LEAF FAIRIES....Whimsical, Magical Fiber Sculpted Fantasy Accents!

This is one of my "leaf fairies", which I just finished creating a couple of days ago. They are one of my favorite items to create, as I love painting onto silk fabric using Jaquard's Dye-na-Flow fabric paint. It is such fun watching the colors flow onto the fabric, and being able to blend all the different colors!




I created the leaf template from an Aspen leaf, which I pressed, then traced onto paper, and enlarged it on the copy machine to this size. I enlarged it from its orginal size to 144%. The "leaf fairy" above is now available in my DZFANTSY SHOP, click on the link below to find out more about her:

GREEN LEAF FAIRY

I use silk tussah fabric, as I love how it really absorbs the fabric paint so well. I use a medium size brush to paint the leaf. Tussah silk is a silk fabric derived from wild moths whose main diet is oak leaves. Its natural colors can range from a pale cream to a darker tan, depending in the amount of tannin that is in the oak leaves. I have found that it is becoming more difficult to find suppliers for this particular silk, and the prices keep going up. It is also the silk I use for all of my creations' faces and the mermaids upper bodies.

After I sew the leaf, I lightly stuff it with acrylic fiberfil, top-stitch it into a design, and then the fun starts....I get to hand-paint it!! You have to be rather quick when applying the liquid paint, and blend the color, or it will leave lines in the fabric. I also paint a small section of the silk fabric to use in creating the face. These are "leaf fairies", and as they are the "spirit and essence" of the leaves, their faces have to blend in with whatever color I decide to make the leaf.

The fairy's face then gets sewn, stuffed, hand-drawn, needle-sculpted and hand-painted. After that is completed, she gets her hairdo and accents. The "fairy leaf" hairdo above is a fun, sparkly, Italian yarn with wispy eyelash and paper ribbon as its texture. For her hair accent, I added a Swarovski crystal flower bead, and several 4mm Swarovski crystals. I also added another crystal flower bead, and 4mm crystals at the base of the leaf.

Below is another green "leaf fairy", which I recently designed. Her leaf is also the aspen leaf, but with a different yarn for the hairdo, and a slightly different stitch design on the leaf.

In a future post, I will be showing how I create a huge "maple leaf" fairy out of a maple leaf that my husband and I found while walking in Lake Geneva, WI. The leaf measured 12" x 12"!! I picked it up...rushed to the car with it and pressed it under my floor carpet so I could design a silk "fairy leaf" from it. I have only made two of these huge maple leaf fairies so far, as they take a very long time to top-stitch the leaf itself. Do stop back to see this....it is quite an amazing size!

MY LATEST CREATION - Striking ZEBRA FAIRY

ZEBRA FAIRY - Fiber sculpted art doll

I just finished this delightful ZEBRA fairy yesterday, and thought I 'd bring her out here on my blog, since I am so happy to finally have had time to create her!

I love her fun black and white zebra patterned fabric, which has zebra all over the pattern. I manged to get one of the zebra's head and neck on the front of the fairy, and there are several more peeking out from her wings, and her back.

She is one of my medium size sitting fairies, which was 10" long before being sculpted into her current, permanent sitting position. She has sparkly black hair, which is accented with bone beads and Swarovski crystals. She even has a black jet Swarovski crystal for a belly button.

She comes sitting on her own hand-painted black box, which can be used as a "keepsake" box for your favorite jewelry, or whatever else you might like to keep safe there. The fairy will be sure to protect your treasures. It even has a tiny little cushion which I created out of the same fabric as the fairy, and is lightly stuffed with fiberfill, with a white bead sewn into the center.

If you'd like to learn more about my newest creation, just click on any of her photos. I hope you enjoy seeing her as much as I enjoyed designing and creating her.

" WEAR A FAIRY" FUN, COLORFUL, FAIRY FACE PINS

WEAR A FAIRY FACE PIN

I've been designing and creating these whimsical "fairy face" pins for almost 10 years now, and each one always ends up with her own unique face and personality! They make great conversation pieces, and the wearer is sure to receive a lot of compliments! I've had customers come back a couple years later, after having bought a pin or two at an art show, to tell me about all the compliments and comments they receive. I'd thought I'd share a few of the little fairies I now have available in my Etsy shop. They will all be going to an art show with me this weekend, so if you see one you like, you better grab her! They are colorful and fun to look at, and make unique, affordable gifts.

This colorful little fairy face has the most fun hairdo...it is an Italian yarn with all kinds of texture to it....loops, and poofs with a sparkle!

Swarovski crystals as her accents. A truly fun, accent for any outfit!

Now isn't she a "wild child" with her funky, multi-colored hairdo.

She is wearing a gold plated, filigree leaf charm with a teeny, tiny bumblebee dangling from it, and several Swarovski crystals at the top of the leaf .

I think of her as a little "blue bell" fairy face. She has a loopy, curly hairdo designed from an Italian yarn and it is accented witha silver plated leaf charm and Swarovski crystals

SO SWEET describes this little fairy face...with her deep mauve hairdo, which has a bit of sparkle to it. She is wearing a silk rose colored flower in her hair, which I accented with several Swarovski crystals

She is just one "glistening" little fairy with her sparkly AURA yarn hairdo, with Swarovski crystals as accents.

A VERY magical little fairy, you can wear whereever you go!

This little "green haired" fairy face is a bit more subdued then my usual wild haired creations. She has a very sweet little face! Her hairdo was designed from a soft, wispy Italian yarn which has bits of ribbon running through it. Her accent is a Swarovski crystal bead in silver, and several other Swarovski crystals.

There is a "free giveaway" now running throught August 14th for one of my "fairy face pins" with butterfly wings. There is still time to sign up for the drawing. To enter just click on the WEAR A FAIRY FACE PIN posted on the right hand column at the top of the page. Be sure tp stop back for a visit or subscribe to my DZFANTASY newsletter, as I always have a monthly FREE giveaway for one of my creations, and sometimes an extra drawing for one of my pins.

FABULOUS DESIGNER YARNS FOR FANTASY DOLL HAIRDOS, AND WHERE TO FIND THEM!

"FIZZ" YARN BY CRYSTAL PALACE

Several posts ago, I showed how I used some of the beautiful "designer yarns" out there, to create fun, colorful hairdos for my fiber fantasy sculptures. In this post, I will show you photos of some of my favorite yarns, and also where to find them. Several years ago, I used to know the name of every designer and the name of the yarn I used for each and every creation I made. In the past few years, there have been so many of these new delightful yarns, that I have lost track of a lot of their names. Hopefully, I can give you enough information to get you started on a fun journey of finding out about all of the colorful, whimsical yarns that can be used to give your creations one-of-a-kind, magical hairdos!

In the photo on the very top of this page, you will see some of the colors I have of FIZZ yarn, which is made by Crystal Palace. These are just a few of the colors that FIZZ comes in. There are also "varigated" shades of FIZZ, also called "print". This is a shorter eyelash yarn and you can use it by itself, or mix it in with other yarns for a very colorful effect. CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW TO SEE ALL THE DIFFERENT COLORS THIS YARN COMES IN:

FIZZ YARN COLOR CHART
I used 4 different colors of FIZZ to create the fairy's hairdo below.

Crystal Palace also makes a fun textured yarn, which I just love to use...it is called BeBop, and comes in 16 different colors. Its texture is "eyelash" and "poofs" of color. Here is a photo of a fairy whose hairdo was designed from colorful BeBop yarn.

Click on the link below to see what other colors BeBop yarn comes in.

BEBOP YARN by CRYSTAL PALACE COLOR CHART

Another of my favorite yarns, that I have been using for quite a few years now, is AURA by TRENDSETTER. Aura is a sparkly eyelash yarn, which really glistens and sparkles, especially when the sun or light from a lamp hits it. It makes very magical fairy hair, either using it alone or mixing it in with other yarns. I use AURA in all of my mermaids' hairdos, mixed in with other "eyelash" type yarns. It makes the mermaids glisten and look as if they have just come out of the sea! This yarn also comes in a lot of magical colors. At one time, I think I had just about every color there was. Here is a photo of some of the colors I now have in stock. This yarn also comes in solid, "print" and antique colors.

Click on the link below to get to a page on the web which will show you all the colors this delightful yarn comes in. There are also two other links on that page which will take you to the "Print" colors, and one for the "Antique" colors available. There is also a "Store Locator" link on this page, which lets you pick your state, and then will list the shops in your area that sell AURA. There are also "on-line" shops from which you can purchase AURA.

AURA YARN by TRENDSETTER COLOR CHART

I used an AURA "print" yarn for this little "butterfly fairy face pin's" hairdo. See how she sparkles and glistens!

Below you will see one of my drawers full of yarn, which I usually try to sort by colors. Looks like one is in there that should be, as this is my "green toned" yarns! As you can see, I love using a lot of fun textured yarns, which have "eyelash" and "loops" in them. They all make great fantasy hairdos!

Another one of my "favorite" yarns is made by Moda Dea. The most magical one is called FRIVOLOUS, and comes in a variety of colors, but my favorite color is Tutti Fruiti. Below is a photo of a fairy whose hairdo was created using FRIVOLOUS - Tutti Fruiti yarn! It is a very soft, wispy eyelash yarn with a metallic thread running through it. I use this yarn quite a bit, as it is so much fun, and colorful.

Below is a link that will take you to the MODEA DEA page that shows the other colors this gorgeous yarn comes in.

MODEA DEA - FRIVOLOUS COLOR CHART

These are only a "very few" of the yarns I have used when creating my colorful, whimsical hairdos. I used to purchase a lot of these "designer" yarns at a small yarn shop in my area, but in the last several years, I tend to look for them out on the internet, and purchase them "on-line". It takes a bit of time and searching to find what one is looking for, but once you know names of the designers you like best, and the name of the yarns, it makes it a lot easier. I have found out, over the years, that if you find a yarn you really like working with, be sure to get enough in several different colors, as the "designer" yarns tend to be produced for several years, and then you can no longer get them. Below are several links where I have been purchasing yarn on-line.

YARN MARKET

HERRSCHNERS

I will be continuing this "yarn" information in another post in the near future! Do stop back, and have fun trying some of this fabulous yarn for your fantasy dolls!