Meet Aunt Eula and Her Pesky Pet Crows

I finished the black doll and have listed her on ebay. Her name is Aunt Eula and she is a gardener.

Her favorite flowers are sunflowers so I made her a basket full of them. There are 6 sunflowers made of muslin with stems of wire wrapped in cotton floss. She has 2 pesky pet crows that have taken up residence on her hat brim and built a nest there.

At first I had her dressed in a simple cotton dress that was light green with polka dots and a yoke of small pink flowers - but it just didn't have enough personality for this lady. So I found a piece of material in my stash that had crows and sunflowers on it, and made her a new outfit. Then I methodically "ruined it" LOL - I sanded it thin, dyed it with coffee and patched it. It looks and feels like a very old comfortable gardening dress.

The 2 little crows are made of muslin too, I thought about sculpting them or carving them out of wood but decided if the flowers were made of muslin the crows should be too. They turned out really cute.

The Izannah Walker inspired doll was purchased by someone from New York, so she will go live there soon.

I am thinking of making a boy along the same lines as the Izannah Walker inspired girl dolls. I don't see many old fashioned boy dolls being made and I think it would be a fun project. So that is on my list for the near future. I will probably start on him this week. I can see him now in a fancy little boys Victorian outfit with cotton lace looking so proper and well behaved.

I am really itching to sculpt something or someone. It has been months since I sculpted anything. Sometimes I just wanna play in clay. So I am thinking I will start sculpting something this week.

I would like to thank all of those who have recently visited my blog and those who have emailed or left nice compliments on my dolls. THANK YOU so much!

Happy Spring! - What's New

We are having a wonderful spring day!

I finished the Camel With Wrinkled Knees. What personality he has. I think I have become attached to the little guy, we have been conversing for several days now - LOL. I really will miss him when he is sold.

He has shiny black button eyes. He is made of a natural flannel and stained with coffee and has patches sewn here and there. I made his halter out of muslin and painted - sanded and stained it. Of course he can't stand up and is a bit floppy to pose but that only adds to his charm.

Although I didn't purposely design the camel to fit with the Raggedy Annie doll I made last week, she fits perfectly on his back. They make quite a pair.

I dressed the Raggedy Ann Primitive Doll in cotton gauze clothing. I sanded her clothing thin and made holes in it, added patches and stained them with coffee. On the front of her little apron I embroidered the words: Always and Forever, Annie.

My felting needles arrived and I was able to finish the Yankee Doodle Boy patriotic doll. He has blond mohair hair felted into place, and tied in a pony tail in the back. He has been painted in several layers - sanding between each layer and stained. I added a metal buckle to his belt and buttons to his shirt, and breeches. I made his flag out of cotton canvas, and painted, sanded and stained it. I attached the flag to a dowel and stitched it to his hand.

Yankee Doodle has been around since colonial times, so I had to make him a little tricorn hat and put a feather in it - of course.

What's new? I have started another doll this morning, making the pattern as I go - (that's what I usually do) I really haven't decided on a persona for it yet, we will have to see wait and see wh0 she ........... or he turns out to be. I have several ideas swimming around in my head for the up coming Mothers Day Holiday - I may have to get started on that while it is fresh in my mind.

3/6 Mid-Week * What's Goin' On

The medium sized Victorian Bunny is finished. Her head is slightly turned to the side, it gives her a inquisitive look. I made her feet slightly larger than the last medium sized Victorian Bunny. She still needs a basket or a backpack.

The rest of the bunnies are all in different stages of being finished. The largest bunny still needs her eyes painted, the smaller ones need sanded and painted some more.

Little ducky is in a the sanding stage. I chose to paint him in vivid colors, as most of the old toy ducks I have seen were at one time very brightly colored. Of course after he is antiqued the colors will look more vintage and time worn.
I can see a lot of improvements that can be made on the next ducks I make. I will add some more needle sculpting and possibly I will lightly stuff the wings and give them a quilted look in the future.

I am seriously beginning to worry about ebay. I have read that a new CEO is on the horizon and that his plans are to move ebay to a fixed price platform. That kind of defeats the purpose of ebay - doesn't it? That along the fee increases and feedback changes has me looking into other venues that I may pursue in the future.

Other news? After receiving an invitation to join - I am now a member of the Olde Primitive Sisters Group, this is a great bunch of ladies who are all talented artist in their own rights. We all sell on ebay - If you type in OPSG into your ebay search there you will see a wide variety of primitives and collectibles that we create. Everything primitive from ornaments to primitive dolls, toys, folk art and Americana art.

I am getting tired of bunnies, again. Next week it will be something different - I think.

Thanks again for reading my blog!