Enter My Garden

Summer calls and who would not want to step into the most beautiful garden they'd ever seen? Why Alice, of course! And, me! Having just finished the fifth Wee Alice Trunk Set, I am ready to take a little nap, perhaps curled up in a leaf in a shady corner of the garden. However, I do know that if I dally too long, I'll find myself scurrying for something to do.

One of the most unique and interesting aspects of this latest little etrenne, is that I've not created a little storybook trunk set in quite awhile. It was asked of me to use a slightly larger doll, this one being 3 1/4" tall, so I had to build her a little trunk that was larger, instead of one that has always been this doll's exact size. So 4" it became. Also, I wanted to do something different and rather whimsical. I chose the interior paste boards of the book's binding and painted all the little Tenniel characters illustrated. It turns out that including the interior of the trunk, 17 characters in all were respresented! And, then there was the garden.

After having finished painting the exterior of the trunk, it took me several days to figure out just what to do with the interior. Tenniel did not have a proper illustration of the rabbit hole, which I found rather sad. I looked to other volumes of this story by other illustrators, but I didn't feel comfortable mixing images. It came to me, then, to create the little door, or the garden that Alice finds behind a curtain at the end of a corridor. At first, this was going to be just a painted door. I messed with this idea a little, and wasn't happy with the effect. So I made the little door and naturally made a frame, hinged the door and added the door knob with the keyhole, so that it could actually be opened to the lush garden Alice so desired to step into. I used the garden from Through the Looking Glass, but at the height of 1", and the fact that this was the first book I was depicting, I chose not to paint the faces on the flowers. And, that is how this mouse found the proper Tenniel garden!

The other side became a trompe l'oiel of the Tea Party. I included only the March Hare and the Dormouse as the Hatter was already painted on the outside of the trunk. Then, I added a draped tablecloth to set the little porcelain tea set upon. I added a wee illustrated volume of the book by Dateman Books, a Drink Me bottle, the pig baby, and a tiny set of cards so that Alice could play in the settings. I think above all else in this piece, the opening door to the garden was the most whimsical and magical of the design. How many times that little door will be opened and closed, one can only wonder.

Another unique design in this set was having to give the doll stockings and real shoes. In the past I've used a lady white porcelain doll that had shoes painted on her feet. This was actually alot of fun to do and seemed to give the doll more life. One of the lovely things about the little doll is that her head turns! She is then far more poseable than the others I've put in these little settings. Wigging these dolls is a nightmare. Mohair flies as if tiny fairies were fanning the process. Add to that the glue used to affix the hair and you can get into a real frenzy! It took me three times to get it right. A bit of hairspray keeps the mohair from continuing to blow away and keeps the do just right. All in all, I was pleased with the outcome.

And, now with this little Alice Trunk Set behind me, I do believe its time to take a few books off the shelf, trot out into the sun and find myself a corner to daydream in. Next? Oh, Miss E. Mouse always has a little hopper full of ideas. Perhaps it will be to finish Bebe Balancoire! Or begin a little doll in a trunk with a small wardrobe. I know that I've been asked to make a pair of skis and ski poles for a Bleuette, and there is also a peg wooden of Caddie Woodlawn that I'd like to do...

Oh dear! If I don't run out into the sunshine right this minute, my summer will disappear before I know it!

Love,
Miss E. Mouse

Music To My Ears

Hello again! So soon... Well, why not? It has been a most extraordinary month, so busy and yet, so rewarding with accomplishment. I've been winnowing down my own personal doll collection and one of the dolls I sold was a Momo. She's a 14" doll with a Japanese face on a Jumeau or Bleuette-style body (that's taller than Bleuette). When I sent a photo to my friend to ask her if she was interested in the doll, she inquired after the little black shamisen accessorizing the doll.

It turns out my friend is an accomplished musician, and plays a variety of stringed instruments, and probably a few she failed to mention. She also has a phenomenal Asian doll collection, so how could I turn down her request for a little shamisen? A shamisen is likened to a Japanese banjo. It has three strings and is played with a rather large pick. The most interesting thing about this project was that I'd decided instead of making a duplicate of the one I had, I would size the little instrument up to fit the Momo perfectly.

After the pieces were cut and assembled, I asked her if she'd prefer a black one or a polished wood one similar in look to the shamisen she'd just acquired that belonged to her grandfather. Polished wood it would be. So here I strayed once again into unfamiliar territory. Anytime you treat wood, especially Basswood, (which is very absorbent), with a liquid substance, the wood grain puckers up. Not so much with stain as its oil based, but with all other liquids such as paint, gloss, etc. Well, I'd already gone through a stain nightmare with the prie dieu and was highly reluctant to go through it again.

I did alot of research on what kind of gloss I could use on top of an oil stained piece of wood. I went to three different hardware stores and the answer was always the same when discussing the process. I had to sand in between gloss applications. I really didn't think the gloss would adhere to the stain, but after two day's drying time following the stain, the gloss adhered. I did have to sand, and I had to sand twice. I also had to apply multiple applications of the gloss, but the result was a hard, "guitar-like" shine that I was pleased with. phew!

During my research on shamisen finishes, I noticed that the instrument was played with a large and oddly shaped pick. I thought first to cut one out of wood and stain it to match the shamisen, when I remembered that I had some thin pieces of ivory sheets. No more that 2" wide, but about 1/16" thick. This was legal ivory acquired through a proper source, and I had no qualms using it. The first little pick came out adorable, but was only large enough for my older, black shamisen. That was the practice piece. The second one, a bit larger, came out perfect. I did not photograph the second one, but you can see the first in the photo provided with the original black shamisen (7" long).

And, so I've become a carpenter and a musical instrument maker. Another friend of mine inquired about a zither earlier in the year, so I'm hoping to have the opportunity to make her one in the future.

Love,

Miss E. Mouse

A Spiritual Journey - Sentimental, Too

The twenty-first brought us the Summer Solstice, and the first day of summer. The sweetness of the warm days reminds me of dipping my paw in a jar of honey and watching the glistening gold syrup drip slowly down like the days ahead. I'm particularly fond of beehive and honey bee ephemera and tend to want to decorate my hole in the wall with images of this busy little friend. Like the honey bee I am always working. Even if the work is pleasant, its a task put before me that must reach completion. This month I am trying to finish all my commissioned projects so that I can begin something new. As promised, the prie dieu and First Communion accessories were completed and I've selected a few photos to share with you.

The entire collection includes the Gothic prie dieu with four holy vignettes painted down the sides in the oval cut outs, and a presentation box of accessories. Represented on the prie dieu were God the Father, St. Peter, Jesus holding a heavenly orb, and the Blessed Mother Mary in the clouds. These were incredibly difficult to paint. Mainly because I first wanted them to have the same look and feel, although the originals were done by different artists. Secondly, they all had a halo or holy glow to them that had to be done just right. And, third, each had a tiny face about 1/2" to 1/4" big. Its not that I haven't done miniature faces before, but when you're painting religious figures, you don't want to mess up!

The presentation box contained a small gold chest with a sterling silver neckace with a cross on it, a scapular, a folding Stations of the Cross and a faceted garnet rosary. Included with this collection was a white leather covered bible with a gold ribbon page marker. The presentation box itself was a delight to paint although it took me quite some time to figure how to paint the lillies on it so they would stand out. I'd mulled over putting them in an oval, putting them in a leit motif from the middle shape on the side panels, but ended up with the circle. The idea of the circle came about when I was thinking of the communion host a Catholic receives at mass. White would not do however, so I chose a pale sky blue to show off the lillies. I was very pleased with the affect.

Then there was the folding Stations of the Crosss card. I don't know if you've ever tried to fold paper like this before, but it pops out. It won't stay folded. I pressed it under five coffee table art books and it still wouldn't stay folded. My first thought was to encase it in a leather binding like a book, or even make a leather envelope for it. Finally, days later, the idea of the ribbon to wrap around it, with the end tucked in was the decision made. I'd had these teeny tiny gold crosses in my stash and glued two together with the ribbon pressed between them. This made tucking the ribbon in very easy, and gave it a unique look. The purple ribbon was chosen as it is a holy color.

The rosary was probably the most difficult to make. I must have ordered seven different types of beads to make one. I thought 2mm crystal beads would be appropriate, but the spacers were just about the same size. I settled on 3mm faceted garnet beads, and while I felt they were larger than I wanted, the overall affect was perfect. A sterling silver crucifix was threaded on to finish it. Beading the rosary was not easy either! I have to laugh because while I thought this project was going to sail, it was one of the most difficult I've ever done. Of course, I never do anything easy, but this one not only cost me greatly out of pocket, but it was a meditation in sheer patience. Did I mention that I had to cut all the prie dieu's pieces twice? I'd mistakenly stained them first, making the pieces impossible to assemble. I will never do that again! I learned so much with this collection and in retrospect, it was an entirely spiritual journey.

I have never figured out how to properly place the photos I share with you on this blog site. They seem to have a mind of their own where they go. Sixteen photos were take of this collection and I will have them uploaded to my website www.zhibit.org/houseofmissymouse shortly. Please do drop into the Bleuette Collection Gallery to see them.

The Wee Alice Trunk Set is well under way by now, indeed more than halfway done. I just finished painting the last Tenniel character on the trunk and will be doing the wash background to tie them all together. Next I'll wig and dress the tiny doll to be Alice, then put in all the finishing touches. I've been painting for the last three months on these and another project I finished (a Hitty trunk) and I need to rest my eyes, switch gears for awhile.

So what are my plans for summer? I think I need to find a shade tree lose myself in a good book. But, like the honey bee, I will keep busy working on sweet things, yet you can rest assured, a few books will be enjoyed as well.

Love,
Miss E. Mouse

A Painter's Life

I can hardly believe an entire month has gone by since I last posted. A little mouse can only do so much in a day, and the days have have been mighty filled. To be very honest, I've been burrowing and licking my paws alot. I often wonder how other little mice can wake up everyday and be cheery. And, yet, when I'm like this, I often do my best work because it is the meditation or zen of work that gets me through the day. If we don't have occasional blues, the pallette of our life is missing the entire spectrum. I'm a yellow and orange mouse. High creative energy colors, so a swing to the other side of rainbow makes a long trek back to the sun. So what have I been working on? Goodies.

After the Alice challenge, a dear collector asked me to make her one of my Wee Alice Trunk Sets. I love painting Tenniel so accepting this commission was a delight. While the other little storybook trunks I've painted in this genre have been illustrated with entire scenes from the story, my OOAK necessity positioned me in a way to try the front first pages of the book I have, which are little vignettes of the characters with washy backgrounds of the outdoors. On one side, the front has been finished with the characters, and when the other side is complete, the individual background washes with be done together in a connective way. Some of these characters I've never painted before, and Tenniel is always a challenge, a sweet challenge.

The other project I'm working on is for a dear friend who joined the Bleuette Sewing Group not too long ago. The current sewing challenge is First Communion dresses and veils for the dolls from the vintage patterns. Bleuette was Catholic and La Semaine de Suzette (Suzette's Weekly) was published to teach little Catholic girls how to sew and become good mothers and housekeepers. So far, the outfits these ladies have made would make you swoon! Glorious. And, my part is to make an accessory set a little Catholic girl would receive for her First Communion. These items include a scapular (a prayer necklace, worn dutifully, will ensure your escaping the fires of hell upon death), a rosary and other times. I've learned not to give too much away on the Internet so that my work does not get copied (for awhile at least).

The other piece for the First Communion is a Prie Dieux, or kneeler. This is for an individual to kneel upon and say their prayers to God. In the past, many have been made quite ornately, while modern ones are more simplified. Naturally, a Missy Mouse prie dieux would be ornate! I found some incredible cut-work wood, in a Gothic style, that made the perfect "trellis" work to showcase the paintings, or holy portraits. The images came from holy image cards a Catholic could collect. Currently I am working on the Virgin Mary in the clouds. It is the last painting of the four as there are four ovals in the cut-work that accomodate the paintings. These would have been originally done in oil, for the soft blending of fabric folds and the delicate loftiness of clouds. However, my experience with acrylic has given me the ability to create these effects ratherly nicely in this medium. When the prie dieux has been assembled and stained, I will post a photo of it. The doll it is being made for is 10 1/2" tall and made for her specific body type so she can kneel at it comfortably.

Now the challenge for me, is switching from Tenniel to the oils of the holy cards. Two entirely different techniques are required to paint these images. Just as all paintings are a product of the artist's technique, these are as individual as expected. Imagine painting a face only 1/2" long, sometimes smaller.

It is the Memorial Day weekend and the weather finally cooperated for barbeques and picnics. Its been the coldest May on record and at least one resort in the Sierra reopened for skiing and snow boarding this weekend. Mercy! I need summer so I can scamper through the warm lawn again and feel my whiskers twitch in the rays of the sun.

June is just around the corner and its time to think about lakes and beaches, bathing suits and shorts to hike in. May your days be sunny and your disposition merry!

Love,

Missy Mouse

The Mind is a Wonderland

April is coming to a close quickly and the month just seemed to fly by! Rain and hail came frequently, and in equal measures we had the most beautiful warm spring weather imaginable. Even though the winds prevailed after a particularly warm weekend, this little mouse took her kayak out on Lake Folsom Monday with her husband and we paddled out to the island which is a wildlife sanctuary. High above the trees in the tallest Digger Pine is this large eagle's nest and we always look to see if we'll spot an eagle. Indeed we did as a mama eagle was in her nest with two little eaglets. Such a magnificent sight! So I hunkered down real low so I wouldn't be noticed and become a meal.

As you know, I hosted a mini challenge in the month of April for the Bleuette Sewing Club to make Alice costumes for their dolls. A drawing prize for one of my peg wooden paper dolls in an Alice theme was offered as incentive. The challenge was quite a success and the seamstresses made the most lovely and creative dresses inspired by the various illustrators of the Alice books. This week I put to the task of a second Alice in Wonderland peg wooden paper doll for the drawing. I chose the Tenniel illustrated paper dolls from a Shackman Company poster card. The pieces were intricate and lovely and they turned out beautifully. But what to do with them to make them different from anything I'd done before was a question for me.

I thought to make stands for them, but for some reason was having difficulty doing so. I decided then that they might make nice play dolls as is for the Bleuettes. Then three minutes after I turned out the lights to go to bed in my hole in the wall, it came to me that a peg board, or game board to display them on would be the answer. So I found a lovely garden scene and miniaturized it, pegged Alice and the White Rabbit and drilled two holes in the garden back drop, or peg board. Now the dolls had a place to play and a fine way to be displayed. They could be dressed in thier costumes and chase through the garden on their various adventures through Wonderland. I'll call this the Alice Peg Wooden Wonderland Peg Board. I'm so pleased with it, I may try it again for other little etrennes such as this.

I would also like to share Margie's fabulous Nursery Alice costume with you, expertly designed by a most talented seamstress and designer, Nicki Burley. In the photo Margie shows how much fun it is to have a little doll dressed just like her! If you love heirloom doll clothing with distinction and historical accuracy, keep your eyes out for more of Nicki's work as she's going to be sewing for me and designing her own patterns while creating a fabulous website.

Welcome May and all the flowers the April rains will bring!

Love,
Miss E. Mouse

The Wonderful Fashion Doll

In each of our lives there is always one special moment, one special toy, or one special book that stands out as having shaped our dreams...or a least made a very memorable impression. Such was the case with The Wonderful Fashion Doll, by Laura Bannon, for children born after 1953, the year the book was published. I wouldn't know about it this treasure until just a year ago, when one of my favorite doll artists, Wendy Lawton, recalled this book to her on-line group, trying to remember its name. After learning about the story, I had to find a copy. I could not believe the difficulty I experienced finding this book, and when I did, it was expensive. Very. I bought it, read it, reread it and enjoyed it for a year. Then I sold it. Sadly, yes, but I needed the cash. But, not before copying out a couple dozen pages! My intent after reading it was to recreate this story, bring it to life in a real doll, naturally in miniature. It was one of those things in the mouse hopper, and it wasn't until I actually parted with the book that I longed to build on this dream.

The story is the tale of a little girl named Debby who moves to her family's farmhouse in the country. Her great-grandmother had left letters about hiding this wonderful fashion doll to keep her safe from theives, and no one ever knew what happened to it, although it was a guess that it may be hidden somewhere in the old farmhouse. Debby's mission then was to try and find the doll...and does.

When I first thought of doing this, I was going to make a miniature Gay Event, the fashion doll, and all her clothing and treasures in the antique trunk. Then it occurred to me how cute it might be to make Debby and her doll. The story is just as much about Debby as it is about the discovey of the wonderful fashion doll. I knew I had the perfect little porcelain doll for Gay Event, a tiny 2 3/4" lady doll, but what was I to do about Debby? After much consideration, I decided I would use Mary Lee of Mary Lee's Tribute, a 9" Wendy Lawton doll, as my Debby. Now, once I've made my mind up, there's generally no turning back. Mary Lee is sweet, but with a different wig, (which I have found and need to purchase), and an outfit made like the one Debby wears when she finds the doll, she'd be perfect. This does however mean that I give up Mary Lee, but if this comes out the way I hope it to, it will indeed be WONDERFUL!

This tiny lady doll's head is even threaded so it can turn. From all the pages I've copied from the book I've a detailed description of all that was in the trunk, and even illustrations of most of the items. I just think this is just super!

Lastly, Marcella's dress has been made and she will be on her way home from the dressmaker shortly. These projects of mine are once again becoming quite elaborate in conception, detailed to the hilt and truly labors of love. How could I call them etrennes if they were not?

Love,

Miss E.Mouse

My Beautiful Balloon

When I was a little mouse, my mother used to take my sister and brother and I to our local Sees Candies store where we'd each pick out a beautiful sugar egg with a perfect, tiny little scene in it. She would then save them for our Easter baskets. These sugar eggs with their windows to a miniature world would fascinate me for hours. I never nibbled on them, but also have no idea where they went to. As you can see, I have a very pretty one today with a pink sugar rose on top. I know you can't see her, but there's a tiny yellow chick sitting on eggs inside!

The last few days have been spent finishing up projects, getting them mailed and cleaning up my studio. I simply cannot work in such a mess, but as I do, all these little bits gather around my paper pallette until I can no longer find anything. A paper pallette? Well, I suppose this goes back to the days when I painted more often than not, but you can tear a soiled page away so easily and find a nice clean surface to begin on again.

Oh! Bebe Balancoire has a new silk dress. The white one in the presentation box has been made, and so has the powder puff and folded shawl or kerchief shown above it. The hat is a bonnet and will take a bit of fussing with. There is a white brush I think must be a "tooth brush" and a black brush for her hair. I've found I must remake her beautiful leather gloves, but this is alright. Making the perfect pair of 1/2" gloves takes some doing. There are four napkins, a bar of soap, and what looks to be red curlers. The ball in the net bag was also made recently. So why not share a photo? Because its EASTER!! And, Easter cards must be sent.

I think I've decided on two things I shall be working on along with Bebe, and a commissioned piece I'm painting. I have been wanting to make male and female harlequin marionettes for some time now. Antoinette Marionette was so beautiful and sweet and I must make more like her. (See my website under the gallery Bleuette Collections and The Versailles Collection - www.zhibit.org/houseofmissymouse) I think she was about 2 1/2" long. So sweet. These may be about 3" tall. Just like me! I am also going to finish the second miniature Chinese Checkers set since my marble artist said he'd make me more teeny tiny marbles in the right colors. My love affair with dolls and trunks calls, so I must make a little Jumeau in a trunk with a small wardrobe - or even a presentation box! That's it! Those French presentation boxes were divine. And am I not making etrennes? Oui! I guess that's three, but who is counting?

So, I wish you a Happy Easter, and when next I write I hope to have some wonderful works in progress to share.

Love,

Miss E. Mouse