November Dolls Magazine!

The November Dolls Magazine is now online, and I'm featured in an article titled "Extreme Makeover: Artists show off their doll transformations" by Stephanie Finnegan! She told me in an email that they had so much positive response to the article last year that they wrote a follow-up.

 

Above is a scan of my part of the article (click to see it larger). Featured is my "Butterfly" doll complete with wings. Go to the Dolls Magazine online edition to read the whole article.The Makeover article starts on page 16; my doll is on page 20.

And don't forget to visit my Etsy Shop to see my available dolls!

Kiandra and Demetria: two new customized Sashas now on Etsy!

Demetria and Kiandra: customized Sasha dolls

I've just finished two new customized Sasha dolls! Been a really long time since I've done any of these, and I'm pretty pleased with the way they came out.  They're both repainted, rewigged, and I made their dresses with fabric carefully chosen to complement their coloring.

Demetria

Demetria is a customized Sasha doll with long strawberry-blond hair and eyes in shades of brown and gold. Her name refers to Demeter, the Greek goddess of corn and the harvest.

You can find here for sale here on Etsy with more information:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/80808629

Kiandra

Kiandra is a customized Sasha doll with long black hair and eyes in shades of very pale blue. Her name means "water baby" and "magical" and I think she has somewhat of a magical look to her. 


Here's her Etsy link where you can read more:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/80807555

Here's an image of what Kiandra originally looked like

 I hope you like them!

Two new custom Sashas on their way...

Late at night, finishing up a couple of customized Sasha dolls! Here's a photo of them prepped and ready for paint.... I plan to photograph them and put them in my Etsy Shop tomorrow (Tuesday). Been too busy to do much with dolls recently, but thought I'd do a couple of these because my Sashas will be featured in a forthcoming issue of Dolls Magazine!

Dolls Magazine Feature!

My customized Sasha dolls have been featured in the November Dolls Magazine!

 

I've cut and pasted the parts about me into a page that you might be able to read here (click on the image to get a larger version). The article is eight pages long, and the author interviewed a number of artists. Many thanks to Stephanie Finnegan for the lovely article. I'm thrilled at the honor!

Quinn the former Harlequin Sasha Doll

Here is my latest customized Sasha doll.

She is a limited edition Harlequin, made in 1984. Harlequins had a lovely hairstyle, with a side part and a fringe brushed to the side. But I was never very fond of the ash blonde color. So when a Harlequin crossed my path I decided to be creative with her.

This is what the original Harlequin looks like, next to the customized doll. She's interesting because I think she's the only Sasha with highlights painted on her eyes.  

 Quinn has had her hair dyed a russet or auburn color.

I made her a simple top based on the Sasha Sari blouse, but longer, and a brown print skirt with a belt made of the same fabric.

Her eyes are painted in shades of brown and ochre. I've always been fascinated with the early "yellow eye" Sashas made in Germany. 

Here is a photo by Michael  O'Brien in England of an early Sasha with ochre eyes. I love the dark line above the eye, something I've tried to interpret in this newly customized doll.

She is stamped 1984 / 1466 on the back of her neck. Please let me know if you have any questions, and feel free to leave comments! 

New Custom Sasha: Butterfly Fairy

When we visit our local Botanical Gardens in the summertime, one of our favorite places is the Butterfly Pavillion. We love watching the lovely butterflies float from one flower to the next, and sometimes even land on our heads or shoulders. It is easy to imagine the the butterflies are little fairies. My daughter loves to pretend she's a fairy - she used to have a little dress with fairy wings that attached with velcro. She wore it so often that it was in tatters!

Thinking of butterflies and fairies inspired me to create Butterfly, my latest customized/repainted Sasha doll. She has a little muslin dress and I've hand painted a blue butterfly on the bodice. A sheer sparkly fabric is tied on with an iridescent ribbon.
She has little butterfly wings that attach to her dress with velcro.
Her eyes have been painted to match the butterfly, with reflection and shading to give them depth. I hope you like her - let me know what you think!

My next project is to start on a new handmade doll...

Lila: Custom Sasha for Sasha Festival

Just finished Lila, a custom Sasha donated to the Sasha Festival Children's Fund auction.

The doll was donated by Sheila Foery, and she comes with an outfit by Jackie Hyatt, one by Beverly Miller, and four pairs of shoes by Carrol of Dollyblue! All packaged up in this really cool box I found that has butterflies and lilacs on it. Check her out if you're going to the Sasha Festival in Rochester, New York (June 25-28).

Rochester is the Lilac Capital, so her theme is lilacs.

She has a lilac lambswool wig, and her eyes have been painted in shades of purple and lilac.

Outfit above by Beverly Miller (Dollys Designer)

Outfit above with hat by Jackie Hyatt (who also made the carpet bag!).

And four pairs of shoes by Dolly Blue from Australia!