Alice and Chess

Silly me, I got behind on putting pictures on this blog!

Just as well though because these last two custom dolls are so perfect together. 

First, meet Alice.

I was asked to make an Alice in Wonderland, but not to use the traditional colors. 

Alice is another one of my mini pixies, and is just 5 inches tall. 
She's also wired to allow her to hold some poses.

 Her hair was my first time adding mohair to one of my dolls. I love the look! 
I'll definitely be doing that again in the near future.

Like my other mini pixies, Alice's outfit is removable.

She has a couple of extra pieces on. In addition to her dress, panties, and tutu, she also has on an apron and socks. (I loooove that I finally found a black and white striped material to make socks with. I am trying to keep myself from making every single doll from now on have them!)

Next up is another custom named Chess!

 She wanted a hot pink cheshire (kind of based off the colors of Disney's cheshire cat).

She also got the more traditional cheshire grin!

Of course, I just had to take a picture of them together.

It was too perfect not to!

I have some other exciting news to share, but I think it warrants a blog post all of its own (although if you follow me on Facebook, you already know it!). I'll be back soon with my thoughts on that!

I'm also finishing up another cute little custom pixie and am dreaming of the one I want to make after this one, so expect more updates soon. ;)

Dandelion and More Exciting Pixie News!

I am so excited to finally be able to show you guys this little pixie!
She's the first doll I've made with removable clothing.
Sounds silly, but I can draft a doll or plushie pattern without a single issue, but clothes? I'm totally lost.
I think I spent two weeks just making and remaking the same dress over and over until I was satisfied. I'm still not anywhere NEAR up to par with some of the amazing doll clothing makers out there, but I'm so happy I can send these little pixies out in something!

Anyway, this is Dandelion!

Like my last little pixie, she's just five inches tall.

She's wired so she can hold some poses!
She can't stand, but her full dress allows her to sit pretty easily on her own.

After I finally got her dress to a point that I was happy with it, she insisted she needed a pair of panties. She's not indecent, after all! (Which is funny since she seems to prefer running around in only her  panties once I made them.)

And her fluffy dress was just begging to have a tutu to go underneath it!
She seems to like running around in just her tutu and panties also.
These pixies can be quite a handful.

Dandelion and her full outfit are available in the shop!

And for more exciting tiny pixie news...My lovely friend Peggy was so sweet and created a pdf pattern and photo tutorial to make a wig, dress, and shoes for my little pixies!!
Remember the little bald and naked pixie I made?
This is what Peggy did with her!

Doesn't she look fantastic?
All of the tiny pixies will come with this great pattern for no extra charge! (And did I mention that cute little felt dress is NO SEW!? How cool is that?)
Be sure to visit Peggy's shop and check out all of her other patterns she has for sale (especially if you like to crochet!). https://www.etsy.com/shop/peggytoes

Because she was so nice to offer this pattern to us, I'll be selling my pixies two ways from now on:
As a full set like Dandelion, or nude and bald (at a lesser cost) so that you can fix her up yourself!
I have not decided if I'll be creating etsy listings for the nakie pixies, or if I'll just take them as custom orders only (that way you get to also give me an idea of the way you want the face painted)...so if you're interested in ordering one, message me in the shop or on Facebook.

Anyway, I'm back to work on my next doll. I am seriously excited about this one. I drew her in my sketchbook over a year ago and have been dying to make her ever since. The new tiny pixie design gave me the perfect excuse to finally get around to working on her. I love her so much already, I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to let her go!

Patience, the mini Secret Keeper and a note about custom orders

If you follow me on Facebook, you might have noticed that things have been a bit quieter than normal over the last few weeks. I'm so sorry about that!

This little one had to be named Patience after she had to put up with how slow I was working on her. ;)

Patience is a mini Secret Keeper!

 I adore this size.
She's only 6 inches tall! (Or 3.5 inches sitting, which is how she prefers to be.)
The regular Secret Keepers are 12 inches tall (6 inches sitting), so she's so tiny compared to them!

Patience is patiently waiting in the shop for her new home!

Now, for a little confession.
The past few weeks I was busy working on a commission that I'm sad to say did not have a positive ending.
I've enjoyed working with several people on custom works, but this was the first one that went badly.
It crushed me.
For a little bit there, it sucked my entire creative drive out of me.
Artistic ability and creativity are funny things, and the smallest things can send them into hiding.
I'm still a bit sad about it and the rejected plush is serving as an unfortunate reminder.
I'm taking this as a learning experience, though.

I am changing my policies on custom orders.
From now on, I will only be taking semi-custom orders.
What's the difference, you ask?

A semi-custom is a variation of something I already create.
If you want a Secret Keeper with pink hair and blue eyes, that's great!
If you want a yellow Pocket Fluff with a purple face, I'll be thrilled to help you!
But if you want a plush based off a specific drawing, I'm terribly sorry, but I'll have to pass. It kills me to tell anyone "no" because I love working with and helping people, but I simply can not take the risk of losing both time and money again.

On a positive note, Patience helped me get my creative drive back again, and I already have plans for a new style of monster. I can't wait to get started on him!

A Little Faerie

Custom orders can be so much fun.
They push me to do things I probably would've never thought of on my own.

I had a lovely customer request a plush doll inspired by her very special ball jointed doll.
I was pretty excited about creating this doll because these particular ball jointed dolls are very special to me also.

I used the new pattern I created back in the fall that I refer to as my "Pixie" pattern. 

I altered the head a little bit to match the larger heads of the original ball jointed dolls.

(Expect to see Pixies in the near future, by the way! They'll be very similar to this faerie except with a slightly different head and face style.)

This is the doll she's based off of:

This is the lovely Tiggy.
She's a Fidelia Firefly Faerie created by Charles' Creature Cabinet.
You can follow Tiggy's adventures on her blog and on flickr.

She can't remain sitting up or standing without assistance, but she is quite fun to manipulate with a prop.

She's about 11.5" tall.

My favorite thing about her is she's floppy and cuddly like a rag doll.
At least for me, it makes it fun to carry her around and play with her!
(Yes, I play with the dolls I create. I consider it part of the job description. ;) )

She was a bit disappointed we couldn't go outside for pictures, but it is WAY too cold out there!
(And I know it isn't nearly as cold here as it is in other places, but I despise cold weather anyway.) I'm considering spending the rest of the winter in hibernation...if only my kids would allow it.

This doll was supposed to be the last doll of 2013, but ended up having the honor of being the very first doll of 2014. Considering the special history and connection I have with the firefly faeries, I can't think of a better way to start off the new year!

I haven't decided what I'm going to work on next.
I cleaned off my desk today (finally)! It's amazing how out of control it can get in just a short period of time.
With all this extra desk space, I am so ready to kick it in gear and start creating again!
Right now I'm torn between mini Secret Keepers or Pixies. Hmm, we'll see.


Want to learn more about Charles' Creature Cabinet dolls?
(Pictured below is my Fidelia)

You can follow Fidelia Firefly Faerie on facebook.
You can see what dolls are available to purchase (typically by preorder) on Jpop.
Or you can visit the Firefly Fairy Thread on The Resin Cafe to ask any questions!

Little Green Guy

Ever heard of Little Green Guy?
If so, you'll recognize this little fellow:

I created the Little Green Guy fluff just for Brittany to celebrate my monsters and dolls being sold in her awesome shop!

If you live anywhere near Wyandotte, MI (lucky you!) then stop by and say hello to these fluffs for me!

 

 

Marnie also decided she'd had quite enough of me, and requested to go visit the LGG shop too.

 

 

Even if you don't live in MI, go check out Little Green Guy's site here or visit her on Facebook here!

 

Oh! And speaking of Facebook, how'd you like a chance to adopt a Pocket Fluff for $1??

And not just ANY Pocket Fluff...you get to adopt this handsome guy:

 

Hop on over to my Facebook page to find out how!