Solving a fluff problem.

As planned I started a new cloth art doll on Monday and spent yesterday finishing it off by adding the clothes and hair. Now I had a bit of a problem as I do like to add the hair last as sometimes the hair can get messed up while I'm sewing on clothes or trims. So I added the bodysuit to this little pixie doll and I was worried about stray pieces of the merino wool hair or fluff getting on the clothes. 

As you can see the pixies bodysuit is white so the fluff would show even more. But I had a brilliant idea, I recently had bought some new freezer bags and they had a grip seal opening. 

Not only did it work really well it also meant I didn't accidently get any glue on the bodysuit either. I did need to wind the bag around the pixie as it slipped a bit and the seal would come undone.

All day while finishing the pixie off I wasn't sure if it was going to be a boy or a girl and it wasn't until the hair was finished that the pixies character finally came out and it was certainly a she. 

My 13 year old daughter fell in love with her when she got home from school and nearly stole her from me, but I got her back with a promise to make her a pixie. So next was a name for the pixie, dewdrop, lichen, mossy and daisy just didn't seem right but then I thought of Aggie, just perfect. 

Next week is going to be a busy week hopefully I can fit in something creative especially as I have some elf ideas still to work on. 

Until next time

Victoria xx

Soft Landings & Tiara making.

This week has been half term so I haven't spent any time creating. I would really like to get to into the shed and melt some glass but its drying out from a few leaks it had during the storms. So we started off the week with another trip to the beach this time we nipped into Bude and got snacks and had our lunch at the beach. The tide was lower this time so we decided to walk round up the cliff and over to the other side of the beach. That side of the beach has changed, a lot of big boulders have moved from one side of the beach to the other. Walking back was a bit dicey as the path was a bit muddy and my hip was feeling a bit wobbly after being on the beach. So the obvious happened yes I slipped on the path and fell on my backside hence the title of this weeks post. It did shake me up a bit but apart from a few aches and pains and a muddy pair of trouser I'm fine. 

So to the challenge on the Craft Pimp Forum I decided to make a tiara with a piece of driftwood I found on the last visit to the beach. I haven't made a tiara in years and I really enjoyed making one again. The wire I used was very fine but it did give the beads a bit of movement.

I'm really pleased how it turned out and I think the beads look like a wave breaking over the wood. My daughter spotted it when she came home from school and put it on so I just had to take a photo of it on.

So next week I think I will get the sewing machine out as I want to make some more Cloth dolls one from a pattern and maybe a few of my own.

Until next time
Victoria. xx

Stormy Weather

We have been a bit battered with the storms here on the North Cornish Coast. Luckily the only damage we had in our village was the phone line coming down in a farmers field, which meant no phone or internet for a few days. I did make me realise how much we use the internet in our lives now, even my children had to delay doing their homework as we couldn't get online to check what had been set. 

Back in January I mentioned about the weather and how stormy it has been, it has felt like a conveyer belt of storms since December, and there is more to come. Yesterday we decided it was time to take the dog out for a run on the beach. This was the first time we had been down to Duckpool since our Christmas Eve walk, and I have been interested to see the changes to it and took my camera with me. 

We had heard that all the sand has gone but that happens sometimes in the winter and usually a storm in the spring brings the sand back. 

Some of the cliff top on the largest part of the beach has slipped into the sea at some point and some of the stones have gone too but as the tide was just going out I couldn't really tell how much had gone. 

 The wind was full of salt so I had to clean the camera lens and my glasses a bit and it was getting cold so we decided to head back home. I did also try to find some small pieces of driftwood while there but there wasn't much but I did find a couple of small pieces. We have another challenge on the Craft Pimp forum using found objects and thought driftwood would be ideal for what I have in mind. 

Until next time

Victoria xx

What to create next and Lady Eleanor

Well I'm having one of those days where I really want to make something but I don't want to get stuck into a big project. I know I could nip out to the shed and light up the torch but my shed has sprung a leak and I have a wet / damp chair. There is a reason I don't want to get started on anything, well I have a project waiting for one more item, I know I could make do with something else but I think it would be better to wait. I will blog about the new project soon.

So Lady Eleanor is the name I gave the doll I blogged about last week and I was finally happy when she was fully complete. Choosing her name was fun as I wanted her to have a victorian / edwardian feel so Eleanor fitted perfectly. Her story just wrote itself in her listing, she is an adventurer and academic, as I felt she seemed like an victorian female Indiana Jones. 

If you notice in the picture she is sat on a mini sofa, this is my new prop to use when I photograph some of my dolls. I had been looking for something like a chair or even tea set for ages that I could use in my doll photographs. I spotted the sofa in a gift shop, okay its actually a jewellery box but it is perfect for the smaller dolls and may also work well with some of the larger ones too.

Until next time

Victoria xx

A Doll and a Brooch.

Last week I started a doll from one of the patterns I blogged about a couple of weeks ago. I was really looking forward to making her and I have been sharing my progress on my facebook fan page which you can find HERE. Unusually for me the progress has been slower than normal, though I expect that the time spent making is exactly the same, its just taken a couple of weeks instead of 3 days. I think it has been good that I have taken my time as I did have a few problems. First was the start of this week I didn't like the colour of the trim so I had to go on the internet and order an alternative. Luckily the order arrived quickly so yesterday I was able to continue. Then came another problem I was reading the pattern and it was missing a diagram but it wasn't too hard to work out. So the doll is now nearly done I've just got her hair to do, I'm just trying to decide on what style to do but a fishtail braid is top of the list. She will hopefully be finished and a pic will be on facebook on monday. 

I made this brooch years ago and I blogged about in August 2010 which seems a long time ago now. I did enjoy making it and I remember I had to make about 3 more for some of my customers at a jewellery party. So why am I talking about a design I made years ago? well  this brooch is from my second most viewed blog post. It has made me think of remaking this design again sometime as it would fit in with my jewellery in my etsy store. But first I need to finish that doll.

Until next time

Victoria xx

Spring Elves

Its a normal day here grey with mizzle, it feels like it been grey and wet forever and I'm wishing for spring to arrive. With Spring in mind a few weeks back I decided I wanted to paint some elves in spring colours. I had also decided I wanted to offer my customers a basic elf in a choice of colours and sizes. This is the first time I have had the tiny elf for sale online they have only ever been available as part of a set or at craft fairs. I already had in mind the colours I wanted to use my favourite pastel paints, pink, yellow, blue and green and of course I have matching felt for the hats. I think they look lovely and spring like. 

 With spring in my mind I had a flash of inspiration for a special oriental elf, this was going to be tricky as I wanted to paint a decoration on her body. I had to wait between coats to produce the effect I wanted and then I added some crystals and Blossom the oriental elf was done with hand painted cherry blossom on her body. 

All of these elves are now available in my ETSY shop.

See you next time

Victoria xx

P.S. Mizzle is a local word for mist and drizzly rain 

Fabric Fun

At the weekend I was in my local town Bude having my haircut and I decided to pop into the fabric shop. I love going into the shop it's stuffed full of rolls of fabric and trims. I usually end up buying metre or so of shot taffetas or organza. They also have boxes of fabric squares that are the size of a fat quarter or smaller, I love rummaging through these boxes especially as they are perfect for clothing for my cloth dolls. This week I was going to just buy a few squares but it ended up a lot of squares especially as my daughter wanted some as well, but I have a lovely pile of fabric to add to my stash along with a large piece of black faux leather which is ideal for doll shoes or boots. 

The main reason for visiting the fabric shop was I treated myself to a new cloth doll book, a couple of patterns and tools before Christmas. I'm hoping to make a start on a doll either the end of this week or early next week. The book and one of the patterns are by Barbara Willis, the dolls are just beautiful with a victorian / edwardian feel and made of scrumptious looking fabrics. The tools are perhaps a bit boring really I've added a pair of curved forceps / hemostats to my work box and a stuffing fork which will help stuff the dolls, I usually use forceps and a chopstick but it is nice to have a special tool occasionally. 

Until next time

Victoria xx