As Summer has now blown in with a gentle breeze and my children have flown off in different directions like the seeds of a dandelion delicately drifting towards their destinations I have found myself wanting to rekindle lost friendships and reacquaint myself with me.

I want to find myself again now that my permanent job as keeper of dreams, nurse of scraped knees, doctor of tummy aches, cook, storyteller, money tree, & chauffeur to all places big and small has taken a back seat.  I sometimes feel like I spent my whole life so wrapped up in being a mother that suddenly being laid off from some of those  jobs has left me wondering…now what? 

My children will always need me, this much I know, but now is a time for reinvention.  I recently called a good friend of mine who I had lost touch with.  It was like no time had gone by.  We were talking at a bubbling speed trying to catch up on all of the years.  She reminded me of a doll that I made for her daughter way back when I first started in the business.  She told me she had put it away all of these years for fear that her daughter would get rid of it in her teen years.  I haven’t seen it , but it made me really look back and see how my passion for dolls started and how much my work has transformed thoughout the years. 

I remember just sort of throwing myself into dollmaking after seeing the most beautiful miniature doll I had ever seen in a miniatures shop.  I was spell bound, as I held her tiny form in my hand. I had to make my own doll. This was over 23 years ago.

Do you remember when your love of dolls first hit you?  When you felt you just had to make dolls?  What was your passion?  Please leave your comments.

Big Hugs,

Gina

I want to thank everyone for their continued support.

I hope to be able to post some doll related messages here soon. 

I am adding some more items to my “Fan” give away! We only need 9 more followers to have the contest. http://miniaturedolls.blogspot.com/2012/06/new-items-added-to-give-away.html

I have added some lovely paper roses, tiny glass beads & antique “amethyst” crystals (24 pcs.)

Hi All,

Many thanks for all of your comments and to my new followers.  If you are leaving a comment and you are a new follower, be sure to click on the “followers” box towards the bottom of the right column of the page.  We just need a few more and then we can have the contest.

http://miniaturedolls.blogspot.com/2012/05/new-prize-give-away.html

I am still finishing up some older order and then I will be back posting new dolls and tips of making miniatures, etc.

Hi All,

Sorry I have been away.  Both of my kids are graduating.  My daughter graduated from High School and my son is graduating from UC Irvine this Saturday with honors in directing.  We had a huge party for them last week so I am still recovering (read…getting my house back in order, lol).

Thank you to all who have signed up as new followers.  We only have to get 15 more followers until the number reaches 200.  Then I will put everyone who made a comment on that post into a “hat” and pull the lucky winner of the fan.

http://miniaturedolls.blogspot.com/2012/05/new-prize-give-away.html

I will also be giving away some lovely paper roses and rhinestones and beads to go with the fan.

Big Hugs,

Gina

Hi,
Thanks to all for your continued comments.  Keep them coming.  I will let you know when I will announce the winner! 
Big Hugs to all,
Gina

Hi,

I happen to have an extra fan left over from my recent “Chantelle” doll that I created.  It is slightly darker than the one pictured.  Please post this giveaway to your blog!  When the followers get to 200 I will give the fan away and post a new giveaway in celebration!  Please just leave a comment letting me know you want to be entered.
Hugs,
Gina

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY! 
May your day be filled with, peace, joy, happiness & the love of your family!

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As promised, here are several new photos of Chantelle.  I will put them on my website for a higher resolution.
Chantelle is an original miniature porcelain doll.  She is created from original molds by me.  She is 1/12th scale and stands approximatley 5 1/2″ tall.  She is a special one of a kind lady with exquisite details.

In this side view you can see the tiny rose in her hair.  It is handmade by miniature artist Carol Wagner.  I just love her amazing flowers, they are so lifelike.

Chantelle has a tiny hand applied and fired-on 24 caret gold necklace with tiny Swarovski Crystals.  She has piercing blue eyes and fiery red hair.  You can also see a close up of her dark charcoal 3/4 length gloves. 

Here is a back view of the bodice of Chantelle’s gown.  All of the lace on her gown is antique andhand dyed to a dark charcoal gray color.  It compliments the plum color of her gown and sets off her red hair.

You can see how fine the antique lace is in this photo and how nicely it lays and drapes.  You can also see the detail in the styling of her hair.

A nice detail of the front of Chantelle’s bodice.  It features tiny beading at her decolatage and lovely swags of purple silk cording, tiny beads and Swarovski Crystals.

Chantelle looks regal in her gown.  She is ready for the ball.

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I have finally finished Chantelle.  She gave me a few challenges that I will discuss later.  For now, I just wanted to introduce the finished doll and show you some photos.  I will be posting many more photos of different angles and close ups.  Once I get the photos uploaded to my site, you will be able to see larger, higher resolution images.

Today, we will look at several factors when costuming a miniature doll.

• Draping 
• Scale
• Posture of doll

Please click on photos for a slightly larger view.
Here are more photos of Chantelle as the draping of her skirt continues.  As you can see, I use a lot of pins in the process.  These pins happen to be long silk pins, but there are even finer pins out there.  They are insect pins.  I find that these finer silk or insect pins work great to keep the pin holes to a minimum or just very small.

I use pieces of Styrofoam as a base to pin into as I work (I save Styrofoam from products such as TV’s. electronics, etc. that have it as protection in their boxes.)

As you can see, I have re pinned and kept the pins in the bottom of Chantelle’s skirt.  From now on, until she is finished she will remain pinned to the Styrofoam.  This is to insure that all of the hard work of draping her skirt will not be lost every time I spray or re-spray a part of her costume.

I had to scrap the original gorgeous lace I intended to use for her over skirt as it was just too heavy and out of scale.

Scale is of utmost importance in miniatures.  If you want the costume to be believable then you must use the proper fabrics and trims.
Color really also comes into play when considering scale.  Remember, earlier, I mentioned that the trims are all a dark charcoal color but they certainly read as black, don’t they?  True dark black was just too much of a contrast with the amethyst color I chose so the charcoal plays well, fits the scale and adds an aire of elegance and richness rather than looking cheap, which can happen if the scale is not correct.

I had a great piece of antique lace that was just big enough (and long enough) to make the lace overlay skirt I was envisioning for her costume.  It was also perfect because it was sheer and airy and does not hide all of the hard work I put into draping the underskirt.

You want to be sure that the lace overlay also drapes nicely, and does not stick out funny or hide what is underneath it.

Now let’s talk about your doll’s posture.  Can you see how regal Chantelle looks?  She is slightly bent forward, causing her back to sway a bit but her chest is held high.  She is not merely standing there.  She already displays an attitude which goes well with that look on her tiny face.  I have always been drawn to that “look” on her face.  I think that is why I kept her back to costume rather than sell her as a kit.  She seems to have so much life in her.

I see a whole story unfolding when I look at her.  This is a woman who perhaps has her eye on a gentleman at a party and is not happy with the attention he is lavishing on a woman she considers her competition.  “Game on!”, Chantelle is not going to stand by and watch her would be suitor slip away.   Do you see how having a vision, story, etc. can really help the doll and her costuming come to life?

Next I will be adding all of those fine details and trims that will make this a special gown. 

Please check back!