Pollywoggle Lane

Making Time

2012-01-31T16:56:00.000-08:00

It seems that I have been finding time to work on creative endevors. I now have two days of the week free that I did not have before and I have been taking time to work on and finish some projects that have been hanging over my head for years.
I finally finished the pattern for the Lithograph doll and the romper. I purchased the doll on ebay thinking that i would be able to make a pattern for her and sell the pattern to reimburse the cost of the doll. But it took me too long to finally offer the pattern and the people who had originally they would purchase the doll have not done so.
I have the doll pattern now availalbe in four sizes. The original 24" doll, 18", 12" and 8".
You can see them here
http://www.pollywogglelane.cindyribet.com/

The doll looks like this

This is the prototype doll made from my pattern. She is wearing the romper that came on the original doll.

All the years of working and drawing and sewing. I am happy to have finally finished the project and to have it available. I think though I am learning that trying to make money by designing, making and selling dolls or patterns is just not worth it. From now on I plan to make dolls or patterns because I want to. Then if I happen to make some money from it then that will just be icing on the cake.

I am also working on some Christmas Carolers I started before Christmas in 2010. I have one finished and will post pictures soon. I am also enjoying making "Spool Birds". They are not made from spools, but come from the Spool Sewing website. I'll post pics of them and the site.

I am having horrible problems at this time working on my posts. It seems that my browser is no longer supported by Blogger and so parts of Blogger will not work. Blogger wants me to try another browser, basically- Google Chrome. A nasty way to make people switch if you ask me. So I'll be researching the ways to get around this.

2011-12-20T07:49:00.000-08:00

Words for December:
                                Hurrying. Baking. Merry making.
                                 Crafting. Dreaming. Secretly Scheming.
                                Reminiscing. Scurrying. Sometimes Worrying.
                                Singing. Sharing. Loving. Caring.
                                Christmas

Have a very Merry Christmas!

These are Christmas ornaments I received in an ornament swap. They came all the way from Australia. I just love them!

2011-12-04T15:47:00.001-08:00

It is December. I do not post as often as I would like. I have been having fun at the Christmas Crafting parties that I have here at my house once a week. And although I've only finished one doll, I've been slowly working on a few.
My granddaughter's birthday is this week and we had her birthday party at my house today. I worked for hours on a doll for her that she can dress and style the hair and learn to make clothes for. I used a Vogue pattern and it was not what i really had in mind. But the doll is pretty anyway.
First, the pattern called for gathers under the chin.

Here you can see the gathers. Her face is pretty. I just wish the head pattern had been different. The body was fatter than I wanted and I decided AFTER I had attached the head to make the body smaller. I made a dart in the back by stitching it by hand toward the outside. And then I pushed the dart to the inside and ladder stitched it into the body. WHEW! But then I still was not happy so I opened a side seam and pulled out stuffing and took up both side seams by hand. The fatter body probably would have been fine with the large head. But that is not what i wanted.

I altered some baby clothes and old doll clothes to make outfits for the doll as well.

I shortened the dress and apron that you see here. OH.. her hair is made from hair wefts that I got from a beauty supply store. I sewed them in circles around her head starting from the bottom. I tried to get them close enough where my granddaughter could style it any way she wanted. I'll have to buy more and add a couple of rows another day. the doll has a LOT of hair.

It got me in the mood to do another. Maybe I'll finish some others first.

Beautiful Fall

2011-10-11T08:27:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that it is October already. The leaves are just starting to turn here. I can't wait until the colors get vivid and the leaves start to fall. I have my granddaughters to take outside and play in the crisp air and warm colors.
I finally finished the dolls I had talked about in May. The sculpted face doll was painted a long time ago but I just recently tweaked it and like it much better.

I think she turned out really cute. But I am not enamored with her so she is on ebay right now waiting to go to a new home.
I have also started my Christmas Crafting Party Night at my home. I have a few ladies who come over and we make Christmas Ornaments or small gifts. Below is a picture of the first kind of ornaments we made. Little Mittens and Ribbon Candy. I got both patterns off my newest favorite website.... Better Homes and Gardens. Did you know that you can find on the website for free the same things that are in the magazine for a price?

We have started some OKRA Santa Clauses and I will post their pictures later. They take longer as we have to sculpt the paperclay faces. Some of the ladies did not think they would be able to do the faces but they did a wonderful job.

Last Day in May

2011-05-31T10:04:00.000-07:00

Today is the last day in May. I had wanted to finish my two little dollies before tomorrow. I have one done and I acquired a wig for the other yesterday while visiting with my doll restorer friend Dr. Re'. (www.drresdollclinic.com)
I chose a dark braided wig. I thought it looked really good on her. But then I saw an advertisement for the movie Pollyanna. I have always loved that movie and have wanted to make a Pollyanna doll with every costume that is shown on the movie. Wouldnt that be cool. And I realized that my little doll resembles Pollyanna. But if I turn her into that character I would not want to sell her (which is my original goal) and I would have to change her dark wig to a light one. hmmmm.. before I do that I need to play around with her face on photoshop to see if I want to change anything. I love photoshop.

Before May is Gone

2011-05-29T17:56:00.000-07:00

May is almost over. I was hoping to get two dolls finished that I had started a long time ago. I'm getting closer and that is a comfort. So here I can show off my progress.
I have finished the little monster doll using the face I made from one of Susie McMahon's molds. I don't know what to name her but she has found a curiousity and I think I will call her the "Finder of Most Curious Things."

She has found a broken egg gourd. And inside are the dried contents. (which by the way.. really were I found inside when I broke it open.) Sort 'loofa' like. It was not what I had intended for her. And maybe I will go back to the original plan. But the little gourd is kind of cool and she wanted to keep it.

She had to have a tail so I gave her one that bends.

It has a layered felt tip that I clipped and then twisted to get this effect.

It helps her keep her balance and gives her something to hold on to when she is just a little bored. It's also good for wiping dirty faces.

I have also been working on a doll that has a face I made using a mold from a kit I purchased on line at a shop called Sisers and DAughters. I made a paper clay face using the mold and then sculpted more paper clay over that to make it more original.
I covered it with knit fabric and then stuffed that. I attached it to a body made using a pattern from the same kit. I attached the limbs using Judy Ward's method. And I attached the head with Judy's method so that her head turns in all directions. She needs a wig and I hate to use purchased wigs but I may have to if I want to finish her soon. I do have some mohair and some pieces of alpaca skins that I can turn into a wig. She has green eyes so I will have to choose a color that goes well with that.

This is her before I finished. Her body is muslin and I painted it when I painted her knit face. I gessoed the face but I do not like muslin bodies that have been gessoed. They are too stiff and the fabric tears too easily.

I am pleased with how these dolls have turned out. I have to decide what era and how I want this doll dressed. I am partial to little girl dresses and pantaloons that match. But I like to use lots of colors and matching trims. More later.

New small Projects

2011-05-19T20:18:00.000-07:00

Having two new little grand babies and one young grand daughter I have found a new little craft project that is both fulfilling and useful. It is making little felt hairclippies. I use the small metal hair clippies that 'snap' onto hair. I cover them with felt. The bottom metal piece that bends to make it 'snap' is left out by clipping a small hole in the bottom piece of felt. I blanket stitch around the two pieces of felt to inclose the clip. And then I embelish the clip by making something cute that I sew to the top of the clippie. They hold in the hair much better with the felt on them and they are just adorable in the babies hair. I have a friend who is in her 30's who wears them and they are really beautiful in her hair.

Although the picture is a little blurry you can still get the idea of how I put the felt on the clip.

This one is really blurry. I am not a good photographer. But I am blanket stitching the two sides together.

Here my sweet little model is wearing two different felt flower clippies in her hair.
I have also been adding silk flowers and bows to hair bands for older girls (including me). They are so simple and very rewarding to be able to give them away to the young ladies at my church.

Helper Doll

2011-05-19T20:06:00.000-07:00

I realized that I had not posted a picture of the Helper doll for UFDC when she was finished. So here she is.

She will put up as a raffle item at the UFDC convention. She has no shoes... but she has two dresses and two bonnets. And something else... I forgot already what I added. I hope she brings in a lot of money for the UFDC.

Pieces of April

2011-05-19T19:55:00.000-07:00

Do you remember that song from the 70's.. "I've got pieces of April"?
Well... my pieces of April (other than the pictures of my granddaughter) are my new dolls. I am so glad to have had the time to come to a place where I can finally post some pictures. I am almost finished with my little "Wild Thing" doll. I made the face using a mold created by Susie McMahon. It is her brain child and I think they are adorable.
http://www.susiemcmahondolls.blogspot.com/
Here she is...

She still needs a few little details. But I wanted to share her. Now that I have a new photo edting software I can. If you have not tried GIMP take a look at it. Freeware you download from the internet.
I have another doll in the works that is getting close to being photoed. I might even get some pics of her in the raw.

Doin' Dolls

2011-03-25T11:14:00.000-07:00

Yea!! I get to work on dolls again. Keeping a little baby every day takes lots of my hours away that I would normally get to be creative in any way I chose. But now I have to be creative on how to get a baby to quit sucking up all the dirty things off the floor as she crawls over them. Or how to be creative gettting a baby to take a nap when she THINKS she wants to stay up and play.
Well... I had a good motivator in that I am making the helper doll for one of my UFDC clubs to send to the national convention this year. She is all done. Now for the thing that I am the worst (or the best?) at procrastinating over.... the underwear. The lady even has dresses. But no underwear.

I really like the way her face turned out. She has a pensive look. I might turn her the corners of her mouth up just a little but maybe not. Her dress is one from my Lilly Grace collection and I am in the process of adding some lace and frills to the dress and bonnet. I will have another dress and a shawl for her before she is done. But oh the underwear!

Her hair is made by sculpting ooey, gooey, gluey thread onto her head.

I'll post a finished picture of her when she is done with her unders and shawl.

2011-01-08T19:45:00.000-08:00

I finally finished the cat. I have always wanted to dress her. But seems she has an attitude about covering up her tail. So she ended up with a boa and a peacock feather fan. What do you think?

2011-01-08T19:34:00.001-08:00

I have had fun working on finishing up some projects. I have a long way to go but I do feel like I am accomplishing something.

I finished the little felt doll and she has gone to a new home. The antique style doll is almost ready to go to a new home.

I thought I'd add a nice photo of the tree in my front yard all covered with snow. I don't know what it is about snow, but it makes me feel all warm. hmmmm......

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T15:35:00.000-08:00

I had a very nice day today. I hope that all of you reading my post did as well. I reminded myself ever so often that the celebration of this day is not all about the gifts, the food, or even the gathering of family and friends however wonderful they all might be. It is all about the celebration of a child being born over 2000 years ago. A child whose name was Jesus. I have much to thank God for every day. But the most important one is that He has forgiven me of my sin and is my friend on a day to day basis. And it is all because a child was born in a manger so long ago who grew up to pay my debt.

And yet, we still love to give and receive gifts. We draw names with our children and their spouses now to be a more thrifty in our celebration. And my husband and I ended up with both our daughter and daughter-in-law. I would have said "both our daughters" but then those who know me would have said "What..?" My husband built a very nice wall shelf unit with a towel rack underneath for my daughter in law to put in her bathroom. (My idea... I noticed that she needed one.) I think she was happy with that. I wish I had taken a picture before she left. But I didn't think. My other daughter received a collage of portraits I had made of her little girl Lillianna. I was very pleased at how it turned out and now that she has it in her possession and it need not be a secret I can post a picture of it here. It is at the top.
I started out with photos that I scanned in and then spent hours editing in pnotoshop. I did NOT use any 'sketch' filter which is what people have been thinking. There is no way one of the filters will do this. I used a different technique to get it to a stage where I then printed it out onto watercolor paper and then used pencils to finish it by hand. She was pleased with it. I scanned the finished product in and have already printed another one of the completed sketch out for myself.
I had great fun making Christmas ornaments this year and plan to continue doing so all through the year next year.
Merry Christmas!

2010-12-23T20:40:00.000-08:00

Christmas is almost here.
I have been working hard on lots of little Christmas ornaments to give as gifts. I love making Christmas ornaments. They are little works of art that people take out to make their holiday more special. They pause to remember who gave them the ornament and when. I have ornaments that I made over 30 years ago. I love to look at them and remember making them so long ago. I always say, "And these are older than my son."
I also enjoy wrapping them in a special way so that they seem to be a little 'more' than they really are. The package can make something inexpensive seem more special and costly.
I made Christmas Penguins from egg gourds, Santas from dried Okra, and little mice stuck in raisin boxes.

New Doll

2010-11-27T17:48:00.000-08:00

It seems like a long time since I was able to post about a new doll I have made. But I am almost done with the doll I started at the Susie McMahon workshop I took in MD. She still need her unders and another more simple day dress. Maybe a coat and hat. I am very happy with her.
I love the new technique I learned for the hair. I worked hard on the dress which is made from one fabric. Although it looks like different matching designs i pleated the vertical lines to make the dress look like it was made from different fabric designs. I like the blue better around her face. The trim is all vintage or antique tatting. I do like her but I am willing to part with her so she is up for adoption.

I also am still waiting to dress the little pressed felt face doll I have made.

I love how she turned out but I will never make another one like that. It was really difficult to press the felt in the mold when I think I can get the same results by gluing the felt over a sculpted face.
I am also working on some really cool paper mache Christmas Carolers. Which I hope will be done before Christmas.

More Digi Stamping Fun!

2010-11-25T13:37:00.000-08:00

I have joined a new community of artists who do digital art. Making cards, crafts, scrapbook pages, and embroidery. I have created digital art for years and rubberstamped so i thought this would be another good outlet for those small works of art I love so well.
Here is another card I have made using one of the freebie digi stamps. This digi stamp image was created by "Mujka Chic" and is called "lonely tree". I did manipulate the image and edit it. I added background with photoshop brushes and script which says "Silent Night, Holy Night, All is calm...." all around the border. I printed it, layered it on brown card stock and then printed another tree which I cut out and layered on top of the first tree. Then highlighted the tree and bits of the snow with glitter.
You can see the digi stamps and papers at My Grafico. There are pages of freebies that are fun to look at. including brushes for Photoshop CS. Having an older version means i can't use them. DRats!

Workshop with Susie McMahon

2010-11-11T16:18:00.000-08:00

I spent the past weekend in Maryland learning some new techniques for creating dolls. The teacher was Susie McMahon and the host was Rose Gibbons. Rose hosts doll workshops on a regular basis. And Susie was in the states (from Australia) teaching workshops around the US. I was really blessed to be able to participate in the one at Rose's house.
My doll is very close to being done and I will post a picture of her soon. If you would like to see some of Susie's dolls check out... http://susiemcmahondolls.blogspot.com/

More Fair Stuff

2010-11-08T18:30:00.000-08:00

Here are more pictures of items that won ribbons at the State fair.

2010-11-08T18:20:00.000-08:00

I'm inspired. I attended a workshop in Maryland hosted by Rose Gibbons (who is a wonderful hostess!) and taught by Susie McMahon ( who is a wonderful teacher and artist.) I learned some new techniques and can't wait to keep trying them out. My doll is on her way to being done. I have to let her 'hair' dry, which will take a couple of days.. and then I can paint her. Painting the face is my favorite thing because that is when they really come to life.
If you have never seen Susie McMahon's work you need to check it out.
http://susiemcmahondolls.blogspot.com/
This is my doll before I put her in the dryer.I also took a few pictures of the things that won ribbons at the fair. For some reason my pictures have not been coming out very well. Some are across the top.

New things to do

2010-10-31T18:30:00.001-07:00

Well... I participated in my first blog hop. It is one for card making lovers. I saw some cool things and learned about new techniques. If you are interested in stamping you can see the new "digi stamps" and cards here.
http://shellymc2.blogspot.com/2010/10/all-new-dude-time-doodles-come-hop-with.html
I am looking forward to making some cards again.
On another note. I hope you all had a happy Halloween. I am looking forward to November and all the family fun and creative things that will be bringing for me. My first cool thing is that I will be going to Tennessee to my sister's mountain home. I will get to play music with a man who played in my father's bluegrass band when I was young.
Then the next weekend I will be going to a doll workshop taught by Susie McMahon. What wonderful dolls she makes. I hope I will learn something new.

2010-10-25T17:14:00.000-07:00

I picked up my State Fair entries today. I will take pictures soon and post some of them.

I recently discovered digi-stamping. I used to be a rubber stamp demonstrator for a major company and only quit because I was spending more money than I was making. At one point I started designing stamps and have sold a few of my Hammered Dulcimer designs. Now I am getting interested in finding ways to use my graphic art and previously designed stamp images as digi stamps.

That is one of my images above. It was part of a "Quilted Cuties" series I had made. There are seven already created and never distributed.

The way I understand it people can purchase images online to download and then use like they would stamp images to make cards, scrapbook pages, crafts. I took this image and colored it using photoshop and then layered it over backgrounds, used a star brush and a little of my graphic talents and made this card. It is strictly a digital card so there are no embelishments that I would normally put on a card.

At any rate... we will see where this leads.

2010-10-20T16:17:00.000-07:00

Woah! It has been a long time since I posted anything. I have been really busy keeping my new little doll baby Lillianna. What a wonder to see all the new 'first's. In fact, today she rolled over by herself for the first time. Of course, no one was there to really see it because she was in the bed.

I also had another exciting adventure when I was able to see my second little granddaughter being born the end of September. So I am doubly blessed this summer. Plus gaining a new 7 year old granddaughter when my son married her mom. So this year I gained 3 new granddaughters.

Emily, the 7 year old, and I put more things in the craft competitions at the State Fair this year. I won 10 (or 11) ribbons and Emily won 3. We were very happy.
Here is my little Savannah Rose. She is now 3 weeks old. Today we discovered that she has "Cat Eye Syndrome" in one eye. We are praying that it will not be a problem for her.
I do not get to see her as often as Lillianna, but maybe as she gets older she will want to come and play with her cousin that is only three months older.

I am still working on dolls, just not as often. I have a few to post so maybe soon I will be able to catch up.
In the mean time you have to see this picture..

2010-07-11T12:19:00.001-07:00

I have been having a great time holding my newest little dolly, Lillianna. She mostly sleeps when I hold her. But I am looking forward to the time when she can coo and smile and all those sweet things that make us use funny little voices and smile with funny faces and squinty noses and eyes.Here is the latest picture of her.
I have also been working on some felt doll faces. The technique is not quite as efficient as I thought. And now I am thinking of trying something a little different. The detail in the faces are not what i had hoped for.oops, baby is here. It's lovin' time.

A new time

2010-06-06T19:17:00.000-07:00

I have waited for this day for a very long time. As long as I can remember I have wanted to be a grandmother. Even before I ever wanted to be a mother I wanted to be a grandmother. Something about being the old lady on the block that made cookies and read stories to the children. The place where all the kids wanted to go to make crafts and have fun. And then go home later.
Well, it happened. I now have a grand daughter. She weighs 5 lbs and 9 oz. My daughter had her first baby last Friday. They named her Lillianna Leigh. What a big name for such a little thing. My cousin said that she hopes she will not be one of these children who cannot pronounce their "L's". If so, she would be saying her name is "Wiwwianna Wee". Got a big "waf" out of that one!
I did not know that I would have so many different feelings and thoughts about this whole thing of being a 'Grandma'. I feel old. I feel afraid for my daughter and all the scares and fears she will have to face. I feel afraid for myself, that I will miss something along the way.
But I always have this to fall back on. That my God is in control, He loves me, and He loves my children more than I do. He is good even when life is not. And this world is not the end.
I have to post one picture.

2010-04-04T11:52:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting so badly to make some outfits for my Annette Himstedt dolls. Someone gave me some dresses that were made by a doll dress seamstress and I was able to alter those and add some accessories. I had a very cute baby sweater that I altered, a hat that I had to cut down and I made ear rings and a necklace to match. Doesn't she look sweet? I listed the outfit on ebay but is is not going for very much. Right now I will hardly get the cost of the dress, much less the accessories I added.
But it was still fun and I have a few more dresses to accessorize and alter. What a beautiful doll!

2010-04-04T11:46:00.000-07:00

Whatcha' think? These two girls were made using blank muslim bendable starter dolls. You know, the ones no one uses because they are so plain. Well, I suppose some people must use them or they wouldn't sell them. Anyway, I've never used them. But I had purchased a couple at a craft/antique store and ended up using them as demos for face painting. Then I got into it and painted their bodies and the underwear.
The red head has felt hair and the blonde has baby yarn.
They were fun to make and pretty easy. Now if I could just find more! I can't find any more with the 'baseball' heads and the full straight unseamed legs! I'll have to take a trip to Tennessee and see if I can find anymore where I got these.

2010-04-04T11:38:00.000-07:00

I love blogs. But I seen to always be to busy to work on mine. A long time ago I realized that I had way more things to do than I really should be doing. But it has been too hard to let any of them go. I enjoy all the things I do. But lately my health and my household have been suffering. I read recently that this 'thing' I'm going through can actually be a good thing as it causes one to review and renew their priorities and then cut out the things that could be causing stress and difficulties.
I have two children that are expecting children of their own. YEA!!!! Plus, I have a step grandson and a new step grand daughter. By Halloween of this year I will have 4 grandchildren where I only before had one. OH... this 'thing' I am going through is called the "change of life". Or, menopause and it is no fun at all.
All this said... I am going to have to make some changes in my life and rethink my priorities. It is hard for my brain to process too many things at once and I find myself loosing things, forgetting things and unable to process thoughts that before were simple. The few things that are not difficult anymore are making dolls, playing music, and taking care of the house and yard. Those things give me so much pleasure,,,, oh... and being with my family and doing 'grandma' things. So for those of you who follow my posts I just thought I would put a note in about what's going on with me. Expect more blogging, that's easy stuff.

My Newest Sweety

2010-02-11T17:19:00.001-08:00

A few weeks ago I hosted a workshop with Judi Ward. We did the "Design Your Own Cloth Doll" workshop. Each of us made a cloth doll from a pattern we derived from a vinyl doll that Judi had taken apart. The dolls did not look just like the vinyl dolls. The object was to end up with a pattern that could be tweaked to create different dolls and it be our own.
My doll ended up with arms too long and a very skinny body.
But I finished her anyway and she turned out very lovely. I love her face and her long, lean, willowy look.
When blogspot decides to allow me to post a picture I will.

Looking back, looking forward

2009-12-27T09:50:00.000-08:00

I had a great time before Christmas making ornaments to give away. I found some vintage handmade ornaments in a thrift store and bought them hoping to be able to reproduce them. I was. They came out really cute.

the little people were made with piped cleaners which I then wrapped with a chenile-like yarn for the pants and white glittery yarn for the sweater. All parts of the pipe cleaner are covered even the feet and hands. I later made some with black feet which looked more like shoes than the red pictured here. I later used fleece for the clothes on the little people and it was adoramous! i will have to make more and take pictures as the ones i have made are all gone.

The Raggedy Ann was made with an old fashioned clothes pin as was the soldier.

I also saw a little santa ornament made from a round ball covered with fabric for the body and a little muslin head with a fabric hat and mohair beard. I made some of those and they came out really nicely. But alas, they too are all gone.
I am ready to begin work on more dolls. I have lots of things that need to be finished. I have dolls that i need to repair for other people and that are my own which I have wanted to repair and then sell. So I am looking forward to this new year with lots of new things to do.
The last year began with me frantically working on a doll commision and I am happy that this year is my own to start out the way I would like.

I hope to post pictures of more of th ornaments and the doll workings soon.

Stay tuned.
Happy New Year!!!!

Christmas is coming

2009-11-20T11:57:00.000-08:00

I have just finished making Christmas ornaments for a friends Doll Shop Christmas tree.

I wasn't sure what to make for him. I wanted it to be as original as possible and sort of doll related. So I ended up desiging dancing ladies. They are made of muslin and handpainted. I am pleased with the way they turned out. They were easy to design and make and I am already thinking of other designs using this same technique.

This one to the left is of course NOT a dancing lady. This is a cat I made using an antique book holder I had as an inspiration. I purchased two book ends at an antique store and they have a cat sitting and reading a book. But the cat is basically dressed and looks like this. I think it has a vintage look to it. I want to make more and maybe do a pug dog and a rabbit similar.

Here are the ladies. They are not vintage looking at all but more modern.

They each have a jingle bell in one hand. The ones shown here were not all finished so some of the jingle bells had not be added. I like the lady with the glasses. I used acrylic paint on them and then dimensional paint for the embelishing. The metalic gold adds a nice Christmasy touch.

Lots of Stuff

2009-11-15T19:57:00.000-08:00

That's what happens when I do not post for a long time. Lots of things happen.

I put 8 items in the State Fair competition and won 7 ribbons. A blue for my Santa gourd, snow man gourd and partridge gourd, all of which are in the archives in the blog. Two red ribbons, one for a rubber stamped card which i already sent away to someone and i can't even remember who. And one for a little Christmas elf ornament i made. Then a white ribbon for my black cloth doll Lacey which is also in the archives.

Since then I have crocheted a sweet little dolly made from a pattern by Beth Webber whose blog is 'By hook and by hand'. I will have to post a link to her site. She has made the cutest little puppy dogs and has those patterns free as well.

She has been given away today to my sweet neighbor who is in her late 80's and is still crocheting blankets and prayer scarves.

And now I am finishing up some Christmas ornaments for a friend's doll shop. I am hoping to get them to him in the next couple of days as it is getting close to Christmas and I am falling way behind schedule.

I designed three dancing ladies which I made in cloth and then painted. They will all have a bell in their hand. I then got on a roll and made an antique looking cat and sewed a snowman but can't find it to paint it. I have too much junk laying around and things get lost a lot.

I still have to put hangers on them and find that snow man and paint it. I am making four each of the ladies and maybe a few more of the cat and snowman. All the ladies will have a jingle bell in their hand.

I am working a little at a time on two dolls that I should have done two months ago. But it seems everything takes way too long lately.

This is taking forever

2009-10-01T19:36:00.000-07:00

I really did not think it would take this long to make this costume. Things keep getting in the way. And then, I got sick. But... I'm closer. I am hoping to finish it tomorrow and put it on ebay.

I decided to let the person who wins the ebay listing decide which kind of tail they want. A feather boa (which is pictured) or a velvet one like the rest of the costume. I made a gourd treat container. It is so cool. it looks like the moon. And i made a moon medalion to hand on a necklace. the medalion is made from a gourd as well.

I made two face masks from paper mache but both broke. So I am going to try just doing a cloth one. I had planned on mitten paws attached but like the hands showing better so I am going to make paw mittens that can be removed.
I love this background that i got off the internet. I think the beads are too big on the necklace. Any suggestions?

2009-09-30T19:45:00.001-07:00

I have always wanted an Annette Himstedt doll. Now I have two. And the first thing I wanted to do was to make a cute Halloween Costume for them. This one is almost finished. She still needs a tail, a necklace, a gourd trick or trick 'bag', and a toy cat. Then she will be modeling for her costume to go on ebay.

I want to repaint this doll just a little. She is a sitter and so has bent knees for sitting. She has pretty blonde hair in looped braids. The other doll has long red hair and is a stander doll with straight legs. I'll photograph her in the costume as well.

Don't be Afraid

2009-09-24T04:56:00.001-07:00

Don't be afraid if you think I'm going over to the other side from cloth dolls to vinyl. I might be in a repaint frenzy but I still love my cloth dolls.I decided to try out repainting my Gene doll last night. It was harder than the Tonner girl because I had to do those tiny eyes. And i think I was trying way too hard to get them realistic.

But here is the transformation.

Not too bad. She looks better in the picture because in real life I think her face now looks a little 'dirty'. But maybe I am just being too picky. One eye is a little bigger than the other but the sculpted mold is like that. i might have to adjust it some though.

2009-09-22T12:31:00.000-07:00

I am finally almost done with a little doll that was ordered back in March at the Land O Sky event. Poor little thing has taken so long. Life just kept getting in the way. But little by little she finally came to be. She only has to wait for her little topsy turvy dolly to be made before she can be relocated to her new home.

I used a vintage fabric and trim for her dress. And I embroidered her apron and hat. She has tiny painted toe nailes and fingernails. And her hair is mohair that I sewed to her head in tiny little curls.

Sometimes the things that got in the way of completing this doll was the tug at my creative strings. It is hard to do something for someone else when I am just dying to make something or do something I have not done before.... or to try something new on something old.

I have been wanting to do repaints for a while and I finally got the opportunity to do one.I had purchased a Tonner Magic Attic doll that had received a really bad haircut on her bangs, her face was a little faded and she had blue marks on her body.

I decided to use her as my first repaint. It was SO FUN! And it was easy. I repainted her lips, eyelashes, eyebrows. And gave her shading under her eyes, around her nose, in her ears and even inside the eye rims. Then I decided she would look better with real eyelashes. So I took hair from her wig and glued it to her eyelids. I gave her freckles and blushed her good. And then of course I rewefted some hair to cover the cut places. And finally she got a new hair style.

I have more ideas for her body and I still need to paint her finger and toe nails. Then I new outfit.

2009-07-26T21:36:00.000-07:00

I am in an online group called the Coffee with Tea doll artists. We are doing a Red Riding Hood Doll Parade. Here is my Little Red. Some of the artists have their dolls on ebay or etsy or other on line auctions and stores.

I will keep my doll for a while. But it was fun to do a new challenge with a group of such wonderful doll artists.

Click on the Red Riding Hood banner above to go to the Coffee with Tea Group Blog.

About my doll.

She is all cloth and around 20" tall. Her head turns lots of ways. Her face is done with colored pencils, gel pens and pastel powder.

Her hair is made from yarn that was wrapped around a dowel and stitched to make the curls. The curls were then stitched to a crocheted wig cap.

I used vintage fabrics for her apron and pantaloons.

Willa

2009-07-15T17:23:00.000-07:00

My new doll is almost done. I have taken a long time to get this one finished. Her name is Willa.

I love everything about her and am looking forward to making another one with an easier body.

She needs shoes and underware. I also need to decide how I like her hair best and if I want a hat for her. I think I am most satisfied with the picture above. Although I had made her an apron and a hat as well.

There will certainly be things that I will do differently with the next one. But I am so happy to have this one at this stage.

I still have a few orders that I need to work on. It is so hard at this point to get around to starting them. I think I have burned out on making dolls for others and just needed some time to work on some of my own projects.

I will be teaching Hammered Dulcimer at the Swannanoa Gathering the week of Aug 2- 8 at the Warren Wilson College in Asheville, NC. I am looking forward to that. If there are any out there that live in the area please stop by and take in the concert on Monday night. I will be playing in that as well and my sister will accompany me.

Time for me.

2009-06-29T17:24:00.000-07:00

I finally have time to work on one of my own projects. I had a wonderful time directing Vacation Bible School at my church. We had some neat kids, great skits, and learning times. And a number of kids made decisions to follow Jesus.

And now I have some time to doodle around on my own dolls. So I am trying to finish one that I had started almost a year ago.

This is how she looked with her body on and gessoed.

Then I started painting her face and body a flesh color. I always like painting the eyes first. This our first look at each other. We are both pretty happy.

This is her pretty face almost done. I love using chalks and pencils for final touches.

Now her eyebrows are done and its almost time for a wig. I wanted to make one but I'm not so great at that. And this is a pretty big head so I'm wondering how hard it would take to make one.

Smallsville

2009-06-07T11:17:00.000-07:00

Today a sweet friend surprised me with a gift she purchased off of ebay. I had shown it to her and said how adorable he was. And today she gave him to me. Isnt he just about the coolest thing? I thought he might be Topo Gigio. But after looking at pictures of the Topo puppet I don't think he is. This mouse has a long tail with a wire in it that goes to the surface and helps him stand up. he also has a head that moves really easily. I'm wondering if there is some mechanism that causes him to do something special.

Yesterday I finally got around to working on the last of the orders from the Asheville event. They are two littl litho type dolls. I draw them out using a template onto cloth and then paint them. Then I stitch the back and front together leaving an opening and stuff. AFter closing the hole I have to make clothes for them. This is the stage that I am at now.You can see that there are more than two here. I decided to make a couple more. maybe this time i will keep one.

These two are my favorites. I will post more pictures when they are done. I also started working on the body for my sculpted face mask doll that I have been waiting so long to make. Judi Ward drew me a pattern for the body while she was here making it much easier for me.

I was able to cut and sew all the pieces late last night but I believe the neck is too large so I am going to unstuff and make a few alterations and then put it back together. I can hardly wait to be able to paint the beautiful face.

Still in Doll Show mode

2009-04-02T09:02:00.000-07:00

Although it has been 5 days since the doll event I am still in doll show mode. I can't stop making the dolls and the clothes. I even had to try and paint one of the wardrobes. The picture does not do it justice. I think it came out nicely. I rubber stamped a design over the crackeled and antiqued paint. It was fun to paint the wardrobe. I might have to try another one in another color.

2009-03-31T08:46:00.000-07:00

I finally finished this little girl. Her name is Lacey. She won a third place ribbon at the Land O Sky doll event in Asheville NC. I like her a lot. This was not the dress I had in mind for her but as time ran out I put a dress on her that I already had and then made the apron up really fast. She sits really prettily.

I had made the dolls for the event and they all were sold. I was able to make and sell a companion doll and outfits as well. My husband made the cutest wardrobes for the dolls.

OH, and I made a baby for the dollies as well. I did not have time to dress her but I took lots of orders for her. I think the event was a big success. I enjoyed the meal, the fellowship, and the programs. One program was by Linda Edwards who researches and writes about cloth dolls. She has a very nice book that I was able to purchase and have her sign.

I also was able to take myself and two friends to see the Biltmore House as i was given free tickets by a friend of mine. What would I do without my friends?!

And speaking of friends, my two friends Beth and Selena went with me and helped me to sell my things and take orders. I could not have done it without them.

Beth is on the left and Selena is on the right. That is me in the middle.

2009-03-16T13:59:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to working on a doll of my own instead of someone elses. I think she turned out pretty. Still not what I was aiming for but pretty. Now she needs a dress and penafore. She already picked out the fabric. I will have to make her sandals because her feet are sweet.

I also finished a little apron for the dolls that are going to the Land O' Sky event in two weeks. I hope to make a bunch of these to take with me.

2009-03-11T07:48:00.000-07:00

I finally finished all the dolls that are going to the big doll event at the end of March. I have a lot of dresses to make. But that is fun. At least I say that at the beginning of the work. After about 50 dresses I'll be wishing for something new to do.
I have been sneaking a little work here and there on some dolls that I have been wanting to make. One is done and has a new home already. One just is not coming together right. Her face is a sculpt and it is too pretty to just "settle" for the bodies that i have been putting together. I have cast out two bodies and one pair of legs. And now that I have put one new leg on the body I settled for it isnt working properly. This girl is just going to have to have better than that. I'll try and post pictures of both dolls.
In the meantime I am selling some of my treasures on ebay. One of the neccessities created by the economy. Plus I am learning how not to 'store up treasures on the earth'. But instead to store them up in heaven. Not such an easy lesson sometimes.

Sunday - My day?

2009-02-01T13:57:00.001-08:00

It seems that every day, morning, noon, and night, I have had to be working on something for someone else. But yesterday I decided that i would take a few days out and make something I have been wanting to make for a long time. Months ago (in fact, I think it started over a year ago) I had sculpted a face mask for a little girl doll. She has a cloth-over and has just been waiting for a body and a head to attach the face to.
Yesterday I finally made the pattern, sewed the arms, legs and torso. Today I have stuffed and sculpted the arms and legs. I will put the first layer of finger/toe nails on and go stuff the torso.
When the torso is done I will take a picture so you can at least see some of the process. I can hardly wait to get to my favorite part - painting the face.
Come back and see.

2009-01-31T12:14:00.000-08:00

I got another box of 20 dolls finished and mailed off. Just another 18 more to go and I can start working on their dresses. There are two of the dolls I am so tempted to keep. One favors a picture of my mother when she was young and the other is just very unique. The one pictured here is the unique one. She has a turned and tilted head. She is looking down more than the others. It is hard not to keep the ones that are truly different.

I have an earnest desire to make a new doll. The day is almost over but it could still happen.

My husband has built a beautiful 5 ft tall lighthouse for the front yard. He put a solar light at the top and a chain around the top.

It is hard to see in the picture but the little chain goes around through the posts that stick up around the light. We may try and see if they sell.

Can it be?

2009-01-13T08:45:00.000-08:00

January is almost half over. It seems that Christmas was just around that last corner.
It just doesn't take long for the days to pass. I have nothing new to report. However, I'm working steadily on the dolls for the Land Of Sky event in March. A friend gave me two passes to see the Biltmore house in Asheville while I am there. How wonderful! I am looking forward to it. But I don't want the weeks to pass too quickly.
I think that sometimes I wish my life away and am so busy thinking of what comes next, or of somewhere that I am not that I cannot completely be aware of how wonderful the moment is, or how grateful I can be about where I am.
In fact, yesterday as I was feeling sorry for myself and being angry at God for what I did not have and how hard this was making my life, He reminded me that even if I had the things that I thought were going to make my life easier; life would not be easy. Life is always going to be hard in one way or another. Whether it is broken relationships, personal or national conflicts , financial issues or health issues, there will always be something that makes life harder than what I would like for it to be. But the test of every trial is whether or not I am willing to rely on God and trust Him with whatever may come my way. In fact, I now realize that this experience of not getting what I want is actually something that I need. If I can learn to trust my God in this situation then it will be easier to trust Him in the next. So what I really need in this situation is not to get that thing I think I need, but instead learn how to trust God enough so that in this and in future difficult situations I can respond in a way that displays faith in Him with grace, mercy, lovingkindness and wisdom.

Oh.. it just occured to me. It's not HOW I get out of this trial. It's WHAT I get out of this trial.

2009-01-08T07:23:00.000-08:00

This is my first attempt at a pin lady. I made her face from a covered button. I don't wear pins. She will probably be a gift. But it was fun. We had a small challenge in one of the doll making groups I am in on line. Nice little distraction.

Today I am doing that fasting thing in preparation for one of those procedures you are required to have once you hit 50. ARGH!! If everyone else can do it. So can I. I'll be working on dolls today so maybe that will be a good enough distraction.

2009-01-07T06:55:00.000-08:00

Well, today is the day I get a lot of work done on those 60 dolls! I hope.

I had to take just a little time off and work on a little bitty project. I really like Flora's bead head dolls at her bonehead studio blogspot ( http://boneheadstudio.blogspot.com/ ). So I had to try to make myself one. Here is how it turned out.

I think it turned out really cute. I did not take the time that I should have so the next one should be a little more to my liking.

I might try some larger beads to make heads from. One of my internet doll groups are making faces on large covered buttons. I have not finished that one yet, but it is a fun way to do faces and not have to make the entire body.

Yesterday I went to my new cloth doll making club. It was the second time we met and there were only two of us. But we had a blast. And I have to post Heera Prabhu's dolls on my blog so everyone can see what a great job she does.

What do you think of her Eleanor Peace Bailey Doll the Celtic Princess? She also brought in one of my favorites that she made, the kids playing leapfrog.

How cool are they!?

We had a great time of sharing about doll joints and talking about what we will do as a club in the future.

2009-01-03T09:28:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I think that I will never really learn how to paint these dolls. The little buns in the back get to me every time. And no matter how hard I might try to paint them all alike. Never happens. So of course, I quit trying.

Here are the 11 dolls at the fixative stage. After the fixative dries I will seal them. I like a little shiny sealer. And then they will be ready for their legs ( which have not been painted yet) and their clothes.

UGH! I am ready to do something entirely different now. Oh.. have to say, all the dolls came out pretty except for the one I was making for myself. I was working on a different doll to be my first doll of 2009. YUck . I had to sand off her face and start again. I think the problem is that I am not really working on the doll I WANT to work on for my first doll of 2009.

But she would take too long and I have too much to do.

2009-01-01T14:31:00.000-08:00

Well, here it is the first day of 2009. I have heard it said that what you do the first day is an indication of what you will be doing the rest of the year. Well, I guess mine will come true since I cleaned house, cooked supper and made dolls.

BUT... I also had my husband stuffing dolls the better part of the day. And I got a LOT of dolls started. So hopefully that is an indication of how well things will go the rest of the year. I know it is hard to tell but the picture below is my husband stuffing a doll leg! Whoo HOo!! And he does a good job too!

I even got started on a new doll for myself and finishing up on some that were on hold.

This is my new doll. She was originall a reject but I thought I would try some new techinques with her and now she might be a keeper. Look at the opposing thumbs. I just have to decide whether or not to gesso and paint her or leave the cloth unprimed and paint the features.

Happy New Year everyone!

2008-12-30T07:28:00.000-08:00

OH, I promised to post a picture of the doll commissioned as a gift for the man who won the Nobel Prize once I had it all done. And now I can say the man's name since he has already received the surprise. His name is Oliver Smitheyes. And here is what the real man looks like.

2008-12-30T07:02:00.000-08:00

Here are the two flower girls made from a Kate Erbach pattern called Etta Mae. The one on the right is my sunflower girl and the one on the left is a daffodil girl made by a friend of mine. We rubberstamped daffodils onto the fabric, large ones on the body fabric and small ones on the petal fabric. We added knee seams to the daffodil so that she could sit prettily.
The daffodil doll is a gift to her sister. I think this is her first 'artsy' type doll. She did a great job don't you think?

2008-12-16T10:49:00.000-08:00

This has been such a busy two (no three!) months for me. I am almost done with the nobel doc doll. I have been having a hard time making a mold of the chocolate nobel prize medalion for him to hold. And I can't seem to find glasses that will work for his face. The doll glasses are too small and people glasses are too large.

I made his sweater using a sweater that belonged to the real nobel prize recipient. I did not have a pattern but drew one out on freezer paper and then ironed it to the original sweater. Then stitched around each piece so that it would not come unraveled when I cut it out.

I think it came out very nicely although it does not come off or on very easily.

I may have to try this for some of my other dolls using sweaters bought at a thrift store.

Beats trying to knit them from scratch!

Editing

2008-12-08T16:01:00.000-08:00

Well, I decided that I needed to "edit" the doctor. I did not like the painted wrinkles on his cheeks and decided that I needed to sculpt them. More paper clay and paint and wa-la.

Now to decide if his hair needs to be shorter.

A little more blush on his cheeks ( even though realistically he wouldn't have rosy cheeks), a sweater and a clay version of the Nobel Prize medalion around his neck and he will be all done.

Oh, and I have to work on his fingernails.

Today I hosted the Christmas party for my UFDC Doll club. I had the house all decorated and cleaned last night until 1:00 in the morning. I guess that is actually 'today' and not "last night".

I have a few more decorations to put around before our annual Christmas Party and I will be done. At least in the decorating department. I still have 10 dolls to make for a commission I have which I am behind on, three Kings crowns to make before Wednesday for a living drive through Christmas nativity at my church. We have FIVE live scenes complete with huge backdrops, actors, spot lights, narration. I think you can see part of it at the website.

www.cadurham.org

I helped to paint the backdrops and make costumes. But the poor wise men head coverings needed help this year. I'm thinking of using the bottom half of a gourd as a base for a couple.

Oh.. and then there are the Christmas gifts to make. And I have one more Christmas craft show to do this weekend. OK... I'm going to veg out on the sofa and watch tv until I fall asleep.

Nobel Prizes

2008-12-06T08:27:00.001-08:00

Today I am trying to finish up a doll I was commisioned to make for a man who won the Nobel Prize.

He is almost done. His head is soft sculpted and then I sculpted his eyes, eyelids and wrinkles with paper clay. His body and head is made of the knit fabric we use to make the cabbies with. I have tons from when I used to make those.

I used the armature and clothes that came with the original doll which was given to the Doctor 20 years ago. The fabric had deteriorated. I need to get my husband to push the arm joints in a little better before I add the second arm. Then he needs his sweater altered.

At first I thought I would try and make him look as much like the real man as possible but then, realizing that he really liked the original which was very whimsical I decided to compromise and go with a more whimsical/realistic look. I don't have a picture of the original doll. oh well.

2008-12-05T09:24:00.000-08:00

I try to make all my gourds have an area where the real gourd shows through. Otherwise, what makes it look any different than a plastic piece? I am working on a larg Santa that I think is coming along really nicely. Here are two pics of him so far.

I am going to leave his coat as the original gourd part. I haven't decided about his hat. And I am hoping to do a little kitten and puppy in the back.

2008-12-05T06:36:00.000-08:00

I just finished doing two shows in Raleigh, NC. One was the Carolina Christmas Show at the convention Center and the other was the Christmas Carousel at the fairgrounds in Raleigh.

I played hammered dulcimer and sold my gourd art at both.

I have one more show to do in Durham before Christmas. The gourds that do not get sold will be Christmas gifts.

Here are a few of the gourds I made for ornaments. They are larger than you would think most ornaments are but they look great on a tree. They are around 7" tall.

2008-10-22T05:52:00.001-07:00

WOO HOO!
I can't believe it! I entered four things in the NC state fair and I won four 1st place ribbons!
I had to look on line because I have not been able to go. I found everything but one of the categories I entered. But a friend went and saw that one and told me I had a first place.
She and I will go tomorrow.
I thought the gourd lady might get a ribbon and maybe the card. But yipee!!! everything won.
Maybe I should not ever enter again as what can top that?
I will take my camera tomorrow and get pictures of some of the great stuff there. I saw some categories that I didn't know about while I was searching for the winners. There is a painted fabric category that I wish I had known about. I will be sure to check out the entries for that category this year.

2008-10-10T06:17:00.000-07:00

I decided to lightly stain my gourd mother and child. I would have rather put crackles in them but did not have time before having to take them to the fair. I always seem to be doing things at the last minute.

I lightly antiqued her face, clothes, body and hands as well as the baby's shell casing. It is all more subdued. And I made a simple base from paper clay.

The State Fair

2008-10-09T14:32:00.000-07:00

The State Fair will soon be here. I have always wanted to put something in the competition at the fair. This year I have sent in my registration for 4 items. A rubber stamped 'special folds' card, a gourd ornament, a sculpted doll and a miscellaneus gourd item.

My misc. gourd item has turned out to be a fantasy creation.

I have to take all the items to the fair grounds by Saturday and I have worked two days on this one piece - well... and the card as well.

The card was made using a method that I designed after seeing one similar in a store. When you take it out of the envelop it is flat. You have to open the watering can and all the flowers become three dimensional. I made an envie to match.

The gourd ornie was one I made which is similar to others I have made over the years. I really enjoy making these and have made a few Santas, some Dolly Dingles, Snowmen, and this cat.

The doll I am sending is one I made at a workshop at John C Campbell Folk School under the direction of Akira Blount. It has a paper clay head over sculpted cloth. The body is cloth. The baby is all soft sculpted. Since someone has already bought this set of dolls I am considering sending something else as I am afraid something might happen to them.

Last, the fantasy gourd creation is made from one gourd. I added arms with a wire armature and paper clay leaves on her head. Her baby is made from a little gourd. The body of both the baby and the mother are crackled but it is hard to see that in the picture. I may have to antique both just a little.

Little Baby going Bye Bye

2008-07-02T16:49:00.000-07:00

This little dolly is less than 8 inches long. I created the pattern using an antique lithograph doll. The original is very large. This one came out quite nicely and has a new mommy that it is going home to.

Getting Things Done

2008-07-02T16:46:00.000-07:00

I have finally had a chance to sit down and finish some projects that have been on the table waiting around. I finally finished and dressed the little Baseball head doll that a friend of mine started almost 20 years. I 'reborned' it by adding more stuffing, add soft sculpting and painting the face. Giving more details to the fingers and finally hair and dressing. I think she came out rather cute.

I have a few more projects that need finishing as well. Hopefully I will get those done.

2008-06-25T14:33:00.000-07:00

I just checked out Anniebeez blog and she has some beautiful dolls she has made.

I love looking at other people's creations. I get so inspired.

I have been directing our church's Vacation Bible School all week and every day I come home so tired but wanting to work on a doll myself. I have a few that need to be finished and go to new homes and I don't even have the energy to do that.

I worked all last week on the costume for the Bible School Assembly Program. It is a huge Squid. It turned out almost 7" tall. His name is Ralph and the kids love him. All but one, who is terribly afraid of anything in a costume after having the wits scared out of her last Halloween.

Maybe soon I will be able to post more dolls.

Annie Beez Folk Art: Drawing for doll goodies

2008-06-25T14:32:00.000-07:00

Annie Beez Folk Art: Drawing for doll goodies

2008-06-16T09:29:00.000-07:00

I have been longing to make a new doll. I have so many I want to do but still can't work on any. I have almost finished the helper doll for my doll club to take to UFDC convention for the auction. I love Dolly Dingle and this is my second one from a vintage pattern. I decided to make her like Little Red Riding Hood from a vintage postcard that had Dolly Dingle cutouts with Grandmother and the Wolf. I hate to see her go. But I can't keep them all.

2008-04-23T17:35:00.000-07:00

2008-04-23T17:32:00.000-07:00

I have been busy. I am also a musician and one of the projects I am working on is a CD for musicians to learn old time tunes. I am having to sell some of my dolls in order to fund the project so if you are interested in any of my dolls email me.

I made my first doll quilts. They were not too difficult and I learned a lot. The next ones will be better. I am posting a picture of one of the quilts hanging on the back of a bench with my little Izzanah Walker style doll.
I am hoping to start a dolls for sale folder at my picturetrail site. Be sure and check it out.
www.picturetrail.com/pollywoggle

2008-03-09T15:05:00.001-07:00

My Challenge doll. She represents the Seasons of Change. She is holding her little dolly and her first pair of high heel shoes. She has lovely painted toenails and fingernails. I had wanted to give her ear rings but forgot. I guess it's too late now as she is off to be a model tomorrow.

Doll Challenge

2008-03-09T15:00:00.000-07:00

I got another nice surprise in my email box Friday morning. The prescence of a doll I made for a challenge has been requested by the magazine. I am assuming that means she may be moving up through the ranks. But at least they wanted a closer look. I enjoyed making her and she is a pattern from a nice doll lady who is on at least one of the doll making groups I am a member of.

Now I can tell.

2008-03-09T14:43:00.000-07:00

Now it is ok for me to tell that the last doll I made, the Paper clay and cloth Griener repro, was for a swap. My Swap partner made me the most beautiful needle felted doll. As soon as I get her picture I am going to post it.

I was able to take both swap dolls ( because I had not shipped mine out yet) to my doll club and everyone just loved them both. That was my very first doll swap and I think I got the best swap partner!

You can the dolls at the blog of the swap host Vivian Neroni.

http://vivs-whimsy.blogspot.com/

2008-03-04T08:10:00.000-08:00

I have finally finished my little Greiner repro dolly. I love her. I patterned her dress after one I had seen in a picture. Her little pearls are plastic but I don't mind because they still look pretty on her.
She is a doll that I made for a swap. I hope my swap partner likes her. She is antiqued on her head just a little and some people may not like the slightly grungy look. But it is only enough to make her look older. I did not age her outfit as i think the fabric looks older anyway. I will send instructions for aging the fabric so she can do that if she wants to. The lace is all vintage cotton lace as well.

2008-03-03T04:47:00.000-08:00

This is Dolly Dingle. She and her little dolly are two of the creations I made representing vintage dolls of the past. Dolly has been adopted and she took her little raggedy with her.

To see more of my dolls you can check out my picture trail or my website. I will soon be updating my website with a page dedicated to dolls for sale.

2008-03-03T04:35:00.000-08:00

I've been so busy redecorating my sewing and craft room that I have not had time to dedicate to learning about blogging. Technology keeps changing and I must be getting too old to care about keeping up with it. I have spent three weeks cleaning, painting, organizing, throwing out and giving away. I still have more than I need. I hope to be able to share my crafting space with friends and young people so that they can have fun in my fun space too.

I usually have a Christmas Craft night once a week for four to five weeks in a row before Christmas. Friends come over and we make something for Christmas decorating or gifts. I could not do it last year because my daughter was getting married and I was too busy. But also there was no room! Now, if I can just keep it clean until the end of the year I can start it back up again.

I have not figured out how to add pictures here yet. So, if you are interested in seeing pictures of my craft room or my dolls, feel free to check out my picture trail or my website.
www.picturetrail.com/pollywoggle
www.cindyribet.com

2008-02-21T12:47:00.000-08:00

I love being creative. I create music, art, dolls, poetry, websites, messes, clothes. The one thing I hate to create is FOOD. I do not like to cook. It takes way too much time away from the fun ways to be creative.

At this time I spend most of my time creating dolls. I love to restore dolls but this past year I spent most of my time making reproductions of antique and vintage cloth dolls. You can see them at my picturetrail and my website.

In the Beginning

2008-02-21T10:45:00.000-08:00

Welcome

This is my first post to Polywoggle Lane.

I plan to add pictures of my dolls and current projects in the future.

Right now I am working on getting my sewing and craft room cleaned out. I will be adding pictures of that along as well.