primitive doll

Lynette and primitive Easter Lamb.

February 11, 2008 By Rebecca 7 Comments

This sweet little gal with her very own pet is Lynette. Like all my dolls, Lynette & her lamb are my original designs and are guaranteed one of a kind art! She is 30" tall. Her sweet pet is 9.5" tall & 12.5 inches wide. Both dolls have been made of muslin & stuffed with fiberfill. Lynette’s lower torso has been rag-stuffed & bean filled in order to weight her little bottom. Both dolls have been hand-painted & sanded, top to bottom many, many times. Lynette has been treated to a series of paint washes, giving her a deeply aged patina. Her arms are lightly wired.

Lynette’s sweet face has been needle-sculpted by hand, (nose & lip), and hand-painted. Her face is heavily detailed! She has been painted with premium acrylic paints and shaded & highlighted heavily with oil pastels, artist pencils & acrylic paint. She has needle sculpted fingers. Her lamb has been painted & highly detailed with the same media as Lynette. Both dolls have been sealed top to bottom with a combination of glossy & matte acrylic sealer.

This little lamb was constructed from eight separate pieces. All legs have been attached with several strands of heavy duty button thread. They can be slightly posed. I’ve needle-felted this lamb entirely with raw, clean wool. (Quite a time-consuming process!!) She is as pretty on all sides as she is from the front. She can sit on her own as well relax in Lynette’s lap.

Lynette sports taupe painted socks & painted boots modeled after a pair of antique baby shoes. They are highly detailed & sanded in just the right places, adding to their aged appearance.

Lynette’s apron dress is made of a 100% cotton, pink polka dot print & a super cute 100% cotton alphabet print by Moda. (I’m in LOVE with both of these fabrics!) Her blouse has been made of white muslin & features sleeves, hand-gathered at the elbow, & a vintage mother of pearl button at the collar (which is edged in pretty, pink stitches). Lynette’s skirt & blouse feature tons of hand-stitching! All visible hems have been hand-stitched (skirt, sleeves, collar). The back of Lynette’s blouse also features hand-stitching. Her clothing has been treated to a coffee and lavender bud bath for an aged appearance. All pieces have been hand-washed & pressed with linen water.

Lynette’s hair is 100% ‘carrot’ mohair. It is not nearly as stark as shown in these photographs. The color is truer to the picture on the far right, above. It was lightly glued then carefully needle-felted to her head. I’ve styled Lynette’s hair into low messy buns.

Lynette & her little lamb (in my mind, her name is Aggie!) are available on eBay. They will end Sunday night Feb. 17th at 9:15 EST. Here’s the clicker if you want to view or bid!

Filed Under: Dolls, Easter Tagged With: Lamb, pink, primitive doll

Colleen & Li’l Maggie, Primitive Easter Friends

January 21, 2008 By Rebecca 3 Comments

Colleen had her mother make a dress for Maggie, too.

I’m so happy to introduce to you, Colleen & Li’l Maggie. They are my original designs and are guaranteed one of a kind art! I’ve used no patterns to create them or her clothing. Collen is 30" tall & Maggie measures 20" tall. They have been made of muslin & stuffed with fiberfill. Colleen’s lower torso has been rag-stuffed & bean filled in order to weight her little bottom. I’ve hand-painted & sanded Colleen & Maggie top to bottom many, many times. They’ve been treated to a series of paint washes which make them look oh so vintage & like little dollies loved long ago. Colleen’s arms are lightly wired allowing her to be gently posed.

Colleen’s facial features have been needle-sculpted and hand-painted. Her bottom lip ‘pouts’ while her top lip is simply painted. She has big blue eyes, pale pink lips & rosy cheeks. Maggie’s facial features have been hand-painted. Both little sweeties have needle-sculpted fingers (by hand). I’ve painted them with premium acrylic paints and shaded & highlighted heavily with oil pastels, artist pencils, acrylic paints & stain. They have been sealed top to bottom with glossy acrylic sealer so that you may dust them lightly after display & keep them for a lifetime.

Colleen’s boots & taupe socks with blue polka dots (look closely) have been painted & heavily detailed, right down to the laces! Maggie wears striped hand-painted socks in various hues of taupe.

Both apron skirts have been constructed of lovely 100% cotton Moda fabrics in a damask pattern. They are pale blue & celery green with cream. Colleen’s blouse has been made out of white muslin & features hand-gathered sleeves & a black vintage button. Maggie’s blouse has been made out of osnaburg & also features hand-gathered sleeves & a black vintage button. Both girls’ outfits feature tons of hand-stitching! All visible hems have been hand-stitched (skirt, sleeves & collar). All clothing has been treated to a coffee and lavender bud bath for an aged appearance. All pieces were then hand-washed & pressed with linen water.

Colleen sits on her own while Li’l Maggie does not. She does however, have a loop attached to her back, allowing her to be hung, should you wish to display her in that fashion. These little girls are impressive & would look great displayed year-round.

Colleen’s hair is light auburn 100% mohair. It has been lightly glued then carefully needle felted to her head. Colleen’s hair is styled into a low side ponytail.

Colleen & Maggie will be available on eBay tonight at 9:15 EST (please note that she will end 15 minutes later than usual.) She will end Sunday night Jan. 27 at 9:15 EST. Click here to view or bid!

Filed Under: Dolls, Easter Tagged With: Bunny, Easter, primitive doll

Sweet Clem, your love saves us.

January 15, 2008 By Rebecca 5 Comments

This sweet little gal is getting ready to make her eBay debut tonight. She is a five day auction so she’ll end at the regular time. See below for details & a link.

This little angel had only two requests this week. She wanted to be a girl & she wanted to be named Clem, just Clem.

Clem is not your typical cupid. She wouldn’t shoot a soul. She just goes around spreading extra doses of goodness to the attached & unattached, to the young & to those still young at heart.

Clem is my original design and is guaranteed one of a kind, original art! I’ve used no patterns or molds to create her or her clothing. Clem is 29″ tall & has a 10″ wingspan. She has been made of muslin and stuffed with fiberfill. Her bottom has been rag-stuffed & bean filled in order to weight her little bottom. I’ve hand-painted & sanded Clem top to bottom many, many times and she has been treated to a series of paint washes for a super antique & well-loved appearance. Clem’s arms are lightly wired allowing her to be gently posed.

Clem’s facial features have been needle-sculpted and hand-painted. Her bottom lip ‘pouts’ while her top lip is simply painted. She has big green eyes, pale pink lips & peachy cheeks. Evelyn’s fingers have been needle-sculpted. She has pale pink fingernails. She has been painted with premium acrylic paints and has been shaded & highlighted heavily with oil pastels, artist pencils and acrylic paints. She has been sealed top to bottom with glossy acrylic sealer so that she may be preserved beautifully over the years & kept a lifetime.

Clem’s boots & tall burgundy socks have been painted & heavily detailed, right down to the buttonholes. Her clothing features lots of hand-stitching! Clem’s apron skirt has been constructed of a lovely 100% cotton, burgundy polka dot print & a Robert Kaufman 100% cotton shirting stripe. Her blouse has been made out of white muslin & features hand-gathered sleeves & vintage buttons. Clem’s clothes have been treated to a coffee and lavender bud bath for an aged appearance. They were then hand-washed & pressed with linen water.

Clem’s wings have been made out of muslin. I’ve hand-quilted them then primed, painted & sanded them several times. They have a truly aged appearance & look similar to old chippy, painted wood. They have been sealed & affixed to Clem’s back with several strands of heavy-duty button thread & a big button.

Clem carries a special Valentine’s messenger bag filled with sweet stuffed hearts. Her bag has been made from osnaburg & lined with a sweet, floral, red & white calico. It features a strap that has been attached with vintage buttons & a flap that can be closed, should you wish to close the bag. All fabrics have been treated to the coffee/lavender bud bath, then hand-washed & pressed with linen water. The front of the bag features a felt heart, painted red & hand-stitched to the bag. I have added a love banner to the bag with vintage buttons & hemp twine. Each letter has been hand-stamped onto taupe cardstock with chocolate ink.
Clem’s bag is filled with six sweet, hand-painted hearts. Each heart has been sealed & features a banner on front. These banners have a floral pattern stamped on them & hand-written words. They have been attached with mismatched buttons.
The traits represented on the hearts are: trust, understanding, humility, kindness, devotion & patience…things we all need more of no matter who we are or where we are.

Clem’s hair is brown (not nearly as red as pictured in these photographs) 100% mohair. It has been lightly glued then carefully needle felted to her head. Clem’s hair is styled into low messy pincurls.

Clem will be available on eBay beginning tonight at 9PM EST. She will end SUNDAY night, Jan. 20th at 9PM EST. Click here to view or bid. (Link will not be active until auction begins tonight.)

Filed Under: Dolls Tagged With: angel, hearts, primitive doll

Saint Nicholas: Father of the Foundling, a primitive Christmas Doll Set

November 25, 2007 By Rebecca 2 Comments

“There is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy.”

This is such an impressive set & pictures truly do not do it justice! It is, in one word, breath-taking.

I’m proud to introduce to you Saint Nicholas, Father of the Foundling, and the humble gifts he plans to bestow upon some very special children. This set is my original design and is guaranteed one of a kind! I’ve used no patterns or molds to create any piece of this set.

Santa is a massive doll. Santa is, from head to toe, 34.5″ long. With his hood & wreath on, he measures 36.5″ long. Santa’s rocking horse measures 24″ front to back, stands 17″ inches tall, and is 5″ wide. Santa’s sweet little rag doll is 20.5″ long. All dolls have been made of muslin & stuffed with fiberfill. Santa’s lower torso has been rag-stuffed & bean filled in order to weight his bottom. Santa & his rocking horse have been hand-painted & sanded from top to bottom several times. Santa has been treated to a series of paint washes that give him a beautiful, deeply aged patina. Santa’s rocking horse has been stained to give him a super grungy look. Santa arms are lightly wired allowing him to gently hold special toys.

Santa’s facial features (nose & bottom lip) have been needle sculpted & hand-painted. He has the Kindest pale blue eyes with light green highlights. He has rosy cheeks (as every Santa should), detailed eyebrows & highly detailed wrinkles. Santa’s fingers have been needle sculpted. He sports brown painted & distressed gloves. Santa & his rocking horse have been accented & shaded heavily with oil pastels. They have been sealed top to bottom with clear, glossy sealer so that they may be preserved beautifully over the years & kept a lifetime.

I’ve constructed Santa’s sweet little rocking horse from 7 separate pieces. His legs have been lightly wired for extra stability. Each leg has been attached to the body with several strands of heavy duty button thread. The horse is attached to a 3/4″ plywood base constructed by my father, the wood artist. (I have yet to master the art of the jigsaw!) It has been painted & crackled. The horse is attached with hemp twine that has been sewn through the hoof & then wrapped around the wood base. This sweet horse’s mane & tail is made of raw sheep’s wool that I hand-dyed. It was lightly glued for extra stability & then needle-felted to the horse.
Santa’s super primitive rag doll was made by me so many years ago. She is one of the first dolls I ever made back when I was just seeing if I could make one. She is made from tea-dyed muslin. Her hair is braided raffia. She sports a pink & white flannel dress & a white lacy apron stitched with contrasting pink thread. Both fabrics are vintage. She is topped off with vintage buttons. Her primitive, unfinished look adds to her charm.

Santa’s sturdy boots have been highly detailed & distressed. They feature hand-painted laces. Santa’s bag has been made of high-quality, brown velveteen. It is lined with a sweet green calico & ties with a taupe satin ribbon. Inside it are several packages that have been wrapped in kraft paper & tied with twine & chocolate ribbons.
Santa is gonna stay super warm this year! Santa is wearing an off-white flannel shirt with vintage buttons. It features extensive hand-stitching & was dyed in a coffee & lavender bath. He is also wearing brown corduroy pants (with suspenders) which are hand-gathered above his boots. Santa’s removable robe is made from high-quality, hunter-green velveteen. I hand-finished the inside seams to help keep the “fuzzies” off Santa. I’ve trimmed Santa’s robe brown & camel faux fur. It has been attached by hand.
Santa’s wreath has been hand-made by me. It is only a half-wreath, making it fully adjustable. It has been made from sweet annie, bay leaves & dried rose hips which I plucked out of the woods behind our home.