WITCH CRAFTS

WITCH CRAFTS

Sunday, May 31, 2020

BAT LADY

Hi All,
I hope everyone is doing well. In my state of NM, we will be starting the second phase of re-opening of stores, restaurants, and MOST important -- hair salons and barber shops! Yea!

Here is another Halloween stump doll, which is a glamorous "Lady Bat".

I'm not crazy about that name, so I looked it up in French: "Dame Chauve-Souris". Hmm, -- It looks better than English, but when you read it, it's not clear how to pronounce it. ---Any other ideas???

You might recognize this doll, (or, at least her face). This is the doll I made a few months ago for my art clubs' "Black & White" challenge: (see older post for more of this costume)

Since I'm so busy making Halloween dolls for the store in Calif, I didn't want to spend too much time making a doll JUST for the black & white challenge. So, I decided to make a doll that could serve for both. But, I got a little crazy with the zebra print fur!


Now, I've taken off the coat & hat, and finished the dress underneath (I had finished most of the dress before I made the zebra coat). Now, I had to make the "wing" cape and headdress.

On the dress of matte sequins, (it's SO hard to photograph black on black) I've added an antique beaded applique with fringe. I got the applique on Etsy, and there was no date on it, but I imagine it must be from around the turn-of-the-century (1890 - 1900). Much of the threads was rotting, and beads were popping off like crazy!

I had to cut off the fringe and re-string it back on (some of the original fringe had already broken off, so the whole piece wasn't symmetrical). I re-stitched most of the big beads in place. I spread white glue on the back of the applique to help hold the whole thing together, and stitched it down onto the dress & body.

I made the bat "cape" from several pieces of lace. I first started with a base of chiffon embroidered with tiny sequins. Onto that, I stitched a modern lace with a "crescent" design in sections to follow the shape. On the edge, I stitched some vintage lace trim (again, Etsy) that was in a "wavy" pattern. After all the stitching was done, I went back and embroidered sequins & beads over the lace, following the lace patterns, and made the "veins/fingers" of the bat wing. (This step covered the seaming of the lace.)

The back of the headdress (sorry, no photo) is a draped turban made of the same matte sequin fabric the dress is made of. In the front, to make the crown and "ears", I wired a piece of cardboard and covered it with more sequin fabric and added a piece of jewelry. Then, added a few feathers.

I hope you enjoy! -AB.


Saturday, May 16, 2020

"MARIE'S GHOST"

Hi All,
I hope you are all well and safe.

This is the ghost of Marie Antionette after she lost her head in the Revolution.
I call her simply, "Marie's Ghost".



This is a new Halloween doll for Roger's Garden for their Halloween show in Sept.

She's an all cloth doll, about 17 inches tall (she would be 22 inches if her head were on her shoulders!)

She is a candlestick doll (her torso is glued to a candlestick base).

Instead of painting blood dripping from her neck, I chose to add beaded dangles ending with a teardrop glass bead. (There's also a ring of red beads at the bottom of her head, but you don't really see that.)

The dress is made of silver & white brocade, trimmed in lace and pearls. The underskirt is gray satin under embroidered lace with pearls.

Have Fun, and wash your hands! -AB