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....

Emma ? ....

I'm sure that's what she has been whispering whilst we've been working together..... well, somebody is whispering... maybe it's me ... but, usually I'm whispering other things.  Sometimes very rude things.

Paperclay and me.... well, I've only used it a time or two in the past...and we just don't really understand each other yet.  But, it can't fool me forever.  I wasn't thrilled with her first eye area.... so out came the sandpaper.  We had a "face-off".  Then, off I went to the craft store and got new Paperclay.  The other stuff didn't seem exceptionally dry...but, it didn't seem to be co-operating at all... I'm sure it was past its prime.  The new stuff was lovely. .. ...very soft and manageable.  Of course, I was still not really managing to get exactly what I wanted .. but it was a lot more fun.

 I was waaaay too slow to keep up with Jane on the tutorial...so had to keep pausing it and rewinding etc... all while trying to keep my fingers damp and smooth here and tweak there and...  ...well, needless to say...I had clay stuck to a lot of things.  Good thing Mr. BV didn't come home early and see the office and desk !  Gotta figure out a better way.  I should have been in the craft room...but, for some reason I seem to end up in the kitchen or the office......

Oh, look....she has hair  .....

Then, we wrestled on some arms and legs.  OH EM GEE !! I didn't use muslin as Jane instructed.... and ... brother......was this stuff tough to get a needle through!  Never again.  Tomorrow I look for muslin for the second dolly.  Yes, indeed... an easy little make and I should do a second for sure.

The other thing at this stage?  Don't stuff this high on the thigh... leave some flat area so that she sits properly....she keeps falling backwards due to her puffy thighs.... on those spindly legs?...yep.....

hahahahah.... steps to looking good indeed ! that's just silly.....
the dark undercoat helps make things look weathered once the top coat of paint is on.  The idea is not to paint it too thoroughly so that some bits of it show through the flesh colours here and there.

Mixed up a green that I liked to go with the fabric I chose for her skirt.... painted her face... making more mess.... what fun!

Tidied up a bit...but, not too much.  I was having a hard time not making it too neat ...  I so wanted to put in a white highlight on the pupil....I love doing eyes on all my other dolls.  But... in the tutorial... there isn't one...and I do want to make it just like Jane's.

First doll of the new year...

I finally began a new doll.  This one I signed up for months ago on the Cloth and Clay dolls site,  but, couldn't really make a start on her because of the wrist problems.  I'm trying to take it easy and trying my darndest not to have a death grip on her...... seems I do it with everything.... oh, well, I ain't waiting any longer.  Resting it, using anti-inflammatories, splints, etc..   hasn't accomplished much.  Time to move on regardless ....

So far she doesn't look like much.... and I am not having an easy time with the paperclay...but...it is fun just to be doing something again....

hopefully once I get the face more to my liking.... I'll feel a bit happier with her....

check out the web site if you'd like to see some of the other dolls... lots of amazing dollies there!

like I said... not much to look at yet.... and those are supposed to be her upper eyelids....oh, groan...... we'll see what happens once I get some eyeballs..some cheeks, jawline, etc.... and if I don't like it...out comes the sandpaper and I try again.  I have to keep reminding myself...she is supposed to be a primitive doll...

her limbs....yeh... strange, I know.  This is a totally different type of dolly for me.

the unveil...

First, let me say thank you to all my blog buddies for your kind thoughts and condolences regarding Vikki's beautiful Tiffany. She was a very special little girl....Vikki will be at loose ends for some time coming to grips with it... as she mentioned also in the comments of last day's post..











It was a week when not much was accomplished...but... I did finally complete my little silver haired doll.... as yet un-named... although I am leaning towards Peri......











She began like this.... and progressed...

her face is paperclay over cloth... inspired by Bonnie Lee Fontaine's latest dolls on her blog..
After adding more paperclay and getting the features I finally was trying for, I sanded and and smoothed...then painted with acrylic paints.... and added some watercolour pencil work to add extra depth to the eyes...

























I fiddled around with sleeves...but, just couldn't come up with anything I liked. At a suggestion from Richy, my bear making friend... I pieced together a lining fabric and a skirt material...... which is what he suggested next time for a circle skirt if I don't want to be plagued with how to hem it. I made a long rectangular tube...turned it and..voila... sleeves became a shrug instead.















Her blouse is strips of ribbon...















..her little belt is three layers of fabric... the light blue twisted and also has a thin black thread wrapped around at each twist opening lies on a layer of deep burgundy tulle, which is on top of a strip of the same gauze ribbon that is in her hair and from which the little flower is made. I tried all sorts of colours alone and nothing looked right...so just kept experimenting.... it makes a great break at the middle and adds a lot of visual interest.. well, I think it does anyway. Much better than a single colour or a flat piece of fabric.














her shoes, if you remember are made from Apoxy Sculpt ... sculpted directly onto cloth feet. I checked out glam flats from Jimmy Choo and others...and hey... these rival the haute couture guys... as a matter of fact I like the finishing at the edges better on mine...hahaha... ooooh...I am cheeky. That is a length of thin yarn glued onto the edge of the shoes. My jewels are square sequins glued on in an overlaping circle...with a bit of fluffy matching yarn in the center. Maybe next time I won't bother giving my shoes quite the deep creases... make them look fresh out of the box.

Fresh bread...

The weather has been perfect....for staying home and playing dolls that is. A cold front blew in.. a bit of drifting snow...and temperatures plummeted once again to wintery numbers (minus 20's at night and up to -13 to-15C in the daytime). However, the sky is clear and a pretty blue; the sun is brilliant...shining in through the kitchen window. I love to sit in the warmth of it and tell myself I'm still getting some Vitamin D, even through the glass....

I never actually "played" much with dolls as a kid...we didn't have many to begin with, but, sometimes got one for Christmas. I still have some squirreled away in a cedar chest. Remember those? I've always been that way ... sometimes a bit too careful..especially for a kid... but, we didn't have much so I guess I was making sure I kept what I had. I saved mine in pristine condition.














I still like to take out this little gal and look at her from time to time...Mandy Lou...I love her. Well, with the exception of that sorta scorch-y mark on the front of her dress that is .... I did that trying to iron it....sigh...what did we know..we were just little kids.....














Anybody have a Dennis the Menace? oh, brother...look at those dirty feet. Kid dirt I guess...and the rubber is a bit fragile..so I am not going to scrub them...maybe some day I might try cleaning them with some special thing..., but... maybe it is better to leave it... besides, it looks normal for him. Another of my kid dolls...














However, I did like paper dolls... maybe that's where all this doll making stuff started. I used to draw and colour new gowns for Katy Keene.. and other ladies... just by following the outline of their bodies and making a few alterations to the shape. Not that the clothing was too imaginative...we had no clue as to how the other half lived except from seeing the Sears catalogue, some comic books or maybe even the odd movie magazine we would see at the library or some neighbour's house. We sisters danced them around the kitchen table...and talked up a storm with each other's gals.... can't remember what we said, but I'm sure the conversation was scintillating ...

When it's cold outside ... baby .. it's also baking weather. The kitchen is the perfect place to be. The amazing scent of freshly baked whatever wafting about.... I love it. You know when you buy things on e-bay and they say, "From a non smoking environment"? Well, I wonder if any of my dolls and bears retain the scent of cinnamon buns? or lemon blueberry muffins?.... oh, the poor recipient!! ...hahahhahaha..... that ain't fair at all !!










Sitting in the warm Tuscan Peasant Bread scented kitchen, I painted the face on my latest experiment-with-paperclay... thanks Linda for mentioning gesso, but I'll have to try it next time...I was over eager. I just charged madly ahead and painted some flesh colour on her... then had fun doing some eyes. As you can see I even put a stroke of too-dark flesh on her neck. That can be fixed if I decide to finish her. She may never get finished as a doll, seeing as it/she began as a learning experience...but,...if I do finish her ...I was thinking... perhaps ice princess. But then, she looks a bit apprehensive.. perhaps a princess in waiting..or a little girl lost.... she just looks a bit confused to me.























I used several different colours of blue and am happy with the iris ... didn't do anything with the sclera as I left that part white when I painted on the flesh colour. It is the white of the unpainted clay. Very happy with the amount of detail I can get in an eye on the clay. I think gluing on some eyelashes would be a better idea than trying to draw lashes over the slightly raised eyelid ...











My first attempt at painting the flesh is not perfect...and I also experimented with some sandpaper after painting as you can see on the lower left cheek area. I now want to see if I can repaint that area and fix it. A lot of imperfections are noticeable up close...but, at a viewing distance...she is pretty acceptable. I want to get on with making several heads now and practice what I learned and see what else I can come up with in order to make the next ones better.