A Microscopic Doll

(Sung to the tune of the children's song "Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.")

"Head and shoulders knees and toes. Knees and toes.

Feet and belly, arms and two tiny legs.

Add eyes, ears, mouth and nose.

Where will all these body parts go-o?"

 

 

Where will they go, these micro-doll parts? This is the first....and maybe last (ha) time I am making a doll on this teenie-tiny scale. The fun is all in the experimentation. This may work out or it may not. We'll see. Wish this doll luck that she comes to life for her mama (also a doll). A doll for a doll's doll....will the fun ever end?

The Beauty of Doll Making.....

.....is this.....

Take a construction that is exactly the same, change the skin fabric, even just slightly and you will have either a slightly tighter constructed face or a slightly more expandable face. Change the eyes.....the decorative features of it, the shape of it, the size of it and you create two characters that hold completely different souls. Change the nose.....the location of it, closer to the eye line or a bit below, bigger or smaller and you have a brand new persona. Change the cheeks.....make them plumper, rounder, and change their placement relative to the rest of the facial features and you will place a face with an age. Change the mouth.....the placement of it higher or lower on the face, wider or narrower and you will have emotions attached.

Such is the beauty of bringing a doll to life. You only need to experiment and play and you will find that the possibilities are infinite.

In borrowed clothes....here is the next sweetheart to come to life.

She likes chic, shabby, pink and cream. And she's head over heals about what I plan to make her. We'll see if I can pull it off. (Giggles)

A Teatime Doll and Playset

Note: This blog post is for the upcoming CC auction. Pictures posted here are for those interested in purchasing this teatime set at the live auction. Thank you.

This is a Teatime Doll and Playset. The package will include a handmade doll by Scarlet Elfcup. Scarlet Elfcup dolls are made with all natural materials and each doll is individually handcrafted and uniquely made. Penelope (the doll) will come with three needle-felted macarons (handmade by Scarlet Elfcup), a porcelain tea set and a small suitcase filled with extra clothing for the doll. All of the clothing is handmade, hand knit by Scarlet Elfcup and will include a hat, a hand knit sweater, a play outfit and a sleep outfit, and an extra pair of hand knit shoes. The clothing items shown in the pictures will not be the actual clothing items. Actual clothing items will be available for viewing at the live auction. There will be documents included in the package to provide detailed descriptions of the doll and clothing, instructions for washing, beeswax application for the doll cheeks and a story that goes with Penelope. This set is recommended for ages 8+.

An Easter Outing

Easter is a holiday that seems to be loved by many, Christians and non-Christians alike. It is a time for observing religious traditions or just traditions, such as egg hunting, Easter bunnies, and Easter parades. The traditional Easter foods may also vary based on geographical locations. And the dates for Easter can range so vastly depending on what calendar we speak of.

In the world of Ostara and Paschal, Easter is enjoyed with an outing in meadows of green grass and outdoor sunshine.

Meet Ostara, named after the German goddess by which the namesake Easter was derived. As lovely as she might be, she's far from a goddess. Ostara is a simple little girl who loves her family...her mum, her daddy, and her brother, Paschal. Ostara also loves animals, sunshine and green grass. She loves the simple pleasures such as painting, coloring, eating bananas, singing off-tune to herself, babbling all day long and watching Easter eggs come livelier with color. She's just 4 years old, Ostara....cute, sweet, innocent, lovely and playful. Like many 4-year olds, she also fusses when she's tired or hungry and she cries when she's upset or sometimes when things don't go her way. But, she's lovely all the same.

Next, meet Paschal. Paschal is named after the latin term "pascha", meaning Passover as it relates to Easter. Paschal is Ostara's big brother. He too loves his family...his mum, his dad and his baby sister. Paschal also loves being outside in sunshine. He loves exploring and discovering the simple things of nature...picking up sticks and rocks and pine cones and bird feathers. He's not an adventurous spirit, just a curious one. Simple wonders like a walk in the meadow or a stroll with his animals makes his day a happy day. Paschal is a boy who absolutely loves animals. He is a nurturing and gentle boy. He has a small batch of baby chicks and two baby bunnies that he cares for. One of those bunnies actually belongs to Ostara, but she's too young to remember to feed it and take care of it, so Paschal does it for her. So, you might say he's father of 6 babies. It's a big job being parent. Babies require more than just love and kisses. Each day Paschal cleans out his animal babies' rooms making sure it is clean and comfy. He checks the room temperature and makes sure his baby chicks and baby bunnies are warm and adjusts the heating bulb if temps aren't just right. He makes sure they have enough water and food. He is even careful to watch his baby chickadees bums because little baby chickens are prone to "pasty bum", a condition of clogged bum pores caused by droppings that get stuck on the backside. This condition, if not taken care of will do great harm to the baby chicks. That's quite a big job for such a young boy. But, Paschal does it all and he does it all religiously. His favorite part of being a caregiver is playtime with his baby animals. Baby bunnies and baby chicks are active and curious. They need outside time to run, hop and jump. And Paschal loves to watch them. But, he is also quite vigilant, being careful never to turn an eye away for he wouldn't want any one of them to get themselves in a pickle.

For Easter, Paschal and Ostara dressed in their best, put on their bunny and hare hats and took their baby animals for a walk in the meadow and for an exciting Easter egg hunt. Over in the meadow the baby bunnies hopped about in new growths of green grass, a sign that Spring is upon them. 

Ostara has a ball looking for tiny Easter eggs hidden among brilliant green blades of grass and so did one of the baby bunnies.

Paschal, Mr. big and "harey", did nothing but mill around and never took an eye off his baby chicks for he was afraid one might get lost or eaten up by crows flying overhead.

When all the excitement was over, Ostara and Paschal walked over to a dry creek and sat amongst the big boulders and counted their blessings....one, two, three, four, FIVE! beautiful Easter eggs for Ostara, four happy, healthy baby chicks for Paschal and two fluffy, bouncy baby bunnies, a mum, a daddy, a sister, a brother. Blessed are they, indeed!

Ostara: Paschal, can we trade hats?

Ostara: Paschal, I like your big, harey hat.

Paschal: Me too, I like my big harey hat. I don't think your hat suits me, do you?

Ostara: If you wore the hat correctly, maybe it would look better. You have it on upside down silly goose.

Ostara is a Wee-Bee Mini Elfcup doll. She stands less than 6" (15 cm) tall. She is made with all natural materials. Her doll skin is made with premium quality cotton interlock imported from Europe. She is firmly stuffed with bio-wool made in Oregon.  Her seams are sewn twice for reinforcement.  Her locks are made of mohair yarn tied into two sweet pigtails.  She has embroidered facial features. Her facial structure is sculpted giving her a sweet little face with an itty-bitty chin, round chubby cheeks and deeper set eyes. Her cheeks, nose and various body parts are blushed with red beeswax.  She is a sitting doll with sewn joints that are made flexible for easy movement and changing of clothes.  But, with some posing, she is also able to stand. She also has a belly button and a bum.

Ostara comes wearing a sweet, soft rose colored handknit dress made from an angora, wool blended yarn by Rowan. Her bunny hat is hand knit with a 100% fine alpaca yarn and has a cotton floral fabric sewn into the inner ear. Her shoes are hand knit with a 100% fine alpaca yarn.

Ostara comes bearing some hard found Easter eggs....five of them to be precise. Each tiny egg was carefully (for I was fearing for my fingers being jabbed by the swift sword of the felting needle) needle felted with 100% wool roving. Each of the eggs span an enormous length of 0.5 inches (1 cm) long and is the size of the tip of a finger. Ostara's Easter basket is handknit from a Japanese kakishibu dyed 100% silk fiber. Not to divert the topic here, but have I told you what a weak spot I have for Japanese fibers? If you have a fascination with natural dyed fibers as I do, you may appreciate reading this article about kakishibu dye by Chris Conrad. Chris is an expert fiber artist on the process of kakishibu dyeing and has published a book dedicated to this process called Kakishibu, Traditional Persimmon Dye of Japan. Now, back to Ostara...Not only does Ostara come with this delicate basket of eggs, but she along brings along her very own bunny, Lily. Lily is needle felted with 100% wool roving.

Paschal is a Wee-Bee Mini Elfcup doll. He stands less than 6" (15 cm) tall. He is made with all natural materials. His doll skin is made with premium quality cotton interlock imported from Europe. He is firmly stuffed with bio-wool made in Oregon.  His seams are sewn twice for reinforcement.  His man-mane is made of mohair yarn.  He has embroidered facial features and a classic Waldorf face with a simple and expressionless look. His cheeks, nose and various body parts are blushed with red beeswax.  He is a sitting doll with sewn joints that are made flexible for easy movement and changing of clothes.  But, with some posing, he is also able to stand. He has a belly button and a bum.

Paschal comes wearing a simple gray and white striped cotton shirt under hand knit overall shorts. The overalls are made from an angora, wool blended yarn by Rowan. The pants have a tiny pocket made of a cotton fabric hand sewn onto the front. His big "harey" hat is hand knit with a 100% merino wool yarn and has a simple but beautiful Japanese cotton fabric sewn into the inner ear. His colorful orange shoes are hand knit with a 100% fine alpaca yarn.

Paschal comes rolling along with his wagon-ful of four baby chicks. Each teeny-weeny baby chick was needle felted with 100% wool roving. As is common with baby chicks, these little itty-bitties are very delicate. Their bits of fluffy hair are so finely felted to their body and should not be handled roughly or they get squished. And you wouldn't want them squished. That would make Paschal very very upset and will break his heart. Each baby chick measures about 0.5 inches (1 cm) tall. His wagon is hand sewn from corduroy (outer shell) and linen (inner shell) fabrics. The trim is made from cotton ribbon and the pull string is made from cotton twine. The wagon is sewn onto wooden wheels to make them totter along. Paschal also brings along his baby bunny, Buba. Buba is needle felted with 100% wool roving.

Ostara and Paschal and their baby animals and personal belongings are recommended for ages 8+ due to the nature of their delicate design and the small parts on them that pose as choking hazards for young children.

Ostara and Paschal....if you are interested in giving these two siblings a home they will be available individually in the shop tomorrow, Friday, February 27 at 9:00 PM (Pacific Standard Time). Thank you, have a lovely remainder of today.

Cicindela and Elytra

When twilight settles in and the bustle of the day begins to yield to the humming of nighttime cricket tunes and gentle insects buzzing about, watch carefully and you will see them.

Their bioluminescence will give them away. The glow of dim neon green is an indication that they are close by. Look and see....

Cicindela and Elytra.

Sometimes it is hard to tell if they are one or if they are two. Their patterns will tell them apart. One is Cicindela's and the other is Elytra's.

But, nothing is as it seems. Cicindela and Elytra are in fact two in the same.

Elytra is part of Cincindela and Cicindela is part of Elytra. Elytra is the firefly whose very existence relies solely on Cicindela, the fairy. Cicindela, is the fairy born to Elytra. Neither can exist without the other.

You see, a fairy is born unto the world with one purpose...to train, protect, guide and nurture nature. Cicindela was born unto the world to train and guide Elytra. Elytra cannot fly without Cincindela for Cincindela's membranous wings are part of Elytra's anatomy. A firefly has a unique wing structure such that the forewing is a hardened shell that folds and meets in a straight line down the back while in rest and spans horizontally outward while in flight. The hindwings are membranous and help in steering the firefly during flight while the forewings help keep balance during flight. So, without Cincindela's wings, Elytra cannot fly.

By night, Cincindela folds herself up inside Elytra to go to sleep and Elytra protects her and keeps her warm.

Sometimes by day, if you are lucky, you might see Cicindela and Elytra in a meadow somewhere...flying high, flying fast, Cicindela's hair a wild mess (as all fairy hair should be). With the wind against her face, Cicindela knows no life happier than the one she has as Elytra's fairy.

Other days, you may find them in a meadow, flying low, stopping here and there to enjoy the flowers and the smell of fresh wet grass left with dew after a rain.

From time to time, they'll stop in a quiet spot and just sit with one another to stare up at the beautiful heavens above and think, "Life is magical."

If you were patient enough to read through the blog I posted yesterday, called Firefly, you understand what a magical experience it is to be amongst fireflies. Or if you have been there yourself, then you are more so a witness to magical moments than anyone. And if you've been there and seen the fireflies, don't you wonder....maybe....just a tiny bit?....that there are fairies amongst us?

CICINDELA

Cicindela is the fairy who lives inside the firefly. This beetle beauty was named from the latin word Cicindela, meaning firefly.

Cicindela is the first Le Petite Elfcup to come to life. She stands about 8 inches (20 cm) tall. She is made with all natural materials. Her doll skin is made with premium quality cotton interlock imported from Europe. She is firmly stuffed with bio-wool made in Oregon.  Her seams are sewn twice for reinforcement.  Her locks are made of a luxurious British suri alpaca, giving her a long soft mane.  She has embroidered facial features. Her facial structure is sculpted giving her a sweet little face with defined characteristics. Her cheeks, nose and various body parts are blushed with red beeswax.  She is a sitting doll with sewn joints that are made flexible for easy movement and changing of clothes.  But, with some posing, she is also able to stand. She also has a belly button and a bum.

Cicindela comes wearing an earthly attire. Her cap is hand knit with an ultra-soft yarn blended of baby suri alpaca, merino wool and bamboo. Her dress is simple beauty, made of linen and cotton lace. The back fully opens with nickel-plated snaps. On her feet are fairy slippers hand knit with a 100% fine alpaca yarn.

CICINDELA'S WINGS

Cicindela's wings....ah...these lovely wings. I have a weak spot for fine fibers and an even weaker spot for Habu fibers. Oh do I love Habu fibers. I have a small stash of Habu yarn that I save in a special container for just the right project. Cicindela presented herself and I knew I had to use some Habu.

Cicindela's wings are handknit with a silk-mohair Habu yarn and a Habu silk-stainless steel yarn held together and made with the loveliest earth colors. The idea that I wanted to achieve with the silk-stainless steel yarn was slight rigidity with a delicate feel...that's what Habu silk-stainless steel offers. The wings are whipstitched around a thick-gauge silver craft wire to hold it's form. The shape of the wings are knit to mimic the oblong shape of a firefly wing. Cicindela's fairy wings are decorated with an embroidery thread that glows in the dark. The wings have straps, made of a natural colored cotton ribbon to match her dress. The straps are strategically sewn in place on the wings so that when they are tied onto Cicindela they will either fold or expand for flight.

ELYTRA

Elytra is the firefly herself. She was named after her very own anatomy...the hard-shelled forewing of a firefly.

Elytra is a beast of a beetle. She spans 21 inches (53 cm) long, 8 inches (20 cm) wide and 3.5 inches (9 cm) tall. A lot of thought and planning went into her construction in order to mimic the shape and colors of the real deal and to add function to her body.

Elytra's head is decorated with colors on a real firefly. The patterns are made of a wool blended felt and appliqued with satin stitches all around onto a 100% wool fabric. Her eyes are made of two enormous buttons. The bottom side of her head is made of a red linen fabric.

Elytra is Cicindela's vessel, her home and bed. Elytra is shaped with a slight oblong shape and made of a wool fabric, lined on the inside with linen and cotton lace. Elytra's wings were designed specifically so that they are able to rotate inward and lay parallel when not in flight and to rotate outward for flight. The rotating bits are attached with two dungaree buttons. The moveable wings are also intended as a way to close up and hide Cicindela inside while she sleeps at night in her bed made of linen and lace. The wings are made of a 100% wool fabric hand-appliqued stitch-for-stitch onto a mustard-colored linen.

Elytra's tail is made of a wool blended felt and decorated with two rows of satin stitches made from glow-in-the-dark thread.

Elytra is stuffed entirely from head to tail with 100% wool.

Cicindela and Elytra are recommended for ages 8+ due to the nature of their delicate design. If you are interested in giving this magical pair a home, they are now available in the Etsy shop.