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Thursday, August 5, 2010

Finished Matchbox Doll, pt. II

Earlier this summer I joined another Matchbox Doll swap on swap-bot. Fun stuff. Here is a link to the first one I was in when I became addicted to making these little critters. I did a travel trunk theme again this time. Last swap my doll had a steampunk fairy theme.

This time my swap partner's profile said she liked history and traveling so I made a 1940's era doll. Well - I attempted it. The doll's backstory is she longs to travel but cannot due to the war, so she collects letters, postcards and dreams of globetrotting. I know. I know. I really get into this stuff, don't I? I am an unapologetic dork.

 The travel trunk.

I had so much fun with this little doll and all her stuff. I even got out my tiniest knitting needles with some good results which is pretty much a miracle, since I am in no way gifted in that direction. But here is my girl and her little room with a knitted bedspread and cape.

I kept thinking of my grandmother and things she might have had as this was her era. I tucked the photos into the mirror and picture frame because that is what my grandma always did. I also created the little perfume tray based on what my grandmother had on her dressing table. When I showed this to my mom, she told me that my grandma had a print very similar to the art I chose for my doll's wall. That made me happy.

 Room close up. The green box on the bed contains all the doll's treasures.

 Close up with her silly hat on. I don't love her hat.

Her bun which was a PAIN to create, but made me happy in the end. If anyone reading this has any links to doll hair 'how to' blogs or books or anything, I'd so appreciate it. I am sort of flying blind with the whole doll hair thing.

Sitting in a teaspoon for size perspective. When I do these macro shots she seems way bigger than she really is. She fits in a 32 count matchbox, which was the point of the swap. She's probably around two inches tall I'm guessing. I don't have her anymore to measure as she is now happily at home with my swap partner, thank goodness.

The most nerve wracking thing about swapping is sending out your creation and hoping the post office doesn't lose it somewhere along the way. Unfortunately that has actually happened to me before, though luckily it was only on a letter swap. Still, the experience was enough to make me a bit nervous when I hand over something like this that would be hard to recreate easily.

 The very best part I think. Her cape I knit and had it actually turn out. Yay!

Here is a shot that shows her bed (which again was the theme of the swap) and the rest of the furniture and belongings I made. I made the table with a small scrap of wood that I mod podged paper onto, and then glued on toothpick legs. The doily is a scrap of lace cut from an old shirt. The perfume bottles were beads on a glass tray made from a watch face. The blanket bedspread was thanks to whatever knitting gods were smiling on me for this project.

This photo sort of shows her letters and photos that were in the box. To make them, I resized and printed free vintage clip art and emphera that I found on flickr and various blogs. I tried to make a memory box that would be cool to come across in a dusty attic. I had such a fun and relaxing time making this doll and all her goodies. My daughter made a needle felted mouse in a small box home while I worked on this, so it is a fond memory of working along side my daughter on our little mini projects. Posting about this has me wanting to make another one. An Alice in Wonderland tea party themed box might be fun... Hmmm... Might be time to turn off the computer for the night and start crafting.

Ooooh... just remembered it is Friday tomorrow. Woohoo! Happy almost weekend! 

6 comments:

val said...

Oh Candy! I love her, and her hat, and her little cape.

Miniatures are soooo fun, and you have such an excellent imagination. I mean, this girl has personality.

Very wonderful. love, Val

K said...

This is vintage you and I LOVE it! I love that you do this and how you do it. And I love that you post about it. Its just a big package of swellness all the way around. So cool! :o)

Pictures of small mouse?

candyn said...

Thanks for your comments, Val and Katherine. You two are so sweet! :0)

Sparklee said...

Wow--she is amazing! I love the expression on her face, and all her little belongings. Was it tough to give her to someone else, after all that work?

candyn said...

Sparklee - thanks for commenting! It actually isn't hard for me to part with the things I make anymore. It used to be, but now it is kind of an extension of the creating - the joy of sending it out in the world.

I think the shift happened when I started to make a lot of stuff. Having it pile up around me means clutter and clutter is stressful for me. So if I'm going to make stuff, most of it has to go away.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful, Candy...just lovely. She's what I'd love to find tucked away on a shelf and delight in opening!

M