anniebeezdoll

anniebeezdoll
Well here I am, back after 6 months! I really thought I would not make anymore dolls, but the desire has hit me again!
I lost my Dad in February. During the weeks I spent at the hospital before his death and the whirl of activity surrounding the funeral, I lost all desire for dollmaking. Primitive dolls all looked depressing and evil to me. I wanted soothing pretty colors, and I craved a sort of clean crispiness.
But I still love dolls.
I began making doll clothes for my seven year old, and doing some heirloom sewing again. Soon I was smocking pretty frocks for American Girl dolls. I had received Felicity as a gift from my husband at Christmas, and I began collecting for her and our other AG girls in earnest. Between myself and my two daughters we own 11 American Girl dolls. True to our love of history we have all but 2 of the 8 historic dolls, and we have many American Girls of Today(AGT).

anniebeezdoll

anniebeezdoll
Testing...1...2...3.

French Fashion ladies

Veronique is loosely based on the French fashion dolls of the 19th century. I am devastatingly in love with them! Oh if only I had the money to bring one home to live with me! But alas, I can only dream and perhaps try to make one in cloth someday!
Here is a wonderful artist who does reproductions of a French Fashion dolls.These dolls by Alice Leveritt are just to die for! I am thinking about beginning to save for the ultimate fashion doll, perhaps after I get my Bluette.

Veronique!

Here is Veronique all put together and her wigging done. I have used boucle yarn for her hair. She still has her pins in where I have measured her for her sloper. She will be wearing a regency style costume with matching poke bonnet, long petticoat and panteloons.

Not Ready for Ebay!

I thought I was going to put this doll in the red dress on ebay today, until I decided she needed a little dolly to hold. Well I've had this paper mache doll sitting around my workroom for almost a year,but she was nekkid! It took me ALL DAY to make her some clothes! This is where I'm at, and I'm ready to go to bed. LOL! Tomorrow I hope I get the time to add some ribbon roses to her bonnet.

Reading books for kids again!

I love books written for kids! I think its an instant gratification thing-I can actually finish them quickly! haha! Here is a book that suprised me at how good it was! It is called "Dollmakers and their Stories", by Krystyna Poray Goddu. It is a series of biographies that are somewhat chronological in their effect on the doll world and its more modern development.The first one is Martha Jenks Chase,which is very interesting-especially the speculation on her face molding secret! It also covers Kathe Kruse, Sasha Morgenthaller,
Madame Alexander and Ruth Handler(of Barbie fame). What I really liked about it was that you really got a fairly good sense of what each of these women were really like, and what motivated them to do what they did. I really enjoyed this book and was able to find it in my local library-in the juvenile section of course! LOL!

Colored Pencil shading

Here I have gotten a good start on the colored pencil work. I love to see how a dolls face just comes alive when the shading detail is added. I have used a variety of pinks and oranges for the fleshtones, and the eyes are brown with pretty gold light-tones. I use Sanford Prismacolor pencil. These are just the regular artists colored pencils, not watercolor pencils.
I am especially happy with the way her lips have turned out. I will likely go back in and work some more on the fleshtones of her face.
Since she is going to be a doll whose clothing is all removable I will be expanding the fleshtones down into the chest area somwhat.