Miss Lila Love Berry

In December 2014, I displayed my dolls at "R place" hair salon in Vic West (Victoria, BC).  One of the salon's customers asked me to make a special doll to display in her shop window.  Chris is the owner of "Lilaberry" a unique home decor store in Sidney, BC located at 2474 Beacon Avenue.  I always love visiting her store as she has unique items for the savvy home owner or anyone wanting to purchase a special item for a friend.

Needless to say I was thrilled with this  opportunity.  Chris wanted a curvy "cupid pig" for her window display for Valentine's Day 2015.  I went to work starting first thing in 2015 .  I knew I needed a template for a voluptuous woman and I used Lynn Butcher's "Beach Babe" pattern for the body template.  I had to alter both the leg design and the arm design as well as making a "pig" head complete with a cute snout and ears!

Here is the face up close:

I used a light pink velour for her body and face.  I needle-scuplted the face and added glass eyes with big false eyelashes.  Her hair is tibetan mohair-a perfect shade of blonde to complement her big blue eyes.

Next I worked on her "Victoria Secret" lingerie and used a swim suit material in a dark red/fushia.  I added lace and rosettes to make it frilly and appropriate for a Valentine cupid!

You will notice that she is holding a bow and arrow.  Well every cupid needs her quiver and bow and arrow, do you not agree?  I found a great site that had instructions on making the quiver, bow and arrows (http://www.antiquelilac.com/bow--arrows---tutorial.html)  and I had the perfect piece of ivory and red leather for the quiver.  I used large skewers for the arrows and added three heart shaped velvet pieces for the arrow tail feathers.  The bow was made as per the instructions using wire, aluminum foil and brown floral tape.  I used fishing line to string the bow.  I was pleased with the result.  The quiver came together easily:

 You can clearly see her quiver over her shoulder equipped with more "love" arrows.

She holds her bow while gazing up to the big blue sky. (her hands are wired so they can bend using pipe cleaners)

I used a simple plastic shoe and "jacked up" the heels using wire and paper clay so that she could have not just pumps but stilettos!  I painted the shoes red and added pink polkadots. I then added a fabric sole to balance out the stiletto heel and adorned the back of the shoe with velvet pink bows which I continued up the back of her white stockings.  She has a blingy garter piece on there left leg!  She is also wearing bling on her wrist and in her ears!

The wings are satin with lots of fluffy white feathers.  Finally she carries a pink/ivory/red flower purse-now she is ready for love!

Closeup of her shoes showing the paint job and customizing.

Here is the finished piece measuring 22' high and 22" wide.

Such a special pig needs a special poem so here goes:

"May I present a most confident pig by the name of Miss Lila Love Berry.  She is full-bodied, full of fun, full of sass, full of joy and her smile makes everyone merry.  This Valentine's Day she is on a quest to find a very special man of her own.

So she soars on high, with her big blue eyes, her beauty, her blush and her cupid's bow.  She glides and sashays dancing all day to the tunes of the Morning doves. Then she lowers her gaze and steadies her aim, making ready her bow for all who want to dance in the game of love.

If you are the one, the confident one, who is ready to share and wants to have fun with your own special one, then give her a wink and a smile, for Miss Lila will know your intentions are real, touch your heart with her bow, and give you the gift of True Love.  Happy Valentine's Day!"

A few last photos before Miss Lila flies away:

Foxes, Oh My

Well just in time for the end of the month I have a fox felt family.  A group of foxes is called a leash or a skulk.  Foxes are so beautiful with their red and white coats (most common fox in North America is the red fox).  They are social and nimble and have great eyesight and hearing.

I made these wee ones (about 6" tall) from a pattern by Cynthia Treen that I found on etsy. The instructions were very clear and they were fun to make.

Here is the big daddy Fox, Felix with his red jacket. His son follows his dad everywhere, taking his pet duck with him!:

 Next is Mama and her pup.  Mama has a lovely periwinkle coat with hood that keeps her warm and stylish.

Under her coat, mama has a very sweet yellow felt tunic:

Finally here comes the stylish auntie with her niece.  Auntie has a gorgeous lilac coat over her skirt while her favourite niece has a hand knit dress.  They are ready for shopping!

I hope you enjoyed this leash of foxes.  They were so fun to make.  They can stand on their own with help from their full tails but they prefer to hang and swing!

Dragon is Born

I have always loved dragons, their mystery, their strength, their spirit  and their protection of hearth and home.  Dragons are composite "mythical" animals that have both hot and cold blooded features.  As such, they are symbols of the changing seasons.

Last year I featured one of my dragon creations (a water dragon with mermaid riding him)  in a show at the Coast Collective and it was so well received that two customers wanted the piece!  This was personally satisfying as working in isolation one never knows how one's work will be accepted by the general public.  I sold the dragon to one lovely lady and promised the other that I would make another dragon/mermaid in 2015 for her own.  She was thrilled and requested a dark-skinned mermaid with straight black hair.

Last week I started choosing my fabrics for this project.  I knew that I wanted blues/purples for the dragon and greens for the mermaid.  Here are the fabrics I choose for the dragon:

I find that the fabric selection is a vital part of the creative process because as a doll maker you are in essence painting your doll art with the fabric as your palette.  If the colours in the fabric do not form a pleasing palette, then no matter how good your work, it will not resonate.

I love using Melinda Small Patterson's (Smallworks) dragon patterns as they are very detailed and excellent to use.  For this piece I used her "Kells Wyvern" pattern.

For the dragon's mermaid companion, I used Patti LaValley's "Mareena" mermaid pattern as she is a sweet young looking mermaid that is in a reclining position, perfect for my needs.  For the mermaid, I used four fabrics of green print and crazy patched them together so that I could decorate the seams with embroidery and beads as I love to do.  I thought this would be perfect for a mermaid as she picks of seaweed and foliage from the sea floor as she swims.

The resulting piece turned out very well and I am thrilled!  I hope my customer loves him as well.  Here is the proud water dragon's face:

Noticed that I painted his eye and enhanced the fabric by using metallic silver paint for his jaw line and top of his muzzle and horns.

The entire piece was inspired by my love of dragons and mermaids and living near the Pacific ocean.  I thought of a water loving dragon who soars near the waves picking up dragonflies along his daily fly by.  One day he spotted a beckoning beautiful mermaid who was not afraid to stay close to his flight path.  She jumped on his back and he took her for a ride that thrilled her to this very day.

 You can clearly see that I love to add details to my pieces and this dragon has a sequinned/beaded belly and beads on his claws that follow the pattern on the fabric.

The mermaid's face is painted using acrylic paints (eyes and mouth), pigma marker (eyelashes, brows) and chalk (shading, blushing, highlights).  The dragonfly on the mermaids's arm is beaded.  The dragon's tail also has dragonflies.

The mermaid's body and tail are beaded and I added beaded fringe to the dragon's tail.  For the mermaid's hair I took apart a doll wig that had the perfect black hair that I wanted and altered it to fit her head.  I had the perfect sequinned decoration for her hair in my stash.

A final look at my piece, showing the lace fingerless gloves, the facial features and painted fingernails of this sweet mermaid.

Bunny Sofia-Marie

A dear friend of mine gave me an old Persian lamb fur coat that she was about to discard.  I always thought that although I would not wear a fur coat, it is a shame that fur coats that exist are left idle to waste away when they could be used to make beautiful animals.

Finally at the start of 2015 I decided to turn the coat into a large, lop-eared bunny.  I chose a pattern I had by "The Hughston Collection" based in Ontario, Canada.  

The bunny was fun to make but working with fur is very messy and I had to be careful not to breathe in the tiny fur that flies once you cut into the fabric.  I removed the coat lining and broke the coat up into manageable pieces, backing each piece with iron-on interfacing to stabilize it and make it easier to cut out the pattern pieces.  Once the pattern pieces were cut, I zigzagged each piece before stitching the pieces together to stabilize the cut edges.

I used the mink collar for her belly and part of her bunny tail.  The ears, nose and paw pads are from a faux ultra suede.  The muzzle is from a soft ivory "minky" fur (I would have used the mink but there was not enough for both the belly and the muzzle).

I am very pleased with the final result:

Sofia-Marie, sits at 20" tall, fully reclined she is 25".

 I named the lop-eared bunny Sofia-Marie since she spends her time hopping between the Tuscan countryside and the south of France.  She loves all things "shabby chic" as evidenced by her bows and collar piece.  Her locket contains pictures of her bunny mum and wee bunny brother.

A close-up of her face showing her blue glass eyes

Back of bunny showing her mink and minty tail.  The "gold" key in her back turns on her music box that plays "Down by the Old Mill Stream"

Sofia-Marie bids adieu and ciao!

More Pincushions

First and foremost I would like to wish my family, friends and followers a very Happy Christmas, joyful holiday and a healthy and peaceful New Year!

Just in time for Christmas I finished a new pincushion, a felted calico kitty that I call Calico Kate. 

This pincushion is made with wool felt and embroidered.  The kitty is all wool and needle felted.

Next I made a needle felted wee mouse that is dressed in her pink finery.  She sits in an antique teacup.  Inside the teacup is a lavender sachet covered in lace!  I made the mouse in an on-line class with Barby Anderson.

Finally, I wanted to make a very special white wool felt rabbit for a special young woman that is having a difficult time recovering from a car accident.  I had fun making this wee bunny and she has become very dear.

 I wanted to make her some bunny slippers and I love the way they turned out.  I added embroidery details all over her sky blue coat.  She is ready for the winter market.

Pincushions Galore

Like many other sewers, I never seem to have enough pincushions so I love, love making them.  They are small, use different fabrics, are prime for embellishments and are the perfect cushions for wee felted animals (which I love to make as well).

Here is what I came up with: first there is Thumper who is sure to steal your heart

Next is Love Bunny who will melt your heart:

Both bunnies are needle felted using Perendale silver wool fibre.  Needle felting is fun. Felting needles (I use the number 38 star needle) are mostly in a triangular shape.  The smaller the number the larger the needle and the larger the hole it will leave.  The felting needle had little barbs on the sides that catch the scales on the wool fibres and lock them together.  As you poke through the wool, it shrinks up and felts together in the direction that you poke the needle.

Now I turned my attention to the mice:  This is the first one that I am calling "Hearts and Flowers".  The heart is made of 4 felt wool hearts sewn together with wool hand-crocheted flowers and wool felt leaves.

This little guy is only 3 and 1/2 inches tall and needle felted around a pipe cleaner centre core.
The final wee mouse pincushion is my favourite and I made it for a dear friend who also loves wee felted mice:  He has a hand knitted scarf and hat and a key around his neck that says "love".

 I made him a wee backpack that holds extra yarn.

Good-bye little fellow, I know my friend will love you too!

Betty Boop

Recently, a customer asked if I would make a Betty Boop ornament for his girlfriend.  I said yes and obtained the original vintage Betty Boop cloth doll pattern from over a century ago.  I had to reduce the pattern (original is about 18" and he wanted it about 8-9").

The original pattern called for felt but I used doe suede in a pale colour (shiny side up).  I decided that I wanted her iconic curls so I used paper clay to make the curls and then painted the hair.  I did not paint her body, only her facial features and hair.

The customer had seen a tiny ornament of Betty Boop in a red, high-heeled shoe an wanted that look.  I had a white acrylic white shoe in my stash and I used sand paper to rough it up and then painted it bright red on the outside and a yellow/gold on the inside.

The result worked well:

 Betty Boop is holding sheet music from an old song "Blue Heaven" as the intended recipient is a vocal teacher and piano player.  The dress is made from cherry red jersey and her stole and fur on her Santa hat is "minky" fabric that is very soft and nice and thin-perfect for the scale of the doll.

I gave her bracelets and gold earrings, of course!

Hope you find a good home Betty: