Birth of a Toothpick Doll

I've been having fun lately...

While I was making Emeline, the toothpick doll of the decade from me, I took pictures obsessively. I wanted to show them in a way that wouldn't seem too "family vacation slideshow night," so...I started playing.

This is as far as I've gotten so far, let me know what you think! If you have trouble viewing the "movie," let me know so I can improve the file size or speed.

Oh, and I promise - I'll get the wigging photos up soon! She won't stay bald.

Emeline, Lady de Couer-dents

I write about not getting work done and then disappear for 3 months. Accidental Master of Irony, here.

I have been getting work done, though - a project that began to eat up every spare minute until it grew so big it crowded out all other projects.

Introducing...

Emeline, Lady de Couer-dents (Lady of Toothpicks)

She was a competition piece, 70+ hours of work in one month. I was so sick of satin & feathers & wigs...

No, I did not win the competition, but I am pleased it gave me the deadline to produce this piece. I think she may be my favorite to date.

More pictures (of the finished doll & the process behind her) coming soon!

This is why...

I never get anything done.

Yes, that's my cat. Oreo.

And yes, that's my lightbox, where I photograph all of my toothpick dolls and other miniatures. If the photos in my shop start sporting traces of cat hair, you'll know why.

Yard + Art = YART Sale!

Been by Etsy.com yet? If not, please don't go until after you're finished reading here. I'll never get you back. More than one unwary browser has been lost for weeks amongst the stash of goodness that exists on Etsy.

Etsy is hosting a 5-day sale called the Yart Sale! (Yard Sale + Art. Just go with it!)

To join in the Yart Adventure, I've set aside all of the Doll Frames, Clips & Pins in a special section (quite cleverly named "Yart Sale"). Click for Yart Sale Section.

Between now & Sunday, June 14, shipping is free (reduced for international folks) on all Doll Frames, Clips, & Pins.

Stop by and browse! The laundry will wait.

Fairy CSI - The Conclusion

In case you missed the exciting Part I episode of Fairy CSI, scroll down one post past. In my attempt to make miniature (as in one inch) fairies, I littered my work desk with fairy parts - heads on sticks, legs, random bodies - quite a sight.

Productivity did come from the wreckage, as it (sometimes) does, and I ended up with...

You'd never know of her sordid past. Of course, it would help if I photoshoppped out all the fairy parts behind her - evidence of those that did not make it this far. Practice makes perfect.

Now the only question remains...what do I do with her?

Fairy CSI

I've been experimenting. I like tiny things and I'm addicted to thread, but Penny People just take so darn long! So I wondered if I could make a tiny doll from clay instead of thread.

I like clay. In particular, I like making heads from clay. Pop some eyes in, stick a nose on, pull out a grin, and you've got such a cute little sucker, disembodied as it is. For me, the challenge comes in making bodies for the heads, as I'm told that just a pile of heads is a little disturbing.

So, back to the experimenting...

My work desk now resembles a Fairy Crime Scene Investigation. Tiny body parts everywhere, random heads on sticks - who knew the world of miniature doll-making was thus?

I have one of the original thread Penny People (princess in blue, above, 10 o'clock) watching from the corner. She seems to have thrown her hands up hopelessly. I kept reminding her that as I did make her, I just might know what I'm doing. She was not convinced. Clay and thread are two very different mediums.

Fairy CSI: To be continued...

Clip a Doll

I'm always trying to come up with excuses to have dolls around (like you need one). I have:

- put dolls on photo frames

- displayed them in hoity-toity glass domes (not recommended if the doll already has an overblown ego - this really sends them into diva mode)

- turned them into earrings (a much smaller 1" version of them - not quite sure anyone would want a 3" doll earring, although I could be wrong. Maybe.)

- hung them as Christmas ornaments (clarification: attached a hanger to the back of the doll. I do not hang dolls.)

Now, toothpick dolls find themselves in two new places to help them better see the world:

As a pin...

And attached to a clothespin (with a magnet on the back)...

The world is always interesting when seen from a miniature doll's perspective. Now that toothpick dolls are even more portable, we'll have to see what new stories they come back with. Sure beats carrying them around in your jeans pocket. I did this when young and stupid and soon learned what a wretched sight a toothpick doll with a broken neck makes.

Want to see more pins & clips? www.AngelaMichelleDolls.etsy.com