Took a few more photos of Hope in the pink goddess outfit. I added some gold glitter to the flowers in her wreath, and now she really is finished. I just need to take the studio shots, and then she can be changed into something for the Holidays. These final photos are a very important part of the creative process for me. They are the final step - the artistic end product if you will - which I can keep forever, even after the costumes themselves have long gone onto new homes. So it's important to me to get some beautiful photos of the dolls in the outfits, before I release them. Of course, I prefer outdoor settings for dolls in fantasy outfits, and the recent snow is working really well, setting them off beautifully.
Today there's a bunch of household chores needing doing, but what time I have for dolls will be spent taking photos and knitting scarves. It's become so addictive that I'm even knitting scarves for my mice! With them being so tiny, I can knit one up in no time With all the freshly fallen snow putting everyone in the holiday mood, the girls decided it was time to go out and get a Christmas tree. They put on their warm clothes and off they all went. And what a job it was too! Piles of fresh snow, freezing cold temperatures, seven dolls, and nowhere to put anything down. They are very proud of the nice little tree they got, and can't wait to decorate it. Only thing is, I have to put the lights in it first. I think my hands have finally unthawed. I better go see how everyone else is doing.
Well, the forecast was right, and we got our snow in the night, and we have even more than they were predicting. Yay! I love snow! So, before the wind picks up and blows it off the trees, I went out for the first photos. First session was of Miki in the snow. I made her a soft cloak to go with her Elfin Archer outfit, and it comes in very handy in this weather. This is my favourite of the photos, where Miki looks like she could have stepped right out of a LOTR or Hobbit film. It's extremely cold out, and my bare hands hurt in no time, so I'll have to space out photography throughout the day. Or find some mitts or gloves. It's just hard to make fine adjustments on the doll, or change camera settings with bulky mitts. I still need to knit another scarf and sew some mitts for my tiny dolls, but it looks like this snow will be around for awhile, so there's no big rush. I need to plan and shoot all the upcoming Special Days photos that need snow, as there's never a guarantee there will be snow when I need it. Have to take advantage of it when it's here.
The final colour in our Iplekids Colour Challenge is "Gold", and I have Kassia in her white and gold dress, seated in a cloud of golden tinsel, and lights, holding a golden bird. We are supposed to get some snow today, and I'm hoping we do, but I'll believe it when I see it. In the meantime I'm trying to finish knitting another hat, block some scarves, and make some mittens, so the smaller girls are ready to go out. I think I better haul out all their boots as well.
The Summer Goddesses are finally finished! The final touch to complete the overall look, was the addition of the tendrils in her flower wreath. I had a choice between grape or gourd tendrils, but preferred the finer, golden coloured, gourd tendrils. So, here's Hope in the finished outfit..... It's not exactly summer out there right now, with the temperature well below zero, but we are hopefully expecting some more snow tomorrow, so I figured I'd better go out and take a few photos today.
With this outfit done, I'm going to finally take some time for my own dolls. Asa is still patiently waiting for her costume, and some of my little girls still need warmer clothes. I should make a few more elf hats, and take Holiday photos. And then there's Owen, all naked in his box. One of my favourite Canadian artists is Emily Carr, and today is her birthday. Several years ago Marianne and I made an art doll of Emily; Marianne sculpted her head, hands and feet, and I did the rest. I decided to take some photos to celebrate her birthday. Here she is on the beach, reworking one of her totem pole paintings, while two native girls keep her company. Emily Carr was born on this day in 1871, in Victoria, British Columbia. She studied art in San Francisco, London and France, and decided to make it a personal goal to paint and document as many of the native poles along the coast, as she could. She travelled up the coast by boat, to remote villages to paint on location. I love many of those earlier paintings. Emily's hope was that the government would buy the entire collection for the newly-built parliament buildings, but a critic declared her work as "too colourful". Emily was devastated. She totally gave up painting and turned to making a living by building a rooming house, and raising dogs. Fifteen years later, at age 50, she was invited to participate in a show about Native Art of BC at the National Gallery in Ottawa. There she met the Group of Seven, became good friends with Lauren Harris, and her joy of painting became rekindled. She reworked many of her older paintings and sketches in a completely new style. My favourite is her "Big Raven".... Violin DaySince today is also "Violin Day", my girls decided to throw Emily Carr a birthday party in her studio, and serenade her with their violins as she works on her painting. Emily was very eccentric. She had many pets, including a monkey she named Woo, who she dressed up and took for errands around town in a baby buggy. The little sock monkey is my nod to Woo. And those chairs - in case you are wondering - to make room in her studio, and keep the floor clear of clutter, Emily would hoist her chairs up by ropes and hang them at the ceiling.
Today we have Layla, looking adorable on "National Poinsettia Day" Today I'm also releasing the Free Pattern for a Simple KW Dress. Just click on photo below. This pattern is very versatile, and can be made up in limitless fabric and trim choices.
Here's some of the dresses I've made using this pattern in the past..... The other day was "National Pastry Day", and I took a photo of some of my girls choosing their treats from the dessert table at a Christmas Party. Byuri likes the lemon chiffon cake, and Elin loves the decorated gingerbread cookies, but Bonnie can't decide - everything looks so yummy! "Are we allowed to have more than one? Please?"
My two pink Summer Goddess costumes are coming along nicely. One is done, and the second still needs the beading on the bodice. I thought I'd try one of them on my Asa as she's just standing around waiting for her turn at a gown. The dress itself does fit, although the back won't lace up closed at the top. The sleeves are way too wide for Asa though, as KW girls have much thicker arms and larger hands, and the sleeves were designed to fit them. Today I have to finish the beading and paint the flowers for their hair. I have lots of pale pink flowers - mostly roses - so need to dye some of them various shades of darker pink & magenta. Then I can make the hair wreaths, and I'll be done.
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AuthorMartha Boers is an award-winning Canadian doll maker and costumer specializing in fantasy and historical-style costumes. Archives
April 2024
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