Sunday 8 January 2017

Day 8 - Mwahahahaha....!!!

I had a spare hour or so to myself this afternoon, so instead of snuggling up on the sofa with Small Dog to watch old films on TV,  I spent the time productively in the workroom, doing another batch of casting.

This time I decided to channel my inner Dr. Frankenstein, swapping heads with bodies and generally taking extreme dissection to a whole new maniacal level.

*cue diabolical laughter* Mwahahahaha!

It's been some time since I cast any 1/12th dolls, having sold 95% of  my character moulds back in 2009 (good grief.... is it really THAT long ago?!)  However, I kept back some of my very favourite children moulds, including some lovely 1/12th scale antique reproduction dolls.

So today, as well as beheading and reconstructing, I've cast a selection of those..... K*R 117 (Mein Liebling), A. Marque, Simon & Halbig 107, a beautiful Bru, plus a Long Face and Laughing Jumeau.


Some 1/12th children alongside my tiny toy dolls

I have a mind to make some elaborate children and toy combos, plus, just for fun, a selection of children in fancy dress.

In my opinion, the epitome of matching mother/daughter/doll sets were made by Sue Atkinson, of Sunday Dolls.  Miniature dollmakers will know of her through her must-have book, Making & Dressing Doll's House Dolls in 1/12th Scale, which surely must have a place on the bookshelves of any dollmaker worth his or her salt.


My first copy of her book, signed by Sue herself!  I also have a later edition.

An example of a matching mother and daughter set by Sue Atkinson, dressed in their Sunday Best.

Mother, daughter and baby doll in matching costumes
I was fortunate to meet Sue several times at Fairs in the late 1980s and her dolls were a joy to behold.  I've always had a particular soft spot for her children dolls, and as I still have some very special child moulds, I've decided to make some to complement my toys.  I will only be making a few over the course of this year but in the coming few weeks I'll be planning costumes and selecting fabrics and trimmings with a view to making a start as soon as this current casting batch comes through the kiln.

I'm thinking of children, both girls and boys, in Georgian, Regency, Victorian and Edwardian costumes, with matching dolls and toys.  No doubt it will feel strange to go back to 1/12th after making such tiny dolls for so long, but I'm sure it will all come back to me.

2017 might not be so bad after all......  ðŸ˜‰


9 comments:

DollMum said...

I have that book by Sue Atkinson and some of her children 1/12th scale dolls (I made sure to pick the K&R ones as I love them). I'll be interested to see what you do with the K&R 117.

Kathy Moore said...

Well, OK, I can get with you on making some 1:12 children, so long as you get back to the smaller ones right after!!😉

Esther said...

I look forward to seeing these dolls, Sandra. I used to dress dollhouse dolls and I have that very book! I have always loved the antique doll style dollhouse dolls. More modern style faces are alright but there is something especially sweet, to me, about those tiny antique doll faces.

I'm curious as to how you can swap heads on the dolls, unless they are the kind that the head is not attached to the torso? Would you please explain a bit more? Esther

Alexandra Martinez said...

It´s very interesting to read your posts. I know nothing about doll making so this is like a complete new world for me. Thank you.

Sandra Morris said...

Kathy... I'm mainly casting the little dolls and toys, but it takes A LOT of them to fill my kiln, so this time I thought I'd fill in the gaps with some children to go with them :)

Sandra Morris said...

Esther... I'll cover the head/body swap thing in a post later this week! ;)

Maria Blanca "AyamontinoMaria" said...

Sandra, eres una verdadera artista en esto de las muñecas...me encantará ver como sigue el proceso, aunque creo que nunca me atreveré a hacer algo así...Un beso

Sandra Morris said...

Gracias María! Estoy muy contento de que disfrutes de mis publicaciones :)

elizabeth s said...

I am very familiar with that book, although I have little to no skills in making doll's clothes, nevertheless I am still fascinated and delighted by them.
I think that this is a good way to renew a lost love by stepping outside of the scale your most comfortable with and revisiting 1/12th scale once again.
An new adventure not only for you but also for us.