mother of dragons and dolls

Somewhere in between making a dragon for Ryleigh that took me somewhere in the region of weeks to complete, and today, I became the mother of dragons. I was proud of little Toby I made, and I might have done a brag post or two on Facebook about him. I'm not even quite sure how it happened, but he caused quite a stir, and now, I run my own dragon hatching business.

In my little circle of diaper and doll nuts I got my first few orders and a whole lot of encouragement, and when I finally made a business page, it exploded. Suddenly I had twenty dragons to make in time for Christmas, and orders coming from strangers all over the country. So The Hatchery was born (www.facebook.com/hannahshatchery), and all my free time is now devoted to crafting. Rather amusingly to me this focused crafting has put a total stop to the budding crafter within me, and all other projects have been sidelined indefinitely.

I am back to buying crafty. Except now I am selling my own to pay for it.

Still, there are projects in the works, for sometime AD (after dragons). Once I knock out the three month long custom list I took on before I really thought through how much time I wanted to dedicate to this, I want to try my hand at a few other things. Making other critters, doll clothes and perhaps even a doll or two are high on that list. Learning to knit, also on the backburner for now, is at least a goal for this year.

The good news is, if nothing else, my new hobby is paying for my other hobby. Without touching my bank account, there have been dolls arriving week after week at our house. Paypal isn't real money you know, and if it's never in my account, it's like I never had it. It's magical that dolls just keep arriving, or at least, it seems that way to me.

This would be a great place to insert a new doll army picture, but the most recent one I have is still two short. One arrived today and one is on her way from Australia. Another isn't even made yet, and to be honest, I can't quite remember what she is even going to look like. Oh wait, that's three. And so it goes...


New additions include a Sami's Doll, Vee Marie, DFH pony and 16" MTO, and more Bambos! 

But I love each and every one of my dolls. Perhaps I am reliving some underdeveloped part of my childhood. My mother said I never cared for dolls as a kid. Of course paying some attention to a plastic baby doll as a kid would have been a whole lot cheaper than having a handmade Waldorf doll obsession as an adult, but this is perhaps more fun. So I will keep hatching dragons to buy dolls until my husband pitches a fit or I need a bigger house to fit them all in. As if I needed any encouragement this week I was also the lucky recipient of one of Bamboletta's Golden Tickets, which they periodically and randomly send out to a very lucky few. Now I get to pick any doll I want from any upload before she goes on sale and she's all mine, including shipping, for nothing. The perfect excuse to stalk every upload and agonize over which one I will get, as if I will never buy another one after I pick my Golden Girl!

Here are the custom girls, and as you can see, I know how to pick their specs to make them stunning ;) Now if I can just figure out how to make them myself . Then I can actually hang onto some of the hard earned money I am making jamming needles into my fingers and sewing until my eyes burn every moment my child is napping...

 Eva, a 9" Vee Marie

Alice Mae, a 12" Sami's Doll

Dolly world has opened its arms to me, and although I see it's volatile nature, for now it's a warm embrace. The subculture of work-at-home-moms (WAHM's) and their customers is new and exciting to me. The dragons have opened my eyes to even more than I thought they would. More excuses to research online, the new obsession with fabrics, not to mention my bi-weekly trips to JoAnn where I wander up and down the aisles for as long as an 8 month old will allow it.

This is a very good thing for me. Reinventing myself and mastering new things is my lifeblood, and I'm in full swing right now. Being a mom is a full time job, but if these kids are really supposed to nap for 2 hours twice a day what on earth else am I going to do if not something like this? I am certainly not going to become housewife of the year and spend it cooking and cleaning. I'd rather make a couple extra dragons and get a cleaning lady.

And thus finances are broken down into $45 incriments. Is it worth a dragon or two? How many dragons for this doll? I better get on with this dragon to pay for those jeans, and so on and so forth.

The best part of all this, is that Ryleigh is actually taking a very real interest in the dragons and the dolls. She eats her breakfast and dinner surrounded by dragons in various states of dismemberment, and smiles and coos at those that have all their appendages attached. She watches as I unwrap and hug each doll and probably wonders when she will be allowed to get her hands on them.

Sometimes I actually even let her play with them a little. Shocking I know.

dollmania

I think I might have caused husbands all over America some financial heartache.

In my recent doll frenzy I may have been guilty of posting way too many pictures of cute dolls in one of my cloth diapering groups on Facebook. There was no malice or intent to my actions but I fear many a husband has now suffered the consequences of this idle posting. By my last count ten waldorf dolls are now on their way to new homes with mamas I infected with the doll bug.

Of course they are not alone in this epidemic. My collection seems to be growing bigger by the day. And there's another one the way...



The Girls circa early November 2012

Velvet, a 15" Bamboletta OTW

I started my own facebook group so that we could all get together and coo over dolls and enable each other's reckless abandon with hard-earned money. It's now my favorite online hang out.

My latest project, as a result of this epidemic, was to attempt to make some dolly clothes for one of the girls in the group who has just bought her first waldorf boy. She's literally obsessed with skulls, and wanted to give him a punk rock makeover. This, as you know, is a cause after my own heart. It would have been a great surprise but I'm crap at surprises so I told her I was going to do it. Side note: The selection of edgy fabrics at Jo-Ann is as crap as I am with surprises. But I did manage to find something that would work. I am cheap so after a quick google search realizing you have to pay for patterns for just about everything, I decided to wing it.

No more than one hour later...Ta Da!

 

I have to say I'm pretty impressed with myself. Now don't get me wrong, the inside of this thing is hideous and sadly since I didn't really know how to measure and put it together, there's not a hope in hell that it will zip up (mainly because I don't know how to add a zipper, but also because it's too small). The good news is I think hoodies look much cooler unzipped anyway.

 

Can't wait for her to see the finished product, and even more excited to see it on her little punk rock prince, who of course has green and blueish hair. Pretty cool if you ask me.

 

My final reflection on this project, other than I would like to make a lot more of these, is who would have thought the girl that wore pretty much nothing buy skull hoodies a few years ago would now be making them for dolls, or, more accurately, making them for online friends of people she infected with the doll frenzy bug? Next, pigs will fly and the Redskins will win a SuperBowl, which I guess is kind of a similar concept...

bootay spray

Taking a step further into the land of the crunchy, today I made my own cloth wipe solution, or as I like to call it, bootay spray. I started using regular old baby wipes I was given at my shower, as if there is one thing I hate more than artificial things it's wasting free stuff. When they were getting close to running out I made my own cloth wipes. Making those was the first time I had come into contact with a sewing machine since high school. That's how old I am by the way, that there were still sewing classes for us girls, to teach us to become excellent housewives. I never did well in such classes, in fact, the worst grade I ever got in school was in Home Economics. Go figure. But now, being Suzie Fucking Homemaker as I have named myself, I am wishing I had listened better.

The cloth wipes are easy. Easy enough a small child could do them. The only trial and error I had was figuring out what I liked best in terms of materials and edges. Turns out double layered flannel serged is what this lady loves. I did some flannel/terry which are nice for the super poops but not my favorite. Turning and topstiching was all well and good, but serging was perfectly sufficient.

I had on hand some Kissuluv's Lotion Potion, which I have to say I have thoroughly enjoyed over the past three months whilst using these wipes. However, I am as much a cheap skate as an ever-crunchier mom and had been planning to make my own wipe solution once it ran out.

D-day is upon us. It's almost out. There are tons of "recipes" for homemade wipe solution and I could have followed any number of them. Eco-crazy mom (nice name) has a great list here http://ecocrazymom.com/homemade-cloth-wipe-solutions-recipes/. But ever the trailblazer I decide to mix my own concoction. It is Halloween after all, so a little hubble bubble toil and trouble is in order.

I got everything I needed from my local ghetto shopping center by perusing the Dollar Store and CVS. The truly granola would be horrified to know that I used Johnson and Johsnon baby wash, because I have two enormous bottles of it I got at Costco before I found out about how shady they are and how using their products makes you - what is the opposite of crunchy?...soggy? I will find something more natural and eco-friendly for the next batch but like I told you, I'm cheap.

The basic jist of homemade wipe solution is that you need water, oil, soap and some essential oils, of which tee tree is a favorite. I went with tee tree oil, eucalyptus (because it smells delicious) and then also stocked up on some olive and sweet almond oil to experiment with. I got a 4oz bottle of vitamin E oil from the Dollar Store for $2 (have you ever noticed that NOTHING in there is actually $1?) for my main oil base. I started with a small bottle to see how it turned out so I added:

1/8 cup vitamin E oil
1/8 cup baby soap
1/2 cup water
Hannah sized splash of tee tree oil
Hannah sized splash of eucalyptus oil

I could have been more precise, but they didn't come with droppers so oh well. It smells great and I tested it on my hand and it left it feeling very clean and smooth. I hope it does the same to her butt, as well as cleans up the poop of course! A little advice that I was given so I will pass along...always add the water first, oils second and soap last. By starting with water you’ll avoid creating bubbles, and the oil will coat whatever you are measuring with allowing the soap to easily slide off into the solution. Good thinking Batman.

So now we have a totally crunchy baby butt. Cloth wipes, homemade wipe solution and coconut oil as diaper cream. Score another one for me, I'm feeling good about Ryleigh's carbon footprint. And did I mention how much cheaper all this is??

oh no she didn't just finish the dragon?!

Yes, that's right. The dragon is finally finished! I only take partial responsibility for the delay as there was a hold up with the joints arriving in the mail. I got him done the same day they arrived so I'm pretty sure that makes me an overachiever.

From a distance this little work of art is amazing. If you look closer you might suggest I take some sewing lessons, or point out that his feet are completely different sizes or that his arms come more from the back than his sides and so on and so forth. If you were to pull him apart (which would probably be quite easy to do) you'd see I screwed up the joints on one side and the leg joint is on the arm and vice versa. But all in all, this was really a fun little project, and I learnt a lot. Not least about how I don't follow direction very well. I kept skipping ahead in the pattern and all that did was create more work for me. If you decide to make a dragon, I urge you to follow directions. Sounds simple but not for us overachivers ;)

Here's the little love muffin posing around the house. We are going to call him Toby...

Toby's first words were that he wants a sister, but I have a couple other little side projects in mind first while our dining room table has been taken over my sewing supplies and the hubs isn't complaining. He'll get a sister soon enough. Right now I am I feel like a supermom, crafty-mom-of-the-year and like I really should get some sort of award or trophy for completing this project. But Ryleigh took a good hard look at little Toby and broke an ear to ear grin, and wouldn't you know, that was more than enough for me.

she's all that...and a bag of chips

So Scarlett is made-over. If that's even a word. I have to say I'm slightly embarassed to admit how much I have enjoyed playing with the doll. I feel like it diminishes my claim that I am a grown up. Who knew that motherhood would make me regress back into childhood?

The poor girl's little dresses from Lisa's Little Lasses are a little tight around the next because she's built a little bit like James Harrison (for those of you who don't know he's one of my favorite Steelers, not a small man). I sympathize with her that she will forever be squeezing into clothing that's not quite big enough but it is the affliction of the fairer sex. I also don't care because I am so in love with her sweater that Mary Ellen knit I don't think she'll be showing too much of her arms. I think it's the most darling thing. And I don't think I have ever used the word darling before...Here she is enjoying her new dresses...

As you can see I went back to the messy buns. Just can't escape the cuteness of those damn things, and after watching a number of You Tube tutorials (yes, it's true, You Tube continues to amaze me too) on how to do them, I think they turned out pretty swell. And speaking of swell, here is the aforementioned darling little sweater. I think next Mary Ellen should knit me one, because I would wear that!

 

I have abandoned the idea of trying to re-do her eyes because I've decided that now with her gorgeous new clothes they are quite lovely just as they are. I'm sure little Scarlett is overjoyed that I will not be coming at her with a four inch needle any time soon. I will leave the art of these dolls to the makers I think, and admit that all I really am is a big kid that likes to dress them up and play with them. Post make-over Scarlett is so cute she's not going to be allowed into rotation with Ryleigh for quite some time...

 

Scarlett with her new wardrobe!

I'm ready to do it all again. Which means I am cleared to start trauling the Waldorf Adoptions pages on Facebook again to find another bargain basement project doll. Happy does not even start to describe it! So for now, it's goodbye, I have some shopping to do ;)

 

the great dolly makeover

It's no secret that I have recently become obsessed with Waldorf Dolls - even more so than I am with cloth diapers, which anyone who has seen Ryleigh's room would know means I am like really, really obsessed. The problem with these dolls is that despite the fact I have now successfully sewn about half a dragon, I am nowhere near crafty enough to make one, and they are eye-wateringly expensive. You quickly get desensitized to their prices when you fall in love with them though. At least I and about 1211 other people that currently belong to a Facebook group I now spend hours a day in seemed to. Suddenly now anything under $200 seems like a bargain, and every doll maker I stumble across promptly gets "liked" and then I drool over the upload pictures and sometimes even try to cart them just for fun. I usually then realize I am completely insane and cannot possibly justify buying another one of these pricey beauties and drop them from the cart. Sometimes I don't. And sometimes when I do I really regret it later.

So the hunt has been on for a bargain doll, and I kept finding myself coming back to one on the adoption page. She's not my usual type (yes, I already have a type, thank you) but I thought she was kind of cute, and in great need of a makeover. Plus I thought, for $50 (and I know the pragmatic of you are still flabbergasted at that price) I wouldn't be scared to take her out of the box like I am my dear Bamboletta Zara (www.bamboletta.com) and new addition this week Dragon's Fly Hollow girl Nairobi (www.dragonsflyhollowshop.com). Here they are by the way, works of art don't you think...

So anyway, I keep coming back to this little redhead squish, a Gumdrop Kid (http://www.etsy.com/shop/crazybaby) custom that found herself relogated to the closet. I got her for a steal and decided that she would be my little project doll. I like her skirt and shoes well enough but I think tube tops on dolls, much like on people, are a little slutty to be quite honest. I also want to play around with her hair and if I'm brave enough make her eyes a little bigger and darker but we'll see about that. I'll be damned if I don't think if I can make her nearly as cute as her $300 counterparts. I might be overly ambitious, time will tell becaus right now, she's got a long way to go. This was the photo posted that I kept returning to. Amidst all the gorgeousness, she was looking a little unfortunate, which along with the pricetag drew me to her. I have a soft spot for the underloved and appreciated, she was there for so long, and the kid has potential, you know?

 

Scarlett arrived today. While I realize her name is not original at all, it's quite appropriate and, in spite of her tube top, classy. After we got her out of her shoe box I immediately was transformed back into a little girl and spent an hour playing with her hair, trying out messy buns like the Bambo's often sport, a number of different braided options and eventually settling with something rather simpler that allowed her abundance of hair to really be on display.

I'm sure I will re-do it a thousand times before her makeover is complete but for now, I have a new appreciation for her long red locks I thought I wanted for sure to choke in messy buns. Perhaps this early on in my journey I am realizing I cannot imitate the Bamboletta look, and we will beat our own path instead. Again, we'll see.

What she desperately needs is some new rags, and I found a really sweet seller on etsy who custom knits for dolls (http://www.etsy.com/shop/DollysFavorite1). I know you are now thinking I have gone completely round the bend, and I may well have done. Either way, Mary Ellen is knitting up a cute little turquoise number just like this for our little project girl, and I can't wait for it to arrive!

This also further solidifies my need to learn the art of knitting so that I can make doll clothes. Maybe even matching doll and daughter clothes. When I start making a trio of matching clothes for dolly, daughter and mommy feel free to smack me hard, preferably with something heavy.

Whilst shopping around Etsy I also found another couple of cute outfits that will match her hair and cute little shoes from Lisa's Little Lasses Boutique (try saying that over and over), http://www.etsy.com/shop/lisaslittlelasses for when she needs to get dressed up for tea. Ok, I realize I am starting to sound like a lunatic...at least you didn't get to see me squee over them and excitedly buy them as if they were Coach purses or puppies.

So just when you were enjoying the dragon-making posts, I am diverting and going doll crazy with my makeover girl. Sorry. And the expensive and already perfect beauties shall sit in a box until Ryleigh is old enough to know that drooling on your doll is not allowed unless it costs less than a pair of mommy's jeans, which sadly for her means not even little Scarlett gets unsupervised play. Mommy wears cheap jeans so you can have expensive dolls you can't play with, sorry kid.

the girl with the tattoo makes a dragon - part three...

In spite of myself, progress is being made with our little dragon friend. I have been wondering what I am going to name him when this labor of love is done, and am contemplating making him a sister with the reverse coloring. I should probably be concentrating on finishing this little scrap first but that's not my way. It is fairly likely I will start dragon #2 before this one is hatched.

The rest of the sewing has been pretty uneventful, with the exception of the wings which was largely due to my ineptitude with the sewing machine and its myriad of stitching choices. In the end I went for more is better and just sewed over my ugly stitches with thicker ones. This fits in with my usual plan of action that when you screw up a bit, just do it again and again and then it doesn't seem like such a big deal.

Dragon feet are a pain in the ass to sew, despite some good advice on making pretty feet provided by http://www.funkyfriendsfactory.com/2010/10/21/put-your-best-foot-forward-how-to-sew-perfect-plushie-feet/. My feet are not perfect plushie feet, but I have reached the point of abandoning perfectionism and just being glad that the body parts are recognizable.

I am impatiently awaiting the arrival of the mini-kit I bought which contains the joints and eyes for little dragon man so I decided to go ahead and stuff his head and tail. I had to make a little heart to sew on the end of his tail, as my crap seamstressing is already apparent and when I turned and stuffed it there was a lovely little hole right at the tip. Of course I could have said I was just using my creativity to make it my own, but it's too late for that lie now.

So here he is, looking a little like a cow but still dragonesque. He's giving the thumbs up despite looking like roadkill, having a lumpy tail and one foot considerably larger than the other. All adds to the character I say.

 

 

And just when I was feeling pretty accomplished for getting this far, patterns have emerged for an egg from which to hatch your dragon from, a layette for him to wear, and now there is talk of unicorns and seahorses.

I'm back to feeling like a 12 year old might be better at this toy-making malarky.