TROLL WITCH

I just finished teaching my "Troll Queen" class at the Creations in Fibers convention last weekend. We had a great 3 days of doll making. We didn't get a chance to finish our dolls, but everyone promised to send me photos of the finished dolls.

Here's another Troll doll I made for the class. Her name is Mother Morbid and she's a Troll Witch:

She's made from the same pattern as the class doll, with a slight variation on the costume, face, & hair:

And, yes, I DO plan on making her into a pattern -- hopefully by the end of the year!

Creations in Fiber Conference in Albuquerque

Hi All,
Very busy getting ready for the CIFI doll conference here in Albuquerque! Here are some photos of the TROLL QUEEN doll we will be making:

Here are some detail shots:

And, some face shots:

Here's the basic body (without the arms):

 

Here's the ORIGINAL Troll Queen doll I made 3-4 years ago for the Hoffman challenge. This is the doll our class doll is based on:



She's a bit more complicated than our class doll --- it took me several months to make this doll. Also, the face on this doll is sculpted out of paper clay, then covered with fabric. For the class doll, we are making the face out of fabric and needle-sculpting it. (BTW - the pattern fabric on the bodice was the Hoffman challenge fabric -- I completely beaded it, but left the colors & pattern in tack).

NEW PATTERN IS HERE

Okay, I know it's later than I had stated, (one month late, to be exact), but I finally finished my new pattern, "BELLY DANCER COSTUME" for my "LE FEMME" doll. Hooray!

Here's the link to buy the pattern: http://arleyberryhill.com/id2.htm
It's $10 (plus $1.25 s&h = $11.25)

 

 

Remember, this pattern is the COSTUME ONLY. The "Le Femme" doll pattern is separate.

 

I have two other costume patterns for "Le Femme" -- a "Can-Can" costume & "la Mode Orientale" (Harem/Turkish costume).

"OZ" THE ULTIMATE WITCH MOVIE

 

I just saw "OZ, the Great & Powerful". What a fun movie! I saw it in 3-D and it is great (the movie was designed to be in 3-D). 

 

And, it features the GREATEST CHARACTER EVER CONCEIVED---

THE WICKED WITCH OF THE WEST!!!

 



"OZ" is a prequel to the "Wizard of Oz" movie. It's not based on any of the original OZ books, but does pull some characters from them that were not in the movie. It explains the origins of the characters - how the man named Oz came to be the Wizard of Oz (luckily, he already had the name -- Oz is short for Oscar). And, how the Wicked Witch becomes the EVILEST witch there is.

 

---Although, this movie describes the origins of the "Green Witch", I do prefer the version told in "Wicked" (the Broadway musical) better.----

 

Here is the elegant Rachel Weisz looking stunning as the evil witch "Evanora":

 

(Notice the sparkling emerald pendant around her neck? It's the source of all her power & beauty!)

 

Here's the enchanting Mila Kunis as her innocent yet seductive sister, "Theodora":

 

And, the beautiful Michelle Williams as "Glenda, the Good":

 

(The movie leaves out the last witch, the 4th point on the compass)

 

Then, comes the Wicked Witch! She is transformed into her evil green-ness because of jealousy, hate, and revenge --- all because the Wizard played with her emotions, then hooked up with someone else! (A rather silly plot point, which/witch doesn't reflect well as to the mental health & stability of the women in Oz.....) But, it does explain why, in the original movie, the wizard wants Dorothy to destroy the Witch.

 

Here, she starts the transformation:

 

And, the final reveal:

 

I must say, the Wicked Witch does show a lot of cleavage in the movie, made even more prominent by the tight black leather corset she wears. This is abundantly clear in one shot where the Witch leans down toward the camera in a threatening manner. Being in 3-D, those boobs looked like they were coming right at you! (I ducked!)

 

.....Funny, I don't recall the Witch's breasts ever mentioned in any of the original OZ books.........

 

And, of course, as any good Witch movie must do, there is a final show-down between the good & bad witch. As the evil witch takes to the air and hovers over good witch Glenda, threatening her with a fire ball, --she spits out the bitchy/witchy line:

"What's the matter Glenda? All out of bubbles?"

 

But, not to worry, as Glenda makes short work of her, and banishes her from Oz.... forever!





 











FINISHED DAY OF THE DEAD SHRINE

Hi All,
I finished the second "Day of the Dead" shrine for my friend Pamela (of "Treasures of the Gypsy" company). It's about 5 feet tall (notice the door knob in the photo). This is definitely the largest doll I have ever made. This will be a display piece in Pamela's booth when she goes to fabric/quilt conventions as a vendor. It will display and hold all of her "Day of the Dead" merchandise. Only the top shelf is in it right now -- there are more shelves that go inside.

 

 

The torso, head, and arms are all made of fabric that's been stuffed. I needle-sculpted the soft head to look like a skull, then painted it.

Since this piece is meant to travel, and to be set-up & torn down at every convention, I designed it to break down in pieces.

 

First, the skirt and hat come off:

 

 

Then, the torso is remove from the top of the "boat" shelf -- (she's held on to the top with Velcro). And, everything packs inside the shelf, to be put in the truck and carted off to the next show:

 

The "boat shelf" is about 3-1/2 feet tall. I bought it at Hobby Lobby. It was covered with all sorts of "nautical" stuff, but that got ripped off and the whole thing painted black.

 







TRIBAL BELLY DANCER DOLL

Hi All,
Here are some shots of the face in progress. After needle-sculpting the features into the fabric head, I use acrylic paint for the eyes & lips. All the shading with colored pencils (Berol Prismacolor brand), and the detail lines are done with gel pens (Gelly Roll brand). I added a glitter "bendi" between the eyes (the Indian word for their "third eye").

The headdress was done in the style of a "Tribal Fusion" -type dancer. This is the more popular look for most belly dancers right now. I love the real "ethnic" look it has. I braided lots of yarns & metallic threads for the hair extensions they like to wear.

You can't see it in the final photo, but there is a center-front seam running down the middle of her face. (I LOVE that it doesn't show in the photo-- but, I'm writing about it since I get emails on how I make a face without a seam in it!)

And, here she is, finished:

Now, I have to get started on the pattern. This includes writing all the instructions, drawing the diagrams, and drawing out the patterns. This process usually takes me a few weeks, so hopefully, the new pattern will be ready mid-March.

Have fun!

MORE WORK DONE ON "BELLY DANCER"

Hi All,
Been busy working on my new Belly Dancer costume pattern. I tried to get some WIP photos of the stages (when I remembered to stop and take a photo!)

Here are the slippers and sheer harem pants the dancer wears under her skirt (I had to lift up the skirt to get this shot, as I forgot to photograph the shoes & pants after I put them on the doll):

Here's the skirt. I love this fabric -- got it at JoAnn's a year ago. It's part of their "India" line they had years ago. It's colored from red/brown in the center to dark brown on both edges. The gold printed boarder is part of the fabric.
I also added a fringed hip shawl (not really visible in this photo), and a beaded & tasseled hip belt to the top of the skirt.
I also started on the top, made of olive stretch velour & trimmed with gold braids. (I don't stitch the arms on until the top and arms are completely finished.):

 

 

More trimmings added to the top, some necklaces added, plus the head is attached, and the head wrap is started.

You can barely see I started blocking out the face lightly with pencil:



The arms are finished -- complete with sleeves, multiple beaded bracelets, & painted fingernails.
I make the bracelets by first wrapping the arms with metallic brocade ribbons & braided trims. Then, I embellish the ribbons & braid by sewing on lots of beads:

 

More to come!