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Welcome to the latest edition of Australian Dolls, Bears and Collectables. This issue we have some fabulous projects to test your skills and artistry, including some Christmas-themed crafts. There’s beautiful bear Leigh Ting, Janey the sweet-natured cloth doll, and Cheeky the fun-loving bear with fully articulated limbs and a hand-sculpted polymer face, and pretty reborn baby Ellie. You’ll be looking forward to Christmas with the debonair Mr Claus reborn, gorgeous tiny cloth doll Santa, and ideas for creative Christmas gifts using a bisque ceramic book, a wooden book, a shadow box and a glass ball ornament. Lesley Hurford writes about delightful celluloid dolls with moulded bracelets, Shirley Richards takes us on a fascinating wander through the Steiff Archives, and we profile talented artist Kay Douglas. On a sad note, Bertie…
Hi there, This is my carousel I made from Dolls, Bears & Collectables Vol 7 No 9 for the dolls, and Vol 7 No 5 for the horses. A friend helped me with the wooden parts, and I did the rest. I was only going to make one, but I loved the look of the horses, so this is the end result. I entered it in the Bairnsdale Show and it won First in its section and also the Viewers’ Choice. I hope you are impressed. I would be very thrilled to see it in the mag; I always enjoy reading it. Regards Liz Croft, Bruthen, East Gippsland Ed: Dear Liz – super congratulations on winning First Prize at the Bairnsdale Show, and the Viewer’s Choice! We are impressed. Thank…
Well, we are still talking about antique dolls that move – automata. There are so many variations found which include waltzing couples, crying babies and the lovely examples we are looking at today, commonly known as the “Gliding Steiner”. We have two Gliding Steiners, one that has been lovingly redressed by her owner in white voile and lace, and the second dressed is in her original blue mariner inspired costume, made from very fine wool which is stitched onto her. This makes it difficult to undress and see what lies underneath, so in this article we will be referring to the doll in the white dress. This doll is 15 inches tall, which is the only size these particular dolls were made in, and has a very pale bisque head…
Imagine six lovely ladies (in what some say is an ‘interesting’ age bracket) sitting around a table participating in a workshop, making this gorgeous pincushion, designed by Lesley Yeoward. Well, the title above certainly did not apply! Just a few weeks ago in April, the Adelaide Hills Doll Guild held their bi-annual Convention at Hahndorf, a picturesque township in the Adelaide Hills, and local bear artist Lesley conducted one of the many fabulous workshops for attendees. A doll and bear show together with competitions would be held on the days following these workshops. The workroom was buzzing with activities centred around various tables where doll makers were learning or perfecting their skills, but as always, it was the bear makers table which produced most of the noise. It was a…
I was very fortunate to be asked by the TV program ‘The Project’ to be interviewed regarding reborning. I introduced them to one of my customers, Sharon Lambert, who was also interviewed. At first I was a little concerned as they can sometimes have a rather controversial show, however I believe they portrayed us reborners quite well. They interviewed me for hours (not that any more than three to five minutes was on TV), and took footage of me hair rooting etc. Then came the wait - the segment kept on being delayed because more topical items had come up in the news. Finally, weeks later, they showed the segment and I was quite pleased with the result, even though they had misquoted me on how long a reborn baby…
About six years ago, Kay Douglas believed she had hit her creative mark. Her time in the corporate workforce was over, and she had supported her children through school. Inspired by her mother’s creative courage, Kay knew it was her time to explore her own ideas and dreams. Kay’s fascination with the amazing creativity she saw in the work of pastry chefs went back a long way. After establishing a new business with her husband, she gave up full-time work and eagerly went back to school to find out the secrets of patisserie. She easily earned her pastry chef badge, and, in earnest, opened a home-based business that allowed her to make a happy living baking and decorating 3-D cakes to order. Kay believed she had found the switch. “As…
