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.

Slumber Party

The rats are having a slumber party! We have been without power off and on all week, and no one has really gotten out of their pajamas, except to get outside to shovel snow (a lot of snow, I am telling you!) We had an ice storm, followed by a snow storm, and several days with power off and on, a couple of days for the entire day and some of the night. I was thinking about pajamas all week. When the power was actually on, I made 4 little rats in lovely pastel shades of pistachio pink and an English rose. They are all wearing pajamas.

This little girl is called Libby. She is a lovely pistachio green mohair girl with her own unique style of pajama-wear.

And of course, her pal, Clarice. Clarice is a lovely shade of English Rose pink. She, too has her own unique pajama style.

Next up, Pearle. She is Libby's sister.

And finally, we have Patrice, rhymes with Clarice. They are sisters.

I got a new wooden dollhouse bed that I painted pale pink and made a silk shabby comforter to go with, which turned out pretty well. Paula of sweetredcottage had given me some little pillows as a gift, and those worked in perfectly.

The slumber party girls fit nicely into the scene.

They are lovely lounging about. They don't care if we have power or not.

At the last minute, one of the Blythe girls joined in on the party.

She is maybe a little too large for the furniture, but it doesn't really matter.

It's all in fun anyway, and the good news is, I was able to take photos even when we had no power, as my trusty camera is battery operated and always ready to snap a shot or 2. Crossing fingers power stays on for the weekend. Hope you all are finding the weather where you are to your liking!

Mixing it Up

Over the weekend, I decided to try some little animals other than rats, rabbits and mice. I still remain loyal to the rodents, but in the meanwhile, I had fun thinking up what to make.

This is Oscar. He is a brown bear. He is made from a lovely Schulte German rayon. I think some people call it viscose. I like the word rayon, because I am a big fan of the fiber in clothing. I gave Oscar a black silk tuxedo. He is looking quite elegant.

He and Bonnie make a good pair.

Bonnie is friends with Dierdre.

Dierdre is a fox I made from creamy white Schulte German mohair. I dyed it over the body and at the face to give her a foxy look. There is something very sweet about her.

Dierdre is in love with Reginald.

Reginald is playing hard to get. He doesn't think he is the marrying type. He likes to dress in bright clothing and strut his stuff.

Reginald is friends with Felix.

Felix is a cat. A black cat. He is rather debonair. He is wearing a suit even wilder than Reginald.

I am not sure which of the motley crew I like best. I think I remain the hugest fan of the rat girls, but it's nice to mix it up sometimes, to give perspective. All of the animals fit nicely into the 1/12 scale. Having a few different options gives me more room to play, which is what I like to do best. Have a great week, everyone. Stay creative. It's nearly the end of the year. I hope you have a mind to look back on the year fondly.

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.  :)