Faerie Enchantment

Timeless Doll Inspiration
I am a doll lover, for as long as I can remember, always making doll clothes and accessories for my various dolls as a child from my barbies to sea wees, to handmade ones and paper dolls, I tried to make things for them that I could never find in the stores, that's where imagination comes in.

As I started to grow up, I never lost my fascination with dolls and still hold onto my old collections, which continue to bring me back to not only my childhood and memories but opens my mind to where the vintage dolls I have come from, who held them, played with them and cherished them.

Threre are so many wonderful artists throughout the world who continue the tradition of handmade dolls, so beautiful, and One of a Kind, that new stories can be told throught their creations. Many of us try to replicate what we see on our travels, at shows, from artists, friends and illustration, trying to create what we see in our minds, in our imagination.

I currently create my own Charlotte/Penny/Bisque Dolls through my own molds, and handmade clay which dries just like paper clay but with a more bisque finish. The carnival and celluloid dolls I make are from broken or much needed repaired dolls, which I restore and bring to life, modern doll bases can be bought in craft stores and can have similar looks, through aging and various distess techniques. Isn't it funny I used to buy new dolls, new items, in perfect condition, now I prefer broken, stained, grungy and discarded items now. LOL!

Much can be said about the early artisans from their cloth dolls, illustrated dolls, their paper dolls, beeswax dolls, wood dolls and bisque. Many of their ideas and traditions are what we adapt our versions too, elaborating on their techniques in order to create their world for ourselves. Currently I am working on some new doll creations and started skimming through a great book I have called: The Ultimate Doll Book by DK Publishing, this book is a great resource for doll artists and doll lovers, it showcases examples of every style doll with facts, and stories, its wonderful to look at the elaborate details of some and the simplicity of others.

Here are some fab pages I scanned from the book:

The pages above show great examples of tea doll cozies fit for the most elaborate tea soiree, doll head/bodice wands, perfect for recycling those half doll pieces, and powder puff/box dolls, what a great way to turn a paper mache box into a doll. For the instructions on how to make your own Doll Head wands visit http://spellbinderscuriosities.blogspot.com/
Poured Wax dolls, are amazing, have you tried making one with beeswax and molds, timeless. I first made my version of these dolls 2 years ago, and finally perfected them now, for the project instructions on how to make your own: Vintage Beeswax Dollies visit my technique, tutorial and project blog at: http://spellbinderscuriosities.blogspot.com/
Printed Cloth Dolls are still amazing today as they were years ago. I have a few vintage cloth dolls given to me when I was a child around 9 or 10 years old. Those dolls have inspired me along with new ones in my collection to create a project in my new book: Altered Art Circus called: Trixie The Pixie, for instructions on how to make a variation of cloth dolls using parcel paper/paper bag, visit the project in my book at your local book,craft store.