Custom Bride Doll, Part 2

Whew! Well, I had to go to the fabric store for more satin, but I finally got the gown finished. Instead of hemming each layer for the tiered skirt (which i have a very hard time with, satin being so slippery), I made three big flounces attached to an invisible underskirt. That made gathering the top difficult, but that is one point where the slipperiness of satin helped!

I'm very pleased with the results. Next: make her pearl jewelry and accessories, embellish the dress a bit with pink ribbon, and paint the face and shoes. I am hoping to finish her by the 9th, so I'll post a final picture before I send her away.

Custom Bride Doll

One of my very favorite customers recently commissioned an art doll from me for her red-headed doll collection. This doll will be a bride with an ivory satin dress with a tiered skirt. Her name is Cecelia.

I've been feeling a little bit stumped on which of several methods and ideas I have to construct the layers of the skirt. Isn't it funny how sometimes too many ideas can hold you back more than too few ideas?

However, I have completely constructed the doll herself, and I'm very happy with her pretty auburn wedding hair. I've also got her tulle underskirt underway, and this is going to make all the difference in how the wedding dress hangs. We're going poofy, people!

Here is an in progress shot. She's 18 inches tall, for an idea of scale. More to come!

Work In Progress: Hansel and Gretel

Well, since finishing the  Amelie doll a few months ago, I have been itching to work on another costume/art doll. I had kind of forgotten that I'd started Hansel and Gretel even a few months before Amelie.

I tucked them away because I just wasn't feeling inspired or motivated to work further on them. Well, I've been working on them this week. I squealed with delight last night when I finished Hansel's tiny lederhosen! (pencil for scale)

And this afternoon I finished Gretel's little apron and am equally delighted.

Isn't it funny how inspiration and creative energy ebb and flow? I'm looking forward to making their little boots (using the skills I gained from making Amelie's), and a little Alpine hat with feathers for Hansel! And of course hair and faces. Stay tuned!

Itching for Spring and Latest Project

The weather this week in Boise has been beautiful, sunny and in the 40s-50s, despite rain being forecast for the whole week. Today it looks like the forecasts will come true, but Blake and I enjoyed lots of time playing in the backyard in the spring-like weather this week. I saw some early signs of spring: a lady bug curled up in a dead leaf on my raspberry bushes, and some tiny green spikes pushing through the dirt in my tiger lily patch. It's January, for goodness sake! But still it sent a little thrill through me to know spring will arrive someday. Blake enjoyed bouncing on the trampoline, and running his Percy train up and down the apple tree trunk, perfectly content to be running around on gray grass.

I've also been feeling more inspired this week, and have gotten to work in earnest on a doll I've had in mind for quite a while. It is Amelie from the eponymous French movie. I had wrestled for quite a while on what direction to go with her hair (yarn, thread, paint, felt, etc.) since her hair is so iconic to her look. I finally implemented a 3 dimensional felt method, which I have to say I am very proud of.  I am also excited about the little tiny sweater I crocheted for her in the pretty deep green color that is all over the movie.

(Side view of the doll. Here, the "wig" is just pinned to her head.) I'll post more as I progress. I plan to paint her face soon, which is my absolute favorite part, and to make her pretty little red skirt today. I also have to figure out what to do for shoes...