Vintage Halloween
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Up, Up and AWAY WE GO!
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I walked into the living room and there she was, surrounded by all the lost dolls, old and new. They sat there enthralled as she performed nursery rhymes.
So what to do with her? The goose was a dead giveaway…
Thus begins the description for O.L.D. (Once-Loved Doll) No. 127, Mother Goose and Guy, her gander. You can see their adoption page HERE. She’s a 15″ Effanbee Anne Shirley. I love them for costumed dolls.
Several months ago my own wee dear sister Julie sent me a Pin she found interesting. It was a Halloween costume of a little girl dressed as an elf sitting on a mushroom. The girl’s legs were the mushroom’s stem, meanwhile, fake legs were posed crossed-legged on the mushroom.
This sent my imagination flying. I had done a similar costume myself for my son, Adam. One year for Halloween he was “Woody Riding Bullseye.” What fun to make a costume for a doll along those lines! I kept my eye out for ideas, and suddenly, there it was: an old tin toy of Mother Goose astride her gander.
But when it came right down to it, that goose was going to have to be HUGE in order for the entire body of a doll to fit within. For practical purposes, and not wanting this doll, now that I’d finally gotten to her, to take eons to create, I decided that the doll herself would be riding a goose. Making that goose sturdy enough to actually support her and not fall was challenge enough.
Thank goodness for WIRE HANGERS!!
I chose the thickest wire hanger I could find from the tangle of them hanging in a basket from the knob of my sewing room door and bent it into an upside down “U” shape with the top of the U following the curve of the goose’s back, and an “L” at each end for the center “toe” of Guy’s foot. With the remaining bits of hanger I made two “V”s for his feet and a smaller “L” behind for stability. I then found all the available bags of cotton balls in Rolfe. Some from my own sewing room, the last remaining bag at our grocery store, and Julie’s bag besides. This goose is STURDY.
But in my last post, I promised an illusion! This was when I was still planning for the dolls legs to be the goose’s legs. A-HAH!! More wire! Not hangers this time, but a fine wire light enough to stay afloat while still being sturdy enough to support the fabric and lining for Mother Goose’s cape. And, voila!
I’d like to thank fellow Rolfian Jule H. for the nice box of fabric. I used some for this skirt. I love fresh blood! Ahem.
You can find the pattern for the goose HERE. There aren’t any directions, so you just have to wing it. Har. These are the jokes, folks!
I modified it a little. I wanted our goose, who is named Guy, to be able to open and close his beak so I added extra pieces and inserted some folded chipboard. I also inserted a square dowel into his neck so he would never droop. His eyes are black glass beads, and his bow is 100% silk from an upholstery sample square. Guy measures just over 12″ tall.
So there you have them! The FIRST for Halloween 2019.
Izzy the Bee Charmer was adopted by Barbara E. of Diamondhead, Mississippi. Izzy reunited with two of her O.L.D. sisters and from what I hear is very happy indeed. Thank you, Barbara!
And with that I leave you on this thundery, rainy day. Nothing like a good thunderstorm! And nothing like YOU, for you are my favorite!
If Ever I Would *LEAF You
I don’t see it, the scariness. Oh sure, her hair’s a little messy, but so’s mine, and I’M not a Halloween prop! Or am I? Oh dear…
A lot of dolls have come to my house over the years, to the point where I can tell a LOT about a doll simply by her knock. Most knocks express excitement by these little girls, knowing that they’ll soon have a chance to be loved again.
This knock however was different. It was sad. I couldn’t get the door open fast enough. There stood this little doll, and she was weeping. I asked her what was wrong.
Nothing lifts a girls spirit more than some wings and a wand! And a few little curls.
“I found myself at a table surrounded by lots of other things, and I overheard an adult human talking…”
At this point, she stopped and blew her nose and bowed her head.
“What did the adult human say?” I asked, my heart breaking just a little bit for this little girl.
“They said I was creepy and scary, and that I’d be a good prop for Halloween!”
WELL. There was certainly something I could do about THAT…
Thus begins the description for Hazel Twigg O.L.D. (Once-Loved Doll) No. 94. You can see her adoption page HERE.
I had so much fun working on our Aubrey, because she was so grateful for each little thing! She didn’t need *too* much in the way of work. The toes on her right foot had been nibbled off by mice. Her arm had been exposed to water and had “melted” a little bit. That doesn’t make her a witch!
INSPIRATION PHOTO
I think the main reason she was perceived as scary was because of her hair the the dirt that had formed in her eyes. Her wig was so firmly glued on that it would have been nearly impossible to remove without destroying it. Turns out, it was filthy in addition to being messy, so I used the Windex method to clean it. Namely, you spritz a wig with Windex avoiding a doll’s skin, and you blot it with paper towels.
Sometimes you can’t tell how much dirt you’re getting off because the towel is wet with Windex so it doesn’t show. For my own satisfaction, I took that damp paper towel and IRONED it so I could better see the dirt. YESS. Satisfying.
I then curled her wig with Spoolies and a little small barrel curling iron touch up.
Aubrey has a crown and an acorn sceptre-wand for granting wishes, but my favorite thing that led me to wanting to make her into an Autumn Fairy was the idea of LEAFS as WINGS. How clever is that? Now the trick was to find some good leaves. My kind neighbor gave me some, but I needed a few more. What to do…?
I’ve asked if I could buy one of their baskets, which look very similar to this one with the fabric sides that collapse and the metal handle. Alas, no dice.
ENTER the V&S Variety Store. I LOVE that place! It’s in Humboldt, Iowa which has a population of about 4,800. So pretty big in comparison to Rolfe. It’s not too far away, about 30 minutes, and there you can find all sorts of things that you wouldn’t find anyplace else. It’s like stepping back in time! Possibly not on purpose, even. More like good old fashioned Iowa thriftiness. If it’s not worn out, why throw it away? Even the shopping baskets are treasures!
They have candies I haven’t seen in years, and little toys, and cookie cutters of all shapes and sizes, and fabrics! A very nice couple run it, and I get a lot of joy in my heart anytime I can sneak over to Humboldt and see what’s new there. Come to think of it, the fabric for Aubrey’s dress came from V&S!
There’s the coat from my YouTube video tutorial, there’s the dress with the fabric from V&S, and there’s a better view of the leaf wings.
So with a little vintage magic – and a little help from my friends, our girl Aubrey is ready to conquer the world. Perhaps more importantly, she’s ready to conquer HALLOWEEN. Not creepy, not scary, certainly not a prop! Just a little girl who wants to be loved…
Here’s a “living” before and “after.”
A hearty thank you to those who gave my three dolls last week good homes. Agnes A. of Carrollton, PA, Corinne S. of Lexington, MA, and Dennis Z. of Kirksville, MO. Much appreciated!
With that, I leaf you! And even if your hair is a fright, you’re STILL my favorite.
*The title of this blog post came to me as I was working on Aubrey. “If Ever I Would LEAF You” – get it? From that song in ‘Camelot’ with “leaf” instead of “leave”?! Comedy GOLD!
It takes very little to entertain me. I even called my beloved mother and cackled to her about it. Yep.
D5 Creation