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!

Queen usurped by a Treasury

The Queen and I aren't speaking to each other.

We were doing so well for a while there, and I thought I might finish her without incident. Naive, foolish notion. I should have known it woudn't be quite that easy working with her.

Now, she wants this diamond pattern on her sleeves. I thought it would be easy enough, so I drew it into the original design. Then I started working on it. Blasted, fiddly, confounded thing. That diamond pattern has given me more grief...

I have figured out how to do it, but it's going to be very tedious & tiny. So, rather than working on it, the Queen and I have simply stopped speaking to each other.

There are two ways to resolve this. Either she consents to a simpler design, or I relent. Hmm... Considering the likelihood of the first option...I'd better get back to work.

On another note, I'm currently featured in a treasury on Etsy.com, curated by MoodyandSanguine. Check it out - lots of cool items there! My personal favorite is the Snow White locket.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=57128

The Queen of Hearts, in Toothpick

Remember the Queen of Hearts doll I've been working on? Well, I'm still working, and so far, she's still cooperating. She hasn't raised too many objections about how her costume is turning out, although it probably helps that I haven't given her a head yet...


I just love parts like this, that look so wild. It looks so hideous right now, & I'm the only one who knows just what I'm doing. Feeds my mad scientist alter ego. Bwa Ha Ha! (The laughter sounds much better when it's not in print...)


See? There was a reason for the chaotic pink strings. They all fed into her poofy pink overskirt, which the Queen was undecided on for a long time. Not even the Toothpick Peasant doll looks too convinced, yet. It wasn't until I added a satin waistband & satin ruffles all along the hem that the Queen agreed it was acceptable. This was a good thing, as if a doll doesn't like what she's wearing, it usually means I have to start over completely. Toothpick dolls are stubborn, fair warning.


Starting to resemble her design a touch more. I love the little black bolero jacket. I have to tell you, this lady has turned out to be the most difficult doll I've ever done, hands down! It's practically an engineering project, trying to figure out which layer I should do next, & how to keep the shape of the silhouette right... So much fun, so many meltdowns.


Working on the arms. Confession: I hate doing arms. There are two of them. You spend hours on one arm, getting it just right, and then you have to turn around and do another one, and it has to match the first perfectly. Bleuagh! (I believe that about sums it up)


I've put her aside for a couple weeks now, procrastinating on those arms, but I'm finding I can't stay away for long...

Queen of Hearts - I've finally started her!

One of my goals this year is to finish a doll about every other month. My schedule says I should have one finished by the end of February. So maybe it's time I got started :)

Remember my original Queen of Hearts sketch? This lady scares me, honestly. I don't know what I was thinking when I drew that design, but now I'm paying for it - this is a difficult project!

First, some supplies:

- Various pairs of scissors, reverse pliers, 6-inch ruler, glue

- toothpicks (those do help when making a toothpick doll)

- Thread color catalog

- Impossible sketch (hanging up)

- A mess of embroidery floss (yes, that is the technical term. A herd of sheep, a gaggle of geese, a mess of thread)

- A bowl of fruit (1 navel orange & 1 Fuji apple, chopped into bite-size pieces. Works well when there's no chocolate in the house.)

Humble beginnings, but we all have to start somewhere...

Her design calls for a nice, full skirt. This is layer 3 of a 4-layer petticoat. I start down around her ankles, & keep adding layers until we reach her waist. No, the woman will not be able to move. You'll notice Sleeping Beauty lurking in the background often. She has consented to be my reference model for this project.

Ok, 4 layers of petticoat done. Now we start the tricky process of adding all those decorative skirt layers. She'll end up with the following layers:

- subtle pink & white striped underskirt

- black & white stripe detailing

- black satin overskirt, pulled back to reveal the pink underskirt & black & white stripe

- hot pink over-overskirt (I really should come up with more elegant-sounding names...) with fringe & rose accent

This is the first layer - the sublte stripe underskirt. If you look closely, you can make out the pink & white striping. You'll see this layer is only in the front, for two reasons:

1) The back would be covered up by the black satin skirt.

2) Adding this layer all the way around would add bulk to the back. When you're working in such a tiny scale, even one layer of thread can make a difference. She needs to have a shapely silhouette, without extra bulk.

Ok, the first of 4 decorative skirt layers is finished. Now I'll start the black & white stripe detailing (see the original sketch). But first, I have to outline exactly where this detailing will go. Look closely, & you'll several lines of a single strand of white thread. Now, I just fill this part in with the striping.

I'll post more progress in a few days!

Want to know more of how I've done a certain technique? I'm planning a doll tutorial in the next month - tell me what you'd like to be in it!

Do You Flickr?

WARNING: Browsing the many fascinating pages of Flickr can lead to the sudden loss of your entire afternoon and/or evening. Particularly when stumbling upon such photostreams as this one by Etsy's Team Miniatures in Dollhouse Scale. Grab a beverage first!

Do you like the toothpick dolls & Penny People you've seen on The Elegant Toothpick? Want to see more? When I've got new pictures to post, the first place they show up is on my photostream at Flickr. Works in progress, finished characters, and experimental projects all seem to end here, where they get along quite nicely.

This is Nereida, a 1-inch tall mermaid in a frame box. Find her & others like her in my photostream.

Have a Flickr account? Add me as a contact! I'm always looking for more photostream paths to wander down...

Queen of Hearts Toothpick Doll Sketch

I get so excited about starting a new doll. Because so few people make toothpick dolls, it's generally a make-it-up-as-you-go art. I learn something new with every doll I make.

My next over-ambitious project?

The Queen of Hearts - a three-inch study.

Reasons I'm excited about this doll:

~ The way-too-big-for-her-head Marie Antoinette style wig. Still working out the design, but should be fun.

~The large heart on the bodice will be entirely jewelled with teeny tiny glass micro-beads of reds, pinks, & blacks.

~ The crazy stand-out collar. No clue how I'm going to do that.

~ The million layers of skirt this woman will have, from the subtle stripe of the first layer to the heavy pink silk of the top layer.

Now, doll-makers will tell you that as they work, the doll will seem to develop her own personality, even dictating what details she should be given as she is completed. I tell you this in the faint hope you won't consider me too far gone when I say that I can already tell this lady is a snob. I had to rework the above sketch so many times because she didn't like the sleeve detail, or the collar wasn't right, or the skirt wasn't grand enough. You'll notice her head is not yet attached to her body - it's because we're still in negotiations on the exact style of wig.

Want to see how she progresses? Eager to find out which of us will win the battle of wills? (So am I!) Check back often - I'll be posting her progress regularly. You'll get to see photos of a toothpick doll from start to finish - that, or me breaking toothpicks in half if she & I don't get along.

Remember at the beginning, when I said that so few people make toothpick dolls? Want to know what you can do to change that awful truth? Check out the Toothpick Doll Tutorial (see the December 2008 blog archive on the right side of this page) & learn how to make a Toothpick Doll! Then, send me a picture! Together, we can bring the knowledge of toothpick dolls to the world! (End of melodramatic rant.)

Toothpick Feature: Ye Olde Dog Catcher

Show & tell time! This was a custom piece of an old Victorian-style Dog Catcher. And yes, he's made of toothpicks.

Confession. It is so much harder to make a male doll then a female doll. Granted, the ladies have flowing skirts, curly hair, fancy sleeves, & miniature roses, while the men have pants, a jacket & a hat, maybe a mustache. But please tell me how you're supposed to make a thin, spindly toothpick leg look like anything other than a thin, spindly toothpick leg if you can't cover it with a wide skirt! I ended up using an entirely new body structure composed of round & flat toothpicks with him.

Confession #2. I really had fun with this guy. Maybe I just like attitude, but it seems that the dolls that give me the most problems end up being my favorite. When they're finished, that is.

OK, time to play spot the details! This dapper Dog Catcher has a newsboy-style hat - someday I'll have to do a tutorial on that. There's a whole inner structure that goes into hats.

He's got contrasting lapels on his jacket, & orange buckles. His sleeve has a tiny insignia.

See his tiny bowtie? Ok, look harder - it's there!

My favorite - his net. It's entirely hand-knotted. Such fun! Such torture.

See more photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/angelamichelledolls/

The Herald of Spring is complete!

He's painted, he's primed, he's grinning & he's ready for Spring! Too bad winter is just starting!

The Herald of Spring was a Round Robin Collaboration with doll artist KyEliza, from Etsy. She made the Herald himself, on his vintage spice tin. I made the Herald's mechanical insides, & the three little elves. We are both so proud of our little guy!


Here's a close-up of the three elves. Their job is to fix up the Herald after the long winter so he's ready to announce the Coming of Spring. Unfortunately, only one of them is actually working! Green Hat on the left here takes his job very seriously. He's found a gear that has popped off & lugging it back to its spot. Pink Hat over on the right tries, but he's rather clumsy! He was trying to fix a spring, & it popped off! So now he's stuck, dangling until someone can help him. That someone won't be little miss Yellow Hat in the center - there's a certain question she's been asking the daisies, & I'm afraid we're not going to get any work out of her for awhile!

So what happens to the Herald now? Well, he was only one of many collaborations going on this fall, in a challenge held by the Etsy Dolls & Miniatures Team. The other sets of partners have been busy combining their styles into one doll as well. As the challenge is wrapping up, I'll round up some photos of the other pieces. There are some creative partnerships going on! Stay tuned!

Elf 3's Grand Entrance

For Round Robin Collaboration: All 3 elves are here!

Here's the third member of the worker elves' party. The prince has stepped out of the shot for this one & no wonder - her hat isn't finished yet! It still looks a little odd, & the prince is a little too worried about bad press to be seen with her quite yet.

There! Hat done, shoes tipped, she's ready for work, if you can convince her to leave her flowers for a moment. There's a certain question she's been asking the daisies for a while now, & I'm afraid we're not going to get any work out of her just yet! Oh, look - the Prince has come back. You may want to cover your ears, though - as he may begin to serenade, as he's heard that all princes are supposed to do.

Next up: all three elves in place around the Herald's mechanical innards.

Day 2 of Elf-making

For Round Robin Collaboration with KyEliza:

The final day (hopefully!) of Elf-making begins. I'm all set with my tools, a huge stack of candy corn (the kind with the pumpkins) & a massive Beijing Starbucks mug of Awake Tea (yes, it's legal!).

Well, the Princess & Jester have wandered off (so hard to keep their interest), but the Prince has hopped over to watch. Probably because this third little elf is a she - and a very opinionated she, too. I was going to dress her all in pink, but apparently this is not a pink sort of elf. I think I've convinced her to have a pink collar & belt, but we'll see.

Elf 2 in Full Costume

For Round Robin Collaboration: The second Elf has arrived! He's a bit of a clumsy one - he'll be hanging off the end of a spring that has popped loose. Poor guy...he tries so hard to help!



Oh, the Jester is back! No doubt drawn out by the kind & caring nature of the Princess, or the fact that she has been known to whop him upside the head if he doesn't come when called. Ah, friendship. How sweet.
Stay tuned to meet the third little member of this elf party - coming up soon!

Elf 2 Peeks In

For Round Robin Collaboration:

The second little elf in the series is making his way tentatively into the world. You'll notice the Jester has wandered off. Don't worry, he's not still sulking, his memory isn't that long (tiny head, tiny brain, tiny attention span). But the Penny Princess has been lured out to watch the proceedings, no doubt by this elf's cultured fashion sense (his use of pink).
The little green sticks are his legs, & the wee pink dots are his shoes (he'd better not lose one - I'm not making him another!). The string I'm holding in the photo is the beginning of his arms. It's actually 3 strands of 6-ply embroidery floss. One end is taped to the table, & I hold the other end while I glue a thin piece of wire to the strands. Can you see the wire? (Ok, squint!) I'll cover it with another 3 strands of floss, then roll it to form a circular tube. Presto! Arms.

Elf 1 Makes an Appearance

Today is Elf Day for me - I'm making the three elves that will go into the Herald of Spring (see earlier posts to catch up!), & I'll be posting my progress all day long. Check back often! You never know what trouble a 1-inch elf can get into!
Here's the start of the 3 little elves who will be repairing the Herald of Spring (Round Robin collaboration with Kyeliza). Another little Jester I'm using for scale is looking rather disdainfully at the 3 heads before him. He doesn't remember that at one point he was just a head, too!

We're getting farther...the Jester has stuck around long enough to see this wee one get dressed in his purple & green striped tunic. Arms & legs are beginning, too. But it seems the Jester does still have reason to laugh - this elf is bald, & has no cap! Elves without hat or hair are often laughed at in the world of Penny People, I'm afraid. I've yet to teach them otherwise.

Aha! Hair, real arms & legs, pointed shoes, and...well, the beginnings of a cap. Apparently the elf doesn't feel quite presentable yet - you'll see he's turned away from the prying eyes of the camera, & is staying out of eyesight of that opinionated Jester.

He's here, he's here! Now, where did that Jester go? Probably off sulking because he doesn't have a daisy belt buckle. Oh, well - One elf, ready to work! He's all set with a tiny gear he's trying to find the perfect spot for. Unfortunately, he's the only elf that will actually be working, as you'll see. His two companions to come may be more trouble than help in getting the Herald of Spring oiled & primed to make his big announcement!

In Progress: Beaded Evening Gown

This poor doll has been so patient. She's been in progress for well over a year now, watching as Penny People, Dolled Up Photo Frames, and other projects spring up around her. She will get finished, though, and hopefully soon.
See the fringe on her gown? Well, that thing is one reason she's sat on the shelf for so long. See, each strand in that intricate fringe is beaded separately and individually glued in place to ensure that perfectly even edge that rises up to a point in front. If she weren't so particular about the placement of those tiny little beads, she might be finished by now. But she is, and so she's not.
Her bodice separates her from other dolls I've done in the past as well. It's covered in several pieces of black lace, carefully cut & placed to show off the floral motif. Between that, her satin gown & her beaded fringe, she may be waiting just a little longer until I have both the time & energy to finish her toilette. But then again, aren't all sophisticated ladies entitled to be fashionably late?

Rapunzel's Blonde Highlights

By the time I finished making Rapunzel, I wanted to give her a haircut in the worst way. Personally, I'd think she'd be gorgeous bald. Ok, maybe not. But all that hair was definitely a challenge! Usually, I make curly hair by wrapping thread around a toothpick, soaking it, & removing it when it's dry. Of course, that wasn't good enough for Rapunzel. She was a high-maintenance gal. To get her look, I wrapped the thread around wire that was slightly smaller in diameter than a toothpick, to get smaller curls that would look better in volume. I wrapped thread around those wires for close to an hour to get enough curls, using two different colors of blonde to give her a more natural look.

If you look closely, you'll see that the curly tendrils that frame her face are smaller than the rest of her curls. I love that wispy look when small fly-away pieces escape and frame the face (clarification: I love it on dolls; I hate it when it happens on me!). To get that look, I made MORE curls, this time with a much smaller size of wire. Each of these curls had to be placed individually in particular spots to get that "the wind just did it" look.

To see more pictures of Rapunzel, stop by to visit her! It does get lonely in that tower...

Have you seen a doll on this blog or on my website that you'd like to know more about? Let me know! I'll feature her in a future post.

Why 'The Elegant Toothpick'?

I am a dollmaker. You can make dolls out of all sorts of things - clay, cloth & porcelain are the usual suspects. I use toothpicks. Look closely at Rapunzel here. Imagine the head stripped down to a single toothpick. Under the dress are two spindly little toothpick legs (thank goodness for floor-length skirts). Each arm is two pieces of toothpick, attached to look bent at the elbow. Everything added to the toothpick skeleton: the head, the body structure, the gown, the hair, the flowers, is all embroidery floss, or thread. Yes, I'm nuts; yes, I love it.

I've been making toothpick dolls for about 15 years now, & would love to share some of the techniques I've come up with. Got a trace of insanity running through you? It really does help. If you'd like to learn, stick around. Toothpick dolls are tiny, fiddly, exasperating, & oh-so-fun.

Oh, by the way, there is an easier version. Toothpick Doll Lite. A little more basic, but with just as much personality. I teach this version to girls at Birthday Parties & other get-togethers. If you want to learn, this is what you start out with. Someday I'll post a photo of the first doll I ever made. The sad little thing. In the meantime, check out more photos of both kinds of dolls at http://www.angelamichelledolls.com/