handmade doll

Jolly, A Christmas Bunny in Shades of Red

November 20, 2009 By Rebecca Leave a Comment

Meet Jolly. Jolly is 17″ tall from the tip of her hat to her toes. She’s been made of muslin & is stuffed with fiberfill. This sweet Christmas bunny has been hand-painted & sanded a couple of times, giving her a lovely, aged patina. She’s been sealed so that she may be lightly dusted after display. Jolly has an embroidery thread loop attached making her suitable for hanging. She may sit with assistance & her knees are sewn through.

Jolly’s face has been painted with a variety of media. Her nose has been needle-sculpted. Those sweet lop ears are attached separately. Jolly has needle-sculpted hands as well. She sports painted brown boots with detailed laces & painted, eyelet lace socks!

Jolly’s blouse is sewn from taupe osnaburg & features hand-stitching at the neckline, sleeves & back. Her hat is constructed from polka dot 100% cotton fabric & features a warm & natural batting edge. It is attached with straight pins. Jolly’s skirt is made of Moda fabric in a pretty red print & features hand-stitching along the hem.

Jolly is now available on Ebay. Click here to view or bid.

Filed Under: Christmas, Dolls Tagged With: appalachian artist, Christmas bunny, Christmas Rabbit, folk art doll, hand-painted doll, handmade doll, kentucky folk art, 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.)