Maggie, the little witch who wanted to be a princess

Say hello to Maggie! She's a mischevous little thing, but still very sweet. As you can see, Maggie is a witch. But for Halloween she wanted to be a princess! Well, you know, I'm pretty indulgent with my dollies so together, Maggie and I created an ethereal princess costume.


I had a 1950's chiffon scarf in my stash just waiting for it's opportunity. But first I created a base garment of ivory satin. Then I made the overlay in the chiffon. Maggie says it is the prettiest blue ever created and I think I have to agree! After her gown was done, Maggie said her witch's hat didn't look right with it so what could we do, but doll up her hat as well? Blue satin ribbon to the rescue!

Now, Maggie may look like an EFA doll, but actually she is my own creation. I knew I wanted her to be about 9" tall, but I wanted her to be a little hefty and I also wanted her arms to be more flexible than most EFA's. So I drafted a body that looks similar to EFA doll, but actually isn't. Also, her arms are seperate and sewn to the body later unlike EFA's which are true pancake dolls.

Another thing that is different about Maggie is that she is a painted doll. I wanted to give her more detail than usual, so I painted her hands and face with craft paint. I painted her features and then to give them more definition, I outlined them with a fine tip permanent marker. Then I gave everything a semi-gloss clear coat to seal it. I love her little face!



Then, since her head was painted, sewing her hair on became almost impossible so I decided to glue it instead. I new her hat would be glued on, so I wasn't to worried about detailed hair styling. I do love her long braids- they remind me of Pippi Longstockings!

I knew when I started this doll that I would be trying my hand at a custom doll stand, but I had no idea it would become so elaborate! My plan was to insert a dowel into a weighted base, attach a tie to the top of the dowel and then tie it around the doll's waist, under her skirt. But while I was working out the position of the dowel, I realized that I could create another accessory for Maggie! So I angled the dowel and then created a layer of paper mache on top of the box to create a "well" for Maggie's feet- you can see it in the photos. Then I turned the bottom of the dowel into a witch's broom and the top of the dowel became her magic wand. There is a wire loop on the dowel and Maggie's hand slips into that and after a little balancing, it supports her pretty well. Cute, huh? I really loved the way it turned out and I'm already hatching up new ideas for dolls with stands.

The hardest part of the whole process was coming up with a price. I think she may actually be a bit under priced. Well, of course she is if one were to add up all the time spent on her, but using that as a basis for price never works for the things I make! So, anyway, she is at Etsy and she is a bargain at only $40. I hope she finds a home quickly- how sad is a Halloween doll without a home on Halloween? Edited later: I raised her price to $60.00. Maybe she won't sell, but I just cannot justify selling her for any less.

I will be listing more items in the next few days so keep checking back!