Violets

I wanted to make a series of dolls inspired by flowers and then have a certificate of authenticity to lend to the collectible nature of my dolls.  Here is my first:  Violet.

I had to do the 1950's New Look again, of course.  I love love this time period in fashion history!  So she is wearing a full petticoat with lace underneath her full circle skirt of blue and violet silk.  Her waistband is a silk plaid coordinating with the blues and purples.  Her upper bodice is a pale yellow silk dupioni with a keyhole opening in the back.  I made tiny "violets" of ribbon for her waistband and hair.  I love her face...I wish my camera could do my dolls justice!  Her eyes are green and she has such a serene expression.  I china paint my dolls' faces and shoes because I want them to be long lasting collectibles.  China paint is fired in several layers onto the porcelain and cannot be scraped off...ever :)  I see some day in the distant future, at an archaeological dig, one of my dolls being found...minus clothes of course (they won't last as long as the porcelain!)....he he...what a fantasy eh?

So the certificates of authenticity are something I've wanted to do for awhile now.  I will start sending them along with each custom dressed doll, like this one.  I do hope this will help my dolls be collectible, and perhaps someday they will :)  Here is the certificate...it won't be real without my signature and date and "special symbol"...he he.

So farewell for now and have a great week everyone!!  Ah one more thing, Violet is currently up for sale on Etsy and Ebay!

Lady from the prairie

Just showing my latest for a customer, a lady from the prairie.  I found such pretty fabric very authentic to the time period by Andover Fabrics from the collection "Dargate Polychromes".  Very appropriate to the scale.

My customer told me that this particular doll will be holding a dulcimer instrument.  She has been a pleasure to create!

Custom doll inspired by Game of Thrones

Just thought I'd show you the doll I finished today for a dear customer.  She's a character inspired by the show Game of Thrones.  I really had a good time figuring out how to make "fur".  I used a yarn called "Pipsqueak" by Bernat.  Really amazing and much more realistic than a chenille type trim.

You've just got to get creative when making miniatures.  For this character's sword, I used a beading needle, with the handle made of polymer clay, a bead, and a nail art charm.  I then painted the handle brown and the rest a dull gold color.  Then I sealed it all with Mod Podge.  What do you think?

And lastly, I found the best glue in the best format EVER.  It's Aleene's Turbo Tacky Glue in pen form.  For one, it dries quickly but best of all, you can control the flow by how hard you squeeze the pen.  The pen's cap also has an insert that goes into the tip to prevent glue from drying over the top.  GENIUS.  

So, farewell for now.  Until we meet again!

Latest Custom

Just a quick update to show you my latest custom order.  She was so fun to make.  I really enjoyed piecing together her bodice.  She is an adaption of Jane Eyre.

Sunshine Delivered!

Thank you very much Mother Nature!  The sunshine has arrived!  I'm crossing my fingers actually, because here in the Pacific NW, sunshine is fleeting.  During the summer and early fall months we do get consistent sun, but it's usually an intermittent start in June, so my trust that the sun is here for awhile is shaky!  I will enjoy it while I can though!  This IS a beautiful place to live and people just keep moving here....our traffic is turning into Seattle!

So I'm working my fanny off getting orders out.  I'm pleasantly surprised by my increased sales and exposure.  Wow.  If this is what I get to do for a living, then I'm the luckiest gal in the world!  I'm still in mold making process, trying to get my own sculpt into porcelain form.  I'm thinking, this mold making has been so difficult to learn, I'd like to share with others the things I've learned, so maybe I'll have some video classes listed on SkillShare.  I love that site.  It's for creatives and has tutorials on so many things for the creative entrepreneur and hobbyist.  Check it out!  If I do have classes on there, I'll make sure I've listed it on here :)

Well, back to it!   

Gratitude Extravaganza

I love life.  I love MY life.  God has smiled on me!  I know this sounds like boasting, but this stems from intense gratitude for where I'm at in life.  Of course, catch me on a cloudy day...ahem!  Anyway, I truly am living in such happiness.  Do your teeth hurt yet?

My life has been pretty blessed and I know a lot of folks out there can't say that.  So it might seem easy for me to be grateful right?  I feel choosing gratitude is a conscience changing of one's perspective and that's a challenge.  It's not easy to be positive and to look around at simple tiny things and be grateful for them.  Usually, a catalyst causes people to turn their perspective around and then sometimes you meet someone who's just born happy and grateful no matter what happens in their life.  I'm not one of those...I'm the former.  I know, I said my life has been pretty blessed, but I've definitely had a catalyst (or two) to help me see things in a more positive light.  Life has thrown some curves at me and I don't consider myself strong or a "fighter"; honestly I don't know why I've made it through some of things I have.  I truly feel that God has had his eye on me.  Why?  I don't know.  Perhaps because I've acknowledged Him and cried out to Him.  I don't know.  But I DO know, God heard me.  God, the universe, the powers that BE...heard me.

So there's my emotional blogburst for the week!  Really, it's when I wake up, walk out to my studio, see the work I'm able to do, kiss my soulmate, hug my son goodbye for school, counsel my young adult daughter, live in the beautiful northwest, pet my silly dogs and breath in the air as a healthy human...that's what does it.  "Do what you love" they say..right?  Do what makes your soul sing.  Listen to it.  It could lead you in directions you never thought possible.

Mold, it's good right?

I'm trying my hand at plaster mold making.  I'd really like to be able to make miniature dolls from my own sculpts and this has been at least a decade long pursuit.  There isn't a whole lot out there about making molds for dolls.  I found a really good book on Amazon, chuck full of information, but you have to read it over and over to get those nuggets (at least I do anyway!).

I take my original prototype (sculpted from polymer clay) and embed it into very soft Sculpey clay.  It's quite the art I'd say.  You have to establish a parting line and watch out for undercuts or your mold just won't work.  I set little beads into the clay to mold out "keys" so the two halves of the mold fit together nicely.

So from this book I've learned how to mix the plaster and set up the "frame".  I use an old makeup remover wipes container of which I cut out the bottom.  I've tried using cottle boards, but those are not leak proof, and you really don't want any leaks!  Plaster is messy!  I take strips of Sculpey clay and push in and around the edges sealing it as best I can.

After the plaster mold halves have both been poured, I dry them out in front of a fan.  From this point, after they have dried, I can then pour porcelain into them.  There are a couple of "waste" pours at first, to condition the mold, but then you've got yourself a unique, one of a kind mold of your sculpt!  One thing I keep in mind is to sculpt the original prototype about 2 times larger than you would like your porcelain piece to be and remember that porcelain shrinks about 18% in the kiln.  In keeping with 1" scale, this can be tricky.  The reason I make it so much larger is to refine the prototype from the original, make another mold of it and then have a final mold!

Here's a great link to a mold making tutorial, specifically for miniature dolls:

http://www.ginabellousdolls.com/miniature-mold-making/

I just wanted to share my "technically boring" process :)  It's kind of interesting right?  It's a means to an end and I love working on Lilli's Littles products.  I'll keep you updated on this latest mold making adventure!  Now, to clean out the clay that's under my nails....