Facing Disasters Head On

Today nothing seems to be working out well. Actually it started yesterday. I spent hours needle sculpting a head. Did I say HOURS?! Only to have it run (the overlay is a nylon blend), I was working on the mouth, the last feature of course. Completely ruined! So my only option was to take off the entire outer layer and start over. I did start over, only to face a similar problem when I was once again hours into the process. So last night after almost two full days trying to get a face completed, I took off  the two attempted overlays and shut off the lights to my studio reminding myself that "This is suppose to be fun!"
Today I start all over. Sew a new overlay and begin needle sculpting. This time I used brand new needles in my machine and hand-needles. I completed one overlay then began to color in the facial features. Once again nothing seems to go well. Finally I decide to stop adding insult to injury and paint over a layer of textile medium to set the colors. Of course somewhere a bit of black wasn't completely dry or something but as I brush on the medium I see a streak of black form across the cheek. I rub it out the best I can and decide I will have to start over once again. Then I change my mind, again telling myself "This is suppose to be fun!" and try a second layer of colors over the first. That seems to take care of the streaky problem but the eyes begin to get bit strange looking. So I took a few pictures- usually I can see mistakes better in a picture. Now I'm not sure what I should do. I think the best thing would be to wait until tomorrow and look at it again with fresh eyes.

Time for another Vintage Spirit!

The first day of vacation- is there anything better? The entire week stretches before me filled with so many possibilities! I've decided to focus my attention on creating another Vintage Spirit. I've prepared three bottles- neck supports in place and hardening. I will work on making two heads today and then decide which bottles to start with, although I am obviously drawn to the blue one. I did not put a label on it yet because I may want to use lace on this bottle-still thinking it over. I do have a lovely blue/gold vintage label that I may ultimately use.  Also, I really like the Moligne bottle. I think it has an art deco style that I am interested in exploring. The Covey Run bottle is not vintage (2007) but I did not remove this label because it is so pretty. I think it would be fun to pick up the bird image in the costuming.

Needle Felted Elephant

I kept track of my time on this one- 19 hours for the adult elephant! Yikes! Thank goodness I like the results! I did not use an armature in the legs but did run a wire through the trunk so it can be repositioned. The tusks are made of wool that I dipped in clear nail polish to harden them. The eyes are black glass beads. The adult elephant is 5 inches tall and the baby is a mere 2 inches tall not including the raised trunk. The wool is a combination of different shades of grey with a touch of white mixed in. I covered grey felt with wool for the ears so they would not become thick. It worked out well.

I'm on vacation next week so I plan on working on another Vintage Spirit bottle doll. I'm leaning towards an art deco style but I never really know how it will turn out until I get into the construction. The one thing that I do know is that it will be fun!

Needle Felted Giraffe

Another needle felted animal emerges from the wool. I think the biggest challenge of this piece was the spots! So many spots! And of course I was running low on the wool for the spots and I had nightmares of getting this close and not being able to actually finish him. But in the end I just made it. He stands about 11 inches tall. I think I will try to time how long it takes me to complete the next piece- just curious.