March Journal Darling Doll

Here is MARCIA! She is all about springtime, light, and hope. She says: Hello, dear BJPers, I am happy to see you. Forgive me if I do not write the introductory rhyme myself - I am too busy admiring the fresh leaves, first flowers, blue skies, white clouds, and enjoying the SUNSHINE! So I will just sit back and leave the talking to Sabine:


The seventh personality
has become reality.
With winter gone and springtime coming
MARCIA is softly humming
a little tune under her breath
while she picks flowers for a wreath.
She's just as happy as can be,
which in turn is pleasing me.

The days - at last - are growing longer,
the sun shines brightly, ever stronger,
putting an end to cold and dark.
I took a walk through our park.

This is Marcia's rear, as she looks down at the garden. Not much of a garden, as there is too much shade, but it does have some tulips and daffodils peeping out, some bushes in bloom, birds singing non-stop.


Considering that many flowers - not only at this time of the year - sold in the shops and on the markets here are imported from the Netherlands, Marcia wears Dutch shoes. They served as keyring embellishment originally, and as they are made of porcelaine, they go "click, click" when Marcia moves.

Now let us have a look at two close-ups. The front:


Marcia's unruly hair is crocheted - one row of single crochet on a chain, the kind that twists by itself. The individual strands are mounted on a piece of netting from a vegetable package. I meant to hide the start and finish threads under the netting, but then decided to pull them out to give the hair a wilder look.

And here is the back, or rather the backpack:


Only two letters are bead-embroidered, the rest are metal letters I cut off something undefinable that was flying around in my "paraphernalia box".

Here is the documentation of a family gathering, showing Marcia and her six sisters, giving her a warm welcome:


As I said on BJP Blog # 3, this month's doll is dedicated to Pam T., whom we admire as person and artist, and to whom a flow of our best wishes and support goes all the time.

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I think it is about time to give credit to a faithful helper!


The cheerful little piggy, always in the background, always there when I need to wax a thread, has been with me for about seven years now. I bought it at a beeswax stall in a market, meaning to get a clump of beeswax for thread treatment, but nothing like that was available. So I said I would take the cheapest and ugliest candle instead and chose the kitschy piggy. The saleswoman naturally did neither like, nor agree to, the word "ugly", and I must say, over the years I have got used to Thread Piggy's looks, even find it quite endearing, and really extremely useful. When you click to enlarge, you can see many of the thread-pulling-through-traces, and still - Thread Piggy keeps on smiling and smiling ...

Sending springtime smiles to you,

Sabine

February's Feline Fab

February had two highlights in store for me:

On the 14th (Saturday), I visited an exhibition where loads and loads of precious and semi-precious stones and jewellery could be admired and bought. I spent hours there walking around, looking, enjoying myself tremendously, but buying very little, like some small agate slices. I had to have two cups of coffee to keep me going. Must have been semi-precious coffee, to judge by the price.

Only four days later, on the 18th (Wednesday), I made a day excursion with my best friend and her husband to another town to visit a zoo where a litter of six cheetah cubs is being hand-raised, because their mother, in another zoo, can't or won't bring her children up herself. You cannot imagine how thrilled I was! Now, cheetah is my first and foremost, absolute favourite animal of all. They are so proud, elegant, beautiful ...

Some time ago, I happened to talk to my friend about how much I love cheetah. She must have listened very attentively, because at our next meeting she asked me whether I was free on that and that day. I was. Well, she would like to go somewhere with me. Alright, but where? The only reply I got was a secretive smile. Would it be alright if her husband came along, too? Of course. That meant we would be going some place that he was also interested in. This clue, however, did not get me any nearer the solution of the secret. I decided to leave it at that and ask no more, trusting that we were going to do something nice on the set day.

We met at the station in the morning, went to the next town by train, changed into a bus. The destination announced on the bus front did ring a bell, but what bell?? When we got off another fortyfive minutes later, it became clear that we had arrived at a zoo, not too big, but very well known in the area. I had never been there before, and therefore was highly pleased to get to know it at last. Still I had no inkling what the sensation of the day would be, what's more, I didn't expect any more suprises.

The zoo was not open yet, so we went for a nice, leisurely lunch. When my friends bought the entrance tickets on our return, the friendly lady cashier said: "The little cheetahs' feeding time is at two-thirty." The secret was out, though just a little earlier than my friends had intended! I cannot describe to you how happy I was - it had been a very long time since I had seen live cheetah, and that had been in their very own environment in Africa. Somehow I had not thought of bringing my camera, but taking photos would have been difficult anyway, because the little cheetah can so far only be watched behind a glass window. We were the first to stand in front of that window even before feeding time. The six of them, five male and one female, were still asleep on the straw-covered floor when we arrived. One after the other, they lazily stretched and cautiously opened their eyes, but when they heard their caretaker arriving and unlocking the door, each one of them was wide awake and very excited. Here came some juicy meat, and after the last morsel had been devoured, playtime began. It was not a sunny day, our feet went ice-cold from standing still on the cold, damp ground, but we did not feel it. We stood there spell-bound for more than an hour. What a lovely day! What thoughtful friends!

So you can clearly see: The themes for my February BJP Journal Darling Doll were obvious. FAB had to tell of cats and stones. Here she is now:

The lady is in good company - she met Mr and Mrs Cheetah.


Fab is happy to get to know you and says:

I am FAB. Wish to remind you
that winter is almost behind you.
(Elsewhere on the globe, I know,
the climate has no ice, no snow.)
You see me wear a furry dress.
However, I would like to stress:
It is synthetik, faked with skill.
For real fur you'd have to kill.

While I speak to you of fur,
I hear a loud, contented purr
coming from Sabine's cat
'cause it received a loving pat.

Did you notice the clever design of Fab's legs? How left and right leg together make up a lion's head? Well, take a closer look: Front ...

... and back ...
Truthfully, I have to admit that this is not quite as clever as it looks. I only noticed the possibilities while cutting the fabric for her legs, and then, of course, I tried to make the most of it.

I chose the face for its colouring, plus it was the "cattiest" face I had got. For Fab's bi-coloured hairdo, I cut up two nylon stockings that had recently lost their respective twins to wear and tear:

This is a close-up of her rear, including the back of her hairdo:


Now, would you believe it, I caught the curious thing trying to peep into my livingroom window!


The theme of her dress front is called "The happy wild cat in its magic garden". Flowers, grass and sky are represented by semi-precious stones and assorted glass beads. The wild cat was a brooch once upon a time and was added to my stash during a flea-market spree.


You have noticed already, of course, that I could not stop taking photographs of Fab once I had got going, so there are two more pictures here showing the doll in different surroundings and with Egyptian accessories. Cats have played an important part in the world at all times.

The picture Fab holds up I made of two images from the zoo leaflet. The front shows a cheetah portrait, the back a lion head, but the lion is mostly covered by her arm.


And finally, here is Fab, the February JDD, standing on my desk supervising while I write this post.


All the best, and have a nice time.

Sabine

Introduction of January 2009 JDD

Here is JANNY, January's Journal Darling Doll, happy to show herself for the first time. I intended her to be rather on the cold side, representing winter and crystal-clear thinking. As far as the material for her body is concerned, I succeeded. It is a very pale and uninteresting yellow, and I only bought it because it has a fruit print in intervals. But as soon as I started selecting the beads, it was clear that her character would take quite another turn. The design of her front developed into one big heart.

Janny's corkscrew locks (I think there is another word for these curls, but if so, I cannot remember it) are made of wire coils that were part of a necklace I bought at a charity shop, with gold-coloured bicones added at the ends. The rest of the hairdo consists of lace.

Somehow, a tiny smudge had settled on the centre of Janny's forehead. It refused to be removed, so I decided to mark Janny's Third Eye. This turned out not to be just a makeshift, but very appropriate.

Now let's have a look at her rear:

I couldn't decide which rearview to post, so here is a second one:

The jumper sleeves and leggings are crocheted. I had planned on knitting them, but then made a decision in favour of crochet as it is quicker and gives more body.

At last, we will let Janny have her say:

Hello to you, Year Zero-Nine!
I'm JANNY, and the fifth in line.
As you can see, it's crystal-clear:
My front is flashy, and my rear.

Right ain't left, and left ain't right ...
Sabine, working late at night,
forgot this basic rule
that she had learnt in school.
To see what happened, watch my feet
when I walk along the street ...
But of course, I don't complain -
I wear my boots in snow and rain.


Stupid things happen! I only realized that there was something wrong with the boots when I put on the second one. Considering the time I had spent making them, I decided to blow perfectionism to the wind and leave everything the way it was.


A close-up of the doll's name and rear design.


During the photo session the glass bird took Janny's fancy, and I let her ride on it. Well, grant a favour to one, and you have to grant it to all of them ...


Keep well, and happy days.

Sabine

December Journal Darling Doll DÉCIA

At last! My BJP December piece is ready. Here is Journal Darling Doll DÉCIA:


This is Décia from her "teddybear" side. The small teddy in the lower left-hand corner amuses itself by dancing in a whirl of stardust, beating the rhythm on the gift parcel it is carrying.

Below Décia grants you a look at her "starry" side:


She won't let me do all the talking, but makes it a point to introduce herself in her own words:

I'm DÉCIA, the December Belle.
Don't you think my outfit swell?
Can you hear the "dingeling"
when my shiny brass bells ring?
The season's symbols, as you see,
make me look quite christmassy.

However, Ms. Sabine says:
"I could do without these days
and will be happy when this formal
time at last returns to normal,
life runs smoothly day by day
in the good, old, comfy way."

Décia's face was a little too black and grey for this design, so I coloured it a little with wax pens: Rouge on her cheeks, lipstick and green eye shadow. You don't really see much of it in the photograph, but still, here is a detail picture of the doll's upper half:


Her hairdo was the least work-intensive one yet. I only had to fix a little curly christmas-tree decocration with a few stitches. That's the kind of hair I would love to have - a profusion of curls, whereas my own hair is spaghetti-straight.

Before I show you the back view, here is a picture of the fabric I used throughout, i.e. for body, arms and legs:


On her back, Décia carries the usual pouch to show off her name and hold her poem.


What's a ladybug doing on a December doll? Well, it was this way: When I had finished embellishing Dècia's front at about two o'clock one morning, I leafed through Robin's book "One Bead at a Time" in order to unwind before retiring. Suddenly - in the middle of cold winter - a ladybug materialized and decided to tour the page I was reading. I wonder what appealed to it most? Maybe seed stitch, as that best resembles its dots?

I used a beetle button I had in my stash for the documentation of this little incident. Here's a closer look at it:


By the way, do you know what ladybugs taste like? I found out about half an hour ago: Bitter. Just before starting on this post I wanted to take a sip of coffee. My cup being red, I did not see the ladybug sitting on the rim, got it on my lips and spat it out instantly because of the taste. Obviously, these little critters have very effective defence tools. (Must be a cousin of the a.m. ladybug, because it is another shade of red and has more dots.)

This is the promised bonus picture of the now four sisters. It hasn't come out very well, but it will have to do for now. Next time I will take a better group photo.


From left to right, you see the following ladies: Décia (December), Nova (November), Octa (October) and Sepia (September).

Décia has a guitar on her lap that is actually a pendant of a necklace. I found that supposed hippie necklace when visiting a Christmas bazar in November. It cost next to nothing, and of course I knew at once that the guitar would be Décia's. This is the complete necklace:


Alright, that's all for today, or rather tonight. It's two o'clock a.m. again, and I want to get some sleep now.

Keep well,
Sabine

Here is the November Journal Darling Doll - at last!

Oh dear - long time no see, two months no post! At last the spell is broken, and here comes NOVA to introduce herself to you:


NOVA is my name so pretty.
I am clever, cool and witty.
Please take note of what I wear
and especially my hair.

November, damp and set in greys,
is nasty, but Sabine says:
"This year the dreary Month Eleven
almost makes me feel in heaven.
Eight weeks the dentist did his thing -
my teeth are cured now, show a 'bling'."

Before telling you a little more about this November lady, have a look at her rear view:



You are wondering about Nova's arms and legs? Do her hands and feet look like teeth to you? Well ... they are. Artificial, not real, but still ... The thing is, this month's theme being teeth, I was somehow guided to the shop window of this antique dealer, and what did I see? I couldn't believe my eyes - there was an old-fashioned dentist's colour-palette, whereas, a few days before, I had made the reluctant acquaintance of a contemporary version - you know, the device used to decide on the correct colour for bridge-building. So here is what I bought and partly dismantled and cleaned for Nova's limbs:


I found it appropriate to choose the photo of a particularly pretty lady for Nova's face. The looks of the "original" are not just pretty, but the image conveys the strong impression that she knew exactly what she wanted - and got it. She is wearing an elaborate hairdo which I meant to leave free for viewing, but in the end that would have spoiled the proportions, so I covered the complete hairdo with beads and bits of shell. Here you see the photo from which I extracted the face:


And now for a closer look at the front of Nova's body to illustrate what else she stands for (apart from the teeth):


In contrast to the October doll, Nova is absolutely free of "disturbing elements".
She does, however, stand for that magpie mentality known so well to all of us:

Give me anything shiny, anything sparkling.
It does not have to be precious in the conventional sense,
but it will be precious to me:
A bit of shell,
a piece of glass washed by the sea,
an unusual pebble,
beads and buttons,
something unidentifiable found in the street.
I will take all this home with me,
delight in it,
cherish it,
admire it,
touch it,
hoard it,
sort it,
store it,
handle it,
sort it again,
and eventually integrate it
into a piece of art.
Ahh yesss ...

When I have finished my December Journal Darling Doll, there will be a bonus picture of the then four sisters.
For the time being, have fun with Nova!

Best wishes for the new year,
Sabine