NEW! Vintage animal dolls....

Last month I blogged about chanelling my inner Dr. Frankenstein and creating some new 'Frankendolls', mixing and matching assorted different animal heads to doll bodies.

Great fun was had by all and they've all successfully made it through the various kiln firings to end up as painted and assembled animal dolls.  So I've spent some quality time this week starting to dress them....

I wanted to try something different for their costumes, having found in one of my vintage children's books some illustrations of various animals in colourful printed dresses.

This presented me with something of a conundrum, as a quick Google search revealed no printed silk ribbons available anywhere.

Hmmm..... still, no problem, *I thought*.  I can make my own!

Now, this is exactly the sort of addle-brained thing I usually come up with.  Thinking that something is going to be easy and straightforward when it's anything but.

So things went something like this......

Me:  Right.  All I have to do is design and print perfectly scaled silk 'ribbons' to use for skirts and bodices.  Shouldn't take long.  I know I have some printable silk 'photo fabric' somewhere.  It's in a safe place.

Scene:  Several hours later, I'm sitting on the floor of the workroom, surrounded by the contents of dozens of boxes and files, but no photo fabric.

Me: *plaintively*  I KNOW it's here somewhere.  I've never even used it!  Where have I put it....?

Scene:  Even later.  Workroom looks as though a small thermo-nuclear device has detonated in it.  Stuff EVERYWHERE!

Me:  Buggrit.  Well there's really only one place left I haven't searched, but it CAN'T POSSIBLY be there.

Scene:  Five minutes later.

Me:  Well I'll be blowed.  It was here all along.  In the very last place I thought it would be.

Small Dog: *puts her head round the door to survey the carnage*  Hav we hadd burglirs?

Me: *scathingly* Yes, very funny.  Thanks for all your help.  NOT!

SD: *reprovingly* Doant be sarkasstick.  Iff yue wontid me to help yue onlie had to arsk.  Eniwai, ai wos haven mai shedewled napp.  Its in mai kontrakt.

Me: *sigh*

Having found the photo fabric, things did not noticeably improve and I had several abortive tries at designing, rescaling and printing, wasting a WHOLE SHEET of the VERY EXPENSIVE special habotai paper-backed silk in the process. 
Successive tries were either too big or too small.  Too much ink or not enough....

*more sighing and quite a lot of under my breath swearing*

Eventually, after eleventy hundred attempts, I succeeded in printing a selection of skirt and bodice patterns with just the right amount of ink, perfectly scaled to fit my new little dolls.

Hurrah!

And so, I present the first of my new Frankendolls.....

Harriet Hare, Rosie Rabbit and Katie Kitty

Made from porcelain, they measure 1  1/2" tall and have jointed, poseable arms and legs.

They can stand, sit, do handstands....!

They each have silk underwear, lacy petticoats,little cotton socks and dainty silk shoes with leather soles.  Their printed silk dresses are fully lined and finished with ribbon bows.

Each doll comes in a neat little box with an illustrated lid.

Shown by a thimble to show scale

They're now listed on the website HERE! 

Coming soon....  Betsy Bear, Melissa Mouse, Daisy Duck, Lucy Lamb and Gertie Goose.