Meet LuLu, LeAnn, and Lidia - An Adorable Trio Of Mixed Media Victorian Collage Art Dolls

Three of the mixed media Victorian collage and paper-clay shelf sitter art dolls I made recently were a trio of adorable little Victorian girls that I named LuLu, LeAnn, and Lidia.

LuLu - 2" x 3 1/2" x 9 1/4" Handmade Mixed Media Victorian Collage Art Doll 

LuLu, LeAnn, and Lidia are the cutest, most adorable trio of Victorian little girls. They love to laugh and love having fun. There is never a dull moment when they are around. In fact, they are so mischievous you really have to be on your toes when you're around them.

LuLu is a 2" x 3 1/2" x 9 1/4" mixed media Victorian wood doll with a paper face, sponge painted wood body, paper collage and embellished outfit. Her sides and back are sponge painted and her outfit is an embellished paper collage adorned with white trim around her neck. Her paper collage dress has a two layer center band adorned with black and green raised dots. Her collage dress has a two layer waistband with green raised dots. Her dress skirt is five layers with green raised dots. Her hands are paper gloved. A beautiful light green fringed lace shawl is wrapped around her shoulders and adorned with a white silk floral. Her light brown thick dyed alpaca yarn hair from Rock Garden Alpacas Fiber is wrapped in a bun and adorned with beautiful green and brown bead  decorative lace braid. Green and white ribbon is wrapped around her sponge painted wooden base. A colorful 4 silk floral bouquet adds charm to both the front and back of her base.

LeAnn - 2" x 3 1/2" x 9 1/4" Handmade Mixed Media Victorian Collage Art Doll 

LeAnn, LuLu, and Lidia are the cutest, most adorable trio of Victorian little girls. They love to laugh and love having fun. There is never a dull moment when they are around. In fact, they are so mischievous you really have to be on your toes when you're around them.

LeAnn is a 2" x 3 1/2" x 9 1/4" mixed media Victorian wood doll with a paper face, sponge painted wood body, paper collage and embellished outfit. Her sides and back are sponge painted and her black and white outfit is an embellished paper collage adorned with white trim around her neck. Her paper collage dress has a center band adorned with lace trim and light teal blue silk ribbon floral. Her collage dress has lace trim around the waist. Her dress skirt is four layers. Her hands are paper gloved. A beautiful light green fringed lace shawl is wrapped around her shoulders and adorned with a light teal blue silk ribbon floral. Her white thick dyed alpaca yarn hair from Rock Garden Alpacas Fiber beautifully frames her face and is adorned with a black feather.Black and white ribbon is wrapped around her sponge painted wooden base. A colorful 4 silk floral bouquet adds charm to both the front and back of her base.

Lidia - 2" x 3 1/2" x 9 1/4" Handmade Mixed Media Victorian Collage Art Doll 

Lidia, LeAnn, and LuLu are the cutest, most adorable trio of Victorian little girls. They love to laugh and love having fun. There is never a dull moment when they are around. In fact, they are so mischievous you really have to be on your toes when you're around them.

Lidia is a 2" x 3 1/2" x 9 1/4" mixed media Victorian wood doll with a paper face, sponge painted wood body, paper collage and embellished outfit. Her sides and back are sponge painted and her outfit is an embellished paper collage adorned with white trim around her neck. Her paper collage dress has a two layer center band adorned with dark blue and light blue raised dots. Her collage dress has a two layer waistband with lace trim and light blue raised dots. Her dress skirt is four layers. A beautiful teal blue fringed lace shawl is wrapped around her shoulders and adorned with a light blue blue silk ribbon floral. Her white thick dyed alpaca yarn hair from Rock Garden Alpacas Fiber beautifully frames her face and is adorned with blue, pink, and white feathers. Teal blue and white ribbon is wrapped around her sponge painted wooden base. A colorful 4 silk floral bouquet adds charm to both the front and back of her base.

Copyright © 2004 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Designed and Written By Linda Walsh

I'm In Fall Decorating Heaven

My Beautiful Mixed Media Victorian Mannequin Faced Art Dolls

I just love looking at pictures from museums displaying Victorian dresses on mannequins or headless dress forms and have wanted to create some dolls of my own like these. This time I decided to combine my mixed media Victorian collage art dolls with mannequin faces. This means they have the shape of a head and indentures of a face, but nothing is painted. Please meet Penelope, Pauline, and Page. I hope you love them as much as I do.

Penelope - 1 3/4" x 4" x 12" Handmade Mixed Media Victorian Collage Art Doll 

Penelope, Pauline, and Page are a trio of sisters who are are the epitome of fashion elegance.  They are meticulous as to the details of their outfits and never leave the house without being perfectly attired.

Penelope is a 1 3/4" x 4" x 12" mixed media Victorian wood doll with a mannequin like paper-clay face, blushed cheeks, sponge painted wood body, paper collage and embellished outfit. Her sides and back are sponge painted and black and white her outfit is an embellished paper collage adorned with white trim around her neck. Her paper collage dress has a two layer center band adorned with red raised dots and fancy lace trim with silky pearls and purple silk ribbon floral embellishments. Her collage dress has a two layer waistband with red raised dots, lace trim, and burgundy ribbon decorations. Her dress skirt is three layers. Her hands are paper gloved. A beautiful burgundy fringed lace shawl is wrapped around her shoulders and adorned with a large purple silk floral. Her burgundy thick dyed alpaca yarn hair from Rock Garden Alpacas Fiber is wrapped in a bun and adorned with beautiful white decorative lace trim. Black and white ribbon is wrapped around her sponge painted wooden base. A colorful 4 silk floral bouquet adds charm to both the front and back of her base.

Pauline - 1 3/4" x 4" x 12" Handmade Mixed Media Victorian Collage Art Doll 

Pauline, Penelope, and Page are a trio of sisters who are are the epitome of fashion elegance. They are meticulous as to the details of their outfits and never leave the house without being perfectly attired.

Pauline is a 1 3/4" x 4" x 12" mixed media Victorian wood doll with a mannequin like paper-clay face, blushed cheeks, sponge painted wood body, paper collage and embellished outfit. Her sides and back are sponge painted and her outfit is an embellished paper collage adorned with white trim around her neck. Her paper collage dress has a two layer center band adorned with green raised dots and fancy lace and ribbon trim. Her collage dress has a two layer waistband with green raised dots. Her dress skirt is four layers. Her hands are paper gloved. A beautiful light green fringed lace shawl is wrapped around her shoulders and adorned with a large green silk floral. Her gray thick dyed alpaca yarn hair from Rock Garden Alpacas Fiber is wrapped in a bun and adorned with beautiful white decorative lace trim. A blue feather boa is wrapped around her neck.Green and white ribbon is wrapped around her sponge painted wooden base. A colorful 4 silk floral bouquet adds charm to both the front and back of her base.

Page - 1 3/4" x 4" x 12" Handmade Mixed Media Victorian Collage Art Doll 

Page, Pauline, and Penelope are a trio of sisters who are are the epitome of fashion elegance. They are meticulous as to the details of their outfits and never leave the house without being perfectly attired.

Page is a 1 3/4" x 4" x 12" mixed media Victorian wood doll with a mannequin like paper-clay face, blushed cheeks, sponge painted wood body, paper collage and embellished outfit. Her sides and back are sponge painted and her outfit is an embellished paper collage adorned with white trim around her neck. Her paper collage dress has a center band adorned with blue raised dots and fancy lace and ribbon trim and there is a lace and ribbon trim bow decoration under her neck. Her collage dress has a two layer waistband with blue raised dots and fancy lace and ribbon trim. Her dress skirt is four layers.  Her hands are paper gloved. A beautiful teal green fringed lace shawl is wrapped around her shoulders and adorned with a large baby blue silk floral. Her white thick dyed alpaca yarn hair from Rock Garden Alpacas Fiber is wrapped in a bun and adorned with beautiful lace and ribbon trim.  Teal blue and white ribbon is wrapped around her sponge painted wooden base. A colorful 4 silk floral bouquet adds charm to both the front and back of her base.

Copyright © 2004 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Designed and Written By Linda Walsh

A Beautiful Trio Of Mixed Media Victorian Collage Art Dolls - Meet Catherine, Chelsea, and Camille

Three of the mixed media Victorian collage art dolls I made recently were a trio of sisters that I named Catherine, Chelsea, and Camille.

Catherine - 2 3/4" x 5 1/2" x 14 1/2" Handmade Mixed Media Victorian Collage Art Doll 

Catherine, Chelsea, and Camille are a trio of sisters who are always competing with each other. Who is the smartest, who is the prettiest, who is the most dignified, who has the most handsome beau. You name it. They compete over it.

Catherine is a 2 3/4" x 5 1/2" x 14 1/2" mixed media Victorian wood doll with a paper face, sponge painted wood body, paper collage and embellished outfit. Her sides and back are sponge painted and her outfit is an embellished black and white paper collage adorned with white trim around her neck. Her paper collage dress has a two layer center band adorned with pearl dot, lace and ribbon trim and a beautiful pearl and silk ribbon flower decoration. Her waistband is two layers and is adorned with a lace trim and raised red dots.  Her dress skirt is four layers and adorned with beautiful black decorative braid trim. A beautiful white crocheted shawl with black decorative fringe trim is wrapped around her shoulders and adorned with a black silk floral with white pearls. Her brown thick alpaca yarn hair from Rock Garden Alpacas Fiber is wrapped in a bun and adorned with beautiful white crocheted trim. Black and white ribbon is wrapped around her sponge painted wooden base. A colorful 6 silk floral bouquet adds charm to both the front and back of her base.

 Chelsea - 2 3/4" x 5 1/2" x 14 1/2" Handmade Mixed Media Victorian Collage Art Doll 

Chelsea, Catherine, and Camille are a trio of sisters who are always competing with each other. Who is the smartest, who is the prettiest, who is the most dignified, who has the most handsome beau. You name it. They compete over it.

Chelsea is a 2 3/4" x 5 1/2" x 14 1/2" mixed media Victorian wood doll with a paper face, sponge painted wood body, paper collage and embellished outfit. Her sides and back are sponge painted and her outfit is an embellished paper collage adorned with white trim around her neck. Her paper collage dress has a three layer center band adorned with black raised dots and green raised dots. Her waistband is three layers and is adorned with raised green dots.  Her dress skirt is five layers and adorned with green raised dots.  Her hands are paper gloved and her dress sleeves are adorned with raised green dots.  A beautiful cream colored lace shawl with floral ribbon decorative  trim is wrapped around her shoulders and adorned with a large crocheted pendant with white pearl. Her brown thick alpaca yarn hair from Rock Garden Alpacas Fiber is wrapped in a bun and adorned with light green pearl and lace trim. Green and white ribbon is wrapped around her sponge painted wooden base. A colorful 6 silk floral bouquet adds charm to both the front and back of her base.

 Camille - 2 3/4" x 5 1/2" x 14 1/2" Handmade Mixed Media Victorian Collage Art Doll 

Camille, Chelsea, and Catherine are a trio of sisters who are always competing with each other. Who is the smartest, who is the prettiest, who is the most dignified, who has the most handsome beau. You name it. They compete over it.

Camille is a 2 3/4" x 5 1/2" x 14 1/2" mixed media Victorian wood doll with a paper face, sponge painted wood body, paper collage and embellished outfit. Her sides and back are sponge painted and her outfit is an embellished paper collage adorned with white trim around her neck. Her paper collage dress has a two layer center band adorned with blue raised dots and white silk ribbon flowers with white pearls. Her collage dress has a raised paper waistband.  Her dress skirt is four layers and adorned with blue raised dots.  Her hands are paper gloved and her dress sleeves are adorned with raised blue dots.  A beautiful white crocheted lace shawl with green decorative  fringe trim is wrapped around her shoulders and adorned with a large white silk floral with white pearl center cluster. Her gray thick alpaca yarn hair from Rock Garden Alpacas Fiber is wrapped in a bun and adorned with beautiful white decorative lace trim. Teal blue and white ribbon is wrapped around her sponge painted wooden base. A colorful 6 silk floral bouquet adds charm to both the front and back of her base.

Copyright © 2004 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Designed and Written By Linda Walsh

Lucy, Lacy, and Lilly - A Beautiful Trio of Mixed Media Victorian Shelf Sitters

Three of the mixed media Victorian collage and paper-clay shelf sitter art dolls I made recently were a trio of Victorian shelf sitter wood dolls. They're a trio of sisters that I named Lucy, Lacy, and Lilly.

Lucy - 4 1/2" x 5" x 3/4" Handmade Mixed Media Victorian Collage Shelf Sitter Art Doll

Lucy, Lacy, and Lilly are a trio of sisters who are as different as they are beautiful. Lucy is a delicate flower who has an over abundance of compassion.  Lacy, on the other hand, is whimsical and flirtatious while Lilly is a deep thinker who cares about everyone and everything.

Lucy is a 4 1/2" x 5" x 3/4" mixed media Victorian shelf sitter wood doll with a paper face, sponge painted wood body, paper collage and embellished outfit. Her sides and back are sponge painted and her outfit  is an embellished paper collage dress with a two tier cape with raised orange dots. Orange lace trim adorned with a paper floral is wrapped around her neck. Her beautiful brown thick alpaca yarn hair from Rock Garden Alpacas Fiber is wrapped in a bun and adorned with a delicate white flower and leaf ribbon braid. A white flower and butterfly add charm to her collage outfit.

Lacy - 4 1/2" x 5" x 3/4" Handmade Mixed Media Victorian Collage Shelf Sitter Art Doll

Lacy, Lucy, and Lilly are a trio of sisters who are as different as they are beautiful. Lucy is a delicate flower who has an over abundance of compassion.  Lacy, on the other hand, is whimsical and flirtatious while Lilly is a deep thinker who cares about everyone and everything.

Lacy is a 4 1/2" x 5" x 3/4" mixed media Victorian shelf sitter wood doll with a paper face, sponge painted wood body, paper collage and embellished outfit. Her sides and back are sponge painted and her outfit  is an embellished paper collage dress with a two tier cape with raised black dots. White lace trim adorned with a beautiful pearl and silk ribbon flower is wrapped around her neck. Her beautiful brown thick alpaca yarn hair from Rock Garden Alpacas Fiber is wrapped in a bun and adorned with a delicate white flower and leaf ribbon braid. A bouquet of flowers and butterfly add charm to her collage outfit.

Lilly - 4 1/2" x 5" x 3/4" Handmade Mixed Media Victorian Collage Shelf Sitter Art Doll

Lilly, Lucy, and Lacy are a trio of sisters who are as different as they are beautiful. Lucy is a delicate flower who has an over abundance of compassion.  Lacy, on the other hand, is whimsical and flirtatious while Lilly is a deep thinker who cares about everyone and everything.

Lilly is a 4 1/2" x 5" x 3/4" mixed media Victorian shelf sitter wood doll with a paper face, sponge painted wood body, paper collage and embellished outfit. Her sides and back are sponge painted and her outfit is an embellished paper collage dress with center band with raised white dots, waistband, and cape with raised blue dots and blue bow. Her beautiful dark gray thick alpaca yarn hair from Rock Garden Alpacas Fiber is wrapped in a bun and adorned with a dressy silver braid. A bouquet of flowers and butterfly add charm to her collage outfit.

Copyright © 2004 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Designed and Written By Linda Walsh

Peace, Serenity, and Composure - My New Mixed Media Victorian Collage and Paper-clay Art Dolls

Three of the mixed media Victorian collage and paper-clay art dolls I made recently were a trio of wood dolls - two with paper-clay faces and one with a paper face. They're a trio of sisters that I named Peace, Serenity, and Composure.

Peace - 2" x 3 1/2" x 9" Handmade Mixed Media Victorian Collage Art Doll With Paper-clay Face

Peace, Serenity, and Composure are a trio of sisters who do everything together. Where there's Peace you'll find Serenity and Composure. Where there's Serenity you'll find Peace and Composure. And, where there's Composure you'll find Peace and Serenity.

Peace is a 2" x 3 1/2" x 9" mixed media Victorian wood doll with a painted paper-clay face with lilac blushed eyelids, rosy cheeks, pink painted finger nails, sponge painted wood body, paper collage and embellished outfit. Her sides and back are sponge painted and her outfit is an embellished paper collage adorned with lace trim and ribbon trim. A gathered lace and ribbon over-skirt serves as a bustle for her outfit. An embroidered shawl is wrapped around her shoulders and fastened with a pearl beaded button. Her light gray thick alpaca yarn hair from Rock Garden Alpacas Fiber is wrapped in a bun and adorned with a dressy silver braid. Lilac ribbon trim is wrapped around her sponge painted wooden base.

Serenity - 2" x 3 1/2" x 9" Handmade Mixed Media Victorian Collage Art Doll With Paper-clay Face

Peace, Serenity, and Composure are a trio of sisters who do everything together. Where there's Serenity you'll find Peace and Composure. Where there's Peace you'll find Serenity and Composure. And, where there's Composure you'll find Peace and Serenity.

Serenity is a 2" x 3 1/2" x 9" mixed media Victorian wood doll with a painted paper-clay face with blue blushed eyelids, rosy cheeks, red painted finger nails, sponge painted wood body, paper collage and embellished outfit. Her sides and back are sponge painted and her outfit is an embellished paper collage adorned with lace trim and ribbon trim. A fancy lace embroidered shawl is wrapped around her shoulders and fastened with a red silk floral. Her light brown thick alpaca yarn hair from Rock Garden Alpacas Fiber is wrapped in a bun and adorned with a white flower and leaf braid. Blue polka dot ribbon trim is wrapped around her sponge painted wooden base.

Composure - 2" x 3 1/2" x 9" Handmade Mixed Media Victorian Collage Art Doll With Paper-clay Face

Peace, Serenity, and Composure are a trio of sisters who do everything together. Where there's Composure you'll find Peace and Serenity. Where there's Serenity you'll find Peace and Composure. And, where there's Peace you'll find Serenity and Composure.

Composure is a 2" x 3 1/2" x 9" mixed media Victorian wood doll with a paper face, sponge painted wood body, paper collage and embellished outfit. Her sides and back are sponge painted and her outfit is an embellished paper collage adorned with lace trim and pearl drop ribbon trim. A fancy lace embroidered shawl is wrapped around her shoulders and fastened with a purple silk floral and a beautiful burgundy silk floral is fastened below her neck. Her light brown thick alpaca yarn hair from Rock Garden Alpacas Fiber is wrapped in a bun and adorned with a  beautiful lilac flower and leaf silk ribbon braid. Burgundy polka dot ribbon trim is wrapped around her sponge painted wooden base.

Copyright © 2004 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Designed and Written By Linda Walsh

I LOVE Surprise Packages In The Mail

Nothing puts a smile on my face quicker than getting a "surprise" package in the mail from my "baby" sister.  So, the other day when my sister called and asked if I got her package I said with a huge smile on my face - WHAT PACKAGE.  DID YOU SEND ME SOMETHING.

She, of course, said she did but wouldn't tell me right away what it was.  Siblings do have to torture each other this way for a little while before spilling the beans. So, she tortured me for a few minutes before she said it was some of her hand spun alpaca yarn.

I was thrilled to hear this as I, of course, had been dropping little hints or should say BIG hints for months now that some of her alpaca yarn would be put to good use in my house.  My sister had added some of her hand spun alpaca yarns to her Rock Garden Alpaca Fiber Etsy shop and I had my eye on several that I thought would be perfect for doll hair, woodland beards, Santa hair and beards, etc.

So, when she said she had sent a package of some of her yarns I was thrilled and could hardly wait for the mail to come.  When the package came it was filled with a wonderful assortment of Navajo plyed yarns that my sister had hand spun from her own Rock Garden Alpaca fibers.

I immediately had ideas for using all of it and actually put the gray one shown below (2nd from the right in the 1st row) to use that very day.

I thought it would be perfect for the spiky hair I needed for one of my new dolls - Spike A Peek (pictured below).

I ended up using all the gray yarn for his hair but was thrilled with the way it turned out.  Spiky and perfect.  I hope you would agree.

Of course, my sister's yarn can be used for so many other things that doll hair.  It's perfect for knitting, crocheting, mixed media crafts, fiber arts, needle felting, etc.

She also sells alpaca roving and alpaca fiber carded batts and I've used both for some of my needle felted art dolls like those shown below:

If you get a chance please check out her Rock Garden Alpaca Fiber Etsy shop for all her wonderful alpaca roving and hand spun yarn products.  You won't be disappointed.

Now if she would just send me some of that beautiful black alpaca plied yarn with the royal blue Kidsilk Haze......

Maybe some of Ivy's beautiful roving plied yarn with the beige Kidsilk haze........

Just kidding "baby" sister...... Or, am I?   Hmmmm.........

Martin, Manfred, and Morris - New Mixed Media Man In the Mood Shelf Sitter Art Dolls

Three of the mixed media Victorian collage and paper-clay shelf sitter art dolls I made recently were a trio of Man In the Moon wood dolls with paper-clay faces. They're a trio of brothers that I named Martin, Manfred, and Morris.

Martin - 4" x 5" x 3/4" Handmade Mixed Media Collage Man In The Moon Shelf Sitter Art Doll With Paper-clay Face

Martin, Manfred, and Morris are a trio of brothers that have the weight of the world on their shoulders.  They're job is to protect the world and ensure peace and harmony in the universe.  A heavy responsibility indeed.

Martin is a 4" x 5" x 3/4" mixed media shelf sitter Man In The Moon wood doll with a yellow painted paper-clay face with black pupils, sponge painted wood body, paper collage and embellished suit and tie. His sides and back are sponge painted and his outfit is an embellished paper collage shirt, vest with pockets, and tie. White paper rays adorned with yellow ribbon trim is wrapped around his head.

Manfred - 4" x 5" x 3/4" Handmade Mixed Media Collage Man In The Moon Shelf Sitter Art Doll With Paper-clay Face

Martin, Manfred, and Morris are a trio of brothers that have the weight of the world on their shoulders.  They're job is to protect the world and ensure peace and harmony in the universe.  A heavy responsibility indeed.

Manfred is a 4" x 5" x 3/4" mixed media shelf sitter Man In The Moon wood doll with a yellow painted paper-clay face with black pupils, sponge painted wood body, paper collage and embellished suit and tie. His sides and back are sponge painted and his outfit is an embellished paper collage shirt, vest with pockets, and tie. White paper rays adorned with yellow ribbon trim is wrapped around his head.

Morris - 4" x 5" x 3/4" Handmade Mixed Media Collage Man In The Moon Shelf Sitter Art Doll With Paper-clay Face

Martin, Manfred, and Morris are a trio of brothers that have the weight of the world on their shoulders.  They're job is to protect the world and ensure peace and harmony in the universe.  A heavy responsibility indeed.

Morris is a 4" x 5" x 3/4" mixed media shelf sitter Man In The Moon wood doll with a yellow painted paper-clay face with black pupils, sponge painted wood body, paper collage and embellished suit and tie. His sides and back are sponge painted and his outfit is an embellished paper collage shirt, vest with pockets, and tie. White paper rays adorned with yellow ribbon trim is wrapped around his head.

Copyright © 2004 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Designed and Written By Linda Walsh

A Confused Trio of Witches - Meet Hazel, Hazlett, and Harem Mixed Media Collage Witches

I just love witches so, of course, when I was deciding what mixed media Victorian collage shelf sitter dolls I wanted to make I had to make a trio of witches.

Hazel- 6" x 6" x 3/4" Handmade Mixed Media Victorian Collage Shelf Sitter Witch Doll With Paper-clay Face

Hazel, Hazlett, and Harem are a trio of witches are as ugly as they are confused.   Halloween is coming up and they have lost their witches brew recipe.  They've looked everywhere and cannot find it.  Without it Halloween will just not be the same.  Can you help them?

Hazel is a 6" x 6" x 3/4" mixed media Victorian witch wood doll with a painted paper-clay face with black bead eyes, red painted mouth, rosy blushed cheeks, black painted finger nails, sponge painted wood body, paper collage and embellished outfit. Her sides and back are sponge painted and her outfit is a multi-layer embellished paper collage with black paper cape tied with a ribbon bow under her neck. Her light gray curly alpaca yarn hair from Rock Garden Alpacas Fiber is barely controlled under her witches hat.  A paper jack-o-lantern with painted face and sword and key steam-punk paper image add charm to her collage outfit.

Hazlett - 6" x 6" x 3/4" Handmade Mixed Media Victorian Collage Shelf Sitter Witch Doll With Paper-clay Face

Hazlett, Hazel, and Harem are a trio of witches are as ugly as they are confused.   Halloween is coming up and they have lost their witches brew recipe.  They've looked everywhere and cannot find it.  Without it Halloween will just not be the same.  Can you help them?

Hazlett is a 6" x 6" x 3/4" mixed media Victorian witch wood doll with a painted paper-clay face with black bead eyes, red painted mouth, rosy blushed cheeks, black painted finger nails, sponge painted wood body, paper collage and embellished outfit. Her sides and back are sponge painted and her outfit is a multi-layer embellished paper collage with black paper cape tied with a ribbon bow under her neck. Her light gray curly alpaca yarn hair from Rock Garden Alpacas Fiber is barely controlled under her witches hat.  A paper jack-o-lantern with painted face and sword and key steam-punk paper image add charm to her collage outfit.

Harem - 6" x 6" x 3/4" Handmade Mixed Media Victorian Collage Shelf Sitter Witch Doll With Paper-clay Face

Harem, Hazlett, and Hazel are a trio of witches are as ugly as they are confused.   Halloween is coming up and they have lost their witches brew recipe.  They've looked everywhere and cannot find it.  Without it Halloween will just not be the same.  Can you help them?

Harem is a 6" x 6" x 3/4" mixed media Victorian witch wood doll with a painted paper-clay face with black bead eyes, red painted mouth, rosy blushed cheeks, black painted finger nails, sponge painted wood body, paper collage and embellished outfit. Her sides and back are sponge painted and her outfit is a multi-layer embellished paper collage with black paper cape tied with a ribbon bow under her neck. Her light gray curly alpaca yarn hair from Rock Garden Alpacas Fiber is barely controlled under her witches hat.  A paper jack-o-lantern with painted face and sword and key steam-punk paper image add charm to her collage outfit.

Copyright © 2004 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Designed and Written By Linda Walsh

Gotta Love Mixed Media Victorian Collage & Paper-clay Art Dolls

It should come as no surprise to all of you that I LOVE dolls of every shape, size, medium, type, season, and holiday, but Victorians have always been my favorite - especially faceless ones. Over the last 5 decades I've made all sorts of dolls and woodcraft's. Some were cloth only, some were wood only, some were a combination of cloth and wood, some were paper, some were even terra-cotta. Some had faces, some didn't.

It should also come as no surprise to all of you that I LOVE taking online classes - especially those offered from Artful Gathering. In fact, over the last three years I've taken 5 different kinds of classes at Artful Gathering.

I've wanted to make some Victorian mixed media collage and paper-clay faced art dolls for quite some time. So, combining my love of dolls with my decades long experience with sewing and crafting and utilizing everything I've learned in my classes I decided now was the time to make these dolls. I tend to favor stump dolls and shelf sitters and knew these would be no exception.

I also wanted to utilize some of the molds I had bought several years ago when I was enthralled with goddess dolls. Given I never seem to have enough time for doing what I want to do right then and there my goddess dolls have sat on the back burner for several years - that is, until recently.

I decided this was the perfect time to make some Victorian wooden dolls - some with paper-clay faces, some with paper-clay mannequin faces, some with paper faces. Their outfits could be a combination of fabric, lace, paper, creative embroidery embellishments, ribbon silk floral, beads, etc.

I also wanted to utilize some of the alpaca yarn my sister, who is the owner of Rock Garden Alpacas Fiber, had given me for their hair. I had some alpaca yarn fiber from Cosmo, Zinnia, Sunflower, Ivy ,and Masquerade. All was hand-spun, but some she had single plied and some she had Navajo plied.

When I was doing a little cleaning of my craft area several weeks ago I found some 3/4" wood shelf sitter shapes that my husband had cut out for me a few years ago. I had intended to make a painted figure of some sort out of them and decided to create two witches with paper-clay faces.

I was happy with the way my shelf sitter witches turned out so I decided to make a bunch of templates of different shapes and sizes that my younger brother and husband could use for cutting the wood dolls that I wanted to make. Since I never do anything in moderation I ended up with several templates - okay, make that lots of templates utilizing different lengths, widths, and depths of wood. It took us a long time to draw, cut and sand the wood pieces. By the time we were finished I had 41 dolls to make. I told you I never do anything in moderation!

After working on my dolls for what seemed like weeks on end I'm happy to report they are done.  It took a long time and was a lot of work, but I'm happy with the results.  I'll be posting about them over the next few days so stay tuned.

Copyright © 2004 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Designed and Written By Linda Walsh

Who Doesn't Love Witches? My New Hildegarde Ann and Hildegarde Brie Witches

As a reader of my Linda's Blog you know that I absolutely LOVE Halloween and all the wonderful creatures that can be made like witches, ghosts, goblins, Dracula, Frankenstein, jack-o-lanterns, bats, spiders and spider webs, skeletons, mummies, and so much more. With all that what's not to love abut Halloween.

With all the wonderful creatures that can be made for Halloween out of cloth, wood, cloth and wood, paper, clay, needle-craft, etc. my favorite has to be witches.  So, when I was doing a little cleaning of my craft area I found some 3/4" wood shelf sitter shapes that my husband had cut out for me a few years ago.  I had intended to make a painted figure of some sort out of them.

Well, in looking at the wood I thought they might make perfect mixed media shelf sitter witches with paper-clay faces and collage outfits.   So, I decided to make two of them.

Hildegarde Ann - 6 1/2" x 6 1/2" x 3/4" Handmade Mixed Media Shelf Sitter Paper-Clay and Collage Witch

Hildegarde Ann and her twin sister, Hildegarde Brie can hardly wait for Halloween.  Not because they love scaring people. but because they're good witches and love handing candy out to all the trick-or-treaters.  In fact, they're known in their neighborhood for having the best candy.


Hildegarde Ann is a 6 1/2" x 6 1/2" x 3/4" mixed media shelf sitter wood doll with a painted paper-clay face with black bead eyes, sponge painted wood body and paper collage embellished outfit. Her sides and back are sponge painted in her favorite Halloween colors and her outfit is an embellished paper collage adorned with a jack-o-lantern, clock, bats, a scary insect, raised dots and a ribbon bow. Her gray thick alpaca yarn hair from Masquerade at Rock Garden Alpacas Fiber is barely controlled under her witches hat.  Masquerade's yarn is also wrapped around the band of her witches hat and adorns the brim of the underside of her witches hat.

It's only a couple months until Halloween and Hildegarde Ann can hardly wait.

 

Hildegarde Brie - 6 1/2" x 6 1/2" x 3/4" Handmade Mixed Media Shelf Sitter Paper-Clay and Collage Witch

Hildegarde Brie and her twin sister, Hildegarde Ann can hardly wait for Halloween.  Not because they love scaring people. but because they're good witches and love handing candy out to all the trick-or-treaters.  In fact, they're known in their neighborhood for having the best candy.

Hildegarde Brie is a 6 1/2" x 6 1/2" x 3/4" mixed media shelf sitter wood doll with a painted paper-clay face with black bead eyes, sponge painted wood body and paper collage embellished outfit. Her sides and back are sponge painted in her favorite Halloween colors and her outfit is an embellished paper collage adorned with a jack-o-lantern, clock, bats, a scary insect, raised dots and a ribbon bow.  Her gray thick alpaca yarn hair from Masquerade at Rock Garden Alpacas Fiber is barely controlled under her witches hat.  Masquerade's yarn is also wrapped around the band of her witches hat and adorns the brim of the underside of her witches hat.

It's only a couple months until Halloween and Hildegarde Brie can hardly wait.

Copyright © 2004 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Designed and Written By Linda Walsh

Gotta Love Mixed Media Multi Holiday Decorations

My mother always loved to decorate for the various holidays and various seasons and loved decorating her home with handmade decorations either she had made or were made for her by her children.   So, when my mother down sized and moved into a senior citizen apartment many years ago she didn't have a lot of room for her seasonal and holiday decorations.  She ended up giving some of her cherished decorations away.  She just didn't have the room to store or display them.

In thinking about this over the years and thinking about my own need to down size a little on my decorations I thought about handmade decorations that could be left out for several holidays and several seasons.  For me that would mean something I could bring out in September and leave out until March.  But, what kind of form would be conducive to that?

Well, after experimenting with the mixed media art dolls I had learned to make in my latest Artful Gathering class and thinking about multi level wood blocks a light bulb went off in my head.  The multi level wood blocks would be perfect for a multi seasonal multi holiday mixed media collage decoration that could be left out for many months.

Since the Fall, Christmas, and Winter seasons are my favorite times of the year I thought my blocks should have a Fall side,  a Christmas side, a Winter side, and a Halloween side.  And, best of all, they could be left out for 7 months.  All you'd have to do was turn the block for the season or holiday you wanted.

For the graphics I decided to mainly use some of my own doll graphics that I had created for my custom fabric lines.  However, I didn't have quite enough so I added some free graphics from The Graphics Fairy, free graphics from The Vintage Moth, free graphics from Antique Clipart, some Victorian graphics from "A Victorian Lady's Scrapbook" Dover Pictorial Archive paperback CD-ROM that I bought from Amazon, and some Victorian graphics in the public domain.

I ended up creating two 9" x 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" 3-tier mixed media collage art block towers with  a Fall side,  a Christmas side, a Winter side, and a Halloween side and two 4 1/2" x 2" x 2" mixed media mini art lock towers with a Fall side,  a Christmas side, a Winter side, and a Halloween side.

I was pleased with the way all the art blocks turned out and decided to make some more.  So stay tuned.

Copyright © 2004 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Designed and Written By Linda Walsh