Creating those masks....

Well, I decided to try to recreate one of the mask faces for those little dollies I like so much. I happened to find a small doll - I'm not sure if the head is porcelain or just a resin. She was missing an arm and her hair was falling off, so I rescued her from the $2 box. I spread a generous layer of vaseline on the surface and here is the method I used to create a paperclay mask.





Now the mask is quite fragile because it is so thin. I let the paperclay dry out for a day, sanded the face and prised it away from the head -(I was quite nervous doing this, I was sure it would crumble, but it didn't!)



There is still trapped moisture on the inside, so I let this dry some more and then to strengthen it, I decoupaged the inside with torn paper and diluted PVA glue. It worked quite well and dried quite strong. Although it did shrink a little, the mask is a little narrower than the original head, which is okay, because it keeps the head close to the original size of the body. Of course I will make a new body, I only have some white cotton jersey fabric which I will try to dye a skin colour. I'm not sure this will give the right body shape when I make it up, jersey is not the body fabric I had for the other doll, but we will see what happens..........

Doing Something.........

I am exhausted from trying to fit in my craft. I am a wife, mother, friend, sister, daughter,home maker,cook, cleaner, hostess,secretary, adviser, problem solver and general gofor - before I am myself! I guess that sentence doesn't make much sense, but I am continually frustrated by distractions to what I really want to do. Now I understand why artists go bush and stay in complete isolation while finding inspiration and creativity. It is impossible for me to just spend a whole day working on my craft. I can't really blame my family, because even on the odd day when I have a few free hours - I can't get the clear head space to just pick up something and work on it. I am blocked. I don't know why. If I had nothing to do I would be complaining too. I don't know what is going on with me. I try, but you really can't force creativity, it just comes out of you. Trouble is - it is not coming out of me! I have tried making something simple and quick, and enjoyed it, but again, not finished yet. So after my whinge, here are some pics of something I have been trying to work on.

When I was in Riomaggiore I found this quaint little doll shop, where this lovely young woman was creating the sweetest dolls





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I could not resist coming home with one. I really loved the one in the red scarf, and almost picked her. (I took the picture of her through the window when the shop was shut, I couldn't take photos in the shop, that would be bad manners!)




But it was the freckles, oversized boots! and ethnic look of the one in green that stole my heart.



Now if any of you know your dollies, you will recognise that these little girls are actually 'Glorex' mask face dolls. I did not realise till I got home - I posted the doll back to Australia so she was not crushed in the luggage, so I only had her for about 1 hour before she was sent home. Anyway.......she is a 'Glorex' doll. Well, I don't mind at all, because she is so sweet and the doll maker has really given her her own charecter. I love her. But being a doll maker, I know I could make one of my own. Well, a few weeks back we had a doll show here in Adelaide, and of all things, there was a made up face mask for a 'Glorex' doll! It sold for the bargain price of $10 which included the body pattern and even the arm armatures! When I got home, I found the body fabric in my stash, just enough for her body and limbs! So I can make my own doll, which I am working on now. I just love the sweet faces of these dolls. I would like to make my own mask version - one day when I have time. She is very easy to put together.


If you are interested, you can get these masks and instructions to make the dolls from
CR's Crafts
There is an Australian source, but I have not seen representation at the shows and the email address bounces, so it is probably worth going by the US supplier. So for the time being, I am trying to wake up my creativity by making this type of doll. Very simple, very basic, but very sweet and endearing.

Catching up on news

The last 2 weekends have been very busy. We have a doll show here in Adelaide that attracts collectors and doll lovers from all over the country. Our doll club had a display table, which we are lucky enough to have every year at this show. As you can see we have a wonderful array of dolls made by our talented artists. I am always very unorganised and at the last minute decide what I can actually take for display, I always think my dolls are somehow different and simple compared to the wonderful beaded and textile rich art dolls our members make. Well, at the show, a lovely lady who had previously purchased one of my Santa dolls, fell in love with a simple little doll I had brought along even though her cardigan was unfinished (I made it from a sock!) Well long story short, I bought a needle and some tiny buttons, borrowed some thread and finished the cardi - and sold the doll! You never know what appeals to people, she was such a plain little doll, but this lady really wanted her. I know she has gone to a good home with lots of friends.


















Today is my mother's 85th birthday. One of our traditional Latvian treats is Piragi, a small pastry with bacon and onion filling. They are delicious and it is the one recipe I have from my mother. She loves them so I made some and had her over for lunch on Sunday to celebrate her birthday.


















And finally, I am working on a new doll pattern. I have an idea how I would like this doll to look. I am really moving towards much simpler bodies and dolls that are vintage look. I just wish I had more time to do all the things I want to do........

Finally something to write about!

I would love to have the time to post messages every day on this site, but I just can't make the time. A bit like exercise.......I know I should do it, I know I can do it, but I don't allow the time to do it. Anyway, there is no point in having a blog if nothing is happening worth blogging about. I really want to load up photos when I have some thing to say, because that's what I love to see on other people's blogs (I do have time to read other people's blogs by the way)! So, a few weeks ago when I said I had been evacuated from my previous studio to a smaller space, I thought you might be curious about my work space. Well here are the pictures to show what has become of my studio!




In the first 2 photos you can see there was 1 big room, which had a combustion wood heater and big windows that looked onto the back yard and there was a second small room where I stored all my fabrics and doll making stuff - including tools, doll stands and clays. I even had a desk to sculpt in that room. As you can see this makes for a wonderful home office space also!!!!




Now my new studio room has one small window that looks onto the side lane of the house.(When I look up I can see blue sky and tall gum trees swaying in the breeze)
And I must say Thank God for IKEA! It took me about 2 weeks of 12 hour days sorting my 'doll stuff' into keepers and dump its........It was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I did take a heap of 'items' to our doll club meeting, and bless the girls, I sold a heap of good stuff that was of use to other doll makers. Trust me I took a heap of give away items too and that was a good feeling to get rid of a big percentage of it.





Of course, this is not a good representation of the new studio. I was sorting through a lot of my previous body parts to start a new design, so there is a bit of mess. But as you can see there is a lot of storage in that small space and it is all organised and reasonably neat, once all the cupboard doors are shut. I actually like the room, I used to have my sewing table in there before my doll making took off, and I just have to get used to the new organisation of stuff. If it gets out of control, I can shut the door and no-one will know the mess I am in! What do you think?

Thankyou Jules!

Thankyou so much Jules from adventures in thread
Jules has awarded me as one of the favourite blogs she likes to visit. It was a lovely surprise when got back from my trip. Thank you Jules for this unexpected award!
This award must be passed on to 8 other creative people. (There are a few rules attached when accepting this award...........) Please feel free to deliver this gift to 8 other people and include the following text with the award on your site: These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. I'm passing this award on to the following people who I've been inspired by, and love reading thier blogs.

Mimi Kirchner
Sue McFadden
Susie McMahon
Bonnie Lee Fontaine
Lorell Lehman
Peta Stuart
Ulla Benulla
Christine Alvarado

Choosing these 8 sites has been difficult. There are so many sites I visit. The truth is, I am an internet lurker. I love to look and learn, but tend not to leave comments, even though I have met and know a couple of these ladies quite well. I encourage you to visit their sites and be inspired by their art, as I have been. There are so many people doing wonderful things..........................take time to look and learn as much as you can!

A computer whiz I am not

Well I have been trying to add a new pic to the top of my page, but html savvy I am not, so it will have to wait. I need to spend a lot more time on my blogging, which is at the moment almost impossible, so I will only do what I can...
I am very pleased about the doll I made especially for Australian Dolls, Bears and Collectibles magazine. Her name is Colleen and she is featured on the front cover... I have been published!

Back and starting over.

Well they say a change is as good as a holiday, so I am making changes - not entirely by my own choice!
Oh, it has been so long since I have posted. Sorry to those of you who have dropped in and seen nothing happening here. The truth is ....... nothing is happening! Since coming home from my whirlwind tour - 1 month........ many hotel rooms -
I have not had the clearness of mind to do anything apart from basic housewife and home office duties. I have been dreaming of making dolls. The problem has been my DH has decided he needed my working space for our office and I had to pack up all my stuff and relocate to a VERY SMALL ROOM! I have accumulated so much stuff I am at a loss as to what to do. There are 6 tubs of fabrics in the shed that I have to find room for! Consequently, I have been very distracted and unsettled since coming home. I did do a Barbara Willis class in June. I will post those pics as soon as I can. I hope to blog a bit more frequently. I have a lot of catching up to do. Here are some photos of the wonderful places we visited. I am so glad I took a lot of photos, for the memories...........

One month in Europe!

My husband and I.............(the Queen always says that and I think it is rather nice!) My husband and I are taking a month off work and travelling to Europe with friends. No.1 son will run the business and No.2 son will run the house. They are such good kids, I have no doubt all will be well. So 10 days in Italy i.e. Rome, Cinque Terre and Venice. 3 nights in Prague. 3 nights in Latvia (the homeland). 3 nights in Paris, 3 nights in London, 3 nights in Aberdeen, 1 night in Hong Kong.

This is a picture of Portofino. Since seeing the John Malkovich movie "Beyond the Clouds"
I have so wanted to go to the little village in the film. It is actually Portofino and I am obsessed. I can't wait to go there. So in two days I will be jetting off for a month.
Consequently, I have not had time to do any doll making or quilting. when I come back I will be doing a Barbara Willis class - she is visiting Adelaide and we will be making the "Forget me not fairy", which will get me in creative mood when I get back. Hopefully I am inspired and have artistic inspiration from travelling!


Keep well, I'll be back soon........
Sandy :-)

I'm still here......

Finally I can show you Colleen. She is a doll I have created for Australian Dolls Bears and Collectibles magazine. This year has been so busy for me right from January. I was contacted by Shirley Dougan who is a contributor to the magazine, and she asked me to submit a pattern suitable for the readers. Well I had to actually make something that would be appropriate for doll makers who may have limited experience and in making the doll I did try to keep it simple. I must say this is the type of doll that comes together so easily for me. She is pretty, has paperclay over cloth, and is painted. I realise that these are all the things I enjoy doing when I am making a doll, so she had been a breakthrough doll for me. The only thing is that right now, when I am in a creative head space, I am too busy doing office work for my contractor DH and planning our overseas trip (for which we leave on the 2nd May!) and there is no time to create dolls!








There has been a lot happening in the past month and I have pics to post, I just have not had time to sit at the computer and upload them. Hopefully I can get some done before we go away. There is always so much to do.....

Some pictures of my pattern dolls

Actually Impossible Princess is not a pattern, but I made her a couple of years ago and she is a mask face doll that I can make into a pattern.