On The Rag...

You know how you get something in your head that you want to try and it won't get out of your head until you try it and then once you start, you just can't stop yourself until you finish... but then when you finish you want to try more and more possibilities until you've exhausted them all... but then you realize that the possibilities are endless and just exhaust yourself in the process of thinking about it? Yeah, me too!

Well, that's exactly what happened when i decided to try my hand at creating some fun and funky rag dolls from my vintage scraps and new bits of fabric. Having been inspired by doll artist Junker Jane, I thought I would try my hand at a few creatures of my own. I loved every part of the process, too! Picking out and matching fabrics was so much fun. I love mixing all kinds of funky prints.

Okay, well... maybe I'm fibbing a little about loving every part of the process. I realized that I really do love sewing... it's sewing machines that I dislike! Maybe I got a bad apple, or maybe I just don't know enough about them (quite possible), but mine keeps jamming up. But I move on and adore my fabric creations anyway. Hey... he looks pretty cool inside out though! Just don't pay attention to those extra loops of thread!

Distressing is a must for me. It really completes the folk art feel of the dolls and gives them an aged appearance. Always fun to get messy and dirty with brown acrylic paint!

Add some odd-length arms, embroidery floss hair and a puffball nose and he's all set. This orangy clown looks like a Herman to me. He's almost two feet tall! I didn't mean to make him that large, but what the heck... I went with it. Bigger is better, right?

Pinky here was actually my first (of course I started with a monochromatic pink palette!), but I didn't take too many pictures along the way because I wanted to get lost in the process.... which I did. In fact, my mind was racing with so many ideas about other dolls, that I couldn't sleep. I gave up, got out of bed, and finished her up around 2 a.m.!

She's a cutie pie and I had so much fun making her! I can definitely see more of these rag dolls in my future... as my mind is still racing and the sketchbook is filling up with lots and lots of ideas! If you're looking for me... I'll be at the fabric store!