A New Baby in the House

Two nights ago I was finally able to complete my little guy. He still needs some clothing, so he will be going over to “grandma’s” soon for his fitting. I have been fortunate enough to have my talented mom sew the clothing for my little babies. I remember when I was growing up she always said how she wanted to sew baby clothing for a living. She probably did not ever imagine she would end up making outfits for babies this small. It has been wonderful working with her to create each piece. I sculpt what comes from my mind and my heart, and her beautiful outfits complete each little one.

I do have one sad report. I noticed some fine cracks on my “From Santa, with Love” baby head when I looked very closely. So now I cannot even salvage the head. Between that and the leg that I dropped, it was a rough week! Nothing to do from here but move on to create new little ones.

I leave you with a preview of my latest…

Finally, Some Progress!

I was finally able to finish sculpting a replacement leg for my little guy. It is now cooling and tomorrow I will sand and paint it. In the last few days I also disassembled my "To Santa, with Love" piece. This little baby was done for the Jack Johnston contest in which we had to use Jack's armatures for the limbs. I usually make my own with foil. I do not think I know how to use them properly, as both arms and legs cracked. That was very disappointing. This is how the baby looked in his contest photos.



When I took the baby apart, I decided that I didn't quite like the paint job on him and wasn't sure I'd be able to match paint for his new limbs when they are ready. So tonight I stripped the paint and he now is ready and waiting for new limbs. Once they are ready, he will get a fresh coat of paint.

Like a Snail

I guess snails do not really have hands, but if they did and they could sculpt, that is how I have been sculpting. Things here are progressing VERY slowly! So much so, that I would almost say they are not progressing at all. I must have put toes on my new leg a million times the other night and they just were not good enough. So then I tried working on a new head and could not satisfy myself with that either. I resorted to taking a two day break to clear my mind. Hopefully that helped so that I will have some good news to report soon.

Back to the Drawing Board

To my dismay tonight, I broke one of the legs for my little guy. I had just finished waiting for the pieces to cool after baking the last layer of paint and was carrying the stand to my workspace when a leg fell to the ground. I hoped and prayed that it was not damaged, but it was cracked. After spending 5 hours painting tonight, I could hardly believe what I had done. I guess it is back to the drawing board tomorrow for another leg. This poor little boy has been waiting so long to be brought to life. Hopefully soon!

Fist Fight

Not in the traditional sense, but there was a fist fight here this evening. I cannot recall the last time I positioned and repositioned fists as much as I did with these two tonight. I seem to be very fastidious with this little guy and I am still not even convinced that I will be entirely satisfied with these when I see them with fresh eyes tomorrow. I did end up going with the 3/4 arms for him. When I lay out all the pieces for this tiny little fellow, he looks so cold with no clothing here in the “Great White North”. Perhaps tomorrow I will come up with a nice outfit for my little man.

Creation of a Newborn

As I type this, I sit here with a tiny little head and two legs wrapped up in blue. I see this one is going to be a boy already. I don't even need to be deciding that right now. What I need to decide is if he should have 3/4 arms or 1/2 arms. I love the posability of the 1/2 arms, but I think people like to dress babies with the 3/4 arms more. I usually do the 1/2 arms these days, so perhaps I should do the 3/4 ones this time. Slowly, this little guy is coming to life right before my eyes. What will make all the difference is when that paintbrush touches his skin. I myself can't wait for that part.