A New Dobby is Born

Posted by, Paulette

It's interesting to me that I can use the same pattern for a doll, and they turn out so different from one another. I just finished another Dobby doll. He looks very little like the others I've made. There's something about the needle sculpting and the painting that makes each doll unique.

 I wanted him to be a bit different than the other guys, and my hubby said that he looked happier. So, he needed more clothes. That made sense to me, so Dobby has a new green  tie and a faux suede vest that he's added to his wardrobe.

He is now available for sale in my shop.
 

Peter Pan Cloth doll

Posted by, Paulette

The great thing about doll making is being able to use up even the smallest scraps of fabric. Peter's tunic is made up of pieces of felt and cotton fabrics, cut into leaf shapes, gathered into bunches and then hand sewn onto a pair of high waisted shorts.

 

 His shadow is made from tulle.

 

It took almost as long to sculpt Tinkerbell as it did to make the entire Pater doll. She's so tiny! 
My newest little guy is available for sale in my Etsy shop.

New little guy

Posted by, Paulette

This is the little guy I'm working on today.

 He's undergone quite a transformation already from what he looks like in these pictures. Originally he was supposed to be a baby. After wigging him and realizing that he doesn't really look like a baby, I decided that he' s going to be someone else. Maybe you can guess. He'll have a little friend perching on his hand.
 

Medusa cloth doll

Posted by, Paulette

Sometimes when I'm out shopping, I'll pick up an item and have a picture flash into my head. Before Christmas, Dave and I were on a date and found ourselves at Joann Fabrics. While shuffling through their clearance bins, I found rolls and rolls of snake printed ribbon. I had an image of Medusa flash into my head. Flash forward to a few days ago. I found the ribbon while looking for something else and pulled it out and took it to my desk along with some pipe cleaners and a needle and thread and got to work. I found that by rolling the ribbon around the pipe cleaners a certain way and hand stitching it, I could get something that looked like a snake, so the project was a go.

The next part to decide was to make her pretty with all of those snakes for hair, or ugly...or something in between. I remembered that a couple of years ago, I'd bought some fabric that resembled tree bark, and thought that was a good start.

While needle sculpting her face, I thought that I would go the in between route, and make her a bit pretty. I've never done the shading or painting on a dark skinned doll before, and after pulling up a picture of a beautiful African woman on the internet, I had a reference.

 

 

 After some research on the internet (thank goodness for Wickapedia) I put together a chiton and some jewelry and a stand that is reminiscent of ancient Greek pottery. 

Here's a better picture of all of those snakes.

 Medusa is available in my shop.
 

Sarah Swan Lake Ballerina Ghost doll

Posted by, Paulette

I finally finished my latest doll. Her name is Sarah.

 

 I imagine that children who have passed on have the same passions as they did when on this Earth. Sarah loves to dance. Her favorite costume to wear is the one from Swan Lake. 

She is available for sale in my shop.

Hagrid Cloth Doll Completed

Posted by: Paulette

Hagrid

Hagrid is an original cloth doll. He's 23 inches (58.5 cm) long. He sits about 12 inches tall. His hair is made from three different yarns, wefted together on the sewing machine between pieces of copy paper, which are torn off before hand sewing the wefts to the head.

The most challenging part of this doll was the "leather" clothing. His vest is made from vinyl. And I found it to be too stiff to make his coat and boots from. So, I had to make some faux leather.
This was done by mixing Sobo Glue and acrylic paint together and then painting it onto a doe skin fabric.
 The variations in color were accomplished by using different colored paints, in layers.

Close up of clothes

Norbert hatches from the egg

Norbert is made from an armature of aluminum foil and wire and Super Sculpey, and then painted with acrylic paints
The umbrella is made from a dowel, fabric, and wire covered in Super Sculpey for the handle and then painted with acrylics.

The Hogwarts Gang

I've already sold some of the dolls, so this is the best I could do to get them together to show the size.