The Rockford Sisters

This week I was thinking about 3 bears.  Not the Mama, Papa and Baby Bear of Goldilocks tradition.  3 sister bears.  I wanted something a bit primitive. I like primitive bears better than modern bears.  They look more like people to me.  With personalities, maybe a little grumpy.  I gave them the last name Rockford and named them all after rocks.

I had some Blythe dresses laying around that I have always loved and had been saving out for something.  The bears spoke up first, and they got them.  Happily, they fit into some of the Blythe clothes.  First bear here is Pearl.  She is wearing pink.  She is the oldest sister, since I made her first. She looks oldest anyway.  She has quite a bit of concern in her face.  Less carefree than the other girls.

I gave her the pink dress because she is oldest and she got to choose first.  These bears are made from a luscious Schulte rayon that I have been using for bears and mice.  It is hugely expensive, but so nice.  Just very soft.  It is distressed, so not perfect, but rather perfect for primitive styled bears.

I think Pearl  might be my favorite.  Being the oldest sister to 2 other bear girls has got to be a challenge.  What do they do when they fight, after all?

Next is Opal.  Her dress is a little different than the other 2 girls.  It has a ruffle at the neck rather than lace.  It is very, very full, and a lovely shade of turquoise blue.  The rayon on these dresses has been distressed and laundered a bunch, so has a very vintage feel.  The colors are very nice as well.  

Opal is the middle sister.  Middle sisters sometimes get hand-me-downs.  Not Opal.  She gets a fancy blue dress.  She is quite proud.

She gets along well with her sisters, for the most part.  It hard for her to choose which is her favorite.

Third sister is Ruby.  She is the sweetest of the 3 bears.  She is the youngest.  The big sisters treat her well.  She gets a pretty dress that is like Pearl's, except yellow.  It gives her a fresh, youthful look.

Like the other girls, Ruby is more of an inside girl than an outside girl.  Once they discovered the bedroom furniture, the bears could not be pushed out.  The rats are going to have to share.

La Reine Fantome

I was lucky enough to have been asked by Auguste Clown Gallery in Melbourne, Australia to participate in their February 2015 International Group Showing, "Once Upon A Blythe." I am so honored to have been asked.

You might not know, or maybe you do, that I have a bit of a fascination with Marie Antoinette. Lots of doll and dressmakers seem to. She is really part of the inspiration for my making the little rats. I was thinking about little mice living in the walls of a French castle. What better one than Versailles? Since the topic of the gallery show seems to be just right for fairy tales, I wrote one around the ghost of Marie Antoinette and a little rat friend called Rosie. That was the starting point for my doll.

Here is the tale in its entirety:
La Reine Fantome/Mangeons Gateau
Copyright 2014 Cindy Sowers

Once upon a time there was a beautiful young girl whose mother was a very powerful Empress of all that could be seen near or far. When she was still very young, it was foretold that the girl would find her prince in a land far from her home, in the great country of France.

As was the custom, when the time came, she left her home, her mother, and her friends and family to be with the prince in his castle far away. She took with her 57 carriages, 117 footman and 376 horses, for she had many lovely things and did not want to be without. She was a spring bride and so very, very beautiful. Her wedding gown was the most lavish of all, spun from silver and laced with diamonds.

No expense was spared. She was very excited to be the new bride of a prince, and yet her eagerness was not rewarded. The young prince did not take easily to her, as he had his mind cast upon other things. Within a few short years, the Old King died, leaving the young prince and princess to become the new king and queen of France. As was tradition, it was expected that the beautiful queen would produce an heir to the throne. It was not that she was unwilling, but much time passed and no sons were produced.

To pass her time and amuse herself, the young queen had a lovely pastoral retreat designed and built for herself and her closest friends, in which to pass their leisure. It was there that she became friends with the animals, especially the rabbits and the little rodents that scurried about the place, eating bits of cake out of the Queen's outstretched fingers. The little cottage world she maintained became a way for her to shut out the outside world.

Her countrymen came to despise the lovely queen. Gossip spread like wildfire, accusing the beautiful queen of all manner of frivoloties. They believed she was living without care for the plight of her fellow countryman in a silly fantasy world of her own making. As the outside world grew restless, the queen retreated further and further into her perfect little dream-like world and saw herself as an outsider, unloved and unappreciated by her kingdom.

As is often the case, the ill-loved will bond together. The little rats of the queen's retreat, the most despised creatures in the animal kingdom, brefriended the queen. Rats, it seems, have quite a fashion sense. French rats, even more special than all the other rats of the world, were especially well suited as fashion advisors, dictators of style and good taste.

Within the boudoir of the queen's private cottage there existed a small hole in the side wall. It served as an easy entrance for the little rats who lived in the walls and in the garden. One particular rat, Rosie de la Reine, had arrived as a stowaway in the traveling bags of the queen's personal milliner and dressmaker. Rosie possessed considerable knowledge of the fashions of the times, as well as the how-to and what-for. She was the queen's favorite by far and Rosie was welcome within the Queen's little cottage, as long as she picked up after herself.

Time passed and the people of France became more and more dissatisfied with their economic conditions. They blamed the lovely Queen and her frivolous lifestyle for their troubles. They were no longer content to look the other way as the Queen supped on cakes and other sweets, while they themselves were without even a loaf of bread. First the King and then the Queen met their horrid demise at the hands of their countrymen. "Off with their heads!" the crowd exclaimed.

Rosie the Rat was so very loyal to her queen and beloved friend. She had slipped inside the pocket of the Queen's cloak on that fateful Queen's Last March, and had gone to the guillotine as well. Poor Rosie! Poor Beautiful Queen of France! Their only consolation was the knowledge that they had changed style and fashion in France forever.

The tragic nature of their deaths caused such terrible confusion in the newly departed souls of the beheaded queen and her lovely rat companion. To this day they are ghosts, living within the walls of the Queen's boudoir, unseen and unheard, as they go about their business of reminiscing about the good old days of high fashion and mile high cakes. "Let Us Eat Cake!" is their daily mantra.

The customization, little book, Marie's dress and underthings (pannier, bloomers and petticoat), plus Rosie the rat, were all done by me.  Jean BaldridgeYates made the beautiful pullcharms and earrings. She has been graciously making jewelry and pullcharms for me for years, as well as collaborating with me on other things, including a book.  She is a great artist and often has things available for sale in her Etsy shop.  Thank you, Jean!  If you will be in Melbourne in February, be sure to stop by and see what I know will be at least 30 amazing Blythe dolls.  The gallery has a Facebook page where they update their goings on pretty regularly. Thank you Auguste Clown Gallery!  I am very excited to be sending this doll and her rat companion, as well as the little book, off to Australia, hopefully by the coming weekend.

Phinnea and Rosalinda

Cotton candy pink. It's what I was thinking about. Phinnea and Rosalinda volunteered for the job.

These 2 sweet girls are pretty much done all over in various shades of pink. Phinnea is a rabbit. Rosalinda is a rat.

Something about pink brings out the sweetness in things. Even rats.

These 2 girls are hanging out at the mouse house today. They will be in my shop momentarily. I hope you can find the sweetness of pink in your week's ending.

Nutmeg and Anise

Meet 2 more of the Spice Girls. This is Nutmeg and Anise. Some of the little brown rayon rat girls, I have called Spice Girls, because I like the names of spices. The last 2 were Cinnamon and Spice.

These girls are dressed in shabby lacy dresses. They are sisters and both have pinkish purple plaid flannel limbs. Their heads and torsos are made from the nicest German rayon I have found yet. It is Schulte. It costs a bundle. It is soft and just a lovely cinnamon brown.

Nutmeg's dress has a bit of pink staining throughout. She is quite a shabby girl, but likes to stay a bit fancy when she can. Both girls have brown painted short boots.

Anise wears a peachier dress, with a bit of creamy beige worked in.  Both girls have lacy overskirts, which is very feminine.

 

I can't tell you how much I am enjoying these little ratty critters.  I love them all.  I am having a lot of fun putting them in the little room box for their photo sessions.  I don't even have to try very hard.  To my eye, it all just looks right.  I have never been one who likes strictly beautiful things.  I like beauty mixed with a bit of comedy.  Always.  Rats in finery.  I just love it.  Hard to explain what jazzes me up about them, but they feel like everything I love about art dolls.  So, I persist.  Maybe it's a call to see beauty in what isn't obvious.  Hope you can see beauty today, somewhere where you didn't expect it.

Piano Jam

Ellis and Brigitte are the only ones hanging out at the mouse house at the moment. It was a quiet evening last night and they decided a piano jam was in order.

This is Brigitte. She is a lovely cream rabbit girl. She is wearing a fancy boysenberry silk dress with lace and tulle layers, with a vintage lace neck wrap. She is quite fond of her friend, Ellis. Ellis is a mouse.

He is a very cute, obviously dapper, cream mouse wearing a very striking 3-piece silk suit in autumn colors.   He is a man of good taste.  He would like to impress Brigitte with his piano playing skills, so he asks her to sit down while he plays a tune for her. 

She leans back on her seat and gets comfortable. She just knows she will love his selection.  He is, after all, a man of good taste.

He takes his jacket off so that he has better movement. He is quite confident and at the ready, as you can tell.  Brigitte loves the tune Ellis plays for her. She is quite impressed. She is very pleased and would like to play him a tune as well. She asks him to sit down.

Of course he does. He is quite a gentleman.

He sits back to enjoy a relaxing piano moment.

Brigitte takes her seat at the piano and plays a lively march tune. Ellis is surprised by the tempo, but quite pleased.

She has him. She can tell. She sits back down and watches as he leaves the room. Most likely he is going to brag to some of his friends about his good taste in ladies. 

I hope you are having a good start to your week.  I have cleaned up this blog a bit.  I noticed that it has been so long since I last edited the list of blogs I follow, that some of them had since turned to pornography sites.  No kidding.  Eeep.  Hopefully I have that under control and those sites deleted.  :)

Evany, Bevany and Lucille

There are 3 new girls in the house today. Cousins Evany (dressed in teal), Bevany (dressed in pink), and their little mouse friend, Lucille (in peachy pink).

These girls are all quite lovely in their fine dresses and crazy matching headwraps.

I spent yesterday and the couple days before fixing up some more furniture to go with them, and have decided I can easily change out the wall paper of their room box when I grow tired of it. So life at the mouse house is good.

I think people are liking these little tinies, because they all seem to be going to live in other towns, in other states, even in other countries. Very pleased about that. I love them, I do. But, I am a country dollmaker. I have to expect that some of the dolls will want to move to the city. Country mouse, city mouse. Hard to decide sometimes.

Hope you are having a lovely end of the week and that the weekend brings many fun things. Stay warm. Stay creative. Always have fun!

XOXO Cindy