My First Beaded Doll: Snegurochka

Recently I have been trying to make a beaded doll. And today, I finished her! She is my first try, and represents the character "Snegurochka". I am very excited about her ^-^

She stands approximately 7 inches high, and is made entirely of glass seed beads (Delicas and Dyna-mites). This is my original pattern. I have a few things in mind that I want to try changing for my next doll, but on the whole I am happy with her as she is. I hope you will like her too! :) Here are some photos of her:

With porcelain BJD Elena - Snegurochka is made of the same beads as Elena's costume.

Crystal Snow

I finally finished the outfit that goes with Elena's icicle wig! It was inspired by the Russian fairy tale "Snegurochka" (aka The Snow Maiden). But this is kind of a fantasy version. In my imagination, she is actually made of snow and ice. So her "clothes" are just like a part of her skin. 

The outfit consists of a dress, panties, gloves, boots, and wig. Everything is made from glass beads, and is my own design. This was my first beading project (aside from bead embroidery, which I have been doing for several years), and it was really fun! I will definitely be doing more of it ^_^

Elena's Icicle Wig

I made Elena a new wig - the "hair" and wig cap are made entirely of glass beads. This is sort of related to my "Snegurochka WIP" posts, since I originally bought the beads to do embroidery on the coat for that outfit. But, I have been having some problems breathing when I sew or work with fibers, so I am taking a break on it (might be permanent, might not, I don't know at this point). Anyways, I have all these beads, so I decided to try something new - I've always loved the looks of beaded things! So I am making Elena a beaded dress, and hopefully shoes, to go with this wig. It will be like a fantasy Snow Maiden thing when it's done. Of course, I will post more pictures when it is, but I just finished the wig a few minutes ago, so I wanted to share it with you! ^-^ Be warned, these photos are kind of too bright. I wanted to show how shiny and sparkly the beads are, so I took them in the sunlight…

This wig was really an experiment, to see if I could even make an all-beaded wig for a porcelain BJD. I tried looking up tutorials first, but I could only find beaded wigs for Barbies. I liked the looks of them, but the execution is totally different since Barbie doesn't need a wig cap! So I had to make it up as I went along. I'm pretty happy with the results, and will definitely make more for my other girls! I might tweak things a bit here and there, but basically, I am happy with things as they are, and it wasn't nearly so hard to do as I thought.

New Illustration: Snegurochka (Fairy Tale Fashion Series #3)

Snegurochka (Fairy Tale Fashion Series #3)

©2013 Debi Cady

Digital Paint

Snegurochka, the Snow Maiden, is happiest in the forest during a snowstorm, holding her friend the snow rabbit. Inspired by the many versions of this popular Russian fairy tale, "Snegurochka" is the third illustration in my Fairy Tale Fashion series.

This illustration is now available on a wide variety of items on my stores at Cafe Press, Zazzle, Red Bubble, Artist Rising, and my deviantArt print shop.

As you have most likely guessed, I love the stories about the Snow Maiden. I also love winter, and snow! The past few winters we have not gotten much snow here, I miss it. I'm hoping we will get more this year.

Before I go, I just wanted to share an animated version of this story with you. It's really cute, it was done in Russia in 1952. I hope you enjoy it! (Don't worry, it has subtitles ^_^)

WIP: Snegurochka Costume, Part 3

I finished the dress for Elena's Snegurochka costume the other day. It's made of organic cotton, with the two trims that I wove sewn onto it. If I have enough beads left after making the rest of the costume, I may come back and do some light beadwork on this dress, we'll see. Most of it will be covered by the coat. Anyways, here are some pics ^-^

Next up I will be making the coat. Which will probably take a long time, as it is going to have a lot of beadwork....

WIP: Snegurochka Costume, Part 2

I finished weaving the second trim for Elena's costume, both of the trims have been finished (i.e. washed), and are now drying. So I will start sewing the dress as soon as I get a chance!

This trim is made of the same yarn as the first, but it's a different snowflake pattern, and is a bit wider than the first. Here are a couple of pics:

WIP: Snegurochka Costume, Part 1

As promised, here is Part 1 in my series of posts about Elena's Snegurochka costume. ^-^

This costume is going to consist of a satin dress, a velvet coat, and some accessories. I am weaving two different types of trim for the dress, and I am almost done with the first one. So today I took a few pictures of Elena posing with it while it is still on the loom.

The trim is white with a silver snowflake design. I used Xie yarn, which is 100% bamboo. My loom is the Mirrix Little Guy (12-inch) loom.

I should be done weaving this piece tomorrow, and then I will start on the second style of trim that I need - I can't really start making the costume until the trim is all done.

So, that is all for now. I will post again when I have more done :D

I hope everyone is well, and had a nice Christmas, and I wish you all a very Happy New Year!

~Debi (and Ringo too *woof*)