New..Art fairy dolls
I have for a while wanted to create a few different art fairy dolls for the collection sometimes using darker tea dyed calico with trims such as rusty bed springs and unusual things I find on my travels at salvage and vintage shows. Our usual gorgeous charms and embellishments will be here, and as always beautiful fabrics, some embroidered and some I can only get enough fabric for maybe two fairy dolls, please pop in and have a look x love Chris xxx
New Art dolls coming xx
Buttondolls Poldark Art dolls xx
I watched the wonderful Poldark this summer (2015 version) and I was so impressed by the wonderful costumes, I thought I would make the Buttondolls version of this beautiful feminine look, so found some very special prints and the most gorgeous vintage soft lace and here we are xx what do you think ?
Buttondolls Toile Art dolls xx
Buttondolls Toile, using a beautiful soft cream Embroidered Flower fabric of fine Cotton, I have used the basic Toile idea and have shown them in Buttondolls style, a practice of many couture houses xx
What is a toile?
A toile is a version of a sewing pattern that you make in order to check the size and fitting of the garment before you cut into your final intended fabric for the project. It can also be referred to as a muslin / fine cotton or linen and the terms toile and muslin can sometimes be used interchangeably.
WI Abstract Flower Art dolls xx
I have added a little link in the blog regarding the history of the Women's Institute it is so interesting xx
DDay 80th Anniversary Art dolls xx
For all of those from at home and around the world who did so much xx
Flower Power Art dolls xx
What is flower power fashion?
Hippies embraced the symbolism by dressing in clothing with embroidered flowers and vibrant colors, wearing flowers in their hair, and distributing flowers to the public, becoming known as flower children xx
Lady Gardener Art dolls xx
.......and in addition some very famous Lady gardeners
Gertrude Jekyll, Beth Chatto, Rosemary Verey, Vita Sackville West, Constance Spry xxx
Land girls Art dolls xx
At its peak in 1944, there were more than 80,000 women – often known as 'land girls' – in the WLA. Land girls did a wide variety of jobs on the land.
I have added a link in the blog for some great reading xx
A Jane Austen tale Art Dolls xx
By basing her novels in the context of daily life, making the plot line believable, and providing main characters with a happy ending, Austen produced literature that readers are able to relate to. Since their dates of publication, readers have fallen in love with the stories Austen weaves together xx
... and another snippet
During the Regency era and well into the succeeding Victorian era, women were discouraged from exertion although many did take the opportunity to pursue activities such as dancing, riding and walking that were recreational rather than competitive. There was a contemporary belief that people had limited energy levels with women, as the "weaker sex" xx
Don't gamble with love Art dolls xx
A beautiful edgy fabric from Alexander Henry xx
Winter Berries (William Morris) Art dolls xx
A beautiful William Morris print with birds and berries gorgeous ! xx
Votes for women art dolls xx
The Suffragettes were part of the 'Votes for Women' campaign that had long fought for the right of women to vote in the UK. They used art, debate, propaganda, and attack on property including window smashing and arson to fight for female suffrage which means the right to vote in parliamentary and general elections. xx
The Queen and fashion xx
A commemorative fairy doll for our Queen at the end of this very different year. I wanted to offer my take on the Queen, this was prompted by a wonderful programme on the BBC called Fashioning a Queen, (I have added a link in my blog) it was such a great incite into her wardrobe, and as I watched it turned out the Queen had a ready to wear collection made for her first tour, day dresses, some of the fabric and designs were provided by a company called Horrockses, my grandmother had a piece of their fabric and along with some of the contents of her sewing basket I made a fairy doll (you may remember a picture I once posted) I have added a picture in the blog, please meet Queenie (my grandmothers name ) xx
Christian Dior a King of fashion xx
On 12 February 1947, Christian Dior launched his first fashion collection for Spring–Summer 1947. The show of "90 models of his first collection on six mannequins" was presented in the salons of the company's headquarters at 30 Avenue Montaigne.[6] Originally, the two lines were named "Corolle" and "Huit". However, the new collection went down in fashion history as the "New Look" after the editor-in-chief of Harper's Bazaar Carmel Snow exclaimed, "It's such a new look!" The New Look was a revolutionary era for women at the end of the 1940s. wikipedia
With the launch of the delightful film “ Mrs Harris goes to Paris” and some beautiful two tone paisley jacquard fabric an Art collection was born xx
Vintage tennis fairy dolls xx
Cyclists were still fighting for the right to wear bloomers. The concept of “rational dress” for female athletes remained fertile ground for debate in all sports including tennis. Despite cumbersome early tennis fashion, women were emerging as a force on the court. Then in July 1884, Maud Edith Eleanor Watson became the first female Wimbledon Winner.
In the 1940's, Gussie Moran, otherwise known as “Gorgeous Gussie”, only ever made it to No 4 in the US. But her “daring” outfits showing a bit of lace attached to her knickers – meant she was a sensation who “earned tennis wider recognition than all the great champions of the immediate postwar years”. xx
Wikipedia
I have used a wonderful William Morris wallpaper behind our Vintage tennis collection, and the dresses have all been made from beautiful Broderie Anglaise Embroidery cotton lace xx
Alice in Wonderland fairy dolls xx
Our Alice Wonderland fairy dolls have 2 different fabrics a pale blue from the V & A collection and beautiful patterned fabric from Cotton + Steel and below are some notable illustrators from the books x
The two Alice books are frequently re-illustrated. The expiration of the copyright of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland in 1907 resulted in eight new printings, including one illustrated in an Art Nouveau style by Arthur Rackham. The illustrators for the other editions published in 1907 include Charles Robinson, Alice Ross, W. H. Walker, Thomas Maybank and Millicent Sowerby. Among the other notable illustrators are Blanche McManus (1896), Peter Newell (1901), who used monochrome; Mabel Lucie Atwell (1910); Harry Furniss (1926); and Willy Pogany (1929), who featured an Art Deco style.
Notable illustrators from the 1930s onwards include Edgar Thurstan (1931), and his visual allusions to the Wall Street Crash of 1929; D.R. Sexton (1933) and J. Morton Sale (1933), both of whom featured an older Alice; Mervyn Peake (1954); Ralph Steadman (1967), for which he received the Francis Williams Memorial award in 1972; Salvador Dalí (1969), who used Surrealism; and Peter Blake, with his watercolours (1970). By 1972, there were ninety illustrators of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland xx Wikipedia
Vivienne Westwood a Queen of fashion xx
Silk taffeta in rich colours and beautiful embellishments are an homage to this great designer xx
Fashion collections ...
Westwood's designs were independent and represented a statement of her own values. She collaborated on occasions with Gary Ness, who assisted Westwood with inspirations and titles for her collections. She dubbed the period 1981–85 "New Romantic" and 1988–91 as "The Pagan Years" during which "Vivienne's heroes changed to 'Tatler' girls wearing clothes that parodied the upper class". From 1985 to 1987, Westwood took inspiration from the ballet Petrushka to design the mini-crini, an abbreviated version of the Victorian crinoline. Its mini-length, bouffant silhouette inspired the puffball skirts widely presented by more established designers such as Christian Lacroix. The mini-crini was described in 1989 as a combination of two conflicting ideals - the crinoline, representing a "mythology of restriction and encumbrance in woman's dress", and the miniskirt, representing an "equally dubious mythology of liberation". Wikipedia
1960's (Mary Quant) fairy dolls xx
Did you know?
Mary Quant is one of the most iconic designers of the 1960s. Her fun, young, innovative approach shook up British fashion, with eye-popping designs like hot-pants, playsuits and the era-defining mini-skirts and dresses – all in rainbow colours.
Quant was a self-taught designer and pattern cutter. Her first designs were adapted from commercially available sewing patterns, which she customised to make her own. Later, Quant produced a range of home sewing patterns so that women across the world could create their own versions of her famous designs xx
The Bloomsbury Set xx
English vintage Bloomsbury style print from the 1930's era.
The Bloomsbury Group—or Bloomsbury Set—was a group of associated English writers, intellectuals, philosophers and artists in the first half of the 20th century,[1] including Virginia Woolf, John Maynard Keynes, E. M. Forster and Lytton Strachey.
Arts and craft /Modenisum
Royal Academy RA Summer Exhibition fairy dolls xx
Run without interruption since 1769 – yes, even in 2020 – the Summer Exhibition is the world’s largest open submission art show. It brings together art in all mediums, from prints, paintings, film and photography to sculpture, architectural works and more by leading artists, Royal Academicians and household names as well as new and emerging talent.
This year, the Summer Exhibition will be coordinated by renowned artist Yinka Shonibare RA. The exhibition will explore the theme of ‘Reclaiming Magic’ and celebrate the joy of creating art.
Dates 22 September 2021 — 2 January 2022
details from the RA with link in our blog xx
Milly Molly Mandy art fairy dolls xx
Milly-Molly-Mandy's real name is Millicent Margaret Amanda, but she was given the nickname because of the length of her full name. Her adventures are the everyday events of village life: running errands, going to school, making presents, fishing, picnicking, and so on. She lives in "the nice white cottage with the thatched roof" on the edge of a small village. Her parents, grandparents, aunt and uncle also live in the cottage. Her friends are Billy Blunt, a slightly older boy whose parents run a corn shop and Little-Friend-Susan, who lives in the cottage down the road ..........
Milly-Molly-Mandy is a set of children's books written and illustrated by Joyce Lankester Brisley. First published in 1925 and in print ever since, Milly-Molly-Mandy is an instantly recognisable and well-loved character xx
