Ragdorf?

There... I said it...."Ragdorf".  It kind of makes me giggle a bit. 

When I contacted my lawyer to apply for the trademark for the term, she giggled too :) 

What is a "Ragdorf" anyway?  It is something I have been dreaming of and fiddling around with for quite a while.  It is my hybrid version of my two favorite styles of cloth dolls... the Waldorf doll and the Rag doll.   I took some of my favorite elements of each style.... the natural materials and sculpted head of the Waldorf, the long thin floppy limbs with over-sized hands and feet as well as the bead eyes of the Rag Doll.

This is what I came up with.... my first born 10 inch Ragdorf doll.  Her name is Friday, she will stay with my first born daughter:

This is Chrysanthemum, a/k/a Chryssie, designed by my youngest daughter. Chryssie is going to stay here too.

This is Tiny Bubbles, she is the new The Melamoose Co.  

And now to introduce the two new dolls that will be available in my Etsy Shop tonight, 5/24/12 at 10 pm EST.

First up we have Taryn.

Taryn is about 10 inches tall, has sun tan cotton skin, a head full of the softest wool blond hair that can be restyled.  Like all of my dolls, she is firmly stuffed with pure wool.  She is wearing an apple print tunic made from designer print quilting cotton, linen pants, and little hand knit shoes.  She has bead eyes and because of the potential choking hazard, I do not recommend her for small children.  She is wonderfully floppy and sits beautifully. 


And this is Lisa.

Lisa is about 10 inches tall, has sun tan cotton skin, a head full of locally hand dyed wool hair that is quite long and can be restyled.  She is firmly stuffed with pure wool.  She is wearing an apple print tunic made from a Japanese cotton linen blend, linen pants, and little hand knit shoes.  She has bead eyes and because of the potential choking hazard, I do not recommend her for small children.  She is wonderfully floppy and sits beautifully. 



As stated above, the upload for these 2 dolls will be at 10 pm EST on Thursday, May 25th 2012.  The Etsy website is:  http://www.appletreehouse.etsy.com    





I have had such an incredible time making these gals... expect to see more of them soon!

xoxo Debra

Sneak Peek at Something New...

Here's a little peek at the new 10 inch dolls that will be available in my Etsy shop on Thursday... time t/b/a.

Tiny Bubbles

No, not the kind you find in champagne... here is a little peek at the new 10 inch doll I just finished for a dear friend that I have nicknamed Bubbles. 

She is one of the first dolls from a new pattern I have spent hours and hours working on.  There will be a couple of dolls available in my shop the week of the 20th, please check back for more details and photos!

xoxo Debra

Like a Little Duck

my name is Debra and I have a yarn hoarding problem.  i love yarn.  a lot.  the yarn for the doll pictured below was purchased almost a year ago and I have been saving it for a special doll... i finally got around to finishing her this week and she was every bit as special as i had hoped she would be.

This is Jacqueline, she is on her way home to Michigan to a lovely grandma who will have her around for tea parties and such when her darling grand daughters stop by for a visit.

I also finished up another 15 inch custom doll that her mama has named Lil Bleu... she is on her way home to Oklahoma.

I know things have seemed a bit quiet lately, but rest assured that it is only quiet on the surface.  I am like a little duck, gliding smoothly across the pond, little feet paddling quickly below the water to accomplish my goals.  Please subscribe to the blog so you will see what I have been up to!  There will be some interesting gluten free baking stuff (bread!!) coming up as well as another new take on a doll...a 10 inch doll.

xoxo Debra

New Doll Style

I have finally changed, tweaked, and reworked my 15 inch doll pattern and I am so happy with the results!  This is the latest doll made with the new and improved pattern...

She is a custom doll that is now in California.  I love how she can sit, and her feet are so sweet in her little shoes.  I had such fun designing the little pattern and it was so nice to get back to a little knitting.  The neatest thing about this size doll (which actually measures between 14 and 15 inches) is not only can she wear clothing designed for 15 inch dolls, but she can also wear some 12 inch doll clothing as well.  I will get a pic of some of the Melamoose Co.  clothing that is sized for 12 inch dolls on this size doll so you can see how it works.

I am working on another custom doll in this size at the moment as well as a doll for the shop.  The shop doll will be a blue eyed gal with an amazing head of hair... but that is all I will say about that for now!

And while I am at it... maybe I will play with the 10 inch doll pattern as well....

Also, for those of you who have been wondering about the Team Ashley gals... Lisa has outed us!  http://www.lilblueboo.com/2012/04/meet-team-ashley.html#comments
There are some pretty amazing people out there and I am pleased to know them :)


xoxo Debra

Dumplings and Kits and Customs, Oh My!

The last 24 hours have been so amazing... the Team Ashley Auction was an incredible success.  Both Li'l Lisa and Li'l Stephanie will soon be on their way to loving new homes and I can't wait to see pics of them being loved by their new families.  Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to bid, click the donate button, donate a product to the auction, buy a t-shirt, or simply tell their friends and get the word out about our not so little auction. Speaking of the donate button, I will be leaving it here on my blog side bar for the rest of the month.  I am truly proud and humbled to be a part of a team of so many amazing women!

On to other news....

There will be an upload with 5 Apple Dumpling (8-9 inch) dolls tomorrow in my Etsy Shop tomorrow at 3 pm EST.  Here's a little peek at them...

I am working on rolling lots of little heads for doll making kits and as soon as I have enough together, I will be restocking the HyenaCart Store hopefully towards the middle of the month.  

I will be offering customs a little differently this time... if you are interested in a custom doll, simply comment here on this post or email me at appletreehouse (at) att (doT) net with your name, your e-mail address, the size doll you are interested in, and hair and eye color in a comment on this post before 8 pm EST 3/2/12.  I ask for all the details in the comments to speed up the process.  At 8 pm EST I will pull a few names from my favorite crochet cloche and contact them to set up all the arrangements.  I will be offering 8/9 inch ($95), 12 inch ($165), and my new 14/15 inch ($195) sized dolls.   All dolls require a $45 non refundable deposit to get started and payment will be due upon completion.  Please make sure your comment contains all of the necessary information.  Custom dolls will be completed by 4/15/12, I may be able to make an exception if you have needs for a specific date, please leave that in your comment as well.

  

This is a pic of the 15 inch sized doll (Lauren Elizabeth, a recently finished custom) 

alongside Lil Lisa, an 8 inch Apple Dumpling.  

I think I will go have a little piece of chocolate now..... xoxo Debra

Tater Tot

February has just flown by.  It honestly seems like just a couple of days ago when Team Ashley started talking about organizing an auction... hard to believe it all starts Monday!   I would like to introduce you to a very special little Apple Dumpling Doll I have created, just for this special occasion... please meet Lil Lisa.

Lil Lisa was named for Ashley of Lil Blue Boo's right hand gal.  I have to admit, when the whole idea of an auction came up I was so excited, then stumped as to the best thing to make.  In the past, I have created several BooFeeMooTree collaboration dolls (I love a fun group project!), and this seemed like the perfect excuse to make another.  Lisa is a really amazing woman... you can tell from photos and blog posts that Ashley and Lisa have an incredible friendship.  This little doll is my homage to that friendship.  Everyone could use a friend like Lisa.

My friend Stephanie said the doll needs the nickname "Tater Tot" as Lisa's trucker name is Ol' Tater... those of you that are following Ashley's blog will get that joke :)

Lil Lisa measures a little over 8 inches tall.  She has warm peachy cotton skin, brown eyes, and the most beautiful head of hair.  It is as soft as it looks in the photo.  Like all of my dolls, she is well stuffed with pure sheep wool and she will warm up as you cuddle her.   She comes wearing a pair of special ruffle pants by my sweet friend Melanie of The Melamoose Co. (you will see some special items throughout the auction with this signature Choose Joy fabric designed by Stephanie), a little tank top with an apple applique, and the softest pink hand knit sweater from Maizy Moo Knits.  She also comes with an apple print sleeper, a sun dress, and some hand knit undies.

The package also includes a sweet little purple suitcase and some of the prettiest stickers by Stephanie Corfee, Artist so you can decorate it.   I like to think of it as a Choose Joy to Go package.   I will update this post and post on Facebook when the shop address for the auction is released to the public so please check back!  And remember, if auctions are not your cup of tea, you can always click on the Donate button to help Ashley directly at any time.  Thank you for all of your support.




On to other news....

I have been inundated with more requests for custom dolls and doll making kits.   Next Thursday, I will do a special blog post where you will have the option to comment for a custom doll slot, so start thinking about what you would like!  I hope to have some more kits put together to stock the Hyena Cart Shop by the middle of the month, so please check back for those.

I am off to sew some more... have a fabulous weekend!

xoxo Debra