Ball Jointed Doll - Sculpting Done

 Sculpting Complete

Well, she isn't perfect and she doesn't stand on her own (yet) but I'm pretty happy with her. I am going to make some adjustments with the elastic to see if that will make a difference but my main goal is to make her wig and start costuming! The theme for this contest is Steampunk. I have so many ideas, now to translate them to a costume.

 

Standing - not quite on her own

You'll have to excuse my messy studio! I have been working on several things at once and it shows. I am leaving next week for my daughter's wedding so I am hoping to finish her this weekend. I'll post pictures once she has hair and then again with her costume!

Ball Jointed Doll - Update

She is coming along. I have some work to do before I can finish her. The leg elastic needs to be lengthened, her hands are too big so I need to make new ones and one of her shoulders is too big so I will redo the whole piece. The most important thing that I found is that her neck needs to be reinforced so that it does not crack. I had her legs strung and her head on and I noticed a crack starting along the neck line of her head. I will be reinforcing the neck ring and then painting and blushing everything so that I can string her. I think I can get this done today. Once she is strung I will start on her wig cap (one more thing I've never done :o)

This has been an interesting process. I've enjoyed learning how things fit together, what I need to do to help things fit together and most importantly how to string the elastic which shows me more things I need to do to make everything work together.

To be completely honest, I never thought I would try to tackle a Ball Jointed Doll. I always though it to be beyond my skill level. But I saw a contest on ArtDolls.com... and I bought the kit... and I watched the videos.. and while it is very time consuming it has been fun and I have learned that if I push myself my skill level increases.

I have several other projects that I need to get started on asap so I hope to at least finish sculpting and building her today! (fingers crossed). I'll update as soon as she is standing!

Zombie Doll Swap 2018

I will be participating in Yarnigras Swapper Spot's Zombie doll swap again this year. The theme for this year's swap is Party. So once I find out what kind of party my partner wants her Zombie to attend I will get started. I love sculpting zombies. I get to experiment with texture and gore.

Val has been hosting the Zombie Doll swaps for quite some time and I have had so much fun making dolls for the challenges. There have been fairy tale zombies, Alice in Wonderland zombies. Pin Cushion zombies and many more.

Stay tuned... I'll share more as I get started.

Updated Week 34 Face

Last week I posted about my 2017 Polymer Clay Challenge head for week 34. I was happy with it but there was just something about it that was nagging at me. So I grabbed it and took it outside to look at it in the bright sun.

The face was FLAT! I had to fix that so I added cheeks.

 Before

 

After 

After 

 I'll be painting this one and hopefully finishing up the Ball Jointed doll this weekend.

Bowl Swap - Complete

I received my polymer clay bowls from the bowl swap this week.

I am really happy with them. They are all different and each used different techniques. Seeing the possibilities has been great.

Here is a sample of the bowl I sent:

My Design using a swirly cane

Here are the bowls that I received in the swap.

From above

WOW! So pretty. Delicate Silver Paint

Reminds me of a Mermaid tail

Inside of the Mermaid Bowl

Lovely Iridescent Wavy Bowl

With a beautiful textured bottom

I'm glad I decided to join in on the swapping fun. Not only did I have a great time making bowls, now I have some different bowls to learn from.

Polymer Clay Challenge - Week 34

Week 34 head for the polymer clay challenge. Getting ready to bake. I am very happy with how this person turned out.

I am trying to get back in the groove of making heads each week. I lost a few weeks making the full dolls but I think I can do both... we shall see.

I am working on the arms and legs of my ball jointed doll. So far I am really happy with how she is coming out.

I'll post more pictures of her later this week.

Kayaking Loch Ness

Loch Ness, Scotland

When I was a little girl I spent a lot of time with my grandparents. My grandfather was an amazing man. He was a gardener, a fisherman, a boater and more. He taught me how to drive and dock a boat and scale a flounder before I was 10. He also had a subscription to National Geographic magazine. If the weather was bad I would pour over the stack of bright yellow magazines and dream about visiting some of those far away places.

There were so many that I wanted to see, but Loch Ness in Scotland was the number one. I loved the lore of the Loch Ness monster. The stark beauty of the surrounding area and the strength of the Scottish people. That is what I took away from an article in National Geographic magazine about Loch Ness.

When we started planning our trip to Ireland and Scotland each member of our party selected one thing they wanted to do. Mine was kayaking on Loch Ness. Everyone was up for the adventure and that day was one of the highlights of the trip, for everyone.

We started our day in Culloden. I will post those pictures on a later date. After spending some time on the battlefield we made our way to where we thought we were supposed to be and got very lucky that our guide had returned to his office to get additional kayaks for our tour. We followed him to the dock.

He provided us with water proof pants. We all thought is was a bit silly but we put them on and went on our journey. When the rain started we were happy to have them but it was so beautiful we really didn't need them long.

Being on the water was amazing. The water itself looks almost black due to the peat particle floating in it. Looking out on the lake, if you are a fanciful person (I am), you can see how Nessie could survive all these years without detection. The lake is vast and dark. It is shrouded in areas with mist. It is beautiful.

Launching Dock

Heading out to the Loch proper

The weather changed often. It rained, was hot and sunny, rained again 

and was beautiful the entire time. 

Our guide has us stop on this rocky shore for hot chocolate and cake. He sent my son and his friend out into the Loch to fill the tea kettles with water.

My son and his friend

The mist shrouded shores were awesome!

My son and his best friend drinking Hot Chocolate made from Loch Ness water

Here we are, wet and happy on Loch Ness

A Castle on the Loch

Our Kayak Guide

Loch Ness

We did see Nessie. She was much smaller than I thought she would be.

Another Kayaker

While we were out with our guide a couple of kayakers came in from further out on the lake. They also had Nessie with them. 

If you ever get the chance to kayak on Loch Ness take it! It was a magical part of our trip. One that I will cherish forever and hope to repeat.