dolls by Elly

christmas teddies

2011-11-10T19:09:00.000-08:00

two sisters

2011-11-05T16:51:00.000-07:00

bear bros

2011-10-25T14:37:00.000-07:00

these brothers will travel to Cuba as Christmas gifts.

4 to 5 in. tall.

new Chistmas teddy

2011-10-14T13:39:00.000-07:00

a 6in. tall teddy for my sister.

doll face transfer # 3

2011-08-03T19:34:00.000-07:00

Pattern is sold without the copyright sign.

doll face transfer # 2

2011-08-03T19:30:00.000-07:00

doll face transfer #1

2011-08-03T19:26:00.000-07:00

this doll face transfer is available for sale without the copyright sign. You may use the "buy now" buttonand when payment is made I will email the file to you.

Rose and Rosalind

2011-04-15T12:07:00.000-07:00

My happy Easter bunnies are here: Rose and Rosalind.

Rose also known as Rozsika was born first as a present for my friend Betty.

and this is Rosalind, her sister, who stays with me as my first Easter bunny.

They are both hand puppets, 100% handmade from rags(read my old dresses).

my art on fabric

2011-01-23T14:31:00.000-08:00

Just letting everyone know that I opened an account with SPOONFLOWER and now i can sell my art printed on fabric of your choice. I have more designs for my gallery. Just take a look:
http://www.spoonflower.com/profiles/elenamalec

this is an example of what I sold today. it's a watercolor and pastel painting

a Christmas gift

2010-11-17T15:23:00.000-08:00

for my friends Betty and John in Colorado .

7 and 6 in. tall teddies finger puppets can be also used as tree ornaments.

Giveaway Scout

2010-08-25T08:42:00.000-07:00

Check this site out:
http://www.giveawayscout.com/

All blogs giveaways, sweepstakes,etc.

July challenge - place mat

2010-07-26T13:19:00.000-07:00

for Amada's challenge Christmas in July.

Dora has new shoes

2010-07-25T11:31:00.000-07:00

This is Dora, full body doll, 21in. tall.

Lovely doll Dora got a pair of new shoes of pure felt from an old black beret.

Dora for you

2010-07-20T10:47:00.000-07:00

Dora is almost ready. No legs yet but coming up soon.

Dora update

2010-07-15T09:09:00.000-07:00

summer is here and i don't feel like working on projects.

Dora doll project

2010-06-26T20:21:00.000-07:00

New doll project. This time it will be a regular full body doll, not a puppet.

angel ornament ready

2010-06-09T20:22:00.000-07:00

this fabric angel ornament is made of satin and the hair is fluted paper strips.

Made for Amanda's challenge.

angel ornament

2010-06-09T12:39:00.000-07:00

I am working on the tree ornament for the challenge and just asking your opinion on the wing.

Christmas in July challenge

2010-06-06T09:34:00.000-07:00

Amanda's challenge is going to be fun and keep us busy.Join us

http://amanda-lotshappening.blogspot.com/2010/06/christmas-in-julywell-sort-of.html

snow white puppet doll

2010-05-30T14:41:00.000-07:00

Snow white was born from recycled fabric scraps of one beautiful silk dress of mine.

my matryoshka dolls

2010-05-28T14:22:00.000-07:00

Paper clay dols painting in acrylics and gold leaf.

No matter how much I love doing this the miniature doll making is not for me. Way too tiny for my eyes and arthritic hands.

first paper clay doll ready

2010-05-26T20:43:00.000-07:00

My original creation of a pumpkin doll is ready.

paper clay work

2010-05-25T18:37:00.000-07:00

My doll's arm cracked and went loose so i had to detach it and make a new arm.From the rest of the paper clay I tried to shape some matrioshka dolls but they are uneven, poor things.

pumpkin doll WIP

2010-05-23T23:49:00.000-07:00

First doll is a pumpkin girl and she was born Sunday, May 23.

clay doll preliminaries

2010-05-22T20:24:00.000-07:00

I received a gift of paper clay from Abi Monroe and I am now very intimidated by the process of making the doll head, facial features and everything for my project pumpkin doll.I am now in the phase of collecting data, researching my subject and taking pictures of my ideas for this project.Here are a few links I already visited and enjoyed.

http://www.ellenharris.com/howtomakedolls.html

http://claudineroelens.homestead.com/tutorialflowerfairy.html

http://www.lewisgoldsteinartanddesign.com/DollTutorialFS.htm

http://www.dolldesigns.com/tips.html

As this is my first time using paper clay I created the armature from aluminium foil and added to a mini pumpkin I had around the house.

The challenge now is not dressing up the pumpkin but creating the girl/doll face.I am really intimidated by sculpting.

Iron on transfer doll face

2010-05-22T10:38:00.000-07:00

This is my first doll face for iron on transfer and is available for purchase.To read about iron on transfers go this webpage http://www.wikihow.com/Make-and-Use-Iron-on-Transfers

To buy this doll face send me an email.

painting dolls face on fabric

2010-05-21T16:02:00.000-07:00

These are a couple of doll faces painting with markers, ink pen and oil pastel, a demo that I was asked to do and you can watch it on Youtube.Not very good video as I used one hand for the drawing, one for the camera and the light was not good either.

And here trying to look like Snow white

and Little Red Riding Hood.

Mirror, mirror on the wall

2010-05-20T15:31:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's the queen from Snow white story.Just put together a few elements for the villain's puppet.I will also have to create Snow white but the real chalenge will be the 7, yes,7 dwarfs. Wish me luck!

Lolita, the flamenco dancer ready

2010-05-19T20:14:00.000-07:00

Finally finished Lolita.

art prints GIVEAWAY

2010-05-18T17:38:00.000-07:00

Please feel free to participate in my first giveaway of my best fruit artwork.Take the banner, place it on your site and read more about it at ART STEPPING STONES

There will be two winners so your chances are greater.

Meet Frida

2010-05-16T20:25:00.000-07:00

This doll puppet was fun to make from fabric scraps of a summer dress.I use the left overs scraps from my dresses so every doll dress is new.Her face is painted with markers, ink pen and oil pastel.Almost 3 hours of work.

new puppet, Linda

2010-05-16T14:06:00.000-07:00

a quick puppet for summer fun.Less than 2 hours of work;hand sewn.

Rosa, a Spanish girl puppet

2010-05-15T19:59:00.000-07:00

Her name is Rosa and she is made of new fabric scrap from a beautiful dress I used to wear in hot summers.She is a puppet and a Spanish girl helping me to teach Spanish to small children.

My selling blog

2010-05-10T23:05:00.000-07:00

Happy to announce that now I can sell my art from my new blog My joy of colors

Follow me there for my affordable original oil pastels or color pencils pieces.

The three little pigs puppets video

2010-05-08T11:27:00.000-07:00

Bed time or party time, birthday present or kids party show this story played by fingers is great for small children.You can order your little pigs and bad wolf anytime.For order, price and shipping info email ME.

the three little pigs puppets

2010-05-07T20:22:00.000-07:00

The three little pigs and the wolf hand/finger puppets is ready for the show.If you like them you can order your set with or without clothes for the piglets.

the wolf is here

2010-05-06T19:14:00.000-07:00

Yes, you heard right.The big bad wolf project is a success.

Only the photos cannot show the play of the fingers inside the puppet.Let's see.

Now I have one little pig and the wolf. Well the story goes that the wolf actually ate the two litle brothers who did not have brick houses :))
Just kidding, I will probably make the two little pigs these days.

wolf pattern and more

2010-05-05T12:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was able to assemble the head of my flamenco dancer Lolita; you can see her from profile on both sides.
Today I finally am proud to brag about my new pattern for the big bad wolf.Both jaws are mobile. You can insert fingers in the upper and lower jaw, also two fingers to animate the ears.
These are just cut pieces awaiting assembling.I may put my pattern on paper and make it available for purchase.I still have to design and find appropiate material for the fangs.It will be a scary wolf...OMG!

a glimpse at Lolita

2010-05-03T20:26:00.000-07:00

She will sure have arms. This is just a peek to show off her dress.

Goldilocks puppets on YouTube

2010-05-03T18:56:00.000-07:00

There are two videos of my Goldilocks puppets on YouTube . This is one of them.

Gigi on YouTube

2010-05-03T11:40:00.000-07:00

Oui, Gigi is available for adoption.You can always order your Gigi with even more colorful dress and seducing eyes ;)

flamenco dancer project

2010-05-02T19:48:00.001-07:00

Here is an idea of a flamenco dancer hand puppet from profile.I decided to lay on paper and even cut pieces of projects that buzz in my head these days.

new project in progress

2010-05-02T17:51:00.000-07:00

Pig's head, she said. Yes, I am now working on the story characters Three Little Pigs.
The little pigs are not a problem at this time. The big challenge is the big bad wolf.Any ideas?

New Goldilocks

2010-05-01T23:41:00.000-07:00

After reading again the story I realized that my Goldilocks hand puppet is too big. So I made a much smaller one for finger puppet.

ready for the show

2010-05-01T14:40:00.000-07:00

My new edition of Goldilocks and the three bears hand/finger puppets is ready for the show.

baby bear finger puppet

2010-04-30T18:18:00.000-07:00

My baby bear finger puppet.

And with his mama.

mama bear finger puppet

2010-04-29T19:30:00.001-07:00

This is about 3 hours work crafting pieces, sewing by hand, assembling.

puppet bears from rags

2010-04-28T18:39:00.000-07:00

Behind the scenes in my puppet studio.Today on my working table, fabric scraps I am considering in designing my three bears in Goldilocks story.I sketches the bears but I'd rather not disclose all my secrets and spoil the surprise.

New doll Gigi

2010-04-27T18:24:00.001-07:00

This new doll was born today, head and hands only; the dress is an old doll dress I made and never used.

Tom and Jerry hand/finger puppets

2010-04-27T13:00:00.001-07:00

This duo made from rags can be played on one hand or both hands.

Mimi on You Tube

2010-04-24T16:31:00.000-07:00

This morning Mimi was hungry and I gave her a carrot, and also found a pink ribbon to match her skirt. She was really happy and wanted to go on air ;)

meet Mimi

2010-04-23T19:35:00.000-07:00

Yes, I have a name.My name is Mimi and I am a rag bunny girl and a puppet.Can't wait to go to Vienna and make someone special happy.

to animate a rag puppet you basically need 3 fingers and 2 for movement of dress, skirt.

rag bunny girl is a puppet

2010-04-23T18:53:00.001-07:00

Finished my bunny girl.She is now a hand puppet and happy to be so.As a puppet she can do many things: move her head, her paws, her ears and skirt. It takes three fingers to do so.But when she is resting she looks like in this picture.

Entirely made by hand from rags.

first commission ;)

2010-04-22T18:47:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine in Vienna, Austria, saw my blog the other day and asked me for a cute bunny for himself.Since in May will be his birthday I am designing actually a bunny girl for a gift. Today I started with the head. Here she is.

I am sewing by hand this piece. Here she is wearing a skirt.Maybe I will decide tomorrow whether is going to be a puppet or a doll bunny.

close up of my kitty

2010-04-21T15:54:00.001-07:00

This close up of my puppet shows how to insert two fingers in the head and two in the paws to handle the puppet.

finished my kitty

2010-04-20T19:22:00.000-07:00

but not as happy as anticipated.I will show it to you and you will agree with me.

a new project

2010-04-20T10:17:00.000-07:00

This kitty wants to be a hand puppet and here are my fisrt steps started yeasterday afternoon.

The face, I am not sure about, maybe i will try more versions of eyes.

my toy/laundry bear bag

2010-04-19T12:55:00.000-07:00

This is a project I started in the '80 and it's fun to do and very easy.It's about having a child laundry, shoes or toy bag featuring a teddy or a bunny. I made a teddy face for it.All you need to craft is the head and paws of the animal and attach them to a pillow case or a summer skirt in my case.Here is hanging on my bathroom door.

and here as a toy bag

I have plans to improve this one and give it a new twist.Also I am going to try a bunny bag, a kitty bag for a change.

Zenaida

2010-04-18T08:42:00.000-07:00

Zenaida, of Russian name and inspiration, was born in California, in 2002 as a doll head.I added a shawl and became a hand puppet.

Here is shown with its support, a plastic bottle when not used as a puppet.
To assemble just wrap her in her shawl secure it with a pin and play with her as a hand puppet.

You can tell beautiful Russian stories (made up is OK) of snow and harsh winters.

Max, my first hand puppet

2010-04-17T11:19:00.000-07:00

Max was born on paper in the '80 in Bucharest, Romania. Here are the two sketches of the original Max. Through the years I changed his hairstyle and gender ;)Could be Maxine since 1990.

welcome to my doll creations

2010-04-16T16:16:00.000-07:00

I created this blog for my rag dolls and puppet creations.I started this passion of doll making in 1975 and through the years I made many dolls and puppets which I offered as gifts to children of my friends, colleagues and neighbors.Here is my full body bunny, called Charley, born in 1975 in Bucharest, Romania.

Charley was entirely handmade, at the time I didn't know how to use the sewing machine.The thrill of these dolls was also the fact they were my own creation, no pattern and no machine to help me.

Later I made patterns of my own designs but I still couldn't make two dolls alike after the same pattern; I found I can have more fun if I changed the elements, keep my creativity fresh and my interest vivid.