Cassie was pleased with the goodies for PNW BJD Expo. It’s always reassuring to receive feedback. I actually pulled out the Blythe dolls and got some ready for sculpting. I have a few dolls I want to try and dye and they’re ready to go. It has to be done outside, so I’m waiting for the rain to stop😂. And my papier mâché sculpture, formerly Squire Urple, is ready for light sanding and then “paint”.
My Kestner had to have her paint redone. It just wasn’t right, making it another learning experience. So, I have a white layer done and I’m thinking about trying pastels for color matching.
Squire Urple is pictured below. Have a spectacular week!
Faerie wands et all
I finished uploading the last of the Window decorating pictures today! YAY! Next week I’ll continue uploading to the Gallery with Costumes. There are many other catagories that will be added as I proceed. A note on the Window Dressing, that was the most difficult subject to photograph because of the glass, so I apologize for the times when it was blurry. It always had to be photographed after closing up the shop, during the day you couldn’t get the camera to focus past the reflections on the glass. 😁This last weekend I finished up my goodies for the PNW BJD Expo Luncheon and shipped them out on Monday. That was fun! I’ll be including similar items in packages when I ship items out, as well. I also recieved my eco-friendly mailing envelopes, no more plastic envelopes for me, unless I’m reusing something I’ve recieved. The wands I made will also be upgraded with metal spheres instead of plastic stars and silk ribbons instead of polyester when I make my next batch. I was working with what I could get in a short span of time, but I really think the upgrades are more in line with where I want to be as a creator.
Ironically, maybe, I’m hoping to get back on sculpting Blythe dolls in the next month. I know, plastic dolls, sigh. Eventually I’ll address that, but not today.
Have a wonderful week!
Am I ready for Halloween?
The new schedule is definitly helping. As you can see, I’ve been blogging more regularly and it’s helped with the sculpting too. I need to leave things to dry frequently and by scheduling sculpting on certain days, it keeps me from forgetting to return to the work, so that it continues to progress. I’m also better about not wandering off when I have a set task.
I haven’t been very good about getting very much done for Halloween, but I’m going to let myself be ok with that. We do have Halloween doll costumes in the shop and the patterns are still there and I have a wig I’m trying to finish for myself. Not too bad on the accomplishment meter.
I’m also trying to get some things done for the PNW BJD Expo luncheon goody bags. I’m cutting that too close for comfort, so fingers crossed.
Have a great week!
Pumpkins
In deciding to try and make moulds for creating repeatable paperclay pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns, as I mentioned last week, I’ve got to learn about mould making. Fortunately, I have a book, LOL! I made a lid and a leaf for the pumpkin container today, as well as getting the jack-o-lantern carved and sanded. So, everything is ready for whatever finish needs to be applied and then moulds poured. I guess I’ll be spending some time reading tomorrow.
This time of year has become more difficult for us, as to energy levels available. I assume the tempatures dropping and the use of the wood stove have something to do with it. But whatever the reason, we are all dragging around here. Still moving, but really slow. It makes getting projects completed more challenging, while my brain is in overdrive with ideas for projects that I want to do. LOL Hopefully, I can hang on to the good ideas and go ahead and do them, even if the season has passed. I’m beginning to think that’s my best choice for getting things ready for seasonal release dates. So, there will probably be out of season progress shares as a result.
Josephine is taking on the sewing projects for the bjd clothing, which is awesome! If there is something you’d like, let us know. I still make the patterns and do the designs, while she’s doing production.
Have a wonderful week!
Tech Troubles and progress report
Social Media took a hit Monday and nothing was working. It seems that some of that tech trouble has leaked into my computer, as everything I’ve attempted today has gone slowly or not at all.
On a brighter note, my glassine arrived for my little jack-o-lantern and it worked perfectly. So, I need to finish up the two pumpkins that I plan to use for making moulds. I doubt I’ll get everything ready for production this season, but it should have all the bugs worked out for next halloween season. I also plan to make a walnut shell the same way, and that has a wider application.
I’ve also started a catalog of my dolls for my heirs, so that they can make sense out of the chaos that is my collection.
And I’ve returned to working on the HighRise*. The Blythe floor has lighting and I’ve begun the additional furniture needed to decorate properly.
My Kestner restoration project is just waiting on my attention, the leather arrived for her body and I’ve stretched it out.
*The HighRise is a cabinet that I’m outfitting for photographing my doll stories, seen on FaceBook in my albums.
Late September musings
I have started scheduling myself more strigently. I’m hoping the end result will be beneficial to keeping this site more regularly updated. 😄
I’ve been trying to get back into sculpting. I started with some Blythe dolls and I’ve repaired a porcelain doll. but I really want to be doing more original work, either in wood or clay or both. A space where I could leave things set up would be awesome, but as that’s not likely anytime soon, I’ll be scheduling a sculpt day. I currently have a tech day on Tuesdays that has really helped my focus shift, so that I’m not completely ignoring the tech stuff that needs to happen. Eventually I’ll have a gallery here of my past work, because I like museums and galleries are personal museums.😄
I also have a personal goal to get at least one book illustrated and published. It has been suggested that I start a YouTube channel where I read stories and then I could use that platform to introduce my own stories for additional exposure. The world of social media is in constant flux. I’m not even sure people read blogs anymore and the current hot ticket is TikTok. I know I’m not the only one finding it all to be a little overwhelming. So, I’ll keep plugging along and hopefully the right audience will find me where I’m at, because if I start chasing the latest, it’s guaranteed, I’ll never get anywhere as everything will be left unfinished.
Have a beautiful day!
May 28, 2021
I have finally finished updating the business name on all the patterns!! Whoo Hoo!! I’ll continue to work on the handwritten patterns, updating them to a neater appearance. But I don’t feel it’s as imperative. 🙂
I am looking forward to a new doll making journey and hopefully sharing that here.
Re-branding
I’m working on re-branding my shop with a name change. It means a lot of work with the logo and all. But hopefully I can breeze through the process.😆 Sewing hasn’t been going smoothly, so maybe I need the change in focus. Wish me luck
My How Time Flies
I can’t believe it’s July! Where does the time go? I have been very busy. I’m starting to list physical items for sale in addition to the digital patterns. It’s a challenge to figure out where to stash it all safely.😆 This little felt baby, (sewn, not needle felted), is now for sale. It is 1/12th scale, comes with the bottle and flower bassinet for your own little Thumbalina. I’m also working on some mini games for photo props and I’m designing one that can actually be played. I also would like to make mini board books using my stories. And the patterns are still getting attention. Go visit my Etsy shop for what’s available now. And… 😃 Have a wonderful day! 😃
Hello Again
A lot has happened since January. New dolls, new patterns and I’m making headway on updating the old patterns. We’ve added PukiFee, Luts Delf tiny, Charles Creature Cabinet and our own Faerie Children to our doll collection. There are mori patterns, (dress, boots, sweater and hats) for the little ones and a new PukiPuki outfit as well as finishing the Faerie Child pattern. The quarantine hasn’t changed much for us at home. It does affect business, so remember to support small businesses. I’m going to continue plugging away at the re-dos and I want to add some more fairy centric outfits to the pattern collection. Stay safe.
RealPuki Pattern Update
I’ve been working to update my first patterns so that they match the quality and look of later patterns. The first one is almost done, Hubby is working on the actual pattern pieces in photoshop, and I’ve got the instructions ready to go. I like my new color scheme and I think it will unify my shop. I’ve also made progress on a new PukiPuki pattern and I should be able to get that put together really soon.
DIY FYI
We’ve been repairing a house that, had certain details been attended to, the repairs would be unnecessary. So, I figured if it helps one person avoid future repair heartache, this post would be worth it.
The first photo illustrates what rodents can do to an area of rot. After pulling off the “siding”,(which is actually sheathing), the area exposed in the second photo was insufficient to being able to remove all the rot on the top plate. The third shows a little more of that corner. The mistakes made here at the building stage were, to begin with, not covering the top edge of the foundation with sheathing and siding. Concrete will decay when it’s top edges are exposed to the elements. In addition to not being covered, this house had gutters without downspouts resulting in a torential down pour at the corners every time it rained. The surrounding soil does not slope away from the house, either. (but this could be partially a result of the deluge during rain) The earth on the other side of the house actually slopes toward the house, indicating that there wasn’t any effort made to landscape properly around the foundation. The house was sheathed but not sided, this is something that is often done to cut costs and it’s not a horrible idea, but you are creating a need for higher maintenance in your future. Like: what are you going to do to keep the water/wind from entering those seams and those seams are going to be more susceptable to vermin and rot. Another thing that could have been done on these corners was to install 1×4 trim. It’s easier to replace when it starts to rot and it protects the exposed edges of the plywood. The followin pictures show more dramatically what was removed and how much damage was done to the foundation. We will be patching the concrete, but I’m not sure it will hold up as well as the foundation would have, had it been protected.
No matter what corners you cut to make building your home more affordable, remember to keep an eye on the exterior. Watch out for potential wear and rot, poke it with a screwdriver to make sure it’s still solid and remember you can install sacraficial trim if you keep an eye on it and replace as necessary.
Personal Health
I haven’t been working on much of anything, but the house right now. I’ve started a program that looks really hopeful for reversing EI and MCS. I started out giving it my full attention and then discovered that I was being distracted by “everything” and I needed to refocus if I was going to give this program a proper chance. So, I may need to wait to get those patterns finished. Health first, work second. Oddly enough, that’s not an easy lesson for me. I leave you with a UK flashback. Enjoy your day!
Mori Girl Update
Patterns for the dress, boots and a knitted sweater have all been made available through Etsy as individual patterns. I’m also running a sale, that I will probable keep going in some form or other, providing a discount for multiple pattern purchases.
I have the doll pattern design where I want it, photos need to be taken, and the large brim hat just needs to be written up.
Mori girl
We’ve been working on a pattern for this Mori outfit and we keep coming up with more items that we want to add. It’s beginning to feel like it isn’t going to come to an end. :/ But that’s ok, really. More is better, right?
I want to get back to the PukiPuki patterns and the doll of the same scale, but I felt my RealPuki customers deserved something new. 🙂
So, we’re off to make and document a few more pieces.
Subject unknown
Found this pic on here, for those who don’t know, my son is my web site creator and host. He just updated the photo editing and left this jewel behind.