Project: Doll body

Esther

Gaah, did not really know what I was thinking when the idea of making a jointed body for my Narsha (Esther) head entered my mind. I bought some nice clay and searched for my tools, so that I could work with it. This was a great plan, until it was time to start.

I searched the world wide web for tips and tricks, almost loosing my mind. For a while the clay and the tools lived in a bag, in total darkness. I felt that I was not ready at all. But, we have a saying: ”Ta tjuren i hornen” - take the bull by its horns. It really means that you take on a problem, and just make it work. Even if you do not want. Even I wanted to…such a dilemma.

It was a fun project, when I started. The clay was nice to work with and even with the struggle of making hands and feet, I enjoyed it and have plans to make a new and improved one later on. This was a learning trip. When it comes to the body, I made an upper torso, lower arms, legs from the knee and down. The joints is made by tree pearls. The lower torso, upper arms and legs above knee I made in fabric and filled those with rice, mostly the lower torso - for steadiness. I could not manage to make a lower torso with the clay, for some reason. It was hard to get the thighs to match the joints, so I gave up and will try again next time.

I painted the dried clay in a skin color with acrylic paint. Made some freckles too. Painted the feet, well more shoes, in pink and brown, stringed the body, put the head in place and thought ”oh my” and laughed. Made some clothes and pimped them with pearls and other tiny things.

The wig is made in yarn, glued on a head cap that I made from thin socks (nylon). Worked nicely, but turned out too thick. Another lesson learned. The eyes are tiny pearls, painted in brown acrylics. Now Esther has a body. A bit funny looking one, but anyway…she is all made from recycled materials when it comes to the fabric parts of the body, clothes and hair.

Some of the photos are a bit blurry. These photos I took just to send to my hubby, so he could see the progress. The photos are taken during late evenings and with no thought of making the best of it. But these are the ones I had, because of crashing phones and photos lost...Wanted to share them with you, even if blurry.

Enjoy the weekend ahead!

Continue Reading...

Pumpkin and the Piggies

It was just an ordinary day before Halloween at the Piggies home. The colder days had arrived and there was some chilly winds blowing over the fields around their home. The city lights gave the sky a different color and in the silence of the countryside you could hear the noises from the life in the city. On this day Mrs Piggie came home from the market and had something along. Mr Piggie did not like this huge thing with a face. He was scared. So scared, that he did not realize that Mrs Piggie had a t-shirt with a pumpkin on.

Like the pig he is, he let his voice do the saying. This loud squeal, a high-pitched whine, could wake  the whole neighborhood up. Mrs Piggie wanted Mr Piggie to calm down and just start to decorate and change some small things in the room.

After a while, when Mr Piggie had acquainted with the pumpkin, he helped Mrs Piggie to decorate and move around some of the furniture. He did not know why, but hoped it would be good in the end.

Later in the evening they both sat in the living room. The radio was playing some soft songs and the festive sounds from the city slowly lingered over the fields. They talked about Halloween and their thoughts about this holiday. There were other things more fun - like eating candy! It was then Mr Piggie pointed at the t-shirt that Mrs Piggie had on and said: "Do not know which pumpkin is scarier!" He laughed and went to pick up some candy.

The late evening turned into a late night for the Piggies, with candy, talking and soft songs.

Happy Halloween!

Continue Reading...

Some toys

Inspired by several of you and the toys you have, I thought that I could share some of mine with you. The last week at the cottage, I tried to pick the best day between rain, hard wind and a bit better weather (that is the totally gray day) to take some photos. These are just a tiny bit of the ones I have and I hope that I can share some more later on, because it was very fun to 'dust' these toys and think about the memories around them. 

So here goes!

These three are called "Mucklor" and they are tiny characters from the Swedish children's book about Pettson and his cat Findus. Pettson is an old farmer, who lives in a small ramshackle farmhouse in the countryside. The first book came in 1984. These tiny characters can only been seen by the cat. I bought these at a store in Kalmar on one of the trips we made there several years ago.

A giraffe and some boats.

My little toy corner, with some tiny treasures found by me on our trips during summer or left by mother in law from her trips. Then you can see some photos of my hubby and the kids. The picture with the teddy and balloons I bought from a local artist where I live. The picture under that one is a cross stitch done by me. 

This is Diddlina, a friend to Diddl. She is a jumping mouse and live in a Cheese cave under the flower meadow. This character is created by the German artist Thomas Goletz. This cute one I bought along three different pens. She holds an emerald colored birthstone (May) and I thought she was cute, even if no one is born that month in my family. But I do like green, so that is probably why she came home with me.

This doll is a bit of mystery. But I know that she is one of the toys I have been very careful with and treasured a lot. I have had her a very long time and she may have come to me through my grandmother's cousin who travelled a lot. She was a lot in Russia, the Baltic states and the Mediterranean. She always brought something along. 

This is a Forever Friends Teddy. He was a piece in my key chain when I went to school in the early years. He is a bit worn and the keys and chain is long gone, replaced with new keys and chains. The teddy stands under a lamp at the cottage and have been standing there since the middle of the 90's.

Bought these three on a trip during three summers, in an old fashioned toy store. The clown is the latest one. If you press underneath they fall down and look totally limp.

Moomin (The Snork) and some 'Hattifnattar' (the ghostlike creatures, Hattifattener in English). These I got from chocolate eggs as a surprise.
And some pebbles, marbles and treasures from nature.

Piggies, cute and pinkish!

And finally we have some L.O.L Dolls. Such fun dolls. Bought these at a grocery store nearby our cottage. Could not resist.

So, these are some of the toys I have just for fun. These are not in the most perfect condition, but that is not the most important thing. The most important thing is that these fit in a pocket or a bag, I can carry them around and have fun.

Enjoy your weekend! I am off to visit your blogs!

Continue Reading...

Polly's new you

I know that I said that I will not do this, but I did it anyway. Gave Polly a new face and a new hair.

Did it the usual way - making wefts, gluing, waiting and gluing again. I watched several videos, like this one, for an example. I did not have a hair straightener, but I used a thin towel, put the hair in between and pressed with an iron (medium hot) as I slowly pulled the yarn between the towel. The same result. It is so soft and you can style it just with your fingers, but… This red wig is really red and at times it is hard to take photos, because it reflects and does crazy things in different lights. It has been darker outdoors too, with the heavy rain, thunderstorms and cloudy weather. And hubby's smart phone, that he has at work, is so much better handling all these stuff than my older phone.

She still has her cute dress and she will keep it, but I made her a hat out of paper. The bow she had, just did not work anymore. Her face is really tiny, so it was a bit difficult to keep my hands steady and then I had trouble keeping the pens sharp enough. But I am rather pleased with the results, though. 

She is a tiny little cutie. Here comes some photos.

"So much fluffy hair, love it!"

Chilling a bit.

"Hey, what is in my hair?"

"You listen now! I am a Princess, with a capital P!"

Wish you all a lovely week
and
an even lovelier weekend ahead!

Continue Reading...

A very simple comparison

In June I wrote a bit about my Mokashura Duyou, telling you about the heavy head and the difficult joints. Musume commented that she was curious to see how this doll looks compared to other dolls. So I took some quick photos outdoors at the cottage and here you can see the differences. 

Some measurements. I have Noomi, Zipporah, a Monster High doll, a 11 cm (4.33 inch) Obitsu body and a ruler, that is exactly 17,7 cm. That is 6.968503937 inches. Just for fun. Zipporah is a Dollmore Narsha, 35 cm. The Monster High doll is approximately 10.5 inch (27cm) tall.

Noomi feels huge compared to the headless Obitsu body.

Noomi was hard to put in this pose, especially with the legs. A mobility type of thighs would have been great.

Noomi's arm do pose very well and she can touch her face, head and have her hands on her waist, but from time to time these arms do as they wish. Pop. I but her arm straight, but she just did not want to do that. Probably a question of stringing.

Zipporah's and Noomi's head-caps. The difference is huge.
Noomi has wigs that are 13 inch and my two Narsha's have 7 inch wigs. 

Headless Obitsu body sitting on a mountain....erhm, on Noomi's head-cap.

Zipporah and Noomi, and their happy faces.

Well, that was for today. A very simple comparison. Hope that it gave you a better picture of the sizes. Noomi really is a baby doll sized cutie.

Enjoy the rest of the week!

Continue Reading...

Mystery Blogger Award!

Well, I am alive but have not had so much dolly time that I hoped for this summer. But there have been a lot of time for other things like books, painting, walks in the forest, swimming in the lake (almost lived there, because it was so so so hot), spending time with family and relatives and a visitor from Portugal. She is a friend to my oldest daughter and they met through social media and have daily contact. She stayed with us for a bit over a week. So much fun.

And now to this post’s topic - an award. I was nominated by Alasse Carnesir, thank you so very much. She is a friendly doll collector with beautiful dolls, wonderful stories and great tips and tricks. You can read her Mystery Blogger Award here.

The Award was created by Okoto Enigma, take a peek there for the specific post about this award.

On to the rules!

Obligatory Rules for the Award Meme:

1. Put the award logo/image on your blog.

2. List the rules.

3. Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog.

4. Mention the creator of the award and provide a link as well.

5. Tell your readers three things about yourself.

6. You have to nominate 10-20 people.

7. Notify your nominees by commenting on their blog.

8. Ask your nominees any five questions of your choice; with one weird or funny question (specify).

9. Share a link to your best post(s).

Three things about myself:

1. I do love books. I just become a part of the book I read and feel totally empty when the book ends. There are so many books and so little time is one of the thoughts that go around my head. So finding the pleasure to audio books have made me happy. Listening to a soothing voice telling a story is just amazing. And I can paint at the same time.

2. People make me nervous and at the same time I want to socialize with others, because it is a joy to talk, hear the latest and be a part in others life. This is something new to me, so I do not know how to handle it. Too many makes me anxious and I get so tired afterwards. But being social is something I want.

3. When I was a kid, I used to stand between the Finnish and Russian border to see how the guards changed posts and shifts. Sometimes alone and sometimes holding my grandmother’s or grandfather’s hand. My dad’s parents lived very near the border, so it was something exciting for me.

Five questions from Alasse:

1. The doll that started it all?

2. How many years have you been collecting?

3. Your tallest doll's favourite colour?

4. Thoughts on social media?

5. To be or not to be?

My answers:

1. The doll that started it all, was a picture in a doll magazine. Maybe two pictures. The first one was a tiny photo with a Dollmore Narsha, Basic Doll, with black hair and brown eyes, light skin color and cute clothes. I still remember the picture. The other is more blurry, but it was a larger doll with Kawaii inspired pink clothes, sitting on a rock, in the forest. Do not remember the brand, the maker or where to get the doll. 

2. My first doll was ordered in January 2011, after several years of thinking, surfing, checking, comparing and finally landing on the doll I saw the first time. A Dollmore Narsha, sleepy one. So I have been collecting since then.

3. My tallest doll is a Dollmore Mokashura Duyou. She's a bit over 40 cm and likes the color blue and green.

4. Social media, a scourge. When the social media came, it was so much fun and I wanted to be everywhere, talking, connecting, blogging and making new friends. Today I am more and more planning to skip some, deleting accounts and just staying one or two places. At this moment Instagram and blogger. Need to focus. Twitter has become a battlefield for the elite and the daily tweeters that just use the platform for connecting with friends and family. You are nothing if you do not have a lot of followers. This is happening here in Sweden, so I do not know how it is in other countries. 

5. Ah, Hamlet. I do love Shakespeare - have read some books about him and are a member in an association! And to be or not to be, it is really the question. Poor Prince Hamlet, thinking about the pain of life and the fear of what happens after death. It is a dilemma. Life can be harsh and things do happen - both sad and joyous. But that is just the thing - life is about sad and happy things, events and plans, love and pain and all those things. We all, probably, think about the meaning of life, not just Hamlet. Life can not be just up beat, fun and happy things. It needs even the opposite things, even if it is painful - it is inevitable. These things make you stronger (if it does not kill you, it makes you stronger…) and I do pick to be. 

I follow several blogs, new and old, some more active than others. But I will never come up to so many nominees, but shame on me for not trying at least. So I nominate these and hope for the best.

A Little Book of Bluefairies

Daggry Saga

Resin Wonderland

DreamcatcherBJD

Sharon in Spain

The Barbie Blog

My questions for the nominees are:

1. Which doll do you regret buying?

2. What moment in your life would you love to experience again?

3. Coffee or Tea? Why?

4. What will people be nostalgic about in say 30 years, do you think?

5. The most embarrassing clothes you have worn?

The blogpost. Well. I have been blogging about dolls since and it would be easy to take the first entry, just because it started a new kind of era for me. I met new kind people in the hobby, made connections and learned from them. It made me search for other bloggers and take a leap of faith to connect. But I also like this post, A Day at Wämöparken, because I took the step forward and photographed dolls outdoors among people, not minding their thoughts. But I do like taking a nice walk down The Memory Lane too. Old photos of ones dolls is a joy to see.

Hope you enjoyed reading this and if you are tagged I hope to read your contribution! Happy August!

Continue Reading...