I found Puppenka! - a new logo for my handmade natural dolls

Poor little Majorane and Laurel got ready so-so slowly, because I was working on a new logo and blogdesign for Puppenka. I was not completely satisfied with the previous one, but I wanted to start the blog and focus on doll sewing rather then primping the layout forever. And now I feel I find the real logo for Puppenka.

The bloglayout is not totally ready jet, Blogger tricked me at some point, but I am so so delighted with this swinging little girl. She represents everything for me, what I want Puppenka to mean.

Kindness - I wanted her to be pure and sweet, having a smile hovering over her lips. For me, she is kind as an innocent always heart upon her sleeves three year old little girl.

Playfulness - swinging is one of the most basic ways of playing, a great way of calming a baby, and also develops lot of skills such as sense of balance and movement coordination. Hence it has an effect on body and soul.

Simplicity - I want my dolls to be simple but delicate. I think simplicity does not means that it has to be unexacting as well. She has simple facial features, a simple but pretty hairdo and a nice dress. I'm not fun of too much ruffle and glitter. 

Connection to nature - Swinging is usually an outdoor activity, which connects kids to nature. When you swinging you hear the birdies, feels the warm rays of the Sun. You experience the effect of gravity, and the flourishing of the wind.

For all this, she is Puppenka.

I kept the thread and nail trick at letter 'P' as well, referring the way these little dolls are made. I hope you like it as much as I do.

Little Majorane and Laurel has to wait just a wee longer, but I promise to introduce them soon. In advance you can find pleasure in the photos of their spring walk.

Have playful days!

Valais Black Nose Hairdo - handmade wool weft for Lonka, a natural doll

I have mentioned before, that Lonka is a special doll for me. I tried out several techniques, while creating her. Creating her hair was one of the most significant experience for me. This is not a tutorial, but you can follow more-or less the whole process from cleaning the wool to sewing on her wig.

The wool, I made her hair of, was originally the possession Pimpa, the Valais Black Nose Sheep.

When I started working with the wool, I cleaned it from plant - pieces and other contaminations. It means I picked every single dirt by hand, paying attention not to damage the beautiful curly locks. During this process, I also made groups from the locks, separating the too short or shaggy ones. To be honest, I watched a million tutorials, and searched as much info as I could, but it was more difficult, than I had imagined.

 

After a long long time, I managed to get a queue of semi-cleaned locks. 

Then I heated some water (it was not boiling), put in some detergent (I used shampoo), and rinsed the locks in it.  Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture on this step. I tried not to agitate the locks too much to avoid felting. I picked the locks out and laid them carefully on a towel.

The next step was dying. I used red and normal onion-skin, approx. the skin of a dozen onions. I boiled them in not too much water, turned off the heat, and soaked the locks in it. As far as I remember, I re-heated the liquid two times, to make the process faster. To fix the dying, I used approx. 1 dl vinegar. When I was satisfied with the color of the locks, I laid them on a towel again, and let them dry. This part was maybe the most exciting, I didn't go for a color, since I never painted wool before. I used onion-skin t paint easter eggs or a few times, but that was all my experience. I love that she turned out to be ginger!

When the locks got dry, I sewed them together, to create a long weft. I crocheted a cap to serve as a base for the weft. Since I couldn't find wool-yarn in a matching color, I dyed the yarn as well.I used 100% wool one stranded yarn, what got the color much faster, than the raw wool. I crocheted the cap, and hand-sewed the weft to it. It is possible to crochet the weft into the cap, but I was not sure, whether I had a long enough weft for this. As a final step, I sewed the cap on Lonka's head. However I really love how she looks, I won't do self-made wefts too often, I'm sure.

Following these steps you may be able to create your own weft, but as I mentioned, this is not a proper tutorial, I neither I took proper photos of each step, nor wrote detailed instructions. If you have any questions concerning Lonka's hair, I'm happy to answer, if I can.

Have playful days!

First snow - adventures of Lonka and Simon, two handmade natural dolls

Lonka and Simon were really happy about their new cloaks, they love to play outside, but I didn't let them to wander in winter without warm clothes. Since I couldn't accompany them, they were just playing in the petite garden of our house. After hours of play they arrived home, and went into raptures over this little garden.

 - It is completely different, when snowed under! - said Lonka.

And they started to share everything they have seen and done out there.

 - We found a snow-slide, that was so high and fast, we slided down for a million times - continued the little girl. 

 - It wasn't a million - said Simon - you couldn't even count to million! But I felt like a bird - he said - the slide was so fast, that it seemed we are flying.

 

- We laid down to gaze the dance of the snowflakes as they falling down from the sky, there were all different! Like lots of beautiful little laces! There were small ones, hardly visible, but there were also huge ones, that seemed like some cotton candies - chattered Lonka.

- We also made some snow-angles, and I found some orange flowers - said Simon. - Do you know their name? -he asked me. - How magical! Flowers under the snow! They are maybe some Zinnias or African Daisies - I answered.

- Then we took a rest under the running-everywhere ivies. They our so beautiful semi-covered with snow! - continued Simon.

Since Lonka is a freezing type, she was really happy about her hand-knitted wool scarf. 

- I love this scarf! It was warm and comfy, when playing outside, the wind couldn't blow through it! Can we make snow every day? - asked her.

- I'm sorry Lonka, but we can't make snow. You know, snow is made of water, falling from clouds, just like rain, just frozen, if the temperature is low enough - I answered.

- Snow isn't like rain! How can you make a rain slide? Or build a rainman?? - asked this little girl uncomprehendingly, and she run away to figure out their upcoming adventures with Simon. 

I hope we will have some snow in February, so these two can have some more fun playing outside with these so cold, but also soft and white frozen - water - flakes.

Round eyes of a little rascal - challages of creating doll face for natural dolls

Two little dollies forming in my hands in the same time, a boy for my son and a girl for my nice. Finishing the eyes of a doll is a key movement of dollmaking for me. When the facial features are created, the little personality reveals itself. This is a precious moment, when somehow a doll comes to life. That is my favorite moment of creating cloth-dolls. So intimate, so touching moment...

But if the features doesn't work out, the eyes remain cold, that is everything, but my favorite. Sometimes it happens, and my beloved moments change into the most annoying and frustrating ones. And it happened again, of course when I'm making the first doll for my little son. It seems, when working for someone real close, dolls make me to take a roundabout way.

Eye-embroidery was always a mystery for me. I could plan the position of the eyes, the color and the approximate size, but the exact shape, it was determined by someone or something else, maybe by the doll herself. Embroidering on such an elastic, and unforgetting fabric is no picnic, but it belongs to the magic of these handmade natural dolls, I think.

While creating the face of my son's doll, after the long-long eye-positioning procedure, I pulled in the fabric, to create little pits for the eyes. I wasn't happy with the pits, but I couldn't tell what was wrong, since I liked the positioning, so I went on. I embroidered the eyes, and I couldn't see the personality. Such a frustrating thing to happen. I decided to re-do the eyes. And I realized, I accidentally cut the fabric with the threads. So I had to cover the head again. Since the tubing also broke, I decided to restart it from the very beginning, I was completely finished with a head, but I had just a big pile of clean, soft wool before me again.

So I was struggling with eyes, when something marvelous happened, the help came from Fabiola Perez, who is a gifted dollmaker (Fig and Me), in form of this great blog post. She shares sometimes here experience in great mini tutorials, which I'm really thankful for. This time the idea of embroidering the two eyes simultaneously meant the breakthrough for me. I tried two follow her method when creating the doll for my niece, and it worked! I love her eyes! I also found super little, and flexible embroidery needles, with which these satin stitches are much easier. 

However, the little boy triked me again. I tried this method when redoing his eyes, but he insisted on me to add one more layer embroidering since he wants to have round eyes. But working with to needles, creating the two eyes simultaneously gives me much greater control forming them.

These two little dolls are being created based on a brand new pattern. They are going to be approx. 20 cm high, and will have simpler body-structure and hairstyles, to fit better in the hands of the smallest. Wish me luck, so I can find more time to sew, to be able to finish these dollies soon.

Have playful days!

p.s.: Besides eye-embroidery, as you can see, I tried out myself in hair-embroidery for the first time, and I love it!

The First Noel

The First Noel, the Angels did say
Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay
In fields where they lay keeping their sheep
On a cold winter's night that was so deep.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
Born is the King of Israel!

 

The time has come to share some moments of our wonderful and cozy Christmas Eve. This was Lonka's and Simon's first Christmas with us, and for me it ment such a heart-warming gift, to be a witness of their awaiting. 24...23...22... they were counting the days from the beginning of December. 

When Christmas Eve arrived....

- Shh! Can you here it! Some bell was tinkling!- whispered Lonka

All lights, but the ones on the Christmas tree were blind, when she and Simon came into the room. The red-golden tree bewitched them. For minutes they were just pore upon it. 

Singing Christmas Carols before opening the gifts is a tradition in our little family, and  their duo were happy to join us! One of their favorites was The First Noel.

There were two similar small packages, wrapped in carmine paper, tied up with white strings, with little cards on the top. Of course, in a second, they found their presents. Lonka was the faster, the little itchy hearted girl, she opened her package, and found out, that whatever she got, it must be something just for her. Something very special, since her favorite flower peeped out of the carmine cover. Simon, the always calm little fellow, found a little red boat on his present. But he also realized, besides these little personal details their presents are matching! 

- Cloaks! - exulted Lonka.

With a great hush, she tried her brand new winter cloak on. Simon seemed to be more touched, and I was wondering why.

- The red boat - he said - I didn't want to wear anything warm, because my boat on my dungarees won't be visible, but this cloak has a replica! I love this cloak!

He also tried on his new favorite piece of clothes. This smart boy pointed out, that it is great to have so similar cloaks, since everyone will know, that they belong to each other, but it is also great to have their personal details, which makes it easier to find out which cloak belongs to whom. He turned to Lonka, and the two little dolly started to plan, what winter adventures they will make wearing these comfy, warm cloaks. I'm pretty sure, you will hear about some of these wanderings. 

Simon's and Lonka's cloaks are made of tweed, base on a self-prepared pattern. Their hoods in lined with fabrics matching their outfits, I used the fabric of Lonka's trousers and Simon's shirts. They closing with little black loops and large unfinished wooden buttons. The flower petals and the little boat are made of wool-felts.

Have playful days!

ps.: The lower branches of our Christmas tree are lacking decoration, to avoid any damage, that a far-too-curious little bunny can cause.