Willow Mae

Little child all tucked in bed

Looking like a sleepy head

Stars are quiet in the skies

Little child, now close your eyes.

                 The Sleepy Book, Margaret Wise Brown

Little Willow Mae has a favorite teddy that she likes to snuggle with under her favorite hand knit blanket. But, most of all, she has a favorite daily routine...being tucked in at night by her mama. There is nothing like going to bed at the day's end, tucked in by the person who loves you more than anything in the whole universe. There is nothing like the coziness of the bed, cuddled inside the warmth of a home, made with love by the hands of a mother.

Motherhood...a world filled all at once by the deepest love we can know as human beings and by the greatest aches we can ever experience. The heartaches are all different...for some it may be a longing for a child, just a single child, for some it may be a longing for many many children, for some it may be a longing for doubles, for some a longing for a second, a third or a fourth child, for some a longing for a boy and for some a longing for a girl. In motherhood, there will always be a longing for something that might be missing and it isn't out of ungratefulness for what we already have, but rather out of knowing that bringing life into the world will birth in us the ability to know of a kind of love that we never knew existed before.

Willow Mae is a Wee-Bee Mini Elfcup doll. She stands less than 6" (15 cm) tall. She is made with all natural materials. Her doll skin is made with premium quality cotton interlock imported from Europe. She is firmly stuffed with bio-wool made in Oregon.  Her seams are sewn twice for reinforcement.  Her locks are made of mohair yarn tied into two sweet pigtails.  She has embroidered facial features. Her facial structure is sculpted giving her a sweet little face with an itty-bitty chin, round chubby cheeks and deeper set eyes. Her cheeks, nose and various body parts are blushed with red beeswax.  She is a sitting doll with sewn joints that are made flexible for easy movement and changing of clothes.  But, with some posing, she is also able to stand. She also has a belly button and a bum.

Willow Mae comes wearing her comfy cozy pajamas made of 100% cotton. She also comes with an Easter outfit. Her Easter dress is a sweet, soft rose colored handknit dress made from an angora, wool blended yarn by Rowan. Her bunny hat is hand knit with a 100% fine alpaca yarn and has a cotton floral fabric sewn into the inner ear. Her shoes are hand knit with a 100% fine alpaca yarn.

Willow Mae comes with two tiny favorite belongings, an itty-bitty teddy bear and a sweet lacy hand-knit blanket. Her teddy bear is needle felted with 100% wool roving and he stands 1 inch (2.5 cm) tall. Her blanket is hand knit with an ultra-soft yarn made of a suri alpaca and merino wool blended yarn and measures 4 square inches (10 square cm). Willow Mae also comes bearing some eensie-weensie Easter eggs in a tiny basket. Each little egg was needle felted with 100% wool roving. Each of the eggs measure 0.5 inches (1 cm) long and is the size of the tip of a finger. Willow Mae's Easter basket is handknit from a Japanese kakishibu dyed 100% silk fiber.

Willow Mae.....for a mother....a little girl to call her very own.



A Little Girl

Everyone deserves a little girl to call her own...

...to hold and to cuddle

...to care for and to nuzzle

...to tuck into bed at night

...and sing sweet songs of delight.

....a little girl to call her very own.


The Beauty of Doll Making.....

.....is this.....

Take a construction that is exactly the same, change the skin fabric, even just slightly and you will have either a slightly tighter constructed face or a slightly more expandable face. Change the eyes.....the decorative features of it, the shape of it, the size of it and you create two characters that hold completely different souls. Change the nose.....the location of it, closer to the eye line or a bit below, bigger or smaller and you have a brand new persona. Change the cheeks.....make them plumper, rounder, and change their placement relative to the rest of the facial features and you will place a face with an age. Change the mouth.....the placement of it higher or lower on the face, wider or narrower and you will have emotions attached.

Such is the beauty of bringing a doll to life. You only need to experiment and play and you will find that the possibilities are infinite.

In borrowed clothes....here is the next sweetheart to come to life.

She likes chic, shabby, pink and cream. And she's head over heals about what I plan to make her. We'll see if I can pull it off. (Giggles)

An Easter Outing

Easter is a holiday that seems to be loved by many, Christians and non-Christians alike. It is a time for observing religious traditions or just traditions, such as egg hunting, Easter bunnies, and Easter parades. The traditional Easter foods may also vary based on geographical locations. And the dates for Easter can range so vastly depending on what calendar we speak of.

In the world of Ostara and Paschal, Easter is enjoyed with an outing in meadows of green grass and outdoor sunshine.

Meet Ostara, named after the German goddess by which the namesake Easter was derived. As lovely as she might be, she's far from a goddess. Ostara is a simple little girl who loves her family...her mum, her daddy, and her brother, Paschal. Ostara also loves animals, sunshine and green grass. She loves the simple pleasures such as painting, coloring, eating bananas, singing off-tune to herself, babbling all day long and watching Easter eggs come livelier with color. She's just 4 years old, Ostara....cute, sweet, innocent, lovely and playful. Like many 4-year olds, she also fusses when she's tired or hungry and she cries when she's upset or sometimes when things don't go her way. But, she's lovely all the same.

Next, meet Paschal. Paschal is named after the latin term "pascha", meaning Passover as it relates to Easter. Paschal is Ostara's big brother. He too loves his family...his mum, his dad and his baby sister. Paschal also loves being outside in sunshine. He loves exploring and discovering the simple things of nature...picking up sticks and rocks and pine cones and bird feathers. He's not an adventurous spirit, just a curious one. Simple wonders like a walk in the meadow or a stroll with his animals makes his day a happy day. Paschal is a boy who absolutely loves animals. He is a nurturing and gentle boy. He has a small batch of baby chicks and two baby bunnies that he cares for. One of those bunnies actually belongs to Ostara, but she's too young to remember to feed it and take care of it, so Paschal does it for her. So, you might say he's father of 6 babies. It's a big job being parent. Babies require more than just love and kisses. Each day Paschal cleans out his animal babies' rooms making sure it is clean and comfy. He checks the room temperature and makes sure his baby chicks and baby bunnies are warm and adjusts the heating bulb if temps aren't just right. He makes sure they have enough water and food. He is even careful to watch his baby chickadees bums because little baby chickens are prone to "pasty bum", a condition of clogged bum pores caused by droppings that get stuck on the backside. This condition, if not taken care of will do great harm to the baby chicks. That's quite a big job for such a young boy. But, Paschal does it all and he does it all religiously. His favorite part of being a caregiver is playtime with his baby animals. Baby bunnies and baby chicks are active and curious. They need outside time to run, hop and jump. And Paschal loves to watch them. But, he is also quite vigilant, being careful never to turn an eye away for he wouldn't want any one of them to get themselves in a pickle.

For Easter, Paschal and Ostara dressed in their best, put on their bunny and hare hats and took their baby animals for a walk in the meadow and for an exciting Easter egg hunt. Over in the meadow the baby bunnies hopped about in new growths of green grass, a sign that Spring is upon them. 

Ostara has a ball looking for tiny Easter eggs hidden among brilliant green blades of grass and so did one of the baby bunnies.

Paschal, Mr. big and "harey", did nothing but mill around and never took an eye off his baby chicks for he was afraid one might get lost or eaten up by crows flying overhead.

When all the excitement was over, Ostara and Paschal walked over to a dry creek and sat amongst the big boulders and counted their blessings....one, two, three, four, FIVE! beautiful Easter eggs for Ostara, four happy, healthy baby chicks for Paschal and two fluffy, bouncy baby bunnies, a mum, a daddy, a sister, a brother. Blessed are they, indeed!

Ostara: Paschal, can we trade hats?

Ostara: Paschal, I like your big, harey hat.

Paschal: Me too, I like my big harey hat. I don't think your hat suits me, do you?

Ostara: If you wore the hat correctly, maybe it would look better. You have it on upside down silly goose.

Ostara is a Wee-Bee Mini Elfcup doll. She stands less than 6" (15 cm) tall. She is made with all natural materials. Her doll skin is made with premium quality cotton interlock imported from Europe. She is firmly stuffed with bio-wool made in Oregon.  Her seams are sewn twice for reinforcement.  Her locks are made of mohair yarn tied into two sweet pigtails.  She has embroidered facial features. Her facial structure is sculpted giving her a sweet little face with an itty-bitty chin, round chubby cheeks and deeper set eyes. Her cheeks, nose and various body parts are blushed with red beeswax.  She is a sitting doll with sewn joints that are made flexible for easy movement and changing of clothes.  But, with some posing, she is also able to stand. She also has a belly button and a bum.

Ostara comes wearing a sweet, soft rose colored handknit dress made from an angora, wool blended yarn by Rowan. Her bunny hat is hand knit with a 100% fine alpaca yarn and has a cotton floral fabric sewn into the inner ear. Her shoes are hand knit with a 100% fine alpaca yarn.

Ostara comes bearing some hard found Easter eggs....five of them to be precise. Each tiny egg was carefully (for I was fearing for my fingers being jabbed by the swift sword of the felting needle) needle felted with 100% wool roving. Each of the eggs span an enormous length of 0.5 inches (1 cm) long and is the size of the tip of a finger. Ostara's Easter basket is handknit from a Japanese kakishibu dyed 100% silk fiber. Not to divert the topic here, but have I told you what a weak spot I have for Japanese fibers? If you have a fascination with natural dyed fibers as I do, you may appreciate reading this article about kakishibu dye by Chris Conrad. Chris is an expert fiber artist on the process of kakishibu dyeing and has published a book dedicated to this process called Kakishibu, Traditional Persimmon Dye of Japan. Now, back to Ostara...Not only does Ostara come with this delicate basket of eggs, but she along brings along her very own bunny, Lily. Lily is needle felted with 100% wool roving.

Paschal is a Wee-Bee Mini Elfcup doll. He stands less than 6" (15 cm) tall. He is made with all natural materials. His doll skin is made with premium quality cotton interlock imported from Europe. He is firmly stuffed with bio-wool made in Oregon.  His seams are sewn twice for reinforcement.  His man-mane is made of mohair yarn.  He has embroidered facial features and a classic Waldorf face with a simple and expressionless look. His cheeks, nose and various body parts are blushed with red beeswax.  He is a sitting doll with sewn joints that are made flexible for easy movement and changing of clothes.  But, with some posing, he is also able to stand. He has a belly button and a bum.

Paschal comes wearing a simple gray and white striped cotton shirt under hand knit overall shorts. The overalls are made from an angora, wool blended yarn by Rowan. The pants have a tiny pocket made of a cotton fabric hand sewn onto the front. His big "harey" hat is hand knit with a 100% merino wool yarn and has a simple but beautiful Japanese cotton fabric sewn into the inner ear. His colorful orange shoes are hand knit with a 100% fine alpaca yarn.

Paschal comes rolling along with his wagon-ful of four baby chicks. Each teeny-weeny baby chick was needle felted with 100% wool roving. As is common with baby chicks, these little itty-bitties are very delicate. Their bits of fluffy hair are so finely felted to their body and should not be handled roughly or they get squished. And you wouldn't want them squished. That would make Paschal very very upset and will break his heart. Each baby chick measures about 0.5 inches (1 cm) tall. His wagon is hand sewn from corduroy (outer shell) and linen (inner shell) fabrics. The trim is made from cotton ribbon and the pull string is made from cotton twine. The wagon is sewn onto wooden wheels to make them totter along. Paschal also brings along his baby bunny, Buba. Buba is needle felted with 100% wool roving.

Ostara and Paschal and their baby animals and personal belongings are recommended for ages 8+ due to the nature of their delicate design and the small parts on them that pose as choking hazards for young children.

Ostara and Paschal....if you are interested in giving these two siblings a home they will be available individually in the shop tomorrow, Friday, February 27 at 9:00 PM (Pacific Standard Time). Thank you, have a lovely remainder of today.

What's Coming

Hello, friends! It's been a while. I thought I'd pop my head in to say "hello" and to give you a quick update on the world of Scarlet Elfcup. Lots happening around here.

First, a bit of reflection. I'd like to show you this transformation of Scarlet Elfcup's 6" doll....from Gardien released in April 2014 when Scarlet Elfcup came to life....to the sculpted Wee-Bee Mini Elfcup today. Fun to see, isn't it?

Now, for the juicies....this past week was spent in the abyss of bliss...working away on some custom requests AND:

Wefting.

Cutting. Sewing.

Sculpting.

The world of crafting dolls has just changed for me with the ability to sculpt to my heart's content. Imagine a wide open door into a whole new world of creativity. So, this made me wonder to myself...will I leave the world of Waldorf where beauty and imagination lies in simple and expressionless? It gave me the pouts to think of that, so I have to say, "No." Scarlet Elfcup dolls will continue on with many creations made of the undecorated, un-ornamented and expressionless face that so defines the idea of simplicity and imagination. At the same time, I will also venture on further and deeper into different levels of creativity for my wandering and curious mind. Hence, taking on new and different ways to make dolls. Very exciting! It's all an adventure.

And now for the big news...a new pattern is in the works for an 8" doll.

Here's the 6" Wee-Bee Mini Elfcup. I love love love making the Wee-Bee Mini Elfcups. After making so many tiny ones in the past couple months, my hands are familiar with nothing more. It just feels so right to hold and handle the itty-bitties. I love making the 6" dolls for so many reasons...they are cute, tiny, sweet. And more so, they give me the chance to really fly into the world of imagination. To create the extras that go with the 6" doll is one of the most enjoyable parts of making a tiny doll. In other words, small things leave room for big imaginary worlds. If you haven't seen it already with past creations, you will see more of it for upcoming creations.

With all that said about my love for making the 6" Wee-Bee Mini Elfcups, I still want to explore the world of dolls on a pinch of an inch....or two more. Therefore, the coming of an 8" doll.

The 8" doll will give a tad bit more inches to work with the clothing design a bit more flexibly. At the same time, it's still small enough to leave room for big imaginings and creativity. And still small enough to fit in the cup of the hand. So, here you have it...the 6" Wee-Bee Mini Elfcup standing tall next to the upcoming 8" doll.

I have yet to work out some small kinks of the 8" proportion. But, the pattern is almost complete. Then, when the time is right, the official announcement will be made regarding the 8" doll.

For now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go fetch a small fairy from the forest. Wish me luck and hope that I will resurface next week from the other world with a fairy in my hand.

One last note before I leave....alongside a number of custom orders, I am working on a small batch of sweet little ones that I hope to have ready and placed in the shop by March 1....no promises, but, that's the hope. For now....off to fairyland.