A Slow Start

I'm pushing myself this year to learn some new techniques for making dolls and figures.  I have some crazy ideas on the drawing board and have started to do some research. Here's my first batch of frog info and sketches.

My new work won't be so realistic but I need to know how frogs are put together so I can unput them together. It's going to be an interesting year. I have also started to look for different shows to attend. That's an interesting process too.

Still At It

Yep, still at it. I finally got my wayward stash of doll and art ideas under a wee bit of control. It took me three days to wrangle all the pieces and slips of paper and napkins that had ideas on them. I ended up with several categories: regular dolls, Halloween, ornaments, manly dolls, skellie things, bed/boudoir dolls, drawings/paintings, witches, and fiber art pieces. Some may overlap but those were the leading units. The oldest sketch was from 2012. I've got to step up my creative game.

I'm glad that I finally did it and now I can see what can be done and what needs to stay an idea or cute sketch. I've started my list for the first quarter of 2019 and I will go through the stack of ideas I should tackle first. I also have more days at the store until after next week. Then maybe I can have a couple more days to make things for me.

The sun is out and it's feeling quite nice outside. Not really Christmas type weather. Although I hope it will hold out until next weekend so that I can spend some time with my mother. That's my update.

The Best Laid Plans...

Don't always turn out the way you want. Actually, that's not the exact quote but part of it will work for now. Seeing that my list didn't work out, I decided Bailey Magoo Bear needed a scarf. So I knitted him one with some sock yarn I had and now it's being blocked. He'll have to get more clothes later on and will probably have a better wardrobe than I do.

I told myself that just because the day didn't go as planned that I could still do something creative. The scarf was fun and relaxing and I decided to take the first steps to do an applique/embroidery piece. Haven't done that in a month of Sundays. And I got to use my light tablet again. Second time since I got it for me last Christmas. Gotta work on that too.

I am so ready for fall. It was 80 degrees today and still a bit humid. Ugh! I am waiting patiently for cooler temps.

Day 3 - Creative Challenge

I know it's Day 4 but yesterday was kind of weird. First, I had to do the work thing and then some errands (grocery store, pick up driving glasses), helped my friend set up for her party for her group. No, I didn't go to the party because I was kind of done being peopley by the end of the day. So I went to the library and did some writing and sketching and I even got a quick nap. No, as my granny used to say, "I'm not sleeping, I'm resting my eyes." It was very soothing there, being surrounded by a bunch of books. Everything was great until some teenager came into the room where I was and decided not to pick up his feet when he walked, and sighed as if he had subbed for Atlas for fifteen minutes. Good grief. Anyway, I got some sketching done. I redid the new doll pattern and sketched some clothes. Either for this doll or the ornament which is also on the docket. I may have to go back to the library in the evening.

I will post Day 4 later on. Have a great day.

Day 2- Creative Challenge

Okay then, it snowed all day. I did get out in the afternoon to move snow out of the way but started to come down hard and within an hour or more, it didn't look like I had done anything. Oh well, glad I didn't have to go to the job. I did my bit to clean the place, my friend is having a holiday party tomorrow. I got my paranormal short story typed up and printed off. Now the good stuff starts, editing. I made a simple sketch of a pattern for the new doll and will cut it out tomorrow to see if I like this pattern or not. If not, I'll do a separate head and body.

Catching Up

Really working on keeping up with the sketching. I got a head cold on the way to South Haven and then when I got home it turned into a sinus infection. Feeling lots better now and my nose is still on my face. Another Day of the Dead Mariachi guy and some other creepies I may or may not work on. Thank goodness for Google Images because I only had a vague idea of what an accordion looked like. Now I have a set of five and have some different ideas for them. But for now I have a small commission for some doll clothes.

Short Week

I have been mostly keeping up with my sketches and some embroidery. I have a fairly decent project list going but it will have to wait until next week. A friend has invited me to go with her to the west side of the state for a mini road trip. So I really won't be able to start back to anything until Saturday. Until then, here are some pics.

More Wendland Witch sketches. I'm so looking forward to getting started on those.

When You're Not Feeling It

You just keep moving. I did nothing yesterday. Had a bad morning. I did sketch, so that's something. But nothing worthwhile. I guess I better cut myself some slack. The thing is to keep moving. I've a start on the two year plan and will have to kick things up a notch. Here are some of my daily sketches, which I've been keeping up with so far. Just not posting them here. Part of my Wendland Witch series.

And here's a guy I saw in the backyard a few days ago. A white one shows up too.

Until next time.

Late But Still Here

Yes, life does some really unusual things to you. And you've got to roll with it. Still working on getting things together. I have a huge two year plan started and will be working like crazy to stay on track. So here are some more drawings I've done. I have a lot of these wood coffins hanging around. I told myself to either do something with them or get them out of the place. I'm getting back into a declutter phase. Downsizing once again. Rather, going through things I just threw in boxes when I moved four months ago. So I did some sketches. Plus, this will help me get ready for Halloween. Which isn't that far away.

A friend posted this bread pic and I just fell in love. I think I will have to start collecting bread recipes. I really want to learn how to make bread. Good bread. Healthy bread. As I get older, my tolerance for store bought is going down. The healthier the bread, the better the body feels. Doesn't it look yummy?

And We're Off

Now that birthday celebrations and the summer holiday are over it's time to get back to some creative business. I have doll pins in the works to ship off to a shop and did some sketching along with working on a couple of short stories. Was getting back to my daily walk too but today, a very loud thunder storm ran me inside before I got to finish. And it's been raining all day. The plants need it. So I'm good. Sketches for doll hat pins.

I've got doll hat heads and full doll pins ready to be painted.

Here are some other sketches of heads that may or may not be turned into 3D figures. We shall see. The week is still young and I've got a lot of catching up to do.

It's July!

Wow! That was fast. I added another day of celebrating for the birthday. I went to a cool fabric store with a friend and then she took me to lunch. And then there was the holiday, July 4th, and I just kind of chilled out. Now I'm getting back to business. I had a nice time off to enjoy and reflect the rest of the year. Because, the year is officially halfway over. The days are getting shorter. Eegads! So here are a few things I've done the past week or so. Some new forest folks based on an alpaca wearing a leather bomber jacket. It was on a greeting card. Which I can't seem to find. Moving sucks.

I did a few more sketches but it doesn't seem like I took pics. Will rectify that shortly and put in my next post. I will be working on my Raggedy Ann doll and get some doll pins painted. The next holiday (so-to-speak) is in September.

Catching Up

Getting back on the creative wagon. Got some things done, new things designed, bills paid, caught up on emails, found a doll I'd been looking for, and spotted Juno catching bugs at night while hanging onto the sliding glass door.

I worked on some more embroidery designs. A friend suggested I do a whole Mariachi Band. Maybe.

Here's Juno on the glass of the sliding door. Scared me when I went to turn lights out for the night. I wondered what that pale spot was and when I got closer, it moved. An unusual way to catch bugs but he was busy at it.

Got two Goodfellas doll dresses done. The red head is a doll I bought from a store. She's a bit smaller than the brown one which goes back to the charity.

And here is Leah's doll I made for her when she was younger. She's in her 20s now and she can't wait to get this little miss back. She loved her and her sister Tori loved her, if a little too much. Tori liked fuzzy things and tore a hole in the feet and took out the stuffing. The hair is also coming off, Tori. I think I will fix one side of the mouth, leave the stains, put on new hair, fix the feet, new bloomers, and a new dress that I'll tea dye a little. I'm excited.

Got a long list of creative things to do. Need a few supplies and will go out tomorrow. And then it's the pedal to the metal.

#goodfellsascharity #goodfellasdoll #wendyluane #dayofthedead #embroidery #clothdoll #raggedyanndoll

Doll Clothes and Stuff

I didn't know what to call this post seeing that I've been doing a couple of different things lately. I can't explain it but I've been feeling fairly positive this past week and I'm going to ride this creative wave for as long as I can. I got my daily sketches in and I worked on a doll dress pattern for my Goodfellas doll. I've had a main list of three items and that I should attempt at least one thing on the list. Three would be great but other things pop up and I'm supposed to be cutting myself some slack. I did enjoy the process of creating a dress pattern for this little doll. I don't know why I was shocked that I was having fun. Silly me, it's something I like to do. Before bed I will work a bit on my next Redwork project and get at least 100 new words on a short story done. I hope to turn the wave into a tsunami.

I forgot to take pics of the first pattern draft but here is the second draft made up into a bodice. I adjusted the neckline and shoulder. She's a bit chunky so I had to adjust for that.

I took the bodice apart, adding notes of what to do to the next pattern. I had to remind myself to throw away the old pattern and not the new adjusted ones. And I have to do that right away because they start to look the same.

Finally got a decent bodice pattern and made a sleeve. This is the third try and it works. I will make a better pattern and add a quarter inch for the sleeve hem and add elastic.

Here is the mockup of the dress. I will adjust the neckline again, I like the sleeve, I like how full her skirt is and I will have to cut off half an inch at the hem because it was too long. I've pulled fabric for the dresses and will start them tomorrow.  Yay me!

And here are my sketches. I love, love, love mini campers, vintage campers, campers period. One day I will travel around in one and see some National Parks. I'm thinking Halloween campers.

#wendyluane #goodfellasdoll #goodfellascharity #doll clothes #dollclothespattern #minicampers

Five Days In

Okay, so time is being weird. I already know I'm weird but time, well, it's screwy. Plus, Monday holidays throw things off. Now it's time to get back on the wagon. I finally got some sketches done. A couple of witches, a skellie lady, an octopus holding an ice cream cone, and some beginning folk art sketches. I don't know where any of this is going but I did it and I'm feeling lots better. There's nothing like putting pencil to paper. Erasers are cool too.

And Juno is still hanging around. I like how he changes colors when he's on the grey deck.

More catching up tomorrow. Have a good evening.

Wendland Witches

I'm liking my new group of waiting to be witch dolls. I'm working on stories for them too but for now, here are some more sketches. I love the idea of them wearing slippers so that when they fly around they have the opportunity to bop some strange being in the head. They can always make a new one to appear.

I'm liking these little outfits too. Some are funky, some comfy, and some a bit difficult. I should start doing these in color.

#wendyluane #wendlandwitch #witchdoll #pencilsketch #witchslippers #witchcostumes #witchhats

Okay

Lots of things on my mind today. I thought I had missed a posting to the blog here. I'm working on every other day but this will do. Before I forget. Ah... getting older. How lovely. Some aren't blessed with that so I will carry on.

I finished the Redwork Day of the Dead fellow yesterday. He's very colorful and turned out a lot better than I expected. Next will be to find accent and backing fabric to finish him off as a small wall hanging. Along with the lady I finished last month.

Here are the sketches for two dresses for the Goodfellas dolls.

And here are some new witch sketches. The Witches of Wendland. Kind of catchy.  And the sketch that I did yesterday. We'll see if I can get on track with these and other sketches. You know, that everyday thing. When I was younger and in high school I could draw anything. Now, not-so-much. You don't use it, you lose it.

It's a bit overcast in my neck-of-the-woods. I hope you all have a productive day. Cheers!

#dayofthedead #witches #pencilsketches #redwork #embroidery #dolldress

Some Sketches

And bloomers. I tell ya, getting back on track after a huge upheaval is work. I keep telling myself that it's okay to be a work in progress as long as there is progress. My mother is involved with a group of ladies who participate in dressing dolls for little girls during the holidays. It's through the Goodfellas charity organization and they pledge that no child should not have a toy for Christmas. The girls get dolls. The dolls are handed out to those who wish to dress them and I'm making some dresses. Instead of having my head explode over the project, I started with one section at a time. First up, underpants. This was the first time I made a pattern, sewed the piece, and it fit. I cut out seven more. Today I will design a dress.

I am working on sketching everyday too. This was yesterdays page. One can't get better unless one keeps at it. At something.

And I'm further along on my second Redwork piece. Maybe I can finish him today too. He's very colorful. I think I'm liking that.

One Week In

Wow! The new month is off and running. My finger is a lot better. Typing has gotten better. I was able to wash said finger today with soap and water. No bandage. Yay! I was able to do some sketching and painted a picture in my sketchbook. Straightened my work area so that come Monday I can get back to making things out of some Creative Paperclay. I've been writing some and today I will retype a short story. I also want to watch a movie again to look at the costumes because I want to do that too. It will be my take on something. Considering the nightmares and nonsense going on in the world...

I am okay.

These are sketches of forest folk. Just wanting to get into sketching more.

And this is Sania, a zombie, who is ready for spring so she can get some sun.

Acrylic on watercolor paper. Have a great weekend.

A New Day

And a new friend. We have a wham bam storm last night and this morning there was a guest when my friend opened the umbrella on the deck. I'll name him Juno.

I also got busy yesterday. That felt good. I hope I can do it again today. I started my next Redwork project, started editing two short stories, watched some art tutorials on You Tube, got back to sketching because I'm working on a new series or doll, and I talked to a good friend, a fellow doll artist who gave me some tips and hints to get going again. I think that's been the best part of the week, talking to someone who knows what I'm going through. That I'm not alone. I feel energized.

I like how more stabilized the fabric is with the woven interfacing on the back. Less puckering on the front and I can do more stitching on this guy.

Trying to figure out a body for a new doll and possibly some paintings I can make prints of. I don't know if I want her to be a little girl or young lady witch who will have some unusual adventures.

I started working on some facial expressions that may or may not end up on the final character. I've got a few fantasy art books I'm working from. This one is called DragonArt Fantasy Characters by J "NeonDragon" Peffer. I'll do more figure work too in the next few days. Sometimes you have to step back, pause, regroup, and move forward. Have a great day.

#wendyluane #witchdoll #sketches #pencilsketch #characterdevelopment