Isobel

If you were to ask my daughter to describe my decorating style, she'd say "Mom likes Ugly."  By that she (hopefully) means I like odd, eclectic, rustic...in my house no room follows a pattern from the room before.  But she hasn't seen my house in...maybe six years?  She doesn't know I actually love pink, or cabbage roses, or lace, because the last she saw, my house was full of squatty carved totem guys, rustic clay pots, and woolly handwoven everything.

So she may be surprised when she sees this latest doll...(click to enlarge).  She (the doll, not the daughter) is paperclay head/face/hands, cloth & fiberfill body, and a little inverted bowl for a base. 

I tried my hand at a "pretty" doll, which is out of character for me.  Not sure I'll make any more, but I think I like this one.  Critiques are appreciated--and bear in mind I have a tough skin.  Any constructive criticism helps with Ye Ole Learning Curve.

More for Spring...

The EYES have it!

I'm in the process of making two dolls (okay, three, but one is sorta side-lined right now).  Recently I saw a tutorial about how to make eyes.  So of course I had to try the product --it's called Gel du Soleil, an epoxy that cures with UV rays.  I'd never heard of it, but it sure seemed better than the ones you have to mix, never knowing how much or how little you should make. 

The stuff cures fast, extremely hard, and seems fairly controllable.  Essentially, you make your eyeballs, use a pencil (or some flat circular end-of-something) to make an "iris".  Paint the iris, then put one drop of the gel in it, allowing the surface tension to keep it rounded, like an eye lens.  Cure in the sun for about 15 minutes. Then either add another drop, smear it around and recure, or use another clear product to finish "glossing" the rest of the eye.  I've been using a Mod-Podge clear stuff for eyes so far...I'll try several ways to finish.

I still need to work with this a little, since I did my process a little bass-ackward (sculpted doll head and eyes, then added gel), but it seems like it's gonna work!  Pictures soon...