Dotees..a new obsession

I will be honest, I have slacked off on updating my blog. Ok, I've slacked off a lot. And I also haven't posted some of the items I've made in the past for the various swaps I've participated in. Just goes to show what happens when the normal mundane everyday gets in the way of the creative flow of things.

So to start catching things up, I'll start with one of the swaps I have just finished. Since all of my partners have received their items, I can freely post pictures of them. I had a lot of fun with this swap, not only was it something I've never made before, it also got me to start thinking outside of the box when it comes to creating something.

However, I don't have any progress photos of each. I should have taken some, but didn't. I'll know for next time.

These are the Dotees I've made for the dotee swap on Craftster (and yes I seem to be addicted to that website lol). For those that do not know, Dotees are mini art dolls. They range in size from 3" to 6" tall, have a face, a hanger to hang them, and a tail. They are traded much like ATCs and each are their own pieces of art work. They are super easy to make and can be made out of just about anything your imagination can come up with.

 This is a group shot of the ones that I made for my partners. Each one was inspired by what my partners liked. 

This is the sock monkey dotee. I was inspired by the various creatures my partner makes. The ears are made out of air dry clay, painted and glued onto the fabric body. The face is hand painted. The legs are made out of shrink plastic and colored with colored pencils, then sealed to protect the color. I used some japanese yarn I received in another swap wrapped around the monkey and a piece of paper glued on for its belly. It also has a braided tail made out of embrodery thread.

 

This one was inspired by vintage spool ornaments that she had posted on her blog. They had black and white designs on them. I made this one using an empty thread spool. I glued some scrap felt around the spool first and then covered it with some black and white fabric I had received a while back from my grandmother. I glued some scrapbook paper cut into circles to the top and bottom of the spool. I used some black ribbon to cover the seams and to give it a more finished look. I found some vintage buttons and beads in my stash of craft supplies to use as well. I also used a wooden bead that I painted the face on. Another button and pearl and she has a hat.

The dragon's body was my own design. I was worried at first because it looked a bit like a seahorse lol. But with some vintage and glass beads, some vintage eyes and a pair of wings, a seahorse became a dragon. The wings were made using some scrap vinyl and rainbow cellophane sandwiched together with some clue. They were cut into wing shapes and hand sewn onto the dragon's body.

Last but not least was the mermaid. She was one of my favorites and I found it very hard to part with her. Again her body was my own design. Her face is hand painted. The hair is a mixture of spun yarn, cotton yarn, and the japanese yarn. She's embellished with some seashells, netting, pearls and beads.

These were so much fun to make and I'm sure they won't be the last either. 

Happy Crafting!

~K.Michele

Swap crisis almost adverted...

Well, I had a feeling something would either go wrong and I'd have to totally scratch something. I was confirming what I wanted to make for my Samhain swap partner because of my gut feeling. I felt like I was missing something. Boy was I missing something! One idea I had come up with to make has just come to a screeching hault. After a bit of research, I found she had already received it through another swap. Thank goodness I found out early before I sent or I would feel like a chump.

So it's back to the drawing board for one project. Good thing I have my craft cabinets organized so I can see what I have to work with. Last night I bought some new scrapbook paper that I'm just dying to use. I might have to come up with a project to use it. It's Once Upon A Time!!


I was crazy excited to find that AC Moore carried them. Now if only they would carry more international holiday ones, I'd be all set. I might just have to come up with something to make using my new papers for my partner..hmm..

My craft space is just about organized how I want it. In fact, I think the kiddo likes my space just as much as I do. He was able to paint with some of my craft paints when he got home from preschool Monday. It's nice to see him start to take some sort of interest in crafting, well, at least painting. He does like glue however..



Now that I think of it, I do have a huge number of beads. I might just have to go dig through my craft patterns and instructions to see if I can come up with something for my partner. Here's hoping..

Happy crafting!
~K.Michele

Bleu, my swap poppet

I received my poppet from my swap partner yesterday. It was a bit of surprise because I wasn't expecting it to arrive until the next day. But she's here and I love her. She is adorable.


I named her Bleu because she has blue skin, blue hair and blue eyes. And blue just happens to be my favorite color lol. Bleu is the second doll my partner has ever made and I think she turned out well. You can see her post in the poppet swap gallery here.


She came with treasures as well. I didn't get a group shot, but my son decided that he wanted to help mommy take pictures of her poppet.

(left to right: magic wand, magnetic bracelet (anklet/necklace), handpainted fairy tales book box with hidden drawer, necklace)


Here are some detail shots that I took of her. Her wings are removeable. They are attached to her little dress. Her hair is a blue/green eyelash fringe yarn with silver tinsel yarn mixed in.

Here is Bleu smelling the Bee Balm in the backyard garden.

And this just goes to show that nothing gets into this house without having the Tabatha stamp of approval. Now I just have to remind the cat that the poppet is mine!

Poppet Mini Swap Pictures! ***Warning!! Pic Obese!!***

YAY! It's official my swap partner has received her poppet and l0ves her! I'm really excited because I was really nervous she wasn't going to, especially the second outfit. You can see her in the swap gallery here. And as always, thank you to Ghilie for the poppet pattern and the easy dress pattern. And thank you Craftewoman for the Eleanor pattern and clothing patterns

Anyway, since she received her poppet, I am now able to post pictures for all to see! And trust me, I was chomping at the bit to show them off. I'm really proud and thrilled as to how well she turned out. You can view Glitter's thread on Craftster.org here . You can also view the pictures my partner posted of Glitter in her new home here .

Let me introduce you to Glitter.

What faery would be complete without her wings? This was my first time making wire wings and thought they came out pretty well. I will definately be making more wings and perfecting them. The wire I used was a bit thick I think, but it worked. It was some extra coated electrical wire that was laying around (being that renovations are still going on, I didn't have to buy any wire lol). The wings were made from dollar store pantyhose with fabric glitter paint around the edges (to hide the toe seams) and scribbled to create the veins of the wings.

Here is a group shot of everything that I had included in the package to my partner.

Included were a trinket box, a necklace, an anklet/bracelet, a caterpillar and pet carrier, a second outfit, a detachable tulle belt, wings, and adoption certificate.

And one final picture...

Thanks for looking!! Poppet Kisses!!

Finished Poppet!

As of this morning at 1:45am I am officially done with my poppet for The Poppet Mini Swap on Craftster. YAY! --->insert happy dance here<--- The rain even held off a bit so that I could get some pictures taken outside since the light is tons better out there than it is in the house lol. She looks just like she did in my head. Of course in my head the wings looked better. But hey! First time I've ever made wings out of wire and they look pretty good I think. Even my sewing the snaps on the same side of the ribbon belt turned into a good mistake without having to sew a new belt. I am completely satisfied as to how well she turned out. Even dad is impressed. And he laughed when he first saw she had a belly button lol. So rock on to that!! I just hope my swap partner is as thrilled with her as I am. I can't wait for the poppet to arrive so I can post pictures on here. But in the mean time, here's a teaser pic for y'all =)
Haha not much of a teaser, but this little guy just makes me giggle with happiness. This is my poppet's caterpillar buddy in his pet carrier.

Off to edit some pictures so they are postable when my partner receives her package.

Quick update on a rainy day..

The last couple days has been filled with work on the cabinet doors for the kitchen and very little work on my poppet. I am, however, to the point of just having to sew the clothing and a few finishing touches then it's going to be packing it up and shipping it out.

I am kind of sad that I don't get as much time as I would like to work on my own projects instead of everyone elses. These days, everyone elses projects seem to control my days. Granted the majority of the projects going on need to be done so that everyone in the house can settle down and get back to normal because everything right now is very chaotic.

It would just be nice to be considered once in a while during this whole thing.

Poppet has hair, Doors have primer

The hair is just about all sewn on my poppet, just 2 more wefts to sew on. I almost ended up having to sew each strand of yarn on one at a time because my sewing machine bound up from the first weft I tried sewing. Turns out, it was too small of a stitch. Hit the button to turn up the stitch length and it worked fine. I also found out, through some good advice, that copy paper makes a really, really good base for sewing hair wefts on. It just peels right off. Beats trying to peel tissue paper off the yarn lol.

Anyways, the poppet is coming along. I think this will be my only swap for the time being until I can get my craft supplies out of storage and my craft supplies organized. So far the swap is fun. I'm enjoying myself. But with everything going on right now, I am crunched to find the time to craft. Yay for this swap being a mini swap. I've looked through some of the other swaps and what people have sent and at this time there would be no way for me to put out my best for my partner AND refinish cabinets and the rest of the house.

Speaking of cabinets. I grabbed the cabinets doors from the front wall in the kitchen yesterday and sanded them all down and primed them. Unfortunately it was really, really warm yesterday. I would have given anything to spend the day in the pool like my son. He's such a fish when it comes to water lol. Luckily I was able to get everything sanded down before it decided to rain. I spent an hour in the garage while it poured getting the doors taped off and primed (at least the first coat of primer). Hopefully it dries up here soon and the sun comes out so I can get them painted and stained. At least then I can say that some of the cabinets are done lol.

Mini Poppet Swap goodness

I am really excited. A month back, hubby got me a subscription to my fav craft forum, Craftster, (I am soo addicted to it, I visit every chance I get). Well that was just a tip of the ice berg. A while back I made my cousin's little girl a poppet and enjoyed making it. Since then I've been driving myself nuts because I've wanted to make another one and haven't really had a chance to.

Since hubby had gotten me a new sewing machine, I've been dying to try it out. What better way than by making a poppet! I am really excited about making one for my partner in the Mini Poppet Swap and I can't say much about it because of the off chance my partner might read, I have made a few trips to JoAnn's for fabric and thread. And I've made a trip to WalMart because I had forgotten things that I forgot to pick up at JoAnn's.

So I have all my supplies, the pattern drawn out and cut out, my fabric picked out, the yarn for the hair in the bag, and my eyes have been ordered and are being shipped sometime this week I hope. I'll post pictures when it's finished and has arrived in Michigan.

My first poppet

Well I am an avide fan of Craftster.org and one of the threads there I fell in love with when I first saw them. Pretty Poppet-Along (actually titled "The Long Awaited Poppet-Along") is a wonderful thread to see how different each one of them is.

When I first saw them, I just had to get involved and make my own. I made one for my cousin's little girl for Christmas. Instead of using Alova Suede, which I can't wait to use, I used a nice neutral knit. Being that this was my first poppet, I think it turned out rather well.

I call her Poppet, for lack of a better name. But I'm sure she has a proper name now. Her hair is Lion Brand Homespun yarn and is a multiple shade of blue, turquoise, and lavender. The dress is a modified poppet dress that Ghilie (the creator of the poppet pattern/poppet dress) created. It was made out of some scrap material that I had in my large stash that I had accumilated (some of which was given to me by my mom and others that were left over from my other random projects).

The top of the dress has a tiny green flower pattern and the skirt of the dress was made from a white guazey material.

Overall I am pleased with how it turned out for it being my first poppet. There are some things I would have changed. The nose would be a bit more pronounced and maybe not so lumpy when it comes to the stuffing of the legs and arms.

I wish I had a better camera and the pictures didn't look so washed out because the colors are soo much more vivid in person. Oh well..on to the pictures :)





I look forward to making more of these as soon as the remodeling downstairs is finished and all my crafting supplies are out of storage.