Guess what I found on one of my junking days at the second hand shop?
THIS…a big bag of mismatched wooden doll pieces and giant peg doll looking things to decorate. Don’t laugh…I know someone is laughing out there. Even here in a world of typed out letters, those giggles are pretty powerful and even the tiniest of giggles can be felt from miles away.
Okay, go ahead and laugh, I know it is a weird bag of sorts. I have never seen these craft supplies before. So for anyone who does the hobby of wooden dolls, understand that not everyone knows what these are. I didn’t, but I do know a bargain when I see one, so I bought them to take home and decorate.
I have always been fascinated by folk art. This bag was a big bag of fun, that’s what I saw.
But before I had a chance to decorate them. I decided to head to an exhibit a museum in our city was having this month.
It was all fabric dolls.
There was no way I was going to be able to create anything like these. If I even tried I would have ended up frustrated and disappointed. Creating is about just letting go and doing what our heart tells is to do.
No stress, no competition, none of that pressure…just create away. Oh and never worry about perfection. Nail it moments sometimes turn out the best little pieces of art.
Okay, back to the museum for inspiration. The dolls at the museum were amazing of course.
Folk art gives us all a bit of history with how things were in others loves when the art piece was created.
Of course my favorite part at the museum was the photography of the native Americans and their lives back in time. So beautiful.
Such much beauty in those old black and white photos. I will have to do a fun post on hunting for old black and white photos at antique shops.
The exhibit had several pieces to get me in the creative mood before I started on my dolls.
My dolls will not be like these beautiful soft sculptures. Look at their detail, just amazing to see up close. I can’t do this you guys, just not happening. I loved seeing these though, so glad they were created for so many people to enjoy.
The horses had a ton of little beads in their designs. The photos are a bit dark. You are not allowed to use the flash in art exhibits.
Some of the dolls did not have faces. I am terrible at faces but I decided I was still going to try to come up with some sort of face when I did my wooden folk art dolls.
Once I got home I pulled out all my wool and vintage yarns and started designing my doll’s dresses.
It was pretty easy, just wrap different colored yarns around the doll.
The faces were hard. But I tend to stick to whimsical things, so I just did some cute little faces with heart cheeks.
The painting part always makes me a little nervous.
For hair I tied yarn strings together and glued onto tops.
Then glued little bits of cut yarn for bangs.
I always add bangs to my dolls, think they look cuter that way.
Adding hair really adds character to them.
Then I needle felted arms for them
I made sleeves out of bits of felt, then added the arms and glued that onto the dolls.
Flowers were the theme for my dolls and lots of color as always.
In my world there are always lots of colors and flowers everywhere. For extra detail, I even added some beaded necklaces.
You probably recognize the Sunflower from an older post. I wanted one of my dolls to be holding a flower and this felt flower was perfect for that.
I started this project around our 4th of July celebrations. I added an Americana doll for a holiday display of mine. I have so many wooden dolls to decorate that I will be making a Fall/pumpkin, Christmas and Easter doll too.
Hope you all enjoyed this dollar day do over and I hope you guys get a chance to create your own folk art dolls. They are fun little conversation pieces to add to our home decor. Maybe a self portrait kind of doll would be fun to do with a photo of you or even a family member that you design your dolls after.
Happy creating everyone.
Where I lived in nw New Mexico the Navajo made these (costly) small figures they call Kachina. The museum you had pics from looked like those. You’re very talented!
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Thank you Ekurie, I know the dolls you are talking about and the museum has hundreds of them. My father-in-law used to have a collection. No one from my side of the family had any though, they are very expensive. I remember seeing them only in the museums and art festivals when I was young. I also hiked a lot and there were drawings (petroglyphs) everywhere on the mountain we lived by so I was always surrounded by beautiful art. Your state is very similar to ours so you know what I am talking about. The sunsets, the desert, all that old history…so pretty everywhere.
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Those are so adorable!!! Have you ever thought about selling some on Etsy?
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Thanks Renee, I am taking a month off to figure out how to get my shop going on our website. I would love to sell little kits with vintage art supplies that I find when I am out shopping second hand. There is so much out there and it just goes to the dumps. Plus I have always encouraged kids being creative even way before I had kids of my own. So sad that art and being creative is not being taught as much anymore in our schools. I have lots of happy memories growing up, spending time with friends and family making art together. Now days it seems most kids are stuck staring at little screens. I am only one person, but maybe I can make little kits to encourage others to start getting off the screens and spend time one on one with others. Again, thank you for your kind comments.
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I sure do wish schools would encourage more arts and crafts in the elementary school stage. These days the tight schedules don’t allow for a whole lot of extra time to do things like that, other than the basic subjects. I loved the museum Native Americans. I actually just started a post last night a little on that subject.
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Me too. The Native Americans always design and make beautiful pieces.
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Now I am not for wooden dolls, but yours I have to say are very good. They are beautiful.
I hope you are proud of what you have made there.
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Thank you Liz. I don’t really collect them either but they sure were fun to make.
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And good luck with your endeavors!
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Thank you Renee.
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You are welcome!
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Wow they are adorable.💟
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Thank you Tanya, that make me smile. Oh, and that blueberry pie you did awhile back was yummy, thanks for that recipe.
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You’re welcome 😊 So glad you enjoyed it.
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🙂 Those wooden dolls are beautiful!
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Thank you Renard. I had some really beautiful dolls that inspired me at that museum. Just enjoy seeing what everyone creates out there in the world.
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very well done…….
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Thank you Wendi.
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abosolutely! 🙂
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Have you ever thought about selling some on Etsy? You are so talented! 🙂
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Thank you Daisy, you’re comment is so sweet. I tried having an Etsy shop but never kept up with it. I am going to work on that on my month off. Mostly I just give my little handmade items away. I have so much fun making them, that’s a gift to me all on it’s own. Also I love knowing I am keeping something out of the dump, at least for awhile, unless whoever gets it decides to donate them. Creating is the reward to me.
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The museum looks like a really interesting place to visit. I love going to museums and learning! The older I get the more I love museums. 🙂 What you did with the bag of dolls is amazing! They look so good!
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Thank you Michelle, museum are just full of all kinds of cool things to see. I just wrote up my favorite posts for the month and I have a link back to your site. Really enjoying reading your home make over. We did that with Our Little Red House up north. It was built in 1943 so I know you guys have a lot of work that you are doing. Looks great, everything you are doing to your home.
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Thank you so much!!! That really means a lot to me!! 💕
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You’re welcome Michelle.
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Do you collect on dolls?😊 I collect money but never find any!😂😂😂 (joke)
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Funny, money is better to collect then dolls, it is always in style. I do have some folk art dolls in my decor but not too many, My kids think they are scary looking.
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Cool activity!
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Thank you.
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You are welcome 🙏
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