Tuesday, September 18, 2012

The Keeper...is for Keeps!

I just heard from PRIMS magazine...
"The Keeper of Lost Dolls" will be in an up-coming issue!
I'm not sure when or where... but that is irrelevant.
I couldn't be happier; as the completion of this doll falls 
on the heels of my recovery from cancer surgery 
and the prognosis for healing is right up there in the 97%!!!
Praise God from whom all blessings flow...  Daryle

Friday, September 14, 2012

"Heads... You Win!"

After struggling with a head that looked too "impish"...
I designed a more "inner-child" head that seems to fit!
Also found a vintage porcelain faucet fixture at 
Carson's in the Cornfield salvage shoppe (Ephrata, PA)
which became his collar/upper body. It has the words:
"hot", "cold", "warm", and "off" printed on it...
His ARMS and HANDS???
I am working on a second set... 
(the first ended up in the trash bin!)

Thursday, September 6, 2012

We Have a Paper Clay Profile!

Just inching along on this guy...
he has a chin and (a rather stoic) mouth!
I decided to go in the direction of a little impish appeal
with the exaggerated nose and larger-than-life ears!
Truth is... I'm not convinced this is the head for this doll!
(Please... don't tell him that!)

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Hands & Fingers... A Mini-Tutorial!

My approach to this newest doll's hands and fingers
was a bit different... Though I often use wire and masking tape;
the application of the wire is new.
I began by bending florist's paper stem wire (18 gauge)
in the basic shape of the palm of a hand,
and then extended the wire long enough 
to include the wrist and forearm.
Then, using a needle-nose pliers I bent lengths of
18 gauge craft wire in half; long enough to equal
the length of each finger.  
(I wanted short, stubby fingers for this doll)
Using Alleene's fast grab tacky glue.
I glued each finger to the florist's paper stem wire hands
and allowed them to dry overnight.
After the tacky glue was dry, 
I wrapped the palm of each hand and the wrists  
with masking tape.  The masking tape provides 
good surface for the paper clay to adhere to.
I decided to bend the fingers of his left hand,
in order to allow this doll to hold an object later.
I used my faithful little needle-nosed pliers again
to gently give the fingers some shape.
Next step will be... sculpt those little hands with paper clay!
I hope this was helpful... in some small measure!
Warm Wishes, Daryle

It's Grandma Busha

I just have to chuckle as I post this pic...
without his chin, mouth and ears he looks just
as I remember my Grandma Busha (Yup! Polish...) 
in the morning, without her dentures in!
I do take after my mother's side of the family
in both stature... and good looks!
The upper arms are wood craft turnings;
I'm going to post a mini-tutorial of sorts
explaining my approach to his hands and fingers.