New Dress-able Cloth Dolls

I’ve done several new patterns for art dolls that are decorated directly on the doll form, but I always go back for the fun of dress and undressable dolls with wardrobes. I drafted some new patterns, working on getting a good range of sizes/ages.

I also drew up some patterns for clothes, of course! Now to resize them and make some for each of the 5 prototype dolls; here’s how the first one turned out. I used cotton jersey that I dyed, and shopped for cloth and trims in my stash–it seems I have a lot, and it doesn’t take much to dress a doll.

 

New Deluxe Doll Kits

New Deluxe Doll Kits

I’ve been putting together all sorts of kits for making art dolls, some with premade bodies, some with faces and all with lots of colorful cotton, rayon and silk. Big dolls, little dolls, shadowboxes, icons or fabulous wearable jewelry or bags…these kits are great starting points to projects.

Recently I’ve put together 48 deluxe kits, turning out the bins and boxes to add fabrics and embellishments.

Each kit contains hand dyed kona cotton, silk gauze, a silk handkerchief, ribbons, plus vintage sari silk ribbons, angelina fiber, and a specially selected mix of sequins and beads.  I’ve also included 5 millefiore style polymer clay faces (slightly curved for dollmaking ease) and my own patterns for making a variety of dolls. Click here to download the .pdf file

The smallest person or mermaid is about 3.5 inches when made up. The middle sized person sews up into a 10 inch doll. This one also has a mermaid tail option. The mannequin style is 9″ but you can also easily add a mermaid tail as I did in the sample shown here.

I used to buy premade cotton 3″ doll bodies and dye them, but they have not been available for years, so I drafted some patterns.I print them on cardstock, cut them out and trace them onto the fabric, then stitch. THEN cut out the pieces–that’s the secret to working with small parts! The fabric in the kits, when folded double, makes several dolls as shown here.

I made some up in dyed kona cotton, and some in tiedyed cotton jersey. Both worked up very nicely into samples that I embellished with ribbons, beads, sequins…I started with what was gathered into the kits, and then added more beads.

The 3.5 orange doll sample hasnt been embellished yet, nor has the green mermaid. One has a millefiore style face, and one is sculpted. The ones that come in kits are not attached, and I also have sets of 5 face canes in a variety of styles. That’s in addition to a wide array of sculpted polymer clay and ceramic faces.

I’m updating my shop here with kits, faces and even some finished dolls.

 

I’ll be adding more available inventory to my shop here and also sell on Facebook,

Alcohol Ink Mandalas

I love the vibrancy of alcohol inks on metal. I like to cut the resulting pieces up to make jewelry components and decorative objects. Before  doing that, I photograph and scan each one as a whole image. Then I can digitally manipulate them. I like to use them in many ways, including creating mandalas.

I have an account at Pixels.com, a Print On Demand supplier for artists. I make my designs available on clothing and household decor items, and if others purchase them, I get a royalty. I can also buy my items and sell them elsewhere, but I do like letting Pixels do the fulfillment and shipping!

By using photo editing tools to make masks and layers, I can combine and recombine beautiful bits and pieces in many different ways.  I create a triangle, then duplicate it–and keep duplicating.

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A Diva Distraction

Since I last posted here, I’ve been spending some time and effort turning textiles and beads I already have into new dolls and wearable art, and exploring new techniques along the way as I go. For months I spent an hour or so most weekdays embellishing dolls with beads, silk ribbons, dyed textiles…I also did some sewing using versions I altered of Patti Culea’s wonderful doll patterns from her books. I had used parts of her patterns before–she designed wonderful hands and feet for her dolls–but I had never made a doll just as it was in her designs.I jump around from instructions on my own curve, but you can miss things that way too. So I made one of my 2020 projects to get out my stash of dyed cotton jersey and try the patterns as given, and THEN mess with them more…

I played with scale and body shape and ended up with 3 dolls that need to have some clothes made for them (coming later this year!) and one that had a mermaid tail instead of legs, with moveable hips and shoulder joints. I used Procion  coldwater fiber reactive dyes  with some over painting using Shiva Oil paint sticks to give the body and tail fabric some color. Then it was stuffed with polyester fiberfill and wire to create a bendable bottom armature. Dyed silk gauze gives her tail a flowing purple flourish. Her face and nails were painted with acrylics, and I sewed on many sessions-worth of beads and sequins to her body, arms, and tail flukes.

I made her some polymer clay seashells, starfish and black coral, and fashioned her some necklaces, earrings, and hair decorations. Several of these still need to be glued into place in her hair, Her hair is where it all started so it is fitting that that is where she finishes up. Several years ago I was given a skein of beautiful hand dyed and mixed fibers that I knew instantly I wanted to use on a special doll. This one makes great use of it, and I have enough left to wig up a blue fairy as well! But that’s another project. I quite enjoyed this mermaid and would like to make more, but smaller, as the beading took a long while. She is 18″ from head to flukes, and more added for her piled up hair and gauzy tail! I’d like to get the pattern tweaked to about half that. After all, I have lots more fabric, sequins, and beads, and this seems like a good time for more fairies, mermaids, dolls and divas. I’m happier doing some beautiful distractions along with the realities.

Fun With Ribbons & Faces

I purchased some beautiful vintage silk sari ribbons recently, and I got two kinds–sari silk chiffon prints, and sari trim with woven metallic threads. Both are beautiful bursts of color and pattern. I spent a few snowy afternoons turning ribbons into tassels with 22g brass wire.

Now I’m having a great time pairing them up with beads for earrings, or with polymer clay faces, destined to be focal elements in bead embroidery, jewelry, collage…

I want to do some bead embroidered pendants next. I love how the colors of the textiles and the polymer clay or ceramics go so well together, and of course, beads will also be involved.

I’ve made some into art dolls, and they are a lot of fun to create! This pink 3 inch hand dyed doll is getting lots more beads, and will have silk chiffon tassels for wings draped down her back.