I had planned on posting last week but Mildred was ill so I was very preoccupied with that. Turns out she was very dehydrated. She's been on fluids and is now on the mend. Looks a bit like a hospital around here!
I know you aren't supposed to pick favorites, but sometimes they pick you. Mildred and I are madly in love. She came from a shelter through lost and found. She can't walk so I'm not sure how she got lost (dumped???) but I'm sure glad she was found. Since she was special needs and elderly (not a good combo for a dog at a shelter) they called me to take her. She is a tiny 4 lbs and gorgeous (remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder)! She has two luxating patellas in her hind legs along with some paralysis in all legs so she walks like she is very drunk. But, don't feel sorry for Mildred. She prefers to be carried...walking is highly overrated in her book.
In between all the dog drama I have been making some dolls. This doll may very well be THE best doll I've ever made. I am pretty critical of everything I make, but I really LOVE this little gal. She is on a stand and wears a dress made from an old vintage flag that I had. The flag was in very poor shape - torn, ripped, stained. So I decided to recycle it into a beautiful gown. Her star and crown are made from some vintage glitter that I just covet. I rarely use it because I love it so much. I keep it hidden under my mattress, because dreaming of using it is sometimes better than actually using it.
Okay, I will admit I struggle with the concept of making things out of flags. I know there are strict rules in the to abide by. I know flag code says that you should never wear a flag, does this apply to dolls...I don't know. I do know that I recycle as much as I can in my dollmaking. I am trying to exclusively use vintage textiles. I especially love when I can salvage something that is pretty much destroyed and couldn't serve any other purpose. These dolls are tiny, so sometimes I just need the smallest piece of something. After a little guilt and soul-searching I decided that if a flag was old, had served its purpose for a time, and was about to destroyed or thrown away anyway, why couldn't it be re-purposed and have life extended in a new way?
I visited my mom this weekend and guess what she had? Yep, a big bag of destroyed flags she was saving to properly discard by burning. These flags are tattered and torn. They have had the life whipped out of them by the wind, so they are perfect for my purposes! And my mom being a fellow crafter was happy to hand them over. So be on the lookout for some Americana dolls coming your way soon!
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