Out for a ride

It was a lovely day today, perfect for a ride, so Choc volunteered to take these girls out for a ride before they flew off to far away lands.

I made these pindolls for a swap. They are inspired by one of Nancy Williams dolls.

I have not been posting or visiting blogs much as I seem to be having an issue with one of my fingers. I am not able to put pressure on it so for now I am not doing much dollmaking to avoid hand sewing, neither am I on the computer much. I made these little dolls which was a bit of a struggle but I managed it since there was not much hand sewing of stuffing involved.  Hope whoever gets them will like them. They will be flying to Alaska soon.

Experimenting a little

We were talking about dyeing pearls in one of our doll groups and Diane mentioned that she dyed her pearls with Rit Dye. So I decided to try out some other dyes as well to see if those worked so here is what I did.

The fushia pink pearl is a natural pearl and I used wild plum alcohol ink to dye it.

 The one below is also a natural white pearl dyed with alcohol ink. I used Stream

 This one below is a synthetic pearl dyed with Lettuce alcohol ink

 These two are synthetic pearls the one on the left is the original colour and the one on the right is dipped in alcohal ink diluted with water and heated. I had to leave it in hot water for sometime to get this delicate pink colour.

The ones below on the left is the synthetic pearl and the one on the right is the natural freshwater pearl. I used orange Quick Color for microwave dyeing . Again I mixed a little bit in water heated it and dropped the pearls in it. These coloured more quickly but strangely the synthetic pearl took the red colour from the dye and the natural pearl took the yellow colour from the dye. I liked these the best as they were uniformly coloured

However I think colouring the pearls with the inks is also interesting as you could get swirls of colour on them if you remembered to use forceps to hold the pearls with them instead of your fingers. One has to be quick with the inks as they dry quickly because of the alcohol in them.  I foolishly used my fingers and not only did I blotch the colours but in the process coloured my fingers in very bright colours lol!

At last

At last I am snatching a few minutes to update my blog. Have been so very busy with house redecorating and kitchen renovations that time has just flown by since I came back from my US trip. I enjoyed myself thoroughly there as always. The doll below was my challenge doll for CIFI. The theme for this year's challenge was Enchanted Forest. My doll is an exotic bird couldn't think of an original name for him so I just named him Exoteeque lol! He is the early bird of the enchanted forest who catches the worms but he does not eat them. He just keeps them as his pets. I didn't think I would win a ribbon as there were some amazing dolls so when I did get an award I was thunder struck.

 Here is a closer view of him

 A closer view of the little worm wondering if he will be swallowed up soon lol!

 He is a happy little camper.

I will visit your blogs soon but at the moment my life is a big rush so do forgive me for not visiting them yet.

Popping in briefly

Hello everybody. Just got back from India and I am popping in briefly as I am away again tomorrow. Before I go I just wanted to share with you Ivy. Like many of us I get inspiration from nature very often. While I was in the garden one day I was admiring the shapes and shades of various leaves when in popped a doll into my head, very weird! I thought the shape of an ivy leaf will make a wonderful head for a doll so here is Ivy. I made her hands also the shape of Ivy. She is a table doll for CIFI. Hope someone will like her enough to want her. I did not have time to make a proper perch for her so whoever gets her please feel free to make another one if you so wish. As always Choc had to approve before I could put her picture up.  I shall visit your blogs when I get back and get my house in order. My house has been a mess since the kitchen is being remodelled hence I have been going around like a headless chicken around the house for the past few weeks. Well those who are travelling do have a safe journey

See you soon. A bientôt

Busy

I am sorry I have not been around much lately. The reason being I have been very busy. So much is happening all at once and so little time. I am wondering if I will get to finish this doll in time for Cifi. Sorry can't give a frontal view as it is for a challenge. As usual it is not turning out as I had visualised in my mind. Have to rush now. Will visit your blogs when I get a chance.

Milan

While everyone was watching the Royal Couple get married we were trapaising the streets of Milan so here are some photos I am sharing with you.

 The D'uomo believed to be one of the largest in Europe.

 In the piazza

 Even post offices have beautiful buildings in Italy.

 An amazing sculptre made out of tree and other natural items.

 Carvings on the doors of the D'uomo. I am not entirely sure if the top coating of the carvings had been removed partially on this just to show everyone that the whole door is made out of copper or if it is worn away by people touching it.

 Beautiful glass roof in the shopping centre Vittrio Emmanuel

 There was an exhibition in going on on the architectural drawings done by Micheal Angelo. In the museaum.

 One of the unfinished sculptres by Micheal Angelo. I took this photo after waiting and watching to see if others were taking a photo or not. I was not sure as there was nothing saying not to take any photos. Then I saw people taking photos and no one said anything so I took one too.  But I refrained from taking any photos of his architectural drawings since I did not see anyone take a photo. It was amazing that there were no proper signs saying if we could take photos or not.

Church of Santa Maria Della Gracie where Leonardo Da Vinci's painting 'The Last Supper' hangs. I couldn't get to see it as one has to book it well in advance to get in. They allow only 25 people at a time every 15 mins so as not to deteriorate the painting which has deteriorated considerably. The reason being apparently Leanordo did not use the normal paints that he usually used to paint this picture. I was quite disappointed that I couldn't see this painting. 

An artists colony in Navagli. It looked so lovely, who wouldn't be inspired to make art in such beautiful settings.

 Some Roman columns in front of San Lorenzo.

Finally this is my mess  from which I hope a doll will emerge eventually lol!

Gorgeous day!!

What a gorgeous day it has been. This is the sunset from our bedroom window and it is going to be a warm weekend too.

Slowly slowly..

I started this project but I am getting so fed up with it now as I can't seem to find the time to finish it. Still a long way to go and I have pricked myself upteen times with the needle lol! Should have I started it I wonder!

Thank you

Thank you very much to everyone who gave me such wonderful suggestions of repairing my Paverpol dolls. I shall have a go at saving them.

Sad demise of dolls!

About 3 years ago I made these sculptures for my garden with Paverpol. I even coated it with weatherproof coating.

Last year we had a very hot summer and a very cold winter unfortunately looks like Paverpol doesn't stand up very well to extreme climates so this is the state of my dolls in the garden. I liked these dolls and I am a bit sorry to see them go.