Krista by Irina

Irina sent this picture of Krista in.  Check out those shoes!  She looks great!  Well done Irina!

Cuddlys

I have been making Cuddlys and Pillow Pets for a friend.  I made five and they were so successful with the littlies!  Here's one I made. The cuddly is made from polar fleece and lined with Disney fabric.  The puss is called "Tabby" by her new owner!  LOL!  these were made especially for car and plane travel, but the littlies like to take them to bed!  My five year old grandson wrapped a Toy Story Fawn one around him and said - Hey Nan - this would be good for camping!  Guess I'll have to make some more!  LOL!

UFO workshop & up-cycling!

OCDC group had a busy time of it today when we had a UFO Workshop.  Initially we were going to make a bunny each, but then it became a free-for-all when we found we had all bought things to finish!  Except Raelene - who had a fur wrap over a hundred years old that she wanted to make a special bunny out of for her friend, so she got stuck in and looked like she was grooming her dog!

 Lovely fur!  Can't wait to see the finished bunny!  Even I had a go at a small bunny, made from real fur!

Then we all got into it!

 Jo's Bunny is made from Faux fur and looks fabulous!

We made a creative mess!

 Here are a few of our UFO's in progress!  Love Jo's bear!

 These are Raelene's Tiny Trolls she's making to go on her cruise!  They will feature on photo's of the holiday!  Heather is finishing off her Jill Maas Santa!  Not much more to do now!  She's already on to the next thing!  LOL!

   Good company, good energy and good food! We declared it a very fast, satisfying day and completed a lot of work that we were happy with.  We hope to do it again in August!

Adrianne sent me this pic of her latest doll she calls Miranda. She has such a way with colour!  I think this is Jill Maas's doll 'Lola.'  Just fabulous!  Adrianne makes her dolls and shows them to rest home residents, who are just delighted to see her creations and look forward to her weekly visits!  Now that's sharing your talent!  LOL!

Playing with dolls!

And so at the end of a successful night of being the Hostess with the mostest, Krista hung up her apron after doing all the dishes, can now relax beside her pet dog Chi, on the new Chaise Lounge with a glass of bubbly for her reward!

The nightmare before Christmas - or how to make a creative mess!

 Prim dolls aren't for sissies as I found out today!  Talk about The Nightmare before Christmas!  It was the wire that was the problem.  Too strong!  I'll do it differently next time.

I Puddled my way through it, making it up as I went.

 His head swivels so he can be posed.  He is wearing a belt but hardly seen under his long whiskers.

 A close up of the needlesculpted face, with the slight winking of the eye!

I made him a  bag of scary toys to prop him up with, but they're hard to see here.   In the end - not so bad!  

What do you think?  

OCDC

Adrianne bought along her creations to finish off on Tuesday.  There's another Jill Maas Lola, on her knee getting finishing touches and Something that looks suspiciously like Rod Stewart lurking in the background.

 The scruffy dog has found the sofa!  Isn't it great? Adrianne is having so much fun with these patterns and she shares her creative work with people in a rest home, who look forward to what she'll be bringing in each week!  What a way to share your talents and bring some fun and laughter into someone's life!

 And look!  Here's Tilly - or is it Tess in her bikini and the spotty dog is getting in on the act!

 Awww!  Dog hugs - and Rod's looking on!

Meantime, one of the Old Friends is getting her hair on!  Judy will have her all together by next week.
Jean pops in every week when she can to share her magazines with us and try to inspire us to join some of the challenges.  Raelene is working on some Trolls, so hopefully we'll have pics of them next week.

I'm working on several things - a mermaid pattern that has to be different to keep up with all the other excellent mermaids out there, and two Santa's.  Busy as!

Ritualizing change in our life.

 I am proud to show you two dolls made by Jean Bousfield, originally from South Africa, now living in NZ and a devoted member of our Oamaru Cloth Doll Crafters, (OCDC) group.

Jean was feeling homesick and grieving.  Making these dolls helped her to acknowledge her country of origin and the people she recognized and admired from the region she lived in.  The experience, the time she took and the thought that went into presenting the dolls, Jean found to be a therapeutic process in helping her to settle in to a new country and to find a place to belong.

Jean used Michelle Munzone's Afri Coco pattern as a base for her mother figure.  The child figure came from Jill Maas 'Annie' pattern - a wonderful fit!  I think they are delightful!

Making a doll is a very creative way to ritualise change and we have talked a lot about it as a means of getting a sense of our place in the world.  I think it is age old!