On my worktable

 A new doll........... not quite finished.  If you saw the last post I had a bit of a disater with the last mask for this doll.  This mask was sewn on twice. 

I have to say, this dolly is so accident prone.  She has fallen down frequently, split her seams, had to have a spot wash and had her clothing unpicked and resewn.

And she is not quite finished.  She needs shoes and socks, and an accessory item, but I am giving her a rest so we can both settle down.  I think her expression is a bit peeved or sad or fed up.

What do you think?









Now as for the mask...............I managed to salvage the paperclay. After removing the fabric, it just needed a good sand and it is ready for a new face to be drawn.  Of course I had to tea dye the cotton knit and I hope the colour is the same.  Who would have thought something so simple was so complicated!

As much as I have enjoyed the challenge of making these paperclay masks, I do want to create a mask that is lightweight.  I have a mask which is just layers of felt and cotton knit, and it seems to be a strong enough mask to hold the features. 

Soft mask - no paperclay

The features will be much softer and from memory the doll in the Blue dress and jacket named Kym is made with the softer mask.
(See my thumbnails on the right.)







And on to the other thing I have been working on - The Pants!  And a Shirt!  Now I know these look a bit rough and they are still pinned and unfinished, but I love the character this clothing gives the bear. 














I am so inspired by various Russian bear artists. 

Olga Zharkova

Philomena Kloss









And I have discovered that ageing a teddy is "a thing".
So more on that later.  At the moment I am back to making things.  Check my Etsy page and press on like.  I feel a bit lost amongst all those talented makers.