Dolling Up the Divas!

Trudi putting on her lips in mi casa at our MaterialGirls NW Playgroup. It was more of a "spa" experience!

Mary getting beautimus at our monthly hair-therapy happy hour and HairSay! You are so foxy AND famous now Mary!

Laura performs a manicure and creates real nails on her hot-lookin gypsy challenge doll using Diamond Glaze by Judikins, then glitzes them up!
Neva teaches us how to improve our soles at Material Girls this morning. She gave us secrets of making feet and some of them are pretty crafty...like look at the bare-towed foot. Looks real huh!

PSYCH!!! It's an amputee and I now have the confidence to try a foot like hers, no that I know Neva's Sole Secrets : 0!
Laura's incredible doll made with multiple techniques. She used Paverpol, Luminier Metallic paints, over a crocheted piece to create the texture on her lower body. Just a gorgeous doll and talented artist!

Susan's Motown Mermaid stretched right out on the my coffee table and crunked up the jams while we admired her extreme divaness! After dollclub, Mary and I headed over to Archiver's Stamping Mecca in Katy which you can see on my new blog, Retail Therapy

The Adventures of Cordelia

Check out the adventures of Cordelia, a living art doll and the brainchild of my friend Mary. Cordelia is a world traveler and has a full spread in this month's Art Doll Quarterly . She is off to a much deserved Mexican Caribbean vacation next week so look for her "waistin away again in margaritaville" updates. And just like all of us living dolls, Cordelia thrives on comments and compliments so leave a couple on her blog; Cordelia's Adventures .

Chloe's Wrapped Doll

My daughter wanted to make her daddy a doll for his birthday tomorrow. She kept asking for a wooden ball for the head but all I could find was a styrofoam ball. She wrapped the head in yarn, attached the face charm with pins and stuck a stick from the yard into the head. She wound yarn around the stick and pinned the hair. I helped her attach the hands and feet. She is very proud of her wrapped doll and I think it should be in an art museum. Won't daddy be surprised!

Houston! We have Woodknot!

I'm calling the woodknot finished! And the same goes for his or her little wooded world of puffy painted poison mushrooms, hand-wired dyed fabric ferns and embellisher punched, silk infused with sprinklings of roving through her tunic and hat. Oh, and the gathered hand-dyed moss and homemade tree trunk.

During this project I made the first perfect stitch with the Bernina through my index finger. Mmmhmm.....I'm recovering and it will not happen again! Then tonight I injected a darning needle between my thumb and nail. Good times! But as I the blood pooled beneath my nail, I just kept going.... not stopping to care, laser focused on the birth of the woodknotress. As much as I wanted to be done with the woodnut, I'm actually considering starting a mermaid doll. This doll thing is addicting and for someone who flits from one technique to another or one class to the next it's just what the doctor ordered for me! Isn't she photogenic!

Probably the best doll I've made so far! (hmm...I say that with each successive doll)

My supervisor was my major motivation to complete this project in a timely manner:

Goodnight lil' critter. I forgive you for the punctures and lacerations. You've made me proud and a little child happy to share her mom's art with her friends.
This pattern and complete dvd instructions available from Allison Marano Faewyck Studios

All Dolls All Weekend - The Material Girls Doll Retreat

What a lovely weekend we had at Camp Lonestar in LaGrange with fabulous doll artists and friends. I'm pretty exhausted with the time change and having to go back to work after such a creative weekend filled with wine, women and dolls!
(See Trudi's beautiful woodland critter pictured above)

I will not post my Wood Knot until he's finished and he's very close. I have no problem posting others unfinished wood knots however. We LOVED Allison Marano and she loved us Material Girls too! (though we freaked her out with our red-eyed, leprosy-spreading Texas armadillo stories)

Mary W working her whimsical magic on her psychedelic rebel wood knot: Trudi and Liz working their doll mojo

Mary and Kathy's Wood Knot Happy HourMy Retreat Roomies left to right Kathy, Me (I'm not drunk it's just morning) and Mary

My next post will be my finished Wood Knot darnit! It is complete with fabric moss, bark, ferns and Woody the Wood Knot. My biggest challenges this weekend 1) sleeping 2) sculpting 3)staying up with these doll-maniacs.

Shiny Happy Pin Doll in Progress

One of my many practice doll heads resting among pretty petals stitched with Ricky Timms metallic threads through the bobbin. The stringie things are hand felted somethings that will be put to a specific/undetermined use. Cloth Paper Scissors offered a great article this month on fabric flower bouquets so I'm turning that into something I need by Friday! I'm optimistic that she'll become a lovely pin doll for a beloved Material Girl this weekend at our doll retreat in La Grange., TX. The theme is "all natural" and I could have made a naked hippie doll swinging from a river rope...but nah....I'm going with Spring flowers! Be sure that the finished flower girl will be posted before I leave for sewing Nirvana this weekend. No Internet connection in the woods??? Now that's roughing it!

Doll Therapy Retreat: Allison Marano Woodknots Homework

I was happy to learn recently that I'd made the waiting list to join the Material Girl's Doll Retreat to be held in LaGrange, Tx March 9,10 and 11! Wow, but there's homework that must be completed and the retreat, well it's now only two weeks away! I spent Friday and Sat nights finishing the little guy's wired hands, feet, strange little head and pointed ears. He's a cute little "woodknot". (well he WILL be cute) I've promised him to my daughter who wants me to add a secret letterbox to go in his hollowed log. I also have to make a pin doll for trade! All of this in the midst of my Silk Fusion Joggles Class, the last lesson of Silk Dyeing and my Bernina Stitch Regulator Delight class at It's A Stitch tomorrow night! Thinking of using silk fusion pieces to make his little costume. I can't wait to hang out with the Material Girls and learn from Allison Marano at the retreat!

Chocolat Centerfold in Art Doll Quarterly!!!!!

Click on to actually Read Mary's Article!

Yesterday my daughter and I wandered into Texas Art Supply looking for a few dyeing supplies (...ew and I found some Lutradur for $9 per giant roll yard). ANYWAY, I picked up the latest "Art Doll Quarterly" issue for the first time ever. I went about my evening of dyeing silk and velvets and at bedtime reading I'm casually thumbing through the pages, admiring the fabulous artist's dolls.... when WHAT to my flickin amazement....CHOCOLAT! I know that DOLL!!!! That's my friend MARY'S chocolate wrapper collage doll in a 3-page spread...all glammed out!!!!!

CONGRATULATIONS Mary on Chocolat and for another published article of your amazing work and your ability to make art out of ANYTHING. You are so famous.

I Got a lot a Catchin up 2 Do!

This is Trudi, my Secret Sister Doll. She was - a secret - and I couldn't post her but now I can. Trudi's gone. I've given her to an adoptive Material Girl mommy. I will miss you my Trudi and your one-of-a-kind nuno-felted dress, oh your crooked oversized eyes adding to your crazed doll look. I wish I had an itsy margarita glass to send you off with a toast. sniff sniff

You must see all of the Secret Sister dolls in the "Gallery" Secret Sister 06
Material Girls Cloth Doll Club

Go straight to the photos by copying this direct link:
http://materialgirlsdollclub.com/Challenges/SSDec2006.html

Ah but a beautiful new doll-child has come to live with me! Her name is Kathy and her real mom is...Kathy from Material Girls! Kathy made her lace ethereal wings from scratch...and her multimillion dollar embroidery machine. Kathy is just beautiful and I love her so much! She also has nice breasts! I've yet to make a doll with decent breasts.






Oh the shoes! I love little handcrafted doll shoes! She has feet just like mine :)




My doll Trudi went to the maker of the above artist...Trudi! I love the colors and the preciseness and ...check out that leaf!!! WOW. I was pretty intimidated about making a beginner doll like Trudi to Trudi. She's so talented and exact in her designs. I may be te most amaeuturist doll artist in the club but I get to learn from the VERY best. THE most talented doll artists...in the damned world I tell you! SS Challenged me to FINISH Art (something I'm a tad challenged by) while doing my best work at a deadline and STILL keep my new day job!




Here is my 7-year-old freemotioning her whole cloth flannel using the patented stitch regulator. "Mommy, this is FUN!" Look for her at Houston Quilt Fest Best in Show 2020.

Finished Faces from Barbara Willis Workshop

Amazing results after we applied stretchy fabric to our paperclay masks! We took back all the bad things we said about Barbara after we saw just how lovely the finished and painted faces came out. I guess we all look a little better with our "faces on". My rough face looked much like monkey girl but I corrected most flaws with her makeup. My face is the one in the center not yet attached to her body.

Me and Barbara Willis (above)

After the 3rd torso I sewed, I finally did it. Then, today we made the cutest little leather shoes (but our dolls will have no feet!) Hey, those itsy bitsy shoe-making skills are very nice to have. Once I get her completed, I'll post her lovely picture.

http://www.barbarawillisdesigns.com/

Barbara Willis Class Dolla PaLuza

What cute faces about to be baked in the polymer clay toaster. Can you guess which is mine? We're taking Barbara Willis "Whisper" Class both Sat and Sunday. We spent about 5 hours sculpting and making a mold for the doll's face. Tomorrow, somehow we're going to cover the face with stretchy fabric and finish the costume. In the future, I think I will paint the face on the cloth or buy the paperclay face already done! Tonight I've got to resew her torso and cut and stitch those tiny little fingers. This is advanced-skilled stuff. More on part II of class tomorrow!

Self Portrait

Not the curviest babe in the bunch but still....I feel like she looks sometimes. Hair all draggin, arms a dangling...homemade boobs a....oh yes, the boobs were improvised since I thought she needed womaness. This pattern was rather manly and not in a good way. I can't seem to finish her up and add accessories like a necklace, bracelets, give her a decent hair style. Things I should be doing for myself!

Mary's Blog

Mary has a blog! http://marywig.blogspot.com/

Mary is now putting her beautiful doll Cordelia in dangerous situations! Check her blog on WIGWAM under "Blogs I Read"

Look for a new expose on my friend Mary who is an up and coming mixed media artist. She has some exciting publications coming out of which I cannot speak of until they happen so disregard my last comment of her work. Just know that she is to be a household name in the mixed media arena and her friend Cordelia is already very much in demand as well.

My first REAL Art Doll! Pattern by Patti Muderas Culea

Making art can be trying at times but at least when I mess up on a project, there is nothing I can screw up so badly to cause it to be wiped off the face of the earth! Unlike blogging...where I've learned I can create a post complete with text, photos and links, spending over an hour only to #$%up and erase everything forever! Sweet. - Her entire costume was plain white silk pieces that I dipped and dye-painted using Jacquard's Textile paints. I learned all of these techniques from a Fabric Painting class at my favorite virtual quilt college: www.quiltuniversity.com

Don't ya love her shoes!! She is Patti Culea's beginner doll from "Creative Cloth Doll Making" http://www.pmcdesigns.com/


Compare her to Patti's cover doll: http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1564969428/ref=sib_dp_pt/103-7023182-2386269#reader-link

My soon-to-be published and fiber artist friend Mary insists I make her panties. Apparently, these mad doll-making women in our club www.materialgirlsdollclub.com assault dolls regularly by yanking up their skirts inspecting for undies. Shame on them! It's too hot down here for hose OR panties dammit!

Now I think we need a new digital camera. I've taken about 40 pictures of her this morning and finally get halfway decent resolution. My hubby oh so thrilled that I now have a blog and I'm naturally techno-challenged. If I can operate an electronic sewing machine and figure out linings on tiny doll shoes, I can do this too....with him as a consultant.

Doll in Progress

This is a preview of my first real doll from Patti Culea's book "Creative Doll Making" I painted her face and silk costume using Jacquard Textile paints. Once I get her thread wings on, repair her arm and finishing touches on her cute as hell silk shoes...I'll show you the whole doll!