Tag: handmade

Bumblebee Doll

Posted on December 13, 2012 by Jennifer At Your Toy Portrait

8″x10″ acrylic, 2012. What a treat this project was! Not only did I get to paint an adorable hand-made doll, but I was able to have a “live model” pose in my studio!

Jessica, who lives in British Columbia, sews these beautiful dolls by hand to sell in her etsy shop. Having commissioned two portraits from me earlier this year, she decided to have one painted of a toy of her own design. She was kind enough to send me this wonderful doll as a model, and then wrote to tell me that it was for my daughter Sonja’s to keep! Sonja understands that, normally, toys that come into our house to be painted are not for her and will not be staying for long. She has always been very respectful of this arrangement, even when she deeply covets a toy. She had admired this doll since its arrival and is thrilled to hold it in her arms and have it for her own!

Jessica uses fantastic vintage and Japanese fabrics for her creations, which were a delight to paint. She also sells the fabrics, and currently her shop features cute pet collars made from them. Earlier this year I painted Ernie and Bert Little People for Jessica’s son and a Hot Wheels GTO for her husband.

Pull-Toy Group

Posted on August 20, 2012 by Jennifer At Your Toy Portrait

11″x14″ acrylic, 2012. What fun I’ve had painting all these clever wooden hand-made toys! You may have seen my individual portraits of this bear, duck, and grasshopper earlier this summer, and this group portrait brings in a fourth toy. The rabbit is overturned to reveal the signature of Pops, Barbara’s talented and generous late father. “Pops” made beautiful toys for several generations of his family, and Barbara commissioned this quartet of portraits to honor him and his lovely work.

Bear Pull-Toy

Posted on July 30, 2012 by Jennifer At Your Toy Portrait

8″x10″ acrylic, 2012. Here’s a third portrait of a beautiful pull-toy handmade by Barb’s late father. Barbs’ children (now grown) called her father “Pops,” and he always made sure to spend lots of quality time with them. The kids have fond memories of helping him build and paint projects in his shop such as wooden swords and birdfeeders, and they played cards using a wooden cardholder made by Pops to assist little hands in managing the cards. Barb’s father carefully researched his finishes and materials to be sure the toys were non-toxic. It’s a thrill to paint these amazing family treasures! You can see my other portraits of Pop’s pull-toys here and here.

Wooden Duck Pull-Toy

Posted on July 9, 2012 by Jennifer At Your Toy Portrait

8″x10″ acrylic, 2012. The further down I dig in the box of priceless goodies I recieved from Barbara, the better it gets! Barbara has entrusted me to paint several wooden pull-toys that were hand-made by her late father for several generations of children. This duck is as much a joy to hold as it is to pull along — perfectly smooth, heavy, beautifully shaped, perfectly finished! The egg sits loosely between the wheels and rolls end over end as they turn, which absolutely amazed my daughter (and me.) Click here to read more about Barbara’s talented father and to see his fabulous wooden grasshopper pull-toy!

Grasshopper Pull-toy

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Jennifer At Your Toy Portrait

8″x10″ acrylic, 2012. Barbara’s late father, Joe, who made this fabulous pull-along grasshopper, merged his love of children and of beautiful, well-made objects in his craft. For part of his life he restored antique furniture for a living, and ultimately began to build his own wooden toys. Joe’s wife made denim quilts, and together they traveled the craft show circuit in New Mexico and Texas. The first of Joe’s many hand-made gifts to his grandchildren was a rattle carved from a single piece of wood! Barbara’s family cherishes the many toys that Joe lovingly made for them throughout the years, and they keep a stash aside for his great-grandchildren.

Limu

Posted on September 13, 2011 by Jennifer At Your Toy Portrait

11″x14″ acrylic, 2011. In July, the website Sixty Second Parent was kind enough to host a custom toy portrait giveaway. The recipient of the portrait was Stephanie, whose three-year-old absolutely adores this stuffed sea turtle. While vacationing in Hawaii last winter, the family bought a book called “Limu the Sea Turtle” at a Costco. Shortly after, the people who delivered rental baby furniture to their vacation home gave this hand-made turtle to Stephanie’s daughter as a wecome gift. She immediately named it Limu (Hawiian for seaweed or algae!) after her new favorite book. They have been inseparable ever since — she even took Limu and the book to preschool to show her classmates! Limu is special to Stephanie because he will always remind her of that beautiful vacation and happy time in the family’s life.

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