The Spirit Bear

Yesterday was doom day, the day I went for my root canal. It went well and I'm in less discomfort than what I thought I'd be. I have another appointment to return in 30 days. Seems the dentist thinks he may of missed a concealed root and to find it, he did a bit of gum surgery. He pushed a apparatus through the abscessed pocket (something like a wire) and took another x-ray. Oay vey.
How do you cheer yourself up with things like that? Well, I came home and went to bed, Madame had dance and Babe had driver's ed, my only interruption was the phone which I promptly ignored. My weakness in moods like this is Teddy Bears, nothing is hugable and snugable or just plain squeezable than a sweet teddy with the innocent quality of a 5 year old. Soooo, knowing I just purchased a piece of short napped white wool fur I searched the Internet for a good polar bear pattern. I have a cute pattern with a short hump and long nose, I would have to enlarge it in order to make a grabable bear and I may do that.
In my search though.....I found a bear called "The Spirit Bear", what a wonderful name! The true identity of this marvelous creature is "Kermode", they are brown bears with a white coat, not albino though, a member of the regular bear club found on islands off upper Canada, 1 in 10 are white. The main diet is salmon which causes a yellowish overcoat.
The spirit bear is rarer than the panda bear and if the brown bears were to be introduced to the several islands that the Kermode bear occupies, the spirit bear would reach an ultimate demise. Two Kermode bear parents will produce offspring's as white, one to four in a litter, usual as the brown bear and they remain with the parents for the first two years of life just as the brown bears do. A mother brown bear could have a white bear providing she carries the recessive gene, the above photo is a mother with her cub. Aww. It is said that the legend of the spirit bear, or ghost bear is due to a reminder of the glaciers and coldness that once laid on our land. I only know they are very beautiful creatures and very different from the polar bear.

Click on the spirit bear to see a video.

I managed to find a wonderful site that is devoted to the teddy bear, it has everything and is a magazine/club called the Teddy Bear International. Click on free teddy bear for at least 60 free bear patterns. There are so many cute patterns it would be hard for me to decide which one to make first.

Off to la-la land. C&G Design

Felt Doll-part 2

I'm well on my way to finishing up all the undone (such a word?) doll projects and this one I can definitely cross off the list. Believe it or not but this felt dress is one piece. Because I didn't have to spend to much time on the dress itself, I could add details similar to the Lenci dolls, flowers and strips were a first with checks bringing up second place. Initially I was going to place the flowers on the blue in-between the strips but I thought they look better this way.

For my first complete felt doll structure, she's not too shabby!

The camera brightens the pale purple of the flowers so it is hard to gather the full effect of how the felt works together.

The back of her hair is just as adorable, this was only my second wig ever, it is a self sustaining hair piece created by applying glue on top a egg shaped wooden ball, course the wooden ball has saran wrap taped to it. You stick your hair pieces in the glue and once the whole thing dries the basic step left is.....you guessed it! Peeling away the saran wrap. Make sure your doll body is already made because the wig is very brittle and needs to been applied soon, additional glue will be needed.

Once my wig was placed and dried I fashioned the curls with my fingers and used bobby pins to secure them. The crown of the head has a circular braid with pearl beads woven through it.

I call her "Miss Forget-Me-Not". C&G Design

A Give-a-way!

My Raggedy Dolls is having a wonderful give-a-way just in time for Christmas! Julie is giving a way 7 raggedies in 7 weeks before Santa's visit! This is doll # 2 and the lucky winner of this one is to be drawn today, I hope it's me! Beloved Belindy, (Raggedy Ann and Andy's nanny) was the first doll to be given away and that was last Wednesday. Five other cuties will be given away each RAGGEDY Wednesday until Christmas, all you have to do is comment and the best thing?! You only have to comment once! She will roll over the names to each give-a-way!

Click here to see Julie's blog and pay here a visit. C&G Design

My Lenci Type Doll, part 1

I don't know much about Lenci dolls except they are commanding large premiums and they are beautiful. The doll and clothing are constructed from felt and many "excellent" shaped dolls have moth holes although many that are pin hole sized. Lenci was started by a husband and wife team in Italy. The dolls faces were molded over a hard surfaced doll head and added to a felt body. The doll isn't the "make" of it's popularity, it is the clothing, the felt was of the finest wool n Italy and most all models of dolls had detailed flowers, checks, stripe and so on. A lot of dolls came with matching hats. I believe the company was around the turn of the century.

The mother of this patented doll made many different kinds and also made many ceramic figurines, however, the doll is distinguished by a side way glance, the middle finger and ring finger are stitched together and Lenci had a marking tag/stamp for the bottom of the left foot.

I can't remember when I molded this doll....I'm thinking 2000 because it was shortly after my daughter was born, I apparently forgot to sign and date her. Duh..I've made every bit of her including her wig but I'll save that for some other time.

I laid a glue soaked piece of felt over a plastic face of a doll and I baked it on a low temp, not very techno creative but it worked! Anyway, I stitched her to a simple round headed doll I had sewn just for the face. If I remember right the face took quite some time and was difficult, I had to use a awl and take many respite periods from stitching so I could allow my hands to rest.

My intention was to create a free standing doll and she does, only don't walk by her because she will nose dive straight onto her face.

I had a silly little cotton patchwork dress on her which I just threw on, it wasn't becoming.

Time for a change. C&G Design

New shelves

I am still unpacking my craft room and I can not believe some of the things I've been finding, it's like Christmas! Anyway, you guessed it.....more lost dolls found. I pestered hubs make me my floating shelves. It wasn't easy as he wanted to build a frame then line with balsam wood. Not! That is too much work for what I want!

A simple purchase of two 12 inch bi-fold doors, sawed in half and slipped over the cleat nailed to the wall.

Done! Hour and a half tops. Don't tell Madame but these plastic boxes are for beanie babies. Shhhh. C&G Design

Purchased Vintage Patterns

I'm excited I've found a vendor on EBay that sells vintage patterns, she has 600 patterns up for offer and I sat through looking at everyone of them! Three faced doll. Mostly what you see from my first purchase is recognisable dolls, one pattern is a baby crawling, this one is Kewpie! I've never seen a cloth Kewpie and I'm anxious to see how all the little details are done. And who doesn't know Humpty Dumpty, the only difference is the pattern is large enough to make it a pajama bag. It reads the pattern can be a large doll though, either way....I was getting this one! Wouldn't he look great painted and varnished?

I purchased the crawling baby because I'm intrigued about the steadiness of the arms and legs, chances are the fabric needs to be cut on the bias, diagonally to the weave.

And the boudoir clothing pattern! Now you can see what my doll will be wearing! (the little items are a hat and garter)

Beloved Belindy, Raggedy Ann and Andy's nanny.

Visit MJ Vintage Patterns. C&G Design

Pink Saturday Sockhop

I know last year at this time I photographed madame's pink poodle skirt for Pink Saturday. I didn't get a chance to show her because she went to the school sock hop with a friend. This friend always has her birthday party to be part of going to the sock hop as a group. This year the group has decided to go to the movies, so....I got to attend the sock hop. Sorry for the darkness, I'm finding with this camera, it's better to turn the flash off while in the gym, consequently the shutter speed is slower so the movement blurs.

This is madame's last sock hop as she will be in middle school next year, isn't her skirt cute?

She tells me her "peace" is her signature. Siggnaturre!?!

Join Beverly for more pink ladies. C&G Design