remember Gwendolyn?

I made her back when....

........when I found Black Eyed Suzie's dolls online; absolutely was smitten and reeelly, reeeellly wanted one.  But, I couldn't afford one  They were way too expensive for me.  So, I decided I could make myself one in her style.  I do that.

She took me awhile.  I was looking back at old photos and see months went by between the start of her and the completion.  Seems I was laid up for a good portion of that season too...with a wonky arm...and it was not the result of accident, but surgery, on my ganglion cluster on the same arm that is now broken.  Good grief !!

She is air dry paper clay over wire and tin foil.

Anyway...here's Gwendolyn ....something for show and tell ...

oops, sorry....perhaps I should have given her some panties for the photo.

Here are some of Suzie's in case you don't know of her dolls.  I still love them and hope to make more some day.

Alice ..

With a bit more clay here and there and some sanding done... that scratty mohair is not the actual hair ...but a bit of it....to see if she is getting there.  Just getting a feel for her "look"...   who knows what she will end up wearing on her head.

Added some more clay to the hands and they are actually beginning to look more like hands ...but, not quite there yet.  Wish I could make myself add a bit more clay than I do each time...but, that's me I guess.  Must make them before I get tempted to paint her face.

Good thing Maggi mentioned about not painting her face till we have the hands done so that we get the same colour for flesh... 'specially if we, you know,   ....    ....  mix colours to get "that perfect shade"  hahahah.... been there before.  I think she knows me.

Alice in Steampunkland

The new dolly I am making.

Not much new happening with her ... she will be a long time in the making.

However, I did add some tiny bits of clay to her face and head and got her sort of how I like her ...and, I began the hands.  We'll see if I use the hands or not.  I might have wanted to give a bit more thought to the position of the hands and fingers.  Like, if I want her to be holding something or not.  They won't hold much in this position.

The pattern shows perfect skinny sausages for fingers.... whereas mine definitely look more skeletal.  Nobody mentioned having to put on alternate fingers...but, I found I was having great difficulty doing one wet piece of clay that close to a second piece of clay.  So, finally did alternate fingers and let them dry and then did the rest.

I was thinking how the fingers looked weird and sort of pinched together where they joined each other finger.  But, once I got the little bit of clay onto the back of the hand, I discovered I could lay it up further on the fingers a bit more to give them slight space or a bit of a web between each finger. That'll be more like it.

It looks like a bit (or, a lot) more work is needed on them yet.  I'm so slow and tentative with clay.  I have no idea why.....it is easy to sand it off..it's just paper clay.  But there you have it... working with clay tells you something about you.  Hahahaha,,,, as if I didn't already know that I am cautious and a bit tentative with a lot of things.

Coming along, albeit very slowly.

Click on the pics to see them bigger.

Huh ???

Yes, I guess I obsessed.  More than just a bit.  I had to figure out where I had put poor little Rumpel.  It totally freaked me out that I had absolutely no recollection of having put him anywhere at all... am I losing those last three marbles?... is it happening already? ...

So... back in there again I went.  He had to be there...somewhere... in that room!! No place else he could be.

I looked in every drawer and cabinet..once again...after already having looking several times.  This time I even climbed onto a chair to make sure I hadn't missed him ... perhaps on a higher shelf.
It was kind dim up there with no lights..but.... hey.. just a minute!

What's that? ?

Are those two trying to conceal something?
Is that a tiny foot ? ... a spindly leg?....

What the ????

Oh, sure ..just pretend nothing happened.  Nothing at all.  Weirdoes ! ...

.... oh, alright .... it wasn't all their fault.  I have to 'fess up.  Suddenly, I did remember.  During the week, I did a reeeellly good tidy in my craft room because we were having neighbours over.  I placed him in an inconspicuous spot... safe til I wanted to work on him again.  Yeh...safe... til about 2020 if I hadn't spied the poor little guy....

You know how we like to make sure there is not a lot of 'stuff'  hanging around making things look messy if somebody other than us peeks into a room... ...even if it IS my craft room.  Well, I do anyway.  And..I guess I figured I would make him disappear for the night.  Just like poor Harry Potter ...pretending he didn't exist.. and then... after a week of excitement and busy-ness....totally forgot what I did with him.

Whew!  I did actually have the awful thought ..for just a moment... that I had perhaps done away with him for some reason.... ...

Forget Wordless Wednesday...it's dolly day...

Finally finished her.  I am pretty slow with all things doll and bear related.  But... I'm usually pretty happy with my results...so....that's a big plus in my book.

Decided to make her shoes the colour of the flowers on her dress fabric...it took a few tries and 3 coats to get the colour right.  She seemed pretty happy with them..

.... Although, she did seem a bit reluctant to pose for some photos...

But, then...it was like...."I'm ready for my close-up now Mr. DeMille"...






































Then...all of sudden she got cheeky and showed a bit of leg... woohooo,,,,,

Embarrassed herself I think...hahhaha..

...and soon....she was pooped.....

Here are my gals for inspiration.... The dolls of Black Eyed Suzi.  I decided to make one for myself, even though I don't actually know her techniques... all I gleaned was from some of her photos of her own works in progress.  What fun it would be to spend a few hours with some of the well known doll makers....

In the meantime... I'll bumble along on my own and see what I come up with .... hence the BumbleVee.....

playing with clay

Finally I'm getting around to making some arms and legs for my funny little dolly I began waaaay back... can't even rermember when...

She is my take on Black Eyed Suzi's well known dolls...

Having made only a few things using paper clay, it is mostly still a learning experience.  The head and face seemed a lot easier than the spindly legs and arms.

I used a piece of wire wrapped with tin foil to give it a bit of shape and something to begin to attach clay.  It sure is a fiddly job...and they look pretty rustic so far...but, it is a start and should be easier to add more clay when dried... then some sanding and shaping and hopefully...a "voila" !  moment.

 I'll keep you posted Dear Diary.... lol....

I'm not sure about sizes.... I'm just a hit and miss kinda gal most of the time.  It's why it takes me soooo long to do everything.
I made the tiny foot first, but then thought it looked a tad small for the body and the length of the leg.  So... second leg is larger overall.  Today I'll place all the limbs near the body and check for size...then... make a second leg ...  in what I deem to be an appropriate size for her.

Not to worry about all the lumpiness... when I add more clay... it can all be smoothed over... and don't forget...sanding.  One thing about this clay...it sands wonderfully... and easily.

How do you like my ingenious drying rack? hahahhah......

I'll have to move things around today...I need to use that mixer....

He's late...he's late.....

as a matter of fact...he totally missed his very important date.....

I wanted to get this little guy's jacket and watch made in time for the Mad Hatter's Tea... sponsored by someone on their blog....but... other stuff got in the way.  Like real life.  Just not enough time to do it all in the short season we laughingly call summer.   Can you believe that last night it dropped to +7C after days of +24C and the one before that at +28C? .... cool enough for jackets this morning when I dropped off my van for an oil change.  Cool walking back... I got some exercise as it is a good 40 minute walk....

Anyway.... I played with the little watch even though the jacket is still just bits and pieces.... not stitched at all which in retrospect is a good thing...because now I have formulated a new and different plan on how to make it.  Not being much of a seamstress...it is a lot of planning before I actually "do"... which, again...is sometimes a good thing.

Scratty Eddy as the Alice Bunny....

Making a little pocket watch for him seemed much more interesting and fun than sewing....

I made a little half inch disc out of paper clay...... cut a tiny circle of paper ...  printed on the numbers... and pressed it into place... rounded up the edges ever so slightly and let it dry thoroughly.

I painted it an old gold colour ..... and then drizzled on a couple of layers of Glossy Accents to build it up and make it look like a glass face.

I found tiny chain at a bead shop and also...this tiny little screw with a loop top.

There is probably a special name for it in the beading community...but, I don't know what that term is.  All I know is..... it was the perfect size to screw into the top of my pocket watch...and attach a link of the chain to.  I bought two in case I ruined or lost one...they are VERY tiny! Not saying it was simple...arrrgghh...that was hard on the old eyes, that!  I must get one of those large magnifying windows to work under.  Or...perhaps a jewellers loupe of some sort for this tiny stuff. I finally wrestled it to the ground ...ruining a few miniscule links of the chain...... but, got it attached!  And... now... my little pocket watch just needs a perfect sized pocket on a cute little jacket.

Eddy invited Posie and Scruffy to check out his new watch and they had a tiny tea party of their own.  They mentioned that they thought any old day is always a good day for a tea party.  I poured........  well, after I mentioned to Scruffy that he wasn't supposed to sit in the cup... and yes...I did give it a wipe out to get rid of the fluff.... ...

I'm playing copycat ...again...

I don't think I have much imagination ...

These funny/cute/sad dollies attracted my attention when I happened on Black Eyed Suzie's blog a few weeks ago.  I see that she isn't doing many now that she is pregnant...and I'm not sure I would be able to afford one anyway.... so, decided to copy a few of her photos and try a dolly of my own after this style.  It didn't say on her blog not to use her photos...and I hope she won't mind, because I want to do this post today... ...but, here are a few of her dollies...  I wrote her a note..but, her reply won't be here soon enough.  If she wants them removed, of course, I'll take them down and just direct you all to her blog instead.  It's a lot of fun to look at all of her dolls....and she has made LOTS!!  You have to go look.....

UPDATE::  She wrote back already!  Wow. How great was that?  And says it's fine to use her photos.... thank you "Suzie"....

Every time I look back at the photos...I notice something that is different than I thought it looked the first time I saw it... and, of course, I have no idea how she actually worked with the clay or how she put it into position...so it is hit and miss for me.  I wish there was a tutorial... so I could give it a bit better try....

I used Creative Paper Clay.... again...I think she uses something different...but,...eh...it's all paper clay, how different can it be?  I'll have to look back at her site to see if I can find the name of her clay and then...try to find some of that.

I've heard from somebody that knows her ...she used glass eyes...and I did read somewhere about her searching out glass eyes to buy....but, I don't have any at the moment.  So....I decided for my initial project...I'd make my own...sort of...

I painted on the iris and pupil...after making the whole eye area somewhat protrusive ....  Then, dabbed on some Glossy Accents...which I think is the same stuff as Crystal Lacquer.  I've never been able to find Crystal Lacquer here.
I think if I do a second one...I will paint a ball of clay for the eye ... let it dry...crystal coat it...  then put it into the wet clay of the eye area of the face.  Of course, there was absolutely no reason to paint the lips just yet...but...I had to do it!! hahahhah....just 'cuz she looks so cute already....

I put on some eyelids...but, then took a closer look at "Suzie's" babes .. and...they are not quite like this...... . so changed them.... had to make them a bit more like...erm...little awnings over the eyes... ....

So....I'm at this stage.....  see that cute little blondie? .... that's the one for me.... of course, the lips are not quite the same...but.... maybe next time ..... and then...on to trying to put as little paint or colour on her and yet somehow getting her to look like something so much more....

still putzing on her....

....at my usual slow and deliberate pace...
she is proud of her legs and takes any opportunity to show them off.

I made her top from strips of a beatuful ribbon that has water coloured flowers on it...lots of fiddling... but, I love that ribbon and this was a perfect chance to use some of it. I've had it years....

Then, found some pretty fabric that went so well with the ribbon...but, it is ...well, let me just say I was describing it to my sister and called it ...creepy.... hahhaha.... when I had meant to say crepe-y....but, then I laughed and said it must be a Freudian slip...or skirt...ahahha...and we were off on a laughing tangent....we're a couple of nuts, but happy in the knowledge. Our Mom used to say all the time...if you aren't worth a laugh, you aren't worth much at all. So, some days we feel pretty darn rich...... lol....

So, for the hem of a skirt that is slippery, slide-y ... and frays like nobody's business.... what to do. I keep mentioning that I don't really know much about sewing...and I don't...but, every so often, I do something that is kinda cool and actually took a while on the machine.... long enough to put me in spasm today... my back hurts! Of course, I really put everything into it when I sew... I have to.

I cut some long, half inch wide slivers of sparkly tulle. Laid them over the bottom of her circle skirt so that 1/4 of an inch was visible on either side.... pinned them carefully so they didn't pucker or bunch... then stitched a nice line of straight stitching all around the skirt. Then,... laid a piece of blue nubbly yarn over the line of stitching...and carefully stitched it on....it gave the bottom of the skirt a bit of visual interest and turned out much better than if I had attempted to hem that stuff. She keeps showing me both sides of the skirt...pretending she is Marilyn in a breeze.... I think she likes it too....














My flowers are still perfect after almost two full weeks... who knew that type of flower lasted so long when the petals look so dainty and fragile... Alstromeria ..I think...

the bag on her head is to help keep her hair out of the way of glue and stitching...

Onward to sleeves and shoe trim.... but, for now... bread to bake. I ran out... ackkk! And, I refuse to eat store bought anymore...now that I know how to bake my own. I love my own bread!

It's a beautiful sunny, bright, blue sky day... even if they are calling for more snow flakes later. Who cares...it is mild; the windows are open...the birdies are singing at the top of their little lungs...a perfect day in my mind.

Tiny, tinier, tiniest....

Magically it's Monday again. The Time Fairy must have been madly waving her wand about ...she really stirred up the fairy dust and hours whipped past. You know what I'm talking about. They show you the little magical clock..with hands just whirring? ... hours, then days whiz past in a twinkling? Yep.. another week just flew.... .... however, having written this few lines.... I now have a great new fairy in mind...hahahhaha.... sometimes saying things out loud.. ( or writing them ) let's you "see" something else..... something you were not thinking about AT all!

Originally, when I realized it was Monday already... I was trying to think what I could post for the once a week photo challenge that Linda is hosting.

...and.......I figured it out. After doing the tiny feet entry a few days back.. ...then carrying on with teensy "inchies" ... I was ruminating about being kind of funny that way.... having a love of tiny things. Then I walked into my craft room and saw this.... A piece of popcorn??

Gotcha didn't I?











...on closer inspection..................














...not popcorn, but it did become his name.
















here's his cute little bum.....














and...here you can see he really is little....

I was fiddling with some paperclay one day and thought it was a bit tricky to work with..so wanted to see how difficult it would be to try something really small. You know, just to make myself crazy. He was not a piece of cake... as a matter of fact I mistook him for a piece of popcorn several times. Once I almost tossed him into my mouth.... poor little guy. I named him Popcorn...and... he sits beside a tiny box of inchies on the craft table. I will actually put some colour on his eyes and nose some day...... til then, I'll just grin every time I see him.....