Sybil ~ A Dream Come True

Sybil

In my last blog post, I told you about having a custom Izannah Walker Inspired doll made by one of my favorite doll artists.   This is Sybil, made for me by the very talented Jan Conwell.  She arrived home a little over a week ago, on July 24, 2017.   I am so pleased to have her.  She is better than I ever imagined!

She is 18 inches tall and petite.  She is very demure and has such a sweet face and an "almost smile." Her hands are so beautifully done and she has been given a light aged look, that I love.  Her eyes are a gorgeous blue.  Her creator even put a little gold ring on her finger as a surprise.

 Sybil has very pretty underpinnings with antique lace and a seasonal wardrobe and bonnet.  The dresses were something I very much wanted.  Changing my doll's outfits is one of my favorite things. I am borrowing Jan's photo to show her wardrobe. I hope you don't mind, Jan.   I didn't even think to take a photo of her dresses myself.  

I was allowed to choose the colors, and whether the sleeves were long or short.  Jan and Sybil picked out the fabrics.  I think they did a fine job and each dress turned out beautifully.  Her bonnet goes well with all four dresses.  

Doesn't she have such a serene, satisfied look about her?  I adore this girl!  She has gotten so many compliments from others who have seen her.

  

She also brought along with her, a sweet kitty.  It's made of the same pretty fabric as her blue dress. She "disappears" when she sits in Sybil's lap.
 

Sybil loves to read.  As a retired preschool teacher, this makes me happy.  I will no doubt find Sybil and Charlotte playing school with some of the other dolls who live here.

Her beautiful hands are so graceful.  I can't even imagine how difficult it must be to sculpt hands like this from cloth.   But then, I look at her face and I'm reminded that Jan Conwell is a master artisan.

Sybil loves animals and wanted her photo taken with my small collection of sheep.  I have a few others scattered about.  She fits in so well here.  Can you see her kitty?

I couldn't end this post without showing how well Sybil & Charlotte are getting along.  They have become instant best friends.   I love to see them sharing toys.

These are such sweet dolly blessings!   Thank you again Jan, for making my dream doll and her beautiful wardrobe.

Until next time, be blessed!

Greta

This blog post is from May 2014.  I looked for it and couldn't find it, so it must have gotten deleted by mistake.   I want to save this, so here I am writing about it again.

This is Greta.  She started life as a Robert Raikes Hope doll.  I really liked everything about her, except the cheap, straw-like wig she came with.  So I took it off and decided to make her one.

I got out my paper clay.  I sanded her head a little to make sure whatever I put on it would stick.   I'm not very skilled at sculpting, but felt I had nothing to lose in trying. After several attempts, I finally settled on a very simple style I could live with.
 

It looked messy, but after it dried overnight, I gently sanded down all the little burrs sticking up everywhere.  I was so excited to paint her new hair!

I mixed up a light red color and painted one coat and let it dry.  Then I antiqued it by wiping on brown oxide paint and quickly wiping it back off.  I left just enough to fill in all the little details of my "sculpting."  I love how doing this seems to make things "come to life."

When the oxide paint had cured overnight, I wrapped her up, covered her face and sealed her new hair with matte sealer.

I have to admit, I was so happy that it turned out so well. It's not perfect by far, but I love it.  She got new hair and a new name.  So long Hope.  Now meet Greta!

I really wanted to do this again someday and got my chance with a Madame Alexander 95th Anniversary Raggedy Ann Woodkin doll.  I do believe I blogged about this too.  It was much more difficult, but so happy that I did it.  Here's a quick photo so you can see how she turned out.  She also got a new name.....Woody Ann.  

I will be back soon to tell you about some very special new additions.  

Blessings to you!  

Long Time, No see!

It has been a long time since I last blogged.  Being busy is part of the reason, but also because I have bought several dolls that I was not satisfied after getting them.  Not really sure why, but they have come and already gone.

The one exception to this parade of comings and goings is Lexie.  She is a Wichtel doll, pronounced "Wish-Tell" made by Schildkrot for German artist Rosemarie Muller.  Rosemarie Muller also makes handmade dolls, which are even more beautiful and much more expensive.  I was so smitten that I bought three of these dolls, including one of Rosemarie's handmade dolls.  All are wonderful, but it was too many, too fast.  Lexie is the only one I have kept.  The Wichtel dolls have many different face sculpts.

Lexie started out as "Rosi" which is the Mio sculpt.  Above is how she looked brand new out of the box.  As cute as she was, I planned to change her when she got here.  I changed her wig and re-positioned her eyes to face forward.   She turned out exactly like I wanted.

This is Lexie now.   I love the changes.  She was very cute before, but now she is amazing.   I'm so glad I took a chance and made her into what I wanted her to be.  She is such a fun doll.

And so much fun to find cute outfits for.  A friend and I started a face book group for them and are having a lot of fun with other collectors.  We have over one hundred members already and some of them are seamstresses who make wonderful clothes for them.  Let's just say that Lexie has a lot of outfits and shoes already!  

She makes me smile.  If you would like more information about these dolls, please visit this link:

http://rose-puppenkunst.de/RoseWebsite/Willkommen.html

This is in German, but can be translated.   Enjoy! 

I have so much more to share, but will save it for another time.  I will try not to stay away so long again.

Be blessed!