Altered Russian Dolls

I found some Japanese Momiji Dolls the other day on this blog site and fell in love with them. I'm not normally one for collecting such cute things but these are so cool. They come in a tin which is gorgeous and have a little cavity in them for hiding notes. Plus they have added accessories like bags, notepaper and the most beautiful material, what more could a girl want!!

Kokeshi dolls are made out of wood and look a bit like Russian dolls with heads and hair, and it was a combination of these two that gave me the idea to make my own.

I bought these dolls nearly 3 years ago with the intention of altering them. I searched for really cheap russian dolls and found these ones at a Car Boot sale, they were painted with Sponge Bob Square Pants and in my opinion needed saving from such a fate!! I originally stamped some tissue paper and covered them with mod podge but I was never happy with the result.


Meet from left to right Yoko Lilly and Suki

So when I glimpsed this beautiful pack of handmade Japanese papers in my stash that my sister Sarah had sent to me from Australia last Xmas I knew just what needed to be done!! I have also entered these in the Artygirlz challenge which this week is take inspiration from someone else's blog or work.

My sideways bow on Suki is supposed to represent a Kimono.
These papers are so luxurious, I love the printing techniques, colours and the gold in them. I was worried that applying the mod podge would ruin them but it helped me too smooth the paper down into shape and rub out the creases.

Flowers Galore

I have the coolest Mother-in-law. Brenda is a trained florist and gave me a box full of paper flowers and stamen with a note attached "found these little drawers just do your thing"!!! I love it when someone actually gets what you do!!!

TFL xxx