primitive doll

The Hollyhock Heist.

July 14, 2008 By Rebecca 5 Comments

Looks like someone’s been in the flower garden!

This little sweetie is Bennie. Bennie is my original design & measures 16″ from head to toe. She’s been made of muslin, stuffed with fiberfill & hand-painted & sanded, top to bottom many times. Sweet Bennie has a rich, deeply-aged patina. Her left arm is wired to aid in carrying such a large hollyhock.

Bennie’s face has been needle-sculpted by hand and hand-painted. Her bottom lip ‘pouts’ while her top lip is simply painted. She has been painted with various mediums & has been sealed top to bottom with a combination of sealers so that she may be lightly dusted after display.

Bennie’s fingers have been needle-sculpted by hand. She has delicate pink fingernails. Bennie sports brown painted boots with lots of ‘straps’ and ‘buttons’. She wears tan socks.

Bennie’s apron dress is made from 100% cotton prints. Bennie’s blouse is made of white muslin & features hand-gathered sleeves. Both the dress & blouse feature tons of hand-stitching! All visible hems have been hand-stitched (dress, sleeves, collar), as well as the back of the blouse. Bennie’s blouse is finished with beads while her skirt features two vintage, mother of pearl buttons.

Bennie’s hollyhock is super special & one of my favorite flowers! It is made from 10 separate muslin pieces & has been hand-painted & sanded, stained & sanded again. It is eight inches tall. Each bloom is attached with heavy duty thread & buttons, as are the two large leaves.

Bennie’s hair is black 100% mohair. I have lightly glued, then carefully needle-felted it to her head. It is parted & styled into loose messy buns.

I had a lot of fun designing & creating this little girl & her flower. And one new idea always seems to spark others!

Bennie will be available on eBay July 13th at 9:15 PM EST. She will end July 20th at 9:15 PM EST.

As always, Click here to view or bid on this little dumpling.

Filed Under: Dolls, Flowers Tagged With: hollyhocks, primitive doll

Annabelle and her Primitive Firefly Friend, Gladys

June 30, 2008 By Rebecca 2 Comments

Remember this…Catching fireflies at dusk on a summer day, carefully placing them in a jar to keep? I’m so happy to introduce to you, Annabelle & Gladys, quite possibly the largest firefly ever caught! This set is my original design and is guaranteed one of a kind art! Annabelle is 27″ tall. She has been made of muslin & stuffed with fiberfill. Her lower torso has been rag-stuffed & bean filled, weighting her little bottom, so that she sits nicely. Gladys is 7″ tall (9″ while perched in her vintage blue mason jar). Annabelle & Gladys have been hand-painted & sanded, top to bottom many, many times & have rich, deeply-aged patinas. Annabelle’s arms are lightly wired allowing her to be slightly posed.

Annabelle’s face has been needle-sculpted by hand and hand-painted. Her bottom lip ‘pouts’ while her top lip is simply painted. She has been painted with various mediums & has been sealed top to bottom with a combination of glossy & matte acrylic sealer so that she may be lightly dusted after display & kept a lifetime.

Annabelle’s fingers have been needle-sculpted by hand. She has rose painted fingernails which have been shaded and highlighted. She also sports painted brown boots with blue socks. Her high boots are highly detailed right down to the laces!

Annabelle’s apron dress is made from two super cute 100% cotton prints. Her underskirt is a robin’s egg blue print while her over skirt is a completely sweet celery green print with light blue stars. Annabelle’s blouse is made of white muslin & features hand-gathered sleeves. Her collar is finished with a vintage mother of pearl button. Both the dress & blouse feature tons of hand-stitching! All visible hems have been hand-stitched (dress, sleeves, collar), as well as the back of the blouse. All clothing has been dyed in a coffee/lavender bud bath for a slightly aged appearance. It was then hand-washed & pressed with linen water.

Glady’s is made from 8 separate pieces. She has been made from muslin, hand-painted & sanded, hand-painted & sanded again, and finally sealed with a matte sealer. Her wings are button jointed. Her face has been needle-sculpted and hand-painted. Her blonde mohair has been carefully needle-felted to her head. Gladys’ legs are attached with heavy-duty button thread and black buttons. Her wings allow her to stand on her own, although she much prefers peeking from atop her jar.

Annabelle’s hair is wavy brown 100% mohair. I have lightly glued, then carefully needle-felted it to Anna’s head. It is parted & styled in a pigtails. Her pigtails are fastened with a chocolate ribbons.

Annabelle & Gladys will be available on eBay June 29th at 9:15 PM EST. They will end July 6th at 9:15 PM EST. Click here to view or bid!

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Filed Under: Dolls Tagged With: blues, firefly, greens, mason jar, primitive doll

Francine, a Peculiar Sort with Rowdy Friends

June 9, 2008 By Rebecca 3 Comments

This little girlie is Francine. Francine is 27″ tall. She has been made of muslin & stuffed with fiberfill. Her lower torso has been rag-stuffed & bean filled, weighting her little bottom, so that she sits nicely. Francine has been hand-painted & sanded, top to bottom many, many times & has a rich, deeply-aged patina. Francine’s arms are lightly wired allowing her to be slightly posed.

Her face has been needle-sculpted by hand and hand-painted. Her bottom lip ‘pouts’ while her top lip is simply painted. She has been painted with various mediums & has been sealed top to bottom with a combination of glossy & matte acrylic sealer so that she may be lightly dusted after display & kept a lifetime.

Francine’s fingers have been needle-sculpted by hand. She sports tan painted gloves. She also sports painted brown boots with robin’s subtle robin’s egg blue socks. Her high boots are highly detailed right down to the buttons!

Francine’s apron dress is made from two super cute 100% cotton prints. Her underskirt is a cream stripe while her over skirt is a completely sweet floral fabric with peachy/pink branches on an olive/golden background. Francine’s blouse is made of white muslin & features hand-gathered sleeves. Her collar is finished with a taupe pearl bead. Both the dress & blouse feature tons of hand-stitching! All visible hems have been hand-stitched (dress, sleeves, collar), as well as the back of the blouse. All clothing has been dyed in a coffee/lavender bud bath for a slightly aged appearance. It was then hand-washed & pressed with linen water.

Francine carries with her two little friends. Both crows are my original designs & are made from 4 separate pieces. They’ve been made from muslin, hand-painted & sanded, hand-painted & sanded again, and finally sealed with a matte sealer. The wings & tail have been hand-quilted & attached with buttons. The ‘flying’ crow’s wings have been stitched by hand. The standing crow’s feet have been fashioned from wire & tape & are sewn securely to the crow’s body. This crow cannot stand on it’s own. Both crows are approx. 11″ from head to tail. The standing crow’s wings can be posed.

Francine’s hair is red 100% mohair. It is not quite as stark as shown in these photographs. I have slightly glued, then carefully needle-felted it to Francine’s head. It is parted & styled in a low side pony. Her hair is fastened with a chocolate ribbon.

Francine’s flying crow is attached to her hand with rusty wire. It can be posed in many positions.

Little Francie will be available Sunday evening June 8th at 9:15 PM EST – June 15th, 9PM EST. Click her to view or bid on this little girl.

Filed Under: Dolls Tagged With: appalachia, appalachian artist, folk art doll, hand-painted doll, handmade doll, kentucky artist, muslin doll, primitive crow, primitive doll, redhead

Caroline, A Little Red Wonder

June 2, 2008 By Rebecca Leave a Comment

This little girl is Caroline. She is my original design and is guaranteed one of a kind! Caroline is 19″ tall with a 10″ wingspan. She has been made of muslin & stuffed with fiberfill. She has been hand-painted & sanded, top to bottom many, many times. She has been treated to a series of paint washes, giving her a rich, deeply-aged patina. Caroline’s arms are lightly wired allowing them to be slightly posed. She has a hemp loop attached to her back for hanging or she can sit, if propped. Her knees are sewn through, making her a wonderful ‘shelf sitter’.

Caroline’s face has been needle-sculpted by hand and hand-painted. Her bottom lip ‘pouts’ while her top lip is simply painted. She has been painted with various mediums & has been sealed top to bottom with a combination of glossy & matte acrylic sealer so that she may be lightly dusted after display & kept a lifetime.

Caroline’s fingers have been needle-sculpted by hand. She sports tan painted gloves. She sports painted brown boots with tan socks. Her boots are highly detailed right down to her perfectly red laces!

Caroline’s underskirt is made from a striped 100% cotton print. Her over skirt is white muslin. I hand-painted red poppies onto the white muslin before constructing her skirt. I’m so happy with the way it turned out. Caroline’s blouse is made of white muslin & features hand-gathered sleeves. Her collar is finished with a red, vintage button. Both the dress & blouse feature tons of hand-stitching! All visible hems have been hand-stitched (dress, sleeves, collar), as well as the back of the blouse. Caroline’s clothing has been washed in a coffee & lavender bud bath. All pieces were then hand-wash & pressed with linen water.

Caroline’s poppies feature olive green stems & golden centers. Her wings have been made of muslin, stuffed with fiberfill & are hand-quilted. They’ve been painted & sanded many times and have been stained & sealed for protection.

Caroline’s hair is 100% mohair in a pretty, honey-blonde color. She has pale blonde highlights! It was lightly glued then carefully needle felted to her head. Caroline’s hair is parted & styled into low, messy buns.

Caroline can sit in the positions show below when propped. (In the 2nd photo she is propped against a small, antique cheese box.)

Caroline was such a FUN doll to make! She will be available on eBay beginning June 1st at 9:15 PM EST & will end June 8th at 9:15 PM EST. Click here to view or bid on this little darling! She’s sure to make your home smile!

(Caroline was made especially for a Prim & Whimsy Girl challenge titled ‘Art in Bloom. Click here to see the wonderful items fellow Prim & Whimsy Girls have to offer or search PWGL FLOWERS in your eBay search bar.)