Doll Collection 2024

 I have a Facebook friend that collects dolls, and she shares her collection and any new dolls that she adds sometimes. I love to see her dolls and often comment on them. We have become friends because of it, so I decided to make pictures of my collection to share with her. We have similar tastes in what we like. Anyway, I decided to share here, as well. Who knows? Some of you may enjoy dolls, as well! (Sorry about the picture quality! I couldn't get to them to get very good shots.)

I don't have any real valuable dolls, except in the sentimental department. I still have about seven of my childhood dolls from the fifties. Some were gifted to me. Several are handmade by me, with a few handmade by an aunt. The rest I started collecting in the late seventies after I was married and enjoying going to flea markets. Many were in bad shape, and I thoroughly enjoyed cleaning them up and/or repairing them, making them pretty again.

The Asian doll is a large porcelain reproduction that I fell in love with at a huge flea market a hundred miles from my home one month, but didn't get her. I immediately regretted it and couldn't wait until the next month to go back with fingers crossed that the lady still had her. She did! She came home with me, and I've loved her ever since.

The other little doll is also a reproduction. I ordered a kit from a doll catalog and put her together. My mom made her clothes, and the tiny brooch is actually a hat/tie pin that I found in the bottom of a little vase I bought at a yard sale. It has a tiny fox and hounds hunting scene painted on it, and the colors just matched her outfit. 

The lamp was a Christmas gift from my sister-in-law, the pitcher/bowl was made and gifted to me by one of my best friends, the tortoiseshell powder box came from hubby before we married when he was in the air force, and the photo is our niece and nephew in high school. All loved very much!

 

The large collectible doll house was a gift from hubby for Christmas years ago and kept me occupied for years. That's a story for another post! It had to be included to get the large dolls in the corner. Not all the dolls are visible in the photos, but they are there and just as loved!

This gorgeous boudoir doll was gifted to me by the FB friend, whom I mentioned above.

Each doll has its own story, and they are all special to me, but this Sasha doll in the blue gingham is one of my most favorites. I found her at a huge flea market and made a couple of trips back to the lady's booth before deciding to buy her. I had blonde hair at the time, and the lady said she favored me. I've never regretted bringing her home. 

Her friend in white satin was a gift from my sister-in-law, another treasure. My sister-in-law and I were exactly the same age, and she passed away when we were sixty, almost fifteen years ago. I miss her.

I gave very little for this posable jointed plastic doll at a flea market, but I love her and used her in different poses to practice drawing figures until her parts started to droop because the elastic holding her joint together rotted and stretched. She is currently nestled in this tin waiting to be re-strung. My mom made her pink satin dress. I think she may have originally been a bride or a ballerina in a gorgeous outfit, but she was practically nude when she came home with me.

Health wise, I've not been able to really take care of the dolls like they should be, and they all need cleaning and/or re-stringing, which is a huge job in itself. One day...

I know how to sew, but it's not really my thing, and I don't really get along with sewing machines, but I sewed, or crocheted some of the outfits. Mama made several of them, and her sister made and gave me some of the cloth dolls and a crocheted outfit for one of the Barbie type dolls. Some of the others were made by a couple of my other aunts, and they are all treasured, because they have all passed away now, except one, who is almost ninety and not in the best of health.

A few of the dolls got left completely out of the photos, because they were in a different place, and I forgot about them. Now they are pouting. Maybe they will make it into the next photos!

Maybe one day I'll feel better and get up the energy to do a good picture of each doll and write her story and either post them here or make a book. Wouldn't that be fun?

Thank you for visiting! I hope you enjoyed seeing my babies and maybe it will spark a beloved memory for you somehow. We're never too old to enjoy the toys and memories we loved as children!

Both Santos Cage Dolls Together

So, this is kind of a bad photo of the two Santos cage dolls that I made recently our of air dry doll clay (see previous posts). The curtain stripes blend in a bit too much with their skirts, but you get the idea. They are patiently waiting for their jewelry and accessories, because I haven't yet found exactly what I think will suit them among my supply hoard. 😊

I think the blue one will have wings, which I do have, but haven't glued on yet, and I think I'm going to make both of them crowns of some sort. I've already tried a couple out of air dry clay, which weren't right, and I've tried several round ring type objects, also not right, but I found some crowns made out of lace on Pinterest, so I'm going to give them a try, and I have some other ideas for accessories also. It's just a matter of finding, putting together, and getting them actually on the dolls! 

I'll post another picture as soon as they have all of their baubles attached! Fun stuff!

Second Santos Cage Doll Attempt

I got the wooden strips in to make the skirt for the first doll (see previous posts), but haven't come up with a way to attach them to her yet, one that will be sturdy enough, so in the meantime I've started working on a second doll, also inspired by Jennifer Rizzo's class (see sidebar for link), also in air dry doll clay. 

This time I'm using papier mache ready made forms (egg and torso) as a core. After deciding how I wanted the head to be positioned, I punched holes in the neck of the torso and the bottom of the egg and glued a flat wooden stick into each and let dry 

The following doll and the following pictures were made over several days.

The torso was too long for what I wanted, so I cut the bottom off, stuffed some paper into the torso, and filled the bottom with a layer of air dry doll clay, making the bottom flat and giving it a bit of weight. I then covered the rest of the outside with clay and let it dry.

I also didn't want her breasts to be so obvious, so I filled in a little extra between them and punched holes in the shoulders for the wire that will hold her arms on to go through.

It's better to work with all damp clay, because it's hard to get damp clay blended over dry clay, even if you work with damp fingers and dampened clay, but I can only work so long at a time, and I forget to cover what I've done with a damp cloth and put it in a zip lock bag between sessions, so on these two dolls, I've worked damp over dry. If I ever make one for someone besides myself, I will do better. I'm not use to working with clay, but I'm learning! Next, the face, hair, and arms!

Working on the face, and I inserted wire to attach arms. I had made two holes (one on the shoulders and one in the upper arm) to loop the wire through, but never could get it through both holes, so wound up just inserting it straight through. Then this wire turned out to be too stiff, so I had to switch to a thinner wire, but it's all good...hopefully! Still have the eyes and hair to do, which I did the next day, but didn't get a photo of.

I didn't paint a layer of white gesso over the clay on this one before I painted her, and I had to re-adjust her face some before painting too. Unfortunately, I got twisted around and somehow got her face turned different than I had intended, and I got her forehead too narrow, the nose too big, and her chin too long (faces are HARD), so she isn't pretty, but she does have character, I think. She reminds me of one of my great-aunts! :)

Ready to assemble! 

I don't really like the head made from the papier mache egg with the torso I got. It's a little too big for the body, but, hey, I'm learning! And I'm still afraid to attempt fingers!

I didn't like the pink dress and lips, so I re-painted them and painted the hair a bit redder. Not sure I improved her any! Now to get her arms attached with wire and add the skirt, if I can find my hot glue gun...

I found my big hot glue gun, after wiring her arms on, and glued the flat sticks for her skirt on her body and I thought they were holding (she looked sooo good!), but the next day I picked her up to glue them to the base, almost dropped her, and accidentally hit two of the sticks trying to catch her, causing them to pop right off. I'm going to go ahead and publish this post, and when I get the skirts to stay on, I'll post a picture of both dolls completed. OK?

    

UPDATE! After much trying, I finally got her skirt on! Now, just praying the glue holds! 

Working on the first doll's skirt now, and will post a picture of both dolls, with a better background, when I have their accessories found and on!

Stay safe, well, and creative out there! Thanks for visiting my blog! 

First Santos Cage Doll w Jen Rizzo-Part 3

I said this post would be of the finished doll, but since I'm having trouble finding what I want for her cage skirt, I decided to go ahead and post pictures of where she is now. 

I had a terrible time attaching her arms to her shoulders (I forgot to punch holes in each for a wire), and couldn't get my glue to hold them on even long enough to wrap the clay around them, so I had to try to hold them together with one hand and wrap them in clay with the other.  I finally got them attached and left them to dry 2-3 days. Hopefully, they will stay put!

 I had sanded her and painted a first coat of acrylic paint over white gesso on her face and body before attaching the arms.

After her shoulders dried, I sanded the new clay, gessoed it, then painted the new part paynes gray to match the bottom, then mixed a lighter shade and painted over the body. I also mixed a lighter shade of flesh and painted the hair and skin parts, then a darker version of flesh for lips and cheeks. 

So this is where she is until I can get her a skirt put together, except for a couple of touchups to her face and hair. I didn't attempt to make individual fingers on this doll, as I had a hard enough time shaping the hands onto the arms. I did make some lines to indicate fingers. Maybe on the next doll, I attempt fingers!

Close up of the face showing that she has thin eyebrows atop the shadows, which made it look like thick eyebrows in picture above.

I would have liked for her to be smoother, but, maybe because my air dry clay was kind of old, or maybe because I'm not well practiced in working with clay, it's as smooth as I could get it. Maybe that adds character to her though! A lot of firsts on this doll and she taught me a lot. All in all, she's my created child and I love her!

So, I will post another photo when she has her skirt on. She will be around 18" tall when done.

I haven't been working on any other projects lately, and this doll was created from the start on a tray in my lap while sitting in my recliner over 3-4 weeks. Not easy to juggle! 

PS-----I touched up her face and hair a couple of days after I posted, giving her a softer more pleasant attitude. I made the hair darker, gave her bluish eyes, and adjusted her lips a bit. I like her much better! The wooden pieces for her skirt should be here tomorrow! 

And they came and I got them attached, so she now has a skirt! Now to find a crown and accessories! Sorry about the picture quality!

I finally found some papier mache torso forms on Amazon, and ordered two, along with some papier mache eggs for heads, so I plan on trying at least one more Santos doll, maybe with articulated arms. But first, I need to catch up on some house chores! I think...

As long as I can create a little bit every day, I consider it a good day, no matter what else I'm letting go. Days I can't create, I peruse Pinterest and FB group creative photos for inspiration, which invariably makes me want to try something new. 

Stay safe, well, and do something just for you! It's good for your soul!

First Santos Cage Doll w Jen Rizzo-Part 2

I've started a cage doll, inspired by Jennifer Rizzo's course on Santos Cage Dolls on the www.jeanneoliver.com site. See the previous post, part 1. I love these dolls!

I watched all the videos and was anxious to get started, but I couldn't find any paper mache torsos, even online, the right size. I would love to have a wooden carved doll, but I don't have the patience for that. Jen shares several ways to construct the dolls, using household items, as well as paper mache forms. I decided to use a wire armature, but couldn't find my wire, so I "borrowed" some of hubby's wire out of his tool box and twisted it into a half doll form.

I didn't have a pattern, but I've seen armatures before, so I just did my own thing with the wire.

I padded the wire with cotton balls and covered them in masking tape to shape a head and torso form.

Then I covered the whole thing in aluminum foil. I don't remember this being in the class, so I'm kind of making it up as I go, and from memory of seeing it in other places.

Once I had it covered in foil, I started covering it in air dry doll clay, which I had left over from another project. I can no longer stand for long, so I covered the front of the torso and left it to dry. 

It's taken me 3-4 sessions to cover the whole thing and add eye indentions, a chin, and a head crown. It's now dry and waiting for the rest of the facial features, ears, arms, and hair, which I have planned on doing the last two days, but it didn't work out. Maybe tomorrow?

So, a few days after I posted this I finally got her some hair, ears, and eyes on, and added more to her cheeks. Boy, ears and eyes are hard, and I didn't do that great, but nevertheless she has some!

I attempted making her arms, but messed them up, so I will have to remake part of them before attaching them to her shoulders. They are in process. I started out using up a partial package of premier doll clay, then opened a new package of La something doll clay. They are both air dry stone clay, but the La Doll is harder to work with, to me. 

She is kind of a study, or prototype, and she has turned out larger than I anticipated, but that's ok. I had intended to put a cage of wooden strips as her skirt, but I think she may fit on the decorative bird cage I have. 

PS: I tried her on the birdcage and she doesn't look right. She's the right size, but she is too long and would need to be cut off at the waist for the cage to actually look like a skirt. I didn't think about that when I was making her, so she will have the wooden strip cage skirt after all.

 The next time I post her, she should be finished, assembled, and painted! Stay tuned for Part 3!

Do something for you every day, even if for only a few minutes! Stay safe!

Working up the Courage to Make a Santos Cage Doll w Jen Rizzo!-Part 1

This is one of my next projects to try, so, I signed up for the Santos Cage Doll 2 course with Jennifer Rizzo on jeanneoliver.com a few weeks ago, because I LOVE these dolls and want to try making one, or two. After watching the videos for the 2nd course, I decided to sign up for the first one, which is pictured here. I have also watched the videos for this one, and would already have had a doll started, but I can't find the right size paper mache mannequin body, and I don't really want to make one out of a toilet paper roll, which would be fine, but I've decided to use armature wire and paper, or doll, clay for the sculpted part. I, also, haven't located my armature wire. :(

I have sketched out a couple of diagrams to get the feel of what I want to do. The darkest lines are the armature wire to sculpt around, and she is sitting atop a decorative wire birdcage that was gifted to me many years ago by my only sister-in-law, who has since passed away. I have been wanting to use this birdcage this way ever since I first saw the cage dolls. It will have to be quite a bit bigger half doll than the one I'm going to start with though.

I've also considered using half of a vinyl doll to attach to the cage, in case the small one I make doesn't work out. :)

The sketch below, also with the wire, has articulated arms and uses wooden strips for the cage. You can also make them with a long dress and feet, but I really like the cage skirts, so that's what I'm going to try. The sketch ran off the page, but the wooden strips attach to a round base to hold her up, as in the little side sketch.

There are some gorgeous pictures of cage dolls on Pinterest, which is where I found the gorgeous one below, similar to what I want to make, but maybe without the articulated arms. I do like the wings a lot.

I love the large vintage wooden ones, but they are very expensive to buy, and I don't have the patience to carve even a small one, so I'm going to have to stick with wire and clay and hope it looks half way okay when I'm done. It's all about the process, for me, anyway! Stay tuned!

PS: Update on Aug 2- I have now started the doll, using what I have on hand, and have the torso and head almost covered in air dry doll clay. She is turning out to be much bigger than I had planned on for my first one! I think she may fit on the bird cage after all, that is if I don't mess up the face too much! I am making progress pictures and will share in a second post when she's further along, or maybe done, depending on how much time I get to spend on her! 

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2019!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2019!

Wishing you LOTS of Light, Love, and Laughter in the coming year!

Angel finally got her wings this year, but not tree up to sit atop! A couple of mama's crochet doilies to watch over though!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE MOXIE RABBIT! 

Wishing you all a magical Christmas with loved ones and safe travels, no matter how short or long the trip! 

HO HO HO!