I Started My 7th and 8th Class At Artful Gathering

    

I started my 7th and 8th class in Session 2 at Artful Gathering on Thursday ad I couldn't be happier. I have loved each and every class I've taken there as the instructors are fantastic and the classes are always delightful. I've had a blast in each class learning something new and, best of all, making wonderful new friends.

For the first time during this session I'm taking 2 classes at once.  I hope I can handle this.  Two at once seems like a lot, but I just couldn't decide between taking Mary Jane Chadbourne's "Tiny Topia & The Magic of Little Things" and Debby Anderson's "A Romantic Journey On Canvas" so I decided to take both of them.

During Session 1 I took Hally Levesque's "Bonnets & Bows: A Regency Doll Project" and LOVED it. Making an historic period doll - now why would I like that?  Hmm...

Here's how my dolls turned out:

  

 

During the last few years I've taken the following at Artful Gathering :

Julie Haymaker Thompson's "Let's Go For A Ride"

Mary Jane Chadbourne's "The Imaginarium: Anthologies of an Art Doll" 

Judy Johnson's "Lovely Sea Maiden"

Colleen Moody's "Briley The Birdie"

Pat Winter's "Crazy Quilt Gatherings"

Here's how my projects turned out:

So, I'm in for a lot of work, but couldn't be happier. Hmm....

Happier with a lot of work? Does that make sense?

It's The Summer Of White Faced Girls

It's the summer of beautiful white faced girls.  My sister has yet another beautiful alpaca baby girl with a white face named Gladiola.   Now she has a trio of white faced alpaca girls: Gladiola, Peony, and Marigold.

Gladiola is Zinnia's 2nd offspring and it looks like she has her mother's beautiful colored fiber.

Now my sister won't have any excuse for not giving me some more of the fiber I love using for doll hair. Hint! Hint!  Hope you're reading this baby sister.

Isn't Gladiola beautiful?

It's going to be hard telling her apart from Peony, and Marigold - both shown below.

Peony 

Marigold

Here's what my sister had to say about Gladiola, "Some excitement on the farm today - our girl Zinnia finally went into labor (6 days late) only head and 1 leg presented; I had to go in; left leg was bent and down under pelvic bone - vet was on his way but I could not wait. I was able to straighten the leg and deliver a beautiful girl. I am SOOO proud of myself - the first time I was able to handle this! Mom and baby are doing fine.

Introducing our herd sire Cosmo's second cria - a girl, my husband Karl named Gladiola because we were so "glad" everything worked out fine and so "glad" the waiting is over!"

So now my sister has three adorable alpacas with beautiful white faces.

I Finished My Regency Dolls With Paperclay and Painted Faces - Meet Emily and Esther

I finally finished the Regency Era  paperclay and painted faces dolls that I was making based upon the Bonnets and Beaus: A Regency Doll Project online class that I've been taking during the first session of Artful Gathering.

The online class was taught by Hally Levesque who is an exceptional art doll artist, photographer and a bit of a history buff. Not only are her video's easy to follow and beautifully taught but they are sprinkled with historical tidbits of life with Jane Austen - which I loved.   Now why would that be? Hmmm.... History tidbits for a history buff....... Hmmm....

Since I never do anything in moderation I, of course, couldn't just make one doll. I had to make two.

I was looking forward to taking this class as it would be the first time I would be sculpting the dolls faces, hands, and feet out of paperclay and then painting them with acrylic paints. Acrylic painting of any sort is not my strongest skill - so I knew this would be very challenging. At the very least it was going to be interesting if not comical.

I had no problem with the costumes and cloth body. Sculpting the heads and legs was a bit of a challenge but I finally got the knack of it after experimenting a few times. Sculpting the fingers was much harder than I had anticipated and I ended up not liking mine. They looked like Frankenstein hands so I changed them into more of a solid hand.

Painting the faces was a real challenge. I just couldn't get them the way I would have liked them to be. Suffice to say, acrylic painting of doll faces is still not by strongest suit.

They say practice makes perfect so, who knows. Perhaps it's a skill I can master over time. Right now I wouldn't hold my breath.

Instead of using mohair for their hair I decided to use my sister's alpaca fiber from her Rock Garden Alpacas Farm. I used Zinnia's beautiful fiber for the doll in the white outfit and Ivy's fiber for the doll in the dark brown and black outfit. I LOVE working with the alpaca fiber. It makes fantastic doll hair.

All in all I was satisfied with the way my dolls came out and decided to name them Emily and Esther. Emily is the doll in the white outfit and Esther is the doll in the dark brown and black outfit. Here's their stories:

Emily and Esther are not only best friends, but are sisters of the heart. They're not blood relatives, but have grown up together and act like sisters in every conceivable way. Where you find Emily you also find Esther.

They dress alike, act alike, and finish each others sentences. They laugh at the same jokes, wear the same perfume, have the same tastes and opinions on just about every subject, and have the same dispositions.

So, of course, when it came to beau's they both fell in love with the same man, Augustus. He, of course, fell in love with both of them - they were so much alike. Both beautiful and both the essence of femininity. How could he not love both of them?

But, Augustus knew that he couldn't court both of them at the same time. That would just be wrong and totally scandalous. He loved both of them but couldn't very well marry both of them. What could he do? What should he do?

Emily and Esther knew that Augustus loved both of them, but knew he couldn't court both of them or marry both of them. If either one of them wanted to marry him he would have to choose between them or they would have to decide this for him. Should they choose for him?

What a dilemma. What should they do?  Should Emily marry Augustus or should Esther marry Augustus? And, how were they to choose.

Or, should they both walk away from the only man each has ever loved?

Should one be happy or should both be miserable? What a dilemma? What should they do?

Hmmm...... What do you think they'll do?

Hawk Family

The "Egg Muff's" are a fun loving group of dolls that love to sneak around and maybe, every once in awhile, drop in unexpectedly. Toni E. Hawk and her brother, Tom A. Hawk, are the most fun loving of the group. You might find them peeking around a corner, peeking over the windowsill, peeking through a keyhole in a door, or sneaking into your room. You just never know. Sometimes you might just catch a glimpse of their eyes and hair as they try to sneak a peek. If you listen carefully, you might even hear them laughing, even chuckling away. Sometimes you might even catch them doing a little jig. You just never know what they may do. They love to laugh. They love to have fun. But, most of all they love to play hide and peek! No, not hide and seek! Hide and peek!

Toni E. Hawk and Tom A. Hawk are twins. She might seem shy and well-mannered, but she is anything but. She is highly intelligent and loves a good joke. She isn't afraid of taking on her twin brother, Tom A. Hawk, or his best friend, Spike A Peek. In fact, Toni E. Hawk actually comes up with the best thought out practical jokes around which makes her just a little bit intimidating to the other member's of the Egg Muff Series. However, when everyone gets to laughing at Toni E. Hawk's latest gag everyone soon forgets how intimidated they are by her intelligence.

Tom A. Hawk is anything but shy and well-mannered. He, too, is highly intelligent and loves a good joke and isn't afraid of taking on his twin sister, Toni E. Hawk, or his best friend, Spike A Peek. Unlike his sister, however, his intelligence isn't intimidating at all. In fact, Tom A Hawk does an exceptional job of hiding his intelligence while showcasing his wit, his charm, and his good looks. The girls just can't resist a charming, good looking, bit of a devil in him type of guy with a tomahawk hairdo.

Spike A Peek is actually the most rambunctious of the Egg Muffs and, generally, the least level headed. He always lets the fun get the better of him and finds that, more often then not, he's in the "Muff House" (the Egg Muff Series version of a doghouse) being "muffed!" This is also known as a "time-out!" Spike A Peek doesn't use his "time-out" and being "muffed" wisely. He uses it as an opportunity to think up his next prank. The one he's going to play on Tom A. Hawk.

Nancy Dew Drop is actually the most well behaved of the Egg Muffs and, generally, the most level headed. Sometimes, even Nancy lets the fun get the better of her and you might just hear her giggling in the background. Just listen for a sweet "tee-hee-hee" and that will be Nancy Dew Drop.

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THE HAWK FAMILY

Over the years Mr. and Mrs. Hawk's family has grown to eleven so Tom A. Hawk and Toni E. Hawk have a lot of brothers and sisters to play jokes on.   With one short of a dozen the Hawk's thought it would be a good time to introduce them all to you.

Ditsy Daisy Hawk is the 3rd oldest and most assuredly the most "ditsy" of all the Hawk's. The 4th oldest is Dapper Devil Shamus Hawk and he is, well, a bit of a devil. He has a wicked sense of humor - in true Hawk fashion. The 5th oldest is Penelope Pinhead Hawk and she is every bit as lovely as as she is a pinhead. Common sense is not in her vocabulary.

The 3 middle children are Wild Irish Rose Hawk, Tangerine Lilly Hawk, and Henrietta Hawk. Wild Irish Rose Hawk is a "wild child" who is as carefree as she is wild. Tangerine Lilly Hawk takes after her father Tom A. Hawk. If someone is pulling a prank on someone else Lilly is the first person suspected. Henrietta is a little on the timid side and is always being taken by surprise.

 

The "babies" of the Hawk family are Devilish Cousin Andy Hawk, Cousin Reginald Reggie Pinhead Hawk, and Cousin Hillary's Secret Hawk. They are a trio of mischievous cousins that try their Aunt Nancy Dew Drops patience at times. After baby sitting them for a few hours Aunt Nancy has a migraine and has to go home to rest. That's when she leaves the baby sitting to Spike A Peek and that might actually be her mistake as he tends to put ideas into the mischievous cousins little heads. He is an "Egg Muff" after all.

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

Fall, Scarecrow, Pumpkins, Thanksgiving and Pilgrims Free Tutorials, E-Patterns, Printables and E-Books

If you love "freebies" for creating crafts for the Fall and Thanksgiving holiday season you're going to love all our Fall, Scarecrow, Pumpkins, Thanksgiving and Pilgrims Free Tutorials, E-Patterns, Printables and E-Books.

I love to create free e-patterns, free e-printables, and free e-books for my customers and blog readers and have created several of each.

Fall Decorating Fun Free Tutorials, E-Patterns, and E-Books

How To Make A Beautiful Fall Silk Floral Cornucopia Tutorial and Free E-Book

How To Make A Beautiful Fall Sunflower and Black-Eyed Susan's Silk Floral Centerpiece Free E-Book

How To Make A Fall Silk Floral and Straw Front Door Wreath Tutorial and Free E-Book

Painted and Stenciled Terracotta Pot Decoration Free E-Book

Punkin Ornaments Are We! Free E-Pattern

Let's Give Thanks For Fall, Pumpkin, Pilgrims, Silk Florals and Thanksgiving Season Decorations Free E-Books and E-Patterns

Gotta Love Pilgrims - Linda's How-Do-I Series? How To Make Some Adorable Clothespin Doll Pilgrims Free E-Book

How I Made My Two Adorable Doll Pin Pilgrims & Free E-Book 

Gotta Love Mini Pumpkin Ornaments Free E-Pattern

Needle Felted Pumpkin Picture Free E-Pattern

How To Make A Quick & Easy Fall Indoor Wall Hanging Floral Wreath

How To Make A Fall Wall Hanging Basket Floral Arrangement

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Copyright © 2004 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Written By Linda Walsh of Linda Walsh Originals and Linda's Blog. Linda is a doll maker and doll pattern designer.