Ezmay and Loon pause for their photograph. Loon has a resident, a wee bird who has built a nest and tends to an egg nestled inside the nest of Spanish and Indian mosses. Ezmay awaits, knowing that a bird will find her when Ezmay will offer the cage as a safe refuge. These are fairy godmothers to the birds. They travel from spot to spot to offer a safe place for birds to stay and raise a family if they wish. Any bird who is injured, or elderly, or in some way disabled, is most welcome to make a home for themselves in these safe bird cage homes. Not all will want to raise a family, but at spring time this is most often the case.These paper dolls are my latest offering, and are easy to make. Here's how I did it.
START WITH TEMPLATES
Take the Audrey head and arm templates that you made during the first doll (see the post about how to make Audrey) that you made. Use the head template and find a suitable head for (let's use Loon for this doll). Look in magazines (doll magazines for example), and hold the Audrey template (made of clear plastic so you can see through it) up to images until you find the right size. Don't work with the actual magazine image but have it color photocopied and use the photocopy. Use the Audrey arm template to make a tracing on nice scrapbooking paper that is sturdy enough to hold up with manipulation (I use cover stock).
BUILD YOUR TEMPLATE RESOURCE
Now you want to make a new template. You need a bodice that will fit the Audrey head and arm shape/size. Trace the head and arm shape from Audrey templates onto a plain sheet of paper, placing them where you like. Go over these lines in ink. Then using pencil, draw a bodice shape. I looked in fashion magazines until I found a ruffley sleeve shape that I liked, and then drew in the neckline which is very simple, and narrowed the bodice at the waistline and put on a rather large ruffle to cover the top of the birdcage. Draw the bodice right over top of the inked in head/arm shapes. Draw a million versions in pencil until you get one that you like. Cut out the pencil outline shape being sure to leave a margin around the shape so that you can see the pencil line; tape to a piece of plastic packaging material and cut out the template using a sharp knife blade and a cutting mat. BUY A CUTTING MAT. Use it! Careful!
So now you have a head and arm(s) and a new bodice template. You are practically done, and next time we will do the birdcage skirt piece. Hope you are having fun, and I look forward to seeing you soon. Bye for now, hugs, Norma.
