On the ferry to Newfoundland...
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Sometimes I get the feeling that most people think I pop out my doll costumes just like that. But I struggle too. In fact way more nowadays than I used to. I was working on developing a KID size version of my 'Outlander' costumes, and since Peach was my only available KID, I used her as my model....  ...and when the outfit was done, I took some photos of her with Rosie.... 
Something didn't seem quite right to me - like the outfit needed something - so I tried making a little cap. I wanted one that sat on the back of the head and helped to minimize the bigger KID head size. The first one wasn't right, and way too small, so I made a second one. I also thought the jacket lacked something, so added chain stitch embroidery around the edges just like Rosie's. The stomacher seemed too long, and at that point there was nothing I could do to physically change that, so I embroidered a chain stitch edge around it and painted the outer edge a dark blue to make it 'blend in' to the colour of her skirt. And I thought I'd try the outfit on Lisa with her darker hair to see how that would look....  I was very happy with the changes to the outfit...
...but the two of them didn't seem to work as well together as I had hoped. Lisa seemed to give off an 'old west' vibe, whereas I was really looking for something several decades older.  So I thought I'd try Peach again, since she has a narrower face, and very small features compared to the other KIDs. And this time I was lazy and didn't feel like redressing them both, so I just switched their heads....  I think I liked the outfit best on Peach after all, and it had also become clear that to make a KID work best in a photo with a Raccoon lady, I'd need to have the KID's head in 3/4 view....  I don't know if it's her sculpt, or her wig, but Peach definitely looked more period appropriate...  Today, August 25th, is National Parks Day. My dolls have been to quite a few, both in the USA and Canada, so I thought I'd share some.... The Badlands of South Dakota....  Olympic National Park in Washington....  Waterton Lakes in Alberta....  Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming....  The Grand Canyon, Arizona...  White Sands, New Mexico...  Arches, National Park, Utah....  Mount Edith Cavell, Jasper, Alberta...  The Grand Tetons, Wyoming...  Pacific Rim National Park, Vancouver Island, British Columbia...  Icefields Centre, Jasper National Park, Alberta....  Great Sand Dunes National Monument, Colorado...  Emerald Lake, Yoho National Park, British Columbia...  And lots more. It would be nice if we could go visit some of them again.....
White-washing the fence....  He sure has his work cut out for him!
One of my old cloth dolls moving on to a new home is the Princess and the Frog, made some time around 1990. But before she goes, I wanted to take some nice photos, since I don't really have any to remember her by. So I thought I'd shoot a small part of the story.... One fine day, the Princess was out in her garden....  ..when she accidentally dropped her golden ball into the fountain....  She didn't want to get her hands (or sleeves) wet. "Oh dear, now what do I do?"  Then she heard a little voice... "What's the matter? Can I be of help?"  "I dropped my ball in the fountain, and can't really reach in and take it out." "Well, I can get it out for you, but I want something in exchange."  "Like what?"  The frog was really an enchanted Prince, and he was hoping this Princess would finally be able to break the spell, and return him to his human form.... "I want you to take me into the castle with you, to eat at the table with you, and sleep in the same room as you, and to live in the castle with you forever..."  Well, the Princess wasn't really listening. She just wanted her ball back, so she agreed. So the frog dived into the fountain...  ...and a few moments later, came up with her golden ball...  'Here you go, Princess..."  "Now pick me up, and take me into the palace with you..."  But she had no intention of keeping her promise...  ...and ran back to the castle with her ball, leaving the frog to find his own way. When the frog arrived, the guards called the King, who asked his daughter if she had really promised to take the frog home with her. When she said that she did, her father insisted that she had to keep her promise, and she was reluctantly forced to let the frog sit with her at dinner....  The frog disgusted her, and she just kept thinking of some way to get out of her side of the bargain.  As the rest of the story goes, the Princess reluctantly followed through on her promises - mostly because the King insisted that she had to. After all a promise is a promise.
With time she grew to actually like him, and they became good friends. Then one day she gave him a kiss, and the spell was broken, and he returned to his normal human self, and the two of them lived happily ever after. Or so the story goes. But we'll just have to imagine the ending, since I didn't shoot that part, because there was only so much I could do with these two characters. So, I finally decided on a guy for Yvette. I had been going back and forth trying to decide between Claude, Oscar, and Edan, all of which are younger looking guys. In the end I decided to order Edan.  I ordered him in Special Real skin, on the Model body with mobility joint, and makeup B, but without the beauty marks....(which I removed in PhotoShop)  I'm thinking that when he joins the rest of the gang, he won't be a knight like the other guys, but more of a young noble. I'm thinking something along the line of Kevin Costner's costumes in Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves, or maybe Francois Arnaud (Cesare Borgia) in the Borgias.
I expect it will take some time before he arrives, since Iplehouse is averaging four months right now, so that means roughly towards the end of December. So plenty of time to make his outfit. My little Kaye Wiggs girls decided to get together to celebrate Rag's second birthday, and even had a special kitty cake for him...      "Happy birthday, Rags!"  "You do know that he can't blow out that candle, right?"  But Cinnamon is undeterred. He can still enjoy looking at the flame.  *Rags is a small, jointed, resin cat, by Daisy Dayes. He was my prize for the Photo Scavenger Hunt on Resin Cafe, in the Summer of 2018. Since I like to acknowledge the one year anniversary of the arrival of my small dolls and critters, by making them a special cake, and throwing them a little party, I thought it was about time to celebrate Rags arrival date, especially since I'd already missed it last year. So this year is his second anniversary.
It's rumoured that cats have nine lives, and Rags certainly has quite a few. He lives with my little Kaye Wiggs girls, and also with several of my other contemporary families, as well as back in time in Victorian days, and in Fantasy Medieval times. He really gets around. |
AuthorMartha Boers is an award-winning Canadian doll maker and costumer specializing in fantasy and historical-style costumes. Archives
March 2023
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