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Cordelia & Lottie, Velveteen Darlings

November 12, 2007 By Rebecca Leave a Comment

Cordelia has a special little friend, Lottie. And she wants to be just like her. Even if that means making her own carrot nose!

I’m proud to introduce to you Cordelia & little Lottie. These dolls are completely my original designs and are guaranteed one of a kind! I’ve used no patterns or molds to create these dolls or their clothing. Cordelia is 28" tall. Lottie is 13" tall. Both dolls are made of muslin and have been stuffed with fiberfill. Cordelia’s lower torso has been rag-stuffed & bean filled in order to weight her little bottom. I’ve hand-painted & sanded Cordelia & Lottie from top to bottom. Then I hand-painted & sanded them again. Cordelia has been treated to a series of paint washes that give her a beautiful, deeply aged patina & make her look oh so vintage. Lottie has been stained to give her a super grungy look. Cordelia’s arms are lightly wired allowing her to be slightly posed.

Cordelia’s facial features (nose & bottom lip) have been needle sculpted & hand-painted. Her little bottom lip pouts. Her upper lip is simply painted. She has the rosiest cheeks, detailed eyebrows & big green eyes. I’ve hand-sculpted Lottie’s head from paperclay. No molds were used to sculpt her face. She has a carrot nose & big, baby blue eyes. Cordelia & Lottie’s fingers have been needle-sculpted. I’ve painted white gloves onto Cordelia. Both dolls have been painted with premium acrylic paints. Cordelia has been accented & shaded heavily with oil pastels. They have been sealed top to bottom with clear, glossy acrylic sealer so that they may be preserved beautifully over the years & kept a lifetime.

Cordelia is wearing the cutest shoes! They have been modeled after an antique pair of baby boots. They have been hand-painted, shaded, highlighted & distressed. Cordelia wears painted white socks & pantalettes made from white muslin. Her apron dress is made from white muslin & 100% cotton pretty floral brown print. It features brown buttons on the front. Cordelia’s undershirt is made from white muslin. Her pretty fluffy collar is made from white cotton voile.

Now for that cape! Cordelia’s cape is made from high quality burgundy velveteen. It is absolutely the perfect shade of burgundy, not too pink, but deep burgundy. Cordelia’s cape features a gathered hood & is lined completely with a sweet red & white calico. It ties in the front with two dark taupe grosgrain ribbons.
Lottie is wearing a white muslin undershirt & a skirt made from a tan, 100% cotton print featuring berry sprigs & wings. Her *cute as pie* little stockings are painted on in shades of dark red & green. The stripes are shaded with brown paint.
These clothes feature tons of visible hand-stitching. All hems on both dresses & pantalettes have been hand stitched. All sleeves feature hand-stitching & Cordelia’s cape has been hand-stitched completely around the outer edge of both the body & hood. I’ve dyed all clothes (except the velveteen cape) in a coffee & lavender bud bath. They do not smell however. I simply dyed them in those substances to obtain the desired hue. I then hand-washed their clothing & pressed each piece with linen water.

Cordelia’s little carrot nose has been made of paper clay. I hand-sculpted it without the use of any molds, only my hand & a paintbrush! I painted it dark orange, more of a bittersweet, to better compliment the burgundy cape. It has been stained & sealed with glossy sealer. It can be placed over Cordelia’s nose & tied in the back with two pieces of hemp twine as shown. Or she could be displayed without it.

Cordelia’s hair is black 100% mohair. It has been lightly glued for extra stability & then carefully needle felted to her head in the sweetest little pin curls. Unfortunately, it was very difficult to photograph the individual pin curls. Lottie’s hair is dark brown 100% mohair. It has been carefully needle-felted to her head & is fashioned into low pigtails. Her pigtails are tied with chocolate ribbons.

Cordelia & Lottie will be available on eBay Nov. 11-18th. Click here to view or bid!

Filed Under: Christmas, Dolls Tagged With: Christmas, snowman

Twila, my interpretation of a primitive Americana Christmas doll

November 5, 2007 By Rebecca Leave a Comment

This special little angel is Twila. She is my original design and is guaranteed one of a kind! I’ve used no patterns or molds to create her. Twila is 29" tall from the top of her rusty, wired star to the bottom of her feet. She is made of muslin and has been stuffed with fiberfill. Twila’s lower torso is rag-stuffed & bean filled in order to weight her little bottom. I have primed Twila from head to toe with gesso. I then hand-painted her & sanded her. Then I did all that stuff again. Twila has been treated to a series of paint washes that give her a beautiful, deeply aged patina & make her look oh so vintage. Twila’s arms are lightly wired allowing her to be slightly posed. Her neck is supported with wire.

Twila’s facial features (nose & bottom lip) have been needle sculpted & hand-painted. Her little bottom lip pouts. Her upper lip is simply painted. She has peachy cheeks, detailed eyebrows & big brown eyes with yellow accents. Twila’s fingers & toes have been needle-sculpted. I’ve painted fingernails & toenails & accented her knuckles with brown paint. Twila has been painted with premium acrylic paints & has been accented & shaded heavily with oil pastels. She has been sealed top to bottom with clear, glossy acrylic sealer so that she may be preserved beautifully over the years & kept a lifetime.

Twila’s wings are spectacular! They have been made of muslin, stuffed with fiberfill, then hand-quilted with a swirl & feather design. I then primed Twila’s wings and hand-painted them with two coats of rich, light buttery yellow acrylic paint. I sanded them between each coat & then stained them to achieve a beautiful grungy,old look. They have been attached with a big, brown, cream swirled button.

Only angels have auras like this! Twila is surrounded by four luminous stars attached to rusty wire. I created Twila’s stars from paper clay, using absolutely no molds. They have been painted with 2 coats of buttery yellow paint & then topped with a coat of pale gold pearlescent paint. I then lightly stained each star to richen their appearance. The stars have been attached to the wires like beads on a string. They are not glued. Twila carries in her hands her own little guiding light. Her star was made of muslin & stuffed with fiberfill. I then painted & sanded it several times. I shaded, highlighted & detailed her star with oil pastels & chalk pastels. All stars, fabric & paper clay, & all wires have been sealed with glossy, acrylic sealer.

Twila is wearing a white muslin undershirt which has been grunged up good & proper. It is accented with a ruffle made of white cotton voile that runs down the middle of her blouse. Sewn atop the ruffle is a piece of jute twine. Twila’s apron dress is made of a sweet navy print & a lighter blue floral print. Both fabrics are 100% cotton. These pieces feature tons of visible hand stitching. All hems have been hand-stitched & there is decorative stitching where Twila’s apron strap attached to her dress. I’ve dyed her clothes in a coffee, lavender bud & vanilla bath. They do not smell however. I simply dyed them in those substances to obtain the desired hue. I then hand-washed her clothes & pressed them with linen water.

Twila’s hair is honey blonde 100% mohair. It has been lightly glued for extra stability & then carefully needle felted to her head. Twila’s hair is fashioned into a side braid & is fastened with a chocolate ribbon.

Twila is currently being auctioned on eBay.She will be available until Nov. 11th. Click here to view or bid.

Filed Under: Christmas, Dolls Tagged With: americana, angel, christmas doll

Elliot & his Primitive Holiday Friends

October 29, 2007 By Rebecca Leave a Comment

This little guy has been working his fingers to the bone!

I’m proud to introduce to you Elliot & his armload of holiday friends. These dolls are entirely my original designs. Elliot is 30" tall & made of muslin. His teddy is 7 1/2" tall & that sweet little stick pony is 21" long. These dolls have been stuffed with fiberfill. Elliot’s lower torso is rag-stuffed & bean filled in order to weight his bottom. I have hand-painted Elliot & his gang from head to toe. Then I sanded them, painted them from head to toe again & sanded them again. Elliot has been treated to a series of paint washes that make him look oh so vintage & like an old world doll. His teddy & stick pony have been stained to look super grungy! Elliot’s arms are lightly wired allowing him to be slightly posed so that he can hold his armload of friends. Elliot’s neck is supported with a wooden dowel. His pony has also been attached to a wooden dowel covered in authentic vintage pillow ticking (not reproduction).

Elliot’s facial features (nose & bottom lip) have been needle sculpted & hand-painted. His bottom lip pouts. His upper lip is simply painted. Elliot has peachy cheeks, detailed eyebrows & the biggest baby blue eyes. Teddy’s facial features have been hand painted. She has green eyes & rosy cheeks. Pony’s features have also been hand painted. He has chocolate skin, grey eyes & a white blaze that runs down his face. Elliot’s fingers have been needle sculpted. He sports brown painted & distressed gloves. These dolls have been painted with premium acrylic paints & have been accented & shaded heavily with oil pastels. They have been sealed top to bottom with clear, glossy acrylic sealer so that they may be preserved beautifully over the years & kept a lifetime.

Now for those shoes! Elliot is wearing the coolest shoe/sock combo to be found! Elliot sports two tone (caramel & chocolate) vintage wingtips. They’re deeply highlighted & shaded, right down to the laces! And how can you have great shoes without a snazzy pair of socks? Elliot is rocking some green & brown argyle.

Elliot is wearing an off-white flannel shirt which has been grunged up good & proper. It is accented with vintage buttons. Elliot’s bibs are made of chocolate corduroy. The legs end right above his sock & are gathered with hemp twine tied into a bow. Elliot’s newsboy cap is also made of corduroy. The bill has been lightly wired so that it can be adjusted. Elliot’s hat is not attached, allowing him to be displayed with or without it. Elliot’s shirt & cap & overalls feature visible hand stitching. I dyed Elliot’s shirt in a coffee, lavender bud & vanilla bath. They do not smell however. I simply dyed it in those substances to obtain the desired hue. The pillow ticking on Pony’s stick has been treated to a light paint wash.

Elliot & Pony’s hair is 100% raw wool. It has been lightly glued for extra stability & then carefully needle felted to them.

Elliot & gang are available on eBay until Nov. 4th. Auction ends at 9:13 p.m.

Click here to view or bid!

Filed Under: Christmas, Dolls Tagged With: elf, primitive christmas doll, stick horse

Miss Gwendolyn & Bashful Little Hattie

October 12, 2007 By Rebecca 2 Comments

This is the sweetest little elf ever to be found! And she just made an even sweeter little baby!

This is Miss Gwendolyn & Bashful Little Hattie. Both are my original designs and are guaranteed one of a kind! Gwendolyn is 30" tall & made of muslin. Little Hattie is 12.5" & is also made of muslin. They have both been stuffed with fiberfill.

Gwendolyn’s lower torso is rag-stuffed & bean filled in order to weight her little bottom. I have hand-painted both dolls from head to toe. Then I sanded them, painted them from head to toe again & sanded them again. Gwendolyn has been treated to a series of paint washes that make her look oh so vintage. Little Hattie has been stained & looks super grungy! Gwendolyn’s arms are lightly wired allowing her to be slightly posed. Hattie’s little hands are stitched to her face with invisible thread.

Gwendolyn’s facial features (nose & bottom lip) have been needle sculpted & hand-painted. Her little bottom lip pouts. Her upper lip is simply painted. She has rosy cheeks, detailed eyebrows & big brown eyes with green accents. Hattie has the peachiest cheeks and big brown eyes with yellow accents. Her nose & fingers have been needle sculpted. Both dolls have been painted with premium acrylic paints & have been accented & shaded heavily with oil pastels. They have been sealed top to bottom with clear, glossy acrylic sealer so that they may be preserved beautifully over the years & kept a lifetime. Gwendolyn’s gloved fingers have been needle sculpted. She sports painted brown gloves.

Now for those shoes! Gwendolyn is sporting the coolest pair of boots. She has painted on laces & green socks. I’ve paid special attention to these shoes. They’ve been detailed heavily. They have been highlighted & shaded, right down to the laces!

Gwendolyn is wearing an off-white flannel undershirt which has been grunged up good & proper. It is accented with vintage buttons. Gwen’s apron dress is made of a green floral print & sweet tan star print that is just perfect for Christmas. Hattie is wearing a white linen dress topped off with an apron made from white cotton voile. These dresses feature tons of visible hand stitching. All hems have been hand-stitched. There is a lot of hand-stitching on the apron as well. I’ve dyed their clothes in a coffee, lavender bud & vanilla bath. They do not smell however. I simply dyed them in those substances to obtain the desired hue. I then hand-washed all of their clothes & pressed them with linen water.

Gwendolyn & Hattie’s hair is 100% raw wool. It has been lightly glued for extra stability & then carefully needle felted to their heads. Gwendolyn’s hair can be tucked behind her cute little ears or positioned in front of them. Her ponytail is fastened with a thin chocolate ribbon. Hattie’s little ponytail is fastened with hemp twine.

Gwendolyn & Hattie are currently being auctioned on eBay. Click here to view or bid.

Filed Under: Christmas, Dolls Tagged With: Christmas, elf, Toys

Hey there, Delilah.

October 11, 2007 By Rebecca Leave a Comment

Delilah is a special angel. She is the Protector of the Harvest Home. This year Delilah has kept watch over a special patch of pumpkins & now, they’re ready for display!

Delilah is my original design. She is 30" tall & made of muslin. Delilah & her green/blue pumpkin (modeled after my favorite type of pumpkin, the Jarrahdale!) have been stuffed with fiberfill. Delilah’s lower torso has been rag-stuffed & bean-filled in order to weight her little bottom. Delilah’s arms are lightly wired allowing her to be posed slightly. Her legs are loosely stuffed, though not wired, and can be slightly posed. I’ve hand-painted Delilah, her wings & her pumpkin from top to bottom. Then I sanded them, painted them from top to bottom again & sanded them again. Delilah has been treated to a series of paint washes that give her a beautiful, deeply aged patina.

Delilah’s facial features (nose & bottom lip) have been needle sculpted & hand-painted. Her bottom lip pouts. Her upper lip is simply painted. She has blushing, peachy cheeks, detailed eyebrows, and big blue eyes. I’ve needle-sculpted Delilah’s hands & bare feet. I hand-painted, shaded, highlighted & detailed her fingernails & toenails. Delilah has been painted with premium acrylic paints & has been accented & shaded with oil pastels. I’ve sealed her from top to bottom with clear, glossy acrylic sealer so that she may be preserved beautifully over the years & kept a lifetime.

Delilah’s wings have been made from muslin, stuffed with fiberfill & hand quilted. I’ve heavily stained them to accentuate the small hand-stitching. Delilah’s wings are attached securely to her back with a big vintage button.

Delilah’s pumpkin has also been heavily stained & sealed. A rusty wire stem tops off the pumpkin & has been attached securely with invisible thread. Delilah’s pumpkin is not attached to her. It has been designed to rest in her lap.

Delilah is wearing a striped prairie style dress. It features a ruffled hem & slightly ruffled sleeves. On top of that, Delilah is wearing a white muslin apron fastened with two vintage brown buttons. Both pieces of clothing feature extensive hand-stitching. The hems of both the dress & apron are hand-stitched as well as Delilah’s sleeves, apron pocket, apron top & sash. I’ve dyed Delilah’s clothes in a coffee, lavender bud & vanilla bath. They do not smell however. I simply dyed them in those substances to obtain a desirable hue.

Delilah’s hair is 100% raw wool. It has been lightly glued for extra stability & then carefully needle felted to her head. She sports loose buns at the base of her up-do.

Delilah is currently being auctioned on eBay & will run through 10/18/07. Click here to view or bid!

Filed Under: Dolls Tagged With: angel, Harvest, Thanksgiving

Introducing Lula Belle

October 7, 2007 By Rebecca 1 Comment

Miss Lula Belle is 1/2 of a 2 doll set.

Available on eBay now through Tuesday, Oct.9th. Click Here.

Even butterflies have a soft spot for sweets! This little girl is Lula Belle. Lula is my original design. She is 30" tall from the top of her antennae to the bottom of her mary janes. Lula is made of muslin & stuffed with fiberfill. Her lower torso is rag-stuffed & bean filled in order to weight her little bottom. I’ve painted Lula from head to toe then sanded her. Then I did all that over again. I’ve treated Lula to a series of paint washes that make her look oh so vintage & like a little doll loved so many years ago.

Lula’s facial features (nose & bottom lip) have been needle sculpted & hand-painted. Her little bottom lip pouts. Her upper lip is simply painted. She has blushing cheeks , detailed eyebrows, pretty teal eye shadow & big green eyes. Lula’s features have been painted with premium acrylic paints & have been accented & shaded with oil pastels. Lula has been sealed top to bottom with clear, glossy acrylic sealer so that she may be preserved beautifully over the years & kept a lifetime. Lula’s gloved fingers have been needle sculpted. She sports painted black gloves.

Lula is wearing black painted mary janes with teal socks. The top of Lula’s dress is made from white muslin. Her collar features a vintage blue button. The skirt of Lula’s dress is constructed of sweet prints in shades of blue (florals & checks). I’ve dyed Lula’s clothes in a coffee, lavender bud & vanilla bath. They do not smell however. I simply dyed them in those substances to obtain the proper color. I then hand-washed all her clothes after achieving the hue I sought. Lula’s hems are stitched with small even stitches. There is a lot of visible hand stitching in this dress.

Lula has made the prettiest accessories for this costume! Her wings were made of muslin, stuffed, & then quilted around the edges. They were then painted, sanded, then painted & sanded again. They were then stained & sealed. Lula’s wings have been painted in shades of teal, blue & green. They are lightly wired on top so they can be bent slightly. Lula’s wings are attached to her dress with a big black vintage button. Lula is also wearing a painted black bonnet which fastens with a bow made of hemp twine. Her antennae are made of twisted wire which are affixed securely to her head. They have been painted & sealed.

Lula carries a mask that has been made from an antique quilt piece. The fabric was stiffened, painted, re-painted & sealed. I then sewed it to a wired stick decoupaged with pieces of text taken from a vintage book. I color washed the text for an aged patina, then sealed it.Taupe & chartreuse ribbon hang from the mask. Lula’s mask simply lays in her lap or can be propped up against her arm. It is not attached.
Lula holds a banner that says ‘TREATS’. Her banner was made from a set of vintage stamps I acquired some time ago. Each letter is stamped onto taupe cardstock with black ink. I then attached each letter to hemp twine & simply tied it to Lula’s hands so that it may taken off should you decide to display her yearlong.

Filed Under: Dolls Tagged With: Butterfly, Halloween

Little Miss Penelope

October 4, 2007 By Rebecca 2 Comments

Introducing Little Miss Penelope. She is 1/2 of a 2 doll set.

Available on eBay now through Monday, Oct.8th. Click here.

Penelope is such a sweet little wonder. She’s super ready for trick-or-treating & she has one goal: CANDY!

Penelope is my original design. She is 30" tall & made of muslin. I’ve stuffed Penelope with fiberfill. Her lower torso is rag-stuffed & bean filled in order to weight her little bottom. Penelope has been painted from head to toe. I then sanded her, painted her from head to toe again & sanded her again. I treated Penelope to a series of paint washes that make her look oh so vintage & maybe, just maybe, like a dollie some little girl loved so very long ago.

Penelope’s facial features (nose & bottom lip) have been needle sculpted & hand-painted. Her little bottom lip pouts. Her upper lip is simply painted. She has the rosiest cheeks & detailed eyebrows. Penelope’s features have been painted with premium acrylic paints & have been accented & shaded with oil pastels. Penelope has been sealed top to bottom with clear, glossy acrylic sealer so that she may be preserved beautifully over the years & kept a lifetime. Penelope’s gloved fingers have been needle-sculpted. She sports painted white gloves.

Penelope is also sporting some of the coolest vintage wingtips! Maybe she found them in her dad’s closet when constructing this costume. She has painted on laces & even hand-painted tread on the bottom of her shoes. Penelope is wearing white painted socks. Penelope is wearing a white muslin undershirt with a fluffy white voile collar. Penelope’s little bib skirt is made of vintage pink striped fabric & white muslin. I’ve dyed Penelope’s clothes in a coffee, lavender bud & vanilla bath. They do not smell however. I simply dyed them in those substances to obtain the proper color. I then hand-washed all her clothes after achieving the hue I sought. Penelope’s bibs are fastened in the front with two brown, vintage buttons.

Penelope has the coolest balloon! It was made from muslin, stuffed, painted, sanded, painted & sanded, then attached to a wire. The wire is wrapped & stitched securely to Penelope’s wrist. Her balloon has been stained & sealed with clear glossy acrylic sealer.

Penelope holds a banner that shows she means business. Candy, candy candy. That’s what this little girl wants. Penelope’s banner was made from a set of vintage stamps I acquired some time ago. Each letter is stamped onto taupe card stock with black ink.

Penelope’s hair is 100% raw wool. It has been lightly glued for extra stability & then carefully needle felted to her head. Her pigtails are fastened with little chocolate ribbons.

Filed Under: Dolls Tagged With: balloon, clown

While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks

October 4, 2007 By Rebecca Leave a Comment

This is a new set of 2007 Christmas ornaments. These sheep coordinate with my Little Believers Floral Angel set. These little babies have been made of sweet cotton prints. I hand-painted their cute little black faces, ears & legs. sanded them, & then painted them again. I stained their painted parts, then treated the whole ornament with a light paint wash to age the fabric. I attached a raffia bow around each neck & affixed a hem hanger to the top of each ornament. These ornaments as well as the Little Dreamers will be available soon on eBay. I’ll post a link to the auction here as soon as the item is listed.

Filed Under: Ornaments

Little Believers

October 4, 2007 By Rebecca Leave a Comment

This is my new collection of Christmas ornaments. There are five angels in this set. They’re made of muslin & stuffed with fiberfill. I’ve painted & sanded these dolls numerous times & treated them to a series of paint washes to truly grime them up. They wear little floral print dresses which have been coffee/lavender bud/vanilla dyed. They do not smell, however. The bottom hem & arm sleeves have been finished with hand stitching. The neckline remains tattered & raw. Each little apron has been made of muslin & dyed. There is hand-stitching on the apron. They are tied to the dolls with jute twine. These little babies have wings made from antique drawer pulls found in a local antique shop. I’ve stained them lightly to enhance & warm the color of the wood. The backs of the drawer pulls have been decoupaged with Christmas carol sheet music from a vintage hymnal. They’ve been paint washed, stained & sealed lightly. Each set of wings has been tied securely to the angel with hemp twine which crosses in front.

Each little angel carries her own banner. I’ve stamped the message onto taupe card stock with chocolate ink. The letters are attached to hemp twine & simply tied to their hands. Each comes finished with a hemp hanger.

These little girls will be available as a set on eBay later on in the season.

Filed Under: Christmas Ornies, Ornaments Tagged With: angels, christmas ornaments, Primitive, wooden wings