Linda's BLOG

My Favorite Time Of The Year - Fall!

2009-07-13T06:21:00.000-04:00

I just LOVE the Fall season and around the middle of the Summer I start thinking about Fall and my Fall decorations.

It's also a time of the year that drives my husband crazy. Unfortunately that's my fault. You see I REALLY LOVE the Fall season. And I LOVE to DECORATE for the Fall - which means work for him dragging all my floral decorations and Fall decorations up from the basement.

Now it wouldn't be so bad if I only had a few decorations and a few trips up the stairs.

Au contraire! Did I mention I LOVE FALL.

I can't do anything in moderation. No - not me!

I like a LOT and I like BIG - which means big floral arrangement and big dolls.

And, all this means MANY, MANY trips up the stairs. My poor husband.

Fall just seems to drive my creativity. It happens each and every year and I have no control over it - or at least I like to think I don't! I wrote a story about this in November of 2006 for Primitive Times Magazine and thought you might enjoy reading it again. Here's what I wrote:

What Is It About This Season That Drives My Creativity?

It's almost like clockwork. Like some internal drive. Some innate driving force. For sure, it's something!

By now I'm sure you must be wondering what I'm talking about.

Well, I'm talking about my "creativity drive" and the Fall/Christmas season. What is it about this season that drives my creativity?

Every year around the end of August I can start to feel it. This urge to create starts to show itself. It starts slowly and builds gradually until it reaches a full-blown crescendo in November. But, I can feel it starting and I know that I won't have any control over it, once again.

Every year it just takes over my body. And, then I just have to either sew, create floral arrangements or craft something.

Or, I have to design patterns and sew some more dolls. Like I need any more dolls! But, that's a subject for another article! The point is, I just have to create - SOMETHING! ANYTHING!

Of course, my husband would say; "Why don't you create doing the housework!" Nah! That's no fun.

This inner force, whatever it is has got a creative mind all its own. And, it definitely has a hold on me. Look out, anyone or anything that gets in its way.

Forget the housework - what's a little dirt and dust! Forget the shopping - who needs to eat! Forget the bills - YIKES!!! Forget the family! Oh, boy! That's a no-no! Forget eating - that's okay - it's called creativity dieting! Even forget to take the dog out to do his business! Come on now that's something you have to do! Well, maybe not. He can hold it.

So, what is it that takes over? I'm not sure but I know that I'm not alone with this. Many crafters that I've talked to tell me that they also experience this. It might be at different times of the year, but they know when it's starting. Maybe it's a crafting thing? When you're in the "crafting", "creating" mode you are "IN THE MODE."

And, when I'm in the mode, I'll sew hundreds of dolls or design hundreds of patterns. I might put together multiple numbers of floral arrangements, or anything else that I seem to want to create.

I don't know about you, but I'm a little obsessive when it comes to my sewing and crafting. I have to cut everything out first, then sew everything, then put everything together. That means if I have 100 items to cut out I cut all one hundred before I start to sew anything.

The same holds true with sewing. I'll sit there and sew all one hundred dolls and then I'll put all one hundred dolls together. Of course, this means that I have to write-up 100 patterns all at once - which is really a chore. All the pattern designers will know what I mean by that statement.

In any event, I never said my way was the way to go about it. It's just my way of feeding my "hungry" inner creativity drive. Maybe I should call it my "hungry" inner obsessive creativity drive?

Sometimes I don't know what's worse. My inner creativity drive or living with over 1,000 handmade dolls. Hmmmm.....? Definitely, living with over 1,000 handmade dolls is worse. They talk back to me.

So, what is this creative drive and where does it come from? Why in late August? Why the Fall/Christmas season?

Maybe it relates back to the fact that as a child I loved to sew all my Christmas presents? I come from a large family so there were quite a few presents to make. Maybe it's the act of making presents to give to my loved ones? Generosity drives it? Hmmm..... Probably not.

Or, maybe there's just something about the bright, cheery, vibrant colors of the Fall season? Maybe it's feeling the cool, brisk, New England climate while raking leaves and then going inside to a cinnamon candle burning and a cup of tea or cocoa? Hmmm...... Probably not.

Maybe it's because for every holiday as a child I would scour the woods for materials to make a centerpiece? Or, every holiday season the family would gather together to make a new Christmas decoration? Hmmm.... Probably not.

Maybe it's just because I come from a family of crafters and sewers? It's just plain in my genes - in my DNA. Hmmm.......

Is that possible? Can a person have "creative" DNA? Hmmmm.... I wonder. Creative DNA!

I don't know. I just know that I'm not alone with this. Other crafters have told me they, too, have an inner driving force. Maybe we all have "creative" DNA?

I don't know if I'll ever find out why I have this drive or what it is about this season that enhances my creativity?

Maybe, however, I should I should stop worrying about it and just enjoy the "creative" moments? Tis the season - the "creative" season that is!

Copyright © 2009, 2006—All Rights Reserved - Written By Linda Walsh of Linda Walsh Originals and Linda's Blog. Linda is a doll maker and doll pattern designer. http://lindawalshoriginals.com

GREAT NEWS - We're On Zibbet.com!

2009-07-12T06:40:00.003-04:00

We've got the best news. We now have a LindaWalshOriginals shop on Zibbet.com selling our Linda Walsh Originals handmade dolls & crafts and patterns.

If you'd like to see our shop please CLICK HERE.

If you don't know what Zibbet.com is let me tell you that according to their "About" page:

"Zibbet is a global marketplace, connecting buyers and sellers of Handmade Goods, Fine Art, Vintage Items and Crafting Supplies.

The idea for Zibbet started in late 2007 by two guys from Sydney, Australia. Zibbet.com was established as an online artisan community whose objective is to celebrate artisans of all kinds, especially those who are just starting out.

With little more than a rough idea of how the site might work in their minds, and virtually no money in their pockets to make it happen, Jonathan Peacock & Andrew Gray (Zibbet founders), started work on the Zibbet site which went live on the 5Th February, 2009."

Why did I decide to sell some of my creations on Zibbet.com?

Well, for a number of reasons.

The first was that they have a wonderful rate structure. You don't pay any monthly fees and don't pay anything upfront. You only pay them a slight % of every sale.

Secondly, they have a fabulous referral program with 3 tiers.

a) Refer a Buyer to your shop and you’ll receive a 2.5% reduction in your commission. Therefore, you’ll pay 5% instead of 7.5%. BUT HERE’S THE BEST BIT… You’ll also earn 2.5% of any other purchase that the buyer makes on the site…FOREVER!

b) Refer a Buyer to Zibbet (i.e. not your shop) and you’ll earn 2.5% of whatever purchases they make on the site…FOREVER!

c) Refer a new Seller to Zibbet and you’ll earn 2.5% of whatever that Seller sells…FOREVER!

Thirdly, they're shop is EXTREMELY EASY to set-up, use and add products to. Plus, they have no restrictions for not being able to sell items in your shop that are sold elsewhere.

And, best of all, they respond to problems that you might have RIGHT AWAY! They are on Twitter and can be contacted there with any issues you may be having or can be contacted via their email system.

If you'd like to learn more about selling on Zibbet.com please CLICK HERE.

I have a LindaWalshOriginals shop on Zibbet.com and I LOVE IT.

Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls - "Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"

They Made Her Bald!

2009-07-10T06:27:00.000-04:00

I can't believe they did that to my Facebook YoVille avatar. I signed on last week and looked at my YoVille avatar and she was completely BALD.

Not only did they make her BALD, but when I went to restore her hair I found they had completely removed it from the selection. Geez..... HOW RUDE! LOL LOL

So, I changed her hair to the one seen above. She's still cute! Wouldn't you agree?

Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls - "Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"

It's Amazing What A Little Bounce Will Do!

2009-07-09T09:05:00.001-04:00

We have had the worse Spring and Summer weather wise.

In fact, out of the last 45 days we have only had 14 days of sun with 69% of the last forty five days being rainy.

And, not just a little rain here or there. Oh, no! We've had torrential down spills, severe rain storms, severe thunderstorms, lightning warnings, and even tornado warnings.

In fact, two days ago we got 2 months worth of rain in 3 hours. That's 4 inches of rain which totally saturated the already wet ground and created flooding situations.

Now this wouldn't sound so crazy if we lived in say - Seattle. But, we live in New England and this is just NOT New England weather.

So, what does this all have to do with Bounce?

Well, our little cairn terrier, who I've written about many times in my Linda's Blog, is afraid of thunder and lightning. He wasn't as a puppy, but seemed to develop this fear as he got older.

In fact, it got so bad he would pant and shake and just be beside himself. Nothing seemed to calm him.

Then I read something somewhere about using Bounce dryer sheets to help calm pets during thunderstorms. I, of course, was skeptical, but I guess that animals can feel the static electricity in the air through their fur. And, if you wipe them down with the Bounce dryer sheets they no longer feel that.

So, I tired it with my little guy and lo and behold it works. He's still uneasy when we're having a thunderstorm and won't eat or drink, but he's no longer shaking and panting. It works like a charm and calms my little guy down and I couldn't be happier about that.

A little Bounce creates a great deal of calm.

It's amazing what a little Bounce will do. Thank goodness for that.

Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls - "Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"

The Browser Distortion - How Does Your Website And/Or Blog Fare?

2009-07-05T07:44:00.000-04:00

Last June I wrote a post on my Tips For Crafters On The Web blog entitled "Mozilla - Firefox Versus Internet Explorer" How Does Your Website Fare?

My post concerned using Microsoft "Publisher" to create my websites. At that time I was using Internet Explorer and FTP (File Transfer Protocol) to update my websites.

When I checked last year 86% of my traffic was coming from Internet Explorer and 12% was coming from Mozilla - Firefox.

Shortly thereafter I switched to Mozilla - Firefox because I was having a horrendous time with Internet Explorer 7.0. It was SLOW as molasses, was freezing during printing from my blogs, and causing a multitude of other issues. After using Internet Explorer exclusively for over 30 years I'd had enough and made the switch. A year later I am happy to report that I'm delighted with Mozilla - Firefox and have had few, if any, problems with it.

I have found that Mozilla - Firefox, for the most part, is much more stringent on the HTML coding than Internet Explorer is so when I've made changes to my FTP websites using Firefox and then viewing them in IE everything has displayed just fine.

Well, something must have changed in Internet Explorer during the last few weeks as last week when I made some changes to my Everything E-Directory a friend of mine told me that some of the avatar links were not displaying properly. I was getting X's. YIKES! I hate x's!

So, I decided to check it out. Indeed, there were x's where two of my avatar pictures should have been and I was getting text boxes at the top of each page that shouldn't have been there. They disappeared once the page loaded, but were there initially. I didn't like that and knew there had to be something wrong in the HTML coding.

Well, after hours of work I finally resolved the problem in Internet Explorer and everything is now displaying properly. Mind you now, it was displaying correctly all along in Mozilla - Firefox. So now both IE and Firefox are displaying my websites correctly.

So, why am I telling you this? Well, if you are a small business website owner or blogger you might want to check your website and blog to see if both Internet Explorer and Mozilla - Firefox are displaying your website and/or blog properly.

Last year 12% of my traffic was coming from Mozilla - Firefox, with 86% from Internet Explorer and 2% from the other browsers. This year 19% of my traffic is coming from Mozilla - Firefox and 76% from Internet Explorer with 5% from the other smaller browsers.

So, why am I telling you this?

Well, if your website is displaying correctly in one browser it doesn't necessarily mean that it's displaying correctly in all the others. So far I've only been concerned with Internet Explorer and Mozilla - Firefox. For now, the others are really too small percentage wise to make it worthwhile to see if they are displaying properly and, if not, to spend the time to correct them.

I'm hoping that since I use Mozilla - Firefox and since it's pretty stringent on the HTML coding then I should be okay in the smaller browsers. However, I thought this would be true for Internet Explorer until recently. Obviously I was wrong about that. So, now when I make any changes I'm checking both.

Another reason I am telling you this is that from time to time in my blog hopping I have noticed that some of the blogs of some of the bloggers who deviated from the standard blog providers templates are not displaying as the blogger may have intended. In checking the blogs of several of my blogging friends who have gone to 3-column templates I have noticed that they aren't always displaying properly either.

So, the good news for Mozilla - Firefox is that it's certainly gaining ground over Internet Explorer. The bad news is that for small business owners who have websites and/or blogs on the internet it means more work. You need to see how your website and/or blog is displaying both in Mozilla - Firefox and in Internet Explorer. The % of users to Mozilla - Firefox is steadily increasing and to not have your website displaying properly in either one means lost business.

We'll check in next year around this time to see how both are faring. Happy browsing.

Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls - "Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"

Twelve Months Of Sewing Club Featured E-Pattern For July 2009

2009-07-02T06:19:00.001-04:00

It's July 2, 2009 and it is, once again, RAINING! In the month of June we had 23 rain days out of 30. Certainly NOT traditional New England weather.

Something has definitely changed with the weather in New England. I don't know what has happened or exactly what year it changed, but it is different than when I was growing up.

What hasn't changed since I was a child is my LOVE of the Fall season and the holidays that occur between September and December.

So, In thinking about the Fall season I decided that the "Instant Download E-Pattern" for the month of July for our Twelve Months of Sewing Club should be one of my favorite Halloween e-patterns. I decided to select LW170LWOEP "I Lost My Head! Abraham, The Headless Horseman." In designing him I wanted to create something a little different for Halloween and he seemed perfect. Plus, he's a Victorian gentleman with Victorian clothing. And, we all know how much I love Victorian clothing.

So, how does the featured pattern deal work? Well, if you buy the "Featured Instant Download E-Pattern" you will get a FREE Linda Walsh Originals E-Pattern* (*of equal or lessor value) emailed to you. So, if you buy "I Lost My Head! Abraham, The Headless Horseman" you can choose another e-pattern* for FREE.

All you have to do is tell us which FREE E-Pattern* (*of lessor or equal value) you would like in the comments field of the PayPal checkout. We will then email your FREE E-Pattern to you.

"I Lost My Head! Abraham, The Headless Horseman" -14” Victorian Horseman Doll E-Pattern - Victorian Holiday Series
Just CLICK this link to "Buy $5.95"I Lost My Head! Abraham, The Headless Horseman" Instant Download E-Pattern Now."
You'll be brought to the page "I Lost My Head! Abraham, The Headless Horseman" is on in our Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns website where you can add "I Lost My Head! Abraham, The Headless Horseman" to your shopping basket and then checkout.

"I Lost My Head! Abraham" could hardly wait for his Victorian debut. He was just dying to show you his extremely coordinated Victorian outfit - amongst other things he was dying to show you. Like his heads!!!!!

Why, he didn't even get any blood on his outfit? Now, that's gentlemanly - don't you think?

What's the problem? Are the heads throwing you off?

Actually, Abraham otherwise know as the "Headless horseman" is quite the Victorian gentleman.

He always dresses in his Victorian best. He's always coordinated. And, he's always the PERFECT gentleman.

Except when he can't find "Ichabod Crane!" Then he gets - well, a little nasty.

You'd think "Ichabod Crane" would make it easy on him. Oh, no! He has to see a therapist who's trying to help him overcome his fears of the "headless horseman."

Now how's Abraham supposed to do his job if Ichabod manages to overcome his fears?

"I Lost My Head! Abraham, The Headless Horseman" is a 14" Victorian Horseman doll from our new Holiday Victorian line.

Abraham is a self-standing horseman cloth doll - albeit without a head!

He is wearing a multi-layered lace trimmed shirt with lace trimmed sleeves and coordinating lace trimmed ascot. His cummerbund is a wide gold trimmed ribbon. His brown corduroy jacket is lined and top stitched with rolled cuffs and folded back lapels with buttons. He's also sporting a lined black cape.

Abraham is carrying the heads of two of his latest victims in his left hand and his favorite ax in his right hand. He just wants to show them to Ichabod Crane. Now why can't he find him?

We hope you enjoy making "I Lost My head! Abraham, The Headless Horseman!."

Don't forget to tell us which Linda Walsh Originals E-Pattern* (*of equal or lessor value) you want emailed to you. Since "I Lost My Head! Abraham, The Headless Horseman" is priced at $5.95 this means you can select any one of our e-patterns valued at $5.95 or less for FREE and have that emailed to you.

Just tell us in the comments field of your PayPal checkout which one of our Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns that you would like emailed to you for FREE.

Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls - "Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"

Revision To My "The History Of Faceless Dolls" Article

2009-07-01T09:41:00.010-04:00

This morning I got a comment notification from Blogger.com that Gloria Larocque had left a new comment on my 6/2006 post The History of Faceless Dolls!

Here's Gloria's comment:

Hello Linda,

For some time, I have been wanting to respond to your article, and then for a while, I couldn't find it. But I've come across it again, and I'm glad. My name is Gloria Larocque, and I'm glad you wrote about the doll project I created a few years ago, and your summary was very descript and accurate. I just wanted you to know I acknowledged your acknowledgement and thank you for bringing together the issue behind the project in light of your collecting information on something you value. All the best - Gloria

I had included the following paragraph in my original 6/2006 post The History of Faceless Dolls post and in my The History of Faceless Dolls - REVISED 5/19/09 post.

Another article about "faceless" dolls concerned the dolls of Gloria Larocque. She has created 100 or more "faceless" dolls based upon the Iroquois legend that warns young girls about the dangers of vanity. According to the article her purpose, however, is different. Her dolls represent Canada's murdered aboriginal women, a group made faceless not by vanity but by neglect. Her project has helped draw attention to the plight of the murdered aboriginal women.

I can remember how moved I was reading about "The Angel Doll Project" back in 2006 and have to tell you that I was as equally moved re-reading about it once again.

Gloria Larocque is the founder of the Aboriginal Angel Doll Project and the KETA Society which teaches traditional awareness through cultural acceptance.

According to the Keta Society websites - The Kookum Educating Traditional Acceptance Society was incorporated on August 24, 2005 to acknowledge and raise awareness of the issue of the missing and murdered Aboriginal women of Canada and to promote a variety of educational initiatives in order to instill stronger awareness that Aboriginal people have a strong, rich, diverse culture.

Kookum is the Cree word for 'Grandmother, and the Society name was chosen in order to express the need for grassroots education of native culture and traditions.

Gloria gave a speech at the "Art Against Brutality" event at the Oppenheimer Park in 2005 which was entitled: Lest We Forget The Aboriginal Angel Doll Project and the KETA Society - By Gloria Larocque. The full context of Gloria's heartfelt and touching speech can be found HERE.

I wanted to thank Gloria for posting her comment and wanted to let her know that I have modified my The History of Faceless Dolls - REVISED 5/19/09 post to include the picture above and the following revised paragraphs about "The Aboriginal Angel Doll Project:"

Another article about "faceless" dolls concerned the dolls of Gloria Larocque. She has created 100 or more "faceless" dolls based upon the Iroquois legend that warns young girls about the dangers of vanity. According to the article her purpose, however, is different. Her dolls represent Canada's murdered aboriginal women, a group made faceless not by vanity but by neglect. Her project has helped draw attention to the plight of the murdered aboriginal women.

According to Gloria:"The dolls will act as a centre-piece for educating children about traditional Aboriginal culture, maintaining cultural integrity through a contemporary setting. As a teaching tool kit, the idea will be to plant seeds of survival skills concepts such as choice, strength, education, cultural connection and knowledge of self.

The kit will contain a doll in the same fashion as an Aboriginal Angel Doll, and will be presented as an “elder”. The doll will be known as Kookum RETA (grandmother rejuvenate, educate, traditional, acceptance) of the Aboriginal people from Turtle Island. The power of the elder teaching the young is a traditional aboriginal teaching method."

Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls - "Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"

Psst!!!! Linda, You'd Better Check This Out!

2009-06-25T06:00:00.001-04:00

I found it on my chair when I returned to my study this morning. Another teenie, tiny note. I hadn't received one in such a long time. Not since the last "dollie" uprising. This one read "Psst!!!! Linda, You'd Better Check This Out!"

I knew the note had come from Elmer's Little Boy. I recognized his handwriting.

It had to be something about the "dollies" and something to do with their "The Dollie Storage Room Blog."

I wondered what the problem was going to be this time? What were the "dollies" up to? And, why was Elmer warning me. Hmmmmmm........ I guess I'd better check it out.

Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls - "Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"

My Primitive Instant E-Patterns Are Now Being Sold At The Prim Pattern

2009-06-23T05:52:00.002-04:00

There's been so much going on lately - even I have a hard time keeping up with me!

So, I can imagine I probably have your head spinning by now! LOL LOL Well, not literally - but, figuratively with everything I've been doing lately.

I really do need to slow down and take a break.

In fact, that's exactly what I'm going to do next. And, of course, it will be a sewing and crafting break! LOL LOL

Before I do, however, I wanted to let you know that some of my primitive instant e-patterns are now being sold at The Prim Pattern.

The Prim Pattern is owned by a long time friend of mine - Brenda Addison who is the owner of Hattie's Workshop workshop at http://www.hattiesworkshop.com/ .

The Prim Pattern has a wide selection of wonderful primitive and country style patterns, e-patterns, kits, instant e-patterns, and much more - for all your crafting needs.

I hope you get a chance to visit my Linda Walsh Originals Affiliate Page at The Prim Pattern and also visit the pages of the other talented designers who are listed there.

Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls - "Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"

My Instant E-Patterns Are Now At The Pattern Cupboard

2009-06-21T06:03:00.003-04:00

I met a wonderful group of pattern designers over at The Pattern Cupboard and decided a few weeks ago to become an affiliate selling some of my instant download e-patterns.

The Pattern Cupboard is owned and operated by Sissy Flores of www.cissyscountrycottage.net and Terri Browning of www.longcaneprimitives.com & www.pinelevelprintables.com.

What I loved about Terri and Sissy's website is their purpose is, "To promote Crafters such as ourselves and offer a friendly, comfortable website for our customers to buy Instantly Downloadable Patterns and Recipes from many different talented ladies in all styles! Grubby, Prim, Extreme, Colonial, Early Patterns, Candle, Soap & Tart Recipes! We have it all!"

If you're a reader of my Linda's Blog you know that I always talk about the camaraderie and willingness to share of the arts and crafts community on the net - that I just LOVE. Well, the designers at The Pattern Cupboard are a wonderful example of that and terrific examples for the arts & crafts community as a whole.

According to Terri and Sissy, "If you are looking for a wide variety of Patterns and Recipes you have come to the right place! Friendly customer Service is our goal ~ we want you to be happy with your purchase and to visit our Vendors again! Very talented Crafters that handcraft such beautiful Offerings and teach others how to make them!"

I am proud to be a member of The Pattern Cupboard.

Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls - "Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"

I Got A Facebook Username!

2009-06-20T06:22:00.001-04:00

Last night I decided to get a Facebook Username.

Facebook decided to make Usernames available to everyone for their profiles in the middle of June. So, I decided to see if my name was available. Well, it was.

So, my new Facebook URL is http://facebook.com/linda.walsh1 and I'm thrilled because all of my previous links to my Facebook profile are now linked to my new username and I no longer have a long, long URL.

I'd love for you to join me on Facebook and to visit my Facebook profile page. Just CLICK on the button above or go to my new URL - http://facebook.com/linda.walsh1

If you would you like to become a fan of Linda Walsh Originals page on Facebook just CLICK HERE and then click "Become A Fan" in the top right hand corner box.

Hope to see you on Facebook.

Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls - "Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"

What Are E......????? Series

2009-06-18T06:19:00.001-04:00

The Internet, websites, and blogging, in particular all have a language unto themselves. Once you've been on the Internet for awhile you start to recognize the different languages and what the various words mean. Sometimes the words are used to describe a particular type of website or blog. Sometimes they're used to describe a particular type of product.

So, for all of you who are new to the Internet or are a new small business crafter doing business on the web I thought I'd create a new series on my "Everything E For Crafts E-Directory" blog to SIMPLIFY all of this and to help everyone understand what all of this means.

You may have seen different words like e-pattern, e-book, e-class, e-printable, e-tutorial, e-pictorial, e-directory, e-article, e-mall, e-store, e-tailer, graphics, video's, podcast, e-zines, e-newsletters, e-projects, e-catalog, e-community, forums, social networking sites, Etsy, eBay, auctions, Twitter, Facebook, E-tv, DIY, picture hosting, website hosting, plugboard, etc and don't know what they are.

So, I thought I'd do a "What Are E.......???? series for each of these words on my "Everything E For Crafts E-Directory" blog and tell you what they are and, hopefully, give you an example so you can see for yourself.

And, once you become familiar with all of this you can visit my "Everything E-Directory" website and click on all the different websites, blogs, and/or e-product listings to see what they're all about.

I hope you enjoy my new "What are E....??? series. I hope it SIMPLIFIES things for you.

Graphic Copyright © 2008 Denise Bailey of KKL Primitives

The Byrum Spiritual Art Award

2009-06-16T06:31:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I received a pleasant surprise. Marcie Hart from "A Work Of Hart" blog gave me the The Byrum Spiritual Art Award.

I was truly flattered to know that I inspire Marcie and honored to have received such an award from an astonishing doll artist and sculptor. Marcie creates the most beautiful polymer clay dolls and faeries. Each creation is a work of art and beautiful to look at. If you'd like to see some of Marcie's amazing creations please visit her "A Work Of Hart" website.

The Byrum Spiritual Award means "You make a difference ... I know, because you have for me!"

I know so many gifted artists in so many different mediums who inspire me every day with their creativity so to choose just 6 was going to be difficult indeed.

So, in thinking about who has inspired me and continues to inspire me I couldn't help but think of doll artists whose creations are truly breathtaking and whose works of doll art continue to inspire me towards my own level of excellence. It's not that I'll ever be at the level of any of the following - but, I can dream and the following doll makers show me what is truly possible in the hands of a gifted artist.

Now I would like to pass this along to 6 doll artists whose work I find very creative and inspirational:

1) Sherry Goshon of "Sherry's Creative Corner" blog. Sherry is an astonishing doll artist who creations take my breath away. Her patterns and molds can be found HERE or HERE.

2) Fran Parrigan Meehan of "Dolls Are My Canvas Within My Soul" blog. Fran is not only an extraordinary doll maker, but is also a multi-faceted doll artist. She is not only a cloth doll maker but is also a paper doll designer, doll pattern designer, and clay doll sculpture who also sells her own press molds. Plus, she's an altered art artist and teaches classes at HERE and sells her doll patterns HERE.

3) Julie McCullough of Magic Threads website and "Magic Threads" blog. She is an extraordinary textile artist, doll artist, teacher, writer, and pattern designer. Her doll creations are delightful, whimsical creations that are phenomenal in their creativity.

4) Linda Smith of Linda Smith Originals and Linda Smith Originals blog. Linda is an Original Doll Artist, Designer & Sculptor whose polymer clay one-of-a-kind creations are simply exquisite. Each of her designs is truly a work of art and an inspiration to all doll makers striving for excellence.

5) Sue McFadden of Sues Daily Blog and her Sue McFadden - Original Felt Dolls website. Sue is is an astonishing cloth and felt doll maker. Her creations are beautiful works of art, each with their own distinctive personality - their own heart and soul. Each doll speaks to you in their own unique way and conveys Sue's feelings on life.

6) Patti LaValley of "Patti LaValley Designs" blog and Patti's Dolls website. Patti's creations are unique, creative, and breathtaking. She is so original and ingenious in her designs that it's hard for me not to be extremely jealous of her creativity.

Please take the time to visit the blogs and websites of these inspirational artists.

Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls - "Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"

In Sewing Heaven

2009-06-10T06:23:00.003-04:00

I think it's really true that sometimes you forget how much you LOVE doing something if you haven't done it for awhile. I spent yesterday in SEWING BLISS or sewing heaven. I was just like a kid in a candy store and relished every single minute if it. And, of course, it got my creative juices wanting more.

You see, yesterday I spend the day working on my Santa doll for the Santa Swap over at the Cloth Doll Artistry group that I am a member of. The idea of the swap was to exchange 3 different fat quarters with your partner and then design a Santa doll around that and 3 sets of different criteria.

Well, I don't want to give all the details of the swap away or reveal my creation before we submit our pictures and all the members vote on the winners. Suffice to say I thoroughly enjoyed designing my Santa and his fat quarters clothing and thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent sewing him.

I really do love to sew and yesterday I was, once again, reminded how much.

But, now that my creative juices are flowing - oh, boy! My husband is going to kill me if I start another round of hundreds of new pattern designs! YIKES! I guess I'd better stop sewing.

Nah, I don't want to do that. I LOVE it too much.

Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls - "Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"

Graphic Copyright © 2008 Denise Bailey of KKL Primitives

Twelve Months Of Sewing Club Featured E-Pattern For June 2009

2009-06-04T09:18:00.003-04:00

It's June 4, 2009 and right now I'm roasting. It's supposed to be Spring weather in New England, but it's hot.

When I was growing up in New England we always had 4 seasons - my two favorites being Fall and Spring. The Fall was always breezy and the air was always crisp. Spring was always cheery and mild. Winters were snowy and wet and Summer was just plain hot. Now, it seems like we only have two seasons - winter and summer. Oh, how I miss Spring and Fall.

In thinking about the seasons I couldn't help but think about Fall - my favorite season of all. Not just because I LOVE the weather but, because that's when my most creative "mojo" is flowing. For some reason my creative juices just love the Fall season.

So, I decided that the "Instant Download E-Pattern" for the month of June for our Twelve Months of Sewing Club should be one of my favorite Fall e-patterns. I decided to select LW141LWOEP "Punky - Elmer's Little Scarecrow."

So, how does the featured pattern deal work? Well, if you buy the "Featured Instant Download E-Pattern" you will get a FREE Linda Walsh Originals E-Pattern* (*of equal or lessor value) emailed to you. So, if you buy "Punky - Elmer's Little Scarecrow" you can choose another e-pattern* for FREE.

All you have to do is tell us which FREE E-Pattern* (*of lessor or equal value) you would like in the comments field of the PayPal checkout. We will then email your FREE E-Pattern to you.

Punky - Elmer's Little Scarecrow -10” Scarecrow Doll - Victorian Doll E-Pattern - Fall Series.

Just CLICK this link to "Buy $5.95" Punky - Elmer's Little Scarecrow" Instant Download E-Pattern Now."

You'll be brought to the page "Punky - Elmer's Little Scarecrow" is on in our Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns website where you can add "Punky - Elmer's Little Scarecrow" to your shopping basket and then checkout.

Don't forget to tell us which Linda Walsh Originals E-Pattern* (*of equal or lessor value) you want emailed to you. Since "Punky - Elmer's' Little Scarecrow" is priced at $5.95 this means you can select any one of our e-patterns valued at $5.95 or less for FREE and have that emailed to you.

Just tell us in the comments field of your PayPal checkout which one of our Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns that you would like emailed to you for FREE.

"Punky - Elmer's Little Scarecrow" is a 10" Victorian scarecrow doll who loves his nickname of “Punky.” He’s Elmer’s secret pal. Only Elmer can see him and talk to him. Punky likes Elmer but feels that Elmer keeps him from doing his job. After all, he is a scarecrow.

Punky’s face is embroidered and he has a cloth head and body. He has a lined vest, bow tie, fringed shirt which he wears out to cover his pot belly. He’s wearing pantaloons, black/white shoes, lined sculley cap and has raffia for hair. He has his wooden rake all ready for the leaves. Or, maybe he’s using it to swat those nasty crows.

“Punky - Elmer’s Little Scarecrow” loves his nickname of “Punky.” But, he can't tell anyone his name or anything about himself.

Why? Because he’s Elmer’s secret pal. You see - only Elmer can see him and talk to him.

Punky likes Elmer quite a lot, but feels that Elmer keeps him from doing his job. After all, he is a scarecrow. And his job is to scare away the birds and the crows not to spend all day playing with Elmer.

But, he likes playing with Elmer so he's learned how to charm his way around the birds and scarecrows. And, it actually is working. Elmer is his friend. In fact, he's his best friend. Not only that, but he's his only friend. So, he'll play along with Elmer as much as he wants. For he knows that if Elmer doesn't think about him he doesn't exist.

He has his wooden rake all ready for the leaves. Or, maybe he’s using it to swat those nasty crows.

Nope! Not Punky. His rake is all show. He is "The Charming Scarecrow" after all.

We hope you enjoy making "Punky - Elmer's Little Scarecrow."

Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls - "Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"

It Doesn't Get Much Better Than A FABULOUS Charter Deal!

2009-06-01T10:45:00.000-04:00

"Tom A. Hawk" is one of the members of the "Egg Muff Series" of cloth dolls. He also happens to be "Toni E. Hawk's" twin brother.

You remember Toni E. Hawk - don't you?

She just announced that "We're Having A Contest!"

Well, "Egg Muff's" are a fun loving group of dolls that love to sneak around and maybe, every once in awhile, drop in unexpectedly. And, Toni E. Hawk and her brother, Tom A. Hawk, are the most fun loving of the group.

Because they're such a fun loving pair they suggested that we should surprise everyone by not only having a contest for the grand opening of our new Everything E-Directory website, but having a "SPECIAL" deal.

"A GRAND OPENING SPECIAL!"

Well, to go along with the grand opening of our new Everything E-Directory website and Everything E For Crafts E-Directory Blog we've decided to offer a CHARTER Listing and CHARTER Featured Advertising One Time Only Special.

This is special will run from June 1, 2009 until June 30, 2009.

For the special we're going to offer a one time only CHARTER DOUBLE DEAL on our Everything E-Directory website and Everything E For Craft E-Directory Blog for everyone who either becomes an annual listing member between June 1, 2009 through June 30, 2009 and/or becomes a featured advertiser between June 1, 3009 through June 30, 2009.

So, if you become an annual listing member between June 1, 2009 through June 30, 2009 then as a CHARTER member on a one time only basis you will get your next sequential 12 months of listing membership for FREE.

If you become a featured advertiser between June 1, 2009 through June 30, 2009 on our Everything E-Directory website or Everything E For Crafts E-Directory Blog then as a CHARTER Featured Advertiser on a one time only basis you will get the advertising period for the button banner you are running doubled.

For example: CHARTER Featured Advertisers who advertise for one month during this period with get their same button advertised for the next sequential month for FREE. CHARTER Featured Advertisers who advertise during this period for three months will get their same button advertised for three sequential months more for FREE. CHARTER Featured Advertisers who advertise during this period for six months will get their same button advertised for six sequential months more for FREE. And, CHARTER Featured Advertisers who advertise during this period for twelve months will get their same button advertised for twelve sequential months more for FREE.

It doesn't get much better than a one time only CHARTER DOUBLE DEAL if you're looking to advertise your website, blog, or product.

Tom A. Hawk is so excited he might just do a jig!

Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls - "Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"

We're Having A Contest On The Everything E-Directory

2009-06-01T10:42:00.000-04:00

Toni E. Hawk is all dressed up in her blue dress and fancy blue boa! All ready to announce that

"We're having a contest!"

That's right! A contest.

What is it?

Well, to go along with the grand opening of our new Everything E-Directory website and Everything E For Crafts E-Directory Blog we've decided to give away FREE advertising.

The contest will run from June 1, 2009 until June 30, 2009.

For the contest we're going to give away one FREE featured advertising spot on both the HOME page of the Everything E-Directory for six months and one FREE featured advertising spot on the top of the Everything E For Crafts E-Directory Blog.

To enter this contest all you have to do is become an annual listing member of the Everything E-Directory website between June 1, 2009 and June 30, 2009 and your name will go into a hat.

The names of all the listing members who join between June 1, 2009 and June 30, 2009 will then be put into a hat and one winner's name will be drawn.

Of course, Toni has other two ways to increase your chances of winning. You can do one or the other, or even do BOTH if you want to. It's up to you.

If you are a listing member and you add one of our clickable buttons or banners to the HOME page of your website or sidebar of your blog then Toni will add two more pieces of paper with your name on it into the hat.

And/or, if you are a listing member and you post about our new Everything E-Directory and Everything E For Crafts E-Directory Blog on your blog and include one of ourclickable buttons or banners then 2 pieces of paper containing your name will go into the hat.

So, you could have 5 pieces of paper with your name on it in Toni's hat. Just be sure to send us an email to let Toni and I know what you did.

Toni E. Hawk can hardly wait to draw the winners. She just loves dressing up and getting to wear her fancy blue boa. She's a doll, after all - isn't she.

Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls - "Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"

"LATEST NEWS" For The Everything E-Directory

2009-06-01T10:34:00.000-04:00

Our LATEST NEWS is the launch of our Everything E-Directory.

We are very excited about our latest launch and hope you are, too.

Whether you’re looking for E-Patterns, E-Books, E-Tutorials, E-Pictorials, E-Classes, E-Printables, Graphics, Video’s, Podcasts, Blogs, E-Zines, E-Tailers, E-Stores, E-Directories, E-Communities, Handmade Crafts Websites, Crafts Suppliers, Crafting Plugboards, Website Hosting, Picture Hosting, Crafting Topsites, Crafting Twitters and FACEBOOK Crafters, E-Products Classifieds, E-Products Specials, Free Craft E-Products and more we are your one source for EVERYTHING E for your crafting needs.

And, of course to support our Everything E-Directory we created our Everything E For Crafts E-Directory Blog. It, too, will be filled to the brim with all sorts of exciting things for small business crafters and crafting hobbyists alike.

We have all sorts of things planned for our new e-directory and blog. Can't tell you about them right now - that would give away our secrets. Suffice to say it will be worth the visit.

Next month we hope to have some of the latest news for you on our new listing members websites, blogs, and/or products and our featured advertisers websites/ blogs, and/or products so please be sure to check back often.

You can always find the LATEST NEWS by clicking on the link in the left hand sidebar or the blog or clicking on the "Latest News" label in the categories section of the right hand sidebar of the blog.

Stay tuned for the LATEST NEWS! It will be exciting.

Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls - "Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"

We've Launched A Brand New Website and Blog

2009-06-01T09:50:00.000-04:00

If you've known me for awhile you know that I have a LOT of websites and blogs so starting another website and blog might sound a little crazy to you.

Well, it is and it isn't.

You see I've been mulling something over in my head for close to a year now. It has to do with being a small business crafter online and has to do with my experiences with that and with my experiences trying to find everything I need in one place.

There's just SO MUCH that you need for your websites and blogs and just SO MANY places to look. I wanted to make that a little easier, especially when it concerns e-products.

So, I thought that an EVERYTHING E-DIRECTORY to be "YOUR ONE SOURCE FOR EVERYTHING E FOR CRAFTS" would be a perfect solution for small business artists and crafters and e-hobbyists alike. Everything in one place.

Whether you’re looking for E-Patterns, E-Books, E-Tutorials, E-Pictorials, E-Classes, E-Printables, Graphics, Video’s, Podcasts, Blogs, E-Zines, E-Tailers, E-Stores, E-Directories, E-Communities, Handmade Crafts Websites, Crafts Suppliers, Crafting Plugboards, Website Hosting, Picture Hosting, Crafting Topsites, Crafting Twitters and FACEBOOK Crafters, E-Products Classifieds, E-Products Specials, Free Craft E-Products and more we are your one source for EVERYTHING E for your crafting needs.

One place to list all your websites and blogs - even your products. Something suitable and affordable for the newest of small business crafters to the more experienced artist and crafter.

You can list your websites, blogs, and even single products, and you can have your website, blog, even single products as featured advertising. We've got lots of options and lots of possibilities. And, of course, plenty of "freebies."

And, like I do with everything, I have an EVERYTHING E FOR CRAFTS E-DIRECTORY BLOG to support the Everything E-Directory. All our listings members and 12 month featured advertisers will have links back to their websites, blogs, and/or products on the sidebar of the blog. And, we'll have monthly posting for our listing members and 12 month featured advertisers "Latest News", "Contest" and "Specials." And, whenever anyone lists their website. blog, or product or advertises their website, blog, or product we'll post about it during that month. It's a win-win for small business crafters and more experienced crafters alike.

Listing in the Everything E-Directory is easy to do and is very affordable. The Everything E-Directory listings are paid on an annual basis and run for 12 consecutive months. Your listing contains a clickable 125x125 button banner for your website and/or blog, or clickable 125x125 product picture on the applicable e-directory category page. It also contains a clickable text link back to your website, blog, or product page as well as a short website, blog, or product description on the applicable e-directory category page. Additional applicable e-directory category pages may be chosen for additional fees.

Advertising in the Everything E-Directory and/or Everything E For Crafts E-Directory Blog is also easy to do and is very affordable. For the featured advertising we offer you a choice of either a button banner or product picture on the applicable section of the HOME page of the Everything E-Directory, top of the applicable Everything E-Directory category page, top of the Everything E For Crafts E-Directory Blog, or sidebar of the Everything E For Crafts E-Directory Blog. We also offer affordable “Classified” listing in monthly posts on our Everything E For Crafts E-Directory Blog.

For the button banner advertising or product picture you can choose 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, or one year of sequential advertising. The prices for months 3 through 12 reflect a discount for placing sequential ads. The longer sequential period of time you advertise the less you pay per advertisement. Featured advertising button banners and/or product pictures run for the length of your sequential advertising period and needs to be 150x150 in size.

We are a family-friendly website and do not allow websites, blogs, banners, or product pictures that are not family-friendly.

I hope you'll agree that this was a great idea. If you'd like to visit our Everything E-Directory please CLICK HERE.

If you'd like more information on listing in our Everything E-Directory please CLICK HERE.

If you'd like more information on featured advertising in our Everything E-Directory and Everything E For Crafts E-Directory Blog please CLICK HERE.

I hope you decide to join us.

Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls - "Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"

It's Never To Early For Starting Handmade Gifts

2009-05-20T06:27:00.004-04:00

With the good weather here you'd have to be crazy to be thinking of Christmas and Christmas presents.

Well, crazy - yes!

A planner - definitely!

Organized - sometimes a bit too obsessively!

For the last two months I've spent a LOT of time sitting on the sofa next to my cairn terrier, Bud, who was recovering from his spleen removal surgery and his recent stroke. He wasn't allowed to jump on or off the sofa's - which is his favorite place to be - so I sat there with him until he wanted to get down. Then I'd barricade the sofas with pillows so I could leave and he wouldn't jump up on them.

Since I hate idle hands ( i.e. I'm a multi-tasker) and don't like watching TV during the day I decided to kill two birds with one stone and get some of my crafting done. You might also say that I'm an obsessive crafter - I always have some craft kit or sewing project in my hands. You know how it is!

Earlier this year I decided that from now on the bulk of my Christmas presents were going to be handmade by me. And, since I have a lot of Christmas presents to give that means I need to start creating them way ahead of time.

So, I decided to start on some of the punchneedle, cross stitch, needlepoint, wool felt, and beaded kits that I'd bought last year or even years upon years ago. I searched throughout my house to find all my "works in progress" and "unfinished projects" - and there were a LOT of them. You know how it is!

I gathered them all together, sorted them into different categories, put all the kits for a particular category into its own tote bag (I just LOVE tote bags for this!) and sat down to decide which to do first. Since I just LOVE punchneedle I decided to start on those first. Maybe I'd even sprinkle a few cross-stitch in there as well. The needlepoint's would definitely be last.

Weeks later and I'm thrilled to say that I got 18 punchneedle kits finished and two cross-stitch kits finished. I'd forgotten how tedious and time consuming cross-stitch can be. Punchneedle is just so much faster to complete than the cross-stitch. That's probably why I love it so much.

I've already mounted and famed two of the large 8 x 10" punchneedle creations. They came out really nice - if I don't say so myself. And, I managed to mount all the rest of the punchneedle and cross-stitch kits I'd finished on self-stick mounting boards. Some were mounted on the harder self-stick mounting boards and some were mounted on the self-stick foam mounting boards.

Since they're all mounted this means that I need to ask my dear, loving brother to help me, once again, create shadow boxes and frames for all my punchneedle and cross-stitch creations. Hopefully, he won't mind! This time I have a few ideas that might challenge his skills - which he loves to do.

Last year he helped me create shadow box frames for some of the punchneedle gifts I gave last Christmas and which I wrote about on my Linda's Blog in a post entitled My Punchneedle Gifts . We had a lot of fun doing that and I just LOVE working in his workshop. Maybe I'll take a picture of his workshop so you can all see why it's a GREAT place to create.

In any event, I've made really good progress on some of my handmade Christmas gifts. Of course, I have a LOT more to complete - just don't tell my brother! I'll have to work on him to help me with these later on in the year.

My house is a mess and I have tote bags all over the house. Each has some project in it that is in some stage of completion. All can easily be picked up and started whenever I sit in that chair or on that sofa - you know how it is! All can easily be moved from the house, to the car, or wherever I might be at the moment.

Of course, once everything is done I'll be sure to take pictures so you all can see what I've been working on. That may have to wait until after the holidays - unless, of course, I decide to keep some of my creations for myself - which I may just do. You know how it is!

In any event, it's never to early to start making your Christmas gifts. At least not in my house! Now where did I put that tote bag with the beaded kits? I know I put it...... You know how it is!

Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls - "Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"

Graphic Copyright © 2008 Denise Bailey of KKL Primitives

The History of Faceless Dolls - REVISED 5/19/09

2009-05-19T10:55:00.006-04:00

Several years ago I wrote a post for my Linda's Blog on "The History of Faceless Dolls" and subsequently posted that same article on my "The Best FREE Craft Articles" blog. After my article was posted on "The Best Free Crafts Articles" blog I received an anonymous comment telling me that the Dominican Republic had a tradition of "faceless dolls."

I was intrigued by this comment and have been wanting to research the faceless dolls in the Dominican Republic for quite some time. I just have not had the time to do so.

Well, in researching my recent article on A Little Research Into The History Of The Goddess Doll, Spirit Doll, and Healing Doll I ran across some information on the "faceless" dolls of the Dominican Republic so I thought I'd revise my original "The History of Faceless Dolls" article to include the new information.

Here's my REVISED article with the Dominican Republic "faceless" dolls included, as well as additional information on other "faceless" doll traditions I have found out about:

If you're a reader of my Linda's Blog then you know that I just LOVE research. In thinking about my recent post on my Victorian "faceless" dolls I started to wonder exactly what the history of faceless dolls was. So, of course I had to find out.

I figured that there had to be a history of faceless dolls or, at least, some cultures and norms. Believe it or not but there isn't a lot of information on either the history of faceless dolls or cultures and norms that started such a tradition.

There is some information on two of the most popular and widely known faceless dolls - Amish dolls and Corn husk dolls. And there is the legend surrounding Raggedy Ann and "faceless" dolls. I was also surprised that there wasn't more information on "faceless" dolls throughout history. I thought for sure that they had to have been around for a long, long time.

In doing my research, what I was pleasantly surprised with was the application of "faceless" dolls for so many current charities or organizations. More on that a little later.

Probably the oldest legend has to do with "faceless" corn husk dolls. Some say they are the oldest form of doll known in America. The corn husk doll shown to the right is a picture of a corn husk doll that is in the USU Museum of Anthropology.

Shown below is the information from the Utah State University website:

Object ID: 98.01.189
Cultural Affiliation:North American Pioneer Child’s Doll
Date of Manufacture: 1800 to mid-1900 (Pioneer Settlement 2004)
Place of Manufacture: Pioneer homesteads and farms in North America

This doll functioned as a child’s toy.

Manufacturing Technique - The husks were harvested while they were still fresh and dry. They used only the unblemished part of the husks and saved the fullest, heaviest, and cleanest husks for dolls. They also saved the better corn silk for use as hair (Merrill, 2004). The husks were then soaked in lukewarm water in a pan or shallow basin to soften them. The doll was then assembled by creating the head, arms, body, sleeves, and skirt. Next the apron, hair, bonnet and broom were attached. The doll was then dyed using natural dyes and the eyes, nose and mouth were inked on. (Merrill 2004).

Materials - corn husks, corn silk, cloth, cotton (stuffing), ink, dye and quilting thread.

Designs/Symbolism - The doll is designed to look like a mature pioneer woman with a broom and an apron to show the woman was doing daily chores. Toys for pioneer children helped to show them their place in society. Dolls were used to teach girls how to love and care for a baby to help them become better mothers (Corn husk Dolls 1976).

Size - 17.5 cm tall, 7.5 cm in diameter, and 5 cm wide.

The corn husk dolls pictured to the left are from the "Library and Archives of Canada - The Kids Site of Canadian Settlement". If you would like to learn how to make simple corn husk dolls the "The Kids Site of Canadian Settlement" website has a wonderful pictorial on how to make a corn husk doll from 10 to 15 corn husks.

The Manataka American Indian Council website also has a wonderful tutorial for making corn husk dolls. The Tutorial is entitled "How To Make A Corn Husk Doll" under the Oneida Corn Husk Doll page.

According to Iroquois legend the Iroquois people had three sisters - corn, beans, and squash or the "sustainers of life." The corn spirit wanted to do something extra for her people so the Creator allowed her to create a beautiful doll from her husks which was to roam the earth and bring brotherhood and contentment to the Iroquois nation. The doll went from village to village playing with the children. Everywhere she went everyone would tell her how beautiful she was.

One day this very, very beautiful doll went into the woods and saw herself in a pool of water. She saw how very, very beautiful she was and this caused her to become very vain and naughty. Kind of sounds like my "Celia" doll, doesn't it? Anyway, the dolls vanity and attitude did not sit well with the people or the Creator. The Creator warned her that this was not the right kind of behavior. She paid attention for a while (as all dolls do) but caught sight of herself in a pool of water again and thought to herself how beautiful indeed she was.

Suddenly out of the sky came a giant screeching owl that snatched her reflection right out of the water. When she looked again at the poll of water she saw nothing. This was her punishment. She would have no face and would roam the earth forever looking for something to redeem herself. Iroquois mothers passed the legend and "faceless" corn husk dolls down to their children to remind them that vanity is a bad thing and that they are not better than anyone else.

Also, while researching corn husk dolls I came across some pictures of some beautiful Mexican corn husk dolls that use dyed corn husks decorated with ribbons and accents. If you'd like to see pictures of the Mexican corn husk dolls dressed in traditional Mexican costume please CLICK HERE.

The Amish have strong religious beliefs which influence their daily lives. Their dress is plain and simple and so are the dolls they make for their children. According to the Amish tradition, the Bible says that you are not supposed to make anything that is in the image or likeness of a male or female. For that reason the dolls are "faceless" like those depicted in the picture of the "Amish Doll Patterns By Jan Steffy Mast" book to the left.

In some Amish homes even "faceless" dolls were forbidden. Instead of a doll the children were given a piece of wood wrapped in a blanket. Since very few toys were allowed in an Amish household, boys and girls both played with the dolls. Both boy and girl dolls were made.

If you were to examine an old Amish doll you might see 4 or 5 layers of cloth on the head or the body. If the doll became too dirty, ripped or worn then it was covered with a new piece of material.

Most Amish women have been making dolls (faceless and with faces) for their children for generations. This tradition has become a cottage industry for the Amish community. The picture top and left is of a popular "faceless" Amish boy and girl doll.

Over 20 years ago I bought a similar set of "faceless" Amish dolls. My dolls had on burgundy and black outfits but, pretty much, looked like the picture. I would have included a picture of my two "faceless" Amish dolls in this article but I can't remember where they are right now. They're here somewhere.

In the Dominican Republic ceramic "faceless" dolls like those shown in the picture on the right from the GoDominicanRepublic.com website are handcrafted of clay and dressed in bright, colorful traditional clothing.

The dolls depict all different sorts of Dominican country life. Some hold flowers, some carry baskets on their heads, some carry pots, etc. Legend has it that the dolls are "faceless" because the Dominicans are a very diverse and mixed population (i.e. 75) of the population is mixed of Spanish, French, Indian, and African heritage) and it's impossible to create a doll with a face representing all Dominican women as no one knows for sure what one would look like as the population is so mixed. So, the doll is "faceless" as a symbol of an all-inclusive culture and to remind everyone that differences in color and appearance are meaningless.

Another legend of the Dominican Republican is the "faceless" dolls are handcrafted of glazed terra cotta and represent women selling produce door to door. They were vendors for the various cities and towns and were called "Machantas" which means merchant. They are "faceless" to this day to represent all the housewives who bought their produce for years.

The Dominican Creations website has a page on the Neoarte and Higuerito "Faceless" Dolls that they sell on their website. It's well worth visiting to read about the "faceless" dolls they sell on their website.

As far as Raggedy Ann is concerned, one of the legends surrounding her creation is that a little girl was rummaging around her Grandmother's attic and finds a faceless, battered old doll. She brings the doll into her fathers art studio and tells him all about finding it in the attic. He looks at his daughter and the faceless doll and decides to draw a whimsical face on it and then tells her to see if her Grandmother would sew two button eyes on. And so Raggedy Ann was born.

There are several "faceless" dolls in ancient Russian history. Most were made of fabric and cloth and were made for children to play with. The dresses and costumes were always brightly colored and sometimes embroidered with various symbols. According to old Slavic superstition it was believed that if the doll remained faceless that the doll would be viewed as an inanimate object and therefore could not be possessed by evil spirits. Thus, the doll was deemed harmless and child could safely play with the doll without worry that harm might befall them.

In Russian peasant families young girls were encouraged to make dolls and play with them as teaching aides for being mothers. Plus, creating the dolls provided them with some of the sewing, knitting, and weaving skills they would need.

Also, in ancient Russian traditional a "faceless" bride and groom sewn together were given as a wedding gift with the hopes of preserving wealth and health to the newlywed's home.

In Japan "Sarubobo" dolls like the picture on the left from Wikipedia.com are human shaped "faceless" dolls, red in color and of various shapes and sizes. They are traditionally made by Grandmothers for their grandchildren. They are also given to daughters as good luck charms for a good marriage, easy delivery and healthy children, and a happy home. They have no faces so the owner can imagine it and the "Sarubobo" can reflect the owner's feelings. When the owner is sad the doll is sad - when the owner is happy the doll is happy.

I have been wanting to create some "goddess dolls" also known as spirit dolls, healing dolls, or mixed media art dolls for awhile and posted about this in an article on my Linda's Blog entitled"My Goddess Doll Adventure So Far!"

I also did some research on them which I posted about in my article on my Linda's Blog entitled A Little Research Into The History Of The Goddess Doll, Spirit Doll, and Healing Doll.

What I discovered was that "goddess dolls" or spirit, healing, mixed media art dolls have also been associated with voodoo dolls, pagan rituals, and witchcraft. But, they all relate to "the goddess" and "goddess traditions."

Some "goddess dolls" have been used for good purposes and some used, well, not for good purposes. They have been seen in various cultures all over the world, and in various religions - in various different forms and mediums. It seems that they are as old as time itself and traditional in almost every culture.

Some of the "goddess dolls" that I have seen are either faceless (which is fine with me) or have cloth faces, clay faces, have sun or moon faces, even beaded faces. Some of the face shapes are round or oval, some are square, and some are triangles. Some of the faces are made of clay, some of cloth and some are even made of beads.

Whatever the face is the dolls are meant to share your hopes, dreams, and listen to your fears. They provide comfort and solace in your time of need. They provide you with the strength you need to face the challengers in your life and empower you to succeed. To release your own "inner goddess." They are lovingly made and given out of heartfelt love from one human being to another. They offer nothing more than love, compassion, understanding, and peace.

In the book "Cloth Dolls From Ancient To Modern" by Linda Edward in Chapter 1 - Page 7 there is a wonderful illustration of a "faceless" 3rd century Roman rag doll made of linen, courtesy of Eric Edward, NVA. In Chapter 3 - Page 20 there is a wonderful picture of a "faceless" Amish Doll from the late 20Th century and the Pennsylvania Dutch area.

If you'd like to read my "The Book Review Corner" blog review of "Cloth Dolls From Ancient To Modern please CLICK HERE.

In doing my research on faceless dolls I was delighted to run across some websites concerning the application of "faceless" dolls today and why they were chosen or made "faceless." One of the websites concerned the Children With Aids Project (CWA) which was created by Joy and Jim Jenkins. CWA offers a variety of services to children infected or affected by AIDS. One of these services is giving "faceless" dolls to the children infected or affected by Aids. Why did they decide to make and sell "faceless" dolls. Because AIDS is a "faceless" disease. According to their CWA Adopt-A-Doll Project website, by buying one of the dolls you can support their mission to recruit families to provide loving, caring permanent homes for the HIV infected, affected and orphaned children.

Another article about "faceless" dolls concerned the dolls of Gloria Larocque. She has created 100 or more "faceless" dolls based upon the Iroquois legend that warns young girls about the dangers of vanity. According to the article her purpose, however, is different. Her dolls represent Canada's murdered aboriginal women, a group made faceless not by vanity but by neglect. Her project has helped draw attention to the plight of the murdered aboriginal women.

According to Gloria:"The dolls will act as a centre-piece for educating children about traditional Aboriginal culture, maintaining cultural integrity through a contemporary setting. As a teaching tool kit, the idea will be to plant seeds of survival skills concepts such as choice, strength, education, cultural connection and knowledge of self.

The kit will contain a doll in the same fashion as an Aboriginal Angel Doll, and will be presented as an “elder”. The doll will be known as Kookum RETA (grandmother rejuvenate, educate, traditional, acceptance) of the Aboriginal people from Turtle Island. The power of the elder teaching the young is a traditional aboriginal teaching method."

There was article by Brenda Tobias on the Cornell University website concerning Hurricane Katrina and something the alumni did to help the children affected by Hurricane Katrina. A group of 100 alumni got together to sew "faceless" dolls for the children. Doll decorating kits and coloring books were assembled and sent to the children to comfort them.

And, finally there is "The Comfort Doll Project" by Pat Winter. I had written about this previously in my Linda's Blog in a post entitled Pat Winter's "The Comfort Doll Project".

"The Comfort Doll Project" benefits women of abuse and gives small mixed media dolls (some with faces and others without) to various women's shelters which are then give to a woman who has just been beaten, raped, or abused.

According to Pat Winter, "I know some may think making dolls to give to a woman who has just been beaten, raped, or abused in some way is like putting a band-aid on an amputation. Well, I see it as sending a message of hope,love,and encouragement. A gentle hug,a smile,a nudge to go forward and see there is sunshine behind the mountain.

Imagine a woman being handed a beautiful handmade doll with a message of hope attached. This doll ,from a stranger whom she will never meet,yet makes this connection of love and caring from one heart to another. A stranger who can imagine, if not know firsthand where she has been and hoping she will have brighter days ahead. The woman carries this doll in her purse, pocket, or perhaps pinned to her lapel, knowing someone cared enough to think of her. When she needs strength, she strokes it or admires it and her lips turn up with a smile and her heart warms. Yes, I am a dreamer but I do think this will happen. Actually I KNOW this will happen. Won't you join me?"

If you'd like more information on the "The Comfort Doll Project" please visit Pat Winter's "The Comfort Doll Project" blog.

I think you all know that I, personally, love faceless dolls. Victorians, primitives, colonial, prairie dolls, rag dolls, or country style dolls. It doesn't matter. I love them all and I'm thrilled to learn that there are hundreds of artists and crafters who are now creating various types of "faceless" dolls.

In fact, I created a video to reflect my feelings about this which are: "Beauty lies not only in what is seen, but what is imagined. I believe the essence of a dolls faceless beauty should determine her personality." Please CLICK HERE if you'd like to view my "Linda's Faceless Beauties" video.

Why do I love the faceless doll so much?

Because I think by being "faceless' the doll can be anything you want him or her to be. You create the dolls personality to be exactly what you imagine it to be. Their personality, therefore, reflects your creativity and your feelings.

And, as we've seen from the above mentioned articles the application can be heartwarming, meaningful and beautiful.

Copyright © 2009, 2006 - All Rights Reserved - Written Linda Walsh of Linda Walsh Originals, Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns, Linda Walsh Originals DOLLS , and Linda's Blog. Linda is a doll maker and doll pattern designer. http://lindawalshoriginals.com/

He's Our Baby and Our "Bud!"

2009-05-18T10:42:00.021-04:00

If you're a reader of my Linda's Blog you know that we have a cairn terrier who is our "baby." He's the "king" of the house and a demanding "king" to boot.

But, he's our "Bud" and our baby and when he's hurting we are hurting and the last two months for Bud haven't been the best.

You see, two years ago he was diagnosed with diabetes, which our veterinarian told us was a manageable disease for dogs and was no longer a death sentence. So, we learned all we could about diabetes in dogs and give him two shots a day of insulin. The vet showed us how to administer the shots so he doesn't get hurt and it seems to be working. Of course, he gets a few treats afterwards for being such a good boy.

Well, with the diabetes comes a problem with his teeth so we have to get his teeth cleaned every year and decided to have this done in April of this year. Since they have to anesthetize him for the teeth cleaning the vet does a more thorough exam of his whole body. During this exam she thought she felt a mass near his spleen and took an x-ray of his belly which revealed an egg size mass next to or in his spleen.

Now, "Bud" is 12 years old and overweight and like some older dogs has masses all over his body. Some of "Bud's" masses are fat and some are benign cysts. However, this one was different. The vet told us that he would need to have his spleen removed as the mass could rupture at any time and referred us to another vet whose specialty was surgery in dogs.

So, we went to see the specialist and she, too, told us the spleen would have to be removed but it wasn't an organ that dogs really need and that he'd be fine without it. He'd be able to bounce back from the surgery with no problems. As time was of the essence we scheduled the surgery for the next day. She did however caution us that she wouldn't know until she had performed the surgery whether the mass was malignant and whether there were any other issues of that nature with surrounding organs.

The surgical vet called and told us that the mass was inside his spleen and she had to remove it. She also told us that he had another egg sized mass inside his abdomen that she also had to remove. She'd sent both masses to be analyzed and would have the results back in a few days. She said the surgery went fine and that his liver seemed normal and that there didn't seem to be any problem there.

"Bud" made it through the surgery with flying colors and we brought him home the next day for recovery. The vet sent us home with pain medicine that he'd need for a few days and told us that due to the 4" incision along the middle of his belly he couldn't jump up or down or go on walks for 10 to 14 days. We had to get the pain medicine in liquid form as since birth our "Bud" has had periods where he's nauseous and won't eat or drink water until he's better. I wanted the liquid pain medicine as I didn't want to encounter one of those days when he wouldn't eat or drink and not be able to give him pain medicine.

We got a call from the surgical vet in a few days with the results on the two masses and they were both benign which was wonderful news for us. Needless to say "Bud" quickly recovered and had his staples removed after 14 days and got a wonderful report from the surgical vet. "Bud" was back to normal.

For all intent purposes "Bud" was back to normal - or so we thought. Unfortunately last Sunday morning (Mother's Day) at about 10:00 o'clock and totally of of the blue he had a full blown seizure. We rushed him to the vets office and by the time we got there he was no longer seizing. The vet examined him and said that looking at him you'd never know that he'd just had a seizure. He didn't have a temperature and his blood sugar was normal. He said he might never have another one and to watch him during the next 24 hours. He might have another one, which was okay, as long as they weren't in clusters and weren't longer than 2 minutes or so.

At 12:00 midnight he had another full blown seizure. When he had a third full blown seizure at 3:00 o'clock in the morning we rushed him to the Tufts Veterinary hospital. They admitted him and told us that he would be moved from intensive care to neurology in the morning. They wanted to monitor him and had an I/V set-up so that if he did have more seizures they could give him the anti-seizure medicine intravenously. The Emergency Room Vet thought it was possible that the seizures were created by tumors in his brain.

"Bud" had another seizure at 6:00 o'clock in the morning and they administered the anti-seizure medicine. He was transferred to neurology in the morning and was evaluated by the vet neurologist specialist. They did a series of tests and an MRI and determined that he didn't have any brain tumors and that he, in fact, had a stroke caused by high blood pressure exacerbated by his diabetes. Of course, the stroke could have been caused by a blood clot from the surgery, but the neurologist thought the most likely cause was the high blood pressure exacerbated by the diabetes.

We, of course, were concerned about what this meant for "Bud" and his quality of life. The neurologist vet told us that, unlike humans, dogs are very resilient and can recover from strokes without any problems. The stroke was not in an area of the brain to be concerned with and didn't cause any permanent damage. In a few days, "Bud" would be fine and in a few weeks - back to normal.

He told us that "Bud" needed to be on anti-seizure medicine (3 times a day) for a year or more and, maybe, for the rest of his life. He also needed to be on blood pressure medicine until his blood sugar levels were lowered resulting in his blood pressure being normal. If we could control his diabetes better than he could go off the blood pressure medicine. So, we brought "Bud" home with a bunch of prescriptions and information on handling all of this.

The first couple of days "Bud" was very unsteady on his feet and would just suddenly collapse so we had to monitor him very closely. We were told not to let him jump up or down off the sofa's, go near stairs, or near water as if he had another seizure he could seriously hurt himself.

The good news is that he hasn't had another seizure in a week and seems almost back to normal. In fact, he hasn't had his walks in a few weeks and is starting to get very demanding about them. We know he wants to go on his walks, but that will have to wait just a little longer. King or no king.

Looking at him you'd never know that he had such an ordeal during the last two months. Our "baby" is almost back to normal.

That's the good news. What I didn't tell you was that 1 week after our "Bud" had surgery my husband had a minor surgery. So, I had my hands full - so to speak - for the last two months with both my "kings" in recovery. And, BOTH, very demanding.

Happily, both are on the road to recovery. My husband's surgery will take a few more weeks to heal, but "Bud" is almost back to normal.

Given that he thinks he's a "king" he's not going to wait for my husband to fully recover before he starts DEMANDING that he take him for a walk. Surgery or no surgery I need a walk - NOW!

Yes, your highness!

Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls - "Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"

A Little Research Into The History Of The Goddess Doll, Spirit Doll, and Healing Doll

2009-05-15T06:18:00.001-04:00

I decided to do a little research into the history of the goddess dolls, healing dolls or spirit dolls before I embarked on my endeavor to make some of them.

Well, I have to tell you that what I thought would be a simple research project turned out to be anything but. You see, right now goddess dolls are also known as spirit dolls, healing dolls, or mixed media art dolls. Over time they have also been associated with voodoo dolls, pagan rituals, and witchcraft. But, they all relate to "the goddess" and "goddess traditions."

Some "goddess dolls" have been used for good purposes and some used, well, not for good purposes. They have been seen in various cultures all over the world, and in various religions - in various different forms and mediums. It seems that they are as old as time itself and traditional in almost every culture.

So, where to begin? And, what do they all have in common? And, who actually started the craze for them in the mixed media art community? So many questions, so many places to review.

At least there seems to be a ton of information on "the goddess" - which is both good and bad. Good because there's information. Bad because it's going to take time - which I don't have a lot of. But, I'll see what I can find out.

What they do all seem to have in common is a celebration of the goddess and femininity and life. They all seem to represent Mother Nature (i.e. the Great Mother), fertility, and all things associated with birth and death.

In witchcraft and pagan traditions she is known as the Virgin, Mother, and Crone (which is death). The Goddess is the giver and taker of life - the nourisher and protector. She represents the human life cycle - birth, life, and death.

In ancient times it is speculated by some historians that "God" was feminine and tied to beliefs in nature and fertilization. As such, some of the first goddess figures were carved "Venus" figures and some were cave paintings of women giving birth. At various points in time the goddess figures are adorned or even portrayed as various types of animals.

Some of the oldest artifacts discovered are representations of the fertility goddess.

During early times the Christian Church tried to suppress Paganism and Gnosticism and portray it as evil. They were not able to totally suppress the goddess and finally allowed for the worship of Mary, The Mother of God. But, she could not be called "Mother Goddess" or "Goddess."

Mermaids represent "goddesses" who are balanced and strong. They have abundant love and healing energy.

Chakra dolls are used for healing and spiritual purposes.

Native American Kachina dolls are various types of spiritual dolls. According to Wikipedia.com: "The Hopi use Kachina dolls to embody the characteristics of the Kachinas, the powerful spirits of the Earth, east, west, south, north, the sky and water."

Goddesses have been worshiped in Egyptian mythology, Norse mythology, Celtic mythology, Hinduism, Buddhism, Paganism, Gnosticism, Christianity, Wicca or White Witchcraft, and other earth based religions.

African cultures, ancient India, the Caribbean and Mexico, even European cultures, all had sculpted and adorned figures representing the goddess and their history and beliefs.

For the ancient Greeks Artemis was probably the oldest of the "goddesses" and the only goddess in her own right having been born of a woman. It was believed that she ruled over birth, love, death, and even fate. She was also very protective of women and their strength, independence and intuition.

In several countries in Africa the goddess is seen in "Fertility Goddess Dolls" which are prayed to not only for the birth of strong and healthy babies, but for the prosperity and health of the tribe and/or village.

Various aspects of "Mother Nature", also known as "Mother Earth", have her being the ultimate healer, wise and strong with innate wisdom or intuition.

Goddesses or priestesses in myth are both strong and sensual. Healers and protectors. Wise beyond their years.

In the Scottish Highlands "Brigid" was the goddess of fertility who oversaw the land, nature, and all upon it. She was a protector of children and advocate for women. For Pagan goddesses Brigid is probably the oldest and most widely recognized.

So, what do all these traditions, cultures, and religions have in common when it comes to the "goddess" and "goddess" figurines or dolls? Well, they all relate to femininity and the birth, life, and death cycle. The figurines in whatever form they take help with that understanding.

Goddess dolls promote all aspects of femininity, humanity, spirituality, compassion, humility, healing power, beauty, love, wisdom, peace, passion, truth, strength, intuition, fulfillment and empowerment. The goddess is seen embracing all aspects of life, all seasons, and all natural elements and goddess dolls represent all of her various aspects.

The "goddess" figurines come in all different sizes, shapes, and mediums. Some are made of wood, some are made of cloth, stone, clay, or even paper. Some are pictures, some are sculptures, and some are a mixture. Some have arms and legs while others have oddly shaped bodies which may or may not contain arms. It seems that no matter what size, type, or medium used to create the goddess doll or figurine they have been around since the beginning of time and in almost every culture for various purposes.

Whether it is to provide a plentiful crop for the season, a healthy baby, to heal the sick, provide strength for those in need, or comfort the suffering they are there to empower whoever believes in them. Whatever it is you need help with, understanding of, or compassion for the "goddess doll" is there for you.

So, what did all this research tell me?

Well, I did not find out who created the 1st mixed media goddess doll. What I did find out was that today's "goddess dolls" are there to share your hopes, dreams, and listen to your fears. They provide comfort and solace in your time of need. They provide you with the strength you need to face the challengers in your life and empower you to succeed. To release your own "inner goddess." They are lovingly made and given out of heartfelt love from one human being to another. They offer nothing more than love, compassion, understanding, and peace.

Copyright © 2009 - All Rights Reserved - Written By Linda Walsh of Linda Walsh Originals, Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns and Linda's Blog. Linda is a doll maker and doll pattern designer. http://lindawalshoriginals.com

My Goddess Doll Adventure So Far!

2009-05-05T12:00:00.014-04:00

In February I wrote a post on my Linda's Blog entitled "Why Not Be Adventuresome!" which was about my buying a batch of 10 small goddess art forms from Monica Magness of "Girl Gone Thread Wild" blog that she had for sale on her GirlGoneThreadWild Etsy shop.

I wanted to try something different this year and have been wanting to make some mixed media "goddess dolls" as I haven't made any as of yet. The doll body forms that I bought ranged between 4"-6" tall in size and are of of various colors.

Some of the "goddess dolls" that I have seen are either faceless (which is fine with me) or have cloth faces, clay faces, have sun or moon faces, even beaded faces. Some of the face shapes are round or oval, some are square, and some are triangles. I haven't quite decided what kind of face I want to try as of yet, but I always like to be prepared.

They probably will be clay so I decided to buy some polymer clay to sculpt my own and also buy some polymer clay masks to use in the event my clay ones don't look exactly as I had envisioned them. If these don't work then they may have cloth faces or be faceless. I might even try beaded faces although I think they were be difficult to do. Or, I may just decide to do several of each. I just won't know until I start creating them.

Next I need to decide whether they should have hair or no hair. Headdress or no headdress? Since I was running out of doll hair (well, not really, but you never know what you want to use until you start creating) I also decided to replenish my supply of doll hair. I made a note to look at the yarn sections of my local craft stores and also look on line at some of my favorite doll hair websites to see if there was anything that caught my eye and would help me to decide which way to go with the hair.

I decided to buy some hair from one of my favorite websites for doll hair, Cloth Doll Hair Supplies at http://www.clothdollhair.com as Suzy was offering a discount to all her Twitter followers (which I am one of).

Also, I wanted my "goddess dolls" to have beaded decorations along their bodies or in their clothes (should I decide to add something along these lines) so I decided to visit my local craft stores to see what they had. I was expecting a little section of beads. Au Contraire! Make that ROWS and ROWS of beads. Aisles and aisles of beads. So many so that it was almost impossible to decide.

Should they be round? Should they be flat? Should there be a combination of the two? Should they be large, small, or medium in size? What color? Solid or multi-colored? Shiny or not? And on and on it went!

Obviously, this was not going to be as easy as I had thought. I really hadn't thought this through and should have tried to design what I wanted my goddess dolls to look like before I attempted to by the beads. Should they be traditional mixed media art dolls or should I make them a little different? Maybe they shouldn't even have beads? But, I really want to try beading as the dolls I've seen are just so beautiful. Time consuming to make, but beautiful.

In any event, I bought several different colors and sizes of beads and because I like to be organized I also bought some containers to house my beads. Can't have them falling all over the floor. That would not be good!

So, now I have my doll forms, various ways to make the faces, and lots and lots of beads. Since I just love history next on my agenda is to do a little research on the Internet on "goddess dolls" also known as healing dolls and spirit dolls. I'm not sure what this will tell me - other than I just love research, especially on different doll legends.

What I'm hoping is that it might just help me decide what type of "goddess dolls, healing dolls, or spirit dolls" I want to create. It might even inspire me to create a goddess doll, healing doll, or spirit doll design of my own - which, of course, I'd create an e-pattern for. Oh, what a delightful adventure this is going to be. Wish me luck.

I'll let you know what I find out.

Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls - "Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"

They Certainly Are A Trio Of Patriots!

2009-05-05T06:23:00.000-04:00

There is no doubt that "Uncle Warren - A True Patriot", "Uncle Pat! Rah! Rah! America", and "Uncle George! A Patriot Thru and Thru!" love their country. There isn't a trio of primitive brothers more patriotic than they are.

They know their patriotic. However, that isn't all they think they are. You see, despite their age and senior citizen status, the 3 brothers consider themselves quite the Romeo's when it comes to the ladies. So much so that they have a running bet as to who can date the most number of women in the commonwealth by the end of the year.

But, it can't be just any women. Oh, no! It has to be beautiful women of society. And, the younger the better!

So, who do you think will win? Will it be "Uncle Warren - A True Patriot" or "Uncle Pat! Rah! Rah! America" or "Uncle George! A Patriot Thru and Thru!"

Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls -"Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals DOLLS NEW Website- Handmade Dolls & Crafts
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"