Failure Is Not An Option

Okay, to be fair, I did say this would be a blog about my successes and failures of dollmaking.  And it is true that not all dolls that I make turn out to be masterpieces.  So it is only fair to show photos of the ones that didn't make the cut.  The ones that will be ripped apart to start all over again.

My latest underachievement is the black witch.  Try as I might, I just couldn't make her sinister enough and she wasn't quite pretty enough to be saved for other reasons.  Think "Good Girl Gone Bad".  So, it is with a heavy heart that I show you these photos and begin the process of deconstructing her.

 

I'm thinking that my next attempt might not even be a cloth doll.  When I make these dolls I cut out their bodies from fabric, stuff them, wire them, needle sculpt them, make their clothes, embellish them, give them hair and paint them.  It's a lot of work and quite often I have no idea how a doll will turn out till she's nearly finished.

 

I've gotten interested in clay dolls lately and I think that might be the route I'll take.  At least with clay you can see how you are progressing and make changes along the way.  Maybe I should take a class first.  I'm forever starting something I have no business doing because I don't know the first thing about it.  But, hey.  That's how I started out with the dolls.  I think I'm coming along nicely even though I know I have a long way to go. 

 

Until the next time I want to wish everyone a Happy Easter.  Have a great weekend.

Listening to Mumford and Sons, Lumineers, Stealers Wheel, Sam Cooke, Curtis Mayfield, Heart, John Lennon.

The Rainbow Girls Together

Awhile ago I had promised to show photos of my rainbow doll collection once they were finished.  They have actually showed up in a few random photos, but none have been the entire collection together.  So, here they are.

 

And now here they are separately.  The first is Violet. 

Next is Indigo

 

Then comes Blue

 

Then Green

 

Followed by Yellow

 

Then Orange

 

 

And finally Red

 

So, those are the girls.  Hours and hours of work went into making each one and I will be putting them for sale on Etsy very shortly.  Only problem is I don't want to part with them.  I get very attached.

 

 

 

March Is Not My Favourite Month

Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day and also what would have been my mom's 87th birthday.  But she passed away on March 25th, 2011.  So, you can see whay I'm not really keen on this month.  However, I've decided not to let it get me down and we're going to have a St. Patrick's Day/Birthday remembrance dinner tomorrow, sort of.  It will be Irish, but vegetarian, because that's who I am.  The menu is:  for starters Guiness and cheese fondue, then leek and potato soup.  The main is Guiness, gorgonzola and mushroom pasties and dublin mash (carrots and parsnips).  I was going to make Bailey's Irish Cream bread pudding from Irish soda bread, but figured there's enough starch in this menu to choke a horse.  So we'll toast my mom, toss back a few and enjoy the day.

Well, I've finished my white creation.  After many days agonizing over what she is I have decided that she is a Snow Queen.  Here are a few pics.

Her crown is made from Christmas tree icicles and her hair is silk roving.

She has venice lace cuffs, an ornately beaded neckline and a staff made from copper wire and crystal beads.

I also made her a cape and embellished it with crystal beads on the lapels and silver trim with larger acrylic beads on the hem.

 

Her boots are buttoned up with acrylic beads and I used the same beads to make her heels.

 

I'm beginning to think that there are certain powers at play here that take over my creative process and things become whatever the powers want.  When I started out I wanted to have this really ethereal figure with wind blowing in her hair and her clothing wispy and drapey.  I was thinking along the lines of Stevie Nicks meets the Wicked Witch of the West. The Snow Queen is who I ended up with.  Not complaining, but I wonder what my next creation is going to look like.

 

Listening to Eva Cassidy, Fountains of Wayne, Gotye, Grateful Dead, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Corky and the Juice Pigs, They Might Be Giants and Walk Off The Earth.