Sophia

This was one of my first art dolls I made. In retrospect I would never have started out with a smaller doll like this. She measures 15" from top of her head to her toes. I spent hours and hours on her trying to turn all her tiny little body parts and stuff them. Once I got all that fun stuff done (no pun intended) The rest of her was a pleasure to work with. This is her, hanging out in my studio patiently waiting for me to share her with the world.

Unless I have a commissioned doll that someone is specific about details, I usually let the doll decide what her personality will be. By doing this it keeps the process of creating them fun and exciting for me since each finished doll is a new surprise. Usually by the time I create her face I am getting a pretty good idea where to go with her but sometimes they keep me guessing right up until I am almost finished. Iv'e had several dolls that I've thought, Ugh, this is hideous, it's going to end up disassembled for parts later. Only to have her turn out really cute and sell quickly. Sophia was a bit of a surprise for me. Her face has a certain mystique to it, I think her eyes are full of wisdom and her smile reminds me so much of Mona Lisa's smile, mysterious like she has many secrets. I expected her to be high fashion in her clothing but she seemed to demand bright, bold colors so that's what I gave her. her limbs are long and slender and with her coloring she reminds me of a performer in a classy Vegas show or a trapeze artist.

Introducing Jewell

I have named this doll "Jewell" she reminds me a bit of a gypsy with her bright colored clothing. I have listed her on  my Etsy shop. Jewell by Treenickel  I used my light box to photograph her and her photos turned out great. She was so much fun to create. I really enjoyed all the sumptuous fabrics I ended up using. She has such a sparkly personality you can really sense it through her expression and the bright colors she ended up wearing. I ended up changing her skirt 3 different times before she was finally satisfied with my choice. It has every color imaginable in it.

Isn't it weird how cameras will pick up things that you don't notice with your naked eye? I had to go back and look at her to figure out what the little line on her back was. It was a small crease in the gold mesh fabric that I could barely see. I was able to lightly touch it up with the tip of my iron and now it isn't there at all.

The hair I tried to use from my Mohair stash didn't suit her, it seemed too sedate for her personality. I had several different ribbons laying in a pile next to her while I was working on her and they practically shouted to be used as hair.  I stitched them all loopy into a long strip then sewed the strip around her head and added some wire with beads for accents to finish it off. She was quite pleased with her hair. So am I.

 I was stumped for quite a while on what type of footwear to use for her. I ended up making my own fabric for her slippers from bits of leftover material, yarns and ribbons that I used in the rest of her outfit. I knew I couldn't go wrong with colors that were already in use on her. I had a blast making the slippers although they were pretty time consuming. I think I spent about 4 hours on the slippers alone.

The doll body is from a Patti Culea pattern and her purple pantaloons with scallops are from a Barbara Willis pattern. The scallops look nice but wow! They were really a pain to make using satin and dupioni silk. I might do them again sometime using cotton fabric but not slippery, argghhh.

Official Rooster Photo

I did quick snapshots of the roosters at first just to get them up. Ugh, not so nice of pictures! I have a wonderful Canon Rebel T3i that my husband gave me as a Christmas present. I LOVE this camera but between you and me, it scares me. I have been using it in auto mode since all the other settings are really intimidating. After looking at the photos I put up of my roosters though, I realized it's time to  figure out all the neat things this camera really can do. I broke down and purchased  Canon-Rebel-T3i for Dummies" and have been playing with my camera and trying to improve my photos. I'm seeing huge improvements already. My husband noticed I've been playing with the camera lately and commented that he thought I didn't like it since I hadn't really used it.  Awww, now I feel bad since he really did put a lot of thought (and money) into it as a gift. I assured him that I really do love it and plan to become friends with it. 



MoJo Rooster

 I also took  pictures of my dolls so I can put a few of them in my Etsy shop. They turned out much better than the rooster pictures since I was able to use a light box for them. Mr. MoJo was just too big to fit in it. I made the light box myself so it looks somewhat like a failed kindergarten project, but amazingly it did work! I found the plans for it online. It looked so simple to make, I thought "How hard could it be, you cut holes in a cardboard box, a little tissue paper...."  Ha Ha, honestly I think my dolls are easier to make than that darn light box.

My Mojo Roosters

Don't you just love his pimped out tail feathers and his collar! I had so much fun making these guys.

He just looked like he needed to kick back with a coke and relax a little.

These guys are from an Elinor Peace Bailey pattern I have had for years but never gottten around to making. They were so much fun and a big change from what I usually do, I'm going to have to make some more in different colors. I'm thinking a little non traditional like some blues and greens...hmmm the sky's the limit.

Welcome to my Blog!

I hope you all bear with me as I learn my way around here. My blog may look rough at first but I promise to try to keep up on it as I create my new dolls and post them. If anyone has any suggestions I'm totally open to positive comments or constructive criticism! I've started this to appease all of my friends and family who don't get sent pictures of my creations as often as they would like to. Here's to you guys!