Tutorials

Monday, February 21, 2011

An Invitation: Join Us for a Wee Wooden Folk Exchange

...Goldie got out her paints and carefully mixed a flesh colour for the doll. She covered its face, neck, and ears, its arms and hands with the rosy tan paint, and then waited for it to dry.

As the day went on, Goldie ate buns and drank tea, and painted the doll's curls a glossy dark brown. She painted a white camisole and matching knickers on the doll's body, gray stockings on her legs and pretty black shoes on her feet. Then she painted a little gleaming black eye on either side of the doll's nose and finally, holding it firmly around the waist with one hand, Goldie smiled and smiled into the doll's eyes in the friendliest, sweetest way, and she painted a smile right back to herself on the little doll's face.
From Goldie the Dollmaker by M. B. Goffstein



For a seasonal swap last year my friend M.Bloom created a little sprite and became hooked on making peg-dolls… she says it’s amazing how such tiny dolls can tell such big stories! From there she dreamed up a swap and asked me to join her plans… I hope you will dive into your imagination and join us.

For this swap each participant can choose to join a group of 2, 4 or 6 (so each participant will send & receive 1, 3 or 5 dolls.) Once swap-groups are allocated, you will mail the dolls you create directly to your swap partners and they will be mailing dolls directly to you.

Along with each doll, please include a poem or story which might have inspired you to create your dolls… Inspiration can come to us in so many ways…It can come from the seasons in nature, from the poetry & stories we read… Or perhaps you would like to create your dolls and then let them whisper into your ear (and into your dreams) their own new & original stories.

Will you be inspired by a season? (Autumn woodland scene by Wee Folk Art...)

Will you be inspired by a story? (Inspired by Elsa Beskow's book Peter in Blueberry Land, Sara of  Paper and Cloth created doll-versions of Peter & his friend Blueberry Boy!)

Or will you be inspired by a dream?


This swap is open to all who are interested. It's likely there will be a large number of participants from a variety of countries so please be prepared to post your dolls overseas! The main requirement is the dolls you send should be handmade by you with love and care (no prior crafting skills or experiences are required.)

Any shape wooden doll base 3 ½ inches (9 cm) or smaller may be used. You can see the simple wooden doll-bases I've used in my photos... You might also use gnome doll bases or small wooden finger puppet bases, however, please do not use the tall "clothes-pin" type wooden bases.

The swap opens Feb. 20, 2011. Sign-ups will close March 2nd and ideally dolls will be put in the post by March 14 so they arrive in time for the Spring Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere or Autumnal Equinox in the Southern Hemisphere. Partners will be allocated as soon as sign-ups close, but if you are concerned about having enough time to create your dolls, you may start creating right away.

If you would like to participate, please send an email to: Margaret(at)flyingteapot(dot)com. In your email be sure to include your name, mailing address, email address & blog URL (if you have one.) AND your preference regarding a swap group of 2, 4 or 6 people Note: If you’re interested, please jump right in! Sign-ups may close early if there are a lot of participants.



Over the next two days we bloom here will be posting tutorials and links for further ideas and inspiration  Please go and have a look… feel free to message her or me with any thoughts or questions you might have.


I hope this will be a chance to meet and inspire new friends through a poem, a story and a small doll; brought forth from your dreams and imagination…

14 comments:

eidolons said...

I just emailed - so excited! (:

W-S Wanderings said...

What a wonderful idea! I now have this vision of jet-setting Wee Wooden Folk. They will be given wings in a whole new creative way.

Blessings and light...

Cheryl said...

I've just emailed too. Love this idea. I want to start now!

Gidget Girl Reading said...

sounds great I just made my first batch! emailing you today

twolittleseeds said...

Inspirational pictures! x

Natalie @ the little gnomes home said...

Yay, what a great idea...can't wait to get creating!

Unknown said...

Shannon! This sounds like a blast! I am excited to get on board. So many ideas... Where do you get these pegs from? Any craft store?

S said...

It does sound fun doesn't it! so glad you are all excited too. go over and have a look at we bloom here http://webloomhere.blogspot.com/ for a few tutorials and more ideas. here are a few links for peg doll by mail order in case you cannot find blank wooden peg-dolls in your local shops: Casey's Wood or Woodworks, Ltd. in the U.S., Bear Dance Crafts in Canada and Winterwood Toys in Australia.

sara said...

there is some amazing inspiration among the collection! such a variety of ideas. have fun :)

Bart en Kaya said...

I will think about it for a day, but I feel very tempted to articipate in this swap.
I just finished 2 peg-dolls. If you'd like to see hop over to my blog.
Thanks for hosting this!

Bart en Kaya said...

I couldn't resist any longer! I just signed up for a group of 4, really looking forward to this!!!

Tanja said...

I didn't sign up but I am inspired and very keen to make my own little characters. Could you please advise of an Australian website to buy the wooden bases? I'm having very little luck.
Thanks, Tanja.

S said...

Tanja - winterwood toys and spiral garden both sell wooden dolls by mail order in Australia - they are about $3 each. If you are not in a hurry have a look at Caseys woods in America - they have a big selection and are only about 15-25 cents each - even with postage it is so much cheaper than anything here - the quality is not quite the but if you are covering them with paint it doesn't really matter!

Tanja said...

Marvellous! Thanks so much!
I had a look around etsy after I wrote my question. I'm surprised how cheap they are. I want a whole lot of them so I can gift them, so it makes sense to buy them in bulk from o/s.
Thanks again for the reply.
Tanja.