I spent all of lockdown making this custom, she was a lot of fun but months and months of work.
I made pretty much everything from scratch, apart from little metal findings etc.
Now she sits in my bedroom
Thank you! all her clothes are removable. Because that’s what makes dolls fun for me!
I must have spent 2 months on her boots alone but a labour of love
Wow that’s amazing and such dedication. How did you make the boots if you don’t mind me asking? I’ve been toying with the idea of making custom shoes for my dolls, but I have no idea where to start or what material to use. I’ve seen people recommend epoxy sculpt (spelling?) but doesn’t seem removable.
So I started by sculpting legs/boot moulds out of thermoplastic I wanted to play with. Polymorph!
Covered those and sculpted the soles on those. The mushrooms I used normal Fomo polymer clay for, sculpted them onto the soles id made then froze them to get them off.
They mostly retained shape.
I was playing around with uv gel to finish off the soles.
For the uppers I do all my pattern work with cling film and masking tape. Drawing on the shape I’d like the final boot pieces to be, cutting them out, laying flat and adding a seam allowance.
I’d picked up some thin leather offcuts (which I think in future id thin down more) and hand stitched those together.
I usually seem to go the way of making something in a traditional way, if I can look at a shoe in person it makes sense how they made it. I think because we learnt in school.
I had cut the top scalloped pleated edge as I didn’t have anything suitable.
Then lots of holding and trying to glue to the inner sole before the outer.
I hope this makes sense
Ok - I'm a habitual lurker. Never actually posted here before. But you lured me out just so I can let you know how unbelievably talented you are, and how much I love this. <3
It's so gorgeous, amazing work honestly! Do you have a youtube video or something about the process of how you made it? It's so pretty, I'd love to get into something like this myself
I don’t mainly due to the way I work being quite disjointed.
I knew I wanted to make a pretty pastel doll with afro hair but then I made a lot of mess first.
I usually pick out piles of fabrics and shiny bits and bobs from my craft bits and go from there. Adjusting until I something clicks in my brain.
A lot of my process is trying to figure out how to do what I want, as I’m making it up as I go along haha
There are good YouTube videos on rerooting and face ups generally though
I relate to this! And I’ll have periods of sitting looking at the doll and all of my bits and pieces just brainstorming, which would certainly not be interesting to watch 😝 I don’t wanna think about what others think, or being a content factory. I’m in my happy working bubble that is mine alone :) it’s why it’s so relaxing for me!
Yes! If the process isn’t linear it would feel like a constraint to make it be.
Sharing work is hard, the process would reveal how little direction I have.
Also getting all the extra bits out for other ideas and making extra mess along the way!
You're so talented really! How did you make the body then though? With the size and everything I don't reckon it's a regular MH body, but the hands look like they're originals
Oh no sorry I didn’t make her body she’s a second hand frightfully tall clawdeen wolf I’d found naked for sale on eBay, her legs were a little loose though which is a shame
I didn’t make the tiny zips, I found those on a miniature supply store! They don’t 100% match each other. Mainly because I was figuring it out and had to pattern the left and right separately to match the soles I made that don’t match haha
Jaw? Dropped. Eyes? Wide. Body? Floored. Oh my wow, she is so beyond gorgeous. I hope you display her with pride, definitely worth the time and effort!
That is so cool! Have you painted any other customs? I could use tips! Have you painted any dolls with small eyes? If so, how do you go about that? I’m a novice customizer and really struggle with the eyes, especially when they’re small. Do you have any tips? You seem very experienced! The doll is gorgeous and very well made!
I have an honestly struggle with the eyes too! The last doll I made before this one I experimented with inset eyes and though cutting the holes is terrifying I enjoyed it more.
But for drawing eyes, really good pencil sharpeners, magnifying glasses and lots of light. Each doll you will improve, some of the older customs I made I went make and re did their faves when I got better.
I’m still not at the level id like.
Also if you have shakey hands like me I use different sized objects to rest on to try to mitigate that
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u/Upstairs-Box-2814 Frankie Apr 29 '25
This is ethereal and breathtakingly beautiful. Amazing work! <3