Fruit Is Fun!
Making dolls is something I have loved doing for many many years… but I confess I have been having serious amounts of fun making clothes lately. Above is Summer Sweet which I just listed today on www.woolhalla.etsy.com . Her dress and undies are made with a gorgeous 100% cotton with a fruit and heart print. Yum!
My daughter picked these in our yard for the season table. Fruit tree blossoms with some fireweed (purple) plus a token tulip and daffodil. It would have been nice to add more tulip/daffys but the local deer that cruise by ate most of them!! They are in a plain glass jar with a gorgeous rainbow dyed playsilk .
spring season table
The SPRING SEASON TABLE (aka Nature Table) is a joy to create and keep in your home. Here are some photos of the process of what I do to get you started. Above is the beginning of my spring table, which I will add and subtract to over the coming months. My table is located on top of a game cupboard in my living room. You’ll probably notice my walls are bare, that’s because I can’t decide if I want to hang a mobile over the table or put up a lovely silk cloth behind… it’s a process!
START WHERE YOU ARE! Find a place (shelf works too), maybe add just a cloth and a vase of spring flowers. You could also add a photo, drawings, bulbs in a pot from the florist; really anything that reminds you of spring. On my table you will see I have one of my trolls, okay he’s not very spring-like, but my daughter put ladybugs on him and I thought that was pretty cute. This is not a ‘Martha’ project display, this is an evolving reflection of nature. If my children make things or want to move things I am stoked to have them involved. For your table do what you feel best.
table with cloth
1. The table with a ‘spring’ coloured cloth.
troll in the corner
2. Here’s the troll with the ladybugs (not exactly a ‘spring’ item… but he’s a season table groupie).
box of felt flowers
3. Box of felt flowers, some made by me and some by my kids. The tulips are pictures cut out and taped on a piece of pipe-cleaner (very easy!). The box has some ‘wood wool’, which is how the pipe-cleaner stems are being propped up.
felt lamb with jalu toys bunny
4. Lamb is homemade, trees and bunny bought from Jalu Toys. I love to include items I’ve bought from other artists as it adds a different flavour to say the least.
little grass doll
5. Little Grass Doll made from a kit sold on www.beardancecrafts.com (pattern in Mother Earth booklet too).
needlefelted doll with felt flower
6. Doll made with wool (by needlefelting) holding a felt flower. These are easy to make and kids love to play with them.
As with any project keep in mind SAFETY, young children could swallow and/or choke on small items or wool. ALWAYS supervise young children and those that still mouth items for safety!
Wishing you a wonderful adventure with your season table!
having fun with hair
These little ones were some wool and bead creations, wool bodies and hair with a bead head. I was having so much fun making them all these bright and lovely corriedale colours and added hair to match. FUN, PURE FUN. How about that one crazy one??
here she is after makeover
Determined to fix up this doll I had for years I didn’t think of making a ‘before’ picture before I wielded the scissors. Originally I had tried some new things… a different style of eyes, mouth and body. A new body wasn’t going to be a perfect match and I opted to keep the hair the same (left bangs instead of starting over). I decided to GO FOR IT anyways!!
Here are a couple of ‘after’ pictures above. I am so pleased I did the makeover; the challenge was well worth it and she made a girl most definately very happy.
cup of tea?
Pint-size dollhouse Wonderlander Mad Hatter updated, with his cup of tea and trimmed hair. I wrote about Alice before and now she has the wild and wonderful Mad Hatter to hobnob with… as they are off together for more magical wonderland adventures.
Quick snap on side of my sewing bag
A big box of cute cotton fabrics arrived and I can’t make dolls fast enough! Some dolls are awaiting final touches, but these are ready to roll, so I thought I would make a quick snapshot to share today. I’ll be listing them on my etsy page within a few days. BTW, I LOVE my sewing bag, a tote bag made by Vivid Allon, it has lots of great pockets and can hold a treasure trove of crafting supplies and is easy to transport when needed.
Free hat pattern Coronet on www.knitty.com ,a wonderful site with great patterns to make or inspire you! Coronet pattern: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter03/PATTcoronet.html.
I made one in green, but as I often wear a red jacket and couldn’t seem to move beyond the comment that it was ‘christmas elf’-like, I decided to make another:o)
Here are 3 shots of the hat in different stages:
Mushroom Twins
These two mushroom-theme doll-house dolls took endless hours to create. I couldn’t help meticulously cutting out every little dot and putting it in just the right spot. Their caps can be removed, and the boy has a short hair style and the girl a long one. I know it was going a little overboard to put them on a dotted background!!
Misty Moutains
This is just the sort of morning where I can hear the call of the raven, but can’t see them. Shot from my back porch this is one view I always love. Maybe it’s the Mists of Avalon feel, the mountians all hiding until the mist lifts. Maybe it’s the evergreens hiding all the wildlife. Maybe it’s the sort of day that the Brothers Grimm would tell some particularly gripping tale in another country across the big pond… a raven calling unseen in the mist.
