tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33830489669920737082024-02-20T12:38:10.943-08:00Natasha Morgan Art DollsGhostly, Unusual & Strange Victorian Gothic Historical Art Dolls. Sometimes creepy and maybe odd, my OOAK art dolls have all been hand created to tell thier own strange stories. Come meet the women of my imagination, and some true women of the past, and learn thier fates.Natasha Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04028621515709080575noreply@blogger.comBlogger164125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383048966992073708.post-3179287431994056262016-06-01T04:09:00.002-07:002016-06-01T04:09:31.609-07:00Leaving For NowHello Anyone that may be reading this.<br />
As you can probably tell I've not been very good at keeping up here lately. And with a full time busy day job and lots and lots of dolls I want to make I've decided to concentrate on sharing my dolls only on Facebook at the moment. I'd love to chat with you anytime on my FB page - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Natasha-Morgan-148807718484271/">https://www.facebook.com/Natasha-Morgan-148807718484271/</a> and you can see all my latest projects and newest dolls.<br />
Take Care All<br />
XXXXXXNatasha Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04028621515709080575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383048966992073708.post-38693854676177601592015-08-10T03:40:00.000-07:002015-08-10T11:06:52.099-07:00Great Queens of History<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm very lucky to have wonderful strangers contact me asking me to make their ideas for them. Each one of these people have been kind and friendly, and interested in what I do and how I make my dolls. Many are from far away lands and can tell me about their homes as well as asking me about my country Wales and what it's like here. Recently I received a message from another of these lovely people, and this one has been very special.<br />
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Sari sent me a beautiful message after he came across my dolls on Etsy and ordered two of my ladies. His kindness was so touching, and really brightened my day. He has the rare skill of being able to make someone feel very special with only a few words. And he made me realise that there should be more of his kindness in the world. I will be taking his example and showing my appreciation for what others create in future by e-mailing and messaging them. I know how difficult it is to put what we make out into the world for others to judge, and hearts and likes on websites don't always convey how much someone else's art has touched us.<br />
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Our conversations turned to a mutual love of historical women and how women have been treated through the ages. Sari admired many of the same women that I do, and is fascinated with historical dress and the oddities that come up about social history through what we wear. I was thrilled when he asked me to make him not one but three very special ladies - Three Great Queens, Catherine de Medici, Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I.<br />
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Each of these regal ladies are from different time periods - Catherine born in 1519 I chose to portray at age 34. A famous portrait of her by Francois Clovet shows her in black silk richly trimmed with gold and jewels and wearing a French Hood. Anne was Queen of England between 1533 and 1536 when Henry VIII had her beheaded for suspected adultery. And Elizabeth became a young Queen at age 25 in 1518 and went on to rule the country for 85 years. I find Elizabeth especially fascinating, and making Mother Anne and Daughter Elizabeth has been very interesting as Elizabeth was only 2 and a half when her mother was killed.<br />
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I started these three Royal ladies by researching costume design and ordering up the fabrics and trims I would need, and after carefully sculpting bodies, arms and legs, sanding and painting and stringing together I started on their underwear. The order I finished them in would depend on which order the fabrics I had ordered arrived. So I thought it best to start all of their underwear at the same time.<br />
Catherine de Medici is rumoured to have introduced the wearing of drawers into France from Italy, but it was a long long time until such things became popular in England. Not until the sheer clinging styles of the Regency period in Britain did women start to wear underwear that now we wouldn't leave the house without (well, most of us anyway). And before then wearing such things was considered risque, not the lack of them.<br />
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So Catherine got her drawers while both Anne and Elizabeth had only their shifts to cover their modesty. All of them wear the same style of shift a this didn't change over a very long period, and I decorated them all with different patterns of blackwork. After this the underwear for each starts to differ, with Catherine and Anne needing softer stays while Elizabeth gets a stiff unbending corset. Catherine wears 2 petticoats of mustard coloured cotton lawn trimmed with gold lace under one of gold silk jacquard. Anne has one of red, one of Embroidery Anglaise, and another of fine white cotton lawn embroidered with Tudor roses. And Elizabeth has a red petticoat under one of thick stiff linen decorated with a wide tapestry band instead of a Farthingale (either were worn to hold the large skirt shapes).<br />
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Catherine is a very smart sophisticated French Queen who is often shown by her portraits wearing black silk. I made her an underskirt of white silk decorated with gold and ruby coloured glass beading which she wears under a split over skirt, Barely visible over her neck and shoulders she has a silk panel before the square neckline of her gown, and her sleeves are simple with slight lace cuffs. She has a ruff of white and gold lace tied tightly at the neck, and her whole gown is decorated with an edging of gold lace and silver lined beads, ruby glass beads and tiny tiny pearls. On her head she wears her French Hood that I made using millinery sisal silk fabric, silk organza for the veil to hang in back and more beads and pearls. At her neck hand gold chains and a sparkling tear-drop shaped jewel.<br />
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Elizabeth has a more complicated over-decorated gown. She was known as The Virgin Queen and renowned as an icon of her country. All of her portraits show her dripping with rich silks, jewels and pearls, so I wanted to make sure I showed this in the gown I made her. Her silk jacquard underskirt is a bright gold with orange tones which works well with the cooler colours of the heavy silk brocade of her sac-back gown. She has mutton shaped sleeves with lace at the cuffs, and a gold silk open ruff around the neckline of her gown. The deep V of her bodice is layered over more of the gold jacquard and laced up each side, the stomacher decorated with lace, beading and pearls. I attached a rich gold wide Venice lace around the whole edge of her skirts, down the front edge of the split skirt and around the hem with it's slight train in the back. I also used parts of the lace to create designs in the front corners and on the back of her gown to add more detail. <br />
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Elizabeth sparkles and shines like nothing you've seen, but I'm afraid this doesn't show well in the photographs. It took me many hours to fill this lave edging with a mixture of gold lined beads in 2 sizes, opal glass beads, sterling silver, real pearls and cut crystal beads until every open space of the lace was filled with jewels. as you can imagine she now weighs quite a bit and again my mind is wondering on how these women managed to move at all with all that on.<br />
On her head Elizabeth wears a pearl and gold tiara with a crystal jewel to match the one she has hanging at her neck. The back of her hair is decorated with loops of gold beading and pearl hair sticks.<br />
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Poor Anne is still being dressed as the silk for her gown took a long while to arrive from India. For all of the waiting this silk is a wonderful quality and has a beautiful sheen to it. I have her skirts and bodice attached, and her sleeves are half done. Next I'll be working on hanging velvet sleeves and her decoration.<br />
I hope I can show you her very soon xxxNatasha Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04028621515709080575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383048966992073708.post-75515906024305827942015-06-28T07:03:00.000-07:002015-06-28T07:03:54.974-07:00A Fashion Designer's Request - Custom Art DollOver quite a long period I've been working on a very special custom doll order for Ashley Pearce of Mystic Magic - <a href="http://www.mysticmagiconline.co.uk/">http://www.mysticmagiconline.co.uk/</a><br />
Ashley had used one of my dolls as a part of his fashion shoots in the past for Project RED ( <a href="http://www.mysticmagiconline.co.uk/#!project-red/c11ss">http://www.mysticmagiconline.co.uk/#!project-red/c11ss</a> ), and wanted a special doll for his upcoming Redemption Collection (which you can read about on his blog here - <a href="http://mysticmagicmasquerade.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/supporting-our-creative-fashion-campaign.html">http://mysticmagicmasquerade.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/supporting-our-creative-fashion-campaign.html</a> ). I was thrilled to work with him to make the doll that he imagined.<br />
PS - Sorry for the link overload but Ashley's work is well worth the visit to have a look at. He has some truly amazing pieces.<br />
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On the last link to Ashley's blog you can see a newspaper article with a tall net like mask structure next to the man himself while he hold the crown as worn on Strictly Come Dancing, and this was the mask he's chosen for the inspiration to our doll, who we named Katrina.<br />
The list of requirements was simple and well thought out by Ashley to match his new collection, and included that the doll would be Black and White only, would have a miniature mask for the doll to match the full sized version he had made, and a dramatic gown. And over a few months we worked together to come up with a design to meet his needs. I searched far and wide for just the right lace netting to use, and sourced a beautiful off white bridal silk to make Katrina's dress from. The headdress was an issue for me as I'd never made anything like it. But at first I put thoughts of it aside and concentrated on her gown.<br />
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Of course when dressing a doll you start with the underwear, and after giving Katrina stripped black and white drawers I worked on her silk shift. This needed to be tightly gathered around the neckline as I knew it would show in the finished costume, and the soft light Haboti silk allowed me to pull tiny gathers that sat very prettily almost but not quite off the shoulder. As Katrina would need to be held and carried I decided against making her a stiff wire crinoline as they can make the skirts very unwieldy and make odd movements. Katrina needed softer bulk to hold out her wide skirts so she could easily move and sit in any position Ashley needed, so she got layers of cotton and heavy cambric petticoats to make the same effect.<br />
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Once all these layers were in place Katrina already weighed a fair amount and I hadn't even started on her gown, which is were I met my first problem - getting the bulky lace net and heavy bridal satin to work together as one piece of fabric. Now it may not look it, but the skirt hem is almost a meter and a half wide and made in two layers. I had no idea how I'd even get so much fabric gathered around Katrina's tiny waist (in the end I had to resort to the heavy strong vintage thread I use to string the dolls arms and legs to be able to pull it all so small), let alone how to get the ridged satin and stretchy lace to sit comfortably together. But after some experimentation I laid it all out on the floor and very carefully tacked the lace to the satin at a few inch intervals all through the length and width, making sure that it wouldn't sag when I held it up. In fact I hung it that way for a few days in case any unsightly bulges appeared that I'd need to fix. Next the lengths were hemmed and the bodice and sleeves made up in the same way.<br />
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One of my favourite things when making my dolls is the decoration, all those tiny little details that make up the finished piece and make them shine. And Katrina needed beads - lots and lots and lots of tiny shiny glittering beads.<br />
From the neckline of her bodice trailing downwards, and from her skirt hems trailing upwards lie wandering trails of silver lined and jet beads. Each of them individually strung and sewn into place, creating a second web over that of the lace and concentrated on the front right side of her skirts. To add even more glitter I then glued around 300 tiny crystal diamante all over her dress which catch the light when she moves.<br />
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Katrina's hair is made up of mixed smoke grey and black marabou feather fronds. And around her neck is a wide black organza ruff edged with more of the tiny silver lined beads. She looked just perfect to me, but the mask I had ignored was looming large now and needed to be made. How to make such a thing was baffling! And I sought the help of my dear American friend who specialises in wire crochet (well, all types of crochet and jewellery making) if she could help. Of course Dear Linda agreed straight away, but the poor thing was just about to have surgery on her eyes and her recovery took longer than she'd have liked before she could work on such a small scale gain. I'm happy to say that she's all well now.<br />
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I can crochet myself, but the neatness needed for such a thing as this mask was not something that I was confident in. And Ashley came to my rescue when a friend of his was willing to make us the needed crochet panel for the mask. So after taking some careful measurements and a short wait the exact panel I needed arrived in the mail from Amanda. Exactly the size and shape that was needed.<br />
I measured again and made up a wire test piece to make sure I could fit the mask to the doll when the Crochet piece was attached, then very gently wet through and blocked the panel on a cork board. To get the right strength of wire to hold the shape I plated together three strands of thinner wire rather than use a thicker one so that my stitches would have something to hold onto rather than them slip about of the frame. Then I carefully shaped the area to go across Katrina's face. The wire I used was plastic coated black so I knew it would scratch her eyes or face, and I hope it'll last through time as wire isn't a material that I'm used to using. I pinned and then sewed the crochet panel to the frame, adding more wire around the sides and top to make sure the shape held. Then added wire straps to go behind her head, through her hair, to hold it in place. <br />
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After the last bends and tweaking to get the wild curve to the top of the mask Katrina sat before me looking beautiful and regal in her gown and mask. She's not like anything I've ever made before, and I've learnt so much while making her. In the end she was very hard to part with as I'd fallen in love with her, but I knew that she was going to a good home with Ashley. And now I can't wait to see what he does with her and how his wonderful Redemption collection looks. I truly hope he gets to show it off on that catwalk. xxxxxx<br />
<br />Natasha Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04028621515709080575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383048966992073708.post-2087503578939956022015-06-08T04:15:00.000-07:002015-06-08T11:29:09.255-07:00The Joker - DC Comics Art Doll<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span id="goog_961704754">Styled after the costume worn by Heath Ledger in the 2008 The Dark Knight Batman film I made my fiest version of this doll for my husband. He now lives on our mantle with my doll collection, and I’ve made this version in my small size for you. For me, no one will ever make a better Joker, but the character will soon return in the new The Suicide Squad film now in production. </span><br />
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I love the costume designed by Lindy Hemming with the strong colours and scruffy roughed up look of his suit. To add the scars to his face I’ve carved jagged rough lines and then covered them with smudged red to match his lips.<br /><br />My Joker has a smoky blue shirt with a black tie under a grass green waistcoat finished with glass bean buttons. His trousers and Jacket are both deep Cadbury purple with marks of dirt and smudges of the white make-up he uses on his face. His dirty, greasy green blonde hair is slicked back from his scared painted face.<br /><br />He weighs approx. 45g, and she is 27cm tall. <span id="goog_961704755"></span>Natasha Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04028621515709080575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383048966992073708.post-24711588092144729132015-05-18T04:30:00.002-07:002015-05-18T13:51:29.463-07:00Messing Up My Arty Time!I've not been here in a while as I got myself a new day job, a bit of a promotion, and have been manic busy trying to get myself and my new responsibilities organised. The problem of course is that it's been messing with my art time :S<br />
My head is now stuffed with ideas and they're all trying to come out at once. I'm going to have to settle in with my sketch book and try to separate them all out again soon. But in the meantime I have a very fancy Victorian lady started and a commission for a Joker in the outfit worn by Heath Ledger so have some photos to share with you.<br />
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I'm not sure of this young lady's name right now as she hasn't yet told me it. She's playing very hard to get and is very fussy, demanding all sorts of fancy trims and embroidery on her silk gown. So far she has her layers of soft cotton lawn underwear and petticoats with a dark royal blue underskirt that's pleated to the knee. Her bodice has a cream silk gathered layer around the neckline trimmed with tiny lace and surrounded with embroidery and more lace layers. And her sleeves have a ruffled cuff just below the elbow with more ribbon, beads and lace.<br />
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A few years ago I made a Joker for my husband and he sits on our mantle grinning at me all day long. And I've been asked to make a smaller version for a lady in America that I have half dressed so far. Under his purple trousers he has long drawers on to help fill out his skinny hips and legs and give them a proper shape. His shirt is cut very short to save on bulk around his waist and give him a skinny look, and I've left the fabric from around his shoulder joints to help ease the movement of them once the thicker suit fabric is gathered into place. <br />
I carved his face up to imitate the scars the Joker has and painted him gaudily with white, rich red and lots of smudged black around his eyes. He still looks quite alien without his hair, but I'm hoping to have that added soon as well.<br />
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Nest will come his waistcoat and long coat as I'm not sure I'm going to be able to fit his jacket in as well without him looking like he has a thick body builder neck, but we'll see what happens as I go along. You can hardly see this blue suit jacket in the film of stills from it, but you can just see it peeking through if you look very closely.<br />
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I hope to have more to share with you soon xxxx<br />
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Natasha Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04028621515709080575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383048966992073708.post-62858858938868820862015-04-06T04:18:00.000-07:002015-04-06T12:19:04.612-07:00New Dolls At LastSince the holidays I've been a bit lax keeping up here, but I have been busy making lots of new dolls and finishing off some I had waiting. Take a look below to meet my new ladies xxx<br />
All are available now in my Etsy shop - <a href="http://www.natashamorgan.etsy.com/">www.NatashaMorgan.etsy.com</a> <br />
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The Storyteller - Fantasy Art Doll<br />
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My Storyteller travels the country searching for new tales to tell and people who will listen to them. She sometimes gets invited into very fine mansions and is rewarded with fine food and a bed for the night, and sometimes she sits under a tree between the cottages where she is given humble soup and bread and allowed to sleep in a hay barn listening to the animal’s soft breathing nearby. Everywhere she goes her gentle nature draws even the shyest of children to her; they follow her in a long train until she finds the right spot, and then gather at the edges of her quilt to listen to her stories. The adults follow too and sit behind them or stand at their grand fireplaces to listen to her musical voice as she weaves her magic and carries them all away into the story.<br />
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This Storyteller wears layers and layers of petticoats, some of silk with an embroidered hem. Her gown is a magical marbled silky fabric with hints of gold over a pink silk chemise, and is trimmed with quilted designs, soft velvet and tiny glass beads. She has a quilt that she uses to sit under the trees when she wants to read that she made from the leftover pieces from her dress and a rich hand crochet shawl around her shoulders. She carries two antique books with her of her favorite authors Tennyson and Rossetti.<br />
I was inspired to make her by one of my favorite prints by Alphonse Mucha<br />
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Charlotte – A Young Victorian Girl Art Doll<br />
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Charlotte is a quiet gentle young girl that has a soft smile and laughing eyes. She’s a very good girl, but that doesn’t stop her giggling at all the silly things she sees around her. She’s been to the market for her mother and has a basket full of roses for her. She’s hoping that she’ll be allowed to watch Cook make the dessert this afternoon as she always lets her taste what’s in the bowl and nibble on the candied fruit.<br />
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Charlotte has lots of white cotton lawn petticoats trimmed with lace and matching drawers underneath. Her cotton dress has a deep pleated hem and matching pelerine across her shoulders. Her dress is trimmed with chocolate brown and gold lace with a large hanging bow in back, and she has a brown silk bonnet trimmed with gathered ribbon and rosettes.<br />
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Guinevere – Medieval Fantasy Art Doll<br />
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Queen Guinevere is such a romantic legendary figure that makes you think of stone castles and rolling green hills dotted with woodland and shimmering lakes. Here in Wales tales of Arthur and his round table, knights in shining amour and the beautiful Guinevere are never far away. With the Lady of The Lake water high in the Brecon Beacons and old tales of a standing stone where Arthur is said to rest. We have huge crumbling castles with high towers and massive gates, and mountains and hills like you’ve never seen with green pastures alongside craggy rocks with nimble sheep trotting up sheer hillsides. The coast here can be both wild and gentle, and you’re never far from big open spaces. It’s no wonder I find all the old tales fascinating, and I’m so lucky to have such beauty around me.<br />
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My Guinevere has embroidered silk underwear and a gown of Silk Noil fabric. Her long hanging sleeves and skirt hem and train are embroidered in silver and a darker shade of turquoise than her dress in Celtic patterns. And she has a gold lariat and necklace with gemstone and glass beads and a gold chain circlet in her hair.<br />
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Louise – Regency Art Doll<br />
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My Louise is inspired by the wonderful portrait of Queen Louise of Prussia painted by Wilhelm Ternite in 1810. She looks such a happy content lady in all of her portraits but I don’t know much else about her. She has such gentle eyes, and I hope to learn more of her in future.<br />
There are many portraits of Louise dressed for riding in her navy blue outfit and I couldn’t resist trying my hand at all the gold braid and military styling.<br />
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Louise has embroidered silk petticoats under a soft cotton lawn riding habit embroidered in a gold colored thread. Her jacket is trimmed in military style braiding and more embroidery with tiny gold lined beads as buttons. On her head she has a smart riding hat with a large black pom pom on the front. She’s ready to go riding.<br />
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Gabrielle - Art Doll<br />
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Gabrielle is a mischievous young woman who loves to go exploring. She daydreams about other lands and strange languages. And wishes she was allowed to go abroad like her brothers, but Farther says that it’s not ladylike and she should stay at home with her mother and learn to keep house. Her friends from her music class have all travelled to Paris and Rome, some even to Venice, but she must do as she’s told. She finds it very unfair.<br />
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Gabrielle has layers of petticoats, one of stiff calico pin-tucked to make the hem more ridged to hold out her skirts. She doesn’t like to wear a cage crinoline at home while she sits and works at her piano practice as they just get in the way and slow her down. She’s very busy, and always ready to head off into the woods and fields whenever she can to explore. Over another petticoat of red cotton ruffles and one of embroidered lawn she has a skirt of black decorated with flowers, and she wears a silk blouse with a neat round collar and a silky black corslet.<br />
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Effie Grey Art Doll<br />
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Effie Grey’s life with her first husband John Ruskin was one of cruelty and abuse, and to escape it she had to endure humiliating exposure of the most intimate details of her life. When she finally did she went on to marry Pre-Raphaelite artist John Everett Millais and thankfully found a happy family life.<br />
I was inspired to make my Effie when I saw the beautiful costume designs by Ruth Myers for the 2012 film directed by Richard Laxton. It’s full of wonderful details and stunning scenes and costumes, and well worth watching.<br />
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Effie has layers and layers of petticoats in cotton and Egyptian linen to hold out her skirts, with a top one of silk with an embroidered hem. I have textured the navy silk fabric of her skirt to create a slubbed or nubby pattern as in the original, and she has a silk blouse trimmed with lace, ribbon and embroidery. Over her shoulders she has a velvet caplet, and she wears a silk hat trimmed with peach flowers, embroidered ribbon, silk gauze and pearl bead hat pins.<br />
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Elphaba, Wicked Witch of the West Art Doll<br />
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Who doesn’t love the cackling, long nosed, green skinned witch from Oz with her flying monkeys and determination to get Dorothy “and your little dog too”. But in Wicked by Gregory Maguire we meet a very different person from the one that was depicted in the film, and even though it’s true that Elphaba is allergic to water and cleans her gleaming green skin with oil instead, by the end of the book it’s not her that I thought of as the evil one. In a very cleaver twist you come away from this tale with a very different view of Oz and its characters.<br />
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Elphaba has a red taffeta petticoat with lots of ruffles and black lace to hold out her skirts, and smart black underwear and stripped drawers. I’ve stamped the silky black fabric of her dress with a tree branch fabric that can be seen as the light moves over her, and trimmed her hems and cuffs with ruffles and tiny jet beads. She has a draped apron front to her gown and a pleated back drape layered with silk chiffon. And her tight fitted jacket has a high standing collar and deep V lapels trimmed with more tiny jet beads.Natasha Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04028621515709080575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383048966992073708.post-73897542651514592562015-02-08T07:58:00.000-08:002015-02-08T08:08:56.269-08:00Doll Tools And ResearchI've been lucky enough recently to be able to invest in some tool sand research books that I've been wanting to get for ages. I've been saving my pennies for my very own mini hobby pillar drill. I treated myself to a beautiful pin cushion. And I finally got a set of Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion books.<br />
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It might not seem like much, but having a nice pin cushion really does make a difference when you do a lot of sewing. And as soon as I saw these ones from Lorna Bateman on Etsy I knew I'd found the perfect one. It's made specifically to add pretty vintage embroidery to the top, but I decided to add one of my favourite Welsh Wool fabrics to it instead. It was very easy to cover and came with easy to follow instructions, and it's of very good quality.<br />
The little potato pearl bead pinned to it has been in every pin box or on every pin cushion I've had for years :)<br />
Have a look at Lorna's lovely shop here - <a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/lornabateman22?ref=related-shop-18&ga_search_query=wood+pin+cushion&ga_page=2&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery">https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/lornabateman22?ref=related-shop-18&ga_search_query=wood+pin+cushion&ga_page=2&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery</a><br />
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I like to make my dolls in batches, making up to 10 or 12 of each size at a time so that I can do all of the messy stuff over a few weeks. I don't have my own craft room and work in our dining room when I'm sawing and sanding all of the wooden parts I use for my dolls limbs and sculpting my hands, feet and faces with clay so I try to keep the room as tidy (??) as I can most of the time. Right now I'm in the middle of my next batch of dolls and have things drying on racks all over the table. It's only so long I can expect Cris to put up with it so once they are all made I'll have a clear table again and lots and lots of new dolls to dress and bring to life.<br />
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Each of my arms and legs is made of 2 cut and drilled wooden dowels, that's 8 pieces to each doll. And each body has to have two drilled hole so that I can string the limbs to the doll with the vintage thread and tiny glass beads I like to use. It usually takes me ages to drill the holes in each piece, half of which have to have a hole at each end so the arms and legs will bend. It was taking me days to get them all done so I thought it was time to invest in a little hobby pillar drill. It took me a while to find one small and light enough to pack away in my dresser, but I found one here - <a href="http://hobby.uk.com/">http://hobby.uk.com/</a><br />
It's a really great tool and I'm so glad I got it at last. It's quiet and easy to use with a nice solid feel to it. And getting all of my pieces drilled only took me an hour or two rather than days. I'd highly recommend it to anyone needing a drill that can handle small delicate work.<br />
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These books by Janet Arnold are a set of 4 beautiful books filled with endless details, illustrations, pictures and instructions that show you how historic dresses are constructed with pages of patterns that can be scaled up to use and to show you the shapes in fabric that are used to make all of the lovely layers, drapes, fancy swags and tailored bodices. The books lead you through the years showing you all the styles and cuts of different gowns with historic details, as well as references to the women that wore them and where you can see some of them in person at different museums and collections.<br />
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I first bought Patterns of fashion 4 when working on some of the details for my on-going Elizabeth I project as I wanted to see up close details of how to construct a ruff, supportase and stomacher for her. This beautiful book is full of stunning photographs and illustrations of the items themselves along with the embroidery, trimmings and construction. They have given me loads of ideas and I can't wait to get started using them for my doll designs. I'm just waiting on my Patterns of Fashion 3 to arrive to complete my set :)<br />
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Natasha Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04028621515709080575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383048966992073708.post-76890270574038764082015-01-18T04:57:00.002-08:002015-01-20T04:13:07.263-08:00Woodwork, Taxes And A Commission Doll<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBk2p1azIiH-GuYx0YZyryNVM6zhrbJ20c9fzVvflzImsXeKd5A7F0owhnJo8vjihoFPx0bbA9uxU-BD1APN04XuNMvdLm5pumg-cWBBtcQd4GvxrNZWX3cdyEFhqxOhMMFy5qEKoQjAM/s1600/DSC_0048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBk2p1azIiH-GuYx0YZyryNVM6zhrbJ20c9fzVvflzImsXeKd5A7F0owhnJo8vjihoFPx0bbA9uxU-BD1APN04XuNMvdLm5pumg-cWBBtcQd4GvxrNZWX3cdyEFhqxOhMMFy5qEKoQjAM/s1600/DSC_0048.JPG" height="400" width="223" /></a>Tax Season hit and passed quite quietly this year, and I had it all done out of the way before I knew it. I was very happy after doing all of that paperwork to just relax for a few days and let my head come back to creative things. And I decided I'd get myself started on a new batch of dolls. I'm hoping to soon be able to pick up a miniature pillar drill to help me drill holes in all these wooden arms and legs as every joint needs to be strung together. I normally manage to persuade Hubby into helping me but he gets very fed up after the first 60 or so little bits of wood it's time I got myself some proper tools. Here on my work bench I have mugs all lined up with all the different sized legs, thighs and arms in all sorts of sizes, and a big jar with lots of lollipop looking wooden beads and dowels ready for me to build up into heads and bodies.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrZcmZwoo30VafSPam9Huw3KslFeP4O4YIjKc8Vjvn7og0qzRKQTLYTOOYRwr_451qsjz5hqYSiVB-eas55XmFxjPqIyOM1DxjDDt7Zy4OMHugLDx6lTp5P6C8hayW_M6fowOIyQ_RwRU/s1600/IMG-1421514055372-V.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrZcmZwoo30VafSPam9Huw3KslFeP4O4YIjKc8Vjvn7og0qzRKQTLYTOOYRwr_451qsjz5hqYSiVB-eas55XmFxjPqIyOM1DxjDDt7Zy4OMHugLDx6lTp5P6C8hayW_M6fowOIyQ_RwRU/s1600/IMG-1421514055372-V.jpg" height="400" width="223" /></a>I have been doing some sewing, and here on my knee is the Toadstool top for a fairy I'm making my mother for her birthday. The wonderful Cynthia of Fairy's Nest is helping me out with the wings as I've not yet managed to find a solution I like yet when I make them. Cyn's are so pretty and delicate looking with just enough sparkle to match my Fae's dress, which is pale sage green, yellow and gold.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0SV-q1lK0UTtqVeN_H63S5CsOImK7kmt26HDM9K8rvERQYAJ2mpunnb1U3IN84ShptRh5kLwVk1grnJdUGB1zF3FgjCfsdVY3ik8hRvz0hW5st7Ou7m1918zTYJgxiI48H90SP5s42Kk/s1600/DSC_0045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0SV-q1lK0UTtqVeN_H63S5CsOImK7kmt26HDM9K8rvERQYAJ2mpunnb1U3IN84ShptRh5kLwVk1grnJdUGB1zF3FgjCfsdVY3ik8hRvz0hW5st7Ou7m1918zTYJgxiI48H90SP5s42Kk/s1600/DSC_0045.JPG" height="400" width="223" /></a>I've also been working on a commission Asylum doll for a lovely lady in the US. She's to be a middle aged lady with a family named Amelia. She's dressed in a chocolate brown gown that has a fine pinstripe, and will have a strait jacket, shawl and bonnet. She hopes soon to move to the nice new modern Asylum where they don't use restraints or make the patients do drudge work or be shut in all day. The new place has gardens and bright clean rooms. She's just hoping her son will agree to pay the extra costs...<br />
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I'll tell you more of Amelia's story when she's a little more decently dressed. But for now here are the details of some of her underwear.</div>
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PS - Sorry for the phone photos :S My computer doesn't seem to like uploading them from the camera at the mo.</div>
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Natasha Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04028621515709080575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383048966992073708.post-84606054330900650142015-01-04T05:42:00.000-08:002015-01-04T05:50:31.363-08:00A Custom Order - Ivy LevanIn November I was contacted by a lovely lady called Della that wanted me to make her a doll of her daughter as a Christmas gift for her. I like getting custom requests and Della's daughter was very pretty so we started talking about what she would like.<br />
You can't imagine how surprised I was when I realised that the girl I'd be making was Ivy Levan!<br />
After a good look around at her music videos and Google image results I was nervous about whether my style would be right with my big eyes and odd faces, but Della was sure so we started to plan out her outfit.<br />
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Ivy has a very dramatic sense of style with gorgeous dresses and sleek styled platinum blond hair. She's very glamorous and has a beautiful voice, and after narrowing down our options Della and I decided I'd make the outfit she wore when she sang with Sting on the Letterman show.<br />
If you'd like to watch the video you can see it here - <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1b7q86_sting-drive-my-car-feat-ivy-levan-and-mike-einziger-live-on-david-letterman_music">http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1b7q86_sting-drive-my-car-feat-ivy-levan-and-mike-einziger-live-on-david-letterman_music</a><br />
They do a great version of Drive My Car by The Beatles.<br />
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Della told me Ivy's stunning Morticia Addams style dress was made for her and you can see it fits her like a glove. It's not a style I usually make but it was very interesting to try replicate the design in a small doll. Firstly I had to build up the hips of the doll to make sure she had a lovely curvy shape like the real Ivy, so I fitted her with black lace underwear and a tutu-like petticoat. Next came a fitted pencil skirt type petticoat over the tutu to get the roundness to her hips and give her a bum (my dolls don't have one of their own and I tailor the clothes to give the shape to the lower half of their body).<br />
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The dress itself had a really low plunging neckline, right down to the waist, so after making the panels I had to relay on strong glue to make it stay in place on the dolls body which is something I wouldn't normally do as I prefer to rely on my stitching. It's proof that the gown fitted Ivy perfectly that it stayed on her body with such a low plunge and the only way I can think it stayed on was with the help of body tape.<br />
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The shoulders are padded and shaped into small points over the tight fitted arms. And the skirt I made in three pieces so I could get the smooth front lines and the trailing hem at the back that sweeps across the floor behind her. I used a soft black satin that has a dull sheen rather than a high shine. And made her a tiny silver moon necklace on a silver chain. When it came to her hair I tried both an up do and with it down and Della decided that she preferred it loose and wild.<br />
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I really enjoyed making this doll, and I've heard from Della that Ivy was really pleased with her gift so I'm thrilled :)Natasha Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04028621515709080575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383048966992073708.post-69417146439472434772014-12-28T08:39:00.001-08:002014-12-28T08:44:03.031-08:00Merry Christmas And A Happy New Year - Sale<span id="goog_1174149595">I hope your all having a wonderful Christmas and are planning a very very Happy New Year.</span><br />
I've been very spoilt and my lovely family and friends have given me beautiful gifts this year. I'm so grateful for their kindness and I've missed being able to see them all because my back has been playing up. I've spent most of Christmas laying on the living room floor, but it's not stopped me enjoying myself just because I can't get around too well. I've even managed a shot walk out in the frosty air today :)<br />
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My lovely husband bought me this wonderful little Plague Doctor doll from Angela's Animals on Etsy - <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/angelasanimals">www.etsy.com/shop/angelasanimals</a><br />
Isn't he lovely! She makes the cutest felted animals with fantastic detail, but I fell in love with this little guy with his feathered cape and tall hat. He has long fingered hands and his hooked beak is just perfect.<br />
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My Mother and Father in-law gave me the Froud's Fairy Tales book and I'm amazed at the mix of illustrations and photographs of their sculptures in it. The stories are strange and unusual and it's all laid out so well. I love the Froud's work and hope one day to be lucky enough to own a piece of it myself.<br />
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My bestest friends both gave me amazing gifts as they always do. They are always so kind :) I would have modelled my beautiful Lindy Bop dress from Sarah and Liam if I could stand a bit straighter right now. And Becky and James gave me something that made me cry when I opened it. They gave me this ceramic poppy that was part of the huge installation at the Tower of London this year, and I'm so thrilled to have one for myself. The idea behind the installation was beautiful and the whole effect so stunning. I wish I could have seen it myself, but now I have a small piece of it in my home.<br />
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I've had books and dvd's, new makeup and a warm hat, a smart new purse and a delicate silver bracelet, thanks to all of my wonderful family and friends and feel very lucky that they are all in my life.<br />
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To start off the new year in style and as a Thank you to all of the supportive people who have offered me kindness and encouragement this year I'm having a January Sale, but this time with a little difference since Etsy has new settings for it's coupon codes and I'm now able to alter the deals to make them better and better for my lovely collectors. I've listed them below and they will be active until the last day in Jan. As always I'm happy to reserve any of my dolls you may be interested in.<br />
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Spend £20 (peg doll size) and use code HAPPYNEWYEAR1 at checkout for 10% OFF<br />
Spend £50 (small doll size) and use code HAPPYNEWYEAR2 at checkout for 15% OFF<br />
Spend £130 (med doll size or a mix) and use code HAPPYNEWYEAR3 at checkout for 20% OFF<br />
Spend £275 (large doll size or a mix) and use code HAPPYNEWYEAR4 at checkout for 25% OFF<br />
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I hope you all have everything you could wish for in 2015<br />
xxxxxxNatasha Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04028621515709080575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383048966992073708.post-31531282327141598902014-12-15T04:59:00.000-08:002014-12-15T04:59:11.063-08:00Dolls Are Getting Excited For ChristmasOk, so maybe the dolls aren't the only ones getting excited for Christmas :)<br />
I love Christmas!<br />
I mean really Really REALLY love it. I've had all my gift bought since Halloween and my tree up since Dec 1st. All the card are written and gifts wrapped and now I'm ready with only 9 days to go until I get to give hubby his presents and find out if my friends and family like what I got them too. I hope they do as there are a few odd ones this year (not telling who's :)<br />
I've taken Christmas Eve off from the Day Job and will spend it getting even more silly and wound up until I get told to calm down by Cris or get one evil look too many from Darcy Cat. It'll be here before you know it and I hope your all planning to spend lots of time and make happy memories with those you love.<br />
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I have been doll making but at this time of year I don't get to share much. I've been working on commissions and their all Christmas gifts so I can't share just in case I spoil the surprise for someone. There have been peg dolls and secrets and a rather glamorous lady in a va-va-voom black dress. I've also been working on a gift for my Godmother and another for a very lovely friend across the seas, and with all the packing and shipping and trying to finish off Effie and ideas I'm all in a mix. I huge horrible stinking cold hasn't helped either, but now it's gone I'm hoping to get some serious work done :)<br />
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Effie Gray is sitting very patiently waiting for her hat and a few trimmings, and my Remember and Secret ideas are coming along slowly too. Maybe I'll have some doodles to share soon. I hope your all having fun getting ready for Christmas and New Year.<br />
Take care<br />
xxxNatasha Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04028621515709080575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383048966992073708.post-24487701405524544852014-11-16T07:34:00.000-08:002014-11-17T10:48:45.771-08:00Harlequina Maria - New Art Doll<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Harlequina Maria earns her money entertaining the crowds at the Masquerades
every week. She dresses up in her finest and cavorts through the crowds of
revelers, dancing, singing and performing acrobatics and tricks. She
particularly likes to take the gloves or handkerchief from handsome rich
gentlemen and make them chase her through the ballrooms until they agree to
dance with her in her elaborate show dance.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">By the time the night is over she has sore and tired feet. She’s
always worn out and hungry, looking forward to her small fire and comfortable
chair in her neat little apartment. Her pockets are filled with coins from the entertained
party people, and she usually has enough to afford a small treat for tea the next
day after she’s paid her bills. Once she wakes in the morning she’ll be back to
work sewing and mending her costumes ready for the private balls and the next
grand Masquerade.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Maria has a very lavish outfit of soft diamond pattered fabric
trimmed with gold and cream lace, satin rosettes, beads and gold thread over
cotton underwear. She has long knickerbockers and a short full skirt over
petticoats that has two gathered and ruffles over skirts. Her bodice is laced at
the front with gold thread and she has a rich red glittered mask to wear to the
Masquerade.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">She sits on a green velvet cushion which is included with her.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Next I'm working on a Wonderland Caterpillar while I wait for different fabric to arrive for my Effie. The embroidery I did for her skirt looked good, but not quite right so I tried to nick and fray the fabric to get the pattern I wanted. It wouldn't work on the faux silk I had and after trying it on a piece of real silk I've ordered new to do it to that. Hopefully she'll be finished soon.</span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I have a few small commissions for Christmas to do but still have spaces open if you'd like a doll from me. Let me know what your looking for and I'll be happy to talk it over with you.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Oh, and look!!!</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Cris bought me this wonderful little model spinning wheel from a local charity shop this weekend. Isn't it adorable! I'll have to start thinking about Fate or Rumpelstiltskin for it :)</span></span><br />
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Natasha Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04028621515709080575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383048966992073708.post-64419679428730229742014-11-03T11:53:00.002-08:002014-11-03T11:53:48.718-08:00Puzzles To Solve In Doll Dressmaking<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This week has been a puzzle week.<br />
I have a custom order to make a doll dressed in a beautiful sexy black dress. And while I can't tell you just yet who she is or who she's for I know I can show you all my puzzle so you can see what I've been up to.<br />
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After fitting my lady with a shaping petticoat or two to give her some curves I added her sleeves as they were easy. Next came my draping and pattern cutting, and as I'm sewing in a soft black silky fabric I used iron on interfacing for my patterns so I could sew around them. Both the top and skirt part of this dress are made in a double layer of fabric.<br />
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After sewing the neck line of the bodice I couldn't get it to stay where I wanted it, so my lady had to have a lazy day relaxing while the glue I used to stick that plunging neckline in place set thoroughly. She looked very 80's with huge shoulders as I hadn't put in the shoulder seams. I wanted to wait so that I could sew them while in place to make sure I got a super slinky fit.<br />
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Now the skirt.<br />
And this was my puzzle.<br />
The rest of the bodice was straightforward enough apart from working out the pointy shoulders, and the bodice came out looking fitted and glamorous just as I wanted it. My issues with the skirt took some working out as the fishtail train is big and dramatic, flowing out behind the dress with even the front of it longer than floor length.<br />
It needed to have no seams in the front that could spoil the line of the dress, but the fishtail fan had to be wide and trailing.<br />
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This shape isn't my usual style, but I really wanted to make it special for my lovely customer and really wanted it to be a good copy of the original dress. So I was determined to have as few seams as possible. In the end I managed to work it out with three (also a dart in the back).<br />
One seam on each side and another in the back at the top of the fan so that I could add as much shape and train as I could by inserting an over-half circle of fabric.<br />
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It came out just as I wanted it and now my lady is sitting in her tight slinky sexy number waiting for the ruffles I need to add to her dress and her stunning blond hair.<br />
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I'm looking forward to sharing with you how she comes out in the end, but as she's to be a Christmas gift my lady has to remain un-named for now xxx<br />
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Natasha Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04028621515709080575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383048966992073708.post-2078087368946777562014-10-12T06:51:00.000-07:002014-10-13T10:54:23.138-07:00Now I Can Sew AgainNow I can sew again I've been so busy I've neglected almost everything else. It's so good to have my arm back properly, even though it'll be a good few weeks yet before my elbow id fully healed. And I've been able to get all the ideas building up in my head started. Halloween will be with us before you know it, and the cooler weather is definitely here. We've had huge thunder storms and lots of rain. The sky has been so dramatic and moody, and even though I love the warm weather the change has given me a boost of energy that I think I'm going to need to get this lot done.<br />
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This sweet little Venetian Harlequina is waiting for her gold lace trim to arrive from Hong Kong, and delivery from that side of the world can be a bit hit and miss. Sometimes it gets here really quickly, and at others it's so so slow! So far I've sewn her sleeves and bloomers with her layered skirts gathered and flounced into a pannier shape. I still have her bodice to finish and lots and lots of details before I can start on her masquerade mask.<br />
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This young woman is Effie Grey. With the new film coming soon (I'm so looking forward to it :)) I thought it was time to make my own version of Effie, the wife of John Ruskin. She was cruelly treated by Ruskin who refused to consummate the marriage, at first using her young age as an excuse even though she knew that the sight of her on the wedding night had somehow disgusted him. This beautiful woman was admired by many, but as she aged he still refused to make her his wife, trying to convince her and those around them that she was mentally ill. At last she managed to divorce him and went on to marry and have lots of children in a new happy home. But I can't imagine what she had to go through to prove herself still a virgin to get her first marriage annulled.<br />
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This funny looking little lump is a commission for lovely lady in the states that I can't tell you more about just now as she'll be a gift for her daughter. I hope I'll be able to share some bits and pieces with you as I go along, but I won't be able to show you her finished until after Christmas when she goes to her new home.<br />
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These little Peggie's are the last couple of pegs I could find in my wood box. The middle one is a commission for the lovely Claire of her son singing, which is why his mouth is wide open. The other two I made at the same time and will be ready to tell me who they are soon so that I can make them come to life.<br />
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And lastly is this quilt piece I'm working on for Lorene of Wednesday Addams sat in a graveyard with her doll. It doesn't look like much yet but once the initial pieces are sewn there will be layers of paint and chalk added to the background, her face and the stones before I add embroidery to finish it all off.<br />
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I've even got a few new ideas bubbling away I want to get too, but I have lots of open spaces for any special pieces you may want in time for the holidays. You can contact me here, through my Etsy shop - <a href="http://www.natashamorgan.etsy.com/">www.NatashaMorgan.etsy.com</a> or e-mail me at <a href="mailto:natashasheron@yahoo.com">natashasheron@yahoo.com</a><br />
Have fun whatever you do<br />
xxxxxxNatasha Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04028621515709080575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383048966992073708.post-86586360132886572862014-09-28T08:38:00.002-07:002014-09-28T08:43:50.286-07:00Prunella The Pumpkin Sprite - Art Doll by Natasha Morgan<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">As I sit here typing with my one good hand (the wrong one!) I'm wondering why it is I'm so lost without being able to make something. It's very frustration having to sit still with nothing in my hands, but I guess that if I'm good my fractured elbow will heal all the quicker.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"></span><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">I did consider getting poor Cris to type this for me but my lovely husband has already chopped my salad for my lunches all week and helped me set up to take photos and do my ironing. He's so good to me xxx</span><br />
<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Anyway, I did manage to add the last details to Prunella so wanted to introduce her too you. Next I'm going to carry on with a dolls crochet shawl / blanket as it's the only thing that I can do right now while keeping my elbow bent and still. Hopefully I'll be able to sew something later in the week as I have tons of ideas :)</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="background-color: #666666; color: #eeeeee;">Prunella The Pumpkin Sprite Art Doll</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Prunella likes to hide among the pumpkins during the cool autumn
evenings watching the twilight come down through the branches of the trees
while the little bats flit around and look like they are chasing the stars. It’s
her reward to have her quiet times sitting on the soft leaves among the pumpkins
after working hard to make sure that each and every growing orange ball is
healthy and happy under their big floppy leaves. Halloween is coming soon and
the smell of pumpkin pie cooling on windowsills is one of Prunella’s favorite
things. Once all are full grown and ready for picking she’ll be able to relax
for a little while before she has to go back to work again preparing the earth
and looking after the seeds ready for them to be planted and grow slowly into
all of the new plants for next year,</span></div>
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under the layers of her dress. She has a puff ball skirt held out with ruffles
and an overskirt made of layered petals trimmed in lace and embroidery, dotted
with tiny sparkling beads just like her jacket. Silk leaves and curly fronds add
more layers, as well as a warm straw colored crochet shawl. On her head Prunella
wears a tall traditional Welsh style hat made of green silk and decorated with
lace, ribbon and more leaves and fronds. She looked like she needed a
comfortable seat so I made her a nice large pumpkin to sit on decorated in the
same way as her dress.</span></span></div>
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Natasha Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04028621515709080575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383048966992073708.post-532416916433438502014-09-07T11:05:00.002-07:002014-09-07T11:05:36.645-07:00Two Little ZombiesTwo more little Halloween dolls ready for new homes this week. You can find them both at my shop - <a href="http://www.natashamorgan.etsy.com/">www.NatashaMorgan.etsy.com</a><br />
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Bobby, A Country Zombie Art Doll<br />
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Bobby got caught. There he was peacefully working away in the far back field minding his own business and day dreaming of his next trip into town to see the latest moving picture, and a huge angry man covered in blood and with his clothes all ripped up and torn burst out of the hedgerow and bit him!<br />
Well, you can imagine his shock. He jumped away and the big guy fell flat on his face in the mud. Bobby ran and ran as fast as he could but had to stop and hide in the old red barn when he started to feel ill. <br />
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His head banged awfully and his belly turned over again and again. He put his head down in the hay to rest as it felt like it was made of stone and his eyes were blurry. Just for a little bit he thought after listening carefully to make sure he wasn’t followed, but now he has no other thought than to find food. To kill and eat and kill again until the terrible nagging hunger inside him is finally satisfied. Poor Bobby. At least something is still in his head to tell him to protect his little sister Mary-Lou. He didn’t eat her, just nibbled on her hand a bit.<br />
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Bobby is dressed for work in his worn mustard shirt and dungarees. He’s made a bit of a mess of his clothes now, and if Mamma could see him she’d be very angry. Thankfully he ate her this morning.<br />
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Mary-Lou, A Country Zombie Art Doll<br />
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Mary-Lou was being a good girl and sweeping out the kitchen for her Mamma and all of a sudden her brother Bobby pushed her over into the corner. She banged her head hard and turned sharply to tell him off, but when she did she couldn’t quite make out what was going on. Bobby had pounced on Mamma while she was cleaning the veg for dinner at the kitchen sink and was biting her. There she was in a big heap on the floor with her hands still clutching a carrot and Bobby was chewing on her arm!<br />
Well, you can just imagine her shock! What was he doing? He was normally such a good bay and always did his work as he should. Mary-Lou didn’t know what to do and did the first thing that came into her head. <br />
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She took hold of her broom and went and smacked Bobby on the head with it, smack! Bobby growled like an animal and grabbed her by the hand. He bit her sharply and pushed her back, and this time she fell against the table and banged her head so hard she blacked out. When she woke up all she knew was that she was terribly terribly hungry and just had to go and kill something with hot red blood to make the nagging in her belly go away. Oh, and Bobby was chewing her fingers.<br />
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Mary-Lou is dressed as she usually does when helping Mamma with the chores. She has on her clean white shift, well it was once clean at least, and her purple flowered skirt and blue bodice. Her apron is a mess now, but every time she reaches down to brush off the dirt she somehow makes it worse.<br />
<br />Natasha Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04028621515709080575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383048966992073708.post-61864034061545558392014-08-31T06:38:00.002-07:002014-08-31T06:38:28.794-07:00Autumn Is Coming - Making A Pumpkin Doll<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As the nights are starting to get darker and the air is becoming cooler my imagination has gone over to all things Autumn and Halloween :)<br />
There are just so many different characters to make with dark edges and spooky stories that I just can't help myself from making vampires and zombies, ghosts and Asylum dolls. But this year I wanted to make someone a little bit different for me. I wanted to make a Pumpkin doll, and now she's about half way through I'm ready to show you how she's coming along.<br />
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So far this little lady doesn't have a name, and I'm not even sure is she'll be a fairy, a witch or a sprite of some kind. She's telling me her story very slowly as we go along. And so far I know that she's a gentle kind little thing that likes to sit in the Pumpkin patch as twilight comes with her favourite books or talking to all the nice animals and spirits that she meets. She has soft baggy green stripped drawers and a dark burgundy shift under her pretty Orange and Yellow dress. Her skirts are shaped round just like her favourite Pumpkins, and she has ruffled petticoats to help keep the shape.<br />
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I've made her a smart tailored jacket with overlapping petal shaped tails in the back. She still needs quite a bit of trimming and finishing off before she's done. As well as her Pumpkin seat she'll have lots of leaves and curly vine feelers. And I'm planning a special stalk shaped hat she can wear once her hair is added. Shall I give her wings? Or maybe a broom and cauldron? She won't tell me quite yet but I've lots to do first and she wants me to finish her jacket and Pumpkin first, so I'm off to work :)Natasha Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04028621515709080575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383048966992073708.post-39572939740681804012014-08-17T06:32:00.001-07:002014-08-17T06:32:47.061-07:00New Dolls<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've been busy busy getting Lugo and Bella finished this week. And have 4 new dolls listed in my shop. Please stop by and meet them at <a href="http://www.natashamorgan.etsy.com/">www.NatashaMorgan.etsy.com</a><br />
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Bella – a Vampire Bride Art Doll<br /><br />Bella likes to sit and watch the old black and white vampire films with her mother every Sunday afternoon, and she’s really not sure why everyone is so afraid of the tall handsome Dracula. She likes him, and thinks he’s very dashing in is smart suit and long cape. Mamma made her big brother Lugo the same outfit for Halloween, and she has a very pretty dress so she can go out Trick or Treating with him. This year she hopes she gets even more candy than ever before.<br /><br />Bella’s mamma spent a long time making her an outfit for Halloween and Bella is very proud of it. She has long white drawers and a shift trimmed with black lace. Lots and lots of black petticoats with lots more lace that makes her feel like she’s walking through clouds. And a pretty dark red dress that sticks out all around her with lacing up the front and back of the bodice and lots of frills and ruffles on her skirt.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI_1fnEOu2WAFEQa8fEHGq10Y2OazLZ7miJ1dibKz1uCYM0hc5YoqX63QxqX9n5BPskPUhUoG0xtzrv70nilYPx2PljYmjNpO7fcov2ibOwySLvvzeCr_2VfGqzuda1q8HELqIwKme5JA/s1600/Lugo+Ready+For+Halloween+-+Art+Doll+by+Natasha+Morgan+(5).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI_1fnEOu2WAFEQa8fEHGq10Y2OazLZ7miJ1dibKz1uCYM0hc5YoqX63QxqX9n5BPskPUhUoG0xtzrv70nilYPx2PljYmjNpO7fcov2ibOwySLvvzeCr_2VfGqzuda1q8HELqIwKme5JA/s1600/Lugo+Ready+For+Halloween+-+Art+Doll+by+Natasha+Morgan+(5).JPG" height="400" width="320" /></a>Lugo – a Bela Lugosi Tribute Art Doll<br /><br />Lugo was named after his Mamma’s favorite actor, and he loves Halloween.<br />This year mamma has made him a costume so that he can look just like her favorite Vampire in the black and white films she likes to watch on Sunday afternoons, and Lugo is very pleased with his outfit. He can’t wait for Halloween to come and is getting in lots of practice pretending to be menacing and mysterious. He has his favorite book under his arm and is off to try and scare the other kids in his street.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHS-JemABrUnMr10PJHg_1mazblQj5Z23WMLG6-aZNv1c_GOZlhLg98kn_fGFkhL4u4q2sEfAfMrOw8uFTDBFj5NvSERAsh-r96sEBogmbtmSAye4B_B8Yir66HbhpY_AyWbMgDNagXbU/s1600/Lugo+Ready+For+Halloween+-+Art+Doll+by+Natasha+Morgan+(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHS-JemABrUnMr10PJHg_1mazblQj5Z23WMLG6-aZNv1c_GOZlhLg98kn_fGFkhL4u4q2sEfAfMrOw8uFTDBFj5NvSERAsh-r96sEBogmbtmSAye4B_B8Yir66HbhpY_AyWbMgDNagXbU/s1600/Lugo+Ready+For+Halloween+-+Art+Doll+by+Natasha+Morgan+(3).JPG" height="400" width="320" /></a>Lugo’s Mamma has made him a very smart Halloween costume, and he loves it.<br />Over his starched white shirt with its funny pointy collar and white silk bow tie he wears a silk waistcoat that has a pocket watch chain and pearly buttons. He has a Count’s medallion on a red ribbon just like in Mamma’s favorite films, and a jacket with tails in the back that flap against his legs when he walks. He really likes his swishy big long cape that he can swing about and that streams out behind him in the wind. Mamma even slicked back hi hair with some smelly stuff from Papa’s shelf in the bathroom.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1nKwW4Mial0SeDR718PrUrvN7zqgOxUDGz2X124i-oIaBEuL-faykrm33HniYHXODs4Jz2VOdjmYNokDHZxmxWbxXkKeF1tt3igYFDQ07bNiSiFsn4IvuAD7fXYEl5kLl4wZE2v7Bkd8/s1600/Georgiana+Duchess+of+Devonshire+-+Art+Doll+by+Natasha+Morgan+(5).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1nKwW4Mial0SeDR718PrUrvN7zqgOxUDGz2X124i-oIaBEuL-faykrm33HniYHXODs4Jz2VOdjmYNokDHZxmxWbxXkKeF1tt3igYFDQ07bNiSiFsn4IvuAD7fXYEl5kLl4wZE2v7Bkd8/s1600/Georgiana+Duchess+of+Devonshire+-+Art+Doll+by+Natasha+Morgan+(5).jpg" height="400" width="320" /></a>Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire Art Doll<br /><br />Lady Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire is an unusual character that many histories portray as a selfish grabbing type of woman. Amanda Foreman’s biography shows us all of the aspects of Georgiana’s character and lets us see the woman behind her popularity as a fashion icon. In some ways shy, confused and used by those that should love her she had many trials throughout her life to fight against. A domineering mother and indifferent cold husband led her to search out ways in which she could succeed in her own right. And she became an icon of fashion and a powerful political figure.<br /><br />I love the biography The Duchess by Amanda Foreman all about Georgiana, and equally loved the 2008 film starring Kira Knightley. The costumes designed by Michael O’Connor are so beautiful I couldn’t resist making a version of one of them for my own Georgiana. In any period drama the costumes are very important and Mr O’Connor very deservedly won an Academy Award for his work on the film.<br /><br />Lady Georgiana has silk cotton drawers and a soft silk chemise gathered with a low neckline. I know in Britain at the time drawers were very rare, in fact they would have been considered odd and even a bit slutty. But Georgiana had great friends at the French court, including Marie Antoinette herself, and there they were considered the height of new fashion. (Also we all look up dolls skirts so I thought I’d give her some modesty).<br />She has a long petticoat embroidered in soft grey silk, and a stripped cotton skirt with a ruffle along the hem. Her bodice is stripped silk, as well as her cropped jacket. And both have been embroidered and tiny glass beads added as buttons. She has a silk shawl draped around her arms and on her head wears a tall black hat with a curled brim and huge blue silk ribbon and bow.</div>
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Bun Bunny, the Soft Squishy Patchwork Podgy Doll<br /><br />Bun Bunny is a happy sunny Podgy looking to bring smiles and laughter to all her friends.<br />She has long flopsy ears that have soft fleecy white undersides that are lovely to stroke and play with. And she likes nothing better than a sunny spot where she can see outside to the garden.<br />
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I'm off now to make some Zombies, so have fun and take care xxx<br />
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Natasha Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04028621515709080575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383048966992073708.post-25899512947839196212014-08-10T05:50:00.007-07:002014-08-10T05:50:57.919-07:00Getting Ready For Halloween<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Ok, yes. I know it's early, but I just can't hold off any longer. I just had to start making some of me Halloween ideas, and it's given me the boost I needed to get back to creating. I was stuck, as we all get, and felt there was something missing. I get terribly impatient if I cant work on making something. My head gets full up with ideas all fighting to be first, and not even sketching them out or writing them down will help to clear my mind. I put aside Guinevere for a little while and took up my next doll. Poor Guinevere needs a lot of embroidery to make her gown look just right, but my mad old brain just wouldn't settle and concentrate, so on I move until my imagination regains it's focus.<br />
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I've never made a doll in the traditional image of Dracula, but who doesn't love a good Bela Lugosi film on a wet Sunday afternoon. The idea that won the fight was little Lugo: named after his mother's favourite actor of course. He's getting ready for Halloween himself, and his Mamma has made him his very own Dracula outfit. He still needs a medallion to hang from his red ribbon just like a real count wears. And Mamma is looking for a chain to make him a watch chain for his waistcoat pockets. She slicked his hair back with some smelly stuff from Dad's shelf in the bathroom, and Lugo is particularly pleased with his big sweeping cloak. Next his Mamma is starting on his little sister Bella's Halloween outfit. She's going to be Dracula's Bride :)<br />
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I've been busy sanding, painting and varnishing a whole new set of dolls as I ran out of my smallest size and was getting low on my medium size. Later today I'll be able to start stringing them together so that their ready for me to dress. <br />
Can you see the two little Zombies laying next to the others?<br />
What characters do you see in these faces?<br />
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It's a wet Sunday here as we get the remains of Hurricane Bertha hitting Britain, and outside is dark and moody. We're cuddled up on the sofa watching rubbish TV and enjoying our lazy afternoon - Cris with his computer work on his laptop and with me finishing this before I get back to my dolls. I hope wherever you are your safe and warm and having a lovely day too. xxxNatasha Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04028621515709080575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383048966992073708.post-89441784793963431762014-08-04T04:59:00.000-07:002014-08-04T11:17:58.721-07:00Getting Somewhere - Doll Making StumblesI've been in a slump and trying hard to work my way out of it. And finally I realised that I need to concentrate on what I want to make, not on what needs to be done.<br />
So what if I have dolls staring up at me half finished. I'll get to them in the end and they'll be better off waiting so I can give them everything they need rather than forcing myself to work out my ideas and making them a chore to do rather than a pleasure. Better to let my daft brain work things out in it's own time and get back to having some dolly fun :)<br />
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Some of you may remember my Storyteller in her wonderful marbled silk. Well, she's still here and looking rather splendid perched on top of my pile of cases watching over me while I work. I don't work in one particular place in the house, but rather have a large Welsh Dresser as my store cupboard in the dining room and various bits stashed away throughout the house. My beautiful wooden sewing box sits on an old vintage school type stool in our living room, and I sew or paint, sculpt and wig, anywhere I feel like at the time. Most of the time this is with Cris during the evenings while he watches TV and I talk through bits he wants to listen too (Oops!). So my Storyteller looks on at us both waiting for me to finally decide on what she needs to finish her off ready for the world.<br />
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Guinevere has suffered my slowness after we had such a hard time during our holiday from the day jobs. Cris and I had planned to do lots of lovely things, from finding stock for his Vintage shop (<a href="http://www.curiouscris.etsy.com/">www.CuriousCris.etsy.com</a>) where he sells his finds from our treasure hunts, to getting a lovely big batch of new dolls sculpted, sanded, painted and ready to dress. We had day trips planned and evenings out. But our holiday was one of those filled with illness and bad backs, trips to the vets and days spent worrying. <br />
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My darling little Meanna had to leave us, and I'm glad she wasn't ill long. My poor girl couldn't fight off the virus she caught and I miss her everyday. She was 16 years old and had been with me since I was 21 as she was a birthday gift from my mother. I still walk into the room and expect to here her chirrup and purr at me from her chair. All the work I'd planned to do on Guinevere took a back seat and I just didn't have the concentration to work on her. So she's going to join my Storyteller for a little while. I need something new to fill up my attention for the time being. Something to take my mind elsewhere.<br />
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I had also planned to get a number of Podgy dolls finished and ready to launch as a new line in three different sizes with extra little bugs and animals as well. I did get three finished and listed in my shop - <a href="http://www.natashamorgan.etsy.com/">www.NatashaMorgan.etsy.com</a> - and have since finished a larger bunny version called Hop who needs to be listed too so he can find a new home. I have the Duchess Georgiana to take photos of and list too as I finished her just before I injured my back. And I'm planning to get them both ready and listed next weekend so I can introduce you.<br />
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This weekend I was as busy as I could be sanding the last of the sculpts I had waiting and painting layers and layers of skin tone and detailing the faces of my new batch of paperclay jointed dolls. It was good to be busy, and they all now need stockings and shoes before I can varnish them. Of course when I looked I found I had run out of white acrylic! So I made sure I got that ordered before coming to type here. I mean, their little feet will get cold without their stockings, won't they.<br />
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During summer my mind always seems to wander to Halloween and all the creepy ghoul's and monsters I could make as one of my dolls. I've always loved the old horror characters and have planned out a few zombies and vampires to make over the next few weeks. This first will be a little boy called Lugo, who's mother named him after her favourite horror actor. You can catch a sneaky peek of him in my WIP photos posted to my Facebook page if you don't want to wait until next post to see him :)<br />
Take care all.<br />
xxxNatasha Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04028621515709080575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383048966992073708.post-30037545164718602272014-07-20T07:08:00.002-07:002014-07-20T07:08:55.523-07:00The Magical Scrapbox<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Patch Podgy by Natasha Morgan</td></tr>
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Every maker I know has a box. Maybe a drawer or trunk or sack, bag or pile. But all contain the same things. The things we just can't bare to throw away.<br />
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For me my box is full of all those little fabric scraps that I just couldn't part with. All the pretty little pieces I kept thinking must come in useful one day; tiny little bits and bigger just enough for something pieces. They all sat in my box and threatened to explode every time I went into my cupboard to get something.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mag Podgy by Natasha Morgan</td></tr>
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I tried miniature quilts (which I like but witch go better with a doll to me), and applique and patchwork. I even considered making myself some strange unusual cushions for my sofa. But then I had an idea to make just another type of doll.<br />
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Why was I trying to change from something that I loved to try and use my treasures. Why wasn't I just adapting and trying something new in the way of a doll. Then I saw a cute fat doll type frog like door stop in a gift shop window and thought how cute would it look covered in mix and matched patchwork.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flo Podgy by Natasha Morgan</td></tr>
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I pulled out my sewing machine and made up some shaped I could stuff to try out what would work best for me. I chose ball and pumpkin shapes as they felt so nice to hold. I sewed two different sized ones together to make a head and covered the face area with a soft pink doll skin jersey I had tucked away. After covering the back of the head and body with my patchwork I added some chain stitch embroidery and zig-zag stitches in strong white vintage thread.<br />
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My first Podgy Doll looked so cute and friendly. He wasn't perfect but Pud looked back at me and made me smile.<br />
I made another with rabbit ears and a lace ruff as a gift for a friends birthday, and Bun Bun made me smile too. So now I have these three little critters all smiling and looking for new homes where they can make others smile too. I hope you like them. xxx<br />
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Natasha Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04028621515709080575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383048966992073708.post-55683914677136948092014-07-06T04:20:00.001-07:002014-07-06T04:20:09.285-07:00Pud - A Podgy Soft Rag Patchwork Doll<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've tried a few different things to try and use all the lovely little pieces of left over fabric I get from all of my sewing projects. But none of them ever seemed quite right.<br />
I tried bags and purses, but they looked clunky and messy. Applique and quilting I enjoyed doing, but I kept finding myself going into my stash of larger pieces of fabric to get what I needed. And all that did was add to my scrap box, not lessen it. Things never seemed to satisfy me or work out as I wanted until I saw a large pretty doorstop in the window of a local gift shop.<br />
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The doorstop was a large fabric oval frog with big button eyes. And as I looked at it I thought wouldn't that look cute in patchwork. Bit of a light bulb thing I admit. Very cheesy indeed, but that's how things go sometimes, even in the real world.<br />
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I sewed two ball shapes from sheeting, one a little smaller than the other, and sewed them together. Then I tipped out my scrap box all over the floor and set to work hand-sewing lots of different patches all over my shape to make my first fat Podgy doll. After covering the face area with soft pink jersey and adding a little smiling mouth and big button eyes I was very pleased with my Pud. And after adding some embroidery and messy yellow tuft of hair he looked back at me and made me smile :)<br />
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Next I'm trying a Podgy with floppy bunny ears for my friend Becky, and then some smaller versions to see how they look smaller. And of course now that Georgiana is done and waiting for some good light so I can take her photos I can get back to the embroidery for Guinevere. <br />
I hope you like my little Pud. He's listed in my shop right now and is available to come and make you smile too. xxx<br />
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Natasha Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04028621515709080575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383048966992073708.post-74090846465391030922014-06-29T04:27:00.003-07:002014-06-29T04:27:51.420-07:00The Duchess's Milliner - Georgiana in ProgressThis week has been about trimming Georgiana's jacket and giving her hair. As well as starting work on her wide brimmed hat.<br />
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At first I tried plaiting enough braid to sew around the edge of her jacket, but it looked to fake somehow. Just sort of floating on top of the fabric rather than being a part of it. <br />
I dug out my stitch books and practised with a few different embroidery stitches until I found one that fitted well as a substitute for the fringe on the original costume, and I've used that on her jacket instead. This type of Picot stitch is woven onto a row of small back-stitch making regular loops that overlay each other. It sits nicely against the edge of her jacket now, and I like how it looks different from a standard chain.<br />
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I gave Georgiana her hair in my usual way, layering the fronds from marabou feathers to build up a full wild head of hair, and then it was time to start her hat.<br />
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Now I really enjoy making hats, but this one has been a big challenge for me as it's very different from my usual basic shapes. First I had to play around for a while with shapes until I found the shape that would create the wide curled shape of the brim. I cut buckram to my final shape along with the two pieces of fabric to cover it as this brim needed to be stiff an hold it's shape, and not floppy. It's an odd shape to work with as it won't lie flat, and I had to be very careful when attaching it to the hat body to make sure I got a straight neat edge.<br />
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I use all sorts of things as bases to make my hats, from bottles and storage tubes to cardboard packaging. I already had a base for a gentleman's top hat that was the right size, and as you can see it's a tube that once contained sweets :)<br />
I used an awl to make a number of holes in the sides of the tube and strong thread to sew threads between each side so I could pull the tube into a more oval shape. It's nice and strong and I've used it for lots of hats, an I started the body of Georgiana's in the same way as making the body of a Topper.<br />
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First I add the circumference of the lining, making sure that the finished side is against the tube, then add the top. I push the brim onto the base then and get it positioned before sewing it to the hat body lining. I have to take it off the base to sew it firmly together after tacking it. Then put it all back onto the base. Then I add layers of buckram around the hat until I get the stiffness I want, and add ovals to the top tacking them all into place. This is the stage I've got to at the moment, and next I'll ad fabric to cover the top before covering the sides and adding the decoration :)<br />
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I'm one of these sewers that can't throw away the scraps. I knew that I'd use them all one day and decided it was time to look into a way of using them up. <br />
We passed one of those beautiful little gift shops that we all like to drool over, and in the window was the cutest fat round creature. He wasn't anything in particular, but had big round eyes just like I love under the brim of his floppy hat, and a big round belly. I knew that I would love to have a shape like that to embroider and applique onto, so I'm going to try my own version of a fat little creature. It may work and it may not, but if I don't do something soon my scrap box is going to throw off the heavy books I have on top of it keeping it closed and explode all over my dining room. So we'll see what happens :)<br />
<br />Natasha Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04028621515709080575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383048966992073708.post-67917245869656040562014-06-23T04:46:00.002-07:002014-06-23T10:46:25.507-07:00The Best Kind of DistractionIt's been a week of getting not much done and a whole weekend of the best kind of distractions :)<br />
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I managed last week to get Georgiana into her pointed stomacher bodice and jacket. And realised last minute that I didn't have the right colour of embroidery thread to trim it. Of course being stuck in work all week at my day job I couldn't get to the stall at our local market where I get my thread from, and there isn't anywhere else around here without going into the city or getting Cris to drive me somewhere. I know I could have ordered it on-line, but I'm sure that it wouldn't have come any earlier, so Saturday I was off into town to pick up the right thread and run some errands.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, I do have clothes on behind that car door.</td></tr>
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Distraction number one came with a phone call from my best friend Sarah about our going to a 40th wedding anniversary party later that day, and we found she was also heading to town for a few bits and pieces. We met up and did our errands together, using my poor Hubby as the pack mule to carry all the heavy stuff. We got everything done between us and I was very grateful for a lift back home so I didn't have to walk back up the steep hill. By the time I'd done a few chores, showered and got ready we were back out picking up Sarah and her husband Liam and son Thom to go to the party. All of us dressed up nice and looking forward to seeing the third of our trio Becky and her family.<br />
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Becky lives in Cambridge and comes home to see family and us lot every so often. I'm a terrible traveller, even though I'm getting better slowly, because of the problems I've had with my back. So seeing her here is always really exciting for me. It makes me feel great when we're all together again. Both Sarah and me miss her loads and wish she was closer. We've all known each other so long, and as Becky, Liam (Sarah's husband) and Daryn are my Godparents kids we've known each other all our lives (as the dodgy pictures show :))<br />
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It was a lovely party at a beautiful home of my Godmothers brother. We got there early so as Becky could get her two sons home at a decent time for bed. And with Daryn and Delyth had their 6 month old daughter Ffion with them too we all took our leave around 9 o'clock and headed home. After sitting in the beautiful garden all afternoon and evening in the wonderful sunshine we're having here both Cris and me changed straight into pyjamas and watched tele for a little hour before bed.<br />
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Poor Cris was up at 5.30am to go do a car boot sale with my little sister on Sunday morning. I got out of it due to being terrible use when there's any lifting involved. Also Alex knows I'm a grumpy cow when I'm tired :S<br />
Once I was up I packed a doll ready to ship and tidied up. I went through a load of my old craft supplies that I no longer use and found a big box full of sizzix dies and another full of stamps that I've put to one side to sell. I'd rather someone else get use from them and I've always kept them in good condition so am selling them to fund my fabric problem. You can never have enough fabric, right?<br />
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Once Cris came home we did some laundry and got some food prepared ready to take with us up to Sarah and Liam's house for distraction number 2. We all planned to sit in the sunshine and have a BBQ while the boys played in the pool with water pistols and little Ffion rolled around and laughed on a blanket under her parasol and us adults talked enjoyed the weather. We walked home that evening with the sun in our eyes as it went down. And once home, showered and changed I was so tired I thought it best not to try and sew. And no, I don't think the few glasses on wine I had at the BBQ had anything to do with that at all!<br />
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As you can see I've been very naughty and have a lot of doll making to catch up on this week, but I don't mind at all as I got to spend my whole weekend with those I love. The photo above is the birthday card Becky, James and their boys Dylan and Luke sent me a few weeks back. I laughed so hard when I saw all of the pictures of us through the years and my awful dodgy hair :) I was also very grateful she'd left out the photos I know she has of me when we were children.<br />
Becky is the lady with red hair, Sarah brunette, and the blonde is me :)Natasha Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04028621515709080575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383048966992073708.post-86015374077524737862014-06-15T06:32:00.000-07:002014-06-15T06:32:08.297-07:00Guinevire And Georgiana<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This week I've been spoilt. I'm so lucky to have such a lovely husband that treats me so well on my Birthday. And this year I had a new dolly from him as a surprise gift :)<br />
Blair is a wonderful art doll bust by Mystic Asylum - <a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TheMysticAsylum">https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TheMysticAsylum</a> . She's so dream-like with her soft wisp of hair and stained and aged fabric around her shoulders. From some angles she looks sad, and others looks wistful with a soft smile. But it's her lovely sad eyes that make her so special :)<br />
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Cris has taken me out and treated me to shopping and cocktails, taken me to the cinema, and we had a great day out yesterday at the Welsh Games Fair watching all the displays and motorbike stunts. It's not often you get to see birds of prey up close and they where very beautiful. There were loads of dogs around, and a stand of the cutest ferrets. <br />
The sun has shone every day we've had off from our day jobs. But with all these lovely things we've done I've not managed to get much sewing done.<br />
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I found a design for the embroidery on Guinevere's gown, but have decided to wait until a new book I've ordered arrives in case I find something I like in it even better. It's a book on Celtic Backstich that I'm hoping will have knotted borders and medallions inside so that I can compare what I have now with other designs. <br />
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I like this set of designs as the all match and I can reduce or increase the size to make motifs for her sleeves and the train of her skirts as well as the borders. But true Celtic designs are hard to pin down, and being a great Queen Guinevere deserves something special.<br />
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While I wait I've started on Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire and am working on an embroidered petticoat for her. I've always loves Georgiana ever since I first read about her. And the film with Kira Knightly has some of the most stunning costuming and scenery. As you can see I decided to give my Georgiana a pair of silk drawers, which at the time would have been a very very new fashion. As the lead fashion setter of her day I think Georgiana would have adopted the newest French styles from her friends Marie Antoinette and members of her court. And I always find that people have an odd way of always looking up a dolls skirts so I may as well give them something pretty to look at, right :)<br />
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I'm still to add some lace and ribbons to her underwear and finish her petticoat before I start on her silk stomacher, jacket and stripped skirt that I've based on an outfit from the film. She also has a huge hat trimmed in feathers and blue silk ribbon that I'm really looking forward to making :)<br />
I'll have more soon.<br />
xxxNatasha Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04028621515709080575noreply@blogger.com1