New Wooden Friends

well, lovies...i have been quite negligent in the blog posting department. i assure you, it is not without cause!

Helen and i have been making hoards and swarms of little wooden friends(okay, i've been making them, and Helen's been supervising)...and now you may pick up your favorite in my Etsy shop!

this time i made gnomes, pirates, mermaids, fairies, ballerinas, bathing beauties, and a grandmother with her grandson.

i estimate that it takes about 45 minutes of constant painting to complete each doll. however, each doll requires drying time between multiple coats of paint and many of them have loads of details. to save time and sanity, i try to make several dolls at once. this means that you'll see new dolls less frequently, but when they are ready...loads of them will appear all at once!



here are photos of the dolls in process and of Helen painting a doll house for all of her new wooden friends.

A Joyful Girl

my girl Clara is a bubble. always cheerful. always loving. generally agreeable. always moving...impossible to get a good photograph.
this week we designed a skirt together, and i asked her to model it for my shop. she agreed, and i was able to snap some wonderful photos of my joyful girl. don't you just want to eat her up?

Isn't She Lovely?

isn't she wonderful? (thanks, Stevie, i always hear you when i see my girls)

without ANY assistance (or permission-CLARA!), they've gotten all dressed up. and Mommy gets to order new make-up!

*Sophie*

so, i've been busily making Waldorf-inspired dolls (and loving every minute of it ~ here's *Fawn* for those of you who have yet to meet her)



my girl Helen (4) is busily designing hers. we've agreed that i'll only make her one EVER, so she needs to think a bit about what she wants her doll to look like (so far, she's firmly decided on peach colored skin and pinky-peach hair, but she's still debating the eye color...lavender at last check, but yesterday it was black...we'll see)

Clara (2) desperately wants one of these lovelies, too. since she's so little, i just cannot imagine giving her a dress-up doll...besides, the doll she wants at 2 is not likely to be the doll she'd design at 4 or 5...and she only gets one EVER. but, we all know i'm a giant sucker for big brown eyes and strawberry-blond ringlets...SO



here's *Sophie* the snuggle doll. she has a super soft cotton velour body, so the clothes don't frustrate my baby, but she still has *big girl* hair...it's just tied up in short little pony tails that are easily repairable if need be. Clara chose the grassy green color of her suit, and i tried to mimic Clara's features for the rest of the doll.



i'm pretty sure *Sophie* is named for the daughter of www.LuLusWoobies.etsy.com i recently painted a custom set of dolls for LuLu's girls, and Clara has been fascinated by the name *Sophie* ever since!



we're pretty excited about these snuggle dolls around here, so Connor and Zoe will be making their debut at Imogen's Garden at Etsy very soon!

Happy Birthday, Jackson!

i've got 4 kids, but my #2 is the one who shocks me each year. somehow, i can never get a grip on how much he's grown...how much time has passed from one birthday to the next.

today is Jack's 7th birthday (really? seriously? 7?). he's an orange nut, and it is so difficult to find orange things! i looked to Etsy and hit the jackpot...

River is here!

here she is ladies and gents! this little girl is SO beautiful to me!! i altered the pattern that gave Eva funny arms...and i think i've got it right this time.

River is about 15" tall with golden skin and jet black eyes. her hair is so fun...made of three types of wool for a fun and funky look...her highlights match her dress and bring out the golden tones in her skin.

she's ready for a new home! hop on over to the Garden at Etsy and pick her up!!

Meet "Eva"

FINALLY she's finished! i had such a marvelous time creating this doll. she was a real challenge, but i think she's totally worth it. since she's been so well received, i've decided to make this type of Waldorf-inspired natural doll for my shop.

this lovely girl is named "Eva". Helen was my brain trust on this one. Eva was my great-grandmother's name, and it is a derivative of "Eve". we thought it most appropriate as she is the first doll of this type and took 7 days to create.

Eva is entirely made by hand of all natural materials. she has cotton skin, cotton thread, and wonderfully soft wool stuffing. her hair is made of three types of wool yarn (i'm fairly certain the shiny stuff isn't *natural*, but the effect is worth it).

Helen says she'll call the doll "Evie" sometimes...as that was the name my great-grandmother most often went by...if you were familiar enough to call her by her first name. Evie Whitten was always just *Mamaw* to me!

"River" is already in progress...i'll be sure to let you know when she's ready to go to her new home!