Thursday, March 12, 2015

Saint Swap: Part I

Okay, background.  A year or so ago, I chose not to go to a saint peg doll party exchange because I thought I was too busy, and I, being a perfectionist about this kind of stuff, frankly thought that the ones other people painted might not be up to par.    I wasn't even sure I'd be able to paint such tiny features.  A friend that did go showed me the results and I was amazed at how well they all turned out.

Fast forward to the beginning of this year.  I am certainly no less busy.  Some may argue that I am more busy.  Okay, it wouldn't really be an argument with me, since I won't deny it.  Anyway, a friend from back in Texas and a friend of hers wanted to do a saint peg doll swap via the mail.  Because of my regrets for not doing the last one, I volunteered without letting myself think too much about the amount of time it would take me.  That group dissolved suddenly because a new more organized group was found.  I joined that one because it looked super organized and easy to comply with their rules.  I did accidentally order my dolls too small thinking that there were no guidelines for that part.  When I realized my mistake I talked to the leader of the group and she said since I signed up for Saint Lucy and she is a child then it is fine as long as I could handle painting on such a small doll.

Being that I despise returning things I decided to make it work.  I set up shop in my very own brand new and shiny craft room made by my wonderful husband.  Nap times that I could stay awake during I began working as soon as  I received my pegs and made a run to Joanne's for the extra supplies that I needed.


I googled examples of St. Lucy peg dolls painted previously all over the world to give me a starting point.  I had to paint 24 dolls.  First I painted the heads.



I made some practice faces on these clothespins.



The girls though the red lips one would be the best.  I painted the clothes white.


I painted on the yellow hair.


I added a different shade of yellow to make the strands of hair look more realistic. ( Here's where I started forgetting to take pictures.)


I added dress details, hands, and a red ribbon around her waist.  I tried out a crown of candles and it worked pretty well.



And after more dress detail and everyone finished up, here they are.




The part I struggle with the most was the red ribbon.  Originally I made the bow too thick and I painted over it...a bunch of times with white.  It fell right at the same height as her hands and at first I had her hands forward more and it looked less like a belt and more like she was holding something.  I ended up just putting her hands down and to the sides more to avoid this.  Hannah, my biggest critic, thought I made her waist dropped too much in some dolls.  Painting over the red again did not seem worth it for that small problem.


They are mailed off and I will be posting again on this when I receive my box of saints from all over the USA.

No comments: