Cissy and Toni's Day at the Fair

April came and went as all Aprils do, but never have I enjoyed the season of Easter so much as I did this year.  Or at least since I was a child.  One of the reasons I always have a project on the table, is that the project is usually, or has become over time, themed for the month or time period.  And in this way, I can play with my dolls and through them enjoy the season more.  Easter was more about needle felting and crafting, but I was still in my studio among many of my dolls, and a few were dressed for the holiday.

When it came time to begin something new, I definitely wanted to get back into sewing.  Which doll would it be?  I know I've mentioned that I wanted to make several new things for Cissy this year, and did so with her New Year's gala gown, and her Chinese pajamas for Chinese New Year.  Since Chinese New Year seemed an eternity ago, I decided to make her something for Spring.

I've always loved stripes, and Cissy certainly wore many striped dresses and cabana ensembles in her early years.  I also wanted to use fabrics I had on hand although I did purchase some vintage stripes for standard Cissy dresses.  

All the while I was planning and shopping, for some reason Tonner's 14" Toni from his Effanbee line popped up on my Ebay feed and I fell in love.  To me she looked like a little girl version of Cissy.  Off I went!  Cissy needed a little sister.  And sisters wore matching outfits.  (Actually, when I was little, my grandmother made matching outfits for my mother, my older sister, and I!)  So, I decided to follow my heart and inspiration.

My first thoughts of a springtime dress for Cissy was that of something floral and bright.  Something she could wear today, but would also hold up as seasonal through summer if necessary.  I chose a suit pattern from an original Cissy pattern set, and altered it freely.  When Toni showed up on my doorstep, and I brought the two dolls together, the idea of A Day at the Fair was born.  Perhaps it was the bright stripes that reminded me of a carnival midway.  Oh my!  How my mind started racing!

Do you remember your first fair and the carnival midway?  I do.  Fairs have a long history that go way back to biblical times when they were primarily used for commerce.  Displaying and selling wares from far away countries.  The exotic.  While World Fairs and Exhibitions are well documented, the much smaller county fair is the one we would remember from childhood.  

The first county fair was an agricultural one organized by an agricultural society in New England.  The first one to include 

animals as a Cattle Show, was in 1811, in Pittsfield, Masschusetts.  The fair was an exhibition and competition with prize money for the best oxen, cattle, sheep and swine.  The county fairs as they exist today are still exhibitions for prize livestock, a chance to sample or pig out on sugary, deep-fried confections we wouldn't normally eat, and at the center is the exciting and colorful midway.

The exotic midway of old would have freak shows, and challenges for strong fellows to hit a platform with a heavy mallet to get the disc to rise up to the bell.  The ring of the bell won his sweetheart a souvenir.  What were those things called?!  Popular in cartoons they were.  Even Popeye had a go at one with Brutus to impress Olive Oyl.

Small town carnivals were the height of the summer season when the trucks or trains would roll into town.  In the Seven Faces of Dr. Lao, with actor Tony Randall, the exotic freak show theme's purpose was to bring a moral compass to town.  In Something Wicked This Way Comes, a screen play by Ray Bradbury, citizens are tested by their   

greatest desires, and some end up being swept away with the wicked.  Moral compass once again.  Good movie.

But, yes, the county fair brings out people who want to play, relax, and be entertained.  For many who live in suburbs and cities, this is the first or only time they'll get to experience livestock.  And as educational as much of this can be, nothing compares to the midway with colorful rides, games of skill, concessions, and the fabulous Ferris Wheel.  These are things that went through my mind in creating A Day at the Fair for Cissy and Toni.

I bought two Toni dolls.  One was a brunette and she was my model as I awaited the arrival of the blonde (had to be blonde to be Cissy's little sister), from Canada.  When Toni #2 arrived, I gave her a hair cut and made her bangs.  Her hair style was side parted and curly.  Bangs are easy to create, but you must be careful and certain as a doll's hair won't grow back.  Toni wears a complimentary version of Cissy's outfit, designed for a child.  I made her a little plastic purse

to hold her coins and tickets, and fashioned a simple sun hat from the same fabrics.  The concession ice creams both Cissy and Toni have are from Our Generation.  If you haven't looked into the offerings from Our Generation, do!  They have adorable, well made accessories that American Girl does not carry.

Cissy's outfit, as I mentioned earlier, was altered from a suit pattern.  The sundress is actually considered a skirt with a bodice that is never meant to be seen by a blouse worn over it.  Since the blouse is cropped, perhaps it was too risque if a bit of tummy showed, so the built-in bodice was created.

This outfit is wonderful since it can be worn several ways.  It was fun to play with the stripes going one way in one piece, the other in another.

The blouse is a simple, lined garment that snaps in the back.  Its roomy enough to fit over the sundress's bodice.  Lovely on its own, it still needed something. In lieu of jewelry, I did some beading.  

I used the floral design of the dress to bead a blue rose, two lavender five petal flowers, and four leaves.  This is most intricate beadwork I've ever done.  After doing this, I've got it down.  I love it!  I want to do more bead work like this in the future and will.

Let's talk seed beads for a minute.  Seed beads have taken on a life of their own and come in various sizes.  The normal seed bead we all think of, is a size 10.  And believe it or not, its also considered 2mm which I seriously doubt each bead is.  The very best normal seed beads in the most brilliant transparent colors can be found on Amazon.  For cheap!  Unless you're a serious

beader/jeweler, skip the outrageous costs and confusing selections on Etsy.  Kergaen 2mm sliver lined glass seed beads on Amazon is the way to go.  24,000 beads for $12.  The color selection is divine!

Snapshot of outfit with blouse from the back.

Cissy's hat is by Richard's Originals.  He uses people sized hat straw and it feels very vintage.  I had this hat and it was decorated with flowers and tulle, so I stripped it down and sewed a bias band of the stripe around the edge.

Snapshot of the entire outfit.  I have about five pairs of Cissy original sunglasses and these aqua ones look lovely with the colors in the dress.

The lined jacket which was created on vertical stripes can be worn over the sundress or over the sundress with blouse.

I like to think that this outfit can take Cissy through the entire day at the fair, ending in something a bit more elegant for the evening with the addition of the beaded blouse.

Snapshot of Cissy with her ice cream bar on a stick and the jacket draped over her shoulders.

Last but not least is Cissy's handbag.  The frame of this handbag was repurposed from the American Girl Maryellen sweater purse in Meet Maryellen.  I used the original as a pattern for the striped bag, and its lined in the floral of the dress.

While waiting for the Amazon beads to arrive, which promised to be the colors and size I needed, I used beads from a different purchase to bead Cissy's name on the bag.  This was done free-hand, and took about two hours with lots of do-overs.  It was also an after-thought, so the bead work was done on the finished bag.  Finally, I added just a little more beading with a flower and leaves from the dress print, but in raspberry pink with the lime colored leaves.  This flower on the dress is orange, and I didn't want orange on orange.

Cissy's outfit is grown up and can be elegant, while sister Toni's is fun,

playful and sweet. Will I continue to make sister outfits?  I don't know.  Maybe.  Toni is a fun size to sew for and she and Cissy look great displayed together.  Toni's bangs came out perfect and she's so much prettier with her hair like this.

Below is a delightful collection of county fair, midway, and thrill ride images.  I have an Our Generation set of carnival items coming, with tickets, a poster, cotton candy, popcorn, etc.  But, I also have some fast batting wool in pink coming to make my own cotton candy for the girls.  I could have waited to write this journaling until all arrived, but its time to move on.  Needle felting wool can be used for so much more than its intended purpose.

I do wonder if county and state fairs will come back this year.  The last one I went to was with my sister-in-law when she came to visit, and we saw Herman's Hermits play a concert that night.  Seriously fun and awesome stuff!

Happy May and joyful times ahead as the weather warms up!

Love, Melissa

 

The Easter Egg

I woke up this morning to a wonderful treat!  April showers.  It's been very windy this last week, and a cold front rolled in and gave us a little relief from the dry conditions.  Where I live, spring sprang a month ago.  My husband has been mowing down all those precious little purple flowers in the field grass that he calls weeds.  I've stopped grumbling about it, in secret, hoping this bit of rain will bring them back with a vengeance.  We also get tiny groupings of blue flower "weeds" in the front yard each spring and I dare not bring any attention to them.

Time passes so quickly.  I guess I've been on the Bunny Path for three weeks now.  For some reason, as I was dressing a few of my dolls in spring clothing, I began thinking about Easter eggs and the possibilities associated with needle felting them.  And as a Pinterest enthusiast, I began seeing lots of those peep eggs that I had in my basket as a child.  Peep eggs?  Well, this is what we called them.  Today the population of fine bakers and cake decorators call them "panoramic eggs".

My earliest memories of Easter were shopping downtown where my mother would always make a stop at See's Candies.  Each Easter season we would go with her, my brother, sister and I, and at least I would look forward to selecting the sugar peep egg that would go into my basket.  While I loved the wonderful candies inside my basket, I treasured the peep egg for its tiny world inside the window.  I never ate them, but as they're made of sugar, I suppose some people may have.  I guess, eventually, these eggs got tossed, and as I grew up, the baskets stopped, and I never saw the peep eggs again.  This year I discovered that tons of baked goods decorators have been making them and lavishly embellishing them for years now.  Maybe it has to do with nouveau novelty, or the zillions of decorating tips you can purchase for royal icing.  Regardless, I had to buy some.  Of course.  So yes, I've been decorating around the house for three weeks now.

One little novelty I found was a countdown to Easter calendar.  The Vermont Christmas Store carries them in three versions.  One is of Peter Rabbit with eggs around the edges, and then there's this one with bunnies, flowers, eggs and garden critters.  I bought both.  The other one was definitely targeted for children of today.  

And I purchased three papier mache eggs from 32 degrees North.  Papier mache eggs are not new to me.  I'd collect them, display them in a basket each Easter, then over the years, lose them or give them away.  This image of three are not my own, but a lovely sampling.  I also went a bit nuts and bought three Hansa animal reproductions.  A chick, a lamb and a baby duck.  I didn't know anything about these decorative toys, but fell immediately in love with them when I saw an ad for a chick on an FAO Schwarz post.

As I was beginning to decorate and find more items to add to my Easter display table, I was purchasing more wool sheets from The Felt Pod.  I recalled that they sold pre-felted eggs to decorate, so I purchased some after seeing what others have done.  When they arrrived, they were about 2 1/4" on the average, so true chicken egg sized.  I don't know what I was expecting, but the felters that generally needle felt eggs with beautiful designs, make their own egg shapes and they are considerably larger.  Never one to turn away a challenge, I started perusing illustrations by Eulalie for inspiration.

So where did the idea of the Easter egg come from?  There have been stories written about the Easter bunny, but what of the brightly decorated eggs he carries with him from field to pasture, hiding them for children to find?

The egg itself  has for centuries been one of the most important and adaptable symbols in myths and rituals across Europe and Asia.  To the Christians, the egg symbolized new life and purity.  The emergence of the chick from the egg represented the resurrection.  The shape of the egg, symbolic of the stone that rolls away from the tomb.  Early Christians stained eggs red to remember the blood of Christ shed at the crucifixion.

In more practical terms, the egg was a dietary staple of the rich and poor.  As eggs were forbidden during the Lenten season, then allowed once again on Easter, they became a gift.  Eggs have been bartered as a minor source of currency.  As women were generally the ones to look after the eggs laid by the hens, it was a meager source of income for them.

The egg as a gift can be traced as far back as 1290 when

King Edward I purchased 450 eggs to be colored and detailed with gold leaf to be distributed among his royal entourage.  Let us not forget the Faberge eggs of Russia.  In 1885, Alexander III commissioned a fabulously expensive decorated Faberge egg as an Easter gift for his wife.

Before the Reformation, the Church blessed eggs as food after the Lenten prohibition, and this developed into the custom of hard-boiling and decorating eggs as presents for children.

During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, egg-shaped toys were manufactured for Eastertide.  The Victorians gave cardboard and satin covered eggs filled with chocolate and gifts. 

Easter egg hunting began in the 1700's when German 

immigrants brought their Osterhase tradition to Pennsylvania.  The festive tradition quickly spread across the country and the traditional nests of eggs became baskets.  Eventually the game became a treasure hunt and candy, coins and toys could be found.

When we were children, my mother hid our baskets in various places in the house.  A closet, behind a chair, the pantry, anywhere one could be secreted away.  Our small house did not have many hiding places and once the baskets were found, we were allowed one piece an hour before going to church.  Personally, for myself, getting a new Easter outfit was pretty exciting as well.  Since I was child in the 60s, there were shoes, a hat, purse and gloves as well.

It's funny, but I never credit any holiday above the glory of Christmas, yet I do enjoy Easter for springtime and the joyful imagery and decorations associated with it.  

The first egg I tried needle felting was one of a dancing baby duckling.  I worked from Eulalie's illustrations in both The Bumper Book and her Nursery Rhymes book.  I was immediately encouraged to see how nicely a bit of blue wool could interpret into a sunny day with soft clouds.  

I chose a little farmhouse to place on the horizon line, then needle felted the main character in the "foreground".  On the backside of the egg, some kind of spring flower would do.  Working this small, you can't get a lot of detail, which by nature I labor at, so I had to keep the designs as simple as possible.  I call this watercolor in wool.  The backside of the duckling shows a field of poppies.

The second egg I did was of the Easter bunny from The Bumper Book's story of the Easter bunny.  I've loved the illustrations of this story in particular, since the artist created an Easter egg hunt illustration that is well known and beloved.

The Easter bunny was more difficult to do.  Trying to create happy eyes and a joyful smile with just black wool was a challenge.  When the needle is larger than the piece of wool you're working with, it gets tricky.  

On the back of this egg, I felted a daffodil amidst tiny white "weeds".  The clouds you see are simply the white wool of the egg.  Artists call this drawing or painting in the negative space.  The back of this egg may be my favorite of the egg areas I needle felted.

I was placing these eggs for display in small nursery planters filled with Easter basket grass.  Of course, doing so, you'd lose seeing the bottom of the egg, but I guess a curious passerby could always lift it out to have a better look!

The last one in this style became Mary's lamb.  I had this one last small nursery planter of Mother Goose.  As I was looking through Eulalie's version of the book, I saw this adorable little lamb and decide he would do.  In the book he was standing, but I couldn't get the entire image (with enough detail) on the egg, so I felted him sitting.  He wears a pink ribbon around his neck and a small bell hangs from the ribbon for Mary to find him quickly.

The house I chose to felt on the horizon of this one was lovely in illustration, but very difficult to render in wool this small.  Its there, but very much a background.  Neither of these photos show the house as I have other images to share.  

On the back of this one, I needle felted a couple of tulips.  In the illustration, there was a row of tulips, daffodils and some sort of daisy in front of a fence.  

I had a difficult time with this lamb.  There were a lot of details I had to leave out and still produce an image of a sweet lamb.  The last bit, the last touch was that of the eyelashes.  Maybe one wee strand of wool was used for them.  That was it!  I wasn't going to do any more.  Yet I had five more eggs in the bag.  Then I had an idea.

The back side of Mary's Lamb in the Mother Goose nursery planter.

After all this fuss about purchasing very expensive bakery sugar peep eggs, I decided to try making one myself with one of the eggs I had left.  Oh, I tried it early on by cutting one in half and trying to snip out felted wool, etc., but it was awful.  So I made a Little Faux Peep.

I took one of the small peep eggs I bought and used it as my inspiration.  Instead of digging out wool and trying to make a shell, I tried for the illusion of a peep window.

Knowing that the original was all sugar, candy, it was easier for me to not pay so much attention to detailing a scene, and just play.  I've seen the results of felted "paintings in wool", like a needlepoint canvas, but none done on an egg.  I think we all experiment to some degree.

This little chick sits in a grassy setting with a couple of flowers and one jellybean egg.  To get the faux look of a peep window, I gently felted a smidgen of mixed wools of purple, blue and gray in the background to resemble the shadowed interior of the peep egg.

The back side and top side with faux royal icing flowers.

This year's collection of peep eggs.

The largest one cost me a pretty penny and the medium sized one on the back right was done by the same baker.  These are HEAVY.  Maybe she made the shells thick to support all the flowers on the top?  I don't know.  But these egg shell halves should be about 1/4" thick.  People even make solid ones which must weigh two pounds!

The two eggs in the front are most like the ones I had as a child.  My favorites.  Oh, and they smell so good!  So sweet.  The only reason I bought the blue shelled one in the back middle, is because of the little lamb in it.

People get very creative with these eggs.  Essentially, its 5 cups of sugar, 5 tsp of meringue powder, 6 tsp water.  You can either press the sugar mess into a mold as a shell, or fill it, bake it 20 minutes, then scoop it out.  Royal icing with decorative tips do the rest.

People fill them with plastic figurines, candy, paper images, and of course, royal icing figures.  No, I'm not going to make them myself.  I'd make a mess and give up.  Acquiring all the tips would be expensive and learning how to make the icing flora is an art in itself.  

There was even one person who used a cake mold of a teapot to make a sugar peep egg.  But it's not a peep egg.  Its just a sugar tea pot with a window.  I attached a photo of this below.  Everyone is always trying for something unique and different.  After studying page after page of sugar eggs for days, I'm done looking.  It hurts my eyes.  To me, the real deal are the two small ones I mentioned earlier.  The rest are just unique decorations.  Any mold will do.

I like things in threes and fives, so I did one more peep egg.  This one would have a little bunny in it and a carrot on top with the flowers.

Side view.

Back and top with carrot.

The other side.

I'm done crafting for a while.  Like any new thing I try, if it interests me, I go at it full board until I burn out.  I've reached that point.  What nursery planters I have left are going to the Goodwill.  I messed around with them as they intrigued me.  I have a nice decoration to bring out next St. Patrick's Day.  I have my Gingham dog that sits among my dolls.  I may or may not keep the small nursery planters that hold the eggs I made.  I have no room to store such things.  Should I think about this before I launch into new ventures?  Yes.  I do it all the time, but I love to make things.  I love to try new things.  Its how I play and further my skills.

Since I began this journal posting, we had a thunderstorm with hail.  It quickly passed and the sun came out in a clear sky with cumulous clouds.  In a half hour the earth was dry from the wind.  Spring!

Easter is next Sunday, and I'm going to sit back now and simply enjoy the decorations I put out, the dolls I dressed for spring.  I bought way too much Easter candy this year and have been enjoying it for two weeks!  In moderation of course.  hahahaha  What's next?  A doll project.  Which one?  One of them!

Wishing you a wonderful Eastertide!  With a little imagination, any window can be your own personal peep window into a unique world. 

Love, 

Melissa

Eulalie's Easter Egg Hunt

Large Egg from Pinterest

Large Egg from Pinterest

Large Egg from Pinterest

Just love this!

Faberge Peep

The Teapot Peep

For Alice lovers!