Darcy Wilkinson #4 Geisha Kitty ....

"Well here we are, my last project for this month. I had a lot of fun making this one. When Leandra first asked me to be a guest designer, she mentioned that she had liked some odd looking dolls that I had made a couple of years ago. So with that in mind I knew I wanted to make an odd doll".

After buying 2 of the Lynne Perrella Oriental Stamps (22 and 24). I decided that my doll would be oriental. How did it come to be a cat? 

Well I really have no idea, that is just what it wanted to be. So first off I messed around with bits of paper, taping them, folding them, re-doing them till I was happy with my paper pattern. I then cut my pieces out from calico. To add strength, and make the doll pose-able, I also made a wire figure. (Cover it in tape to enclose any sharp ends of wire) As I stitched the fabric pieces together they were slipped over the wire, and then all the joints were stitched up.

The doll was then stuffed with polyester filling, really firmly.

The next step is to add 3 coats of gesso, work each coat into the fabric so that it really stiffens up.

At this point I thought she needed something a bit better than a coffee mug to sit on. So I took a small box, slipped a tall piece of stiff card into the opening and then glued it closed. It was very 'blocky' so I used a craft knife to cut out side sections of the legs and parts of the back rest.

Now she had a chair I could start adding colour.

I grabbed a load of tissue paper, on the white paper I stamped in colour....and on the coloured paper I stamped in black. Rip the tissue paper into strips and small sections. Don't forget to really examine your stamps, and mask off areas to just stamp the bit you want.
I used ...LPC 022..LPC 024.... Mystery 3... HPXT 01.

I started decorating the legs. I used matte medium, brushed onto the doll, then the tissue paper applied, then matte medium brushed over the top of the tissue. Work on one section at a time. The chair came in handy for when she needed to stand and dry.

Keep stamping on tissue and glueing it to the doll. Try and lay the tissue on smoothly, but don’t worry about the odd wrinkle. Cover every part of the body.

I then worked on her head. I scrunched up some tissue paper really tightly into a ball and pushed in 2 short pieces from cocktail sticks. I glued these to the head. The hair area, the sticks and the 'buns' were all painted black. I added glass beads to the sticks.

I stamped the face from LPC022, I then glued this to the face, it didn't quite fit over her face area, so I did it in 2 sections. You don't see the join because the tissue paper blends so well. I used another stamp from that set for the nose. I then stitched the whiskers using fishing line.

Once she is completely covered in tissue paper she needs a couple of coats of watered down PVA glue.

She looked a little under dressed, so I made her a coat and a belt.

Again I cut it from Calico fabric, which I then covered in gesso to make it stiff. Then I covered both items with stamped tissue paper, tearing it into small pieces and collaging it to the clothing. Once done it had 2 coats of watered down PVA glue.

Here you can see just how stiff the fabric ends up.

The coat was slipped over her shoulders, crossed over at the front and held in place with the belt, which is glued at the back. As a side note, I really wanted to put the bow on the belt at the front, but after researching traditional clothing I found that to wear the bow at the front would have meant she was a prostitute....eek! So the bow is now at the back.

She needed a little something extra... I dabbed some Fresco paint onto white card, scraped it across and then stamped images from LPC024 and HPXT 01. I folded the card up into a fan and stitched the ends closed with black thread. I added these small paper faux brads over the stitching.

Next I cut some triangles of white and red tissue, stamped on them and then glued them to another circle of tissue. I added bits of bamboo skewers to make the parasol. The tissue had a couple of coats of watered down glue on each side to protect it, add strength but still allow it to have that thin,delicate feel.

Here she is, the fan is glued between her hands and the parasol is glued against her shoulder.

So that is her all done, I guess we should finish off her chair. First I strengthened the legs by adding extra cardboard to the insides.

I made up a batch of paper clay, and smoothed it out over the chair.

Once dry I added a layer of tissue paper and matte medium, this time I deliberately allowed the paper to wrinkle up and overlap.

Then added Fresco Paint.

First a green layer, then I built up several layers of brown. Ending with French Roast to add the darker shadows.

Finally I used some Onyxite Treasure Gold to add a little sheen.

So she is done, and she has her chair... possibly on a slow boat to China here.

Over to you, have a go at adding gesso to fabric to make it really stiff and then add a layer of stamped tissue paper. Or you could just make some decorated paper umbrellas to serve in your cocktails this summer. How about making an oriental fan and attaching it to the front of a card.

I hope you now have lots of ideas, I look forward to seeing what you make. I was so impressed with the entries last month. To join in with this weeks challenge, simply upload your own creativity HERE.

Bye for now, see you in July.
Darcy xxx

Leandra Says: WOW! She is so cool, love how the paper clay kind of rounded off that chair, that is really clever. I adore your dolls, they are so clever, and full of expression. Thanks for another great month Darcy, see you in July!

Gillian Says: What a finale project Darcy, loved sharing the step by step process in creating this "Oriental Doll". Completely unique .... I love it. xx