Heart Candy ~~

Nothing says lovin' like a sweet little rag doll.  Here are two of my new additions to my raggedy family:  Abigail and Ellie SugarBabee.  They are ready for their new homes and I love making these dolls.  The eyes are handpainted as well as the shoes and both are sealed.  Then the facial features are handembroidered.  Their dresses are designed from 1930's repro fabrics and their little striped stockings are made from homespun ticking.  The cluny lace was handsewn for their collars and for the hemline trim.  Tiny hairbows dress up their imported wool topknots and hair and, along with ruffly pantaloons, they even have tiny shoe laces.  A red heart button brooch sets off the neckline and an Osnaburg apron makes these little ladies quite neat and trim.

How do you like the girls?  They are fun and delight all packed into these little gals who are only 10 inches tall and would be a delightful addition to any collector's treasury.

They can be found in my shop at Etsy:

www.etsy.com/shop/pollywogpatterns

or in my shop at Tittle & Tat:

http://tittleandtat.com.au/shop/Polly-WogPatterns

Abigail & Ellie SugarBabee

Just Couldn't Bear to Say Good-Bye

Christmas was somewhat anti-climatic for me this year.  I was swept up in creating inventory for Halloween and Christmas sales since early last spring 2011 that by the time Christmas arrived, the only icon I could muster was my little pre-lit 3-foot Christmas tree.  There it stands, twinkling every evening since mid-December, trying its best to brighten my spirits.  It has become such a wonderful, comforting friend as I sunk in the bog of post-holiday doldrums.

Well, here it is late January and I can't bear to part with my little friend.  We are expecting the entire neighborhood in for an HOA meeting this week and I had to think fast about what I needed to do to save my little friend from any embarrassment.  Sooooo .... I decided to make some little Valentine decorations by taking wooden circles and decoupaging mini vintage ephemera of Old Valentine's Day cards on one side and little glittered hearts on the other side.  I wired the ornaments after sugar-coating them with a glistening of diamond dust glitter.  The little tree already had mini red glass balls and little angels.  I grabbed two favorite sweet rag dolls and placed them side by side in doll chairs.

Next I quickly wrapped a miniature box of Russell Stover chocolates with 1/8" red ribbon and placed an ephemera Valentine envelope in the little boy doll's hands and a miniature Valentine card in the little girl's hands for a romantic gift exchange by the now Sweetheart Tree. 

Now my little tree can continue to bring me joy every evening when at 5 p.m. it blinks awake and sparkles throughout the rest of my evenings and I can change out the decorations for celebrating every upcoming holiday.

Sooooo ... wishing you a romantic, Love-ly and Happy Wintering .....

Sweetheart Tree

Heart Ornament

     

Sweetheart Valentine Exchange

Sweets for my Sweetie

With All My Love

Mini Vintage Valentine Ornament


 

Soap Opera Softie -- The Days in Their Lives

As the days of the soap opera are fading into the musty pages of history, the Softies have come forward to bring their lifetime drama to light.  Here are a few of the Soap Opera Softies and their dramatic scenarios.

Angus Argyle

The conservative and upstanding Angus Argyle holds the prestigious position of Vice President and Treasurer of Bradford and Bingley Bank of London.  However, during his dinner breaks and especially in the Yuletide season, the soft bell of the Salvation Army Santa beckons him to the corner of Lamb's Conduit Street.  There he can be found sitting quietly in the snow behind Santa, eyes closed, reminiscing about his childhood, enchanted by the memories of soft tinkling sounds of his mother's sheep bell in the misty gloaming of Scotland.

Dr. Eggar Benedict Watson

Dr. Eggar Watson's life obsession is to uncover the whereabouts of all the missing yolks in "No-Yolk" Noodles.  His valiant motto is:

The perpetrator of the abduction of these missing small fry must be appre"hen"ded ...    Justice must be served!

Marrakesh

 A little Moroccan princess named Marrakesh can't wait until she receives her pilot's license.  Her dream is to own a touring company in Marrakesh, Morocco, and conduct flying carpet rides over her hometown.  Her great passion now is barnstorming the local mosques and buzzing the outdoor marketplace, scattering a flurry of chickens, feathers, livestock and merchants in a blanket of sand and dust throughout the alleys and tents in the city streets on her surprise raids.

 

Dillard

Dillard is a foundling puppy with his eye on the sky.  His favorite food is spaghetti with meatballs and he hopes one day to find the love of his life just like his hero, Tramp, from the movie Lady and the Tramp.

He is a journalist and writes for the local rag, DogPatch.  Andy Rooney is his idol and Dillard hopes to grow eyebrows and a spikey personality like Andy but he is much too soft and friendly in his young years.  He is aspiring to hone his skills and demeanor and hopes the life experience of being a roaming reporter will give him enough gristle to toughen his style and appearance.

Zip

Zip the Turtle has decided to train for the local marathon.  He ditched his turtle shell and donned racing silks and a stunning orange striped Speedo.  He's not only lighter on his feet but is a flashy icon to the local paparazzi's delight.  He can be heard singing Lady Ga-Ga's song as he dashes along:

"Got my flash on, it's true.

Need that picture of you ....

It's so magical ..." 

So there you have it, the days in their lives ....

These OOAK stars will be available in my Etsy shop in the near future.

The Inside Story ~~ A Visual PeekTutorial on Making Soft Sculpture Dolls

Since I designed my tribute piece to Bob Keeshan as CLARABELL, I've had several inquiries about how the "sculpting" process is done.  I'll show you some pictures of different stages of making Clarabell, the meercat clowns, Rudy and Kazooty, and Alistair the Shy Clown. 

Rudy and Kazooty - Meercat Clown brothers



Clarabell the Clown

Alistair

We'll start with Clarabell.  First I used a man's work sock in tan color.  The toe of the sock is stuffed pretty firmly with batting and tied off at where the neck of the doll should be.  I then pull forward the bridge of the nose and bring in a threaded needle from the back of the doll's head to the left side of the nose and take a stitch.  Then I stitch under the nose bridge to the right side of the nose and take a stitch.  Stitches are made back and forth down both sides of the nose until I come to the top of the nostril area.  A stitch is made from the bridge of the nose at the nostril area down through the nostril and another locking stitch is made in the nostril and back up to the top of the nostril at the side of the nose.  The nostril will then start taking shape.  After that side is done, I repeat on the other side of the nose and make the other nostril. 

As you are pulling the nostrils into shape, you will notice that a slight ridge is forming just below the nostril where a laugh line might be on a real face.  The needle is run under the laugh line, bringing the needle and thread up under the laugh line where the corner of the mouth would be and a stitch is taken here.  Next the thread is run in a single line across the top of the fabric in the mouth area to the other side of the mouth and a stitch is taken where the other side of the mouth would be, under the potential laugh line.

I then draw the threads up the face, under the fabric from one corner of the mouth to the inside corner of where the eye would be, along side of the nose.  The face will begin taking shape and it can be as detailed as you wish.  The pictures below show how the Clarabell face looks when completed with sculpting and before painting.  The meercats are done in a similar way but I used white flannel as the face/head fabric and just pulled the threads in the same way but in a much simplier and less detailed way since these guys are so little and don't need so much detail.  Alistair's head was done with a child's sock.


Faces were painted and then sealed (so paint will be permanent).  This is a very simplified tutorial but I will write a more detailed one at a later date.  The more practice you put in, the easier it will be for you to form the details you want.  Often, I have been surprised at the end result of my work when I started out to do something completely different.  That is how the little meercats developed. 

Have fun and play with the magic!



Clarabell in early stages of soft sculpture

 

Kazooty after face painting



Alistair wip



New Life, New Adventures ... Good-bye, Big Sister Hermione!

Well, it was quite a bittersweet day for both Hermione and her little sister.  Hermione had to say good-bye to Little Sister who was going to move to North Dakota to live with her new friend.  Hermione's sister is a spirit and healing creature and knows much about healing herbs and teas and affairs of healing the heart and spirit.  She is off as a birthday surprise from Hermione to join a new special friend and live with her as her new companion.  Little Sister hasn't been named because that will be up to her new friend and herself to decide together as was the custom in Hermione's family. 



Hermione and her sister gave each other a big hug good-bye with many kisses and a few tears.

Little Sister waved good-bye one last time as she topped the hill and began her journey across the mountains to the west and North Dakota and her new life there.

They promised to write and Little Sister turned and began her travels to Roanoke before the sun set and there she would catch the snowy owl express flight to North Dakota.  She had left Hermione a fresh kettle and cup of lemon ginger tea and a little pumpkin butter for some freshly baked scones for comfort. 

In the evening, Hermione sat and sipped her tea and nibbled her scones and tried to picture her little sister winging her way across the mountains and plains on the back of the snowy white owl in the moonlight.  She encircled her sister and the owl in a lavender bubble of protection for a safe and speedy trip.  Sleep didn't come easily to Hermione that night but she knew in her heart that this day was meant to be and that Little Sister was venturing out into the world and following a journey that her heart was meant to embrace.  She gazed up into the face of the moon and knew that somewhere her little sister would be gazing at the moon and thinking of her, too.  Majik, her cat, nestled in her lap and tried to comfort her with her soft mews and warm purrs.

"Good-night, Little Sister.  Always know I love you," she whispered and slowly rocked in her twiggy rocker in the moonlight as little tears glistened on her cheeks and the hooty owls, crickets and croaky frogs sang her softly to sleep.

Sleepless in Transylvania -- A Tribute to Vlad the Impaler

It seems very appropriate to be writing about Vlad the Impaler, gruesome individual that he was as the thunder is rolling over my head with a warning of an upcoming storm.  Yes, he is the real-life individual that Dracula was based on.  Vlad had a reasonably normal childhood for a young count during the 15th century in Romania.  Even for him, I guess there were tender moments growing up and, just as many of us, those sleepless nights during a thunderstorm.

Vlad the Impaler

So I have designed a tenderer side of Vlad in my Drackie entitled, "Mummy, I Can't Sleep!"  He too cuddles a teddy and clutches a blankie but still seeks the solace of a hug during the worst of times.  I find myself as I am sure many of you do seeking support and comfort from friends and fellow artists when those nights have run dry of creativity and the demands of our craft loom overhead like

heavy dark, lumbering storm clouds.

  I dedicate this doll to all my special friends who have supported me in my darkest hours.  I am sure if Vlad had had as many friends as I have found with my blogs, he might have turned out to be a better guy .... who's to know??

Thanks, Everyone.