There Is Never A Dull Moment

Things have been so crazy for most of 2013.

I am surprised to find that December is almost upon us already. We're half way through November. Where did the year go?

It's been a pretty rough year for us this year health-wise. I'm thankful we all survived!

It all started around the end of June, really. Not counting the roll over car accident in January! We all walked away from that with minor cuts and bruises!

Hubby received a new cancer treatment which was a great success! The oncologist made the mistake of immediately after this treatment setting hubby up on some other medication.

Well, in July, that medication just about killed him. We still don't know exactly what happened, but he had some severe reactions that caused an incorrect reading in his blood, which indicated a heart attack.

He spent 4 days in ICU. All tests came back with flying colors, he felt great once that medication had finally run it's course and left his body completely.

Next problem, dental work. No dentist up here is qualified or secure enough to treat him since he had been on zometa. This means any dental work requires an 8 hour round trip drive to Phoenix.

Once things finally began settling down, on Oct. 28th, Lil Bub developed some abdominal pains. I called to make an appt with his doctor but they couldn't get him in for two weeks.On the 30th, he was in so much pain, we took him to the Emergency Department. Acute appendicitis with high risk of rupturing. Emergency surgery. We got there at 7pm and we came home the following afternoon at 6 pm.

You can read more about Charlie's Appendectomy here.


So, for the moment, I am trying to get back into my dolly world.

I have three topsy turvy dolls to make dresses for and will be introducing a new doll in a post a little later!

I bought my very first reborn baby doll kit!!!!! It was so much fun to paint! More about that later!

Just wanted to fill everyone in on where I've been and all the drama going on!

Handmade Cloth Topsy Turvy Dolls

Two dolls in one! Display a white prim Annie one day, and a black prim Annie the next! These dolls have been called topsy turvy, upside down dolls, or awake asleep dolls.

This doll is made of muslin and is 19" tall. Black doll is hand dyed a beautiful reddish honey brown. Hand painted face, including eyes, noses and smiles. I named them “Vivian” and “Gramcracker”. My great grandma’s name was Vivian and I always called her “Granny Gramcrackers”. These sweet ladies are available at my <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/120985797/white-and-mammy-topsy-turvy-doll"><b>Esty Shop</b></a>.

This doll was created using a pattern by Cat And the Fiddle Designs.

I may create a few dolls that are of the awake/asleep style suited just for little ones to love and cuddle.

Clothes finished for Skipper, Blythe and MoxieGirlz

Finished 3 outfits this week.
These will fit the Blythe doll and similar sized dolls including MoxieGirls, Bratz and Skipper. The solid dark blue shorts' waistband is too narrow for Skipper.
All these sets are available at my Zibbet Shop.

Clothes for 15 inch baby doll

Finished up two outfits for 15 inch dolls of baby type.
One is a white with yellow floral print top and shorts. The baby modeling it is a bit too small for the short. The waistband is too big. The doll is 13" with a 9" waist. This set will fit any baby doll up to 15" tall with a waist of 10-11"

Available at ArtFire.

And the second is a sleeper/bunting, also made for a 15 inch baby doll. This bunting is made of white with blue rosebud print flannel. So soft! Any little girl would love to have their baby doll dressed in this and cuddle.

Primitive Raggedy Annie doll - red curly locks

 Put the finishing touches on this cute little lady's dress this morning.
"Sunflower Sadie" is a 10" primitive raggedy doll, pattern provided by "My Raggedy Dolls".
Her head, body and legs have been stained with a coffee/vanilla/cinnamon mixture dripped onto them. Her dress and bloomers are not stained.
Her hair is two different shades of red. The yarn was curled by being baked on dowel rods.
I decided not to use any weighting materials in this doll's body. She will sit with a bit of support behind her. Maybe a spool of thread hidden under her dress?
She is available at my ArtFire Studio.

Weighting Cloth dolls

Still not sure what I should be using to add a touch of weight to my prim style cloth dolls. Pellets are not to be found in my rural area. I had been happily using bleached and baked aquarium gravel sealed in little cloth envelopes which are inserted into the bottom of each doll (to prevent spilling messes!), until an unpleasant encounter with Australian Customs.
As it stands now, I will continue with this method. The dolls have hang tags that state what materials are included in the bodies and will only be sold to US customers. And eventually find an online source for plastic pellets.
Polly Bunny above has no weight and sits well enough. Gravel or nothing?

Holly's Dollies Handcrafted Dolls and doll clothes

Welcome to Holly's Dollies!

I have always loved dolls (as have most of us). My first dolls were Ragged Ann and Andy that my grandmother made for me. I had them for such a long time, then were lost.

I started sewing cloth dolls in 1989 after seeing some really cute bunnies in a craft mall (that I couldn't afford). Then I added sewing Barbie Doll clothes to the line, then Cabbage Patch doll clothes, then other cloth dolls and well.... more and more!

Here on this blog I will be sharing photos of in-progress projects and finished dolls and doll clothes for all sizes.

The above photo is a collection of the variety of items I love to make. The crow was the most fun! Hand sculpted polymer clay eyes inset with eyelids sewn over. And don't miss the little tiny crocheted bears wearing costumes all ready for Halloween Trick or Treating!