Little Fox

I made this little red fox yesterday. This time I actually kept track of how long it took me from start to finish- a bit over 10 hours- yikes! 

That's either dedication or I need to get a life!  

 He is just 6 inches tall and quite cute I think.            

Peregrine Falcon

May I introduce Peregrine Falcon my most recently completed needle felted wall figure. Often I am inspired by music and that was the case for Peregrine. The piano of David Lanz  "The Enchantment" from his Painting the Sun album started this journey and along the way I was accompanied by other pianists- Michelle Mclaughlin, Rick Seaton and Joe Bongiorno to name but a few.

She is approximately 27 inches long from the top of her antlers to the tips of her toes.
She is my first forest creature but certainly not my last- so fun to create!
Her antlers are made from paper clay which I painted some brown highlights on and then varnished. Her head and arms are needle felted wool, her torso is stuffed cotton and her legs are stuffed cotton skinned with needle felted wool.

I picked up the material for her skirt at my last Tart's meeting. Often members will bring fabrics from their stash to put out for the taking. I picked up this piece and a second somewhat similar piece that I plan on using for a second forest character in the future.  I think it is a polyester blend but it has the feel of velvet. Her cowl is actually a piece of velvet. Her blouse is sheer nylon that frays very easily making it quite nasty to work with but I wanted to give her a bit of a frayed look which is very difficult for me as I tend to tailor everything- even when I don't want to somehow it ends up tailored.
Her hair is  pure wool yarn that is loosely felted. The falcon is perched on a black leather protector made from part of an old glove. All the ribbons are pure silk. Her satchel is wool with a rawhide strap. Inside it I've enclosed part of the poem- Walking Through the Woods on a Snowy Eve by Robert Frost.

Basset Hound: April's Dog

I have managed to continue my "dog a month" goal with a sweet basset hound.

So far this year:

Bulldog, Mixed Breed, West-highland Terrier, Afghan, and Basset Hound

Princess Peyton

I just completed my 8th wall doll. Not a mermaid this time, but a princess! I wanted to try making a crown- hence the royalty. Anyone that knows me is aware of my aversion to beading. I really do not like doing it and as a result do not do it well. But I wanted to make a crown. So to avoid the wire and beads often use in crowns, I made mine out of lace with a few bead embellishments. I am really happy with the results.
Step 1: Find a piece of lace that can be cut and fitted to the doll's head. I used an old dresser scarf, fussy cut it and sewed it into the shape of a crown. Dry fit it to the doll.
Step 2: Roll a piece of cardboard into a tube that matches the circumference of the doll's head. Cover the cardboard with tape (wide packing tape works well) so the crown will not stick to the cardboard during the drying process.
Step 3: Soak the crown in Fabric Stiffener- I used Paverpol and let it dry on the cardboard tube. I let mine dry overnight, but I have read that you can use the microwave to speed up the process. You can shape the crown a bit during the drying process.
Step 4: When dry the crown will be very firm. Slide it off the cardboard form and embellish to your heart's content. You can paint it, bead it....whatever! I wanted mine to look like lace so I left it pretty plain, just added the beads at the edge for a bit of color, but the next time I think I will paint it a metallic color. Just a different approach.

May I introduce Princess Peyton!

The names of my wall dolls always start with the letter P and Princess Peyton is no exception. She is named in honor of my only grand daughter- Peyton Marianne.  The color scheme is olive green and salmon pink. The bows on her shoes are photographing more orange than they really are. Her scepter is a wooden dowel painted metallic gold with a small Christmas ornament on top. If you take the attachment off the ornament, the dowel slides right inside a perfect fit.
Her hair is braided black yarn. She has a needle felted head and arms with a stuffed torso and legs. She is approximately 24 inches from the very tip of her crown to the bottom of her toes. I am very pleased with her.

Polar: Arctic Ocean Mermaid

I finished my third mermaid today. Her name is Polar because she is holding a polar bear cub! Each mermaid is named after what they are holding or the ocean they represent (or should I day "live in"!). This mermaid's tail is made from deep purple wool overlaid with a white lace. Her bodice is the same deep purple wool as her tail sans the lace. On her bodice is a vintage pin (another from my grandmother's old costume jewelry box that I was fortunate to inherit).  Some of the rhinestones were missing from the pin, so I embellished it with purple beads. Her hair is hand-spun yarn that is very soft. It is 40% angora (bunny) and 60% merino (sheep) which translates to 100% yummy! I bought this yarn at the NH Sheep & Wool festival and have been saving it for the right doll.

As with the other two mermaids, Polar has a needle felted head and upper torso and a stuffed fabric tail. The little baby polar bear cub is entirely needle felted

Here is a picture of the three mermaids on the closet door in my studio. Pearl (Atlantic Ocean), Pacifica (Pacific Ocean) and Polar (Arctic Ocean). Only one left to create- Indian Ocean- think of the possibilities!