Giveaways!

 First of all, I'm here to announce that I won a giveaway!

The wonderful, mystical

Magic Love Crow,

 aka Stacy,

had a giveaway

for her mother's birthday

which is a very sweet idea.

The prize was a pair of 

hand-knitted washcloths,

which Stacy's mother had knitted

in pretty, pastel colours.

I borrowed this photo from Stacy's blog,
as I forgot to take any before I sewed them  together.
Thank you, Stacy!

I can't knit.

I think of knitters as being up there 

with concert pianists

and orthopedic surgeons.

It's a kind of magic.

So I was delighted to win these 

pretty squares of hand knitted magic.

They were not to be sullied by

dirty water.

They are much too precious.

 I made them into 

a big, soft doll pillow

for my sleeping dolls.

As an extra special surprise

Magic Love Crow

offered one of her 

wonderful Aceos.

This one!

It's called

The Fortune Teller.

I love it!

The rich colors and the elegant pose.

I'm going to frame it 

and hang it in the 

Steampunk Study.

Second of all,

I have the name of the winner 

of my own Giveaway

from the

 Mad Tea Party 2013.

I wrote out everybody's name.

I gave each name a number.

And then use a Random Number Generator

to pick the winner.

It chose number ten.

Step up, Number Ten,

Deborah Adams!

You win my little cloth Alice doll.

Get in touch, and I'll send her off to you!

Dollmaker on Thursday: Akira Blount.

Akira Blount 1945-2013

Akira Blount

 was a gifted, inspirational 

and influential dollmaker

whose dolls 

are instantly recognisable;

quirky, intriguing and approachable.

Her untimely death has saddened many

and her warmth and talent 

will be missed from the doll community.

There is a memorial post

on NIADA's website

an organisation in which

she was very active.

All images here are from 

Akira Studios.

She left a wonderful legacy of creations

and she will be missed by many.

Quick and Dirty Wig Tutorial

This is a quick way to wig

if you have the following...

A big piece of Tibetan lambswool,

a doll bigger than 12"

and

a deadline.

Ideally, your wig will be washed and downy-dunked

beforehand.

Check the direction of the hair.

The hair needs to be the right colour.

This is a food colouring light wash of yellow.

Measure out the width of the doll's brow

from ear to ear.

Run a line of glue along the raw edge,

fold over and hold in place.

I use pegs.

Once the glue has a grip

lay the folded edge along the doll's brow again

and roughly mark the areas that do not touch its skull.

Difficult to explain, but you'll understand  

when you try and hold a flat piece of pelt

to a round head.

Neaten up these lines

and cut them out with a sharp scalpel or x acto.

Test for fit once more

and then glue the front ot the wig in position

checking the placement on the brow and

the distance from each ear.

Check the direction of the hair.

Neaten/tuck around the ears 

Apply glue to the wig only

and pull down into position..

Neaten/tuck around the nape of the neck.

(Sorry it's fuzzy.

Remember about the deadline?)

And there she is, done.

Dollmakers on Thursday : Forlorn Dolls

Samantha Meyers 

is the artist behind 

Forlorn Dolls.

These beautiful dolls 

are hand sculpted,

hand sewn, 

(no machine)

hand painted 

and entirely wonderful.

They all exhibit her characteristic style,

rich colours,

enigmatic expressions and 

graceful proportions.

Samantha came to doll making

after a visit to Lizzie Borden's house

as recalled in an interview

for the Crafty Goodness blog

found here.

Samantha's dolls and busts show 

an inclination for the

deliciously wicked.

Painted skulls.

Skull paint.

Handsome rogues

and Halloween.

You can see Forlorn Dolls at

 the Crafty Goodness gallery

in Lakewood, Oh.

And on-line at

Forlorn Dolls.

Keep up to date with new dolls,

exhibits and shows on facebook at 

Forlorn Dolls Studio 

Or pay a visit to her blog,

Forlorn Dolls.

They're well worth a look,

doubly so at Halloween.

I can have a favourite, can't I?

I love this rabbit.

Samantha's Etsy will be opening again

in the Autumn.

Meanwhile, here is the link.