Happy New Year to you all dear friends & readers !
Welcome to a bright shiny New Year . . . . a New Year always reminds me of a fresh clean sheet of paper & a newly sharpened pencil . . . . maybe a chance to do some things a little differently this time around - perhaps make some subtle changes ?
My lovely neighbour Jenny came to my Cottage just after the craft fair in early November.
She had seen a primitive doll that had caught her eye & had an idea brewing around in her head.
(This is the doll in the photo below with the arrow pointing to her)
(This is the doll in the photo below with the arrow pointing to her)
The pattern is by Sun Valley Primitives & is called "Raggedy Angel."
Jenny's stepdaughter Emily lives in Australia & owns a vintage caravan which she has fitted out as a mobile hair & beauty salon
Emily has named her caravan Bob ... which stands for "Beauty On Board"
Jenny wanted me to make a Primitive Angel doll that Emily could hang in Bob
Jenny wanted me to make a Primitive Angel doll that Emily could hang in Bob
She emailed me a couple of photos so I could get a feel for the style of the caravan & thanks to the wonders of facebook .... I was able to do some research on the interior aesthetics of it all.
Jenny had put a great deal of thought into this gift for Emily & was quite specific in her ideas.
Her requests were for a doll the same size as Raggedy Angel, not painted striped legs but more stocking style with perhaps some painted flowers, a shorter dress not with a felt christmas tree stitched on but possibly flowers again, the same colour hair but tight curls (to match Emilys hair) & definately a raggedy style face
She wanted the doll to have some things in her arms that could be interchanged for different seasons ... for example some berries/greenery at christmas time.
After much research on the caravans interior, Jenny & I decided on a pale-ish green fabric to compliment the many plants that Emily has, & the fresh, clean, natural palette.
Her requests were for a doll the same size as Raggedy Angel, not painted striped legs but more stocking style with perhaps some painted flowers, a shorter dress not with a felt christmas tree stitched on but possibly flowers again, the same colour hair but tight curls (to match Emilys hair) & definately a raggedy style face
She wanted the doll to have some things in her arms that could be interchanged for different seasons ... for example some berries/greenery at christmas time.
After much research on the caravans interior, Jenny & I decided on a pale-ish green fabric to compliment the many plants that Emily has, & the fresh, clean, natural palette.
I began by cutting out some wool felt flowers & blanket stitching them to the lower part of the dress
I sewed some legs in a stripey fabric & then handpainted black boots onto the foot area
 |
| Miss Pippi oversaw this part of the construction !!! |
Rather than paint flowers on (as Jenny had suggested) I felt more confident hand sewing tiny lazy daisies around the stocking part of the legs
After I had hemmed the dress I added a gathered black tulle petticoat to give it some extra dimension ......
...... & left the bottom of the petticoat just peeping out.
Next came the challenge of the curly hair - thankfully I had some hand dyed Jute left over from the previous Prim Angel that I could use
I found a great tutorial *here* about curling dolls hair, but instead of using just water as suggested ... I used a PVA/water mixture as I was concerned about the curls dropping
Next came the challenge of the curly hair - thankfully I had some hand dyed Jute left over from the previous Prim Angel that I could use
I found a great tutorial *here* about curling dolls hair, but instead of using just water as suggested ... I used a PVA/water mixture as I was concerned about the curls dropping
Winding the strands around knitting needles & waiting to dry was a labour intensive project but gave me exactly the look I was after - tight bouncy curls, just like Emily's hair
Next came the issue of what to sit in her arms?
I was able to click/save the image of her logo & print it off onto some calico with freezer paper ironed to the back
I cut out a raw linen heart & blanket stitched the Bob logo to my heart shape
After I stuffed the heart I found (online) some miniature comb & scissor charms which I stitched to the top, then attached the heart to the dolls hands
After I stuffed the heart I found (online) some miniature comb & scissor charms which I stitched to the top, then attached the heart to the dolls hands
Thankfully I had one set left of the corrugated iron wings I use for this Angel - although these are detachable, I think they definately finish her off - anything smaller would look quite lost
This is how she looked without any embellishments
I had fun playing around with some bits & bobs to tuck into her arms behind the heart ... chalkboard signs, small silver nail scissors, some christmas berries & greenery, rusty stars etc ... all removable
This is how she looked with all her added bits &pieces
I must confess I felt quite nervous about Emily receiving her .... dolls are such a personal thing & you tend to either love or hate them, there is seldom any real middle ground.
So I was relieved on Christmas Day to receive a gorgeous text photo from Jenny of Emily holding her doll, smiling & giving the thumbs up, & a message to say "she adored her & can't wait to get her home to hang her up in Bob"
May the year ahead be a good & kind one to all of you dear friends & may you find some time in all the busy-ness of your days to take care of yourselves
Thanks So Very Much for your visits here today,
With much love & friendship to you All,
Julie & the furry ones x0x0x0
I must confess I felt quite nervous about Emily receiving her .... dolls are such a personal thing & you tend to either love or hate them, there is seldom any real middle ground.
So I was relieved on Christmas Day to receive a gorgeous text photo from Jenny of Emily holding her doll, smiling & giving the thumbs up, & a message to say "she adored her & can't wait to get her home to hang her up in Bob"
May the year ahead be a good & kind one to all of you dear friends & may you find some time in all the busy-ness of your days to take care of yourselves
With much love & friendship to you All,
Julie & the furry ones x0x0x0
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