In my last post about Abigail she just had a wire armature with cotton pom poms on her rear.

     
She has since been wrapped with cotton batting and as you can see what looked like exaggerated posture is now quite "normal" for the time period. I also gave her some custom sculpted shoes with a strap and she will have more ornamentation added to them, once they are finished.  

You can see the nice curve "sway" to her back. I plan to give her an Edwardian costume. I am thinking a Day Dress of some sort.

I am still considering the fabric and whether I will do a tiny print or separate blouse and skirt.


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As promised, here are several new photos of Chantelle.  I will put them on my website for a higher resolution.
Chantelle is an original miniature porcelain doll.  She is created from original molds by me.  She is 1/12th scale and stands approximatley 5 1/2" tall.  She is a special one of a kind lady with exquisite details.

In this side view you can see the tiny rose in her hair.  It is handmade by miniature artist Carol Wagner.  I just love her amazing flowers, they are so lifelike.

Chantelle has a tiny hand applied and fired-on 24 caret gold necklace with tiny Swarovski Crystals.  She has piercing blue eyes and fiery red hair.  You can also see a close up of her dark charcoal 3/4 length gloves. 

Here is a back view of the bodice of Chantelle's gown.  All of the lace on her gown is antique andhand dyed to a dark charcoal gray color.  It compliments the plum color of her gown and sets off her red hair.
You can see how fine the antique lace is in this photo and how nicely it lays and drapes.  You can also see the detail in the styling of her hair.
A nice detail of the front of Chantelle's bodice.  It features tiny beading at her decolatage and lovely swags of purple silk cording, tiny beads and Swarovski Crystals.

Chantelle looks regal in her gown.  She is ready for the ball.









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I have finally finished Chantelle.  She gave me a few challenges that I will discuss later.  For now, I just wanted to introduce the finished doll and show you some photos.  I will be posting many more photos of different angles and close ups.  Once I get the photos uploaded to my site, you will be able to see larger, higher resolution images.





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Today, we will look at several factors when costuming a miniature doll.

• Draping 
• Scale
• Posture of doll

Please click on photos for a slightly larger view.
Here are more photos of Chantelle as the draping of her skirt continues.  As you can see, I use a lot of pins in the process.  These pins happen to be long silk pins, but there are even finer pins out there.  They are insect pins.  I find that these finer silk or insect pins work great to keep the pin holes to a minimum or just very small.

I use pieces of Styrofoam as a base to pin into as I work (I save Styrofoam from products such as TV's. electronics, etc. that have it as protection in their boxes.)

As you can see, I have re pinned and kept the pins in the bottom of Chantelle's skirt.  From now on, until she is finished she will remain pinned to the Styrofoam.  This is to insure that all of the hard work of draping her skirt will not be lost every time I spray or re-spray a part of her costume.

I had to scrap the original gorgeous lace I intended to use for her over skirt as it was just too heavy and out of scale.




Scale is of utmost importance in miniatures.  If you want the costume to be believable then you must use the proper fabrics and trims.
Color really also comes into play when considering scale.  Remember, earlier, I mentioned that the trims are all a dark charcoal color but they certainly read as black, don't they?  True dark black was just too much of a contrast with the amethyst color I chose so the charcoal plays well, fits the scale and adds an aire of elegance and richness rather than looking cheap, which can happen if the scale is not correct.



I had a great piece of antique lace that was just big enough (and long enough) to make the lace overlay skirt I was envisioning for her costume.  It was also perfect because it was sheer and airy and does not hide all of the hard work I put into draping the underskirt.

You want to be sure that the lace overlay also drapes nicely, and does not stick out funny or hide what is underneath it.

Now let's talk about your doll's posture.  Can you see how regal Chantelle looks?  She is slightly bent forward, causing her back to sway a bit but her chest is held high.  She is not merely standing there.  She already displays an attitude which goes well with that look on her tiny face.  I have always been drawn to that "look" on her face.  I think that is why I kept her back to costume rather than sell her as a kit.  She seems to have so much life in her.

I see a whole story unfolding when I look at her.  This is a woman who perhaps has her eye on a gentleman at a party and is not happy with the attention he is lavishing on a woman she considers her competition.  "Game on!", Chantelle is not going to stand by and watch her would be suitor slip away.   Do you see how having a vision, story, etc. can really help the doll and her costuming come to life?


Next I will be adding all of those fine details and trims that will make this a special gown. 

Please check back!




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I am still working on Chantelle in between orders. I am trying to keep her gown simple but elegant. I want it to drape nicely and realistically and I don't want to cover up those pretty gathers I worked so hard to put in. She is coing along nicely.


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Here is a tiny 1/2' scale lady doll I did quite awhile ago.  Her name is Alice.  I don't do tiny dolls very often but I loved the challenge of getting a lot of scale and detail into such a small doll.  Her face was the size of a pea or small bean.

http://i1097.photobucket.com/albums/g345/gbellous/Miniature%20Dolls/Alice_half_sc_4x6_frame_c.jpg



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I had my camera out today, so I couldn't resist giving you a sneek peek of "Chantelle".  She will be a lovely lady in a fancy gown.  I love her dark red hair, but I have always had a thing for redheads!


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Hi All,
     It has been awhile since I posted.  I have been working like crazy to finish up my orders!  If your ordered a Victoria, and haven't received her, the rest of the orders will be going out either Monday or Tuesday!  I appreciate every one's patience.  I got a bit behind during the holidays.  If you ordered other dolls, they are also going out by the end of next week or beginning of next.

    Stay tuned, I will have some special ladies to show!
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Limited Quantity - Victoria - Painted Doll Kit of the Month
$45.00 - Includes Painted Porcelain, Half Arms & Half Legs with heels


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