(Inside A Black Apple)

Vintage Velvets Sophie Dolls

Isn't this a sweet batch? I'm getting all of the listings ready for the update, but I wanted to pop over and post a few photos of these sweet girls and their lovely silk velvet frocks.

Silk velvet is a trickster to sew with, but it was totally worth it. I want to keep all 4 of these for myself! Of course, I won't, and they'll be in the shop in just a little bit!

UPDATE: Hello my dears. That was a very crazy-fast update, as lots of the comments have said. Thank you! I hope no-one is too very down-hearted about it, because there will be more soft things in May! And who knows, maybe there will be something you like more or better? I'm already scheming up new designs and images! And there will be a new product for the shop tomorrow or Friday that I'm pretty flippin' excited about.

Thank you again, so much.

xoxo

The Afternoon Fled From Me!

Well, the afternoon got away from me...so this post is a little late in the day. I got caught up in finishing making up a round of (pretty awesome) new Sophie dolls, and then my new sewing machine came (!!!), and well, here I am at 8 pm.

Here, also, is a new painting I finished work on in the last few days:

All Horns and Thorns    11"x14"x2"    Acrylic on canvas

Her crown is, to me, like the lace band from this post of Amy's.

Have a happy night, and I'll see you tomorrow for the update (I'll try my very best to post photos here of the new Sophies before the update goes live).

xoxo

Three Boys, a Girl, a Ghost, etc...

I was finally able to photograph all of the dolls that are completely finished. So, you guys can get a look at the "boy modification" of the regular small-dollie pattern:

Cute n' Handsome, right? Those girls have been needing some company. I think the little gingham-guy on the left is my favorite...but maybe that's just 'cause I favor the raven-haired.

Also, here is a one-of-a-kind girl doll  I've been working on. She is lucky (and cool) enough to have a pet ghost (who can be attached or detached to her arm by way of a little loop of felt on his backside):

She has "legs for days", as the saying goes. I'm really happy with the way she turned out...there might be more in the future, with a few minor tweaks here and there, but for now, she is the only one of her kind.

And here is a little "Hollywood Squares"-ish peek at the girl-dolls that will be in the update on Wednesday:

That's all for this doll-happy post! See you tomorrow with more goodness for the update.

xoxo

Pretty Blouse & A Pretty Bird

A new portrait-style painting that will be part of the update on Wednesday...

She Moves Among the Sparrows    8"x10"x2"    Acrylic on Canvas

The title comes from a NIck Cave song that I love.

Now I'm working into the evening, after a fun, quiet Saturday-into-Sunday hangout with my pal Jenny (the day started out with a migraine, and thankfully, got much better the longer it went on). There is going to be so much good stuff in this update, I just want to make sure I'm able to finish all that I want to by Tuesday evening!

See you soon, and thank you for all the kind and nostalgic words about the work from the last post...they made me very happy.

Some New Paintings

Snow, Rose & Bear   11"x13"x1"   Acrylic on wood panel

I want one of my future children's book projects to be a re-illustrating of Snow White & Rose Red, which is one of my favorite fairy tales, and has special significance (because that was what my mom called me and my sister when we were small). That story is so dear to me.

Aaannnd another rabbit painting...

Lepus Creepus    7"x9"x1"    Acrylic on wood panel

Sorry to be short on words, but better to be long on pictures (I think).
Happy Weekend, my dears!

The Rabbits have a message for you...

As the creepers said, there will be a shop update a week from today (Wednesday) with loads of dolls and new paintings. Huzzah!

Also, here are a few more photos of the two new creeping rabbits I made over the weekend (I'm so crazy about the peppermint-striped flannel that the new red one is made from).
As always, you can click to make the image much larger.

It's a beautiful, nice day around these parts. Oh, the mildness of Spring...how quickly you give 'way to the brutal Summer. That just means I have to appreciate it while it's here!

I hope everyone is having a nice week, and Spring is treating you well.

The Creeping Corridor

I haven't just been sewing away since we got back from our trip, I've been doing some painting, too (before and after Portland).
I have to kinda have my hands in multiple projects at one time in order to feel balanced and also, to get my best ideas.  I'm still hung up on those creepers from a few posts ago, so some of the 2-D work includes the 3-D characters...which makes me very happy.

The Creeping Corridor    9"x9"x1"   Acrylic on wood panel

This piece has been through about 10 coats of varnish and sanding, and it has a lovely, glassy finish on the surface (almost like an encaustic painting with the warm, yellow-y wax).

I'm waiting for about 7 different kinds of supplies to get here, but there's still plenty to be done in the Black Apple studio/workroom, so I'm gonna hop (or maybe creep) to it.
xoxo

The One Tree Postcard Pack

A new postcard pack for the shop of the "One Tree" image. The printers did a swell job, and I think they'll make the sweetest of notecards.

Doll Parts

Happily, I seem to have found about 13 or 14 homes for my new tags over the last couple of days...

My stitching finger is feeling a little sore today!

If you peer closely at the top right-hand photo, you'll see some black/grey pants and some olive pants...'cause this time around I made a few little boys to keep this gaggle of girls company. And they are really cute, and it was simple to alter the pattern.

Also, I made a few creeping bunnies yesterday, and the pattern I drafted last week seems to work splendidly and reliably. That also means (for those of you who wrote to inquire) that a couple will be creeping into the shop update that's coming up soon!
Woot!

While I'm on this sewing bonanza, I think we're going to investigate getting a new machine for me today. Very exciting! I've had the same Brother model for about 5 or 6 years, and while it was a great machine to learn on, it's not the most precise or powerful of machines. And the tension is allllllll jacked up. So, let's go make an investment for the future of Black Apple sewn projects, shall we?

Tagged

I'm really nerding out over these new, cool Grandmama-style tags for the dolls and other sewn things.

Are they fancy? No. Do they delight me? Most certainly.

And it's the end of the week already? Goodness.
Hopefully I'll fill my weekend with making more things to sew "An Original By" tags onto.

Happy Friday!
xo

Wee House Goodness

I've gone a tiny bit house-crazy lately...in real-life and drawing-life. One of my favorite past-times these days is looking at houses on Craigslist in the cities we're considering moving to. Likewise, in my sketching life, (like those creeping bunnies) these mod, fairy-tale cottages won't leave me alone. They are just hypnotic in their charm and simplicity. They make me think of an idealized fairy village, kinda simultaneously French and Scandinavian.

Hence the newest print to find its way into the shop!

The One Tree    Digital print     8"x10" 

The image is made of many, many wee house drawings that were sifted through to make this sweet little village just right. Huzzah!

And thank you very much for all the bunny-love from yesterday's post! I've got some dolls waiting in cut-out piles right now, so I have to go hop to it.
See you soon!

Creeping Rabbit

For the last few weeks, I've been compulsively sketching these little guys:

I finally got the chance to draft a pattern for one, and after a few questionable trial-runs, I managed a 3-D realization of the lil' creepers that had been creeping around my sketchbook. It's not often that I can make a doll or a soft thing look exactly the way I'd imagined it in my mind (and in my drawings), but this time it worked like magic:

I used flannel, wool felt, this beautiful blue ticking I got on our trip, cotton (for some details, like the inside of the ears, and the collar), wee red buttons, and a bit of coffee stain to make him look a little aged.

I'm not sure yet if they're something I'd enjoy making for the shop, but I'm working on things for the next update, so maybe a few will creep in there.

xoxo

Supplies and Fairy Stories

While I was putting away all of our trip-stuff, I thought I'd snap a photo of my crafty scores and the books I mentioned in my last post!

Yarn, fabric and Japanese craft books:

Vintage fairytale books (I collect editions of the Alice stories, and I found 3 versions I didn't have...including the one illustrated by Arthur Rackham, who is a favorite illustrator of mine):

I also found the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen collections with Rackham illustrations.
So happy.

Here are some selections from flipping through each book briefly to show to you guys (the new Alice editions are on the top row). You can click to make them larger!

Happy Weekend, my dears!

Portland: The Return

Well, we are back (as of late last night)!
Things are as-yet unpacked, much sleeping has gone on, and I am moving kinda in slow-motion. But, we're back in action as far as the shop goes, and the laundry and such will be taken care of before the day is done.

We had a WONDERFUL time on our trip. 
Amy? Thank you! Powells? Thank you! Portland? Thank you!

Oddly, I didn't take one darn photo. I know, that's weird...and I was a photo major...but sometimes I just don't feel like it. So here we are, enjoying the city:

There should probably be a couple little rain-drops in there, but you get the idea.

And here are some highlights of the trip:
-Powells, Powells, Powells...we crossed off like half the things on our "To Do" list on Saturday alone, and this was our final shopping stop that day. I went crazy for the huge amount of vintage editions of fairy tale books...and 3 super-heavy big flat-rate Priority boxes were shipped from the downtown Portland Post Office on Monday full of my purchases. (Josiah did pretty well book-shopping, too).

-Sunday afternoon with Amy & Mariko (Amy took actual photos of our great cafe-food, which can be seen in her post here).

We went to the very-newly-opened Sock Dreams store, and came away with lots of socks and arm-warmers. Even better than socks + gelato is getting to meet friends in "real-life" and feel like you already know each other...that is a great thing indeed.

-Crafty Shopping is what caused me to have to hike up to the Goodwill and purchase another suitcase with which to carry all of my new treasures home. Close Knit, Fabric Depot, and Uwajimaya, you did this to me. The clothes shopping didn't exactly help, either!

-Consistently excellent hot chocolate (I'm not really a coffee girl)
-Lovely cool weather
-The completely manageable layout of the city
-All of the moss and ferns and flowering trees

The only bad thing I observed about Portland is the very high percentage of unfortunate hats...which I suppose can be attributed to the rain. And that, to me, says something very good about that fair city that is now so far away.
 

A Podcast + A Freebie!

I thought some of you would be excited to hear that I've joined in the long line of cool craftistas to do a Craftsanity podcast with the savvy and very sweet Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood. My episode should be available on the site on Sunday night (the 6th), so hop over there and have a listen if you'd like to hear my "dorky voice" again...and for longer. I hope it's not too terribly dull...sorry in advance if it is.

Also, there will be a freebie download available on the site simultaneously with the podcast...it will be super cute bookplates!
Here's a preview of the gals:

xoxo

Au Revoir!

Thanks so much for all the recommendations and help!
We'll be back next Wednesday, and the shop will remain open in our absence.
There will be a quick post tomorrow, so stop in to find out about a fun thing/treat that'll be coming up this weekend.

Chocolates From France & Bunnies With Headgear

Sara is back from her long journey, and she brought us some very beautiful and tasty presents. This little owl and squirrel are too much:

Look at how beautiful and detailed they are! The little talons on the owl? They kill me.

Also killing me (in a good way, of course) is the new-to-me tiny book from Renee French, Edison Steelhead's Lost Portfolio. Here is one of my favorite, erm..."troubled"... rabbits:

 
They're such beautiful images...it's hard to not to want to frame up a bunch and make a mini-gallery.
Renee French is amazing.
I'm very glad to have my friend back, and to have purchased this sweet little book today. The rabbits remind me of Sara and her work (and she knows that's a compliment).

And thanks for all the Portland advice! I'm going to make a list with the "must-try-to-do's" tomorrow to pack with us for Friday.