Super-Junk

Green Bunka Bunny Knee-hugger Felf on Etsy

And I’ll be listing another tonight and tomorrow morning!

I want to try making a giant bunka bunny this weekend… back to work!

I just set up a facebook page just for my Super*Junk updates – I have been far to fragmented in my approach to posting updates, I know. I will still have posts go to twitter, this blog, and the email notifier I have been using, but since everyone is on facebook now it makes sense to post all updates there (and not on my personal wall). I don’t know why I resisted doing this for so long (well, I know why, it’s because I dislike FB in general but you can’t argue with numbers!)

I was delighted to find new flannels the last time I went fabric shopping. Wee Woodland Mushrooms and Winter Whites immediately inspired this little collection of funny pixie kneehuggers. Since easter is still fresh in my memory, some sleeping felf bunnies just seemed natural.  I learned a lot from the batch I made for my christmas display, so these fuzzy elves are even better.

Patterned after vintage japanese pixies, their little bodies flop into poses quite easily.  I found a particularly ratty chrismas kneehugger last season with the most adorable little face, so I let that be my inspiration for the makeup.

I’ll be updating the shop with these over the weekend, subscribing to the Etsy RSS is your best bet since I will be on a crazy schedule this weekend.

also, the current pre-order of pose doll kits is almost sold out!

*felfs are felty elfs

Had fun fabric shopping today at Rosie’s Quilt Shop, my favorite place in San Diego  for tiny cotton prints. I was making huge piles of fabric and running around matching up pairs of prints for new kit colors. Here are some of the new combos (I already had the “abba zabba” fabrics, and there will be a  few more that I will put out soon).

I also picked up some cute flannel prints for making felfs this spring for the shop. Fuzzy mushrooms!

Kits and Prints are in the shop, ready to ship!

vintage kimono girl made from simple shapes

One of my favorite things about many vintage Bunka dolls and pose dolls is that even though they are simply made, their pose-ability allows them to change and become more than the sum of their parts. Picking apart old handmade dolls, I am often surprised by the simple shapes they are made of. A basic square of fabric can be manipulated into a dress, pants, a hat, even footie-pajamas. I find that by not over-complicating my patterns, the dolls I create can stay as true as possible to vintage dolls that I love.

my experiments in elfery

I’ve combined my findings of vintage pose doll construction — as well as experiments in materials —  into a simple kit for you to try.

Each kit has enough materials to make two six-inch pose dolls in coordinating outfits.  The dolls are completed with very simple sewing techniques – you don’t even need a machine to whip them together. You can combine the re-usable patterns in the kit with your own materials to create endless combinations of faces and outfits.  The instructions contain the techniques I use on my own small pose dolls and bunka babies,  just by varying the length of the limbs.

le kit

Kit Contents:

• Patterns for doll and outfit – printed on heavy card so they are re-usable and easy to trace onto fabric
• Fully illustrated instructions
• fabric specially chosen for the body and head (I have found the perfect stretchy material for making perfectly smooth round heads, that is easy to paint faces onto)
• two coordinating fabrics for making a dress and kerchief for each doll
• red flannel for shoes
• two flower hair accessories
• four tiny color-coordinated buttons
• grosgrain ribbon belts
• craft floss for two colors of hair
• Enough fiberfill for at least 2 dolls
• Wire

Materials needed to complete the kit:

• sharp scissors
• light-duty wire snippers
• craft glue (I use tacky glue)
• craft acrylics (for painting the face)
• needle and thread (the kit can be completed with or without a sewing machine – hand-sewing is recommended for small pieces like the clothes)

A limited number of kits are available now in my Etsy Shop!

Raffle Rules:

• Only one entry per person, per household is allowed. Duplicate entries will be disqualified (Don’t cheat! Mr. Cheeks will track you down and sit on your food).
• Entrants will receive a ticket number via email confirmation. Check your email to retrieve your ticket number. If you do not receive an email confirmation, do not resubmit the form. Check your spam folder. If you cannot find it,  contact me and I will confirm your entry manually.
• The winner will have the opportunity to purchase Olive for $200 plus exact shipping cost.
• One winner will be drawn on Thursday, March 24 via Random number generation.
• The number will be announced on super-junk.com and the winner will be emailed to confirm purchase through paypal.

Enter the Raffle Here

Harumi is a tiny 1/6 scale pose doll – she’s available on eBay. 100% of her proceeds will go to the efforts in Japan via Global Giving.

I spent the larger part of the weekend working on her and thinking about all the wonderful friends and memories I have made in Japan, and how much this world owes to the brave people who are risking themselves to save all of us.  Her colors are inspired by the springtime, rejuvenation, rebirth, and courage.

Olive!

Olive will be available by 48-hour (2-day) FREE Lottery from Tuesday, March 22 2011 at 12:00 noon PST. Visit super-junk.com to enter. One name will be randomly chosen and the winner will have the opportunity to purchase Olive for $200 + shipping.

Ginger has gone to a new home, but there will be another doll listed soon!