stick horse

Sarah Jane, A Christmas Party Girl in Red

This little party girl is Sarah Jane. Sarah is 17.5″ tall from the tip of her hat to the bottom of her feet. She has been made of muslin, stuffed with fiberfill & hand-painted & sanded many times giving her such a lovely, aged patina. Sarah Jane has been sealed with a combination of sealers so that she can be lightly dusted after display. Her lower torso is weighted allowing her to sit nicely. Her arms are wired, allowing them to be gently posed. Her neck is supported with wire armature.

Sarah has been painted with a variety of media. Her nose & bottom lip have been hand-sculpted. Her tiny fingers have been hand-sculpted as well. She wears tan painted gloves & brown boots with tan socks & red laces.

Sarah’s apron dress has been constructed from supple 100% cotton prints. I’m absolutely in love with them! Her blouse has been constructed from white muslin. It features hand-gathered sleeves & a chunky vintage button at the neckline. It was treated to a lavender bud/coffee bath for an aged appearance & was then hand-washed & pressed. This clothing features lots of hand-stitching. All hems have been hand-stitched as well as the neckline & back of Sarah’s blouse.

Sarah is also wearing the perfect party hat. It has been made from a tea-stained vintage hymnal page. The music on the party hat is a Christmas carol. It’s been strengthened with decoupage medium & is attached to Sarah’s head with thin chocolate ribbon. Tiny pins secure it in place.

Sarah’s little buddy is constructed of muslin. His ears have been attached separately. He has been hand-painted, sanded & aged. His hand-painted dowel rod “stick” has been secured in place with a touch of glue & stitching. This sweetie’s mane is 100% wool which has been needle-felted in place. This stick horse is 6.5″ tall.

This little girl’s hair is honey blonde mohair. It is parted & falls loosely to the side.

Sarah Jane is currently available in my Etsy shop. Click here for details.

Elliot & his Primitive Holiday Friends

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!