edges. Be careful not to hit it so much that it breaks into little pieces when you try to pick it up. Keep checking on it as you pound. You could probably use a rock instead of a hammer too. If you don't want it distressed - then just leave it as is or sew a little hem on each side. Then take a 3D paint (like Scribbles) and make little spikes.
Hold the little bottle upside down and squeeze a tiny bit out, pulling up on the bottle as you do. You can go over it with another layer after it's dry but I find it hard to get the succeeding layers looking good. Sometimes they get droopy but don't worry about it, because as it begins to dry you can stand it back up with a toothpick. You can also paint over them - see how the spikes are silver in the second picture? I didn' t have black 3D paint. So I just painted acrylic over it when it was dry. Once everything is dry you can glue or sew the band around the doll's wrist. I first used this spike method around a dragon's eyes, it was taught in a pattern by Melinda Patterson (Smallworks). But works great for studded accessories, LOL.

High Tea ATC

Just a quick ATC made from some goodies that came in a bag of 'stuff' that arrived with an art pillow I bought on eBay. I was told to 'make art' ... so I tried. LOL. I have one more ATC to make for this month's swap. Other than that I'm playing with my computer - trying to get some new hardware to work. Oh - and I taught myself to make stencils with a light-sensitive plastic (it's for my husband so he can etch his logo onto his knives). That was fun - spent most of yesterday afternoon doing that. Had to turn my bathroom into a 'darkroom'. Now I'm thinking of what *I* can etch, LOL.