I have been making Rocky some legs and feet

Today I worked on making Rocky some legs and feet. Then when it got too hot outside, I went inside and made him some elf shoes. I think they need a little embellishment with some bells. I loosely strung Rocky to see how he is going to look when he is all dressed up for Christmas. He is shorter than his outfit but it is still cute. He needs some arms now. I realized I cut the blocks for his arms too short too. I went outside and cut some new blocks. Tomorrow I will make him some arms and hands. He has to be done this weekend so he will have time to learn about Christmas. I also think he needs a hat to match his shoes. This would help to balance the colors I chose for him. I wanted a warm color but not exactly a red. The package of felt I bought had a lovely mixture of browns, rusts, burgundy, tans, and greens. I think the colors are beautiful and the small pieces are perfect for making tiny doll things.

 Rocky stands well even loosely strung. I made him with pretty chunky feet just for that reason.

His eyes look like they follow me. I'm always very happy when I get eyes that seem to follow me around as I move, even though the eyes are stationary. I have not yet figured out why some dolls have that effect and others don't. I thought it was the way the eyes were made. These are little plastic eyes that I can paint and then put together--kind of like Blythe eye chips but with half round whites and clear pupils. The smallest size of eye I could find so far was 8mm. The eyes are a bit large for this size of doll, but that's all I have. The other eyes I have had, which seem to move, are glass and have spherical pupils in them. 

 I sketched out a pattern for the shoes and made one pair too large. The next pair was just right so I traced around them on a cardboard just for Rocky. A larger doll fortunately could wear the extra shoes. So that worked out for Rocky and someone else.

My new doll named Rocky The Elf

It has been such a long while since I posted anything. I have been working slowly but surely in the hot summer sun. I am still working a little here and there on the tiny doll. His name is Rocky. I am making him from the leftover alabaster of my 1/4 scale doll Topaz. I have too many irons in the fire, but I never give up. Rocky is about 5.5 inches tall.  He has a handmade wig I made with eyelash chenille and a crocheted wig cap. He has hand painted gold eyes like an owl. I love the gold color for my witches and elves. He has a handmade outfit I have sewn from felt with a hammer pocket and copper colored Christmas bells. I sewed each piece by hand, because I really love the hand crafted look of felt. I also find it to be very relaxing to sit back with a movie, ramp up the AC and craft to escape the heat.

 Rocky will soon be done. I just came in from working on his legs and feet. That means I will have an approximate size for shoes now and can get to work on some elf shoes and possibly a hat. I really love the fall colors that came in my package of felt pieces and fall is just around the corner. I dream about the Holidays just looking at Rocky come to life for Christmas. I have a brass hammer charm on my charm bracelet just for his hammer pocket. This means he can get to work soon crafting toys for Christmas

Weekend projects outdoors--cement and rock carving

I love to sand cast cement sometimes in the Summer. I use S type Masonry Cement from Lowe's. This is a picture of the cement. It comes in 80 lb. bags, so it is really heavy.  I used my old phone to take pictures,since I get really covered in dust and cement when I am working. 

 I use just Play Sand for the casting. This is a picture of my old wheel barrow 1/3rd full of the sand. I cast forms in the sand.

 `So far I got 3 very large bird bath shaped leaves out of one bag of cement. 

 This is one I just took out of the sand today. It has to cure about a week before I can move it. The stuff all over is the leaf that dried on it it while it is curing. I have some Empress trees that are nuisances but I love it some years when they get giant sized leaves. I make a bowl impression in the sand and lay a leaf in and start mixing and pouring the cement as quickly as possible. I shape the border of the cement to the edges of the leaves with my hands. I try to keep it thick so it won't get thin and break, but not too thick. I like the delicateness of the design. I put an equally large leaf over the top and pat it down to make impressions of the veins in the cement. At the end of the week, I pull it out of the sand and clean the leaves off of it. 

 This is one of my older ones which already has a hole in the middle where it was too thin. I still like to put a plant or seeds on top of it for birds or me. I made the post from concrete. 

 This is a top view of one of my leaves I cast.

 This is a Barbie chair I cast from the packaging. I put wet sand where I don't want cement. There was a little kitty cat in the chair when it was packaged. So I put wet sand in the kitty cat form and filled with cement. I use a Craftsman file and rasp combo to clean up rough edges. Now Barbie can have some patio furniture. I have some pink outdoor paint, but it is giving me a hard time in the humidity. 

 I use an old washing powder bucket and a gardening tool to mix my cement. 

I worked on planning and shaping a doll head for my next alabaster doll carving also.

I realized to string the doll I would have to either drill all the way through the head or make a head cap. 

 I really kept changing where the face would be.

 The head looks too large for the body. But once it is carved to shape, it will be much smaller. I always start out with a piece of rock bigger than what I need. 

Raining cats and dogs 'round here in NC--starting a new alabaster doll and other doll things

I decided to post something while it is raining cats and dogs here in North Carolina. I got some stuff for my favorite Barbie during the past month. I just cleared a bookshelf to try it out. I don't have a Barbie house and really have no intention of getting one. I prefer the 1/12th scale. But I have really had a lot of fun posing the Barbies. I love how Barbie pats the dog on the head.

 I found a cute cactus at the dollar store. I chipped it but got a new one since this photo was done.

I got to swap the Barbie heads and I loved it. I want Mattel to come out with Ken made to move and Skipper made to move too. That would be sweet. 

I put some 1/8th scale dolls in the Barbie shelf and they look really good.  I personally think they look better than Barbie with the play furniture. 

 This little doll is so cute. We robbed Barbie of some clothes and jewels to get her something to wear. I just put a wig on her that I had from another doll. It worked well because she doesn't have ears. I never really thought about it. I just wanted to see one of these dolls in person. Then I realized she has no ears to pierce. 

 She really likes pets and wants to be a pet sitter for a living. 

 Her head is too big for really posing. But I did manage to get her to stand against the chair just long enough to have her picture made.

 I got a few other doll props but I can't fit them all on the shelf at once. I will just have to change them out once in a while or clear another shelf for some photo fun. 

 The cute little shoes she has fit my AI Beloperone doll from Jun Planning. I was glad I had something for her to wear. She was feeling neglected and looked so pouty sitting around naked, waiting to be loved. 

 Still working on my little planters made of cardboard and string. 

I put a little eye-screw in the shelf to hang it and see how it looks on the Barbie scale. It's pretty nice. I have been spraying the pot with fixative after I color it. Now I need to put the flowers back in the pot. 

Today, it was cool enough to start a new doll sculpture of my own. I still have some of the alabaster left. I think it will be enough to make 2 miniature dolls like my alabaster witch doll. They will be the new age Hansel and Gretel perhaps. I have a brand new rock to work out a Wizard for the Witch too. I have had too many projects for the summer but I couldn't resist throwing in a little sculpting. 

8-2-18

I had this alabaster chunk already cut out. It was supposed to be a leg for the witch doll but it was too short for what I meant to accomplish. I drew out the body design for the next doll body. I decided to make the neck part of the body, because the witch doll had a tricky neck that was constantly moving on me when I wanted it to stay posed for the camera.

I decided to make the backside of the doll more closed than the witch doll. I want to get more of a ball joint than a peg leg this time. 

 I sanded this part down to the line because it is the thin part. The more blunt it is the less likely it is to break when I add leg holes to it. 

 I am aiming for a rounder bottom and an arch in the lower spine of the body this time. I don't want to have it cut in the middle. Just arms and legs added to a trunk this time. The alabaster can only take so much stress. And the thinner it is the easier it is to break. The thicker it is, the heavier it is and the channels need to be larger for larger elastic diameter. The challenge here is how small can it be. I got some smaller bits to work with this time and will try to do the channels for the 1/16" diameter bungee cord I have left over from the other doll I did.  

 Here is where I planned the neck. I don't want it too short but not too long. I have to get it just right so I won't waste my rock.

This end is where the neck will be. 

 I drew in where I want the legs to attach. I already had an 1/8th inch channel drilled through for stringing. But now I will have to add some channels for the legs to attach. Each sculpt is a new experiment and builds on the difficulties encountered from the last one. 

 This is the other side view. It shows where the shoulders, rump and leg holes will be. It also helps me to stay somewhat symmetrical when I am hand carving it down to the shape I want.

 This is the front view of the trunk and neck. I also do this drawing as a memory exercise, because the drawing gets all dusty and obscured when I am carving. I have to just feel my way through it sometimes.

This is how far I got with shaping the trunk before I got rained out.

 I shape it by hand with files.

 I draw in where I want to take out more.

 I drew in where I want the arms to attach.

 I rounded up the neck based on where I already had a hole for the stringing.

 I drew in where the legs will attach.

I also cut a block to start a head for this weekend.