Posted in art doll, Craft, Doll, mixed media, Twig doll, tagged art doll, art dolls, doll, ooak doll, Twig doll on August 7, 2016| Leave a Comment »
A couple more twig dolls finished. The next challenge is some decent photos of all of these – at the moment it is mid-winter, I seem to think about taking photos at the end of the day and that is death to decent lighting. And I think they need to be named, I feel kind of sad that they are anonymous, though I guess we all are to a greater or smaller extent to the wider world. Come my beauties and be loved…….
Posted in art doll, Craft, Doll, recycled textile, textile art, Twig doll, tagged art doll, art dolls, beaded doll, doll, ooak doll, recycled, Twig doll on July 31, 2016| Leave a Comment »
I was given a doll made with twigs, some paper mache and printed fabric. It is quirky and fun. And I had a ‘hmmmmm’ moment. Plus we were gathering autumn twigs for the fire and it just seemed to all come together.
I then made some fimo faces (from a Sculpey mould) and painted them. The wondrous thing about making these dolls is that you can use the smallest pieces of fabric. And that’s a great thing when one has a mountain of small pieces of fabric! I wanted to use beautiful fabric – so far the dolls have been made with pieces of silk, sari silk, dmc threads, a variety of ribbons and of course I just couldn’t help myself – a wee bit of beading. Coming together nicely I think.
Posted in art doll, Craft, Doll, mixed media, textile art, tagged angels, art doll, craft, doll, ooak doll on January 24, 2016| Leave a Comment »
The process for these dolls is improving – the finish is much better – hope everyone else is in agreement (because some of you may just be getting one!). Over the Christmas holidays I was on holiday in the Bay of Islands and visited a gallery in Opua and was lucky enough to talk to Charlotte Scott (http://www.theslightlymadquiltlady.blogspot.co.nz/). I loved her work and the dyed silks. I mentioned that I was finding it difficult to get the right weight backing for my dolls and Charlotte suggested pelmet vilene. Well I had to wait until we were a bit closer to home but I went into Spotlight (in Hastings) and they had never heard of it (!) – but I did purchase some very heavy weight interfacing and lucky lucky they had a sale so I bought a roller blind (to use the fabric) for only $10. Happy with that bargain! Have now made a couple of dolls with this combination and now feeling much happier about the finish. Am still going to search out some pelmet vilene though.
Below is another doll that I have recently finished. I have used some embellishments from the multitude in my ‘studio’ (I hesitate to say that with pride because it demands a HUGE tidy up). These include some pearls (faux) from an old pearl necklace bought in a 2nd hand shop and the velvet and beaded ‘belt’ is a piece of a Trelise Cooper ribbon salvaged from another project. The skirt part of the doll has freehand sewn writing with the word Angel oversewn with gold thread. The face is from a painting by William Clarke Wontner “A Beauty in Eastern Costume” (c.1916-1925). The backing has the wording “Speak the Language of Angels”, and the backing is painted vinyl. This is a flat doll made as a wall hanging.
Posted in art doll, Craft, Doll, textile art, tagged angels, art doll, art dolls, craft, doll, ooak doll on December 29, 2015| 2 Comments »
I LOVE making these dolls. They are a perfect way to use my imagination, utilise fabric, and add little pieces of embellishment. Two things that I still need to do more work on though.
First thing that is nagging away at me is figuring the best way to display them. If I put a little hook 2/3 of the way up the back, then the head falls forward when it is on the wall. But when I put the hook higher up it often exposes the hanger – a personal dislike. Blast. Am sure it will come to me at some stage……
Second is finding the best material for the backing. Currently I am drafting the figure onto cotton, backing it with a medium weight stabiliser and then sewing the fabric detail on. Then backing the doll with a vinyl. I would like it stiffer – so thinking that either I use a heavier stabiliser or a heavier weight backing. Will have to experiment with both. Any maybe the result will solve the first problem.
Here is the latest:
and the back:
Posted in Craft, tagged angels, art dolls, Christmas Decoration, ooak doll, recycled on October 3, 2015| Leave a Comment »
Oops, how bad is that, this is the first post for 2015. Life has been busy, the inspiration not always there, so the creative side has been a bit dormant. Made a few fabric patchwork rugs just for us – and not really a lot else until the last few weeks. Had the usual Saturday evening surf on the net and found some inspiration to get me going again. Decided to create some larger pieces that can be hung – these have an Angel theme and will be great for Christmas time, or any other time – always good to have a bit of glitter somewhere no matter what time of year it is! The art dolls are made from recycled fabrics and embellishments, with some hand embroidery and hand beading.
These have a heavier backing which I think provides a better base for hanging. Just need to find the best way to hang them.
This one is called Life is a Wonderful Fairytale:
and here is the back, which has been painted red and gold.
The next art doll is Speak the Language of Angels. The stars are all handworked (both sides) with sequins and beads.
Back of Speak the Language of Angels:
Posted in art doll, Craft, Doll, textile art, tagged art doll, art dolls, beaded doll, doll, Grace Kelly, ooak doll on December 16, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Here she is at last….. took some time to finish her but feel reasonably happy now with the first movie star. Let’s hope I get some time over the Christmas holidays to craft another one or two.
