Dolls Already Here and Many to Come

So if you've purchased any of my jewelry you've also received one of my business cards, and on there it says that I make "one of a kind dolls." You may be wondering about that since you haven't seen any on Etsy - YET....

I have several in the works, and you'll see them soon, and be able to purchase them. They're based on universal themes, for example, I'm making a Sky Doll, and a Green Man Doll, an Angel Doll, and a Rainy Day Doll, a Creation Spirit Doll, a Viking Doll, a Power Doll, and many others. Their bodies are made of gorgeous fabrics, sometimes completely covered with beads, sometimes only partially decorated with beads. I've spent quite a bit of time learning various stitching patterns with beads, and they each have enough fringe to feel really good when you run it through your hands. They're big enough to feel good to hold, but not huge - anywhere between 6 and 15" tall. Look for photos soon, and I'll blog about the history and making of them here. They take more time than my jewelry creations, so they're a little slower in coming, but well worth the wait! The ones I'll have on Etsy will likely run between $150 and $350. They take a lot of time, but they're real charmers : )

I have a couple that run into the thousands - the little mermaid doll (which belongs to my daughter) took about 200 hours to make, and was a labor of love. The beads are sewn on about 10 beads at a time, and then I go back and overloop the thread next to each bead so that it sits tight and stays put. You wouldn't belieeeve how good this doll feels in your hands. She's about 6" tall.

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Little Mermaid Doll

Back of Little Mermaid Doll

This little Angel Doll I made for my son's girlfriend, whose father was diagnosed with mesothelioma - he was so sick, and I wanted her to feel the angels were close, not only to him, but to the family as well. He passed away in August and though there's some comfort in the end of his suffering, and loving thoughts of his new journeys, he is very very much missed.

Little Angel Doll

Back of Little Angel Doll

Here's a preview of my Power Doll (below). Don't be too disappointed, she's for me, so not for sale. It's serendipitous that I would be making her now, as my business gets started, because "in yin and yang terminology, a dragon is yang (male) and complements a yin (female) fenghuang 'Chinese Phoenix'," (Chinese Dragon, Wikipedia). What this means is that there's a connection between my female (receptive) nature and my male (active) nature happening, which is why the business is finally graduating from being just a dream to becoming a reality - kind of exciting. That connection has been a long time coming.

For most of my dolls, I get the molds for their faces from Kimberly Crick, who's very talented. I use ProSculpt Clay to make the faces, which you can get at artdolls.com, and then I carefully paint them with acrylic paint. Just the faces can take from 4 to 8 hours depending on how detailed they are.

This doll's coming along, but is really a work in progress. I have about 23 hours in this one so far, and she's not nearly done. It took about 4 hours just to get the boobs done. In case you haven't noticed, I have a propensity for celebrating everything female : ) This doll's going to be covered with beads, should be fun to work on, and really feel good to hold....updates as progress continues.... She has Tibetan llama fur for her hair - I often spend time in antique stores rescuing furs from those dusty old shelves to give them new life and new love. Sometimes I buy new but I try to buy only fur that is from animals that have had a good life and a natural passing.

And here is my Sprite Doll - a mischievous little elfin creature quite content with her world.

Sprite Doll

Here's another view. She's holding a golden hummingbird (hummingbirds represent joy) and she's very balanced, which you can see in the design of her body/fabrics - though balanced definitely doesn't mean boring! She's quite moveable and I put her wherever strikes our fancy, on a shelf or my art table or wherever seems to please her for the moment : )

Sprite Doll

So now you have some idea of what's coming with my dolls. Don't worry, I'll still keep the magical jewelry coming - that's my solace in the evenings, but weekends are for longer projects - keep checking back!

Namaste