Polly in the Galapagos

Posted on February 12, 2017 by Salley Mavor

Polly just returned from a fascinating trip to the Galapagos Islands, off the coast of Ecuador. She dressed in an outfit suitable for a Charles Darwin expedition in the 1830’s. The excessive heat and humidity were a challenge in her long skirt, but at least she didn’t have to put sun screen on her wooden face. In this photo, you can barely make out the piles of sun bathing sea iguanas on the black volcanic rocks. A brown baby sea lion nestled in the rocks and slept through the photo session, while another looked on from the water’s edge.

Having nothing to fear, the animals were oblivious to humans. We were told that they don’t sleep close together because of affection, but to keep themselves warm. Polly took along a collection bag and straw hat for protection from the equatorial sun.

This is as close as she got to some land iguanas.

She hiked up to a high lookout on one of the islands…

and climbed cactus plants.

The giant tortoises were impressively old and slow.

While the Sally Lightfoot crabs were gaudy and fast.

This young sea lion slumbered on a bench. Polly resisted the temptation to tickle its whiskers.

Polly got a kick out of posing in front a photo collage of Charles Darwin, who was in his 20’s when he visited the Galapagos Islands in 1831. His theory of evolution, The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, based mainly on his observations there was published in 1859. More photos of the trip, with closeups of the animals go here.

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Polly in Oregon

Posted on November 27, 2016 by Salley Mavor

Polly came along on our trip to Oregon. She was mesmerized by the beauty inside the Lan Su Chinese Garden in the heart of Portland.

She helped the Mavor sisters make Speculaas, molded Dutch gingerbread cookies.

She drove south of Portland to Willamette Valley, Oregon’s wine making region.

It was really gorgeous out in the country. Polly loved Oregon!

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Nasty Fairy Force deployment

Posted on November 14, 2016 by Salley Mavor

The NASTY Fairy Force is eager to take flight and follow their important humanitarian mission. This special unit has been assigned to uplift the disheartened and guard against bullying and harassment in the homeland and overseas. NASTY may look cute, but can she sting! The swarm of 25 fairies will be deployed on Saturday, Nov. 19th at 10 AM EST, in my ETSY shop. First come, first served. Update: the dolls are all sold

Months of preparation have led up to their readiness, with an extra push at the end to help meet this week’s emergency call for action. May the Fairy Force be with you! The dolls are based on the designs in my how-to book, Felt Wee Folk: New Adventures.

UPDATE: To see more resistance art, please visit this page about The Wee Folk Players.

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Polly’s travels

Posted on October 30, 2016 by Salley Mavor

While Polly is away, let’s take this opportunity to review her previous traveling outfits and adventures. As you can see in the following photos, Polly doesn’t mind posing in front of the camera. Dressing appropriately is her first priority. She is sure to share her experiences in Oregon and Utah when she returns. In the meantime, check out Polly’s travelogue on Instagram and Facebook. See if you can pick out where she’s been. Answers are at the bottom of this post.

New Brunswick, Canada

Cuba

France

Polly ready to go to Cuba

Polly’s Antarctic wardrobe

San Fransisco

France

Scotland

Antarctica, Cuba, Yosemite, Provence, Ireland, San Francisco, Scotland and Prince Edward Island.

Polly heads west

Posted on October 18, 2016 by Salley Mavor

Polly will be traveling again! We’re heading west to visit my sister in Portland, Oregon and my cousins in Utah. During a visit a few years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting several blog followers at a talk/book signing in Portland, so I thought it would be nice to arrange another event while we’re in town. This time, I will talk briefly about my work and sign books on Sunday, Oct. 30, 2016 at 2:00 pm at A Children’s Place.

Polly needed a new outfit for the trip, of course. She decided on a colorful cotton batik skirt and turquoise top to compliment her favorite red vest. She’s always had a weakness for western attire, so I made a custom cowgirl hat.

Polly is excited to be traveling west, across the whole continent and looks forward to sharing her adventures on Instagram and Facebook.

Meet the Frost family!

Posted on October 16, 2016 by Salley Mavor

UPDATE: The Frost family was raffled to benefit the Waldorf School of Cape Cod in 2016.

I am very pleased to introduce the 5 members of the Frost Family. Mom, Dad, brother, sister and baby are all dressed warmly for the coming winter. They are doll-house sized, from 2.5” to 4.5”, with hand embroidered wool felt outfits and acorn capped painted wooden heads. Even though they are sturdy enough to be played with by children, they aren’t just for children and can be appreciated by all ages. Every once in a while I make a group of related wee folk dolls and offer them as a fundraiser for a local non-profit organization.

Previous raffles include the Fairy Family and the Oakleys. You can get a behind the scene glimpse at the process of making the Frost Family below…

I made the dolls and stitched their wool felt clothes over the summer.

I loved picking out the felt colors for the Frost Family’s warm winter clothing. They are a variation of doll house sized dolls from my how-to book, Felt Wee Folk. Their armatures are extra sturdy (as taught in the book), so they hold up better to multiple posing and general play by children (or adults).

I added sparkling accents with metallic thread.

French knots make polka-dots on the baby’s jump suit.

Here’s the set-up for the Frost family’s photo shoot, before “snow” (kosher salt) was sprinkled around.

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Jade – Ltd. Edition Fairy

Posted on October 9, 2016 by Salley Mavor

Please meet JADE, the newest Blossom Fairy! She is 3 3/4″ tall, with long black braids, acorn cap hat, embroidered dark green wool felt tunic and petal skirt. Even though I’ve said that I don’t sell them, every once in a while I offer a ltd. edition of dolls similar to the ones in my how-to book, Felt Wee Folk. You see, I only work on them outside of my studio, while traveling, so there’s no predicting when a set will be finished. To see previous ltd. editions in the archives, click here.

In August, a ltd. edition of AZALEA Fairies that I’d gradually been making over the year were sold my Etsy Shop. They’re usually not finished so close together, but this past summer, I made a set of 25 look-alike JADE Fairies while on vacation. Luckily, a patch of white toad stools appeared along the road in front of my house about the time they were finished. So naturally, that’s where they had a photo shoot. Please see information about when and how to order JADE Fairies at the end of this post.

Each doll has a signed and numbered name tag.

Jade’s wool felt tunic is hand embroidered.

In an effort to be fair to everyone, I am announcing on this blog, Facebook and Instagram that 25 “JADE” fairies will be listed for $75.00 each, in my Etsy Shop on Saturday, Oct. 15th at 9 AM, eastern US time. That gives more of you a chance to read about it in advance, so you can plan on being ready to shop. I’m sorry if this hour isn’t convenient for other time zones around the globe, but I can’t figure out how to accommodate everyone. This sale will start an hour earlier than usual, so that customers in Australia don’t have to stay up into the wee hours, but it means that those of you on the US west coast will be setting your alarms earlier. The last edition sold out very quickly, so if you really want one, act fast! Sorry, no reservations ahead of time. The dolls will be sold on a first come first served basis.

Oakley family RAFFLE

Posted on July 19, 2016 by Salley Mavor

PLEASE NOTE: This Raffle was held in 2016 and the Oakley family is living with the lucky winner.
Come and meet the five members of the Oakley family; Mama, Papa, Sister, Brother and Baby. They’re a folksy dollhouse sized acorn-capped family, who will feel right at home in any environment. Every once in a while I make a group of related wee folk and offer them as a fundraiser for a local non-profit organization. Last summer, I made a Fairy Family for Highfield Hall, which you can see here.

This time, Raffle ticket sales will benefit the Falmouth Art Center, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this summer. My mother, Mary Mavor was one of its early members and supporters and I’m proud to continue the tradition.

If you visit this blog regularly, you’ll know that I don’t sell one-of-a-kind dolls, so this is a rare chance to have a unique family of wee folk, all hand-stitched by yours truly. At the end of this post, you’ll find information about purchasing tickets for a chance to win the Oakley Family. But first, I want to show you some behind the scenes photos.

I brought the family outside for a little fresh air and took a short video with my phone camera.

The Oakley family has extra sturdy armatures, which hold up better to changing poses and play.You can make your own dolls using the patterns and directions in my how-to book, Felt Wee Folk – New Adventures.

The Oakley Family was on display at the Falmouth Art Center in Falmouth, MA (on Cape Cod) all summer. The winner was announced on September 1, 2016.

A family of Wedding dolls

Posted on July 5, 2016 by Salley Mavor

It seems like every summer, someone I know is getting married or celebrating a big anniversary and this year is no exception. My good friends Judy and Phil Richardson had a small gathering to celebrate the recent marriage of their daughter, Mary to David. And Mary orchestrated a 50th anniversary surprise for her parents at the same time!

This was an opportunity for Terry McKee and me to partner up again for a cake and doll project. If you’ve followed this blog for a while, you might remember some other creative adventures that Terry and I have embarked on in the past. We’ve teamed up for so many cooking and sewing projects that we have a special category here.

My part was constructing 2 sets of wedding dolls, one of Mary and David and the other of Phil and Judy. It helped to have reference photos to make likenesses in face and clothing. They were based on the patterns and directions in my how-to book, Felt Wee Folk-New Adventures.

Terry made a delicious lemon bundt cake with a stand for the dolls in the center hole. She devised a paper New York Skyline to surround the couple, complete with the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty.

Judy and Phil, on the other hand, needed a vessel to ride in, since they would be floating in a sea of ice cream, glazed with blueberry compote.

Terry came up with the idea of adding a shortbread depiction of Vinalhaven, Maine, where they were married 50 years ago. Here are Terry and I, enjoying the results. It was another successful collaboration indeed!

display at the Providence Children’s Museum

Posted on June 5, 2016 by Salley Mavor

I had the pleasure of going to the Providence Children’s Museum last week to set up some of my artwork in their Geometry Gallery display case. This section of the museum explores spatial thinking and has a number of hands-on play and learning experiences. The display case shows a changing exhibit of 3-dimensional creations loaned by different artists. The museum staff couldn’t have been more welcoming! We’re all anticipating that the glass will have to be cleaned frequently because of finger and nose prints left by inquiring little (and big) ones!

I brought 2 original fabric relief illustrations from Pocketful of Posies and a whole bunch of wee folk characters from Felt Wee Folk, as well as houses and other props from my collection that I talk about in still playing with dolls. The items will be there for 6 months, until January 8, 2017. I hope that some of you will have a chance to visit. FYI – An exhibit of new fabric relief pieces will also be shown nearby in Bristol, RI, Sept. 16 – Oct. 30, 2016 ~ Intertwined – Needle Art of Salley Mavor at the Bristol Art Museum.