Pilchards and Work In Progress

I've been a bit busy so haven't updated the blog on how the year long challenge is going, so I'm about to show you some work in progress and a small shoal of Cornish Pilchards.

The Pilchards is something I've been meaning to make in fabric for a while and I finally got to make them.

Its a great way to use up some scraps of fabric, and they were fun to make. I decided to make some glam or bling ones, they have been decorated with sequins. The other ones I just added a tiny button for the eye, the plainer ones ended up as my favorites. 

So last week I wasn't sure what to make and as I had brought a pattern ages back for a doll that needed paper clay parts, I decided to make a start. Unfortunately I soon realised my paper clay had to be binned so I ended up using  air drying clay.

The instructions were really good and I think I've ended up with a reasonable face and head. I've got the hands and feet to make and then they will need painting. After that has been done I will make the body out of some fabric that I bought ready for her, though I expect I will end up changing my mind and using something else instead. 

As for what I will be making this week I'm not sure as its the half term holidays and the girlie and lad are at home. I do also have a secret project I'm slowly working on, but I can't tell you anything about it yet as its well a secret. 

Until next time

Vic xx

Sugar Skull Elf and Eric Bloodaxe

This week I decided I wanted to paint some more Cornish Pixie Elves and I was going to paint a small elf maybe a set and one of the very large conical elves. Well as per usual the elves had their own plan and only one of the ideas actually got to be made. So first to be made was a Day of the Dead Sugar Skull inspired Elf. The body color I wasn't too sure but I eventually decide to show off the skull more with a black body and felt hat. The Sugar Skull itself was a bit tricky as some of the details are very small. I did have to pry this away from Girlie as nicked it and I may have to hide it from her.

The set I decided I would just pick one colour and use different shades for each elf. I couldn't choose between greens, blues or pinks, but as I've made a lot of green and blue elves recently I thought pinks would be nice. Okay I also sneaked in a lilac elf mainly because one of the pink paints had deteriorated with age and it also looked nice with the others.

I've wanted to make  a Viking elf for a while so I decided a small elf would be a good size for him. He turned out really well and I have to admit he is my favourite. Eric Bloodaxe as I called him will probably be joined by more Vikings and maybe a few more different warrior clans of the elves. 

The elves will be made available over the next few days in my Etsy shop which you will find HERE

Until next time

Vic xx

Pip the Newest Doll.

 As some of you know I'm often inspired by the Afterlife Saga written by my favourite author Stephanie Hudson. I have often thought about making one of the characters from the books in doll form. I thought it would be Keira first but that cheeky imp called Pip got there first. Of course it meant a reread of the Triple Goddess to remind myself of the colour of Pips eyes, I remembered her hair was green with blue tips but I just wasn't sure on the eyes. I had a feeling the eyes were green and I wasn't far off as they were but with a blue ring around the iris.

The rest of the doll went well, I would have prefered to use a Marvel, DC, or similar fabrics for her clothing. But due to the fact that usually those fabrics are for personal use only I can't use them in dolls I sell and to be honest its a nice challenge to use something else. 

Pip's hair was fun as I added in some turquoise with the green merino wool, it did start off long and then I decided shoulder length would be better. 

I am pleased in how Pip has turned out and I have a feeling that Keira and Sophia will be made at some point and if I get a pattern for a male doll well you might be seeing a Dominic Draven one day. 

Next week I think its back to Cornish Pixie Elves I wonder if I could do some Poldark inspired ones. 

Until next time

Vic xx

Freaky Creepy Doll and New Mermaids.

This week I've been very busy getting some more mermaids made and in my shop by the end of the week. So I made two, one pink and one green, and I ended up calling them Morwenna and Vivienne.

This time I decided to decorate them both a bit more so with Morwenna I added some ric rac, a sequin and a bead to her bikini.  I also decorated the whole of her tail with more sequins and beads. 

With Vivienne I also added a bead to her bikini and embellished the braiding at the top of the tail with more beads. And like Morwenna I added lots more sequins and beads to her tail. There are some more photos of both Vivienne and Morwenna at the bottom of this post. 

Not only did I make the two mermaids I decided to complicate things by making an extra one. Girlie really liked the last small mermaid I made and she asked if she could have one too but a bit goth / dark fairy. Well as I had a spare head I decided I would make a painted mermaid. 

The head had a few extra coats of paint as the previous face was showing through, but once I got the dark paint on it looked great. I used some extra watered down black acrylic and added a bit of shadow and blush to the face which is something I don't usually do. I didn't add much embellishment to the body as I thought it would be good for girlie to add if she wanted too. Though I suppose I could have added a tattoo. 

Girlie loves her and she's hanging up above her alarm clock beside her bed. I'm not sure if she has been named yet but it will be interesting to see what girlie will call her. 

See you next time. 

Vic xx

Catching Up

Hello and sorry I've been away longer than I expected, the op went okay but I also lost my Mojo / Muse. But its back just in time as I've sold a couple of dolls recently and I need some new ones in my shop. With the loss of the mojo I also got behind with the year long challenge so unfortunately I've missed a week. But I have some new Cornish Pixie Elves to show and I'm really pleased with them.

These two were inspired by the decorative bird boxes I painted. The flowers remind me of old fashioned roses. The elves were already part of a family set I had retired, so they just needed a bit of decoration. 

The Topiary Elf was inspired by some garden ideas I had sketched in my ideas book. It was nearly a watering can elf but for some reason the flowering topiary tree won.

I also wanted to make some more Maritime / Nautical elves and I decided on and anchor design with a blue background and a red hat. It turned out better than I expected. 

So this week its back behind the sewing machine as I have mermaids and more in my head all desperate to be brought to life in cloth form.

See you soon

Vic xx

New painted Items and More Elves

I found some small wooden shapes in a local shop and I knew they would be brilliant to paint and sell. So I bought four mushrooms, two acorns and an apple, the apple and one mushroom I painted up for my Mum for Mothers day and they were my make for the year long challenge.

Mum loved them and they look great next to the Cloth Art Doll I made for her birthday. The other mushrooms I painted in purple, brown and green. 

The Acorns I decided to paint one in browns and the other in greens.

So I also painted a couple of Cornish Pixie Elf family sets, I painted a Campervan set which I've been meaning to make for a long while. I really didn't want them to be VW Campervans as I was worried about copyright so I went for a more generic design. 

The second set I wasn't sure what to paint on them I thought a flower might be nice. The Daisy came into my head and I tried it out an the tiny pixie elf and it looked great so the others ended up with a daisy on their bodies. 

 I'm really please with both sets and I feel more flowers and more detailed elves being made at some point.

The Pixie elves, mushrooms and acorns are available in my Etsy shop, I have extended my processing times for a short while as I have to go into hospital for a day and then I have to rest for a bit. But I have some help so there shouldn't be any delay in sending out any orders.

See you next time.

Vic

World Book Day and New Elves

Today is World Book Day and I thought it would be a nice to do a quick post about what I'm reading at the moment.  There have been a few new books published that I have read including book 4 of The Relic Seekers series, book 4 of the Hot Damned series. Though at the moment I'm currently savouring Jodi Taylor's newest book in the Chronicles of St Marys series. I really like her writing and reading a book about time travelling historians who drink endless tea and there is usually something disastrous happening or a certain professor blowing something up.

 I'm also trying to decide what to chose for book club, I would love to choose Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett but for some reason anything that is fantasy or sci fi seems to be more expensive compared to the more mainstream books.

Also this week I have painted two limited edition elves, these are the taller style elves which gives me more room to paint something a bit more detailed.

I have had the idea to paint a green man on an elf for a long time and I decided to use my favourite styles.I have only done them in the green spring colours but I am very very tempted to also paint two in autumnal colours.

Not only did I paint the two greenman elves I also painted a Bride and Groom set for Week 10 of the year long challenge. We have a family wedding at the  end of the month and I wanted to make a pair of elves for the bride. 

The Green Men elves will be in my ETSY shop next week and I will also be painting some new elves next week. 

Until next time

Vic xx