Combining interests

What have I got  myself into.  I think making a dreamharp has given me the impression that I can do anything.  At least with the dreamharp I had guidance!

There are two things (ok I have others) in my life that I am currently enjoying: my Blythe Dolls; and my Artistic Doll Swap.  After playing around with altering a Barbie doll for the last swap, I thought, this would be cool to do for real.  I went on line and look at dolls and doll parts like the Ooak Obitsu dolls.  I have purchased the necessary items to create a doll.  The face of this doll however has no eye holes so I will be painting them on.  It also has a wig that fits snugly so I don't need to hand stitch the hair onto a scalp.

You would think that would be enough of a challenge and that I would give it a try first before moving on to something harder.  I probably would have but I am still waiting for parts to arrive, so in my spare time I was looking at more Blythe things on the internet.  I found out bits of information all over the place on how to customise your Blythe doll.  Yep you guessed it, I have gone out and ordered the necessary items for doing this.

At first I thought of making her from scratch but realised it would be easier to work on an already made doll.  I am not so stupid however that I am going to try it on one of my current dolls.  I managed to find someone on ebay who sells the dolls nude, direct from the factory so she is still a genuine Blythe doll.  Though in hindsight, thanks to the cost of postage, it would have been cheaper to buy a Simply Mango Blythe doll with free shipping.

Unlike the Obitsu I will be working on, in order to do new hair, I will be hand stitching it.  The eyes are also movable and I have bought new eye chips.  I am thinking of sanding her face as well to make her less shiny.  At least the makeup can be done using chalks, which luckily I already have.

I am super excited and super scared about customising a Blythe doll.  I want to have all the parts now and get started yesterday.  Hmmm now what to make her.  I am thinking a fairy or an elf.  I may even put a tiny jewel on her eyelid.  Oh the options are endless.

Blog post mourning

Two days ago I sat down here, and wrote an extraordinary blog post.  It was full of humour, wit and drama.  It was probably the best I have ever written, but alas, I accidentally clicked the back arrow and consequently lost the lot.  My dispair has seen me in mourning for the loss of a truly brilliant piece of literary creativity.  As such I chose a suitable amount of time to mourn before I came back online.  Two days is sufficient I think.

So, what was the deceased post about?

Wednesday last week the household gained an extra 3 people.  My friend Ruth, her husband Jeff and their daughter (my niece) Araminta, were staying with me a few days.  They are currently making a big move from one country to another, while stopping over in Australia to catch up with friends and family. 

Bearing in mind that I have two dogs, one of which is not used to kids and the other has not been around them for 3 years, plus I am babysitting my Aunts dog, means the house was full.  Araminta loved the dogs, but the dogs (all of them 12 yrs plus) were not too keen on a 4 year old girl running after them.  This meant I was the safe haven and had 3 dogs around me constantly, unless of course, Araminta had food.

Eventually Araminta realised that Bo was the most patient one:

 Of course I could not have my niece here and not get her doing something creative.  Over two afternoons we made a mixed media hard canvas that she could take with her.  We used everything from spray mists, to Gesso, micr powder, lace, stencils and so on.  She did most of the work herself.  I just showed her what to do.  Her colour scheme was a little 'out there' so I softened it a little.  I think it turned out great.

 In my rather long break from blogging, I participated in another doll swap.  The theme for this one was "the Animal Within."  I went hopped on the internet and did some of those quirky "what is your spirit guide" quizes.   Pretty much it was 50/50 between a wolf and a deer.  Just goes to prove yet again that I have a split personality.  :)  

I figured the wolf would be the easiest to work with.  I had already decided that I was going to alter a barbie.  To do her hair, I melted her actual hair with the heat gun.  It went into a top knot sort of thing which provided the height for the wool that I threaded through.  Yes I beheaded her and shoved a needle through many times.

I did take some photos of the Blythe dolls clothes that I have been making, but seem to have been in the deleting frame of mind and have accidentally deleted them. I will take them again after I have made some more.

Well the house is quiet now and I am back to work.  I have nicknamed my Aunt's dog 'Puddle,' because he is one big dog puddle always at your feet.  If he were human, he would be a stalker!

The weekend can't get here quick enough.

Playing Catch Up

Writing about my Melbourne trip, took a while. In that time I created a doll for a swap and sent it to Colorado (see previous post). Everyone enjoyed the swap so much that we are now planning our second one, which is themed "the Animal Within." I already have some ideas. I have even purchased a book that gives really good instructions on how to model human faces and figures from polymer clay.

Challenges are also part of the swap group. Each fortnight, Linda chooses a theme and we challenge ourselves to make a doll keeping with the theme. The first was paper. Unfortunately I can't locate my paper doll photos and for some reason can't copy them from Face book. I did have great feedback regarding them so I am thinking of putting a pictorial tutorial on here.

The second challenge was wire but we could also use metal. Oh in case you were wondering, these are not swaps. The swaps are quarterly. If you are interested in joining up then please contact me.

This is my wire and metal doll. She is 100% metal and wire ... except the glue holding her hair on. I actually used my stampin up punch to do the flowers! I knew the Big shot diez cut through aluminium but I didn't realise the standard punches did. Won't be using it that often with metal though. I don't want to make them blunt.

WARNING!!!!

If you are part of the doll swap and suspect I am your angel in disguise then don't read any further until you have your doll in hand.

Unfortunately due to insensitive people signing up and not forthcoming with communication or a doll, and also due to dolls lost in the post (we think they went on holidays somewhere together) there are some who have not received a doll as yet. I signed up to be a doll Angel, which means I have made a doll for someone who has missed out. The person I am making for is in the same state as me so that I don't have to spend a lot on postage. I have included photo's of the doll at the end of this blog. Oh I just realised that I haven't put the doll I received on here. How rude of me. I will save that for another time. It is steam punk style and I love steampunk.

Today I arrived home to find a gorgeous little gift from my friend Ruth, in my mail. She knows how much I adore my dogs and like to keep them warm in winter. She had found a cute little hoodie for a dog that says "Spoilt Rotten." On the cardboard under the hoodie it said "My dog is not spoilt, I am just well trained!" Hahaha I love that. Might make a coat myself with that on it. :)

It is a little on the small side, (the next size up would have been good) but I managed to squeeze Bo into it, and does she ever look so cute. She even posed for me. Actually if we trim her fur it will fit just nice. In the first photo she reminds me of a garden gnome.

Finally, here is the doll I made for my angel gift. Like my first doll, she has been a complete experiment using products I have never used before. She better not fly away in the mail. :)

Artistic Doll Swap #1

A while back now I posted about a Facebook Artistic Doll Swap that I was in. Altogether there were around 70 plus members. We are almost ready for the second doll swap with close to 100 members.

My original idea was to be a flat paper doll, however it kind of evolved into something entirely different. Its torso and thighs are made from dowel sticks covered with thin corrugated cardboard. His arms and legs are chipboard, cut in strips to male a circular shape and also covered with the cardboard. Face, hands, feet, birds, and mouse were hand crafted from sculpy (no molds used).

I call him Manu Katiaki, which means bird guardian in Maori. He protects all the small creatures of the forest (mainly birds). If I ever develop a range of these characters they will be called the Kitara which is Celtic for Forest.

One thing I learnt from making this is to appreciate the next making skills of birds. I have opposable thumbs and it took me forver to weave something that resembled a nest.

Manu Katiaki is now living it up in Oregan with his new owner, who absolutely adores him.

Creation of the Kitara:
Once upon an

ancient night

The moon was out

and shining bright...

A forest stood

beneath its beam

Its trees stood tall

with leaves of green

Beneath the

canopy so dark

A magical creature

created a spark

You would have seen

a tiny glow

And onto a sapling

it did blow

It bounced around

like a pale ball

Waking new life,

with its call.

The saplings took on

A shape all their own

And on wooded feet

they started to roam.

Thus was the birth

of the spirit trees

Who wander and

protect all living things.

They can only be seen

If you believe

For then they will shine out

From beneath the leaves.

On the right side of my blog you will see a pink button for the Artistic Doll Swap Blog. It will soon show all the dolls from the swap.

Swaps

One more day at work (YES) and then tomorrow night I am flying out to cold, chilly Melbourne, leaving the heat behind. Yes Perth is still kinda warm. In fact last night I literally ... actually no that would give you horrible visual images.

In Melbourne I plan to be at the Stampin Up convention for the first few days, then literally flittering all over the city and countryside, catching up with friends and family. I can't wait.

This however has meant lots of preparation. I have made 60 butterfly pins for the swap at convention. I have about 5 different colours but the below are my favourite ones.

Speaking of swaps, the doll for the Artistic doll swap that I am in, has changed rather dramatically since I first made the head. You see, it was initially going to be a flat doll with 3D embellishments, but then I saw what others were making and thought I would give a go with a 3D one, hence the head doesn't quite go any more.

Here is the original head. I have it sitting on an ATC I started Ages ago, but wasn't quite sure how to finish ... I think the head is a great finishing touch. :) One problem solved.

I wanted my doll to represent a tree fairy/nymph, so why not start making a 3D body with dowel, chipboard, string and paper like corrugated cardboard. This is the torso and one leg. Ok so what to do about the hands and feet? Bring out the sculpy. Luckily I had some porcelain coloured one left. I wanted the feet and hands to look stick like, though they look kinda spooky on their own.
Here it is with legs, arms, torso, feet and hands all joined together. All I need now is a head. Back to the drawing board on that one. I have an idea but not sure how good my sculpting skills are. If only I had the time and know how to dry an apple. LOL
When I finally have a head on the poor thing I will start adding colour etc to it. Hmmm I may not want to give it away. It's my first one, and probably my last cause you can never replica the same kind of achievement.

Well I best be off to bed. Have to work tomorrow before flying out at later and I still have to pack and register the seats and God knows what else. Lucky I don't stress about these things hey!