Cindy Lou dolls done!!! ugh!! On to Halloween Dolls!



Suessical Hairdos!




Ready to be tagged...



Completed Candy Hat

Cleaned, brushed and Dyed Mohair

Preparing for Wigging

Finally....ugh!!!  Cindy Dolls are completed ready for their tags and bags!...Wigging is a time consuming affair for ten dolls....but I think its really the point where they receive their personalities!!!   I mainly use Goat Hair because I love its silkiness and it just seems the most realistic.  Hair has always been an Issue for me!  Four kids in our family, I was the only one that had this huge head of frizz and curls that grew out and up instead of down!  Maybe that is why  I take the time to prepare and beautify the hair ...Just a weirdo thing that is important to me!!!

I buy a whole goat fleece...actually many fleeces of different lengths and textures in a natural color after the "shearing" season.  I have to separate the matted, dirty, smelly!!!  hair into bundles..wash it many times and condition it.  I dye the bundles with regular hair color....and then condition again...and de-matt, trim  and brush ...what a job!!! But I love the results and the ability to have any color and texture hair on hand. 

When the doll is complete, I cover her with plastic wrap and carefully drill the top of her head with my little walnut hollow drill...this is a great drill because it fits in the palm of my hand ...its light and I can control it.  after drilling, I coat the raw paperclay with a tacky glue...and then I start to wig her.......

OK!!!! ON TO HALLOWEEN DOLLS!!!

Art Is east coast retreat....Whoville Cindy lou dolls...moving along!!!



Whoville Hats.....




Pinwheel Painted.....







Tiny  Shiny  Coats and Sparkly Striped Pants




 


Cindy Dolls painted ...faced up...



Design Established...Hair will be last.....



So Finally!!!... These dolls are moving along at lightening speed.  Once I just sit and focus...the ideas flow and the outfit comes together. I thought for sure they'd just hang there for another year...but I seem to  work better under pressure...haha (whew!)

Anyway.... I like Candy...so I found these cool swirly mint candy molds (Wilton)....the perfect "TAM" hat for Cindy...When I think of Suess..I think STRIPES!!! and colorful...ugh...

two things that are hard for me...but I was able to put a Pink Candy...glittery shiny "Twist" to the idea...and I'm liking it now.  I Powdered up the candy molds and then used paperclay...trying to "hollow" out a head shape in each candy hat.  When Dried...I drilled a hole so that the armature wire protruding from the dolls head could go through the hat...the I made tiny whipped cream poufs from the same clay...and drilled a hole halfway through, so that it becomes a cap to the hat...hiding the armature wire.

I Created my jacket pattern...and planned it so that i could fit a wire ring inside the jacket bottom to create a crazy suess-like shape....I then created tiny clay buttons...I started from an Idea my friend Sue Milo had using paper....But I'm "More CLAY"!!!   Sue used a tiny embossing folder that has the cutest tiny buttons...she embossed the buttons and punched them out with small circle punches.  I really wanted a thicker button...so i tried "CLAY" in the embossing folder ...WHOA! so cool!!! after baking the buttons...I drilled tiny holes with the smallest drill bit and then pushed silk ribbon through, tying a knot....

The Pants were made from plain pink velvet fabric that I Stamped with a neat line stamp painted with acrylic paint...then I sprinkled with fine angel dust glitter....

Next I painted tiny shiny pink pearl ballet slippers...Gold outline...and I'm working on diamond crystal straps....

Back to work till the next post....

Oh MY ....END OF SUMMER...BACK TO BLOG.....



Working on "Grinches Cindy dolls"  My Version!! haha



Well....no good computer down the shore....but its the END of SUMMER and back to blogging......I miss all my DOLL FRIENDS...cant wait to see what everyone is up to!!!  Here is whats been going on going on here.....

Getting my paperclay doll class  together for Art is 2011, and creating some suessical dolls for this Grand Event!!!!!!!!!!   So I'm Creating My Version of the Grinches Cindy charachter in a tiny paper clay doll......All the pants are made...a stretch Velvet in light pink that was stamped with a really cool "stripe" stamp that I have...I used mauvy bright pink acrylic paint...after the stripes dried....I painted a layer of fabric medium over  that and then dusted a light coat of light opalescent sparkle...hit it with a heat gun....looks cool....and still stretched right over the dolls legs.....

Her Jacket is a baby pink "SHINY Raincoat "  Fabric.....I'll trim it with this funky faux wild fur in white.  After all the jackets are sewn...wigging is next....then painting tiny "shiny pink patent leather shoes"!!!!



One of my favorite pictures of Cindy from the Grinch Movie




First coat of paint for 10 dolls!



DAy W Dolls...My Charm making Table.....




Me and Maria DWD



Me and Minnie DWD  !!!!



Beginnings of the Grinches Cindy Dolls....Confusing!!!

 





DAY WITH DOLLS!!!! Our Purple Petal Studio Friends!









Day W Dolls Charm Making Table.....Lots of Fun!



Linda Misa Class



Face Painted...needs a last coat of shine, and "twinkle" in the eye!





Painting in the works, first coat....black!  Then Flesh...then shading and color!



I chopped her fabric arms and legs...and did them in paperclay...just hard for me to do fabric! haha



Linda Misa's class Doll...realistic face painting...love that little bird!



The gang!





Class dolls in the works!





Here I am with Linda and one of her wonderful creations....



I had the opportunity to take a two day class with Australian doll Artist, linda Misa.

I traveled with one of my best Doll artist friends, Heather Brauner, to Stephanie Novatskies House.  Stephanie is a fantastic cloth doll and mixed media artist..... she wins way too many contests!   She has a great Studio...check it out in the pictures.

Wow..Linda was great....A warm and loving teacher, I connected with her as soon as I met her.  She was ready to tell all....just a fantastic person and teacher. She taught us her cool painting techniques for a more lifelike face using tones, shadows and blending...something that I really wanted to learn and some day master.

  She also showed us a cool bleaching technique to alter any piece of fabric...then continue with painting and free motion embroidery...I'll show that in my next post.....I can only accomplish so much in a day,(well...a couple of days!...hahaha)

I t was a great class with my "family" of doll artist friends....I wish for more times like this one..... 

Bunny Rabbit Dolly

 



Coloring bead caps for joints





She is laughing because she is hiding a pink jelly bean in her hand!



yes...yes...I know its wayyyyy after easter! But The doll was completed ...and I got all caught up in family stuff...easter...a high school senior that may or may not graduate....you know...Silly stuff....that could rip your heart out!!!! 

Anyway...I gave the Bunny Dolly to my mom....but I know I will make more animal dollies....it was a cool experience and I didnt have to wig her!!!! 

So..jointing the rabbit , this time I doubled the wire...I added a wire going through the arms and the body, (same for the legs) and then added a decorative bead to the outside of the arms, looped the wire with pliers, then clipped...It really holds the arms and legs to the body and is an added embellishment.  The bead caps were treated with alcohol inks and gilders paste, sealed with matte varnish spray, to give a cool vintage look. I added pink dots with acrylics to pretty blue beads that i had...

Her jelly bean shoes are made out of soft pink dyed leather, premo polymer clay soles (premo is great for the soles because it is very strong...yet has some flexibility.  I

Her  clothes were all dyed with an acrylic paint , mixed with fabric medium and a little walnut ink for that "old " look.....you can see all the lace and ribbons ivory...then after dying...how great is that you can use any one of the magnificent cheap craft paints and make all your fabrics match....WOW.... The tiny jelly beans were made from polymer and varnished.

her easter basket is a silk cocoon dyed with acrylic paint...the chocolate chick is a cheapie plastic chick painted brown...then glossed with triple thick ......the grass is paper towels left over from painting everything!!!!

"Art Is" Dr Suess Theme for 2011 Swap



Original simple polymer sculpt with 2 paperclay "Copies"





10 Heads and 20 arms!





Cindy Lou from the Grinch Movie



Brush your mold with powder, smooth the paperclay into a thick disk



Press the paperclay disk into the mold, Press in the foil "skull"



An easier start to a paperclay doll when creating a "Series" 



So it seems that I needed to just dive in and start my "Art Is" swap ornaments.  They are due in August...but I know I am a huge procrastinator, and I am trying to change! HAHA.  I put all my wire joint doll projects aside to at least start the swap...Now that I have the beginning of 10 Cindy Lou dolls from the "Grinch"......heads, and arms....I have gained momentum, I can actually breath a bit easier... 

I knew this would be a lot of work...but the deal is, you make 9 swaps (I made an extra to keep!).  When you get to Art Is and you receive your registration "packet", you also receive a package with 8 handmade ornaments (the 9th one goes to Marlene Halveron for The HoneyComb Cottage Project )  How exciting is this...to open 8 handmade gifts,  and Know that one of my pieces of art will go to a beautiful human cause!  Oh My Gosh! I cant wait..So I"m workin at it, every chance I get!

I am designing the dolls using a picture of Cindy Lou from the "Grinch Movie".    This little character inspires me to try and remember to be loving and compassionate even under "not the best circumstances"...  I sculpted one simple face from polymer, and then made a mold.  This helps me to create 10 dolls a little quicker , for this type of Project.  Now.... dont get me wrong...you cant just stick a wad of paperclay and pull it out of the mold and ...Wha lahh! you have a sculpted head!  NO...it comes out pretty flat and there is work involved...but at least you have a start, to a doll (for me...the START is the Hardest part!!! ). From there I add bits of clay, building the face up and smoothing it out.  AND Then....Its your original doll....you made the original face and mold...so there is No CHEATING involved!!! haha

Cuddling "Moon" while working on 10 faces!

For the head...after lightly dusting the mold with powder, I smooth a piece of paper clay into a disk and fit it into the head mold.  I then take a tiny foil "scull" on a piece of armature wire, and push it into the center of the mold (creating a nice solid armature), halfway down into the paperclay.  I then pull the clay with the armature out of the mold, and add some more clay to create the back and top of the head,  When I get the right shape, I start to add my details and let it dry.  I am constantly adding wet clay to the already dry face, perfecting the details.  I love the way you can take away and add to paperclay....and after sanding , smoothing and painting...no one really knows what you did, if you were in turmoil, if there is a "fix it" going on, they just see the end result!!! 

So now that the heads are completed and smoothed, the arms are created but have to be refined.....then I will create the legs and then the neck/bodices...I think they mill have a ball joint swivel head. I'll have to see how it goes!    



Lot of "refining" work, But it"s a start!