Every once in a while I get a custom doll order that gets me even more excited than usual.

When a mom contacted me about making Laura and Mary Ingalls dolls for her little sweetie's birthday, I couldn't wait to get started! As a little girl, I loved the show Little House on the Prairie, and even more close to my heart are the books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

I started with red calico and brown braids for Laura and blue calico and blonde braids for Mary.

Another essential piece was going to be the bonnets. I made these from some really pretty Liberty of London-esque vintage cloth napkins.

I modified the bonnet from a vintage Holly Hobbie doll pattern to fit these dolls. Isn't this sweet?

The dolls also needed some little white pinafore aprons over their prairie dresses, and then faces painted. Laura with violet eyes and Mary with soft blue.

Here they are completed and in their bonnets.

And here they are in their special winter cloaks, a sweet extra my brilliant customer added on.

I enjoyed this project so much and was so inspired by it that I've decided to reread the Little House books this summer, starting with this one:

If you are interested in a custom made doll of your favorite book character, click here for doll options, and here for costume and outfit extras.

This summer is almost half over, but it has already been beautiful and rich with tiny joys. (Minus the lost of our sweet doggie Skully to old age and a horrible flu/cold/hacking cough I just can't shake.) But let me focus on the many positives.

How is your summer going? Are you enjoying heavenly weather where you are as we are here in Boise? Any fun summer projects you've accomplished? Let me know in the comments below!

I recently got the most fun order from a fellow who wanted to order some Jane Austen Art Dolls for his wife for their wedding anniversary. Their favorite Jane Austen book/movie is Persuasion, the 1995 version with Amanda Root as Anne Elliot and Ciaran Hinds as Captain Fredrick Wentworth. This is my favorite version, too! It is always really fun to work with people who have the same level of enthusiasm that I do for a particular subject.

I've made Jane Austen lady character dolls before, but not a Regency era gentleman, so I was a little nervous. But I had done an Edgar Allan Poe doll before, and I knew that would be a good starting point.

When I told my sister about the order (she is a huge Jane Austen fan as well), she insisted that I make Captain Wentworth's cool hat. I knew I had to attempt it, but I wasn't quite sure how to pull it off. But after a great success with the jacket, I had the confidence I needed to try my hand at millinery once more. I was pleased with the results.

Here are some in-progress shots of the process.

I used a vintage hankie for Anne's shawl. Also some of the trim I used for Wentworth's coat was antique trim that I bought at an estate sale.

Thanks for taking a look! What favorite book or movie character would you love to receive in doll form as a special gift?

One of my favorite places on earth is in my little studio. It's where I create all of my handmade cloth dolls, stuffed animals, and develop my PDF patterns. I work in a spare room of my house, and it is packed to the gills. It is seldom neat as a pin, but usually at least partly tidy.

I usually have company, and my company usually brings his toys.

Things get a little stacked up sometimes. It's hard to have room for all of my inventory, ongoing and current projects, fabric, stuffing, packing supplies and everything else in a ten by ten area! But I shoe-horn it all in somehow.

I am seldom without tunes of some kind (okay, I admit to an inordinate amount of Journey) and I often stare out the window at the trees in my yard when I take a tea break.

Thanks for stopping by the Hen and Chick Studio for a visit!

Come back soon!

I have been wanting to make Mary Poppins doll for a while, so I was really excited when a sweet mama from Winnipeg contacted me about making a custom Mary Poppins doll for her little one.

This is the outfit from the "Spoon Full of Sugar" scene. I knew she needed a lacy blouse, red bow tie, navy skirt, and of course, the magic carpet bag.

Blue eyes and brown hair with buns and pin curls, too.

Here's a peek at what she looked like in-progress:

At some point, I want to do another version of this doll, but with the cherry-festooned hat and parrot umbrella.

I'm dying to know: what story book character would you like to see me make next? Let me know in the comments!

UPDATE: 7/18/13 I now have a special listing in my shop for custom Mary Poppins Doll! Check it out!