The Fairies from Newfoundland

One of my most visited blog posts is the Gnome Home, published in May 2008. The people who visit often ask how they can find a gnome/fairy door of their own. I myself wanted a fairy or gnome dwelling in our pine tree in the back yard. I wrote,

We have a pine tree in our back yard that would be a perfect residence for gnomes. We've sent out the word. The housing market is difficult right now, and so far, there have been no inquiries about the property. However, I feel confident that we shall have gnomes take up residence in our pine tree before the summer is over.

 However, it would be seven more years before our pine tree would finally have a door to signify the dwelling of magical creatures within. After I read  Marie Kondo's The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, and winnowed the family possessions to a point where our little house was comfortable and welcoming, I turned to the outdoors. My garden beds were choked with buttercups and violets, and the back yard was ever the desperate Land of Weeds. I weeded, replanted, and had someone come in to prune the trees. My husband removed the decrepit shed in the back yard. And then, finally, the fairies from Newfoundland arrived:

You can find doors like this one, and other ones too, at Nothin' But Wood on Etsy.

Natural Kids Team folk tale guest post

I've written a new post for the Natural Kids Team blog, called Life Lessons in Folk Tales. I featured three folk tale picture books by storyteller Margaret Read MacDonald, plus crafty offerings by my fellow artisans. As I worked on the post, I asked my teammates if anyone would be interested in making a gecko to go along with MacDonald's Go to Sleep, Gecko! and Little Elfs Toyshop delivered:

Green gecko by Little Elfs Toyshop

Folk and Fairy Tale sets/ Life Update

A post I wrote for the NaturalKids Team blog, which you may find here, highlights some folk and fairy tale-themed creations my fellow artisans have in their shops. There should be more next month, as the team is working on a "fairy tale challenge" right now. I'm kicking around the idea of making the sun, the moon, and the stars in personified form as part of a Seven Ravens set. I suspect many of our offerings will come from retellings by Grimm and Perrault, and I would like to break from choosing Western European stories without being a culture vulture.

***

Speaking of fairy tale stories, summer is almost over, I have performances coming up next week, and I need to polish my new stories. I've enjoyed being at home out in the world with my daughter this summer. We can actually do things together now. My aunt jokes that Lucia was in "boot camp," because Lucia walked 4-5 miles and read two books every week day during the summer.

I'm training Lucia to do stair-climbing for The Big Climb next March, and yesterday, she stair-climbed 293 steps four times. That's 1, 172 steps. Meanwhile, I'm training to run my first 5k this autumn for Run Scared, while Lucia and her daddy walk the 4k portion (almost 2.5 miles).

Out in the world, I try to be low-key about my daughter's progression, but here on this blog, let me be braggy for a moment:

GO, LUCIA, GO!

(Pretend there's a scrolling marquee tag for that.)

Neon Fairies with Hair I Wish I Had

In 2007, when Lucia was 4.5 years old, she received her Little One named Snowdrop from the Little One Meadow. The Little Ones were not dolls, the kindergarteners informed their parents.

I enjoyed hearing stories about what the Little Ones did in Lucia's Waldorf kindergarten, as well as their antics in the Little One Meadow. The first time Snowdrop needed a hair and dress refurbishment, I told Lucia's teacher with a straight face that Snowdrop had traveled to the Little One Meadow to meet up with Dahlia, the Little One's resident hair-stylist and makeover artist. Once Snowdrop came back with black hair, not brown, because that was the only wool roving I had Dahlia used walnut-juice as a temporary hair-rinse.

Dahlia never had access to these hair colors:


I recently put these Neon Fairies (or angels, if you like) in the shop, and gave their hair hues names inspired by those found on nail-polishes and hair dyes. From left to right, they are: Over-the-Brink Pink, Luna Moth Lime, Anime Blue, and Manic Mauve.

There's part of me that wanted to dye my hair bright blue or purple, but never wanted to do what it would take to get those vivid colors. Now, I content myself with giving the dolls the hair that I admire.

Two Playscapes, Limitless Play

Sunshine has finally come briefly came to Seattle! I'm celebrating with two colorful playscapes:




Strawberry Hill Playscape by Alkelda with flowering shrubs by The Enchanted Cupboard



Picnic Playscape by Alkelda with trees and flowering shrubs by The Enchanted Cupboard

Crafty Thursday: The Jewel Tones Doll Series

A friend of mine grew up with three other friends who called themselves "The Gemstones" and took on different monikers based upon various precious and semi-precious stones. These friends have stayed in touch and periodically have reunions. They inspired me to create this doll series called the Jewel Tones (not to be confused with the Bay Area or St. Louis performance groups):


The Jewel Tones: Garnet, Carnelian, Lapis Lazuli, Peridot, Amethyst

In other crafty news, I'm doing a link trade with fellow NaturalKids Team member Germandolls, which is why there's a photo of her dolls in my sidebar with a link to the shop. Germandolls blogs here, where she writes about her Waldorf-inspired dolls, shares recipes, and reflects upon life experiences.

Last, I made my best treasury yet: Gnomes vs. Aliens, inspired by Zombies vs. Unicorns (which I have not yet read).

My Life in Felts and Flowers

Greetings! Tomorrow is the last day of Lucia's school, and I am incredulous. There are times when I just want to catch her and hold her. Other times, I've cheerfully scooted her out the door so I could get some work done.

In May, we attended The Magic Flute as a family, and I was inspired to create Papageno and Papagena dolls for the shop:



I decided I wanted a series of dolls at lower price points, too, so I created six flower-box babies. You can see them here, attended by Strawberry Girl:


In case you're wondering, Strawberry Girl is singing The Garden Song to them.

Any requests for what to make next?

Speaking of gardens, I am trying to put my weeds and stones in order. In among the proliferation of dandelions, however, a new plant showed up. I decided to let it be, and today, found that it was a pinkish-purple foxglove.

I'm pleased that the trillium have doubled. Here are two toad trillium:

Lydia Purpuraria, Patron of Dyers

Do you remember when I wrote about Lydia Purpuraria, the patron saint of dyers? Unless you were with me in the first couple years of this blog, you probably don't. I wrote about her here in 2007 and as part of a series of "saints as action figures" here in 2006.

In real life, Lydia Purpuraria would never have worn purple, as it would have been too expensive for a harvester of the many Murex brandaris shellfish needed to make a small amount of the Tyrian purple dye used in the clothing of royalty. However, this representation in doll form required it. Here she is:



Lydia Purpuraria doll is pictured with trees and shrubs by The Enchanted Cupboard

Blue Valentine Doll

I finally ordered a copy of the out-of-print Blue Valentine, by Gwen Schultz. What I remember of the story is that the main character's favorite color is blue, and she makes a blue valentine for her teacher. The main character's classmates deride her for this unconventionality (of course), and much of the narrative involves worry over whether or not the teacher will be pleased. The storyline seems slight, but there must have been some emotional current with which I connected.

February 12, 2012 update: Here is the synopsis of the book.

Here is the doll inspired by the book:




Blue Heart Queen Doll (background trees by The Enchanted Cupboard)

Molecules and Microbes in Felt

I've been long overdue in featuring another artisan's work. I enjoy the science-themed Flickr photo uploads from Sasha of What. No Mints? My favorites are the amoeba and paramecium pieces made of Eco-felt:


"Microbes in Love"

When my daughter saw these, she wondered if Sasha would make red and white blood cell magnets. (That was when she was fixated on blood cells. Currently, she is fixated on God, Crayola crayons, and stories of Anansi the Spider.)

I also like the molecules:


Dopamine Heart Ornament for pleasure


Serotonin sun ornament for happiness

I wish for you plenty of serotonin and dopamine to come your way!

Candy Cane Fairies

It's not yet Crafty Thursday, but I just completed two candy cane fairies and felt compelled to share them:



The snowy evergreen trees were made by Beccijo of The Enchanted Cupboard. Beccijo also sent me a host of other beautiful hand-painted creations to give as gifts. I made for her two playscapes: autumn and spring.

Rebecca Varon's work in Tokyo

I'm so proud of Rebecca Varon, artisan of the Etsy shop Nushkie. Her work is premiering in Tokyo. Here's the article:

Fiber Artist Rebecca Varon’s Needle Felted Soft Sculptures to Debut in Tokyo and Raise Money for Habitat for Humanity, Japan

Crafty Thursday: Spectrum

One of the most challenging things about my doll-making business is taking accurate photos. Photos have improved since I invested in a photo light tent last autumn (the two homemade version I tried didn't work). Still, there are some felt shades that simply don't show up accurately and require Photoshop skills I do not have. When I presented to the NaturalKids Team my challenge regarding a recent doll I made, Daria of LaLa! Shoes revealed that she had extensive Photoshop skills and offered to help. She said that the human eye can register more color shades than a camera, and that it's even harder to reproduce those colors in prints. Daria is working on a tutorial for me so that I can learn to do the work myself, but in the meantime, she changed my lavender doll from this:


The doll is dressed in a pleasing shade of mauve; however the felt itself is not actually this color.

To this:

This orchid color is the true shade of the felt.

It is an odd construct that one has to edit a photo to make it an honest representation. Photography is both art and science.

Crafty Thursday: Heralds of Spring

I just realized that it's Crafty Thursday! For the most part, I've been working on small dolls for the class auction project, but I recently completed two larger dolls for a custom order, and was able to list some dolls in the shop as part of my Heralds of Spring 2010 Collection. The Spring equinox doesn't officially begin until March 20, but I am ready to be done with winter. Bulb flowers are peeping through the soil, the forsythia has bumps on its branches, and the flowering white currant bush has survived another year. (Unfortunately, the flowering red currant bush died in the heat wave last summer despite my hope that it had simply fainted.) I am bringing forth my spring collection in anticipation of the end of chills.

The Pussy Willow and Forsythia dolls have already sold, but as of today, the Daffodil is still in the shop, pictured with a thimble for size comparison:


Daffodil Doll With Basket

If you go to the listing, you'll see that the daffodil comes out of its ball of felt "dirt."

Here is the Forsythia Doll with Blossom Child:


And here is the Pussy Willow:



What are your favorite early spring flowers?

Blue Fairy and Candle Maiden

Much of my stitching time has been focused upon custom orders, but I did have a chance to post the Blue Fairy in the shop last week:



Yesterday, I posted the Candle Maiden for Hanukkah:



In addition to everything else, I've promised to make three different doll sets for the school auction in March 2010. I'm going to have to pace myself. I used to work well under stress, but now I work best when I can get things done ahead of time. I love the feeling of having thwarted the Procrastination Imp.

Honey and Rainbow Elementals

Happy October! In a few days, Fire, the companion novel to Graceling by Kristin Cashore will finally be released. That's reason enough to celebrate.

I'm also grateful for my regular bookstore gigs. As far as birthday parties go, the year 2009 has been sparse for me. I don't know how other local performers have fared, but in terms of library performances, I've noticed that the majority of entertainers have CDs or books that can (in theory) be borrowed from the library.

You can't borrow my little dolls from the library, but I hope you admire them anyway. Here are two sets that I've placed in the shop recently:


Honey Elemental inspired by LoneStarMa


Rainbow Mother with Cloud Child

On the Alkelda: Dolls for Storytelling Facebook group I've posted some photos of the first Nativity set I'm working on. You don't have to be a "fan" or even a member of Facebook in order to see the photos.

My daughter is home from school for the third day in a row. She has one of those pesky low fevers that bars her from going to school but isn't enough to tire her out enough for her to take a nap. I decided that since I wasn't going to achieve much in the way of sewing or storytelling prep, I would do some deep cleaning and organizing of the kitchen. When I was done, I asked her to take a look at the results of several hours' work. She peered at the shelves and said, "It's not very interesting."

That statement sums up centuries, yea, millenia, of public opinion on housework.

Three "Goth Waldorf" Roses and One Bat Gnome

It's Crafty Thursday! I have four dolls to share with you today.

I imagine the "Goth Waldorf Roses" as a group of creatively-inclined high school girls. Black Rose loves to make music, Blue Rose loves to write plays, and Purple Rose loves to paint pictures and tie-dye clothes. (They are nothing like that book series by what's-her-name. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you've made me happy.) Here is a group photo of the dolls taken from above:



The main reason I don't mind seeing Halloween decorations early is because I really like bats. The Bat Gnome I sewed for the shop is a humorous creation based upon a simpler doll I made for a friend as part of the Five Handmade Items meme.





Do you have a doll idea for the wishlist? If so, please share it in the comments.

Math, Music, and Marie-in-the-Garden

Here at last are the dolls I've been working on. The Royal Math Gnomes have been a project long in the making (and briefly halted when I wasn't able to sew), but are now finally listed in the shop. The hypertext links below the photos will take you directly to the shop listing:


Royal Math Gnomes

I'm thinking of the Royal Math Gnomes as a showcase project. As promised, I've made a singular Accounting Wizard Math Gnome:


Accounting Wizard Math Gnome

I had a lot of fun creating the Music Elemental. The hood is embroidered with fermata symbols, and the cape has both a segno and a coda. The bottom of the cape has notes that portray a simple waltz. I made a guitar for the elemental, and then realized that the guitar needed a stand. I reined myself in from sewing an electronic sound system:


Music Elemental

Last but not least, here is Marie in the Garden. This past summer, a Waldorf teacher saw one of my dolls and said, "She reminds me of the song and game 'Marie in the Garden'." She sang:

Marie in the garden, the garden, Marie,
She is as tiny as she can be.
Marie in the garden, the garden, Marie,
Open your eyes, now where is she?

In the game, the children hide their eyes while the teacher tucks Marie away in a pocket. When they open their eyes, they have to guess where the doll is hidden.


Marie in the Garden

I'm quite pleased to be a brand new member of the Etsy street team called Natural Kids! It's an active promotional team with certain rules for qualification, one of which is that a person has to have been an active seller for 3 months prior to application. I'm glad to be finally on board.

This post was updated on August 24, 2009.

Crafty Thursday: Three Fairy Tales and a Saint with her Star Boy

It's evening as I write this, and I need to prepare for a storytelling gig tomorrow at the Children's Museum. Saturday I have a gig at Ravenna Third Place Books, and then next weekend, I have two birthday party gigs. I'm glad that the storytelling business is picking up again. Even with the economy the way it is, it's unpredictable. You may wonder how I have time to sew! Hint: it's the only work I successfully do while taking care of my daughter at the same time. She provides lots of opinions, and sometimes even gets the urge to try a little stitching. When that happens, I drop everything and work with her on simply getting used to pulling needle and thread in and out of the cloth.

I've started making more dolls based on folk and fairy tales. Currently in the shop is a Briar Rose/Sleeping Beauty storytelling set that features Briar Rose as both a 15 year old and a baby:




About 10 minutes before I started this post, I listed Vasilissa's Doll:




If you are unfamiliar with the Russian fairytale of Vasilissa the Brave and her encounter with the terrifying Baba Yaga, please visit Sur La Lune to read the story. The little doll that Vasilissa's mother made for her before the mother's death is one of my two main inspirations for dollmaking. (The other is M.B. Goffstein's Goldie the Dollmaker.)

Yesterday, I spent a lot of time making a Snow White doll with a little felt box containing representations of the comb, the laces and the poisoned apple. The colors are based upon the dress Snow White wears when she flees through the forest in the Nancy Eckholm Burkert version. Lucia does not want this doll to go into the shop. She wants the doll for her own. I understand. (7/25 edit: She now has a Snow White doll made to her specifications, though she said, "The hair doesn't have much of a part." The doll is white and yellow with blue roses, pink wheat-ear stitching, and a pinch of dried lavender inside.)

Here is the Snow White doll with the felt box of storytelling props:



The Vasilissa and Snow White stories turn me inside out. It is one thing for the hero of a story to start out with parents who have died, but in both Vasilissa and Snow White, the reader gets to meet the mothers briefly and know of their love for their daughters before they die. Trina Schart Hyman's depiction of Snow White's mother in particular gets to me. In her face is so much expectation and longing for the baby she will never get to hold, and who will have such a hard life as a result of the mother's death. Fairy tales are often meant to be two-dimensional archetypes, but the details in these two stories are so rich with significance that I find the Disney version of the movie a little hard to take and hope that no one ever attempts a mainstream version of Vasilissa without consulting me first. (Ha!)

Let us end with light. While Santa Lucia Day is not until December 13, I plan to list this Santa Lucia doll with her accompanying Star Boy sometime in the next few days. (Edit: here is the listing.) May the person who goes looking for it actually find it. While the Swedish Santa Lucia is depicted as a blonde, the girls who dress as Santa Lucia for the procession have all kinds of hair colors. That's why my first Santa Lucia has brown hair:



If you are interested in looking at the listings of Snow White and Santa Lucia dolls when they become available, you are welcome to subscribe to the shop feed here.

P.S. Sometime in the past 24 hours, someone became the 100,000th visitor. Yay! I wish I'd had a screen-capture for that.

Crafty Thursday: Math Gnomes

I know, it's Friday. Between having my daughter with me all day long until French camp begins next week and preparing songs for French camp, I've had a full schedule. I've also started getting up early in the morning to exercise. That means going to bed early. Here and there, I've had some time to sew, and thus I finally created a set of royal "math gnomes" inspired by the Waldorf tradition of math education. While many math gnomes sets have the four processes of Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication and Division as subjects of King Equals, my mom told me about the story setup of the royal math gnomes: King Addition loves to collect things, Queen Subtraction likes to give away her wealth, Prince Multiplication likes to do things fast, and Princess Division is a staunch social advocate who wants the resources to be divided fairly. Lucia came up with the idea of Equals as a Jester. Here is Lucia's drawing of the Royal Math Gnomes:



Here is the set I've made for the family:





If you do a search for "Math Gnomes" on Flickr, you'll come up with some other lovely representations like this one and this one. Two nice sets I've admired on Etsy are by julieblanchette and mamaforearth.

If I post a set of math gnomes in my shop, it would definitely be a big-ticket item. (August 21, 2009 Update: here they are.) I don't really know what the market is for math gnomes. Of course people admire the sets, but chances are that the people who need math gnomes the most are probably working with small budgets. I've joked about branching out into having different singular math gnomes be available to provide encouragement for teens working on Algebra, Geometry and Calculus homework: