Hooray! Despite all of the stormy winter weather during their drive across the country, FedEx Ground delivered my order of Felt Wee Folk – New Adventureslast Friday before noon, as scheduled. A wee folk welcoming committee was on hand!
I immediately opened the boxes and started processing orders because I wanted to mail a bunch off that day. Instead of being “hot off the press”, the books were “cold off the truck” as I opened to the title page and started signing them.
I had prepared as much as I could beforehand, so all I had to do was sign and slip the books into pre-addressed mailers. Since then, I’ve brought several loads to the post office. Orders made in early January were filled first and will progress toward more recent ones. The rest will go out this week, so don’t fret, yours is coming!
These are all orders from my Etsy Shop (here), which include some extra goodies; an autograph, a winter scene poster (folded flat), faux flowers to make 2 fairies and a wee folk note card.
If you want to support your local bookseller, have them get one for you. My neighborhood bookstore, Eight Cousins offers signed copies, too. They’re having a book launch party on Sunday, March 8, at 3:00 pm. And there’s always Amazon, where today, Felt Wee Folk – New Adventures is rated No. 1 in “Toymaking! They have an e-book version, which is a sensible option for international customers.
I am excited to be included in Margaret Bloom’s blog tour for her new how-to book, Making Peg Dolls & More: toys that spin and bring sweet dreams. This charming hard cover volume joins the author’s popular first book, Making Peg Dolls, with new projects that act as imagination boosters for children, parents and teachers. To enter a Giveaway for a copy of Making Peg Dolls and More, please follow the directions at the end of this post, just before the nifty book trailer.
Although we haven’t yet met in person, Margaret Bloom and I have developed a mutually supportive online friendship. We share an interest in designing and showing how to make little play figures which are influenced by the wisdom of Waldorf Education. Our approaches are different; Margaret’s peg dolls are perfectly suited for children to make, whereas my wee folk dolls (Felt Wee Folk) require more handwork skills and are geared toward adults. Margaret’s books fill a void in the craft and toy world and I recommend both of her books to anyone who has children in their lives.
In her new book, Margaret takes the concept of a simple peg doll to another level, introducing projects that animate the static wooden figures, sparking active creative play. The book sets the stage with a thoughtful Foreward by kindergarten teacher, Shaifa Oppenheimer, who writes, “Unlike many other sense-depriving toys, interactive screens and other products marketed to young children, which actually stand between the child and the true exploration of our beautiful green earth, this little book is an antidote and a balm.”
The book is very well organized and written in a friendly conversational tone, like the author is personally explaining the process to you. Poetry and familiar stories linked to the peg doll characters begin each chapter, adding lively and poignant narratives to the projects.
There are clear step-by-step directions for painting with non-toxic colors, dressing and decorating a variety of peg dolls that take the form of mobiles, tops, marionettes and other toys. She also shows how to make felt wall hanging scenes, with pockets for the peg dolls to call home. Helpful tips appear alongside the general directions and each project is clearly marked with one, two or three leaves, which indicate the skill level. The book’s simple, charming designs include just the right amount of detail to make the little figures eye-catching and engaging.
Margaret’s Peg Doll books stand out as more than simply another series of craft how-to’s. They symbolize the reclaiming of childhood in today’s technological world and encourage the creation of toys that will be appreciated and admired long after the children are grown.
To enter the Giveaway for a copy of Making Peg Dolls & More, please leave a comment (on this post) which mentions your favorite childhood toy. The contest is worldwide and the winner will be picked at random on Feb. 15th. Here’s the book trailer:
You can follow the Blog tour and enter more book Giveaways by linking to these specially selected sites:
This month, I’ve had the pleasure of making a special doll who represents one of my family’s ancestors. The “Desire Doll” personifies Desire Howland Gorham, who was born in Plymouth Colony in 1623 to John Howland and Elizabeth Tilley, who both came to America on the Mayflower.The doll was raffled to raise funds for my sister Anne Mavor‘s ground breaking art project, I Am My White Ancestors: Self-Portraits through Time. Her project involves much more than a genealogic study with a list of names and dates. She is striving to understand our ancestors’ motivations in a historical context. I am glad to be a part of Anne’s fundraising efforts and applaud her thought-provoking vision.
~ About the Desire Doll ~ Hand made by me, Salley Mavor, 4″ tall, stands on a weighted stand, extra sturdy bendable body, hand stitched, clothing made of wool and cotton, basket is made from coiled thread-wrapped wire, includes signed tag. This doll uses techniques taught in my how-to book, Felt Wee Folk: New Adventures. This is a rare opportunity to have a one-of-a-kind, more involved and detailed doll, as I usually only make them for gifts or for personal/family projects.
Anne’s art installation addresses issues of immigration, colonization, slavery and war through the personal stories of 10 to 12 of our European ancestors, going back through the centuries, as far as she can research. You can find out about Anne’s project here.
Anne as Eugenia Buchanan (1823-1898) in Orangburg, SC
Anne describes her exhibit this way: “I Am My White Ancestors: Self-Portraits through Time is a multi-media installation that uses my family history to explore the conflicted story of European Americans. It will consist of 10-12 life-size photographic self-portraits of me as my ancestors, printed on fabric panels and accompanied by short audio diaries from each ancestor’s perspective.”
“This idea grew out of my interest to understand how my heritage impacts me as a white person living in the United States. I was curious to examine issues such as immigration, colonization, slavery, war, and what life was like in Europe. I wanted to know how similar or different I might be to my ancestors, and what I could learn from their lives. Claiming connection to my family history is also one step towards taking responsibility for the past.”
In a recent update about her project, Anne wrote, “My research continues to turn up gems of information. I just learned more about the life of Desire Howland Gorham who will be my 17th Century self-portrait. She was born in 1623 in Plymouth Colony. Her husband John Gorham was an officer in King Phillip’s War, the last stand of Chief Metacomet and the Narragansett Nation against the English settlers in 1678. After the war, the victorious English soldiers each received parcels of former Indian lands, while the surviving Indians were enslaved or shipped off to the West Indies. Gorham died following the war and was buried on the stolen 100 acres he won on Poppasquash Neck in Rhode Island. Desire never lived there. After her death, her slave Totoo requested in his will that he be buried at the feet of his beloved mistress. War, slavery, and theft, contrasted with deep human connections.”
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Books may be pre-ordered from my Etsy Shop here. Your order will be sent when the book is released in late February 2015. Books ordered from my Etsy Shop will include some extra goodies; autograph, a winter scene poster (folded flat) and faux flowers to make 2 fairies.
Rob and I had such fun filming the process of making a fairy doll for this book trailer:
This long-awaited all-doll version expands the wee world introduced in the original edition of Felt Wee Folk: Enchanting Projects (C&T Publishing 2003), with pictures, directions and patterns for making more bendable figures with a variety of hairstyles, outfits, and armatures.
Favorite doll projects from the first book, including acorn-capped blossom fairies and other fanciful wee folk make a return appearance. As requested by fans, more challenging techniques, such as wig making are added, making this book suitable for all skill levels, from the beginner who is learning the blanket stitch to the experienced embroiderer who relishes fine stitching.
The book is bursting with inspirational photographs of little characters set up in miniature worlds, from woodland scenes to doll houses, to fairy gardens. A certain type of person enjoys creating and looking into tiny, enchanting worlds and this book is for them! These dolls appeal to the child within you, no matter your age.
Take a behind the scenes look at photo shoots for the book here.
Upcoming book signing events (poster included with book purchase): Sunday, March 8th at 3:00pm — Book Release party at Eight Cousins Bookstore, Falmouth, MA Sunday, March 15th at 2:00 pm — Book Signing and short presentation, Return of the Wee Folk at the Sandwich Public Library, Sandwich, MA
I’m excited to show you these two new 11″ x 17″ posters that I had printed in anticipation of the publication of my upcoming book, Felt Wee Folk – New Adventures: 120 Enchanting Projects. It was a family production; I constructed the scenes and made the dolls, my husband Rob Goldsborough took the photographs, and my sister Anne Mavor did the graphic design. All of these doll projects and more will be in the new book.
Both posters are for sale in my Etsy Shop for a very reasonable price. Sorry about the tacky “WeeFolkStudio.com” watermark across the center of the image — it doesn’t appear on the poster. To celebrate, I will be giving away the winter scene poster with the purchase of my book, Pocketful of Posies on Sunday, Dec. 7th during Author and Illustrator Day (1:00 ~ 4:00 pm), at the Concord Museum in Concord, MA
Felt Wee Folk: New Adventures will be released in last part of February, 2015. You can pre-order copies from my Etsy Shop here. Each book will include an autograph, faux flowers to make 2 fairies and a Felt Wee Folk winter scene poster.
Ltd. Edition Fairies; Holly & Birch and Lilly of the Valley
OK, I’ve learned to never say never again! 3 years ago (in this post), I announced that Pansy would be my last Ltd. Edition Fairy. Looking back, I needed to close that chapter of my career, so that I could move forward and grow as an artist. It was an important and necessary step to take, but I’ve found that the desire to keep my hands busy has won out, especially while away from home. The portable nature of wrapping bodies and stitching felt clothing for these wee folk dolls is perfect for traveling. So, for 2 years I’ve been slowly working on a group of dolls, with the goal of eventually selling them in editions of 25. In keeping with my original intention of banning mass production work from my studio, I only worked on them when traveling, in airport waiting rooms, planes, boats, and trains. This arrangement allows me to have a stitching “fix” while away from my studio and there is no pressure to complete the set of dolls by a certain time.
Well, the dolls are finally ready to show themselves and have been added to my Etsy Shop! Two editions of 25, Lily of the Valley and Holly & Birch have been created in transit around the world, across oceans and continents, including America, South America, Antarctica and Europe. The dolls will only be sold through Etsy with a credit card or Paypal, on a first come, first served basis.
What happens when these sell out? Will there more in the future? Possibly, but realistically, it would be a few more years before they make an appearance. It all depends on how much idle travel time there is!
Working on fairy tunics on a train en route to Toulouse, France
Lily of the Valley has blonde braids, a green wool felt tunic and a white flounced petal skirt.
Lily of the Valley Ltd. Edition Fairies
During our barge trip in France, Rob took this photo of me engrossed in stitching felt fairy tunics, while waiting for a lock to fill along the Canal du Midi.
Lily of the Valley Ltd. Edition Fairy
Holly & Birch are a girl and boy pair with dark brown hair and black and red wool felt outfits.
In anticipation of my new how-to book coming out next March, I’m excited to be offering a series of new note cards. It was hard to narrow it down to six images from the many project and inspirational photographs in Felt Wee Folk: New Adventures. (Update: Pre-order autographed copies from my Etsy shop.)
Felt Wee Folk: New Adventures 2015
A year ago, my husband Rob and I were busy setting up scenes and taking photographs for the book, which I chronicled in these posts. I’m happy to finally share some of the scenes, which give a glimpse into the newest wee world! Cards can be ordered from my Etsy Shop. Of course, the Wee Folk Studio watermark will not appear on the printed cards. They come in sets of 4 of the same image, or a 6 card variety pack. The new cards include A Wee Gathering, Winter Play, A Buggy Picnic, Beach Babies, A Family Outing and Mary Had a Little Lamb.
Wholesale inquiries from retail shops are welcome. Please contact me for a price list.
A Wee Gathering and Winter Play bring to life a variety of doll projects from the book.
Winter Play
A Buggy Picnic is in the book’s photo gallery. The book includes directions for making the little girl doll in the doorway, but the houses and insects are added for fun and inspiration.
A Buggy Picnic
There are lots of wee folk babies in the book. I used my collection of shells to set up this Beach Babies scene.
Beach Babies
A Family Outing pictures a woodland family emerging from a tree trunk doorway.
A Family Outing
A schoolyard full of children fills the Mary Had a Little Lamb chapter.
Polly doll had a wonderful time on her first trip to France! She got up close and personal to a large face and was introduced to some delicious food.
She saw a model of what the city of Marseille would have looked like in ancient Roman times.
She loved the brightly painted doors and shutters…
and even met some of her own kind.
She took in the view from atop the village of Les Baux-de-Provence…
and climbed sedimentary rock.
She saw some amazing wild life.
She saw the same places where Van Gogh lived in St. Remy…
and took shelter under some mushrooms.
In St. Remy she visited the Glanum archaeological site…
and touched the ruins.
She navigated the Canal du Midi…
and walked around the medieval city of Carcassonne. It was a splendid journey!
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Polly’s going on another adventure tomorrow! It took the better part of a week for her to figure out what to wear on this trip. She’ll only have one outfit, so it has to work for everything. Polly looked through her clothes from Antarctica, Ireland, California, China Town (San Francisco) and Cuba, but they were not right for this trip.
Polly decided to get something new that was a little more practical and nautical; a simple blue skirt and striped top. An acorn cap beret fits nicely on top of her head, too. Among other things, she’ll be helping navigate a barge along the Canal du Midi in southern France. There will be so much to share when she returns in a couple of weeks!
To keep up with new posts, subscribe to this blog (top right column on the home page). Your contact info will not be sold or shared. If you’d like to see more frequent photos tracking the projects in my studio, please follow me on Facebook and/or Instagram.
My friend Terry’s son Max got married a few weeks ago. Over the years, Terry and I have worked together on so many fun projects, including these: wedding cake, baby quilt and community quilt. So, Terry and I conspired to make a special surprise for the wedding couple.
I couldn’t wait to make little Max and Beth dolls for the wedding cake. Max and Beth met when they both worked as engineers at the Jet Propulsion Lab in California. Since they helped design parts for NASA’s Mars Rover, it became their obvious prop. Terry found a set of Lego directions for making “Curiosity” and enlisted the help of Max’s cousin to put it together.
Beth’s dress was one of those strapless jobs. Way before the wedding, Terry sent me a photo of the gown, so I could replicate it in miniature. The biggest challenge was to make a smooth transition between the doll’s felt torso and floss wrapped arms. Usually sleeves or shoulder straps provide a break that hide any raw ends. You can see a couple of stitches on the top, where I fastened the top in place. I don’t know how real life women can wear this style, without the help of magic! In this close-up, her felt chest looks a bit fuzzy, hairy even. But that’s wool felt for you! Fortunately, it’s not so noticeable on the 4″ doll size.
I’m glad that Max insisted on wearing a blue blazer and khakis, which gave the wedding a relaxed Cape Cod feel. They both looked spiffy!
Before we go any further, I want to mention that my upcoming how-to book, Felt Wee Folk: New Adventures ( March 2015) will have many examples of wedding cake toppers for you to make. You can see other wedding dolls I’ve made here.
Terry was originally going to make a Mars cake for the rehearsal dinner, but decided to simplify things by constructing a non-edible “Mars” stand from an inverted bowl covered with fondant. It was tricky to get the color right and she ended up using beet powder, cinnamon and cocoa. Terry rolled out the colored fondant and made impressions with a celestial patterned sheet of plastic and a rolling-pin, both with raised texture. She then spread the dough over the inverted stainless steel bowl. At the dinner, Max and Beth were totally surprised to see their likenesses lounging on the rover. The pair of dolls also made an appearance atop the wedding cake the next day.
Both the rehearsal dinner and wedding were lovely events. Congratulations, Max and Beth!
To keep up with new posts, please subscribe to this blog (top right column on the home page). Your contact info will not be sold or shared. If you’d like to see more frequent photos tracking the projects in my studio, please follow me on Facebook and/or Instagram
Hooray! Despite all of the stormy winter weather during their drive across the country, FedEx Ground delivered my order of Felt Wee Folk – New Adventures last Friday before noon, as scheduled. A wee folk welcoming committee was on hand!
SALLEY MAVOR 