Sisters Ava and Danika

I finished some details on their hair today and managed to have some nice light to photograph them. Warning I went a little picture happy so beware of slow loading.

First, I'll introduce Ava.


Her hair is tied back with fabric covered buttons.



All the fabric use on her was found at local thrift stores. After piecing her together I thought she was missing a little something so I added the ruffle on her sleeves and the band around her waist which is made from fabric folded over and hand sewed.





Ava has short little legs compared to her long torso.



Ava's back is decorated with a large flower and you can see how her hair is parted down the middle.



Then there is Danika who I named after a sweet little girl that was living at New Day Foster Home when I visited a couple years ago.



Danika is also made from fabric found at thrift stores including the ribbon. She's sporting a flower made with a fabric covered button.





I tied Danika's hair up into 2 little side buns. She has thicker hair than her sister.



Her legs are also short and stubby like Ava's.



The back of her dress features a simple tie.





Thanks for peeking in on what I've been up to. I'm currently working on 4 dolls right now and should have them up soon.

Thanksgiving

Some pictures from today...


Cape Coat
Originally uploaded by rungirlrun.



This cape coat I got when I worked at Oi*lily. You can see now where the inspiration for this came from.

Tootie had a grand time playing with my toys from when I was a little girl. Note how she's sitting. She was really into it. Hmmmmmmm, maybe I should rethink one or two of her Christmas gifts. She suddenly is into little figures.

First Snow of the Season

Today it snowed. I decorated our Christmas tree. We went with an artificial one this year. Conveniently, my parents had one they were willing to give to us. It's big. I may need more ornaments. I had to move the furniture around the house in order for it to fit.

I am so happy Karin got her little package. I was so worried since I didn't track it. It was my first attempt at a swap. I have several more now that I need to get moving on and sent out by the end of the next week. And what about those dolls you ask? I'm doing those too. I have so many things that I want to do. Exactly what Karin stated today in her post. I'm afraid I'll forget some of my ideas before I can get them out of my head. I should be more diligent about my sketches. Add that to my list of things to do.

Is anyone else overwhelmed already by the thought of Christmas shopping? Why do I do this to myself every year? And Christmas cards...I've got to top what I did last year or so I say. I'm tempted to just buy the darn things and be done with them. Between H's photoshop skilz and my illustration background we should be able to come up with something without costing a small fortune.

Happy Turkey Day everyone!

Happy Referral Day

Two years ago today, after 10 years of waiting, I met the little face via color print-out of my daughter.



Since then I have had the incredible privilege to get to know this little face. She is exactly how we thought she would be. Observant, cautious, funny, intense, beautiful. She has stolen our hearts. I know every parent says that but really. Our world revolves around this little imp.


Below is the story of "the call". Enjoy.

November 19, 2003

On the morning of the 19th I was frantic to hear news but had convinced myself that I wouldn't hear anything. I knew that most other agencies had received their referrals and was joyful and skeptical at the same time. I had agreed with H awhile back that he would be the one to get the call and he would then surprise me. His rational was that he wanted to be the one to tell me in person and not for me to hear it over the phone. I think it was all a ploy to get the news first. At around 9:30am he calls me to remind me not to get on the computer and read the boards. I thought that was a little odd so I asked if he had heard anything. He said "no". Liar. He said he just didn't want me to get my hopes up and be an emotional rollercoaster all day. I'm not sure what I did that morning except resist the strong urge to turn on the computer. Then the phone rang. It was S from our travel group.

S: Welllll?
Me: Well what?
S: Well?
Me: Well what?
S: Oh, ummm.
I can't remember what she said next. I think I said something like "My little friend H must be hiding something."

I called H immediately and asked if he got a call.

H: No.
Me: No calls?
H: No.
Me: Nothing?
H: NO calls. I have to go back to work. Click.

I drop the phone and start sobbing. Big long sobs. I just knew our referral must have been left out. There HAS to be a problem. I call our agency and Suzanne answers. I ask if referrals came in. Yes. Were any left out? No. I thanked her and hung up. Relieved I decide to go grocery shopping to get my mind off of everything. Great idea. I went and walked up and down the aisles like a zombie. I remember thinking to myself "this is the last time I'll grocery shop without knowing what my daughter looks like.", "this is the last time I'll decide between peanut butter brands without knowing what my daughter looks like.", "this is the last...…". I did that with everything.

I finally get home and see H's car in the drive. Hmmmm, something's up. I'm smart like that. I came in hauling the groceries and trying to act all cool. I didn't ask until I unloaded every bag.

Me: So, have you heard anything?
H: No.
Me: (now furious) You mean to tell me you DIDN'T get the call?
H: No.
Me: (now very meek and truly believing him) really?
H: Honey, I really haven't heard anything.
Me: (now I've swung back to being pissed.) Well, I'm going to call
them!! (I start marching over to where we keep our address book.)
H: Well, where's the phone?
Where's the phone? Where's the phone? What the heck does that mean? I quickly turn around to face him in order to give him my "what the heck have you been smoking" look. I turn and he's smiling from ear to ear holding a huge print out of Tootie's referral. "Take a look at the daughter God picked for you." were his exact words. Everything went in slow motion. Again, I fell to my knees and sobbed.

My daughter. Our daughter.
So that's what she looks like. She kind of looks like me.
She has that same dumb look I get. There she is.
Oh, look at her little hands.
Look at that silly stuffed monkey.

From the moment I saw her I couldn't imagine her looking any different. You would think I would be terribly mad at H. It all melted away. I was in love. Nothing else mattered.

We had a daughter.

Gwen

Gwen detail
Originally uploaded by rungirlrun.

This is who I've been working on the last couple of days. Poor Gwen has given me several frustrating moments. I'm happy to say I stuck with her to the finish.

She is sporting a cape coat with little bear ears on the hood. When I was a little girl muffs were popular but I never had one. I always envied the fashion forward alternative to my clipped on mittens. Nothing is cool about clipped on mittens. So Gwen gets what I didn't and I can live through her. She has a black dress on that is barely peeking out the bottom of the cape.



I gave her shearling boots since that seems to be all the rav in the fashion magazines these days. I wished I had her outfit today when I photograghed her. It's 32F. brrrrrr.




And now another preview of what I'm currently working on.

in progress

in progress
Originally uploaded by rungirlrun.

This is what my dining room table currently looks like. I started two dolls yesterday and finished one that has been a major headache this past week.

Here is a sneak peak of the finished doll. We've had some pretty grey, rainy days and I haven't been able to get out to photograph her properly.


I went to a craft show this past weekend with my Mom. I bought a couple aprons for Tootie and a great pincushion which was a surprise find. I only have one thing to say in summary of the vendors; Could you possibly walk down a different aisle at Joanne's? You know, there are other fabrics, beautiful fabrics, that don't have snowmen and country motiffs on them. They do exist. really. I've seen them.

Introducing Nicolette

She's finished. I named her Nicolette. She's so feminine to me and somehow I associate femininity with the French. I made her eyes blue. Maybe I should stick to black, hmmmm, they look a little freaky to me. Maybe not so blue next time. Her hair is leftover yarn from a crochet project years ago.



Here is a detail of the bottom of her skirt. The middle ribbon I found at a thrift store. Not sure if it's vintage or not. The dress fabric is vintage and I found it at a garage sale. I love the pattern but found it difficult to work with. It's thin and a little stretchy. I put fringe balls around her neck to create a collar.



The shoes I kept simple.



It started raining after I took these pictures so we went in and I set up a photo-shoot in my bathroom. The pictures didn't turn out but I got this great shot of Tootie.



She doesn't like my dolls "they have a face" but she did tell me today that this one is pretty.

busy busy

I am around. I've been working on stuff. I have a new doll finished but I'll have to wait until tomorrow to photograph it outside. I have another one half done and should be finished soon. I've really been trying to stay off of the computer so I can get work done. How do you other crafters do it?

I'm tired and still have lots to do tonight. BTW Tootie was an absolute pill today. She was a whiney mess. She did say something very cute. I let her have gum for the first time. I reminded her "this is chewing gum. We chew it and not swallow it." She quickly responded "cause, yeah, that would be swallowing gum and this IS NOT swallowing gum".