Newest Assemblage Doll - Scrabble Queen II

I've completed another assemblage doll that is going in to the Bliss Coop Gallery in Sugar Loaf, NY. (If you live in the Hudson Valley, be sure and drive up to Sugar Loaf on a Sunday- makes for a lovely day! And with Christmas around the corner, you can buy some hand made gifts.)

I made her before, but each time I make a doll they are still
one-of-a-kind because each one is different and each one is hand made. They look similar but are unique.

 I love her crown! I used the double-word star from the middle of the Scrabble board for the star on the crown. If you are a Scrabble player you will recognize it. I used great and real Scrabble words on her as well, along with a few sayings. 

I used a beautiful vintage hand beaded ribbon as her belt and attached a vintage rhinestone earring to the front as her belt buckle. The multi-colored necklace is also vintage. The arms and head are antique doll parts that were excavated from a doll factory in Germany.  Her arms move.

speaking of body parts...

My latest purchase of German doll parts arrived today! I purchased about 100 arms and 100 legs. These are rescued from the grounds of abandoned German doll factories. I simply love the idea of finding these treasures in the ground after a hundred years and bringing them back to life. I use them in my Narrative Doll Assemblages.

Rescued German dolls and doll parts

The area in Germany where the dolls are excavated.

A painting of the old doll factories before they were abandoned.
Most factories were abandoned because of WWI.

you can see doll heads, arms and legs as they are found in the ground!

There are several reasons that explain my recent love affair with old German doll parts:

- they are old - most are 100 years and older

- they were dug out of the ground-rescued and so they have a wonderful patina that cannot be made any other way then to sit in the ground for 100 years or so.

- each doll has it's own personality-really- if you look at the doll heads, each has a look- regal cute, silly, serious, just like people.

- they are wonderful to use in mixed media work.

- fun to collect

- relatively inexpensive - a non-damaged doll part of same age and quality cost 10x the price or more! non-damaged tiny dolls can sell in the hundreds of dollars!

- I love the story behind them - in the late 1800's and early 1900's there were many German doll factories. When making the dolls in molds, there were always rejects. These rejects were tossed into a large wood bin. When the bin got full, a worker would take them outside and bury them as a way to get rid of them. They would return the empty bin and keep filling it- over and over again, over many years. Fast forward to now- the old abandoned doll factories are being explored by the locals and they are finding the doll parts. There is a particular part of Germany that made the dolls in the factories. Someday I would like to visit that area.

My newest shipment of doll heads arrived yesterday from Germany.

I have posted several for sale in my etsy shop.

regal doll

cute doll

trinket box

I am having fun using my collection of doll parts in my crafting. I made this trinket box using a German doll head. I collaged a hinged wooden box with ephemera and German scrap. The doll head is nestled in lace. The inside of the box is painted a soft Robin's Egg Blue.

I really like how it turned out! I am a sucker for shabby style, ephemera, Robin's egg blue, and German scrap.


I've listed the trinket / keepsake box in my etsy shop.

German doll head

I love this cute little doll head! She looks so cute and innocent with her chubby pink cheeks and big blue eyes! She is part of a large lot of dolls and doll parts I purchased directly from Germany. She is from the Hertwig Doll Company in Katzhutte and circa 1900.

I've just listed her in my etsy shop. She is perfect for mixed media and assemblage. I am using a doll head for a funky assemblage. (I'll post it when I am finished with it). Besides using them in my artwork, I love to display them in my studio.