My Romantic Journey On Canvas Corseted Tutu and Wedding Dress Class Projects

I've spent the last two weeks in crafting bliss working on my projects from Debby Anderson's "A Romantic Journey On Canvas" at Artful Gathering and couldn't be happier. I may have found a new passion - something I absolutely love.

I can hear you all saying - what a surprise, Linda! You've found a new passion. When it comes to crafting is there anything you've ever tried that you haven't absolutely loved? Probably not.

Well, it is true that I absolutely love to craft and love everything I've learned through my online classes, but when it comes to passion - well, that's a little different. I have a passion for the Victorian era - especially the dresses, for doll making, for genealogy, for floral design, and for history. To all this I would have to add mixed media. I absolutely LOVE mixed media.

My husband doesn't love it as mixed media utilizes lots of different types of supplies so my living room is an absolute mess. You can't even see any of the furniture in there. It's all covered with arts & crafts supplies of one sort or another - all needed for the mixed media projects I've been working on for my online classes.

I absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Debby's class.  Debby Anderson is an unbelievably talented and inspiring jewelry designer and artist.  Her online class was fabulous.  Her video's were very easy to follow and she explained everything she was doing beautifully.  I couldn't be more pleased with her class.  If you've wanted to try creating mixed media canvas collage dress form projects Debby's class is a MUST TAKE.

There are 3 projects in  Debby Anderson's "A Romantic Journey On Canvas" mixed media online class: one to create a corseted tutu, one to create a wedding gown, and one to create a mixed media angel collage.  So far, I've made two corseted canvas's - one on 12" x 12" canvas and one on an 8" x 10" canvas.  I've also created a wedding gown on an 11" x 14" canvas.

Here's my first corseted tutu on a 12" by 12" canvas:

My Victorian Images, Ephemera and Vintage Images and Victorian Doll & Craft Tutorials, Shabby Chic & Vintage Tutorials, Video's, Pictures & How-To's Pinterest Boards

It is no secret that everything and anything Victorian is my passion. I just can't get enough of Victorian dresses, Victorian crafts, Victorian history, and Victorian images. I absolutely LOVE it all. And, I absolutely want to make everything I find.

I look at the beautiful Victorian dresses display on all the museum websites and find myself wanting to make a miniature version for a doll of mine. There are so many beautiful Victorian dresses out there it would be nearly impossible to make them all. That doesn't stop me from dreaming about it.

I also love Victorian images and saving all the Victorian images that I find on different websites that are sharing images in the public domain on my Pinterest board. Here, too I find myself dreaming of beautiful mixed media crafts I could make with them. I wish I could use each and every one of them. Use them all - I can't. Collect them on Pinterest - that I can do.

Victorian Images, Ephemera and Vintage Images

I just LOVE Victorian images, ephemera and vintage pictures - especially Victorian images that I can use with my mixed media creations and pictures of flowers or little girls and their dolls. Here's a few of my favorites.

If you love my Victorian Images, Ephemera and Vintage Images board please follow my board by clicking on the link above.

I also love searching the web for all the wonderful tutorials, patterns, articles, how-to's and printables there are for making Victorian arts and crafts. Some I have tried to make. Some are on my wish list. But, they are all fabulous and I want to make them all.

Again, this is impossible but I can continue to collect them on my Pinterest board. When I dream of Victorian crafts and want to see beautiful Victorian eye candy I can always visit my boards.

Victorian Doll & Craft Tutorials, Shabby Chic & Vintage Tutorials, Videos, Pictures & How-To's

I just LOVE everything and anything Victorian, Vintage, Shabby Chic or Cottage. I especially love watching video's, reading tutorials, patterns, articles, and how-to's on making Victorian dolls & crafts. I hope you like some of the ones I've found.

If you love my Victorian Doll & Craft Tutorials, Shabby Chic & Vintage Tutorials, Video's, Pictures & How-To's board please follow my board by clicking on the link above.

Victorian Bride picture courtesy of The Graphics Fairy

Swing Sweetly Annabelle Patterns and Handmade Colonial Doll

"Blue Bell Sara" and her sorority sister "Swing Sweetly Annabelle" are two of the newest dolls from my new "The Long Sleek Sitting Doll Series!"

Both are elegantly attired and ready for their afternoon walk.

"Blue Bell Sara" is wearing the finest in Victorian afternoon attire and is an elegant faceless Victorian doll who went prematurely gray. "Swing Sweetly Sara", on the other hand, is wearing her best Colonial attire for an afternoon stroll and has a beautifully embroidered and water colored face as well as a full head of burgundy colored hair.

Both dolls belong to the "Only Elegance Alpha Phi E" sorority as did both their mothers and several of their grandmothers before them. So, they really had no choice in the matter as it was wholly expected of them that they would join.

So, join they did and both are reporting that they are so happy to be part of such a wonderful and elegant sorority. Neither, in accordance with their sorority rules, will tell you what they've been up to though. It's a secret and only discussed amongst sorority members! The only thing they will say is that they have an upcoming event, which everyone will surely enjoy, but which they can't and won't talk about.

Blue Bell Sara - The Long Sleek Sitting Doll Patterns and Handmade Faceless Victorian Doll

"Blue Bell Sara" and her sorority sister "Swing Sweetly Annabelle" are two of the newest dolls from my  "The Long Sleek Sitting Doll Series!"

Both are elegantly attired and ready for their afternoon walk.

"Blue Bell Sara" is wearing the finest in Victorian afternoon attire and is an elegant faceless Victorian doll who went prematurely gray. "Swing Sweetly Sara", on the other hand, is wearing her best Colonial attire for an afternoon stroll and has a beautifully embroidered and water colored face as well as a full head of burgundy colored hair.

Both dolls belong to the "Only Elegance Alpha Phi E" sorority as did both their mothers and several of their grandmothers before them. So, they really had no choice in the matter as it was wholly expected of them that they would join.

So, join they did and both are reporting that they are so happy to be part of such a wonderful and elegant sorority. Neither, in accordance with their sorority rules, will tell you what they've been up to though. It's a secret and only discussed amongst sorority members! The only thing they will say is that they have an upcoming event, which everyone will surely enjoy, but which they can't and won't talk about.

I Finished My Regency Dolls With Paperclay and Painted Faces - Meet Emily and Esther

I finally finished the Regency Era  paperclay and painted faces dolls that I was making based upon the Bonnets and Beaus: A Regency Doll Project online class that I've been taking during the first session of Artful Gathering.

The online class was taught by Hally Levesque who is an exceptional art doll artist, photographer and a bit of a history buff. Not only are her video's easy to follow and beautifully taught but they are sprinkled with historical tidbits of life with Jane Austen - which I loved.   Now why would that be? Hmmm.... History tidbits for a history buff....... Hmmm....

Since I never do anything in moderation I, of course, couldn't just make one doll. I had to make two.

I was looking forward to taking this class as it would be the first time I would be sculpting the dolls faces, hands, and feet out of paperclay and then painting them with acrylic paints. Acrylic painting of any sort is not my strongest skill - so I knew this would be very challenging. At the very least it was going to be interesting if not comical.

I had no problem with the costumes and cloth body. Sculpting the heads and legs was a bit of a challenge but I finally got the knack of it after experimenting a few times. Sculpting the fingers was much harder than I had anticipated and I ended up not liking mine. They looked like Frankenstein hands so I changed them into more of a solid hand.

Painting the faces was a real challenge. I just couldn't get them the way I would have liked them to be. Suffice to say, acrylic painting of doll faces is still not by strongest suit.

They say practice makes perfect so, who knows. Perhaps it's a skill I can master over time. Right now I wouldn't hold my breath.

Instead of using mohair for their hair I decided to use my sister's alpaca fiber from her Rock Garden Alpacas Farm. I used Zinnia's beautiful fiber for the doll in the white outfit and Ivy's fiber for the doll in the dark brown and black outfit. I LOVE working with the alpaca fiber. It makes fantastic doll hair.

All in all I was satisfied with the way my dolls came out and decided to name them Emily and Esther. Emily is the doll in the white outfit and Esther is the doll in the dark brown and black outfit. Here's their stories: