Baby Polar Bear Suit

Posted on February 5, 2024 by Salley Mavor

Last December, I made some small gifts, including a little version of my grandson Elias in his polar bear snow suit. I’m looking forward to making more mementos like this and hope it becomes a yearly tradition! These days, it seems that practically every children’s hat and hooded outfit comes with a pair of animal ears on top. That’s fine with me – the more playful, the better!

I also made new Inuit dolls, which I’ll write about in a future post. They are a redo of a project I originally made for my kids and designed for Better Homes and Gardens magazine in 1986.

Baby Polar Bear Doll
The 4″ doll is based on the figures in my how-to book, Felt Wee Folk, only I used wool needlepoint yarn (regular knitting yarn is too bulky) instead of embroidery floss to wrap the hands and feet on the pipe cleaner armature.

As usual, I painted multiple faces on wooden beads and picked out the one I like best. Even after painting thousands of faces, I still mess up sometimes.

The suit is made with some really thick wool felt that I was given years ago. It is probably manufactured for industrial purposes rather than little polar bear suits. The video below shows how I wrapped the feet and hands and sewed on the suit.

In the past year or so, I’ve used a hands-free phone/light stand made by Canvas that makes documenting my process a lot easier. I used to have to bug Rob to stop whatever he was doing and come film different steps with his camera. Now, I can take photos or videos whenever I want to. The downside is that I can’t get into the flow because I’m always thinking about recording some aspect of how I work. And there are times when I’m so engrossed that I skip entire sections of the process. That’s why my demonstration videos aren’t really tutorials. They’re more like peeking over my shoulder while I work. You might not see every detail, but you can get the gist of it.

After sewing on the suit, I made the hood – ears and all. The hood is made from a lighter weight wool felt.

The following video shows how I glued on the head and constructed the hood.

After the doll was finished, I got the idea of chain stitching Elias’s name and the year on the back. Yes, this will definitely be a yearly tradition!

To keep up with new posts, please subscribe to this blog 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.

2023 in review

Posted on December 30, 2023 by Salley Mavor

Here we are again, at the dawn of a new year! As usual, 2023 flew by so fast that it’s hard to comprehend how we could have passed through all four seasons already! For me, it was a year full of blessings and opportunities, both personally and professionally, highlighted by the arrival of a new family member, new artwork, new exhibitions and new products in my shop.

Artwork packed and ready to go to the Southern Vermont Arts Center.

Thank you to all of you who follow this blog and take an interest in my work and life as an artist. As we enter its 15th year, I marvel at the constant influx of new subscribers every day! According to some, the blog format has faded in popularity compared to other fast and flashy social media platforms, but not here. The slow, in-depth, and thoughtful way of writing posts with pictures is more in keeping with my style of working. My Facebook and Instagram pages attract more visitors, but I’m constantly directing people to my blog because this is where you’re more likely to find out about what I do and why I do it, not just a little snippet of the story. So, now that you’re here, please come along as I review the past 12 months and share posts (linked in bold blue letters) published in 2023.

The most significant event in my life this year was the birth of our grandson, Elias in January. During the winter and spring, he and I covered many miles strolling on the bike path behind his house, while I sang every song I could remember. Though, I did manage to get some work done in the studio, including a baby banner with his name, birth date and weight.
Baby Banner for Elias shows how I created the felt banner, including correcting a misspelling.

Baby banner for Elias

WINTER DISPLAY at BOSTON CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL
I was thrilled to be invited to set up a display at the Boston Children’s Museum last winter. The snow scene was populated with sample dolls from the Winter Play chapter of my how-to book, Felt Wee Folk: New Adventures.
Boston Children’s Hospital Installation shows a practice set-up of the scene in my studio.

Boston Children’s Hospital Installation

Adaptive Sled for the snow scene gives an inside view in photos and video of how I constructed an adaptive sled for the snow scene.

HARVEST TIME
During 2023, I posted 6 more segments about the fall scene in my series of seasonal landscapes. There’s one more part to go, which will be published in 2024.
Harvest Time – Part 3 (felt leaves)
Harvest Time – Part 4 (embroidered plants)
Harvest Time – Part 5 (toadstool mushroom)
Harvest Time – Part 6 (underground)
Harvest Time – Part 7 (wee folk)
Harvest Time – Part 8 (storage containers)

**Harvest Time – Part 5 (toadstool mushroom)**

**Harvest Time – Part 8 (storage containers)**

SUMMERTIME
This past year I finally completed Summertime, the fourth piece in my series of seasonal landscapes. In the coming year, I will post photos, videos and commentary about various aspects of the project.

Normally, I wait until a piece is finished before writing blog posts about it, but I couldn’t wait to give you a preview of Summertime and whet your appetite for what’s to come! The following 2 posts show photos and stitch minute videos documenting my process, including this raspberry video.
Studio News
Summertime makes the finish line!

Studio News

Baltimore Oriole Sneak Peek includes photos and videos of creating the bird for Summertime.

BEDTIME STITCHES TOURING EXHIBITION
Bedtime Stitches in Pacific Northwest shared the news that Bedtime Stitches was on view last winter at the Pacific Northwest Quilt & Fiber Arts Museum.
Summer Tidbits announced several opportunities to see my work in person, including Bedtime Stitches last summer at the Southeastern Quilt and Textile Museum and this past fall at the Southern Vermont Arts Center.
Bedtime Stitches 2024 Schedule:
March 2 – May 5, 2024, Upcountry History Museum, Greenville, SC
July 27, 2024 – mid-Feb. 2025, Albany Institute of History and Art, Albany, NY.

THE WEE WORLDS OF SALLEY MAVOR
Wee Worlds on view in Vermont is an overview of my exhibition, The Wee Worlds of Salley Mavor at the Southern Vermont Arts Center (on view until Jan. 7, 2024)

The Wee Worlds of Salley Mavor at the Southern Vermont Arts Center

This was the first time that all four pieces in my recently completed seasonal landscape series were shown together. Over the past few years, I’ve shared photos, commentary and videos that give a behind the scenes peek at how I created these bas-relief embroideries. You can catch up in the archives here: Frosty Morning, Mossy Glen, Summertime, Harvest Time. Summertime will be added in 2024.

Wee Worlds exhibition video Watch a video of the Vermont show and find out the reasons behind my decision to stop selling my original pieces.

Wall of Wee Folk describes how I gathered and affixed the display of about 150 little dolls to the gallery wall.

NEW PUZZLES
NEW Wee Folk Group Portrait gives an inside view of setting up and taking a photo of 20 years worth of little dolls for a puzzle image.

What’s new in my shop announces the addition of more jigsaw puzzles and a CD that feature my artwork.

Vintage Valentine gives a background look at collecting and arranging vintage spools for my nostalgic assemblage and introduces a new jigsaw puzzle and a spiral bound notebook featuring its image.

To keep up with new posts, please subscribe to this blog. 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.

Wee Worlds exhibition video

Posted on November 19, 2023 by Salley Mavor

The Wee World of Salley Mavor, Southern Vermont Arts Center, photo by Dave Barnum

It’s so gratifying to hear that visitors are traveling from all directions to see my exhibition at the SOUTHERN VERMONT ARTS CENTER! Carloads of fans are coming south from Canada (crossing the border from both Ontario and Quebec) and north, east and west from many different states. One woman wrote, “I went to the show yesterday. Seeing the work in person gave me shivers.” I wrote back that I hoped it was the good kind of shivers! If you live too far away to make the trip, here’s a short video that gives an overview of the show.

THE WEE WORLDS OF SALLEY MAVOR
On view through January 7, 2024 at the
SOUTHERN VERMONT ARTS CENTER, Manchester, VT

On view are are over 75 shadow boxes and other objects, including original picture book illustrations spanning my career. The show contains BEDTIME STITCHES, the touring exhibition of artwork for my most recent book, MY BED: Enchanting Ways to Fall Asleep around the World. Also on display are a wall full of wee folk dolls and stand alone pieces that explore a range of social narratives, from the everyday to topical subjects.

“My aim is to breathe life and emotion into embroidery, an art form that is often perceived as purely decorative.” Salley Mavor

The main reason I decided to pause or maybe altogether stop selling my original pieces is that I want more people to experience the detail and 3-dimensional quality of my work in person. Lately, I’ve realized that I can’t afford to let go of my recent pieces because their current value lies in being available to show. If I were to sell what I have, it would be difficult to put together an exhibition like this one in Vermont. The logistics and expense of arranging loans with private collectors would be prohibitive. It would take at least 20 years to make a new body of work to fill a gallery of this size! I want to make art for as long as I can, but I also I want to spend the next 20 years enjoying being a grandmother and that might mean making art at a more leisurely pace.

More exhibitions are being planned, which will be added to the exhibitions page when locations and dates are finalized. I’m also pleased to offer reproductions of my artwork in books, posters, cards, puzzles and notebooks in my Etsy Shop.

Harvest Time – Part 7 (wee folk)

Posted on July 4, 2023 by Salley Mavor

In Part 7 in the continuing series about making Harvest Time, I share photos and commentary about the wee folk characters who populate the landscape. In the coming weeks, I will post more stories that focus on different aspects of making the fall scene, including the miniature storage containers and the embroidered trees. So far, I’ve written the following posts:
The overview introduces the Harvest Time piece.
Part 1 features moss making.
Part 2 is about making the turkey tail mushroom.
Part 3 shows the construction of felt leaves.
Part 4 gives a peek at embroidering the plants.
Part 5 is about making the toadstool mushroom.
Part 6 covers the underground tunnels, roots and stones.

Harvest Time is the fall scene in a series of seasonal landscapes that capture the wonder and magic of the natural world, both real and imagined. Note cards and jigsaw puzzles of the this and other scenes in the series (Frosty Morning and Mossy Glen) are available in my Etsy Shop.

Everything I make includes some sort of living being with eyes, be they animal or human. I can’t imagine spending months working on a piece that is purely decorative, abstract or simply a landscape, without a storytelling element. The interplay between characters and their surroundings is what drives me to create. As I paint their faces, form their little bodies and stitch their clothes, I grow to care about them. This emotional connection is what motivates me to spend copious amounts of time creating an imaginary world that is worthy of their existence.

For this scene, I painted more faces than I needed, in different sizes and shades. That way, I could select a cast of characters later. I’m never sure how many figures I’ll need or exactly where they’ll end up. They are like actors in an improvisational skit or a group posed in a tableau.

The little people range in size between 1″ to 2″ tall. They were made the same way as the wee folk dolls in my how-to book, Felt Wee Folk, with slight variations. For instance, I used wire instead of pipe cleaners for their tiny armatures.

In keeping with the harvesting theme, all of the people are bringing produce to the mossy stump, where it will be stored in the cellar.

I’m often asked, “How do you knit their tiny outfits?” There might be someone out there who can knit or crochet a tiny sweater for a 2″ doll, but I challenge them to stuff their arms through the sleeves! Remember, this is make believe. The wee folk never have to bathe or change their clothes. Why knit, when you can embroider a piece of clothing directly onto a body? Rows of chain stitching are pretty convincing, don’t you think? I call it faux knitting.

Please stay tuned for more stories about making Harvest Time, including the storage containers and embroidered trees.
The overview introduces the Harvest Time piece.
Part 1 features moss making.
Part 2 is about making the turkey tail mushroom.
Part 3 shows the construction of felt leaves.
Part 4 gives a peek at embroidering the plants.
Part 5 is about making the toadstool mushroom
Part 6 covers the underground tunnels, roots and stones.

Sam and Louisa’s wedding dolls

Posted on September 25, 2022 by Salley Mavor

This summer, both my son Ian and Sam, his best friend from childhood, got married. Here they are at age 3 and at Sam’s wedding last weekend. So, I had the pleasure of making personalized cake toppers for 2 wedding couples! You can see the post I wrote about Ian and Liz’s dolls here.

Sam and Louisa hosted a heart-felt and whimsical ceremony and reception, full of do-it-yourself touches, at their home in Falmouth, MA. Sam is a radio announcer and reporter for WCAI, our local NPR station and Louisa teaches ballet and is also the handwork teacher at the Waldorf School of Cape Cod.

A few weeks before the wedding, Sam and Louisa sent photos of their wedding attire and accessories, including their shoes. As I teach in my how-to book, Felt Wee Folk, the figures are constructed from the feet upward.

I also asked them to send head shots, specifically with closed mouths – no toothy grins, which are difficult to paint. When depicting real people, I like to paint their likenesses way in the beginning of the process. That way, I feel attached to them. They aren’t just dolls, but individuals with unique characteristics who are dressing up for a special occasion.

After forming the bride’s limbs with pipe cleaners and wrapping the arms and legs with embroidery floss, I sewed felt around the torso and stitched on boob beads.

Then, I covered the torso and boob beads with a layer of cotton batting and stitched more embroidery floss onto the upper chest area. Dressing bride dolls is a challenge because so often they wear skimpy gowns that show a lot of exposed skin. It’s so much easier to make the groom’s suit out of wool felt!

To make Louisa’s hair, I stitched embroidery floss onto the felt “wig”, which I’d previously glued onto her wooden bead head (see photo above). I should mention that at this point, her head is not yet glued onto the neck. That came at the end, after her clothing was finished. I popped her head on and off throughout the process to check how it looked.

I found some white silk (or silk-like) fabric in my stash to make Louisa’s gown.

I formed Sam’s pipe cleaner body and he lay on my work table in his underwear, while I waited for photos of his suit.

Using photos of Louisa’s family heirlooms, I fashioned her veil and pearl necklace.

With Sam still in his underwear, I pressed forward and made the platform that they would stand on, which is basically a piece of wood covered with felt. I chain stitched their wedding date in orange and outlined the numbers in purple to make them more prominent.

I used a spider web technique to embroider ribbon roses, which I learned on YouTube.

I added more ribbon embroidery and bead embellishments.

I glued a piece of felt to the bottom of the wooden platform and stitched the embellished felt top piece to it around the outside edge. Then I edged the base with twisted memory wire and braid.

As soon as the photo of Sam in his black velvet jacket appeared on my phone, I got to work creating its wee version.

To make Sam’s floral bow-tie, I decorated silk ribbon with markers and stitched it to his shirt.

It didn’t take long to sew his jacket onto the pipe cleaner body, and glue his head on top. Now, he was all ready to get married!

For her bouquet, i weeded through my collection of miniature flowers, guessing what it might look like. In reality, it turned out that she held a bouquet of dahlias in a very similar color scheme.

Before covering the wooden base with felt, I had drilled holes for sewing their feet in place. I had marked the location of the drill holes on the felt, so it was easy to anchor their feet with a few stitches using a long sewing needle.

Here they are, atop their lemon poppy seed wedding cake, which was homemade by the bride’s sister. Congratulations and best wishes to Sam and Louisa!

Ian and Liz’s Wedding Dolls

Posted on August 14, 2022 by Salley Mavor

Before sharing the process of making wedding cake topper dolls for my son Ian and his new bride Liz, I want to remind you to sign up for a ZOOM Talk that I’ll be giving on August 25th at 2:PM (eastern time). “An Afternoon with Salley Mavor” will be hosted by the Brick Store Museum, where my retrospective exhibition is currently on view until Sept. 11. The Talk will be recorded so that those registrants unable to attend the live chat will receive the recorded version the next business day. I look forward to seeing your smiling faces, as I share the story of my life’s work, touching on where it came from, how it has evolved and why I do it. Have your questions ready! Please register HERE.

My first major retrospective exhibition, “WHAT A RELIEF: The Art of Salley Mavor” is currently
at the Brick Store Museum in Kennebunk, Maine until Sept. 11, 2022

Now back to Ian and Liz, who are as adorable in real life as they are in doll form. Their wedding, which took place on July 23rd in New Haven, CT on what could have been the hottest day of the year, was a wonderful and joyous event. Rob and I are thrilled to welcome Liz into our family!

Ever since they announced their engagement a year ago, I’ve looked forward to making Ian and Liz a personalized set of wedding cake toppers. Over the years, I’ve made wedding dolls for close friends (see them HERE) and samples for a chapter in my how-to book, Felt Wee Folk, but this is the first time in several decades that someone in our family has had a wedding to make them for!

I had a short window of time to work on them in late June and early July, after my exhibition in Maine was underway and when Ian and Liz could provide reference photos of their clothing, hair styles and other details. If you’ve made figures using the instructions in Felt Wee Folk, you’ll know that you start with the feet, so I couldn’t begin until I had photos of their shoes.

Ian chose a tartan tie (Buchanan from my mother’s side) that we bought for him on our last trip to Scotland. We have Scottish ancestors through many branches of the family, so there are a few different tartans to choose from, but those are never available in souvenir shops.

I matched the window pane weave of Ian’s suit with a stitched grid of embroidery floss and added a French knot boutonniere to the button hole stitched collar.

It’s been a while since I’ve made glasses, so I referred to my Cover Up poster to see how I twisted wire to form their shape.

Before painting his face, I asked Ian if he would be clean shaven or sport a beard on his wedding day. He carefully planned for a 3 day old scruff look, a favorite with millennials.

The bridal gown was so much fun to replicate in miniature. To get a womanly shape, I sewed a pair of boob beads onto the armature and then created the bodice with a combination of felt, embroidery floss and metallic thread.

The metallic thread was a pain to work with, but it did the job!

Liz sent photos of her hair in a low bun, which I copied.

To make the curly tendrils in front, I smeared glue on a few strands of floss and wound it around a piece of insulated wire until it dried.

When the dolls were finished, I moved onto their platform, which was an oval shaped piece of wood I found at Michael’s.

Planning ahead for when I would sew them in place, I drilled 4 holes (one for each foot) through the wood.

I cut out a piece of wool felt and chained stitched their wedding date in the space that would be in front of their feet. In the photo, the dolls aren’t sewn in place yet, just balanced there while I gauged the spacing.

I used a spider web technique to embroider ribbon roses, which I learned on YouTube.

It was a chance to use some of my collection of silk ribbon, which usually just sits in a basket looking pretty.

The dolls relaxed while I decorated their stand.

I glued a piece of felt to the bottom of the wooden platform and stitched the embellished felt top piece to it around the outside edge.

For a finishing touch and to add some visual weight, I sewed rows of braid and twisted red and green memory wire to the bottom edge of the stand. I had marked the location of the drill holes, so it was easy to anchor their feet with a few stitches using a long sewing needle.

In anticipation of the fact that the wedding couple would be placed on top of a frosted cake (it was carrot cake with cream cheese frosting), I stitched a layer of wax paper to the bottom to protect the felt. It was a good thing, because afterward the wax paper was a bit sticky when I ripped it off.

Mossy Glen: Part 8 – wee folk

Posted on June 7, 2022 by Salley Mavor

This is the 8th and final part of the series about making the spring landscape, Mossy Glen. All spring I’ve shared photos, videos and commentary about how I created the piece, from stitching moss to forming wire stems. I’ve saved the best for last – today’s post is about making the wee folk characters!
Part 1 is all about stitching a moss-like texture, Part 2 gives a glimpse at how I made the cherry trees, Part 3 is about the stone walls, Part 4 shows how I made the forsythia blossoms, Part 5 features wire and felt leaves, Part 6 is about chain-stitching leaves and Part 7 looks at the violets and berries.

Before delving into how I made the wee folk in Mossy Glen, I’d like to announce the opportunity to see a large selection of my work in person this summer. The exhibition, What a Relief, has been in the works for years and I’m happy to say that its doors are open to the public this week! For those of you who live too far away to come see the show, I’ll be sharing photos and videos of the exhibition in future posts.

WHAT A RELIEF: The Art of Salley Mavor
June 7 – Sept. 11, 2022
Brick Store Museum, Kennebunk, ME
Meet the Artist on June 25, 1 – 3 PM

This is the first major retrospective exhibition of my artwork, spanning over 40 years, from early on in my career to the present day. Rarely seen works on loan from private collections fill multiple galleries on the Museum’s entire first floor. The show is laid out somewhat chronologically, so visitors can see the evolution of my style and techniques through the years. Over 150 framed pieces and sculptural objects are on display, including the series of original illustrations from my most recent picture book, MY BED.

Wee Folk in Mossy Glen
Now, let’s turn our attention back to the characters frolicking in the Mossy Glen. I’m never sure who is going to appear in these landscapes. They just show up one by one and claim their spots. After many months building places for the wee folk to live, it feels satisfying to finally meet them and let them take over.

The figures are similar to the acorn-capped dolls in my how-to book, Felt Wee Folk, just smaller in scale. Instead of pipe cleaners, I made the armatures with 24 gauge jewelry wire. You have to wind a lot of thread around the wire to make the limbs look proportional and not too spindly. At least you don’t have to deal with pipe cleaner fuzzies poking out.

After wrapping the wire armature with either embroidery floss or tapestry yarn, I embellished the torso and arms with faux knitting. which is basically rows of chain stitching.

I first started experimenting with fake or faux knitting when I made Polly’s Irish sweater by embroidering patterns and textures on felt. I’m not very experienced with knitting or crocheting, so this seemed like a good solution.

Since then, I’ve left out the felt and stitched directly onto the thread wrapped bodies. It’s fussy for sure, but the clothing comes out looking the way I want it to.

Here’s a Stitch Minute video showing some of my faux knitting.

I know this fellow looks uncomfortable, but I didn’t want to hide what he endured for the sake of fashion.

I made this stroller out of wire, which I covered with embroidery floss. The wheels are beads. As usual, I was so absorbed in figuring out how to make it, that I didn’t think to take photos along the way. I’ll try better with the next scene.

I hope that you’ve enjoyed this series about making Mossy Glen. Here’s a list of the different parts:
Mossy Glen (overview)
Part 1 (moss)
Part 2 (cherry trees)
Part 3 (stone walls)
Part 4 (forsythia)
Part 5 (wire and felt leaves)
Part 6 (chain stitched leaves)
Part 7 (violets and berries)

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.

Frosty Morning – part 6 (wee folk)

Posted on September 9, 2021 by Salley Mavor

This 6th and final part in the Frosty Morning series is about making the wee folk characters who live in the winter landscape. All of the other stuff, the trees, the icy snow cover and the sparkling sky are just meant to set the stage for the little people to frolic in. While I worked on this piece, I thought about what the wee folk would look like and what they would be doing. Adding a narrative element with human (or animal) faces helps me fall in love with what I’m making. The scenery may be lovely, but without play actors, there is no story. And without that, what’s the point?

This year, I’m working on a group of seasonal landscapes that capture the wonder and magic of the natural world, both real and imagined. Frosty Morning, Mossy Glen, Summertime and Harvest Time are available as jigsaw puzzles and note cards in my shop here.

The full figures are about 2″ tall, with smaller ones peeking out of the holes in the shelters. To make them, I used the same basic techniques that I teach in my how-to book Felt Wee Folk, with some adjustments in the armature material and clothing.

I used wool tapestry yarn or mending wool to stitch and wrap their winter clothing. Whenever I share photos showing dolls wearing sweaters, people actually think I knit them! For something this small it’s much easier to create the allusion of knitting with rows of chain stitches. For other examples of faux knitted outfits, see Polly Doll‘s Irish knit sweater here and her Fair Isle vest here.

When making people, I always start by painting their faces on wooden beads. Then, after meeting them, I feel motivated to bring them to life.

I’ve been saving some really small acorn caps for just this kind of project.

Instead of pipe cleaners, which would be too bulky, I formed the body armature out of 24 gauge jewelry wire. The bead heads were glued to the wire neck at the very end, when the clothing was finished. I glued small pieces of felt onto the top of the bead heads, in a kind of Mohawk. Later, when I added yarn hair, the felt gave the threaded needle something to catch onto.

Miraculously, this old mending wool from my collection of deceased relatives’ ephemera escaped being eaten my moths. It was the perfect weight with which to stitch miniature clothing.

In this sequence of photos, you can see how I wrapped and stitched yarn around the wire arms and legs and then made a separate faux knitted coat to go on top. I completed the look with French knot buttons, striped leggings, wool hair, and a glued on acorn cap.

The group of little people grew and grew until there seemed to be the right amount.

The sled is made from a pod I found so long ago that I can’t remember where it came from. An image search identified it as a coming from a Foxglove tree.

With just a few stitches, I sewed the characters in place – pulling the sled, looking out from shelters and climbing along tree branches.

When all of the parts were finished, it was time to mount the piece.

I made a border frame by padding and covering a wooden stretcher with upholstery fabric. I then hand sewed the layered background fabrics to the back of the stretcher, making it as taught as possible. After that, I sewed the different landscape sections to the background surface, starting with the lace snow cover, stone wall and driftwood house and ending with the trees.

To help prop up the tree limbs, I sewed beads to the back and stitched them to the background fabric.

I hope that you’ve enjoyed this close look at the process of making Frosty Morning. When the Spring scene is finished, I’ll write about it as well.

Part 1 shows how I made the tree trunks.
Part 2 gives a close look at how I formed and wrapped the wire tree branches. Part 3 is about constructing the rounded shelters.
Part 4 is about making the stone wall and the ice covered bush in front of it.
Part 5 is about adding sparkle to the scene.

To keep up with new posts, subscribe to this blog. If you’d like to see more frequent photos tracking the projects in my studio, please follow me on Facebook and/or Instagram.

New cards in the shop

Posted on January 28, 2021 by Salley Mavor

I am happy to announce that three new cards have just been added to my Etsy Shop – Self Portrait, Felt Pins and Cheese Straws (Recipe included). During 2020, more customers visited and purchased items from the shop than any previous year. It helped that my new book, MY BED came out and that an image of Birds of Beebe Woods went viral on Facebook and Instagram, sending flocks of fervent birders to my site.

After years of requests, I finally got around to designing a note card of Self Portrait: A Personal History of Fashion! It took so long because I couldn’t decide which portion of the spiral to zero in on. I knew that the figures would get lost if the whole image was printed on a small card. So, I cropped out a section with fashions that viewers consistently remark on – the peasant blouse, patched jeans, alpaca poncho and granny dress from the 60’s and 70’s, as well as the dolls that years when my children were physically attached to me.

To enter my Etsy Shop, please click here.

The original Self Portrait will be heading south this spring, to the Upcountry History Museum in Greenville SC, where it will be included in my exhibition, Salley Mavor: Social Fabric. On display will be a variety of pieces I’ve made over the past 20 years that interpret the theme of social connectivity. The works explore cultural diversity, migration, fashion, the natural world, and a range of social narratives, from the everyday to topical subjects. The work will be at the museum for a nice long stretch, from April 3 – Sept. 12, 2021.

Another new card, Felt Pins shows a collection of pins I made out of felt, beads, buttons and wee folk dolls about 20 years ago.

The felt pins were featured in the 1st edition (2003) of my how-to book, Felt Wee Folk: Enchanting Projects, which had directions for both wee folk dolls and several felt items. if you’re interested in this earlier edition, C&T Publishing sells print-on-demand and e-book versions of the book here. The newer all-doll 2nd edition (2015) of the book, Felt Wee Folk – New Adventures is available (with extra goodies) in my Etsy shop.

Felt Wee Folk: Enchanting Projects (2003)

There’s also a Cheese Straws Note Card with a recipe for making cheese straws on the back. The scene pictured is from my newly refurbished doll house, which you can find out about on my blog here. I’ve written about the best cheese straws in the world on my blog here.

To order cards, please visit my Etsy shop.

Doll house stories: kitchen

Posted on November 1, 2020 by Salley Mavor

In this part 3 in the Doll House Stories series, I show how I made the family of dolls gathered around the kitchen table in my newly renovated doll house. Other posts in this series: part 1 (history), part 2 (wallpapering), part 4 (re-upholstery.

Here’s a short video of the kitchen scene.

I suppose the boy could be rolling out dough for lots of different baked treats, but I imagined them making cheese straws, which is a family tradition going back several generations. In the past, I’ve shared the recipe for the best cheese straws in the world on this blog.

Since so many of you’ve enjoyed the recipe over the years, I decided to make a card with the cozy kitchen scene (above) on the front and the recipe for making cheese straws printed on the back. That way, it’s a greeting card (or Christmas card) and recipe card all in one.

The Cheese Straws card is available in my shop in packs of 4 or 8.

To make the figures in this scene, I started by painting their faces on wooden beads. After seeing their personalities come to life, I’m motivated to make the rest of their bodies. The doll making process is based on the instructions and patterns in my how-to book, Felt Wee Folk – New Adventures.

I glued felt wigs to the crown of the bead heads, making a surface that a needle can grab onto. Then, I stitched their hair with mending wool, which is just the right weight for this kind of detailed work. It seems like all of my relatives kept cards of wool to mend sweaters, so I now have a nice supply of browns and grays to choose from.

I bent wire in the shape of hands and wrapped the fingers and palms with embroidery floss. I’m frequently asked to show in detail how I make hands, but I choose to keep that process private.

Just like I teach in Felt Wee Folk, their bodies are constructed with pipe cleaners.

Here, you can see how the skirt fabric is gathered and sewn to her waist. It’s okay if it’s messy underneath because it will be covered by a sweater.

Since their clothes are sewn on, these dolls can’t change outfits very easily.

I used a chain stitch to sew stripes on this shirt.

To give this character a womanly shape, I sewed beads to her chest.

To finish off her cooking outfit, I made a little apron.

The dough is made with polymer clay. To give it a more realistic color, I kneaded in dried mustard, which is an ingredient in the cheese straws recipe. As mentioned earlier, Cheese Straws cards are available in my shop here.

Stay tuned for part 4 in the Doll House Stories series. I will share how I re-upholstered a vintage 1930’s miniature sofa.

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