Bottle Doll #8

A friend gave me the Long Neck giraffe bottle last month. I have many other bottles waiting in line to become whomever they are destined to be, but I decided to start with the last and work my way back.This time instead of using fabric, I decided to try needle felting to see if I liked the result. I do like it, but I think I will also continue to use fabric as well in the future. Nice to be able to have the option depending on how the spirit moves me.

Ambassador to the Tooth Fairy

My grandson has a loose tooth. It is his first loose tooth and he could not be more excited by the prospect of it falling out. So I made him an ambassador to the tooth fairy. I think he will like her. She isn't too girly and, more importantly, he will be able to see his tooth inside the bottle. He is a checker. He will want to check on it many times before the tooth fairy comes so I think it is important that he can actually see it. In the morning the tooth fairy will have made the swap and all will be well. I don't know when the big day will actually come, so I plan on giving the little fairy to my daughter to have on the ready!

After

Before

Put the tooth inside

 All you need for this project is a little bottle that has a screw on top- I used a Cover Girl Foundation Make-Up bottle; and a bit of felt, roving, a thin pipe cleaner and some ribbon. Voila! The perfect spot for a little tooth awaiting reimbursement.

Wings are wired ribbon

Made It!

Just squeaked by completing the ornaments for Christmas stockings this year. Here they are:

Ornament 2014

I am making pairs of Russian Skaters as my 2014 ornament. I made a pair for the annual ornament swap that my doll making group does each year and I liked them so much  I decided to try to make 6 more for my children's stockings. May have bitten off more than I can chew but time will tell.

These are the pair I gave away at the ornament swap.

 A shot of her pantaloones. All she needs are her skate laces and she will be done!

They start with a simple pipe cleaner frame and a wooden bead head. I needle felted a torso to give them a bit more body shape.  Once the frame work is done, the fun begins with costuming. Now that I have completed my first pair, I have so many color scheme ideas for the next ones. Just not enough time in the day to accomplish everything I would like to do.

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.

Knitting Scarves

I have not been making many dolls lately, instead I have been spending this summer vacation (school starts August 20!! Yikes!) sitting on the porch with my husband. We bought binoculars and have been passing every afternoon watching the birds and/or reading/listening to audiobooks.  Very peaceful. But having one of those annoying Type A personalities I find I still need to be doing something with my hands. So I decided to knit scarves for each of my children for Christmas. I made the scarf below for myself to test the pattern. I would need to make 6 more so the pattern could not be too complicated!

The pattern is a basket weave which I like because it becomes reversible.  Currently I am knitting scarf #4 of my goal of 6 scarves by the end of the summer.

Here is the pattern if you are interested:
Size 8 knitting needles
Cast on 32 stitches
Garter stitch (knit across) first 4 rows then follow basket weave pattern below:
Rows 1-5  Knit 8, *(purl 4, knit 4) repeat from * until end of row
Rows 6-10 *(Knit 4, Purl 4) repeat from * until there are 8 stitches left, Knit 8
Repeat this pattern until the desired length then, Garter stitch the last 4 rows, bind off.

I am making the scarves out medium weight #4 yarn. You will need approximately 395 yards depending on how long you want your scarf. My finished scarf is about 6 1/2 inches wide and 76 inches long. You do not need to block this scarf.

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!