Quick easy wing tutorial

Today I thought I would share a quick wing tutorial with you. I made my angel doll wings this way. I will put her picture up later as I have still got some finishing touches to put on her.

First draw a design  of a wing on a piece of paper. Here it is the dark lines which is the shape of my wings.

Next take your piece of wire and bend the wire to the shape of the wing by using the drawing as a guide and keeping the wire over it.

This is how it should look when you have bend the wire to shape.(I used wire that was coated with thread) These wires are normally used in stump embroidary, so you know which ones I mean. I use these because the glue sits on it easily.

Next I took a beautiful lace doily that I had. I used this because the threads were so delicate and thin on it. I then covered one side of the wire with glue and placed that side on the doily.

I hope you can see it better here.

Once the glue is dry take the wings and trim it all around to get the wing shape with the lace. Then I coated the whole wing with Paverpol. You can use PVA glue as well. Let it dry completely and this is how it should look.

Now take your wing and embellish it to your hearts content. I used lots of micro beads, metallic colours and glass beads.

Here is the finished wing.

Here is a close up. I wish I had used more clear glass beads as they reflect the light so prettily. Perhaps I will add some more to it. You can get glass beads if you are in the UK from Teddy Bear fillings supplier. They are slightly larger than the micro beads.

New DIP

This is a new DIP I am working on, actually there is another one behind her but she will have to wait. She is my Christmas angel. Sorry for the quality of the picture as it is rather late and I am tired have to sleep now as I have a long day ahead tomorrow. Thought I'd show her to you. I find it hard working with silk but silk is what I love working with.

Tiny finger turning tutorial.

Today when I was turning the fingers for my doll I thought that perhaps it would be nice to share the way I turn my tiny fingers with everyone. I know many doll makers have given this tutorial time and time again. Mine may not be a great one but I do hope it will help someone out there who has not seen a tutorial for turning tiny fingers. With this method I have turned tiniest of fingers and I thank my peers for teaching me so well. So here is how I do it.

First cut out the pattern for your hand and fingers

and then trace it onto the freezer paper. You will notice that I have chopped off the thumb. I attache the tumb seperately.

After ironing the freezer paper on to doubled fabric I sew all around the fingers carefully. I use number 1 setting in my machine to sew. I always take 2 to 3 stitches inbetween the fingers. It makes the cutting and turning of fingers easier. Then I cut all around the fingers carefully. I cut as close as possible making sure I don't snip the seams.

Then I take the  turning tube that will fit inside the finger and isert it in.

I use a tube that will fit very snugly into the finger. Not too loose but that which fits snugly like so.  After putting the tube into the finger I trim all around the finger again going even closer to the seam. I do this because it is much easier to see where the seam is when the tube is in the finger and you can go very very close to the seam. The seam will not come undone as I used number 1 setting for the stitches.

Now I take another tube or a thin rod in this case and insert it from the other end. I usually insert a couple of sizes smaller tube or rod to one inside the finger from the other end because it is easier to slide the fabric onto it. Now I hold the rod/tube steady with one hand without putting pressure on it  and with the other hand I then slide the fabric onto this rod/tube. It should slide quiet easily. If you find the fabric is bunching up just go back and start again. If you look at the picture below where the rod is inserted in you will see how close to the seam I have cut the fabric. If you do not go as close, the bulk of the fabric will not allow you to turn the finger. Golden rule, never push the fabric with the  rod/tube into the finger , always feed the fabric onto the rod/tube

Once all fingers are turned the hand should look like this.

With the heamostates then I turn the hand.

and walla! the fingers are turned!.

I then make a slit in the palm where the thumb should be after stuffing the hand and insert the stuffed thumb and sew it on or glue it on. I prefer to sew.

As you can see the fingers I turned are just between 3-4mm wide. You can turn even slimmer fingers the same way.

I hope this mini tutorial will be of some use to someone out there. Enjoy!

Want to win a beautiful bag?

Just a quick post to let you know that there is a draw for you all to win a cool bag in this site. I only just found it through another friend's website. So click on and enter http://tybidules.free.fr/wordpress/?p=158. The rules are all written in English too if you scroll down after the French version. Good luck.

Clutter

I have nothing much to show this Monday I am afraid only this clutter and chaos. Hopefully a doll will emerge from this!.

Don't laugh!!

OK don't laugh she looks as tough she has fluid rention problem with her swollen wrists and foot lol! I had to finish her quickly because I want to get on with something else. This was just an experiment and I went through a learning curve. Next time if I do a project like this I will use Merino wool. This wool I used was not Merino and was a bit rough to felt. But I learnt a few things doing this exercise. Another thing I will not make it so big as I found it a bit tedious to keep poking at such a big girl.

First frost!!

Today we had the first frost of winter at last. Normally we would have had frost from October onwards but this year the weather has been so mild. Even today it is fairly mild for November. The Clemetis in this part of the garden are still blooming and there are quite a few buds on the plant. But ofcourse after last nights frost it might wither away soon.

Shaping up!

I know she is nowhere near even looking like a proper doll. But I am having so much fun with her. I also know that I really need to felt everything more. But I am impatient and want to get the project finished, so the felting is not enough on her. However since she is my first ever felted project I just wanted to try my hand out to see if I could do it. I am using all the bits of wool that I have collected over the years. A pity that I couldn't go to the knitting and stitching show this year to collect more treasures.Sorry Choc it was not a bone for you that I was making ha..ha..

Yesterday went for some shopping in London. In the past John Lewis would have lots and lots of beautiful remenants during this time of the year. But in recent years they have reduced their fabric section drastically which is so very sad. They also don't have that many remenants out for grabs. But yesterday amongst the very few fabrics I found this beautiful silk dupion. I just had to have it. The lovely colour does not show very well in this photo but the fabric is divine. I am really pleased that I found it first.

Experimenting

I just thought of experimenting today. Actually I have got to blame Linda for it. Please go and visit her blog it is amazing. Well I got ichy fingers after seeing her wonderful creations. Now I don't think you can call mine wonderful. Looks like a potato isn't it lol.

Now it looks like a bone te...he.... I have to keep you guessing here.

Choc thinks I am making this for him and he tries to have a nibble at it......

Perhaps Isabelle you might have an idea of what I am trying to do. Can you remember that book in the background? I have to see now if it will look anything like the project in that book. A lot of it I am having to guess as my elimentry French knowledge is not very helpful with a lot of the instructions in that book. I am just making my own method up. Pardon the pun but I am wondering if I have bitten more than I can chew lol!!

The sun and the moon

The mornings are so wierd for the past few days. The moon is so bright and does not go down till at least 8 O'clock in the morning and the sun is already out with its bright rays. So all in all the mornings are quite bright for this time of the year.

The moon still up in the sky

The sunrays begining to peep out.

Bragging

Fancyful Figures our new doll club decided to do a purple doll challenge. It was decided that we would use one pattern to make the doll . I supplied the pattern and look what they have come up with!!! I am so excited that I just have to share these photos with you. Didn't they do an amazing job of it?  Each doll is so very different from the other. Wow what a talented group we have I just have to brag about these dolls. Well done ladies. I am sorry I could not be with you but just so very proud to be a member of our very talented group.

I am back!

Well at last I am back. I have missed you all. Since I was not very well I haven't done much sewing even though I had intended to. However here are some images of little goodies that I bought this time. Had so much fun rummaging around for these metal beads.