February countdown

Only one week left in February. I have a good chunk of work to finish up so I don't fall behind again but things are coming along well. I'm also trying to keep up with the blog without having much to say. At least there will be photos. I got that group of western dolls done the other day and then the next day I finished 2 more dolls. That is the beauty and the curse of working in groups. It takes awhile to get anything done but then you get a lot done all at once. I finished this western pleasure doll as well. I had a lot of them to do in that group but the new chap design is making me happy. This lady was a trade for a painted resin I received back in the very beginning of January. It's about time she gets finished and on her way home.

Then I had this nice casual lady. I did something a little different with her sweater that I think makes it look more realistic and more in scale. Things being in scale is very important to me. But I like how this came out so I think if/when I do more sweaters this will be the way they get done.

Then yesterday I was wandering around MH$P and found an artist that was looking to trade paintwork for some unpainted mini resins I have hanging around. So I am trading a couple of those for a paint job for my Hazel resin. About time Hazel gets some clothes on, she's been hanging around naked for a long time now. I want her to be chestnut and something like this horse would be great I think. Hmm, she even looks a teeny bit like Hazel (I just noticed that).

And finally, February has been an exceptionally good month because of the doll that I made to raise money for the Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation. I took offers on her until yesterday and she brought in $230 for the charity! I covered the paypal fees and shipping so the full amount would go to the charity and that is a respectable amount I think. And it is also exciting that the couple that had the high bid on the doll are very nice people. I wrote back and forth with the husband a few times and he and his wife wanted the doll so badly. His wife has had an ongoing battle with cancer and besides loving the doll (which is a nice boost for me) the money would go to a cause that is very close to home for them. A doll is just a doll but it is nice to have something you create go to people that will keep it and love it.

Off to the post office this morning to ship dolls and get Hazel to the painter. Then perhaps finish up a few dolls that are also very close to done and get to work on the next batch.

Western dolls

I haven't finished anything in a bit and it has been making me crazy. Part of the reason for that is I have been working on a very large number of dolls all at the same time. Some of that was boredom (I hate the winter) and the need to change things up a bit (working doll-making like an assembly line is a bit different) and some of it was and still is the lack of materials. I am so low on black and brown skiver it is very challenging to make any boots. Rio Rondo was out last time I checked as well. *gasp* what do I do now?! So I found a leather dealer on eBay that had lots of super thin, undyed skiver. I asked that he sent me the thinnest possible. I got it in and it is wonderful stuff, very thin and I won't run out for a long time. The problem is the prismacolor markers I use for coloring small bits of leather, (they don't leave an iridescent sheen) like English boot bottoms, isn't good for coloring the larger portions that are needed to make the rest of the boot. *sigh* so I ordered some black and brown dye and am waiting for that to come in. While I wait I have been working on bits and pieces of lots of dolls. But yesterday I decided I needed a positive boost and had to finish something. So I finished 3 somethings.
I ended up taking a shortcut on the cowboy and just cutting down some plastic boots for him (I may keep him for myself so that's OK...) and the ladies both have Ultrasuede boots. Not my favorite for boot making but they match the chaps perfectly.

The cowboy has been slow to get finished because I have been considering keeping him. I put him near my saddle pad and realized his shirt was a great match. Now I have to think if I am going to keep him or not. Hmmm.... Today I am hoping to finish up another batch of dolls. I have one more western pleasure doll that is pretty close to done so she might get finished. And then I have 4 English dolls of different varieties to finish up. I don't think I have enough skiver to do them all but I am going to try. Besides that I need to hair a bunch of heads. Maybe I can get all of that done today. That would be fun.

My newest doll donation

She's finally done! The special donation doll I have been working on. This is Mary Kay. She is a 100% donation to the Mary Kay foundation. The foundation funds research into cancers that affect woman as well as domestic violence programs. As I mentioned in a previous blog my Mary Kay unit is putting on a fund raiser in Springfield, MA called "Pink at the Rink". Last year we raised over $14,000 and this year we want to double it (or more, more is good). The event itself is a hockey game that will take place on March 6th. There will be a special ceremony on the ice before the game honoring cancer survivors. I was not part of Mary Kay last year and didn't attend the event though people who did say the ceremony was very moving.
Many ideas were suggested on how we could raise money (besides selling tickets to the game). They sounded nice but since I am a doll maker I decided I would make a special doll. Everybody needs dolls after all.

Mary Kay Cosmetics is a glamorous company. The independent beauty consultents teach skin care and make-up artistry and make woman feel good. I figured that Mary Kay the doll should be glamorous as well. She has tons of swarovski crystals on her outfit as well as newly designed chaps that I feel are more realistic than the old design. I believe I have created a glamorous doll. She is much lovelier in person. When I asked Ethan what he thought of her he said she was "very sparkly". Photos just don't show how true that is.I'm taking offers on the doll on MH$P until February 21. If you are interested in making an offer please see her ad http://www.modelhorsesalespages.com/sales/view_details.asp?id=764941. Also if you are interested in making a donation to the Mary Kay foundation or would like more information you can visit the website at http://www.mkacf.org/Pages/Home.aspx

Waiting for Spring

I don't like winter. When I was a kid snow was fun because you could go sledding, build a fort, etc. Now snow is just cold, makes getting around hard and we haven't had good fort/snowman snow very often in recent years. You can't build anything with the light powdery stuff no matter how much of it there is.

Last Monday it was just about 60 degrees. Then 2 days later is was 9 degrees. I hate New England. So it's not time to put away the winter things yet. Even my dog has a coat (and she likes it, lol!). It's hard to be warm and look cute but she pulls it off.

Winter doesn't inspire me to do lots of new projects but I am plugging along. I have a very special doll in the works and I will post photos and her story when she is all done. I am also working on customer orders. I am a bit behind but not horribly so. Hopefully tomorrow the groundhog will decide we finally get an early Spring. I can't wait for it to be warm enough to open a window and not freeze.