Little bags for a little girl

I had a request to make some drawstring bags for my granddaughter so she could store her blocks in them. Obviously, she isn't old enough to do the storing herself, her mom will be doing that.

 I used the pattern I had used for these for the two bigger bags and changed the pattern for this one to make the ladybug bag. There is no divider and the dimensions are different but I used the technique for the drawstring tunnel.

And this bag is for my daughter. One can never have too many project bags, right?

Metalsmithing with Stephanie Lee

Did I say that I signed up for a metalsmithing class online with Stephanie Lee at the same time as the doll making class? Which was also the same time the painters got started on the outside of our house. And pretty much one of the first things they did was to tape plastic over the windows so I couldn't use my studio. I always crack open the window behind my bench to let in fresh air when I use flux. So, that wasn't going to happen. The painters have been gone for over a week, yeah! And the house looks good, but I didn't really buckle down and work on anything class related. And, when I did, it was just components, as usual.
But, today, I made myself work on something from start to finish (and by the time I was balling the sterling wire for the dangles, I really had to make myself stick with it.):

New earrings, with solder and Gilder's Paste. My fingers probably had more of that paste on them than the earrings do. I haven't quite figured out a way to apply it in a way that doesn't involve fingertips.
It feels good to actually have made something from start to finish and, even better, to have two new pairs of earrings.

The process

I really should have written this post first, but I was so excited to be done with Madeleine, I didn't even think about it.
So, here are a few pictures I took along the way:

The pattern transferred to muslin, ready to sew.

All sewn up, ready to turn (except for one lower arm) and stuff.

In progress. There were problems, I could not get the wrinkles out of the neck and after many tries, just decided to live with it. The neck was going to be covered, anyway, so it wasn't THAT big a deal.

Hair and face painted. I think I held my breath a lot during that process.

Antiqued, sprayed with fixative and assembled.

And all finished - I think. I need to look at her for a little longer to see if she needs anything else.

Introducing Madeleine

This is what I've been working on for the last 2-1/2 weeks: I am taking a class from Danita Art on doll making. This is my very first ever attempt at a painted doll and I had never drawn a face before, either. Frankly, I was scared. But I followed instructions and it worked.

Rather crooked stripes on the legs. Much harder than one would think.

There is definitely room for improvement, but I'm quite happy with my first attempt. I love all the techniques I learned along the way and I already have ideas for other dolls. Finding the time, now that's another problem.