Triumph!

I've been working on this pattern for a long time. A long time. I first attempted a flip doll for L for her first Christmas. It was cute, and everyone loved it. But I was disappointed with the flatness of the animals, and I knew the construction probably wouldn't hold up very well. It was kind of tricky to put all of those pieces together in the right order - so I hand sewed part of it.

I've been reworking this pattern it in my head ever since. I've thrown out three prototypes in the last few months. I wanted to make one for J for her first Christmas.

But today, I finished a really satisfying design. And, man, that feels good.


The improvements: the arms and legs are now 3d instead of embroidered on, the heads are more shapely instead of flat, the constructions is much neater, and completely done on machine, so it will stand up to the pulling of little hands. Also, it's bigger - about 10" tall.

I have just a couple of bits I want to improve - teen tiny tweaks that are so insignificant they don't take away from this victory at all. So I'm planning on making another one or two this week - but then you can expect to find the pattern here sometime early next week. So here's the heads up for you loyal readers: I'll be doing my usual pattern giveaway for a short time before I move it to the shop. So if you're looking for a fun, but tricky little pattern, come back on Monday!

Flip Doll as Self Portrait

If I was wise enough to know I needed a break from blogging, I should have known better than to try to complete an art project before J is a month old.

But, you know, I did. And it's probably in part because I want to assure those people who ask if I'm still painting (and look disappointed when I say no) that I'm still an artist and designer even though I stay home with my children. I guess I want to assure myself, too.

This flip doll is the result of several ideas coalescing. With the birth of my second daughter, I was already thinking about motherhood and identity. Also, I was working on a new flip doll pattern (I'll share it when it's done!) when I read my sister's blog about the stories of The Goose Girl and The Seal Wife. Then, I saw the deadline for the Renaissance exhibit approaching, and I knew that if I didn't enter something in this show, I probably wouldn't do anything professional for the rest of the year. I guess it's nicely ironic that my insecurities about being an artist/mother motivated me to make this project about women's identity.

Still, now that I've finished this flip doll, photographed it, and mailed off my entry; I'm really glad to have a little "down" time to be a less distracted mom again. That's a good thing to be, too.

Craftsy

I'm having so much fun on Etsy.

Etsy emphasizes packaging. They tell you to make your package feel like a present. John printed some stickers for me that I usually put on my packages, but I'm starting to run out. So I thought I would try something new. I almost bought a set of stamps from this great stamp shop on etsy, but then I did that thing I always do, and decided I could just make them myself (sometimes this is a bad habit, because honestly, who has time to do everything, but sometimes it turns out well).

So, here are my little stamps. I'm not very happy with the bird house, but I think the lettering turned out super! I have a big block of stamp rubber left, so I'm hoping to make more. Some little things, maybe a chicken, cat, or houseplant; some product specific things, like a baby sling; and some words, "thanks," "handmade", and "for you."

Any other ideas?


Also, I traded in my sewing machine for this new one. It has a couple of cool features, like a button holer. But most excitingly, it has the hinges on the back, so I can attach it to my mom's old sewing cabinet - which I love. I'm very excited about this.

I tried making some more flip dolls for etsy, as Annaleise and Jennifer suggested. I had a really great idea for them. BUT, I'm having trouble figuring out how to assemble them. I hand stitched the part that flips onto L's doll, and I think it should be all machine sewed for stability. I can't quite figure it out yet, so I'm going to stew on it, and move on to other things.

So, I'm working on a new project, which you can see snippets of here. I think it's going to turn out well, and may also end up on etsy. I'll share it when it's finished.

Shhh! Don't tell.

Most of the things we're giving L for Christmas are not really age appropriate, since she won't really get Christmas this year. So we're giving her cool things we liked, that she'll enjoy eventually. But I decided I wanted to make her something she could play with a little now - so that's how this lovely little flip doll came about.

Either Chara or Christa had one of these when we were kids. I can't remember who. I always thought it was a cool idea. You know, they are usually two-headed dolls of story book characters, with one head hiding under the skirt of the other. You're supposed to use them to tell the story. But when Haydn was little, some one gave her one that was a hippo and a monkey, and the part that flips fit a little more snugly, so it wasn't like a skirt. I thought it was so cool, and I have been wanting to make one ever since. I put elastic around the bottom of the "skirt" so it hugs the bottom, but will still stretch around when you want to flip it.

So I put this together today. I think it turned out pretty cute. L really enjoys watching the cats right now, so we put a cat on one side, and John wanted a chicken on the other. She's really trying to make words, which is so much fun. We think the first one will either be "kitty cat" or "daddy." Hmm... perhaps I should have put daddy on the other side instead of the chicken!