Crystal Drop

Yuck! Yuck! I thought I was saving the best for last but oh contra're, this one was terrible to do!

At first, when I place the pearl head pin on the top of the ornament, I thought I'd have to snip the nipple off this decorative hard cap. That's what I did, satisfied with that I looked farther. What!? It have pearl beads with straight pins on every cascade! Does the pattern say: additional needs......."needle nose pliers" to use so you won't KILL your fingers!

No, but certainly that's what I did, much to my distress at bending many pins.

Done. Thank gosh I only have one of these. C&G Design

Winter Serenade

I really like these, these are what I think of when someone mentioned a ornament made from styrofoam and straight pins. These also have sequins, lots of sparkle and shine.

The hardest part about it was pinning the ribbon and rick-rack on so there were equal pie parts, try holding down 8 loose ends while you grab for a pin!

The pie spaces are filled in with the sequins and then outlined with pearl beads. It looks like a sea urchin to me.

There were two ornaments in this kit each using 400 pins but they are very pretty, repeating prism light spots on my hand as I turn them over and over.

C&G Design

Pink Saturday

It's Pink Saturday and I'm showing this lovely plant, I call it firetail. I have already done a pink Saturday post on it but that was last fall, these photos were taken yesterday.

I am so proud of myself because this is one of those gorgeous plants that I manage to kill in one year and here we are on the second blooms for the second year!

Now I know that the spring brings a hope for new growth but has the firetails at it's die back. This year I think I'll take advantage of that and re pot it into two plants. If anyone else knows anything on this plant the information would be greatly appreciated.

Join us at How Sweet the Sound. C&G Design

Ornament Kits

Sometimes I get going on sewing and crafting to the point where I need something repetitive or "mushy" type work for me to relax with. Something simple but sweet. So many things to choose from! I've found I have picked up little things here and there, this is my classic example of simple and sweet. I know I have many more of these kits hanging about and one of my future ideas is to make those ornaments that are wrapped with floss, wrapped in such a way they are really a work of art. Until then we will do the kits and save the pattern for more of my other supplies.

I used my paint palette to keep my beads under control, there is nothing worse than a runaway bead with a bad attitude! I decided on the palette as opposed to counting out all the supplies and matching them with the list. Aw, I might not follow the pattern anyhow.

As we moved along, I decided this wasn't as simple as I thought it was, very finger numbing and meticulous, I also glued my pins before setting them. According to the instructions, that was not recommended because placement might change, it is recommended you do gluing after all pieces were done. Heck! No!

This one is called Vanilla and Gold, to me it looks like a crown. C&G Design

Holiday Wishes

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families! C&G Design

My Annie

Here is the pick of the day! "My Annie" will find a home with someone who loves her, she will pick her owner today! My Raggedy Dolls is having a weekly give-a-way until Christmas and she has 4 more dolls left for her friends to want! If you haven't joined the pool of commenters who wants one of these cuties, click on the link and let her know I sent ya!
Good luck! C&G Design

More Bradley Dolls

Wonder never ceases, I can not imagine someone getting rid of these lovelies, although I must remember, not everyone can recognize a collectible. I found two little Bradley dolls while thrifting this weekend, I was pleasantly surprised to pick these babies up and find immediately what they were. Not a toy but in the toy section none the less.

These two still have their tags dangling from their arms. Oh, how sweet.

A perfect trio for my perfect shelf. C&G Design

Boudoir Doll-Finale!

For those who thought "pink" for my boudoir dolls negligee, you were right. My heart wanted green but the fabric was too light for holding feathers and from the start, the plan was blue.....but pink ended up looking the best! I didn't even consider it because her skin is so pink but that made it even better. The negligee has 10 pieces but it went fairly well, there was no mistaking how it went together, the lace took awhile but oh, so pretty.

You can see why they are called boudoir dolls, they have that elaborate display and a beautiful knack for looking gorgeous on the bed.

And mine would stay here except for the fact my dog likes to sleep here when I'm not home, he thinks I don't know but since he has become hard of hearing, I'm able to sneak in the house, call for him, then hear him jump down off the bed. It's not hard, my bed is in one section of the house and that's it, AND I'm not stupid.

The feathers are stitched on around the collar, it took six, four inch feathers to complete the look I wanted.

I call her "Lillian", after Ms Gish of the silent movie era. C&G Design.

Boudoir Doll-part 2

I received my 6 patterns in the mail the other day, how wonderful they are. MJ from Mj vintage patterns enlarged these patterns to what seems like a enormous size, I'm guessing Kewpie is approximately 24 inches tall, that's giant size for the little doll! Anyway, I finally got a breather to look closely at the negligee for the boudoir doll and decided I had a snafu. The pattern states if your doll doesn't have a chest you'll have to add one with a piece of silk stocking and fiberfill. Well, I'll be...... Come to think of it, I don't believe I have ever made a chesty doll before, never thought of it before. The pattern said the top of the pajamas wouldn't work if the doll didn't have a chest, because I really thought of trying it without the boobs but in the end, I gave in and made them, as you can see.....a reasonable size, not too big, not too little. I must admit, it says something for the doll.

I have not shown the turban yet (but I will), trust me when I tell you it is silver, where does that leave me? Silver negligee? Or silver underwear? The fabric is pretty stiff so the underwear it is, I was afraid that once the negligee was done, it wouldn't flow quite right with the stiffness, that's the reasoning behind my decision. Turned out this stuff is awful so the little of it the better! The treads came loose all the time and it's just not that pretty, just the same...I was determined to match it to the hair turban.

She came out pretty good and even with a 4 times reduction in the pattern nothing was lost from the shape of it.

How does she look? Maybe next time I could make a smaller waist although she might not be able to sit this well if I do. C&G Design.

PS, Blue, pink, or green were the choices for the negligee, can you guess which one I used?

Pink Pictures

It's pink Saturday once again! I think I still have some pink left in my life, let's see....yes, the lovely silk screen scenes in beautiful frames. I love roses! I used to think these fancy frames and still lives, belonged in a elderly house where the lady and gent of the dwelling enjoyed having no kids around. Guess what!? I'm there! Except, wait! I have kids!

Pretty in pink, especially against the mustard colored wall.

Join Beverly and other pink parties at How Sweet the Sound. C&G Design.

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