And his name is...

...Darius Zook! I used a variation of one name with one of the other suggestions to come up with his name. Thank you to all who offered suggestions!

Minor Updates

Keisha is now ready for me to list in my zibbet shop. I gave her earrings and fine tuned her shoes and the stethoscope. Look for her to show up soon!

Keisha

I had two dolls stuck in my head begging to get out. The second was this nurse, Keisha. She's dressed a lot like the nurses at my doctors' offices dress. Scrubs with a long sleeved Tshirt underneath and rubber clogs. She also carries a stethoscope.

Help me name the wizard!

Having never made a wizard before, last night seemed like a good time to start, lol. His face and hands are just what I wanted. He may get redressed, though. I'm not satisfied with my late night work there. But I love the purple leather and I don't have any more so I'll have to think about that.
Anyway, the wizard needs a name - and the good ones are taken - Gandalf, Albus Dumbledore, etc. ;-D So, I need your help. Please comment on this post with your suggestions.

I've finally got something to share!

Please meet Baily and Josh - they live in the Willowcrest.
Here they are enjoying some cuddle time while looking through their wedding album.

I think my dolls are still improving. These two have smaller heads, hands and feet than some of my past ones do. I pulled George out of the boarding house so I'd have a store bought doll to compare with. Baily's hair gave me fits, though. She's on her third head of hair, lol. I think I'm finally satisfied. She has a contemporary graduated bob.

Don't forget to sign up for the giveaway. You'll find the rules and prize here. The drawing will be one week from tomorrow on July 15. Sign up at the link above if you've been a follower from June 22 or before. I love reading about your favorites. :)

It's all in the details

One of which involved moving the buttons on Lou's shirt to the correct side. :) I never remember which side is for women and which for men and I never seem to be wearing a shirt with buttons when I need to know, lol. While I was doing that I added a placket to the button hole side. I also pulled threads from the denim to add seaming for the fly, front slash pockets and outside seams.
I added back pockets with a "used" bandana handkerchief hanging out of one of them.
I wanted to make sure he would sit like he was slumped up against a building - gotta have posing options, you know. ;)

Thank you all for your kind words about Lou. It's so exciting for me when I can really see progress in my doll making skills. Lou makes me smile.

Just playin' around

On one of my mini forums, someone said something about needing a drunk doll to complete a scene. She wasn't completely serious but she started my creative juices, lol. Lou is the result. He could just be out on a bender for the night but his red nose makes me think that this is a very common event. I've been experimenting with different techniques for the doll skeletal system with my last couple of dolls. I think I've figured out what works best for a plump doll.

And here's Santa

That bit of glue has been removed from Santa's hat since I took the photo - before I added hair, beard, hat, etc. he looked just like the actor Ed Asner, lol.
This is one roly poly Santa. He does stand well all on his own, though.

Meet Emily

Yesterday I made the rounds of the big city fabric stores (big city for Indiana anyway, lol). I found this beautiful gray fabric in the clearance bin and knew it was going to be a Victorian lady's walking suit.
I sculpted and dressed Emily (and a Santa) this afternoon.
Back details.
I love her auburn hair and the way the hat turned out. I'm going to list her in my zibbet shop but I'm really tempted to keep her for one of my Victorian houses or the general store. Maybe she'll visit while she's waiting for a buyer. ;)

Meet Ally

My husband got me a new clay mold for Christmas. Usually I sculpt my dolls from scratch or occasionally use a mold for the faces for my personal dolls. This mold has all the body parts but I had a lot of trouble getting the mold to release - even using corn starch as a release agent and putting the mold in the freezer before popping the pieces out. She still looks cute - like a teenager talking to her friends at dance class.

Sandy

It looks like Sandy is just getting home to the boarding house after a long day at her secretarial job. She's a lovely young lady but is still grieving for her fiance who died in the war. She needed to get away from some of the memories and that's why she now lives at Harriet's boarding house.

I spent a long time (for me, lol) making Sandy. I'm very pleased with her suit and her eyes. I'm improving! I studied the doll my friend Brenda made for my saloon - Pansy has beautifully detailed eyes. Sandy's aren't even close to that good but they are a huge improvement over my previous dolls.

Last night I ordered a doll to be George. I recently had a good sale in my etsy shop and rewarded myself. :) I made so many men for the saloon that I just didn't want to make another one. I'm glad I did decide to make Sandy, though.

Saloon fun!

This is Daisy. Her dress fabric came from another Salvation Army find. It drapes beautifully. The lace was some that my grandmother had - she passed away when I was 5. I have quite a bit of the lace so I can spread my memories around. :)
I'm still waiting for the Brimble kit to arrive. While I'm waiting I had some fun making some saloon scenes.
I've asked a couple of friends if I can commission a doll from each of them for the saloon. I thought it would add more character to have at least some of the dolls made by someone other than me.

Miss Rose finally makes her appearance

These are not the best photos. I'll try tomorrow for some better ones. Miss Rose is wearing a green and gold ensemble with a very low cut top. She favors green because it enhances her green eyes and red hair. The bright carrot color is a strong family trait - as you can see from both Rose and her cousin, Sean.
The bustle looks much better when you see it in person. I love her cascading ringlets and the feather headpiece.

Rose's gown was made from a blouse I got at the Salvation Army store. I love the color and I also love the crystal pleated ruffle.

I have a dance hall girl in pieces. Hopefully, tomorrow I'll have a chance to get her assembled and dressed. I think I want at least one more girl after I finish her. I'll probably need a couple more cowboys for the pool hall upstairs but I'll wait until I get the building constructed.

Welcome!

I have new followers to welcome. Please say hello to Marina of Casa de Bonicas, Lisette, Victorian of Dark Squirrel's Miniature Asylum, and Heather of Diary of a Dollhouse. Thank you all so much for stopping by!

Also, I'd like to introduce Jake. He's a gold miner having a night out on the town at A Rose Among Thorns.

More characters mosey up to the bar

This is Joe, the gambler. Joe's been in love with Rose for years. He doesn't travel much anymore - just hangs around A Rose Among Thorns watching out for Rose. Good thing he made a lot of money in his younger years.
Sean keeps the place hopping with his piano music. (I need to adjust his vest, I see.)
He's an Irish man and 1st cousin to Rose.

BTW, the sheriff is Sheriff Roy Sheldon. (Thanks, May!) The bartender is Ben Jenkins.

Adding life to the scene

I spent a fun afternoon and evening dollmaking and dressing. The first saloon patron is the sheriff.
He enjoys spending his evenings playing poker - card shark coming in the future. Stay tuned! Since this photo was taken I added some detail to his holster and used dimensional gel on the six shooter (made of paper) to make it look more real.
Miss Rose wants her staff to be well dressed and the bartender does look sharp. The fabric for his waistcoat came from a necktie I purchased today at the Salvation Army store.
He looks right at home behind the bar.


I need names for these two. I am open to suggestions.

The Brimble has shipped so hopefully I'll be starting it soon.

Sometimes you're just not happy...

Every time I walked past Eddie in my craft room, I felt like something was missing. His face just didn't have any depth. So today I finally did something about it. I added some color washes to his face to highlight the lines and wrinkles on his face. I also added a five o'clock shadow.
Both were simple additions but I'm pleased with the finished look now. Maybe he'll quit yelling at me every time I walk past now, lol.

Tomorrow I'm off to Anderson, Indiana for a Junior High worship retreat. Our church is taking 35 kids and there will be around 1500 total. Always a great spiritual renewal for me and a lot of fun, too. I'm leaving tomorrow morning and won't be back till Saturday night. I'll check back in then. Have a great weekend everyone!

Meet Eddie

Eddie has a somewhat inflated view of his looks now that he’s older. He’s still imagining himself the way he looked in 1977. Unfortunately, the years have taken their toll and Eddie is no longer the “hot young thing” he once was (or at least thought he was, lol.) He no longer has the body to wear a racing suit but hasn’t let that stop him. Eddie has hair just about everywhere on his body except his head at this point in his life – even his back is hairy!

Maybe Eddie and Carole should get together, lol.