Swap Doll Now Finished and Delivered.

Wow it's been a day short of a month that I last blogged. So many crazy things have been happening around here. I'll share all the news over the next few posts. First of all I finally finished my swap doll. My ADA Art Doll Artists Group had a doll swap last month. I was a little late getting my doll out but since I was hosting the group I figure it was o.k. and my partner had no problem waiting.

I don't have the best photos since it was raining like crazy when I wanted to take pics but I'll still share them with you. I receive a great doll from Sarah Timmerman which I'll show first.

This is Mia the Unhappy Party Guest.

She's an adorable zombie. I love zombies!

My doll went to Sherry Hall. Since she lives on a ranch and rides horses and steer, yes you heard that right she rides show steer!, I had to make a cowgirl. I wasn't able to show wips of this project since Sherry follows my blog but it you bear with me I'll do that now.

I was so happy I already had these fun fabrics in my stash!

 Hand sewing the mini pom pom trim (also from my stash) with green embroidery thread that matched the green in the fabric.

 Super proud of how this skirt came out.

The underskirt was made from a real baby dress. It already had the ruffles and lace so worked out perfectly.

I hand embroidered the belt with colors from the fabric and found also in my stash one of those bolero type metal things that was perfect for a big buckle.

The boots were the hardest part of this project. I made them from felt. The light brown that looks like leather is an embossed felt that I also already had. I embroidered the details on and I love how they turned out.

These are the three accessories I made to go with the doll. A steer plush doll, a hobby horse and a flat topped cowboy hat.

Skirt and underskirt detail. She also is wearing bloomers 

I made but never got a pic of.

Meet Lucille - Queen of the Western Prairie

More Trial and Error.

So here's the Lion AGAIN. Still without a mane. I tried several different ways to make the mane with the faux fur and nothing worked right. I may just be too darn picky, my family liked how I was doing it but it just didn't feel right to me. I'm going to try a different approach, new materials and see how that goes. I may end up returning to the fur...who knows.

On another note my swap partner follows my fan page and my blog links there so I won't be showing anymore peeks of that project. I want it to be a surprise for her. I will say that I've completed her clothing and now need to make her accessories.

A Little of This and That...

The doll I showed in the last post needs a few more tweaks and the PDF should be in my shop by the Fall. 

I haven't blogged lately because my daughter and I have been scraping wallpaper from Hell in our bathroom. Finally that was done and we painted all the walls and ceiling. It's been a long process since we could only work when I was feeling well enough. We still need to do touch ups, paint the trim, hang the towel racks and put up the new mini blinds. I'll show pics when we are finished.

My art doll group is doing a doll swap that I am hosting and I'm so excited about it! I just finished embroidering the face of the doll I'm making last night and need to sew the body. I'm going to show a little peek a boo since my partner doesn't follow my blog.

Now on to the kitchen news. I've come to the realization that I'll probably have to dismantle my studio for a few months while we are re-doing the kitchen. My current studio resides in my dining room and that's the only place in the entire house to store the appliances and kitchen stuff. I was going to move my studio into the Master bedroom after my brother moved out but he didn't get the rental house he was hoping for so will be here longer. I don't want to hold up doing the kitchen so will probably be working on a small table in my bedroom like in the early days. Or possibly carve out a small area in my nephew's play room when they aren't here. Not a fun time for me but I'll take one for the team so we can get this kitchen done.

I still haven't finished the Lion. I just can't find the time to sit and really think about the mane design. Nothing I've done so far is working and I refuse to move on to another character until he is done.

My Swap Doll Is Here!

A package arrived yesterday from Florida. Inside was a lovely doll from Moriah Betterly of MLB Studios! In a previous post I showed you the doll I made for Moriah, now I get to share with you the doll Moriah made for me. 

I just love Day of the Dead, Dia de los Muertos. Moriah made me a lovely La Calavera Catrina style doll. She's so hauntingly beautiful!

To give you an idea of her size, she's just slightly under 12 inches tall. I don't know how Moriah works on a face so (to me) small and gives it such amazing detail.

I have small hands so this gives you a good idea of her head size. She has a beautiful crown of black and pink roses.

She has a sweet stitched bodice with black lace.

Her skirt has beautiful ruffles with a sweet tieback over skirt. The photos are coming out really pink but the color is more a lovely dark magenta with sparkles.

Moriah also included one of her new snowman ornies. I love snowmen and this is a great piece. He has a paper clay head, hands, feet and I believe buttons too with a sewn and stuffed body. It's a work of art in itself.

I will treasure both of these always!

If you'd like to see more of Moriah's art check out the links below.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/MLBStudios
http://mlbetterly.blogspot.com/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/BluMudd