Dandy, A Handmade Primitive Christmas Elf

DandyHeadToToe This little girl is Dandy. And for the first time ever, I’m offering this doll directly from this site. (Available on my For Sale page.)

Now for the details! Dandy is quite dandy, if I do say so myself. She’s dressed in rich chocolate polka dots & a beautiful red floral print…truly supple 100% cotton fabrics. Her muslin blouse features a taupe bead & all of her clothing features tons of hand-stitching.

(Please click thumbnails to see a larger version of each picture.)

Dandy is hand-painted, top to bottom & even features little earrings on those pointy ears! She carries some super Christmas treats in her sweet osnaburg bag too–a hand-painted teddy bear & Christmas tree. Dandy’s bag features decorative stitching, mustard yellow seed beads & a vintage button.

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Dandy is 17″ long from the top of her head to the bottom of those darling boots. Her teddy is a wee 3″ from head to toe & her tree is 5″ tall. She has a hemp loop attached making her suitable for hanging or she can sit, with assistance as shown above. Dandy is my first doll for the 2008 Christmas season & comes signed, numbered & dated with a Certificate of Authenticity.

Cordelia & Lottie, Velveteen Darlings

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.

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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.

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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!

Miss Gwendolyn & Bashful Little Hattie

GwendolynHattieWaistUp 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. 

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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! 

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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.