China Doll

Poor little China Doll…. she was looking sad and forlorn for a while.

She sat alone in the garden for hours. Inconsolably sad.

I asked her what was wrong… and other than being upset that she missed the Cyndi Lauper concert, she finally admitted she was just lonely. "You never have time for me", she sniffed… "You just dress me up, paint my cheeks, knot my hair ribbons and leave me alone." Poor little party girl!

I could see it in her eyes. It was time for her to take a trip. As soon as I told her about my idea, her toes began to wiggle. She could barely contain her urge to dance!

I helped her pack her bags and paid her passage for an exotic adventure… to beautiful Ohio. 

"Do I look okay?" she asked excitedly... "What are they wearing these days in Ohio?" I assured her she'd fit right in, and helped her with her luggage tags.

Then I noticed… she was finally smiling! Beaming and bright.

She's now rooming with a dear friend of mine who will keep her entertained with stories of her world travels and exciting adventures. 

I'll miss you little China Doll. Your quirky ways made me smile for a little while.

{Our dear girl is a stuffed cloth folk art doll… and sports a vintage plastic bow button, vintage ribbon, rickrack and lace.}

Get Punked

Punks are all the rage around here...

After the Valentine love punks I made for my granddaughters, the first was Gigi... who is now listed here... on Etsy.  This and all the other punk dolls below are made from a vintage log cabin quilt, circa 1930's-ish. If you look closely at the seams, you can see that most were pieced by hand! I'm using vintage buttons for eyes, bits of wool felt, old keys, faux fur for hair, and trim from my stash of silk sari ribbon, vintage rick-rack and other lovelies. Each is about 6.5" tall.

Next came Babs... a birthday gift for a friend. This is my personal favorite so far. I just love how much character came out as I worked on her.

Then, Esme... by request, for my daughter-in-law. Esme's blue button eye (stacked on a larger brown button) was from the dress of a baby doll I had as a child, and have been carrying that button around ever since. The only thing I had left of her.

Just finished Posie this afternoon, and she was sold within the hour! Homage to my friend, Catherine Zacchino (aka Junker Jane) for the design of the stitched "X" mouth. I totally love the super old coral pink button. I bought that button at an antique store a few years ago for 25 cents, just because I loved how worn it was... the only thing I bought that day.

Punks in progress... more to come!

Gimme some Love Punks

These are the Valentine version of my Voodoo Punks from last fall.

Cutter quilt with felt and buttons... and some uber long faux fur hair.