Painting has begun. . .

Such fun at doll class again today! This was my first day painting. I love painting things! I used to do flower pots and ornaments and such, because I just really enjoy it. All I did was the hair, which feels like not a huge accomplishment, but I really want to take my time and do this right. I'm really happy with how it turned out! I even remembered to snap a picture today:



I also read the article from the Doll Artisan magazine this doll was featured in, and saw that the estimated year for this doll, based on her hair style, is 1866. Until I read this, I really didn't know what I'd do for her clothing, but now that I have a year, this is a starting point for my brain to burst with ideas! ;)

Here is the dress pattern designed for this doll (Seeley, #MP57):



It's cute, but. . . I think I'm just not feeling it, because I think I need a super elaborate 1866 ball gown! I'm all excited to crack open my books and browse my digital fashion plate collection for ideas. . .

Next week, I'm going to bring Charlotte with me, as they had never seen a BJD. Charlotte is excited to get out of the house, but lamenting my not having made her a fabulous new wig as I have long been promising! Poor Charlotte. She sits in her chair and gets dusty while I have been spending all my time and funds on other doll projects! Maybe I'll finish one of my unfinished projects for her this week. . .

Let the porcelain doll-making adventures begin!

I attended my first doll-making class tonight, and am happy to say it was quite a success! I got all my pieces cleaned and ready for firing. I very much enjoyed the process. It was the perfect opportunity to let my perfectionist side run wild, because the idea is to make the seams left from the molds disappear, and because I am straight-out bananas, I chose for my first project a doll with detailed molded hair. Typical "Jenni" thing to do! But as I've said before, I do love a tedious project, and so I found it enjoyable. Also, I just plain liked the feel of everything in my hands, if that makes any sense. . .

I wish I had thought to take some pictures of this process, so that I could share here on the blog, but I was so focused that it never occurred to me until the drive home. Had my camera with me even, since it's still in my bag from my recent trip to Oklahoma. Ah well. You just have to imagine the doll from my previous post, but totally unpainted. That about sums it up! You know, even unpainted, I think this doll is lovely. I hope I can do her justice with the painting. I was not too afraid to do the cleaning steps, and of course I've not a worry at all about making her body and clothing, but the painting - that freaks me out! It does help to find out that the paint comes right off (pre-firing, of course) so if you make a mistake, you can fix it. And, I've done lots of random craft projects that involved painting - some very detailed - so the brush should not feel completely foreign in my hand. Still, at the moment I feel certain I will not posess the skills to make brows that match!

Also, and this isn't very doll-related but anyhow, I am patting myself on the back right now for going out and doing this. I feel like my driving anxiety is always holding me back from doing things, but I really wanted to do this, and even though it was my first time making the drive (Glenn drove last time), and it involved multiple highway mergings, and was at night, in the dark, which is the scariest driving of all, somehow, I did it. And without a panic attack. Awesome! It will only get easier after this, because I will come to know the route and not be so petrified that I'm going to get into the wrong lane. And do you know, I didn't even have to do any of the breathing techniques. Which is odd since sometimes I still have to do those when I go to the grocery store! I must really, really want to do this doll-making thing! :D

Porcelain doll-making!

Today I went and toured a porcelain doll making studio, and I'm all set to begin learning to make porcelain dolls next month! Hooray! I had fun seeing all the beautiful dolls she had made, and drooling at the huge collection of patterns and books. And, I chose my first doll! She'll be Seeley's S628, "Marie Louise," pictured below:



At 19.5", she'll be the right size to suit some of the doll furniture/accessories I have, which is cool! And, I love the details of the necklaces and hair feather, which are part of the mold, and will be tedious (aka, fun, as I love tedious little projects) to paint! I'm super excited. :) The mold will be poured for me, so I'll be doing the cleaning of greenware, and then the painting. And then we'll do body-making and costuming in class too, which I technically can do on my own, but think it will be super fun to do it in a social setting. And to see if there's anything, regarding body assembly especially, that I'm not doing quite right, since of course I am self taught.

So, good times ahead! Yay! More doll madness. ;)

2012 Goals!

I already made my 2012 sewing goals list over at my main blog, but I thought I'd pull out the doll-related items here. . .

2012 Doll Goals

New Body for Fanny
New Wig for Fanny
First Outfit for Fanny

And with regards to that last item. . . OMG seriously, she is still sitting here in her chair with not a stitch of clothing on! I made her a chemise, so I should at least put that on. . . But I confess I lost motivation to sew for her after I decided that I didn't like her body (especially that she's stuck in one position, which is neither standing up nor sitting down, but rather, something awkward in between), and then on top of that, the sawdust settled and now she's floppy. And I decided I didn't like her wig style either. So. . .

I have grand plans to make up my own body pattern, and have found some nice faux leather that I'm going to try and use for the body, and that is step one. Then, I've purchased some lovely mohair for my next wig-making attempt (which I think will go well now that I have a better idea of how much hair to put in it). And then, I hope I will again feel inspired to sew for her!

Other things that may get done in 2012 include a new 18th century ensemble for Charlotte (already patterened) or any of her other works-in-progress, and/or attire for the china heads, but I'm not making them true goals for the year, as I want to focus on Fanny.

Also, there is the slight possibility that I may try my hand at making my own porcelain doll. I've been reading a lot about it, and it's starting to seem like it's something I could do, which either means I could do it, or it means I'm getting another crazy over-the-top idea in my head, LOL! We'll see. . .

Pink Depression Glass

I have accidentally begun collecting pink depression glass for my dolls, apparently. . . Because earlier this year, I found this lovely pitcher and glass set while on one of our ever-increasing antiquing sprees:



And then just a few weeks before Christmas, I was out and about again, and found this cute punch bowl and glass set at another antiques store:



Both of these sets are approximately 1/3 scale – maybe even a tiny bit smaller – which makes them work for my AG crew, but also perhaps a larger FFD, (and how I would love a larger FFD!) I don’t know how many more pink depression glass dishes I’m going to be able to find, but you can be sure I’ll be keeping my eyes open for that, now that I have these two little sets!

Adventures in Wig-Making

So this evening, I had my first adventure in wig-making (not counting the ridiculously brief attempt at ventilating a wig one hair at a time, which is madness that even I find too tedious to pursue!) and it was not too bad! I really think the only major problem is that I used too much hair. . .



Side & back views:



And when not in a ponytail. . .



Eek! Yes, too much hair for sure! LOL!

Also, I was using hair pilfered from a cheap Halloween costume wig. In the next go around, I'll use a much nicer-quality synthetic hair. But, the important thing is, this is going to work, and I'm going to be able to make a fabulous wig for Fanny. This is awesome because I have had zero motivation to work on anything for Fanny. In fact, I found myself feeling totally blase about her all-together, and wishing I could find a different doll. I made myself analyze what was bothering me about her, and decided it was the wig. It's a lovely quality, but the style is not at all what I wanted. I rarely see French Fashion Dolls with wigs as insanely puffy and curly as hers was. If curled, it seems that they are curled into a specific style, and not just unruly curls all over, if that makes any sense. Or, maybe I only remember those sorts of wigs because I like them better. ;) At any rate, even though this wig wasn't perfect, when I put it on Fanny, I instantly felt better about her. She looks pretty, and more authentic.

Meanwhile, Fanny thinks it's ridiculous that I'm making improved wigs for her, when she is still nude. Apparently, six months of sitting there with nothing on is unacceptable in her eyes. She wonders why I don't at least let her wear the chemise I made her, and come to think of it, I wonder that too!

A New Chair & Doll Madness

I went antiquing over the weekend and scored a cute little chair which I'm pretty sure is not too old, but is about the right size for Fanny. . .



I tried Fanny in it for size, and it's a little bit off, but once she is clothed, I think it will suffice.

Speaking of clothing Fanny. . .

So, I'm having a bit of a flopping problem with Fanny. . .



:(

I apparently didn't stuff her body firmly enough (or perhaps should have stuffed her part way and left her hanging for a while, for everything to settle, before finishing stuffing), combined with constantly trying to make her sit (which she can't do because her thighs are massive and do not budge). I've been so disappointed with her body (and starting to not like her wig too much either) that I haven't felt very inspired to do much of anything with her. What I really need to do is draft my own body pattern from scratch, because I dislike this one, and can not seem to find one that I do like! It's just going to be a crazy amount of work and I never seem to feel inspired to do it. . .

I think I'm beginning to feel a little overwhelmed with the doll madness around here!

Here is the crew that is currently waiting on all sorts of clothing, and two bodies, and four names:



Eep!

(And, I haven't talked about that 2nd doll in from the left yet. . . I actually got her a while ago, but haven't got around to posting about her. . . I'll give her a post of her own some other time. . .)