A Mini Doll Exchange

These are the two I sent to the USA and the UK beside the two I received.
The theme I requested was "wild and crazy" woman!  

The group "Stargaze Tomers" on Yahoo is comprised of members all over the world.  I am lucky to be one. The leader of the group is Patti Culea.  I was lucky enough to take a class from her years ago and would do it again in a minute if given the chance.

The on-line group is a very creative bunch and every once in a while, a challenge or exchange is organized to get us active again.  This time it was a tiny doll to be included in one of the "tome pages" which are the patterns we all have and got us united to begin with.  The people who chose to take place were divided into groups of three.  I was lucky enough to be assigned to an exchange with Patti herself and with Sue Crook, whom I have done exchanges with in previous themes.

I received a beautiful doll with hand dyed silk from Sue Crook with wildly colored hair.  And her clothes are separate, not a part of the doll.  A work of tiny and very specific art.  The doll I received from Patti is made of painted silk and her clothes and hair are beaded.  They are both shown in the picture above.

Patti wanted hers to be a garden fairy.  Here is a picture of the back and front of the mini doll I sent to her.

She is about 5" tall, has jointed arms and legs is dressed in ribbons and lace and hand beaded. Her hair is mohair that has been dyed.  Some of the lace she is wearing is hand painted (not by me!).


















Sue wanted one that reflected the area I lived in.  Here are photos of what I received and what I sent away to her.  The area I live in has so many things to choose from to represent it.....skiing, fishing, boating, hiking, camping, cities, country.....snow, soil and surf all within minutes of each other.  So I decided to go back to the beginning and chose to do a doll that represented the Haida who were First Peoples on the west Coast.

She is wearing a traditional button blanket cape, a cedar (silk strips) woven hat, and carrying a basket of shells (teeny tiny ones I found on the beach where I walk my dog.) Oops....I see she doesn't have the basket in hand in this photo, but Sue tells me she arrived intact.  I spoke to a friend about the political correctness of making a Haida doll when I am not of that descent and was told that it was ok as long as it was done with respect.  It was and here she is.  

Making Tiny Cloth Hands

My friend Joan and I have started on the tome page patterns designed by Patti Culea http://www.pmcdesigns.com/tomes.htm. I know .....I’ve mentioned this before. But we are still on Page ONE!!! This page features three women representing friends. You can just follow the pattern of course, but Joan and I have chosen to change it according to our theme embellish accordingly. 

My front page has a secretary, a farm girl, and a grandma since I chose to make my theme about all the stages in my life. So being the sort who likes to jump in at the top and then slide downwards to my level, I decided to have three dimensional hands so that they can hold miniature props… a stenographer’s notebook, a milk pail and my knitting.

I've photographed them on my cutting mat so that you can see what size they are in actuality.

Now you really do need to know that turning hands for a cloth doll is a practice in patience at the best of times, but making them this small is really designed to test your determination – especially if you haven’t done it in a while!

Well… I’ve mastered it…this said after no small amount of time, perseverance, flat-out cursing. Here is the result of my labour! Now, to attach them to the page and incorporate the embellishments. …..

Bookmark Exchange

Last summer I signed up with the online Stargaze Tome group to do a bookmark exchange. We were in groups of five, so would make five bookmarks, send out four and get four back, making a collection of five. The theme was Art Deco/Art Nouveau and the deadline was September 15. Lots of time thinks I!


However, back to work September 8 and a hectic first month of school put me behind yet again. I received the four bookmarks from the other participants in my group, they are stunning. And today, I have lots to be thankful for on this Thanksgiving weekend, because I finished mine and will be mailing them out to the four patient participants in my group. Here's a picture of what they'll be getting.