Micro Cuties

Charlotte - She loves retro fashion. 

   When I was a little girl, grandma used to give me tiny plastic dolls to play with. I loved those itty bitty dolls and for a long while I've been wanting to recreate that feeling, but I wasn't confident on my sewing skills. I imagined that making dolls that small with the level of detail I wanted to include would be too difficult. It wasn't until a couple of days ago that I found the motivation to actually try.

Phoebe - She's a glam rocker with a heart of gold.

   My sudden burst of motivation came from an instagram post by fellow artist Kelly White. A couple of weeks ago she started making miniature fabric bunnies dressed in felt clothes. I found the little critters extremely adorable and decided to try making my own miniature dolls. I designed several patterns, before finally making one I love. The finished dolls measure about 3" (7 cm).

Lilly - She loves nature and it shows in her style.

   Making these dollies was super fun and brought back cherished childhood memories. I find them incredibly cute and I hope you do too. I made a total of 8 unique dolls. Each one has a name and a short description that tells you a little bit about her personality. To see the rest of the series visit my Facebook page: Carrousel Dream Dolls.

Paint Splatters

Madison [mixed media on canvas panel - 11" x 14"]

   I love making dolls, but for some time I'd been feeling the need to do something more with my creative energy. It seems that painting is just what I needed. There's something freeing about painting that's just not present when I make dolls. My dolls are tiny in comparison to most handmade dolls and require a level of attention to detail that can be stressing. I'm a perfectionist and as such don't tolerate flaws in my work. Hence, even though I love making dolls, the process can be overwhelming at times.

Gaia [mixed media on canvas panel - 11" x 14"]

   Painting is the opposite for me. When I paint I let myself go. I don't pressure myself to be perfect, I simply go where the painting takes me. Mistakes can be easily corrected or worked into the final product. I do plan to sell my artwork eventually, but for the time being it's just my thing.

Moon Blossom [mixed media on canvas panel - 11" x 14"]

Of Art Classes and Seemingly Dead Dolls

Mercedes - Day of the Dead inspired doll

   Some of you know that I've been experimenting with painting. Since that first post, I've discovered the vast world of online art classes. In my search for new techniques I stumbled upon Danita Art's online workshop Mixed Media from the Heart. For me, the best part of Danita's class is that from day one she encourages her students to find their own voice and create art that is true to them. I'll be sharing some of my recent paintings soon, but for now I'd like to share a doll.

   Curiously enough, joining a mixed media workshop inspired me to make a new doll. I guess, in a way, it's still mixed media artwork - just not the kind I was hoping for.

   How did this happen?

Las Catrinas by Danita Art | Available on Etsy

   If you browse through Danita's blog or her shop you'll notice that Frida Kahlo and the Day of the Dead are recurrent themes in her artwork. Seeing her beautifully rendered Catrinas made me want to create one of my own. Mercedes was born from this sudden urge.

Mercedes - Day of the Dead inspired doll

   She's yet another doll that has taken me way out of my comfort zone. Making her painted face was fun and scary at the same time. I wasn't sure if my collectors would be interested in such a doll, but I just had to make her. Lucky for me - my fear was unfounded. I fell in love with the finished doll and she was well received by others. In fact, she's already in her new Australian home.

Teeny Babies: Halloween Style

Halloween 2011 photo by Jowei

   I've come to realize that Halloween might be my favorite holiday. I don't have much of a Christmas spirit and I can't unsee the sales pitch behind Valentine's, but there's something special about Halloween. All the free candy is a definite plus, but what really appeals to me is that there seems to be a bit of magic in the air. It's the time of the year were the weird and unusual becomes the norm.

   Not surprisingly, my most recent work has been influenced by Halloween. A couple of weeks ago I decided to give my Teeny Babies a new twist.

Teeny Babies available on Etsy

   It all started with Rüdiger, a Teeny Baby vampire. I made him on a whim and people seemed to love him. I asked around  for ideas on my facebook page and on Instagram. People were quick to respond will all sorts of awesome suggestions. I chose my favorites and started sewing.

Rüdiger a Teeny Baby Vampire

   When it was all said and done I had seven Halloween Teeny Babies in search of a new home. I made a werewolf, a black cat, a witch, a vampire, a boy that doesn't fear monsters, a baby Wednesday Addams, and a zombie. Picking a favorite was hard for me, but I finally chose Mary, the Teeny Baby Zombie.

   Do you have a favorite?

Teeny Babies available on Etsy

   Oz, the Teeny Baby Werewolf deserves a special mention. He was my first attempt at a double sided doll: one side shows his human face and the other his wolf. I was pleased with the results and might be making more in the future.

Oz showing his two sides

Serendipity - Mixed Media Art Class

Andrea - 11 "x 14" Mixed Media on 80lb Paper

   I've been into art all my life. Painting was always something that amazed me and I've always wanted to try it, but mainly I just doubted myself so I had never really done it before. I actually took a class when I was in college and I thought it would be awesome, but there was too little time to learn all the different mediums and techniques plus the professor let his taste get in the way of critique. That didn't help with the self doubt. Then the other day I was browsing through a mixed media art group in Facebook and I found the most gorgeous painting. When I looked closely, the artist Juliette Crane was advertising an online class. :D It was a year-long class in mixed media called Serendipity. :D One of the goals of the teacher in this class is to teach the students to let go and have fun with what they're doing so that it gets reflected in their work. I registered myself as soon as I could and started having lots of fun painting this girl.

   This is my background that I made from painted papers and newspaper images of popcorn, nature and a bacteria. ;) I can't wait until I have all the supplies so that I can have lots of fun experimenting.

   This is a little bit forward in the process, I had already started with the face and the background was a lot busier. A couple of hours later Andrea came to be and I couldn't be prouder of my first painting ever. I think I'm going to frame it. ;D

Quick Yeast Bread - Review

Hi!

   It's been a long time since my last food related post, but I really wanted to share this with you. We recently moved to a new apartment and our new stove has a reliable oven in which we can bake bread. YAY! My partner and I used to have a toaster oven, but we never dared bake real bread because we were sure that the temperatures weren't accurate. So we were eager to try and after we searched the internet for quick and delicious yeast bread recipes we stumbled upon this one.

Quick Yeast Bread | Recipe here

   First thing! This bread is delicious, it has a very soft crumb that is very neutral in taste which means you can add as many ingredients as you like to make a bread that will suit your taste and your needs. Second! The crust is crispy, it gives the bread character and helps it withstand with much more dignity the process that converts it into french toasts. :P Third! It was fun and quick to make. You should try it too.

French toasts with fruit salad.

   We were so eager to try our bread that we whipped up the dish below; pasta marinara, corn on the cob, salad, avocado and our homemade bread, fresh out of the oven and spread with vegan butter. Yeah... We're trying vegan/vegetarian now, my partner has always been interested so we decided to give it a try.

   What have you been up to all this time?

A Semi Recap

   I've been blogging on and off for a long while now and I only ever show you one doll I made at a time. The thing is, I'll be blogging for years and years to come about stuff I made months ago if I keep up this pace. So I decided I'm going to show you a ton of dolls I made that you probably don't know about. So get ready! This is going to be one heavy post.

Nerissa

Rosie

Shirley - Rockabilly Girl

Drusilla

Caroline

Yellow + Aqua Custom

Kelly - Slumber Party Girl

Sally

Trixie the Pixie

Susan - 80's Girl

Little Red Ridinghood

Prudence - Hippie Girl

Pink + Red

Echo - Cybergoth girl

Ariel

Kibou - Colorful Harajuku Girl

Wednesday Addams

Iris

Rose

   These are in no particular order, but after I made Rose I made a new pattern and my dolls changed quite a bit. I'll show you some of the newer dollies in the future. If you feel like taking matters into your own hands, you can visit my facebook page and look through my albums to see what else I've been up to.

Have a nice day!

Teeny Babies

   Don't you just love babies? I definitely do, so a few months ago (during the huge hiatus) I decided that I wanted to make kawaii baby dolls. This is the result.

   I designed a face template that would have big shiny eyes and a drooly grin. Their bodies are very squishy and huggable, they wear colorful onesies adorned with plastic safety snaps. Their colorful curls are made of 100% wool felt.

   I only ever made 3 of them, but I really want to make more. I also have a TON of ideas that I'd like to develop using this pattern. I can't wait to have more cute stuff to show you. :D

Fabric Crush - Kite Ties

   My doll making adventures have made me change the way I look at fabric. I still like bold prints, but now I find myself always searching for the tiniest prints available. Most of my dolls are only 23cm (8") tall, so if I want the print to be visible it has to be tiny.

   The fabric I'm featuring today had been sitting in my stash for quite some time before I used it. It wasn't until a customer requested the second Marie Antoinette that I decided to cut into it. She wanted similar colors, but since I pride myself in making one of a kind dolls, I didn't want to use the same fabric.

   For my first version of Marie, I used a pale blue vintage floral fabric. So, I searched through my stack and found a half-forgotten fat quarter of Kite Ties by Sweetheart. This lovely print is part of Lucy's Crab Shack Collection for Moda.

Kite Ties in Ocean. Available here.

   I think this fabric worked wonderfully as an alternative to the one I used first. Both dolls share a very similar color palette, but each turned out unique. What do you think?

Marie Antoinette by Carrousel Dream Dolls

French Royalty 2

   Hi everybody!

    I made this Marie Antoinette short after I released the first one in September. It was for a collector; she wanted the same color scheme of the first, but with a unique flair. I tried my best and this is the result. :)

Her Majesty The Queen of France and Navarre, Marie Antoinette. #2

   All in all, the color scheme in this dolly is warmer than the first one.

I really like this picture. >.<

   I LOVE how the shoes turned out; I think they look pretty dainty and chic. I adorned her main skirt with a very cute ivory eyelet lace that I think match the shoes beautifully.

   Her hair was accessorized with tiny artificial flowers and leaves, a cute little bird and an ostrich feather. After they were secured to her hair, I enhanced the look by adding some details in gold paint and gold glitter.

What do you think?

Almost 6 Months Later... The Pirate!

   Hi everybody! I'm trying to follow my friend Diane's advice to come back to blogging by explaining why the hiatus. The truth is, I've been trying to deal with the worst case of writer's/crafter's block. It has been hard to visit the blog. It feels like by not writing, I'm throwing away all the love and time I put into it in the past and that makes it much harder to write.

   When I scrolled down the blog to see what were the last few posts about, I noticed that 6 months ago I wrote a post telling you all about a pirate doll I was making, except, I didn't show you the finished doll. Here she is, her name is Peggy; in honor of her peg-leg. ;)

   I really like how she turned out, she took more time to make than usual and she has a lot of details. Her hair is mohair and merino and I loved the combination of these yarns, they gave a lot of character to her wild mane. The beads in her hair were a lot of fun to choose and stitch on.

   But my favorite part by far was her peg-leg; I never thought I could pull it off. I wanted it to be realistic, but kind of cute and I think I did it. What do you think?

   As a finishing touch I thought that a real pirate should have a bird on her shoulder and I gave her one. I hope she's taking good care of it. :)