A Husbands Horror Doll Request

I always give full credit and much appreciation to my lovely husband. He gives me endless support, puts up with my tempers when things go wrong, complains very little when dollies spread out all over the house and pretty much puts up with my mad, creative, living in the past, off my head self.

For his birthday this year I asked him if he'd like me to make him a doll of his very own. And while his answer wasn't a massive surprise I have to admit that the character he chose had me worried.
Being a huge Batman fan my lovely geeky hubby asked me for a doll of The Joker.
Specifically the one played by Heath Ledger, with his purple suit and deeply scared face, green dirty hair and make-up on his collars. So that's what I set out to make him.

Taking my dibber thing (bradawl) to one of my dolls faces has to be one of the scariest things I think I've had to do to one of them. Give me tiny collars, corsets, mis-behaving fabrics and nightmare tailoring anytime over having to do that again. Especially in such an eye-catching area as their mouth. I sat there in a sweat gently scraping through paint, varnish and clay till I had a pretty impressive ear to ear smiling scar carved into his face. And as soon as I'd done it my once smart looking man turned instantly into the cold blooded psychotic killer I was making. Even before I'd added his face paint!

Next came that of course - the face-paint. And I applied scrubbed off layers of white to his face so that the skin tone showed through in places. More mad eye-liner and a deep red pained lip-stain across his mouth and scars. Finishing him off with gloss and varnish to seal him. He looked Nuts!!!!
This one even gave me the creeps. And I know, I know my dolls are considered creepy by many, but I don't normally find them creepy myself.
It was something in his eyes and expression after the paint was added that did it, but Husband was happy and that all that mattered to me.

Next came his undies, just a little pair of boxers and something around his arm joints to tighten them up a little. And a shirt in blue cotton that had to be painted with fine spidery lines (trust me you can go check. His shirt has a pattern on it :S).Then a black cravat style tie that needed tiny white embroidery added to it, and a green waistcoat.
Easy so far, right?
No. We had a disagreement on whether or not The Joker's long purple coat was the jacket of his suit or an overcoat. I said not and Hubby says yes, so we had a frantic hour searching through Goggle Images so I could prove myself right and find the pic that I'd originally seen that shows the lovely Mr Ledger's coat open and a blue suit jacket beneath his purple overcoat. That got made and his overcoat too, and all you can see of the blue is a tiny line around the edge that I've tried to arrange in the pics so you can see it at all :)

I scuffed him up a bit and added paint for dirt and white watercolour pencil around his collars to look like make-up worn off his chin. Then added his feather hair in beige, green and mossy colours to make it look like the die was wearing off, slicking it back with hairspray to make it appear greasy.
He's still waiting for the chair I'll be making him from some vintage playing cards (Jokers of course), but he's sitting happily on our mantle scaring our visitors as they come through the door. I don't make many dolls so specific to my customers wants, but I don't think I'll be scared of any proposals after this for a while :)
I love to make my Cris smile :)
xxx

The Beauty of White Cotton

What is it about a good piece of fine white cotton fabric, perfectly clean and fluff free, spread out in front of me waiting to be turned into all sorts of underwear for my Victorian ladies?

There's something so appealing about it. Something that just grabs my attention and holds my imagination as I think up all the different shapes and styles, trying to decide what each doll needs and how I'll be able to trim them in ribbon and lace.

I always start my dolls this way. Only sometimes changing to a different colour when the lady demands it. Only listening to her when it comes to frills and trimmings. Just that blank white expanse of fabric in front of me waiting for a mark, a pin, a fold, a cut...

Before I know it I have a pair of wide split drawers, a gathered of fitted shift or lacy chemise, a corset, a petticoat. All working together to build up the shape and design of the finished gown, building curves and shape onto my skinny little dolls bodies. Giving them hips and a waist, protecting joints and starting the support for all manner of dress shapes.

Working with so much of the stuff I always try to buy good quality, not too thick with a good tight weave, occasionally changing to white cotton lawn or silk, but always starting with that big clean piece of white fabric in front of me. Chasing away the cats so that not a hair will mare it's surface. Making sure my hands and needles are clean and dry so I won't spoil it with a mark of make-up or dust. Searching for the best way to cut it so as not to spoil and make sure I get as much use from the meterage as I can. Saving every little scrap so I know I always have a piece to make that tiny collar or cuff later on. Folding, cutting, gathering and pleating - Turning that sheet of white into small items of underwear for my dolls while I dream and imagine what her final gown will look like.

Maybe she'll need a Hoop Crinoline. Maybe a corded stiff petticoat or row after row of ruffles and frills, or something built up at the back to help support a bustle. Perhaps she should have embroidery, or lace. Maybe plain and simple. Whatever she needs I can change and form that whiteness into what I need.

It's the one fabric I can't do without. The one that I make sure to never run short of. And the one fabric I always go back to :)

Time is Flying Away, And I'm Sewing As Fast As I Can

Busy busy bee trying to get everything ready and sorted out early for my next fair in July. It's going to be a lovely day at Margam Orangery where Hubby and me got married, and I'm really looking forward to spending the day in such a pretty place with the stunning gardens around us.

I've no idea what's been happening lately as I never seem to have enough time to do all that I want these days. All day every week day at the day job and my nights sewing up a storm. Then the weekend comes around and I think that I'll have loads of time and make loads of plans and then there's the chores and errands to run :S I need to claim me a day for dollies and get some period drama's on to keep me company. Maybe I'll have to talk Hubby into a night out with the boys so I don't annoy him :)

My Alice and The White rabbit is all finished and listed in my Etsy shop - https://www.etsy.com/shop/NatashaMorgan?ref=si_shop
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll is the favourite book of many of us all over the world. The wonderful characters and strange tales inspired me to make these two little dolls, and I always find myself returning to Mr Carroll’s books again and again.

We meet Alice sitting on a sunny band with her sister, bored and looking around her for something more interesting to catch her attention. Suddenly she sees a White Rabbit – A talking rabbit with a waistcoat and pocket watch rushing away to an appointment he was very late for. I love the imagery of Alice’s strange fall through the rabbit hole chasing the White Rabbit. Landing at last in a strange room with a tiny door, a table with a key and a bottle of strange liquid marked “Drink Me); and a small glass box hidden underneath with a small cake inside marked “Eat Me”. Such a wonderful story from a great writer.

Alice wears pretty lace trimmed underwear with layers and layers of frills. Her blue dress is made of pure silk, and she has an apron of white cotton trimmed with more lace. In her white blond hair she has a small white bow, and a small bottle of strange red liquid marked “Drink Me”. The White Rabbit has been hand sculpted and has movable arms. His copper brown waistcoat is painted with a shimmery paint and he has a purple satin bow tie. His watch-chain hangs from his pockets, and in his hand he carries the key to the Queens garden.

I've also been working to finish my Queen of Hearts and now have her all dressed and just in need of her crown and sceptre, and the plate of tarts that I want to make her :)
She's looking rather pretty in her red silk and satin gown trimmed up with gold lace and black and white check ribbon frills.

My Queen has layers of white underwear with lots of lace frilling under a red petticoat with white polka dots and more lace frills. Over a bright red satin underskirt decorated with a heart motif she has a dark red silk over-skirt with a train at the back with a matching decorated heart and wide border of gathered spotted silk at the hem. She has wide puffy sleeves trimmed with lots of frills, and a tight bodice.

Although she's not yet quite finished I've been really very lucky to have found her a home already. Once she's done she'll be off to the lovely Dominique in Australia :)

What am I working on now? Let me think what's next...
I found a very sweet little brass cauldron in a thrift store that has a tiny Welsh lady on the front so I want to make a Welsh Witch with a proper Welsh hat to go with it. I'm not sure which one she'll be yet, but I've started her undies and am planning on wide skirts and a blouse with a shawl to keep her warm.
Then I need to make me some peg dolls and make Sarah her April and May peg dolls. As well as getting started on my Anastasia now that I have the perfect peachy pink silk for her dress. And I also want to make another Jack The Ripper, and...
No wonder I have to time! I have way too many ideas to keep up :S

Emily, Lizzie Borden, And Dolls In Progress

Wow! What a week or two I've had!
Seems like I haven't sat still once and I still have loads to do :)
Isn't it always the way when you want to settle down to do something important.

Well, Ok. Maybe dolls aren't the most important thing in the world, but they do always make me happy :)
I have somehow managed to get a lot done with my dolls, although it seems I've hardly picked up my needle. Emily and her dolly are finished and listed in my shop. And Lizzie Borden too. So here they both are for you to see.

Emily is a pretty, sweet little girl with a dark twisted heart. Murder and mystery surround her, but no-one ever believes that such a pretty little thing could be the cause.

It all started long ago when Emily was thought to have found her nurse-maid killed after what was thought to be an attempted robbery. Eight months later Emily’s mother was found to have died in her sleep after an apparently accidental arsenic overdose. And now her new step-mother has been found in the garden with her throat cut!
Emily’s farther is starting to suspect he may need some help with his strange little girl who doesn’t seem in the least upset that these events keep happening in her home.

Emily wears a pretty peach dress trimmed with white lace and ribbon, and has a full skirt and puff sleeves. Underneath she has traditional split crotch drawers worn under frilly lace legs to help hide her limbs. She has lots of lace trimmed petticoats to help hold her dress full. Her little doll has a lace trimmed white dress with pink ribbons, and behind her skirts she hides her favourite weapon – the knife she uses to cut her victims throats.

Lizzie Borden was accused of killing both her father and step-mother by repeatedly striking them with an axe. A terrible violent murder that caused a sensation throughout the country.

Lizzie was acquitted of the crime and chose to continue to reside Fall River, Massachusetts, but was ostracised by society. The case became so famous through the press that is even inspired a rhyme describing the event – Lizzie Borden took an axe / And gave her mother 40 whacks / When she saw what she had done / She gave her father 41.
No-one now knows who it was that killed Lizzie's parents in such a brutal manner, or even if she had in fact done it herself. There are many reasons why she or others might have been driven to do it, but I guess now we’ll never know.

Lizzie wears traditional white cotton underwear trimmed with lace and ribbon under her corset. Over a lace chemise covering her corset her cream silk blouse has a gathered front and fitted bodice, with a high neckline and puffy long sleeves with a row of pretty buttons fastening it down one side. Her tweedy grey skirt is tailored to fit her. And in one hand she carries a blood stained axe.

I've no idea why I choose to make two such violent bloody dolls right now but think the influence of Hubby's birthday doll might have something to do with it.
My Joker is all finished (apart from his playing card seat) and looking just as creepy as I first felt sitting up there on the bookcase. I'll have proper pictures of him soon to share with you, but want to use some vintage joker playing cards to make him something simple to sit on first before I take his portrait.

I've also managed to dress a small doll of Alice, and have sculpted her a White Rabbit in a waistcoat that I need to paint this weekend (as well as give poor Alice some hair). And have started on a Queen of Hearts ready for my next fair as well. You can see her here in her underwear and crinoline, but she's looking quite mad right now in a mad mix of red, cream and gold fabrics as I'm starting to plan out her dress.

Ok, so maybe I've done more than I thought I had :S !!!
I really want to get some new smaller dolls ready for the fair at Margam Orangery in July, but closer to the time I'll have received some of the wonderful wire lace from Linda for Beth and Cerridwen and I know I won't be able to resist getting back to work on them. I really can't wait to show you all these two very special dolls :)

Mina - A Dracula Inspired Art Doll

Finally I've finished my doll of Mina Murray (later Harker), and now that her stand has arrived she's standing pretty on my table with her dress looking just as I wanted it too :)

The great Vampire Dracula is the best known and loved of all, and I love Bram Stoker’s book has always been a great favourite. And Miss Mina Murray, portrayed by Winona Ryder in the 1992 film alongside Gary Oldman, is a character that always appeals to me. I always think of her in That Red Dress with her hair hanging loose down her back and have made my Mina in my own version of this stunning gown.

Was she hypnotised by the Count to believe herself in love? Or did she truly understand and love him?
It sometimes seems that both are true, and it might seem odd that in the end it’s the blood-thirsty Vampire that you feel sorry for. This tale holds so much and grips our imagination with its deep layers of details and interesting characters.

Mina has pretty pink silk drawers and a soft cream shift under her corset, with one soft cream cotton petticoat trimmed with lace and ribbon, and one of fine ivory silk with a deep flounce around the hem, double at the back, trimmed with lace. She has a stiff bustle made of buckram in place of traditional horse hair to hold her dress in the right shape. Her gown is made from a stunning dark red silk that was gifted to me by my Godmother. It has a tight bodice and fitted sleeves with deep hanging points behind her elbows, trimmed in front to create a bow shape. Her trained skirts have a deep hem of small pleats finished with ribbon, with a gathered and pleated flounces front and highly puffed and ruched back panel that hangs to the hem in a point. Her whole gown is trimmed with rows of tightly gathered frills that wrap around the bodice to finish hanging in rows down the left side of her skirts. Mina also has sterling silver jewelry with a wrapped bracelet and necklace with an aurora borealis glass bead

I also finished up my little peg doll of Ada from The Piano that a very good customer ordered from me. And am just waiting for a little book shaped locket to arrive for her notebook.
She looks so sweet in her huge skirt and black and white bonnet I think she'll have to be added to the list for me to make a bigger version of her sometime.

I have started on the underwear for two new dolls as well - One will be Lizzie Borden, the women accused of murdering her Father and Step-Mother who also inspired the little rhyme Lizzie Borden took and axe, And gave her mother 40 whacks, When she saw what she had done, She gave her Father 41.

The other little doll is a characters that's been stuck in my mind for quite a while. A little girl all sweet and sugary with a doll hanging from one hand held by it's leg and in her other hand hidden behind her back will be the bloody knife she uses to kill her sleeping victims.

I'm almost there with Hubby's birthday gift of a Joker doll and have just to add his jacket coat and hair. I also want to make him something to sit on so am hunting down some vintage joker playing cards to decorate a block with for him. This little guy is one of the only dolls I've made that even creeps me out :S

Custom Peggies and Mina Almost Done

What a weekend!!!
It whizzed on past and my To Do list is still huge. What happens to all my lovely doll making time I do not know.

I finally managed to finish off the details for my first three calendar dolls. And now my Jan snow queen has her lace crown and a few sparkly jewels, Feb Cupid has his heart arrow and a little wooden bow, and March is all wrapped up in her Welsh wool shawl and her tall hat :)

I also finished off a custom ordered peg doll of Anne Boleyn for a lovely lady in Texas, and she's all wrapped up and on her way to her :)
This was a really fun doll to make, and I really must make a bigger version of Anne soon in the future. Her gown is layered and trimmed with gold lace, and her black satin head piece has a black veil and pearl beads. I had a bit of trouble making her her B necklace to get it small enough so it would hang nicely but big enough to take the little pearls, and in the end I think she looks  really cute :)

I had planned to get Mina all finished and listed in my shop too, but the ruffles took much longer than I thought, and at the last minute I decided she needed a fuller larger bustle too.
I made the bustle from white linen buckram in the place of traditional horsehair, and it works really well to hold her skirts in a better position. Because of the slight change in shape her skirts wouldn't hang right were I'd tacked them into place so I've let down all the back again to re-fit it better.

All her ruffles are done now and in place, her sleeves have had their final detail, and there isn't a lot left to do apart from some awkward bits. I'm planning to add some tiny bow details in places that look a little bare where I can't see from the film or pictures what detail there is. And of course she needs the glittery necklace.
I really hope I can get her ready for the world by the end of this week :)

Lots Of Custom Peg Dolls

I didn't post last week as it was quite difficult to get myself off the sofa and out from under my blanket. I've been so full of a nasty cold that last weekend I could hardly lift my tea cup, so I'm afraid that not a lot of doll making got done. I get so frustrated when things build up but there was nothing I could do. And last week was very much the same - getting home worn out and just managing to get little bits done to stop me going mad :)

This weekend I made up for it.
Nothing can be better for me in cold weather than to cwtch up with my cat and sew. And that's just what I've been doing. I've had a few orders to make for peg dolls, which is always so much fun. Working so small can be a challenge, but they just come out so cute it's worth it.

First I was asked for a little Victorian asylum peg doll in a tiny straight jacket with pink hair. And the nice lady Sarah that asked for her mentioned too that she'd like an Elizabeth I at some point too. These little ladies come together so fast I thought I'd make them both at the same time while also working on the Jan and Feb calender dolls ordered by my Bestie for her Christmas tree next year. So in front of me I also had a snow queen in white lace and a very Gothic cupid underway :)

I was then asked by the very lovely Neiau Shie to make her an Anne Boleyn peg doll. So of course I could hardly resist making Beth's Mam after making Beth herself so small. And Anne is now sitting pretty in her satin gown trimmed with gold and lace collar and cuffs. All she needs now is her hair and the head piece that you always picture her wearing. I'm looking forward to working that one out :)
Next to her in this pic is my friends March doll, a little Welsh lady wrapped in a shawl who's going to need some extra figuring out on her hat too. I think next month is a Greek Goddess...

Mina is coming along, but I'm afraid I've not been able to get a lot done to her lately. I had a bit of a fuss around trying to work out the over-pieces for her skirts and finally worked out the drape and gather needed for it. Here you can see how the front piece hangs off to one side and drapes across her tummy to sit on the opposite hip, although I still need to set in the creases properly.

The back piece joins from here on her hip in the same pleats and then falls and tucks in soft ruffles and puffs down the back of her skirts. She looks really pretty from the back angle as there's so much detail in the bustle of her gown. It still needs a bit of fussing and fiddling to get it perfect, but I'm so happy with how she's coming out. Due to the weight of the back and all the extra trimming still to be added Mina is going to need some extra support so I'm planning to use buckram as a Crinoline fabric substitute to hang a gathered bustle from her waist at the back to help hold things in the right place.

I've had a little trouble trying to figure out the best way of adding the ruffles to Miss Murray's (Mrs Harker's) dress as they need to be of the same dress fabric in a very tight gather. In this photo I have my two best options - On the right is a sewn and turned tube that has then be gathered and pinned in place, and on the left is a pinked and gathered strip. Although the turned tube has a lovely neat finish I think I'll be going with the more dramatic pinked and gathered version. It seems to look closer to the original dress which is after all what I'm trying to make. But the original has a trimming of small sewn leaves creating the ruffle, which at this scale won't be possible for me to do. But it has a fuller more irregular look that is recreated nicely by the pinked edge of the gather I've made. I'm still thinking on it...
I may change my mind yet :)