Tuesday, December 9, 2008

I Got A Blog Award


I just received this award on my blog. It was given to me by my fellow Prim Sister and Doll Maker, Bev of Heartland Creations.


Bev is a great doll maker herself so this award is quite an honor. Thanks Bev!



Sunday, December 7, 2008

Primitive Christmas Elves on ebay





Primitive Christmas Elves On eBay

I just listed a couple of Christmas Elves on eBay.
I haven't listed there in a while and thought maybe some of you would like a chance to bid them.

There are only 2 more that I have left to finish. So if you're in the market for elves - now's your chance.

All of the others that were pictured on here a while back have been made and sent to their new homes.

These two are a boy and a girl. They make a cute brother and sister elf set, and would be so cute peeking out from under a Christmas tree.

They measure about 16" tall and have whimsical 3-D needle sculpted faces.

They have been painted in layers and sanded between each layer and stained to give them the appearance of an antique toy.

Their clothing is all cotton and has been lightly stained with coffee to give it an aged look.

They have wire in their arms, so that they can be posed or they can hold items such as small gift, or maybe a candy dish.

Their socks and boots are painted on. The boy's boots have cotton laces with jingle bells. The girls boots are an old fashioned style and have buttons up the sides.

They both have mischievous green eyes.

This was the last of my reindeer print material. I really liked how well the pattern fit in with a primitive theme.

Like I said earlier, I only have 2 more elves to finish and then, I will be done making them for 2008. It's a good thing, I'm about elfed-out for this year.



I already have visions of new primitive dolls and animals for 2009 in my head.

Thanks for stopping by the Doll*Shoppe !

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Lucy And Ella





Lucy and Ella are my 2 newest Pet dolls.

These 2 sweet girls are up for sale in my store at: Doll*Shoppe Primitives and Collectibles which is located at The Olde Primitive Sisters MarketPlace.

They are approximately 23" tall. These 2 are made from my own original patterns.

They have a painted shoulder head, lower arms and lower legs. They are painted in layers, sanded between each layer and stained. This process gives them the look of an antique toy.

Both of these girls turned out very nice, with such sweet faces.

Ella is the first black Pet doll that I have made, She is very pretty and I think I will be making more black pet dolls in the future. After all, she would get lonely without sisters, wouldn't she?

Thanks for checking in at the Doll*Shoppe.
Happy Holidays!

Monday, November 24, 2008

A Busy Time Of Year - More Elves and Pet Dolls




I am so far behind - it seems as if I may never catch up!
I've been dealing with some on going health issues that have slowed me down a bit. But I'm still making dollies! Just at a slower pace these days.

These Christmas Elves and Pet Dolls are pending the approval of one of my great customers.

The Elf Family

They turned out cute! I really like the Granny and Grandpa. I put little spectacles on the Granny. It adds so much to her personality.

I dressed the old couple in a nice flannel that is a deep burgundy wine color and trimmed their outfits in green and off white checked homespun fabric. Granny doesn't get a hat, it would mess up her hair - don't ya know.
The younger ones are dressed in sage green print and burgundy and off white homespun fabric.
They are all such characters with their impish smiles and glancing eyes.

NEW PET DOLLS

I finally finished my black Pet Doll. I named her Ella. She has a sweet face, I really like the way she turned out.

The other 2 Pet Dolls, Lucy and Olivia are also very nice. I gave them a light color skin tone and brown eyes. That combination with the dark black hair gives the wonderful impression of an old antique china doll.

Back to work for me ........................... gotta get those orders filled!

Thanks for stopping in at the Doll*Shoppe - please come back again!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Another Dolly Update



I have been busy sewing.

Everyone who has ordered dolls be assured they are in the making.

The ones in the photo are a mixture of Elves, patriots, pet dolls and Christmas dolls. There should be 22 dolls in the photo and I have 10 more that are in various stages of completion.

I will be so glad when these are finished as I am bursting with fresh new ideas for dolls and animals that I would like to make.

There is a new design on some of the elves that I am making, they will be jointed at the shoulders and hips with lightly rusted metal buttons.

Thanks for checking in, I hope to have better photo's and another update for you all soon.

Have a great week!

Friday, October 31, 2008

Elf Update and Other Happenings

The past 2 weeks have been very busy around here.

4 More Elves Finished.

I improved the body a bit compared to the last one. The armature in the arms is more stable, and they are able to hold things better than before.
And I made the collars differently by making petals of fabric and overlapping them. I think it looks very old fashioned elfish. I also made 3 of them with pointed elf shoes instead of the rounded toes.

A Papa Elf with gray whiskers and a balding head. He is approximately 23" tall. He has blue eyes.

The large Girl Elf is also approximately 23" tall. She has red hair done up in puppy tails and tied with green embroidery floss. Like most red heads she has green eyes.

The Snow Girl Elf in shades of blue with snowflake print on it is approximately 16" tall she has blond hair. Her blue eyes match her outfit.

The Boy Elf is also approximately 16" tall, his hair is a light blond. He has green impish eyes and a cute little smile.

All the elves have rooted mohair hair. The hair is lightly glued and needle felted into place. Their features are painted, as are the shoes and stockings. The clothing is lightly stained with coffee to give the appearance of a vintage piece.

There are more pictures of them in my Doll_Shoppe_Prims Gallery


Other News and Why I haven't been around to update my blog.

My Great Great Niece decided she wanted to enter into this world early. She came October 29, 2008 weighing in at 3 Lbs 2 Oz. She is 16 1/4" long.
What a cutie, perfect in every way - like a tiny little doll.
She is healthy and will be going home from the hospital next week.



Happy Halloween Everyone!

Sunday, October 19, 2008

The Christmas Elf and a More




The Christmas Elf
The Christmas Elf is finished and will be on his way to his new home tomorrow. He is such a whimsical little fellow, full of personality.
New Items In My Store
I have updated and added new items to my store Doll*Shoppe Primitives at The Olde Primitive Sisters Marketplace. I added 2 more Belindy dolls and Chloe and her own Little Belindy Doll. I will be adding more to it in the near future so check back everyonce and while to see what is new.

Notice to All the Doll Makers and Crafters
A Great Place to Sell your Creations !
The Olde Primitive Sisters Marketplace is a fantastic web based mall to sell your wares.
I'm excited to be able to share this with all my fellow doll makers and crafters ! They are now accepting new vendors.

So if you have thought about setting up a web site or store on line this is a great opportunity for you. The cost is very affordable, cheaper than most places by far!

The owner does quite a bit of advertising so there are a lot of visitors coming and going to check out the products available.

Support is available through the owner or other members.

No, I'm not getting paid to post this - selling my creations through the Olde Primitive Sisters Marketplace works great for me and I just thought if you were looking for a way to sell your creations you might want to give it a try. For the small monthly fee you get a world wide audience to introduce your art too. It's much cheaper and easier than trying to do craft shows.

If you want more information just click on this link and check it out. The Olde Primitive Sisters Marketplace

What I'm Working On.
More elves! May be a girl elf or 2 , and I think one will become and old gray haired elf. These are so cool! Just making them makes me laugh when I look at their little funny elfy faces!

I also have a couple of Pet dolls that I am painting. I think this time I will make one into a black doll. I love the classic look of these old time dolls.

Back to work for me. Hope you all have a great weekend and come back soon to see what's new at the Doll*Shoppe!

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

4 Belindy's are finished! Primitve Black Folk Art Dolls



The 4 Belindy dolls I had started are now finished!

At least one of them is already taken, the other 3 will be listed soon In The Doll*Shoppe at the Olde Primitive Sisters Marketplace.

Belindy
Belindy is Raggedy Ann's best friend. She wears red and yellow clothing, and is as cute as she can be.

Pictures of the 4 that I have just finished are available for viewing in my Doll_Shoppe_Prims Gallery. Each of them is a bit different, than the other. Some have thick hair some have sparse hair.

They are made of muslin, stuffed with fiberfill and painted head to toe, sanded and stainedto give them a primitive antiqued look. They are button jointed at the shoulders and hips with lightly rusted tin buttons.

They are wearing red and yellow dresses, muslin pantaloons and muslin aprons. All their clothing has been sanded, stained and patched to give them a well worn vintage look. 2 of the dresses have skirts made of yellow and white plaid with a cherry print on it.

All of the Belindy's shoes and stockings are painted on. The shoes are tied with waxed black thread.

What else is happening?

I am still working on the elves, but they are coming along and I should have a picture or two to post by the end of the week.

I have put dark brown mohair hair on the first elf that was previously pictured and made him a little pair of overalls that are off white with green snowflakes on them. His shirt is made of dark green homespun fabric with a deep burgandy collar and cuffs. I'll let you take a peek at him at the end of the week.

Thanks for stopping in. Please come again.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Chloe and Little Belindy - 2 Primitive Black Folk Art Dolls






Chloe and Her Little Belindy Doll

I have put the finishing touches on Chloe and made her a Little Belindy doll to hold.

They are absolutely adorable together!

The Little Belindy doll turned out so cute! I have given her a sparse hair do, done up in little tufts and tied with strips of left over material from her dress and pantaloons. She is button jointed at the shoulders and hips.

Chloe and her dolly, Little Belindy are scheduled to Ebay for this afternoon. I do hope they find a good home. The auction will end this coming Sunday afternoon 10/12/08. There will be a link at the bottom of this page to take you there as soon as she is listed.

I have posted an album of these 2 dolls in DollShoppe Prims Photo Gallery. Take a look at them and see if you agree how cute they are.

What's in The Making
I have been sewing like a mad woman this last week. Trying to catch up on orders and put some more dolls back into my Olde Primitive Sisters Market Place Store. I have Christmas Elves in 2 sizes, 22" and 16" in the making, more Pet Dolls, and even another Little Patriot.

Back to work for me.......................

..................Thanks for stopping by! Come back again and see what's in the making at the Doll*Shoppe.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Booker and Chloe - 2 Primitive Black Folk Art Dolls + more










Booker - a Primitive Black Folk Art Boy Doll


Booker is quite the little guy. I had made him a proper pair of blue slacks, but I could tell he didn't want to wear them. So I ended up making him a pair of overalls. The overalls are made out of a cotton material, not as heavy as ticking but it has the same design. I have stained them with coffee and patched the knee. His shirt is checked homespun. He also is wearing a pair of muslin shorts under his overalls.

Booker's hair is made of mohair roving and lightly glued and needle felted into place. I like the short hair on him.

I still have to make him something to hold, I was thinking a frog, but them other thoughts keep coming to mind. Maybe he wants a chicken, or a puppy. He may even get a baby bunny. I still am not sure what it will be.

Chloe - A Primitive Folk Art Black Girl Doll

Chloe, my little girl doll is very sweet. She has a red and white cotton dress and muslin bloomers that are trimmed with red and white material that matches the dress.

I had made her hair ribbons to tie her puppy tails with but they didn't look right, so I will be making her some others. Her hair is also made of mohair roving.

She will be holding a little doll, which I still have to make.

More Belindy's In The Making

The box of dolls that I am working on are all Belindy dolls. I have had several people ask if I had anymore of them so ................I'm working on them!

The Belindy doll was inspired by Raggedy Ann's best friend - Belindy. These dolls are my version of that Belindy. If you want to see what they look like finished you will find an album in My Photo Gallery of Belindy. If course they will not be exactly the same but they will be similar to the one in the gallery.

Thanks for stopping by the Doll Shoppe, Please come back again!

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Primitive Black Dolls and Folk Art Dolls - In The Making







The 2 Primitive Black Dolls
The black dolls that I was working on are coming along great.

They are both ready to be dressed and have some hair put on them.

They are approximately 22 1/2" tall now - without hair.

The little girl will be dressed in a red and white dress with a bow tied in the back. I think I will give her puppy tails tied with white bows. She is a real cutie. Her name is Chloe.

And the handsome little boy will be dressed in blue homespun pants and a green checked shirt. I have decided to name him Booker. He is a real heart stealer with those big brown eyes.

Both of these dolls have wire in their arms so that they can hold something. I will be making a doll for the girl, I am not sure yet what Booker will hold.

The Christmas Elf

This little guy is adorable. He is so funny, I laugh everytime I look at the profile of his little face. He is approximately 16" tall. His shoes and socks are painted in traditional Christmas colors.
He has very pretty green eyes that seem to be full of mischief. I will give mohair hair, I haven't yet decided if it will be dark brown or blonde. His arms are also wired to hold something. I haven't named him yet but I am sure by the time he is dressed I will know just who he is.

Other Folk Art Dolls in The Making
The 2 sawdust filled dolls that I was working on are only on their second coat of paint. I hope to have them finished (or close to it) by the end of the week.


The Halloween Mystery Doll - A Devil

The Halloween mystery doll I have been working on is not a mystery anymore. You can tell by the photo that he is a devil. I really like the way he looks so far.

This week I hope to finish up most of these, and I need to start on some others that are special orders.
That's all for now, have a great day and THANKS for stopping by!

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Meet Abbey - a Black Folk Art Primitive Doll






Meet Abbey,
she is the newest black primitive doll. I just finished her this evening.

Isn't she cute?

Abbey is the doll I was previously working on. I had planned on making a man doll but she emerged instead. And that's o.k. - sometimes you just don't know who will come out in the end when you start making a doll.

Abbey is approximately 22 1/2 " tall. Her little doll that she holds is just a little over 8 1/2" tall.

She has mohair hair that is kind of wild, I was going to style it differently but I really liked the untamed look on her.

Her face is needle sculpted. She has big brown eyes, and blushed cheeks.

Her dress is made of cotton fabrics, the bodice is checked green and off white as are the cuffs on the sleeves. The dress skirt is a double skirt that is made of a off white cotton gauze fabric. The bow in her hair is of fabric that matches the skirt. Her pantaloons are made of muslin trimmed with checked fabric that matches the dress bodice.
Abbey's socks and shoes are painted on. I attached brass buttons to her shoes.
All of her clothing is lightly stained with coffee to give it an aged appearance.

Abbey's little doll is made of muslin, like Abbey. I painted on the shirt and bloomers and sewed the skirt on to her. The skirt is not hemmed.

I think I will put Abbey and her little doll up for sale on eBay this coming Sunday.

Dolls in The Making
The group of unfinished dolls is what I am currently working on. The bigger ones have the same basic body design as what Abbey has, but I have made some improvements. I have put wire in the arms so that they can hold things better and made the feet larger. There are also some that are like these only a smaller size, approximately 15-16 inches. One of these smaller ones will be a Christmas elf. Also in the group photo there are 2 sawdust filled pet dolls.

That's about it for now, I need to get busy on the others, and work some more on my Halloween Mystery doll.

Thanks for stopping by. Please come again.

Saturday, September 6, 2008






I have finished dressing the Izannah Walker inspired doll.
As I said before her dress is a blue print and a solid blue. The overskirt is solid blue.
There are yards of cotton lace on her underclothing and dress. All the lace was hand stitched into place.
The bonnet is lined with buckram and has a faux pearl decoration on the sides.
All her clothing is lightly stained with coffee to give it an aged appearance.

Black Doll Update
The black doll is coming along, I have decided to go ahead and paint the body also. I have only done one coat of paint on the lips and have started the eyes. There is still a bit of painting left to do on him. He will have mohair hair that is felted into place.

Mystery Doll
The needle sculpting on the Halloween mystery doll is finished (I think) Any guesses on what it is going to turn out to be? If you scroll through my last few posts you can see photos of the the legs and arms. Any guesses?

Other projects
I have cut out several dolls to sew. Including a couple of dolls in a smaller size that are similar to the most recent black doll I am working on. A few new Pet dolls (those with their names across their chest's like the old pet china dolls.) And a couple of others the same size that are similar to the black doll above.

Thanks for stopping in and visiting the Doll*Shoppe!
Have a great weekend!

Friday, August 29, 2008

Dolly Update!






This has been a short week! In the time that I have had to work on the dolls
this is what I have accomplished.
____________________
The Izannah Walker inspired doll now has all her underclothes. A camisole, split drawers and a slip. I put double rows of cotton lace on each piece. The camisole has pearl beads and loop closures up the back, and the front has lace and a row of pearl beads. The split drawers and the slip both have a cotton draw string at the waist.

I have begun working on her dress, the bodice is blue floral, pleated all the way around. She will have puffed sleeves made of a solid blue with cuffs out of the floral. The dress skirt will be in the floral pattern, but the over-skirt will be the solid blue with lace on it.
_____________________

NEW DOLL DESIGN
The black doll is my new design. I am really happy the way it is turning out. It will definitely be another character.

The shoulder head, lower arms and lower legs will be painted, the body will be stained with tea and coffee.

It has it's second coat of paint now I am ready to paint the flesh color. Most of my black dolls are done in a deep umber color, I am not sure that I want to go that dark on this one, I may lighten it a shade or two.

This size of this doll is about 22-23".

I really like the body design, I think I will also be making some dolls with this body design in a smaller size.
_____________

I don't have any new photo's of the mystery doll this time, hopefully I will be able to work on it some this weekend and post some photo's next week.

Have a great holiday weekend.
Thanks for stopping by the Doll*Shoppe!

Sunday, August 24, 2008

This Week At The Doll*Shoppe




I was finally able to get the old fashioned primitive pet doll - Ophelia listed on eBay.

I have some new idea's brewing for some other primitive dolls. I'll get to work on them this week. I also need to get to work making some more Victorian style bunnies as the last one of those has been sold.

I NEED to make some clothes for the Izannah Walker inspired doll this week. She will be dressed in shades of blue to match her eyes.

The part of the mystery doll I have shown you today is the arms. It has l-o-n-g wicked fingers. I am going to be doing quite a bit of needle sculpting on this one. Since I am not planning on having it finished until the end of September, I will have plenty of time to add a lot of details. Any guesses what this mystery Halloween doll is is going to be?
Thanks for stopping in - please come back again!