At first I was toying with a King and Queen set. But I wasn't sure I had supplies worthy of such a regal choice. I doubted how much sparkle I had available in my stash so I'd rather scrap an idea then make a sub par finished project.
Then I thought Thing 1 and Thing 2. I almost went with this idea but then I decided instead of using that idea for this swap, why not just start a Dr. Seuss themed swap instead. So I shelved Thing 1 and Thing 2 so I'd have them if I wanted for the Dr. Seuss swap (still not sure what I'll do for that, but I have an idea in my back pocket now, which makes me happy).
I also toyed with spaghetti and meatballs and peanut butter and jelly. But neither of those really got me excited.
Then I noticed some heart shaped pillows I made a while back.
And I remembered how much I LOVE the bathroom door icons. They're just so simple but still look interesting and they would be a great idea for a pair theme.
The only snag was, I'd have to add some details to them, since dotees need faces. But I didn't want to totally lose the simplicity of the images, either.
What to do. . .
Make them double sided!
The only minor issue with the plan was how to hide the stitching. I decided to go with a color that blended well with the decorated side which left the stitches very visible on the blank side. I'm o.k. with that decision.
The best part of them being double sided?
Mix and match!
Since their heads are attached with just a double strand of embroidery floss, they should spin and move when hung up which will make them kind of like wind catchers, too. I like that idea, too.
Their faces are a new design for me. I tend to go the easy (aka lazy) route and make very kawaii faces for my dolls. Basically they're just two eyes and a mouth. Cute, yes, but boring. These faces are based on some doodles I made while pondering my ideas. They turned out very well even if their photos here are kind of crap. The gray floss just doesn't read well in the pic (given my crappy lighting and using a cell phone--when will I upgrade, WHEN!?).
I used my draw on the back of the fabric method, too. I'm really enjoying that little cheat. I just had to make sure I thought about what direction I wanted the nose since it would be reversed on the "good" side of the face).
The faces are weird but I think still cute and they work with the overall finished products.
Close up of the clothes.
The clothes are super simple. I just top stitched the cute fabric to the bodies (before assembling) and trimmed away the excess. The female shape was easy, just gave her a little sun dress (using some of the awesome scraps Ali shared with me--shout out!). For the male figure I was torn on how dressed he should be. A full shirt/pants outfit would make him seem heavy and wouldn't match the light look of the female. So I decided to go summery with him and just give him some jam style shorts. (and yes, those are nipples you see on his chest--I just couldn't not add them, but they are very subtle so as not to be obscene, though one nip is bigger than the other because the first french knot I made for it pulled through the fabric and I had to give him a do-over nip).
They weren't terribly hard to make, either. The only mistake I made was during the planning stage. At first I thought I was going to make them flesh tone on both sides, so I cut out four head circles in the tan/fleshy color but then changed my mind. Hmm, that's not really much of an error since those bits went right into my felt scrap ziploc.
I hope my swap partner likes them. I have a feeling they'll be well received. I've been partnered with her a lot and she gets my sometimes odd dotee style (so at least these won't scare the crap out of her--I think my scarecrow dotee terrified his recipient, they didn't leave any comment at all when rating, so I think they might hate it).
This pair is packed up and ready to head to their new home in Canada. I felt like I should pack them little scarves and mittens, they're terribly under-dressed for Canada in winter!
Up next? EASTER. (and if I thought this pair were stumping me, this damn easter one is really making me nuts--but I've finally decided on my design so now I just need to get my hands all wet and soapy and get to it).
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