Vintage Spirit #8: Witch's Brew

Here is my latest commissioned piece- a witch! Last month I was given this bottle with instructions to make whatever I wanted. Of course, with the Frog Syrup label it screamed witch! So here she is looking very intently at the unfortunate frog in her hand. I wonder what she is thinking?

I will be giving this piece to another doll artist on Saturday and I must say I am a bit nervous. I really hope she likes it. Personally I love it- but that's certainly no guarantee that anyone else will think the same. When she gave me the bottle it already had the Frog Syrup Brew label on it but she also gave me a second label to use in case I couldn't relate or didn't like the frog one. How could I not like it? I was born on Halloween for goodness sake!
I think my favorite part of this doll is the skirt. It is a vintage handkerchief folded to highlight the lace edges. I think it falls over the bottle beautifully and adds a touch of Victorian charm. She also sports a painted lace collar and cuff, a felt inner vest and a black jacket. There is a small bat on the back of the jacket. The frog is needle felted with green bead eyes. The witch's hair is also needle felted wool roving and she has a small wart on her chin although it really can not be seen as it is blocked by the frog in these photos. Let me know what you think!

Cupcake: Vintage Spirit # 7

I finished Cupcake and I must admit she is one of my favorites! It was a bit strange working on this "girly girl" doll all bows and frills after just finishing Roberta who is very tailored. From one extreme to another- that's what working on art dolls is all about I guess. Keeps things interesting.

Cupcake

Cupcake's bottle was a gift from a teacher on my team. The lace petticoat came from a Textile Tart meeting along with the blue rick-a-rack. Her hair is yarn; a pale blue fun yarn- very wispy and a bit curly. Her face is needle sculpted with a cloth overlay as is the case for all my Vintage Spirit dolls. 

Accessories

I've come to the realization that I will not make my goal of completing three dolls this week. I will however finish two- Roberta: The Huntress is already done and I am currently working on "Cupcake". I made her accessories last night. They are needle felted. Her hat is over-the-top as is the case with all the Vintage Spirits. I cut down a dosage cup that came with a bottle of cold medicine  and covered it with striped fabric for the cupcake cup. The frosting top is all wool with beads to represent the sprinkles.

A lovely cupcake hat!

Then I made her tray of cupcakes. The tray is the top of a plastic container that held straight pins. I was sitting at my sewing table trying to figure out how to construct a tray when there it was right in front of me.  The three little cupcakes are about 1/2 inch high, the entire tray is only 2 1/4 inches long.

Cupcake Anyone?

Roberta - The Huntress: Vintage Spirit #6

Vintage Spirits

Spring vacation week just started- wonderful! Usually I spend the entire April vacation week cleaning out my flower garden but this year I have very little left to clean out because of the extremely warm weather we have been having this spring I was able to start working outside weeks ago. That means I have lots of extra time this week to work on new dolls! Yeah!

I have been given three bottles from three different friends that I am determined to turn into three distinct characters this week. Since I have already made the heads (a very time consuming process for me)  I may actually reach this goal by the end of my vacation. The first bottle I have had since the winter- cobalt blue -I thought I was going to use this one last February but made Birdie instead using a green bottle. I received it from a fellow Textile Tart doll maker.  I removed the label from this bottle replacing it with a vintage label that reminds me of France. I am going to create Marie Antoinette from this bottle.  The second bottle I just received two weeks ago from another Textile Tart. She thought I would like it because of the deer head that is attached to it. She was right- I love this bottle! I am going to make a huntress. And finally, a friend from school gave me the other cobalt blue bottle with the Cupcake label. What a great theme! I will use vintage fabric and jewelry pieces on these dolls so they can truly become Vintage Spirits #6, 7, and 8.

I will try to blog the creations a bit as I go along. I prepared the bottle necks by attaching wooden dowels. I used a longer dowel on the shorter bottle to raise the doll up a bit more. Then I sewed the torsos. They have not been stuffed yet nor have the breasts been sculpted. I just placed the heads on top- I won't actually sew them on until the body costuming is completely finished. Setting them up this way at the beginning helps me visualize possible costuming before I start designing.

Marie Antoinette, The Huntress, and Cupcake

Birdie: Vintage Spirit #5

Birdie is finished! What a joy she was to create- she really evolved in the process to become this somewhat warrior like creature. She has a vintage rhinestone feather pin synched at her waist; two birds on her label; a needle felted bird on her finger; and of course her signature shell bird hat that ultimately required the addition of blue plumage. Her auburn hair extends beyond her waist. I had to decide whether or not to show the wefting and, although it usually is not shown, on this piece I secured the hair with the wefting visible because it created a smoother hairline at the back of the neck and eliminated all the hair ends from sticking out. Also, the wefting was very neatly done so I think it looks fine. I did cover all the words on her label because it is not vintage. I needle felted the little bird on her finger- very small at only a bit over an inch from tip of beak to end of tail. In the end, I am pleased with her- my fifth Vintage Spirit!

Vintage Spirit # 5 - Birdie

Bird hat placed on head (temporary).

Close -up shot

I finished obsessing about the face and actually made four more "interesting" faces- no beauties in the bunch but compelling none the less. I have also decided which bottle I am going to use first- the newer one- Covey Run. This bottle was given to me by a friend plus it has a beautiful bird label that I am anxious to duplicate in the costuming. Actually, I have already started with the hat. These Vintage Spirit dolls are all about their hats!! I made this hat from a seashell I picked up on the beach last summer. The bird's head is the shell as it curves at its joint. I deepened the color at the "beak" and added the dot eyes and Voila! the shell becomes a bird! It had a bit of a crack in it which made the process of creating the hat more interesting. The additional wing adds vintage lace/beading and completely covers the crack.  So..long story short..it is now a beautiful hat. I will be adding a tie ribbon on it to hold it on the doll's head later, but for now, along with the label, it is my inspiration for the rest of the costume.

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.