BJDcollectacy has re-visited Carrie of The Sleeping Elf. Lmtd. to check out her newest doll!

Carrie Atwood (AKA Tinybear), English doll and teddy-bear maker, has just released her latest doll, the minute 1/12th scale BJD named Thistledown. The doll is the smallest doll in The Sleeping Elf, Lmtd. line-up. With a sturdy little unisex body, Thistledown can be made into a girl or boy. Carrie said, “I always wanted to go smaller …and I wanted to make a little imp to go with the rest of the elves. She has taken almost a year for this little baby ..I’m absolutely bowled over with her .” While Thistledown has been made into both a human and elvish version, Carrie is especially fond of Elf Thistledown’s pointy ears. “I love those big elf ears! It goes with her/his mischievous nature.” She added, “She is tiny, but quite chunky. She is very solid. I just love everything about her; size, design…the head can come off easy. It’s much easier to change her eyes because of the shape of her head, and she has a magnet holding the head cap on. My earlier dolls haven’t (although now all the new dolls will come with the magnet.) She is great!” Carrie hopes to have some OOAK full-sets of Thistledown in her Etsy store soon. The doll can also wear clothing from other doll lines. “She can share with Puki , Lati White and similar size dolls ..and I’m finding Barbie Kelly clothes fit too, although her feet are a little large for the shoes.”

Carrie hopes to do more dolls in the new size. “I would love to do more head designs. I love working with the smaller size.”  Other plans still in the future  include, “another head for the tiny Moona body, Bramble, and I would still love to do the Hunks to go with Coco and BonBon.”

www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfpF3BAsT4o

All photos are by Carrie Atwood

The Sleeping Elf Lmtd. -- Carrie’s main website

The Sleeping Elf -- Carrie’s Etsy shop.

The Sleeping Elf ~ Dolls by Carrie Atwood -- Previous BJDcollectasy article on Carrie and her dolls

Thistledown with Carrie's Mina Elf

Halloween themes are irresistible for many BJD collectors.  Even though goths, vampires, and other-worldly creatures are re-occurring themes in the BJD world year-round, at Halloween all dolls can get dressed up and try on a new persona. For the occasion, we contacted individuals who have appeared on BJDcollectasy previously and asked them to show us their Halloween items.  A few of the items are sadly no longer available, as they were already snapped up by lucky collectors, but many are brand-new and in-stock at the various websites. Quite a few of them can also be used after Halloween with just a minor change of accessories.

Charie Wilson and grace of gracefaerie designs:

Canadian face-up artist, costumer, and all-round craftperson Charie Wilson has spent much of her time in the last two months crafting a series of witch costumes made of Halloween fabric sometimes combined with hand-knit sweaters and socks.  Charie teamed up with Pattern-maker gracefaerie of gracefaerie designs and together they produced #43 Bewitched, Tattered and Transported, a pattern specially created for Planetdoll Mini dolls. According to Charie, the pattern can also be increased in size 50% to fit larger PlanetDoll and similar size MSD dolls. (Set the copier to 150.)  Pattern #43 includes patterns for a Witches Hat, Dress, Pants, and Shirt with Halloween and Tattered Variations. The set is a specially sized variation of gracefaerie’s Waif Dress for Romantic Reveries.

JpopDolls:

The retailer JpopDolls has a free pattern for a dress designed to fit Dollstown 7 year and similar-sized dolls.The pattern is for an Alice-in Wonderland dress and could easily be converted to other costumes as well. (Modelling the dress on the website is KazeKidz Annabella by Kaye Wiggs.) Jpop Dolls also has a special Marbled Halls Witch costume available that is specially designed for Charles’ Creature Cabinet’s Fidelia Firefly Faerie. The outfit is made from vintage fabrics and consists of  a hat, dress, shoes, stockings, undershorts, and arm sleeves.

Connie Lowe of Marbled Halls:

In addition to designing the witch outfit for the diminutive Fidelia at JopDolls, Connie of  Marbled Halls put together an outfit to be unveiled exclusively for this Halloween Project!  According to Connie, “Mad as a Hatter is a mix of several of my favorite things; Beetle Juice, Alice in Wonderland and Elizabethan style!! Truly a “blended fashion!!!”  The outfit is one-of-a-kind.  The costume includes; hat, hair ribbons, antique blouse, overskirt, pannier, pantaloons, stockings, and arm warmers.

SlinkyNeko:

Chesca of Slinky Neko created a one-off Haroo specially for Halloween.  The doll was released October 24 and quickly sold.  Hopefully more OOAK Slinky Neko dolls are available in the future!

Carrie Atwood of the Sleeping Elf:

Carrie has been busy going to shows this autumn such as Miniatura where she displayed her pumpkin home ( see Tiny Doll Displays ). She also made some full-set dolls which were posted in her Etsy store The Sleeping Elf. At the moment, her large green Bracken set  is still available. (She is currently working on the next holiday and will definitely have some Christmas elves!)

DD-Anne of FairyGarden:

DD-Anne had not planned to release a Halloween doll, as she had just finished her limited edition Green Dam and Bunny dolls.  Still, the maker of a number of unique Zombie dolls could not resist the draw of a Zombie Halloween theme. For her new dolls, DD-Anne re-visited the idea of  living and dead dolls which she explored with a a pair of tiny Riko dolls a few months ago.  The new set, now on display in the new website for FairyGarden, is much more elaborate.  Two 1/6 size Urami dolls were used for the pair.  Many subtle details went into the costuming.  Only two pairs of the special Urami dolls are available for purchase.

Sweetly Twisted:

Miriam Bos of  Sweetly Twisted has been busy  due to the 19th International Doll and Bear Fair  Show in Rotterdam.  Her family’s store, Triskel Fantasy Shop,  also celebrated their 5th anniversary  at the show.  Miriam recently completed a new Doll in Mind SD Vampire girl Bellosse face-up. She was designed to match the previously painted DIM Kassia  who is pictured in our Sweetly Twisted Gallery Album. 

Michele Hardy Design for Dolls:

Michele is a prolific worker, and has produced numerous outfits that are excellent for Halloween but can easily be adjusted for other occasions. There are several dark and lacy outfits such as Midnight Moon available, and an autumnal outfit  called October Stripes.  Her pirate outfits also can easily double as a costume. The most elaborate presentation however, is Raggedy Purple shown on a  specially faceed-up Creedy doll. Michele’s outfits come in several sizes, and there is something available for most girl dolls at her shop Michele Hardy Design for Dolls.

Bonnie Storm from Divas by Design:

Whether your SD doll is always a vamp or dresses like one only once a year, Bonnie Storm of Divas by Design has the perfect outfit; Mystique. The dress, a sinky red and black number, includes lacing from top to bottom. Bonnie has also re-stocked her Mistress of the Storm for both SD and MSD dolls. The dress has a silver spider-web patterned skirt. Many dark outfits are also available on her site that could easily be adapted for Halloween with the right accessories.

Marshpants:

MarshPants always looks for a special fabric to create a Limited Halloween edition. This year continues the tradition: Marsh sent an emailed announcement to her fans stating, “In honor of the season and as a bit of an homage to the kooky, spooky movies I grew up watching, I offer Swamp Thing – a gorgeous green and black  leather.   This exclusive leather is only available for one week!”  Pants in the special material can be purchased from now until November 1st. For a purchase of trousers, Marsh will also throw in some jailbait shorts in Swampthing leather for free.  For the purchase of two trousers and/or skirts, she will add 1 free Swamp Thing pair  of trousers for free.

FroggyDuds and Kimberly Lasher:

Vicki at Froggy Duds has been busy working on costumes for Kimberly Lasher Originals’s dolls. Vicki made the outfit for the latest Lasher Limited doll, the little goth girl Drucilla. The Toy Shoppe carried the exclusive doll in a Limited Edition of 43 which has sold out. Her sister Brenda also knitted some small things for the season and sent a photo of an outfit she designed for a Latidoll Yellow. The outfit is sold out at their shop, but interested customers could request a similar one for their doll.

Nancie of NanKatts:

The Nankatts shop has outfits for Halloween in MSD and Yo-SD sizes.  There are a number of complete ensembles in Halloween fabric. Many of the outfits have smocked tops that will stretch to fit a variety of dolls.  As usual, Nancie adds socks and often a hat and a mask to complete the look.

mEda at Luxour Academy:

mEda has been working to expand the lines of her ready-to-wear fashions at  Luxour Academy, and for Halloween she has put together a pair of outfits designed to fit 25 cm tall Little Fees and similar sized dolls; Boo for girls and Night for boys. The items are for pre-order until October 31 and are limited in quantity. The clothing, while Halloween-related, can also be worn by Punk tiny dolls any time of year.

DollWhy:

The talented group at DollWhy has made many edgy items that would fit into any Halloween wardrobe, but when they decided to make special Halloween offerings, they went totally cute with Yo-SD size boy’s and girl’s matching Pumpkin Outfits in linen. The outfits are available in very limited quantity.

Violet Pie:

There is no better accessory for a witch or warlock doll than a little familiar. Violet Pie has a bat, crow, and some kitties that would make perfect companions. Jennifer makes meticulously crafted little creatures in wool roving and felt. Most of her items are not much bigger than two inches, but occasionally she creates ‘big’ items such as Theodora the wool felt Retro-style Cat who is 4 inches.

Nancy from Dolly-T’s:

Dolly T’s is undergoing reconstruction at this time, but Nancy costumed some of her hoard of dolls and added some of their friends and sent a Halloween group portrait to us.

Happy Halloween!

Photos from top: Charie Wilson and gracefaerie Designs pattern #43 Bewitched, Tattered and Transported, Connie Lowe of Marbled Halls blended fashion Mad as a Hatter, DD-Anne of Fairygarden’s Halloween Special Zombie Urami & White Urami, Michele Hardy’s October Stripes, Brenda Rankin of Froggyduds Pumpkin knit set, Dollwhy linen Pumpkin outfit.

Check out the Photo Album in the Gallery of all the Halloween-related items sent by contributing artists and designers.

Nancy from Dolly-T's Halloween Group Photo

VioletPie's Wool Roving Kitty, Bat, and Crow

Divas by Design Mystique for SD girls

OOAK Borry doll from Slinky Neko

Fidelia Witch Costume by Marbled Halls sold by Jpopdolls

Nankatts Ghost Print outfit for MSD size girls

Luxour Academy Limited outfit Boo for Little Fee & similar girls

Swamp Thing Halloween Leather style Trousers custom made by Marshpants

Tattered version of #43 Bewitched, Tattered and Transported

The Sleeping Elf Large Green Braken and large Red Moona Full-sets

Sweetly Twisted Vampire face-up on a DIM Bellosse

Kimberly Lasher's Drucilla with costume by Vicki Berens of FroggyDuds

Alice Dress made from Free Pattern at JpopDolls

Michele Hardy's Raggedy Purple for Yo-SD & similar size dolls, Face-up also by Michele

Theodora Retro-Style Cat in wool felt by Violet Pie

There are also three OOAK tiny doll full-sets currently available. Full-set and other dolls can be ordered from The Sleeping Elf Etsy Site or by contacting doll artist Carrie Atwood through her company website.

Large Bracken and Mina

Large Mina

Large Bracken in various resin colors

Tiny Mina full-set

Tiny white resin Moona full-set

Blue BonBon full-set

Carrie Atwood has always loved tiny things and fantasy.  Lord of the Rings is a favorite novel, and her favorite childhood toy was a tiny pocket-sized doll, Palitoy Pippa. Carrie eventually attended the StourBridge Collage of Art where she especially enjoyed life drawing classes. She became interested in crafts in her early twenties, when she began to knit in order to to help herself quit smoking.

After her daughter was born, Carrie wanted to make dolls for her and bought a book on doll-making. “I wanted to make a doll  just as my Mum had made toys for me, and bought a book to make and dress dolls…but by mistake I bought one in twelfth scale for dolls houses …but I fell in love with the book and it changed my life.” Carrie began to work in partnership with her mother on miniature items. “I began working with my Mum making sculpted fantasy dolls out of Fimo, we traded as Little Bloomers. I had been making dolls about a year when I saw my first miniature teddy bear and I fell in love.  Soon it was Mom sculpting the dolls and me making miniature bears, vintage upholstery fabric being a favorite (material).” Carrie and her mother became quite successful in their business. “We had a great 15 years. We won several awards for our dolls and bears, were members of The British Toymakers Guild (I still am), and we have a huge amount of dolls, teddy bears, animals, and fantasy figures on display in the Puppen Hause Museum in Bassel Switzerland.

On a visit to Japan, Carrie discovered BJDs. “I discovered Ball Joint dolls by accident around 2000 , when I visited Japan with my miniatures, but I didn’t buy one until 2005…a giant of a boy, but then I bought my first tiny resin ball joint doll and I was hooked. Again I didn’t realize how this would change my life.”  Her first doll was an Elfdoll Sylph, and Rainman is still one of her favorite doll artists.  Carrie’s mother eventually retired from the business, but Carrie continued to make miniatures and teddy bears and to teach adult craft courses.

By 2006, her BJD collection had grown, and Carrie decided to create her own wigs for the dolls. ” I began making wigs for my collection of tiny ball joint dolls, it wasn’t long before I got a HUGE following, and was finding I couldn’t keep up with demand. ” Then Carrie decided to undertake making her own resin ball jointed doll. Her first doll was named Moona. “I had met Dennis from Bobobie on the Den of Angels forum. When he released, of course, a tiny, and we became friends. He always told me if ever I needed help  to ask …so when I got stuck making Moona, I asked. ” Carrie’s dolls have all been cast by Bobobie, often in a wide range of resin colors. “When I released my first doll with Bobobie dolls help in 2007, the tiny little Elf Moona, I knew I could make a go of The Sleeping Elf and concentrate on my dolls.  I still make some miniatures, teddys, and sculpted humptys.  I love sewing them, and sculpting, it’s relaxing. My wigs and outfits have a wait list for them. I custom dye and cut them, and am still enjoying making them.”

Recently, Carrie has become friends with another miniature doll enthusiast, Charles Stephan of Charles’ Creature Cabinet. “I met Charles via Den of Angels and Flikr too. I admired his work, and he mine. I have some of Charles’ ball joint dolls and he has mine.” Eventually the two worked on a joint project to design a tiny ‘teddy pig’ named ‘Snoink’. “Working from Charles’ artwork to make Shroink ..and I’m thrilled …its been fantastic, and Charles is lovely and its great to work with him”

Carrie has new limited versions of some of her dolls, cast in a new color. “I have just released my first limited edition Bracken, Mina, and Moona in stunning red resin.”  New versions of several of her dolls are coming out. Large Moona is now on the Etsy site soon to be followed by Large Bracken. Carrie also promises ” 2 more later in the year.” In addition  she adds ” I’m also working on a pattern book for my Elves, and for dolls the same size. I am counting my blessings now. I’m now working on ThistleDown, a new size completely, and Bracken’s Friend Bramble, and Sam and Tanner, the boys for Coco and BonBon. This should keep me going  until next year! I work from home in my beautiful garden with my cats Maddie and babies Zack and Sam. I have a workshop at the bottom of the garden, where I am most of the time, and I couldn’t be happier. My life right now is magical.”

The Sleeping Elf Lmtd.

The Sleeping Elf Etsy Site

Carrie’s Photo Album

Large Bracken

New Limited Red Moona

Dark Tan BonBon

Large Mina

Green Coco

Snoink with Bubu Odoroki from Charles' Creature Cabinet