Mr. Fenneyman.....the finished man

Mr. Fenneyman is now finished! This has been so much fun and I stumbled on a couple of great techniques for decorating the base. The mushrooms are made from paperclay per Michelle's instructions, but when I got impatient for them to dry, I used my heat gun. Then came the happy accident......it scorched the mushroom! When I saw that it gave a natural look, I just continued on with the heat gun being very careful not to actually burn the paperclay. Now the mushrooms look just like the ones that grow in my yard! I wanted a woodland look to the base and didn't want to spend money for the "grass" that's used by hobbyists so I scooped up a handful of sawdust, mixed it with craft glue and paint, then spread it out unevenly on the base. I added some wildflowers and twigs and VOILA! The sawdust adhered well and I'm very pleased with the result.

Mr. Fenneyman Class

A few weeks ago, I decided to take an online class at Doll Street Dreamers. I took Michelle Munzone's "Mr. Fenneyman" class because I wanted to learn how to use paperclay. Michelle is an awesome dollmaker and teacher and this is the first time I've really followed through with an online class. I had a great time making him and playing with paperclay. Here are close ups of his head and hand.

Finally updating!

Wow! I can't believe it's been almost a year since I posted! I've really been busy. Now I'll see if I can remember all the things I've been doing since last year and get this blog updated! It may take me a while, but I'm determined to get it done.

FOCD swap

I recently participated in a rag doll swap in my Friends of Cloth Dolls group. This was my first doll swap and I couldn't be happier with the doll I received from my partner, Jeanne Hughes, in Colorado. We kept in contact throughout the process and I've made a wonderful new friend. Jeanne and I decided to use Kezi Matthews' patterns to make our dolls. This is the doll I received from Jeanne. She was made from Kezi's "Dilly" pattern and her name is Amy. She traveled across the country with her little chick to live at my house. The doll in red is "Hoedown Hannah." I made her from Kezi's "Millicent" pattern and dressed her in a patchwork jumper and straw hat. She now resides in Colorado with Jeanne. This swap was so much fun! I can't wait to do another one.

Sweet Willie the Elf

This is Sweet Willie. I started him when Maggie and I had our play date just before Labor Day. I didn't get much work done on him that day because his slippers wouldn't behave. I used a free pattern by Lotus Vele from the files on one of my yahoo groups. I modified the feet so he could wear slippers and gave him 5 fingers instead of 4. I hope Lotus doesn't mind the little changes. His face was very easy and his expression is so sweet. He's ready to go to work in Santa's workshop.
















Here's a close up of his sweet little face.

I also made a doll for the FOCD ragdoll swap. She's finished and ready to travel to Colorado as soon as my swap partner, Jeanne, returns from her vacation next week. I will post pics of her and the one I receive when the swap is completed. Swaps are so much fun. Jeanne and I have been in regular contact since we started and I have made a wonderful new friend!

The Pirate Queen

I've been so busy making dolls that I've been slow about blogging. I've made 3 dolls in the past two weeks. I started the Pirate Queen last year, didn't like the head I made and put the body parts in a bag. I went on to other projects and completely forgot about her. While cleaning up my studio I found the parts and decided to make a new head and finish her. Needless to say, the cleaning came to a sudden halt and the dollmaking bug took over! I pushed aside the big mess on my work table and forgot about everything else. I'm very pleased with how she turned out. She's made from Mary Tressler's "Captain Blyth" pattern. This is my second Tressler doll and I love the way her patterns come together. The vest is ultra suede and the leggings and cuffs are very soft leather salvaged from an old jacket. I used the suede side of the leather.
Here's a closeup of the base. I had fun making the gold coins and filling the treasure chest with jewels. I covered both sides of a small piece of cardstock with gold, then used a hole punch to cut out the coins. I covered the base with a thin coat of craft glue and sprinkled sand over it, then added some shells. Because I was very new at dollmaking when I made the body parts, I had no clue about armatures or how I would mount the doll on a base. I finally inserted a short knitting needle into the base and slid it inside the legging. Now she stands without falling over.
The hair is regular curly doll hair. I rarely use it, but wanted the curls. It's glued and needle felted in place.

Play Date with Maggie

Have you ever had a friend who started out as a friend but became your sister? I have one of those and I thank the Lord every day that she's part of my life. Maggie leads a busy life and was never involved much with hands on hobbies. She was always content to accept my hand crafted items for Christmas and birthdays and such and continues to display them proudly in her home. Maggie ooh'd and ahh'd over my dolls, then one day decided she wanted to give it a try. We got together a few months ago for a "play date" and I helped her make her first doll. The doll was simple, but sweet. Well, with her hubby doing a little weekend overtime on his job, we decided it was time for another "play date." We got together on Saturday for a few hours to play with dolls. Maggie decided that this time she wanted to make a troll. I had a free pattern from one of my doll groups designed by Lotus Vele that I had never tried so we used that. Maggie is extremely smart! You only have to show her something once and she can do it! She worked on sewing body parts, turning little fingers, and stuffing them on Saturday. We ran out of time so we continued on Labor Day til the doll was done. She took to needlesculpting like a pro. Maggie's troll began as a male doll, but after the features were sculpted and soft yarn hair was applied, he evolved into a female.Our dolls really do speak to us and tell us who they want to be! Her face was so sweet and serene that she was appropriately named "Serenity." She is very casually dressed in fleece pants and poncho, just the thing for relaxing on an old tree stump! I am so proud of Maggie and her "Serenity." I think I may have created a monster!! And competition as well!! It's a good thing we are "Sisters"! Great job Maggie!!