Doll Part 1 of however many it takes to finish her

Ever since I was a young girl, I've always loved dolls. I'm not entirely sure why, and I'm sure a psychologist would have a field day picking apart the reasons behind my doll affection. Or possibly go crazy in the process. One of my theories, however, is that growing up in a family of artists where all forms of art were encouraged, I soon identified dolls as being an affordable source of sculptural art celebrating the human form at it's purest, most innocent point.

Or it could be biological. My grandmother collected porcelain dolls, and I remember, as a child, staring in wide eyed fascination at her doll cabinet. She had dozens of stunningly beautiful dolls. Some of which were quite old. Others, like the Maori dolls I gave her when I first visited New Zealand when I was 13 years old, were important for more personal reasons. They all had very unique personalities, though, and it was always a joy to imagine what they would be like if they were to come to life.

It should come as no surprise, then, that when I discovered the art of doll making, I was instantly hooked! Making a doll really is like bringing it to life. You get to know it, infuse it with your own personality, and hopefully send it out into the world to bring joy to other people. My latest obsession has been resurrecting old, unwanted dolls. My first, Veronica, was a baby doll head Steve picked up at the dump a few years ago. It floated around the house until I arrived and decided to have a big spring clean out one day. "What the heck is this?" I asked. Steve said it could be tossed, he didn't even know what made him pick it up all those years ago. I found I couldn't throw her out, though. This disembodied head was all that remained of a child's treasured toy. What life had she once known?

I decided instead to have some fun. So, painted and pierced, she now sits on the dashboard of our people mover, a gothic guardian angel. I joke that the way our family is, we needed a kick azz angel to watch over us because any lesser deity would go mad! Veronica is now semi-infamous around our little city. Some people love her, some fear her, but she brings a smile to just about every one's face who sees her.

And I've done it again. This time to a doll I found in the super market one day.

She's not bad, obviously. But I was sure she could be better!

 Meet Samantha. My Steampunk Lass.

And sorry, she's not for sale. I need a kick azz angel in my little car.

Then, I went back to the supermarket, and here were more of the dolls, ON SALE. By the way, for any men reading this, "on sale" is translated to MUST BUY THIS NOW!

One of the dolls had her head detached from her body and I knew in my heart no one was going to give her a home. But I saw the potential! So, I brought her home, ripped out her hair (which had the side effect of taking the top of her head off as well, popped out her eyes, and painted her purple.






Beautiful!







Next, I used a white wax pencil to draw swirlies on her face. Well, technically I used a drawing pencil, but couldn't see it so Steve suggested using the wax pencil. It worked well. Even if it's hard to tell in the photo. Trust me, it worked.


Then I waited a few days while the idea festered in my head.
"What's that smell?"
"An idea forming."
"Oh! 'Cause I thought I smelled smoke."


The purple I mixed up was a combination of hot pink, blue, and white. So I used the same blue and white to mix up... imagine this- LIGHT BLUE. My powers of color mixing are only one of my lesser super abilities.

Look! Light blue! Some may even refer to it as Periwinkle. Hmmm....I sense a name forming....

 I painted the light blue over the swirly lines. You may notice that I've tried to mirror the design on both sides of the face. It's no where near perfect. But that's one of the charms of hand made crafts. They're human in their imperfections. Besides, did you know that the human face is not perfectly symmetrical? It's true! Take a picture, then digitally put the 2 halves together. Looks like 2 completely different people.

Try it!

Or not. Moving on.

I'm using acrylic paints and cheap brushes, because that's just how I roll. But the problem is it's really annoying when you're trying to fine details. So, I was quietly loosing whatever is left of my mind and getting frustrated with my shaking hands until I finally said to Steve how irritating it was getting. "Use a Retarder Medium," he says and hands me a bottle. Make note of this. It can save your sanity! Retarder Medium not only slows the drying process of the paint (acrylic dries very quickly without it) and makes the paint flow more smoothly so that the lines are much more even and easier to accomplish.

Despite this, that's still a lot of tiny lines to paint. So, now that my hand is permanently cramped into a claw like visage, I'm heading to the $2 store to get some rhinestones.

That was a quick trip.

And this is what the rhinestones are for. I used some craft glue to put one rhinestone onto the end of each swirly line.



Good times.

Ring tecca tecca clamp

I had a sudden realization this morning that whereas I have a multitude of projects in varying states of completion laying around, none of them have been photo documented. Since I really want that to be part of this journey, there may be a period of time here that sort of leap in progress, and others when it seems a bit stale. Like I said, bear with me. There is definitely a learning curve to this.

Now, usually when I plan something, if you pay close enough attention you can hear a faint sizzle moments before it bursts into flames. However, I've found that when I fly by the seat of my pants, things seem to go quite well. I'm a seat-of-my-pants kind of gal apparently. And since I obviously have not planned any of this blogging thing, well, I take it as a sign that it will somehow turn out just fine.

Some of you may be wondering when I lost my mind with the title of this post. Actually, it has to do with today's project (imagine the coincidence!). Zills. Or finger cymbals, but I prefer zills because it's much more fun to say. Zills. (Don't try to pretend you didn't just say that out loud.) For any of you who are not already aware, I've been belly dancing for a couple of years now, and became addicted to it straight away. It's the most fun! Zills are used in belly dancing for a few purposes. In the class I'm taking now (hi Bev!) we're running zill drills. This is the first time I've ever done zilling, so again, learning curve.

Today's project is putting elastic on your zills or hand stitching small bits of elastic in a small space while injured.
Let me explain the Batman bandaid. I don't like bandaids. They're uncomfortable, restrict use of the finger, and they're kind of ugly. So I choose bandaids with flair. At the moment, if I give you a thumbs up, it's in crime fighting regalia! Don't you feel honored?

 These are my first pair of zills and they are EVIL. In case you've never really paid any attention to zills before, study this picture well. EVIL!

I got them before I knew better, aka now, and let me tell you why they're EVIL! First, when I got them they had a single hole for the elastic which was knotted making a "tec" impossible. So, after talking to my teacher (hi Bev!), Steve (hi hubby!) cut 2 slots in each to thread elastic through and sew it together. I used black for thumbs and white for fingers- just in case you were wondering about the color difference (more about that later on). He also sewed the elastic for me at that time since I was pmsing that day and a zill almost imbedded itself in his forehead when he asked how the sewing was going. I think he bought me chocolate the following day. At least he understands me.

First problem was that now they could "clamp" and "tec" but not "ring." Plus, that little hole (you can see it on the one to the left) cut the pad of my fingers very effectively! Not fun.

So I got these:

                                                     Behold the beauty of non evil zills!

 And check out the size difference!

Sorry fellas, in this case size does matter.

The new zills are much bigger and heavier which makes them easier to control and they've got a great sound!








So the first step is to measure how much elastic you'll need for your finger. Keep in mind that thumbs are bigger than middle fingers- so don't just make them all the same.

I used a white chalk pencil to mark a line where I wanted the elastic to meet to make sure it was tight enough, then cut the elastic with a bit to spare.

 Secure the ends with a straight pin, and check to make sure it's tight enough. It should be pretty tight! I've been hit in class by some that were too loose. Funny in class, not funny in the first row of a show when you may be holding a drink, a baby, or fries with ketchup. Maybe all three at once.

Take a moment to picture that. Not on yourself, but someone else that you don't like.

Ready? We'll move on.

 I used quiting thread to sew the elastic together because it's thicker and stronger than regular thread. I'm a bit paranoid about the thread breaking, especially when it's under a lot of load like in this case, so I also used a double strand.

Laugh if you must, but sometimes paranoia pays off.

 As you finish each zill, be sure to keep the ones for your thumbs separate from the ones for your middle fingers. If you use a different color elastic, you're good to go. This time, I went with black elastic for all 4 zills, so I needed some way of easily telling which is which. Yes, you can just put them on and if they're too big for your finger it's a thumb one, but honestly, when you're already late for your curtain call because stage make up takes THAT LONG! Not to mention hair (do what I do, where a wig). Every second counts.

One idea is to just make a few stitches in the elastic in a contrasting color on the thumb zills so you instantly know them. Or, you could use sequins, beads, anything you have laying around the house small enough to fit on the elastic band.

I decided to use buttons. I put different buttons on the thumbs and finger zills so I can tell which is which. I can also use the buttons to attach ribbons or streamers to. Anything to distract the audience away from the fact that my zilling skills are lacking.

The finished product. And just in time for tonight's class!

Once upon a time.....

Have you ever had one of those moments when you get all set to do something, then when you start it's like the world just came to a halt? I just spent the last 5 minutes staring at my computer screen wondering how to begin this. I thought that would work well.

I know most of you who will be reading this at first already know all about me, so an introduction is probably not really needed. However, in my quest for global domination, I have found that it is often better to plan ahead. So, hi! I'm Jade! I'm awesome!

Actually, maybe I'll just explain why this blog has come into existence. First, I enjoy writing. Even if no one reads it, I still have a great time putting thoughts down on paper...or out in cyberspace as the case may be. Second, I love to share ideas, instructions, trials and tribulations. Third, I've been working on my crafts for a while and not able to sell many because the economy is so far down the hole at the moment I'm not sure if that light I'm looking at is daylight or the ominous "Light" as in "DON'T GO TOWARDS THE LIGHT!" "NO! DO IT! DO IT!" "NO! STAY AWAY FROM THE LIGHT!"

Sorry, where was I? Oh right, the danger of boredom sucking my brain out from my ears. Anyway, my husband and I started Batty4Arts.com a while back as a place we could share our artwork. I was also going to use that as a forum to rant share my thoughts, but as it turns out, web formatting is a bit beyond me! This is much easier.

Of course, my timing couldn't be better. As usual I have about a billion projects going on at the moment, but since some punks stole my camera while on holiday this summer, and the insurance STILL HASN'T COME THROUGH! I'm sort of stuck. See, this blog will be depending on posting pictures since, well, you know that kind of is a necessity for a crafting blog. I'm sure I'll think of something soon, though.

So welcome to my first blog! And please bear with me while I sort out my growing pains!
Happy crafting!