Bendi dolls - quick and easy

I've never been particularly enchanted with Bendi dolls but my doll club wanted everyone to enter the Bendi Doll challenge issued by Art Doll Quarterly. Along with everyone else I bought a couple full size Bendis and a bunch of the mini Bendi Dolls - the 6 inch ones. I never got inspired by them so never made anything for the challenge. They have been sitting on the shelf for months, just a blank canvas waiting for my muse to speak. But the other night I wanted to make a quick thank-you gift for the hostess of our quilt shop staff party.

So I grabbed a baby Bendi off my shelf and

started coloring it with Portfolio water soluble oil pastels (is that an oxymoron or what!). I just drew streaks of color on it then wet a makeup sponge and blended the color - got great coverage. I left those beady little eyes on and just didn't color around them so I achieved the whites of the eyes with no effort. After I colored the doll I took a Pigma Pen (.005 tip) and did the detailing of the features. Those baby Bendi's have really small faces!!! Then did a little shading, sprayed the whole thing with Craftgard (a waterproofing spray) and left it to dry.

Ok - now it needed a costume .. and this is bad .. but .. I pulled out a piece of purple panne velvet out of the trash and made a tube, pulled it on the Bendi, cut a fringe at the bottom, added a bit of trim on the top, and voila ... dressed. The hair was about 2 inches of a fuzzy trim I found in the dreaded WalMart. Just sewed it on at the hairline and fluffed. Took 2 minutes! Sewed a bit of ribbon for a hanging tab and it was done.

All in all it took about an hour. My friend was tickled pink with it too. You know it doesn't matter if your efforts aren't the most beautiful .. just being presented with a handmade gift makes it special. Knowing you took time to make something just for them! So keep a couple of Bendi's on hand ...