Saturday, July 26, 2014

Nobody blogs anymore



Well I can't really say "nobody", but a majority of those who used to, have abandoned their blogs, and post on Facebook now. I remember back in 2006-2007 it seemed as though EVERYBODY blogged and kept up with blogging. Now when I visit those same blogs, I see for the most part, people have stopped right around 2012. It's kind of sad actually.

The blogs that I used to follow were those who made things such as; dolls, crafty stuff, art, experimented with food; DIY stuff etc. I really miss the doll making blogs the most, I learned so much from those.

I had a blog back in 2006 till 2010 and I put everything on it, not just my doll making stuff either, I seriously put everything in there. I had quite a few followers and quite a few views. Since opening this blog I have had no views and no followers. Opening this blog isn't to get followers or views but it's to keep a running diary of my doll making adventures. Since I'm pretty much self taught, I like to look back on the projects I've made to see the progress over time. I mean I can't print out photos of my dolls every single time I make one, that's a lot of ink and time and space. It's so much easier this way.

When I first opened this blog I was contemplating putting it "all" out there. I still may do that, I'm not sure. In the mean time I plan on keeping this blog open and I plan on continuing to post here, even if it's not all the time. For those who have abandoned their blogs, I guess it wasn't meant to be.

I have tiny scraps of fabric

Tiny scraps of fabric that are just sitting in my craft room but I feel too guilty to throw them out. I went on Etsy and purchased a pattern from SweetMeadowsFarm and I'm working on little rag dolls. Really raggedy.



These are just the first few. It's a great way to use up those little scraps of fabric that you feel too guilty to throw out.

Saturday, July 12, 2014

Mother Mary Shrine with Rosary Box

I finished the Modern Mary Shrine.




 I hate to sell this, but I made it to sell it. The pics don't do it justice at all. I put a lot of work into it and tomorrow I'll be listing it on Etsy.

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Another W.I.P

 Here's a new one. She's not done (obviously) you can see pins in her hat and her sleeves need to be sewn. Anyways, this is what I've been working on today. She's got a lot of really cute detail going on. I don't know what to name her. Anyways, I promised myself that I would only make five of these dolls. In other words "Five Gypsies" in the Whimsical Gypsy Traveller Doll Series. When I finish them all I'll take a group shot. These were a joy to make, I don't think I've finished so many dolls this quickly before. 
Cloth dolls are so much easier to whip up then clay dolls are not only that, they are a lot less messy. 

I do have a W.I.P that I'm going to be working on next and she has a clay head. Thank God the head is done, I just need to put the rest of her hair on. She's the Little Red Riding Hood Doll that's been sitting there for awhile now. I promised myself I'd complete all my W.I.P's before working on more projects and that's what I'm doing right now.

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Working on "Rosie" again. #3 in the Whimsical Gypsies Doll Series.

 In a previous posting I had stated that I finished "Rosie", well I kept looking at her and thought to myself that she was missing something. She really didn't have enough detail. So I cut open her shawl and sewed seam binding on it and made a tie on the front as you can see. I also added a collar with a button. I then made her sleeves puffy by sewing the thread in and pulling on it. I also added an apron. I almost feel like she's done, but she's not. I want to add some flowers on her hat and of course I have to add my personalized name tag on her butt, which is something I do with all my dolls.
Anyways, I know people don't read blogs that much anymore, but I write like people read mine. ha ha! It really does help me to keep track of what I'm doing in order to make sure I don't 1. Do something that doesn't work again, 2. learn to see what changes I need to make and master that and 3. To see how far I've come. In case these dolls happen to land in someone else's home, I can go back and reference them just by looking at this blog. Anyways, here's Rosie before

 You can see there is a difference now. It's late at night but I know that I'll be up anyways so I'm going to see how much further I can go with Rosie.

Saturday, June 28, 2014

W.I.P it! W.I.P it GOOD!

Ok, I was cleaning my craft room/office area and noticed that I have a TON of W.I.P's! Geez! 


 I got a whole basket of dolls waiting for me to give them some kind of theme and personality. I feel guilty. Poor things, just waiting, waiting on me. Not to mention the first photo with the dolls on the shelf. They totally need some serious attention, they've been there for so long that I can't tell you how long, a year? Maybe. Why do I do this?? I start, and stop, and start something different. I really got to catch up and have "NO W.I.P'S". I mean NONE.

I did notice though that I'm not the only dollmaker in the world who does this. I've looked at other people's blogs and noticed that other dollmakers do this too. Not only do some dollmakers do this, but a lot of crafters do this. They start and lose steam, and start something totally different. I saw this video of a lady who crafts all the time, she paints and makes jewelry etc etc. she said that she'll start something then not finish it for some reason and go back to it much much later on. It's almost like our brains are so crafty and so creative that we keep on coming up with new ideas constantly that our hands can't keep up. Yup that's it.

I've got so many ideas, I can't keep up. I mean I'm not a factory for God sakes. I wish I could work a little bit faster but I can't, I just can't do it. I'm already putting off a whole bunch of other things to make dolls. I love making dolls so much that I forget about the world. I need to find the "balance bug" soon.

Friday, June 27, 2014

My newest doll "Rosie".

I just finished another doll. Her name is "Rosie". I think the name is pretty fitting. Anyways, she stands 18" tall including her wooden base. She's another addition to my Whimsical Gypsy Traveller Doll series.




Pretty soon I won't have room in my tiny doll making studio to house all these dolls. I love them all but I know eventually I'm going to have to let them go. 

Till next time,

If you are reading this; lots of good luck to you.

WendyLee

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Coffee, W.I.P's, and completed dolls

I'm getting very addicted to coffee once again. I'm really going to try not to drink so much of it, but man is it GOOD!

Anyways, I don't know that I've showed this doll I recently finished.

I posted this on FB and a lot of people really like her. She really came along way since I started her. I made this doll completely from my own sketches. The clothes are made from vintage linens. I'm making a few more of these "Gypsy Traveller" dolls.











I've made five bodies and prepared five stands. Once these are done I plan on posting them on Etsy before I become too attached. That's one thing about being a doll-maker that's difficult; you become so attached to the dolls that you make that you don't want to give them up. They become like your babies.










I also completed two chain dolls

 This one's name is "Luna" it is a Latin girl's name.

She has black tourmaline beads which are used for protection against negativity, evil spirits etc. I love working with that particular crystal.









 Here is a much better close up of the chain itself. These types of dolls are for hanging only.



















 Here's the next one



 I named this doll "Phoebe" which stands for bright moon in Greek. I made this chain to help assist someone with remembering to have fun and not to take life too seriously. 















I'm almost done with my Mary Shrine. I never thought I would come close to finishing it, but I am and it's going to go up for sale when it's done. 

Till next time,

Keep Smiling...

WendyLee

Friday, June 6, 2014

Catch up.




I'm trying really hard to catch up on my current projects. I have a bunch of dolls and other things that I'm working on. I always start something, then I think of something else and I have to start making it. That's why I have so many unfinished projects going. I used to think I was the only person who did this, but when I read other people's blogs I realize almost everyone does this. I'm trying really hard not to start another project right now because I really need to complete the ones I have. Here's what I've got going on.

This is a Modern Mary Shrine. My husband cut the box out of wood. I decorated it with mixed media paints etc. I'm putting a door on the front, mosaic tiles on the inside, etc. 


































I'm really hoping that this will be done today. We will see.

Monday, May 5, 2014

Traveling Gypsy Series dolls and living in tranquilty..

Gypsy dolls


I know that Gypsies don't have a very good reputation. As a matter a fact they have a horrible reputation. But I've always been someone who has moved around a lot in life and have lived out of a vehicle mostly in my 20's by choice. Some people used to call me a Gypsy because of that lifestyle. I did some research online about Gypsies and found some very interesting photos. this one in particular from the website called "Up For Anything"

           Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves
 I think the information given is pretty interesting. and it's very interesting to see how people lived back then and why they lived that way. 












Here are some photos from a website called  "Vintage Everyday"
of Gypsies
















 Not a whole lot of glamor going on is there?? Well of course not, they were very poor. That's just the way it was and still sort of is for many gypsies these days.


Anyways, I decided to make a cute group of traveling gypsy dolls. This one below is the first one of the series. I really had no idea what I was going to do with this doll. I always have a plan on what kind of doll I'm going to be making, but it never, I mean it NEVER turns out the way I plan it to. I always change the doll to a completely different theme all together.  I went online to find a cute Gypsy name for a girl. I have to say most of the names I found I didn't like and I couldn't pronounce. I did find the name "Freedom" which is supposed to be a name derived from England. So here she is so far..       

"Freedom"



Freedom is an old Romani Gypsy name for a girl. I still need to add some beads and sew some parts. After that I'll be working on another one. I would like to make a group including men, children and babies. I'll be using light soft colors and sweet facial expressions.


























 I'm using vintage linens and laces that I picked up at my local thrift shop which supports the Human Society in Prescott Arizona. I also purchased sweaters for repurposing for doll clothes. I always get asked by the clerk behind the counter on what I plan on doing with sweaters during the summertime. And I always say, "I make doll clothes". They always tell say "Why don't you just use baby clothes?"  Then I say "Because it's not the same, they won't fit right. Besides these clothes are like ultra mini adult clothes for adult type dolls not babies". I guess people won't understand unless they actually make dolls themselves. 















Besides the Gypsy dolls. I came across a really great find online. I found an article about how to start writing "Morning Pages". A morning page is actually three pages of long hand writing that you do in the morning. You let out exactly what you are thinking before doing anything in the morning and this in turn helps you not carry around anger all day long. It also helps you figure out things that you have questions to. I like to write, I enjoy it but I never did that in the morning and just "let it all out" so to speak. There are a lot of people who have gotten great results in other areas of their life because of doing morning pages. 



 Till next time,

Wendylee says BYE!