I JUST CAN'T PUT THOSE CLARE LLOYD STAMPS DOWN...

As soon as I got Clare's stamps I KNEW I HAD to make a little dolly. It's taken me a while to work out exactly what I was going to do but here she is at last and, for a first draft I'm mighty pleased with her if I do say so myself.

I used the stamp from Plate 04 of Clare's latest release for PaperArtsy (there she is in the bottom right of the plate).

I raided my stash to see what I had and found some fabulous hand died wool for hair, a scrap of "felt" from an old jumper and some beautiful silk fabric from an old cushion.

Just look at this yarn; it's fabulous and perfect for hair. I love all the different colours

To make the curls, I soaked a few strands of the yarn in a mix of PVA glue and water before wrapping it tightly around a couple of chop sticks.

I stamped her face onto a piece of cotton canvas with Archival ink and used pencils and pastels to colour her features. I set the pastels with a spritz of hairspray. It doesn't make them waterproof but it does fix them enough to stop them just rubbing off. I added a little beauty spot just above her lip and then set about making up the doll.

I kept the clothes very simply. A very basic skirt with some grey netting I had in my sewing box as a petticoat. I made a little wrap-over cardigan for her using bits of felt from my old jumper and added a bit of lace for a collar and some burgundy ribbon as a belt.

I enjoyed making her AND I used up some of my scraps so it's a win/win for me. A great way to spend a bit of a grey morning, as well as being another great way to get the most from Clare's stamps.

Lx