Handmade Ceramic Doll: Dolores

Nearly 6 months ago, I started a new journey into ceramic work. In the early part of this journey, I had the pleasure of watching the movie Encanto with my children, many times. As I was watching the movie, I thought the Dolores character was an interesting fit for a cloth body doll. If I was going to make a doll, I wanted it to be a bit different. I wanted her to have the foundation of an antique cloth body doll, but have a modern edge. Dolores seemed like a character type that would be great inspiration for a doll. I quickly got to work and I’m glad she ended up being my first hand-sculpted ceramic doll.

Dolores stands only 8” tall. Her skirt and blouse were hand-embroidered to accomplish something similar to the dress worn in the movie. Yellow silk ribbon accents help bring the outfit to life. Ruffles and beads are perfect for the blouse. It was difficult to find a yellow lace small enough to adorn the sleeve and ruffle edges, so I opted for a blanket stitch with yellow embroidery thread.

I used a clear glaze to finish the doll, but I might need something more satin for dolls in the future. While the doll looks beautiful in person, the high gloss in the photos distracts from her loveliness. Also, I’m not an expert photographer, so attempting to get good pictures of her is an ongoing learning process.

There are more dolls in the works, but they take me quite a while to make. Stay tuned for some other awesome adventures in doll making. Every doll will be a learning process for me and I welcome growing in this fun new adventure. Check out more images of the doll on Instagram.

Please note this doll is inspired by the Disney character from Encanto, but I am not affiliated with the Disney company and this was not a paid partnership. My doll is a personal interpretation that was inspired by the character mentioned above. She is not for sale and is a part of my personal collection.

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RealPuki Gets a New Dress (or Two)

If you visit my Etsy page frequently, you may have noticed the occasional tulle dress pop up for PukiPuki and RealPuki dolls. It’s often challenging to sew something so tiny, but I love the little tulle dresses and feel compelled to make more. I am always on the hunt for remnant tulle and matching applique flowers to make more variations of this dress. A commission to make a few more of these came up recently and I just had to make some extra.

Pictured is my RealPuki ball-jointed doll (BJD), Titi. This Fairyland BJD is a well-sculpted super tiny doll with magnetic hands and feet. The doll is smaller than PukiPuki, Kelly, and similar sized dolls. The dresses made for RealPuki are more likely to fit Amelia Thimble and Petite Blythe.

Interested in a tiny dress in red or yellow? Snag one on Etsy while supplies last.

Support an artist! Visit my Etsy shop. You can also follow my Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest pages.

Smart Doll Kizuna

Move over Dollfie Dream, Smart Dolls are the new popular large vinyl doll. I'm sure there are plenty of people that will be Dollfie Dream fans for life, but I'm amazed at how quickly Smart Dolls took off in the doll collecting arena. I picked up a Smart Doll a couple years ago, right before this Kizuna head was retired. The new Kizuna head is a very popular sculpt and screening.

I took my Kizuna out for a simple photoshoot. She's wearing a blouse I designed for SD sized BJDs a few years ago. She's also wearing a necklace I picked up at a BJD show and Iplehouse jeggings. The wig isn't her original, but it fits her well.

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Calico and Lace Dress Set

I FINALLY finished a new set for Momoko! It sat around for quite a while because I really wanted to work on my tatting skills to add a little extra to the outfit. It turns out, I’m WAY better at needle tatting versus shuttle tatting.

The set comes with a beige coat with handmade tatted lace applique brooch, sleeveless calico print dress, underskirt, and purse with matching tatted lace applique. It fits a variety of fashion dolls, including Poppy Parker, Liv, Jenny, Tiny Kitty, and some Barbie sizes. I noticed it was sometimes difficult to get larger hands through the sleeves of the coat.

In the near future, I hope to do a variation of this outfit in a digital pattern to sell in the shop. Support an artist! Visit my Etsy shop. You can also follow my Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest pages.

Polly Pocket Out of Sight Campsite Compact

It’s ANOTHER Polly Pocket post! This time we have a cute compact with a camping theme. Shani packed up her gear to go camping with her telescope, campfire stove, and first aid kit. Inside the compact is a tent that folds down to reveal her sleeping bag and inner tent arrangement. There is also a camp fire on the bottom portion of the compact. I like that the folding tent can act as a storage place for tiny items. However, like most of these new Polly Pocket compacts, I have found that getting all the little tiny pieces into the compact and shutting it can be a problem. I’m an adult and it feels like a tiny frustrating puzzle to shove everything inside just right. The camp stove also leans to one side since one leg is a little uneven compared to the others.

Well, the tent makes this one a winner for me. I was at a big box store recently and spotted a tiny artist set that looked super fun, too. Should I go for more or get back to dolly designs? ;)

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