Girlfriends (Handmade Dolls)

Yet in September I was asked to create two dolls for two best girlfriends Ivanna and Helen who live in Kiev, Ukraine. Moreover, the dolls had to be not just ordinary handmade dolls but they had to look alike the girls.
I was given quite details descriptions of the girls: their characters, their interests and passions, their professions and hobbies, what clothes they like to wear, etc. Among other details, it turned out that Ivanna had a small pet dog, called Poolya (Bullet). It had to be with the girl dolls too.

Helen
She's a cheerful and a little bit crazy, talkative and humorous. She's a designer and seamer. She likes to wear dresses, hats and boots. She's also red-haired, that's her Alter Ego.

Handmade Dolls Toys - Red Haired - Helen (full)

Handmade Dolls Toys Red Haired - Helen (back)	Handmade Dolls Toys Red Haired - Helen (top)
Handmade Dolls Toys Red Haired - Helen (bag)	Handmade Dolls Toys Red Haired - Helen (flower)

Handmade Dolls Toys - Red Haired - Helen (boots)

Ivanna
She's a cheerful but a little thoughtful. She's a photographer. She likes to wear trousers (capris, capri pants), striped shirts (striped vests) and shoes. As I said she's got a pet, Poolya.

Handmade Dolls Toys - Brunette - Ivanna (full)

Handmade Dolls Toys Brunette Ivanna (back)

Handmade Dolls Toys Brunette Ivanna (top)

Handmade Dolls Toys Brunette Ivanna (camera)

Handmade Dolls Toys - Brunette - Ivanna (shoes)

Handmade Dolls Toys - Brunette - Ivanna (dog)

Here are they together:

Handmade Dolls Toys - Two Girlfriends and a Dog

... and here their real photos are. Do my dolls look like the real girls? :)

Real Helen and Ivanna

Real Helen

Poolya Dog

Mlyn - Christmas Handmade Fair, Minsk, Belarus, 2011, December

Three days of the Christmas handmade Mlyn (Mill) Fair have finally passed. It gathered about a hundred handmade masters from all over Belarus. Masters working in different areas presented their works: textile toys, batik, floristics, decoupage, knitting, fulling, leather work, wood- and stone-carving, beading, embroidery, clay work, wickerwork, coopery... It's hard to enumerate them all...

At the craft fair I got acquainted with a lot of people, experienced positive emotions by communicating with other masters and visitors of the fair.
It's very pleasant to realise that people like your works very much. It's so inspiring ))

Here are the pictures from the craft fair.
My stand...

Mlyn - Christmas Handmade Fair - Handmade Dolls Toys (Julia's stand)

Mlyn - Christmas Handmade Fair - Handmade Toys Dolls (table with toys)

Mlyn - Christmas Handmade Fair - Tilda Angels, Sleepy Angel

Mlyn - Christmas Handmade Fair - Handmade Textile Dolls

... and here are the works of other masters I managed to take photos of...

Mlyn - Christmas Handmade Fair - Wooden Storks

Mlyn - Christmas Handmade Fair - Pictures made from Leather

Mlyn - Christmas Handmade Fair - National Costumes

Long-Legged Elk (Moose) Toy - Part II (Textile Handmade Toy)

I didn't want the elk (moose) in a blue sweater to be lonely, so I sewed him a brother ))
His younger brother turned out to be more tanned as if he had just come from the Mediterranean sea )
These two brother elks will go to the Mlyn handmade fair to find a new house for themselves.

Handmade Toys Dolls - Long-Legged Elk (Moose) Toy (right)

Handmade Long-Legged Elk (Moose) Toy (top-right)

Handmade Long-Legged Elk (Moose) Toy (front)

Handmade Long-Legged Elk (Moose) Toy (top)

P.S. This tanned elk toy also smells of coffee, cinnamon and a little bit of vanilla

Snowmen Parade (Handmade Snowman Toys)

In the course of preparing to the Mlyn (Mill) Handmade Fair and Christmas and New Year Holidays I sewed these funny cheerful snowman toys. Surprisingly enough, they are quite different, although I used the same pattern to sew them all.
Look at these lively guys:

Handmade Toys Dolls - Snowmen Toys (all)

Handmade Snowman Toy (pink, front)

Handmade Snowman Toy (pink, right)

Handmade Snowman Toy (yellow, front)

Handmade Snowman Toy (yellow, right)

Handmade Snowman Toy (green, front)

Handmade Snowman Toy (green, right)

Handmade Snowman Toy (red, front)

Handmade Snowman Toy (red, right)

The one in yellow is my favourite ;)

Long-Legged Elk (Moose) Toy (Textile Handmade Toy)

I've been having a desire to sew such a long-legged Elk (Moose) toy for quite a long.
Two reasons for doing this appeared recently. Firstly, Christmas and New Year are coming and I regard The Elk as a Christmas animal :). Secondly, I'll be participating in a Christmas Handmade Fair soon. The fair is again named Mlyn (Mill), like the one that took place this spring (you can find my post about the spring handmade fair Mlyn here). So I'm starting to prepare for it.

Here it is, the long-legged Elk (Moose):

Handmade Toys Dolls - Long-Legged Elk (Moose) Toy (right)

Handmade Long-Legged Elk (Moose) Toy (front)

Handmade Long-Legged Elk (Moose) Toy (top)

Handmade Long-Legged Elk (Moose) Toy (left)

Handmade Long-Legged Elk (Moose) Toy (head and horns)

Handmade Long-Legged Elk (Moose) Toy (legs and hoofs)

P.S. I was about to post when I remembered that I wanted to write that the toy smells of coffee and cinnamon :)

Two Handmade Toys: a Rocking Horse and a Doll with a Hare

These two handmade toys lives at little Sophia's in the city of Homiel (Belarus) now:

Handmade Toys Dolls - a Rocking Horse and a Doll with a Hare

Sophia decided by herself what toys to sew. From all of the toys that I had made before she especially liked rocking horses and dolls like this one. I had to sew these toys very quickly because Sophia was waiting for them eagerly and was asking her mother all the time when the horse would finally come to her. Her mother, Angela, answered that the horse and the doll would come to her in eight nights. I didn't want to disappoint the little girl and did my best to sew the toys in time and even quicker because they had to be sent by mail.

Angela wrote me soon that Sophia was so happy to get her horse and doll! What can be better to know that you made somebody happy?! ))

Handmade Dolls Toys - a  Doll with a Hare (full)

Handmade Dolls Toys - a  Doll with a Hare (top)

Handmade Dolls Toys - a  Doll with a Hare (left)

Handmade Dolls Toys - a  Doll with a Hare (hare)

Handmade Dolls Toys - a  Doll with a Hare (back)

Handmade Dolls Toys - a  Doll with a Hare (shoes)

Handmade Rocking Horse (right)

Handmade Rocking Horse (head)

Handmade Rocking Horse (left)