Prince update

I should have posted this a while ago. It's a funny story.

So I put the Prince on the high shelf with my other most precious taller dolls, and Jayn said, "It looks like all the dolls are lining up to get a kiss."

And it sure does.

Prince Charming - additions by MA

Prince Charming arrived here and after visiting the other dolls for a bit (and probably stealing a few kisses too) he told me that he really needed a stand, because it was awfully hard to kiss the girls when he kept toppling over! 

So my husband, being the woodworker in the family, created a nice wooden booth where the Prince would feel secure whilst smooching with the pretty women.

The Prince really thought his booth should be green, just like him because, after all, he didn't want to clash.  He gave his approval for some pretty fabric to decorate his booth and then decided that this kissing girls was making him really hungry.  A search through my stash yielded some flies, which made him a perfect lunch (no onions or garlic though, because he is quite conscious of his breath).  The lily pad Talitha made for him was a perfect addition to his booth too, along with some little green butterflies.

Now the Frog Prince is off to visit with Arlee in Calgary.  I wonder what adventures will await him there?

Kisses!

The last we heard of Frog (as he's known to his friends), Venus had cast a spell on him so that he'd forever remain in his frog form and belong to her alone. As it turns out, Frog has a mind of his own...

See Frog kinda likes kissing the pretty ladies. So he's opened a kissing booth at the local marketplace where, every Saturday, the ladies pay to try their luck at finding their Prince Charming. (Venus thinks he's off doing good deeds, which in a way he is, since he donates all proceeds from the kissing booth to charity.)



I made Frog a paper mache shirt and "hands" and a fabric tunic-thing like they wore in medieval times.




The most fun for me was putting a comb in his shirt pocket (to primp for the ladies) and a tin of tic-tacs in his tunic pocket (to sweeten his breath). Both are made from polymer clay.


And here's my entry in the scroll journal.

The Prince

When Prince Charming arrived

he had just received a torso.

He really needed a head,

and I thought a frog prince

was much more interesting than

a handsome prince.

So, I created a polymer clay

face that was inspired by

Native Frog masks

This photo shows the back view.

He is pretty tall now,

about 16 1/2 inches.

I attached the head using a dowel rod

I inserted that

goes from inside his torso

to inside his new head.

The Frog Prince has acrylic eyes.

The 'frog pearls'

are part of his headdress.

It is made from an old earring.

The hat is made from my own marbled fabric,

with feather embellishments on one side.

His hair is long and is made from nubby yarn.

Right side

Left side with fleur-de-lis royalty tattoo.

Legend has it that Venus,

the Goddess of love and beauty loved the Prince.

But she was very jealous of all others.

She presented him with the frog pearls,

magical virtues to help others,

and frog wisdom,

Now he would remain

a frog prince forever.

Robyn made a great scroll type journal
and below is what I added to his journal.

What will life bring the new

Frog Prince?

Yvonne

Prince Charming Grows a Torso

It is said that when a frog loses a limn, it sometimes regrows it. Well this froggie has grown a torso!

The torso is made of hand-dyed pima cotton. The pattern was drafted to provide the impression of a cross between a very broad-chested, broad-backed, and hunky human male and that of a frog. To keep his torso from flopping about above his lower half, a ribbon cumberbund was stitched to his pants and his torso and stuffed tightly. He was also given suspenders and a floral belt buckle and suspender keeper.

The text in the journal entry reads: Meanwhile, the prince encountered a very mean witch who decided to ensure he would lack the lips to receive love's true kiss or is it true love's kiss? It's so very hard to think without a head!

Playing with the Charming Prince

My part of the fabulous scroll journal contains images

of my work in the same materials as the work.

A little paint, a little paper, some fabric, and a little glitter just for fun:-)

Swamp box for royal comfort.

Two fleur-de-lis for his royal heritage and a lily pad for his amphibian heritage.

The fleurs are satin fused to felt, the pad velvet and satin with beading in the center.

(Fluer-de-lis are stylized lilies, wink, wink:-)

Here is the young prince in his velvet pants and
pleather boots standing next to his box.

Following Robyn's statement "let's play", I took him in a whimsical direction.

His frog feet are fabric that has been heat bonded right to the rigid cast of his original feet.
They fit into his boots so he can "pass".
(It's probably best that he travel without his boots on because I'm not sure how his feet would react to prolonged boot wearing.)

Looking forward to seeing what he becomes next!

Prince Charming leaves me

In a big stretch for me, I have made a doll start that does not include a face, or even a head, and further is not cloth. Plus it's a guy, at least named as a guy. The lower torso and legs are made from a wire armature, covered with batting and then plaster bandage ("rigid wrap"). Originally I was planning a polymer clay skin, but I changed my mind for a couple of reasons.

First the plaster is very acceptant of acrylic paint. Second it is porous enough for white glue. Finally it is hard, but can be pierced with a biggish needle or bodkin without cracking.

Three wire loops emerge at the waist which I hope will prove useful for the rest of his body.

He won't stand alone at this point, but I am prepared to attach him to a stand once he returns. I have some wood pieces saved that I will treat to match him.

The journal is a loooong scroll, playing on the idea of a medieval prince or proclamation a la fairy tales. I have used pages from an obsolete Writers' Market and non-woven interfacing. Both sides have been treated with acrylic paints. Jayn helped paint the outside.

The content has been cut using images from Cricut with my new favorite glue, Zig 2 Way glue. I crocheted two different varieagated yarns together for the tie.

I'm envisioning a long hanging banner in the end (but don't let that dictate the alignment of your entries), and I'll add some weights to wooden end pieces. If there are charms or objects that become part of his accoutrements, maybe they can be hung on the banner too.

The main message on my scroll is "Let's Play". I'm looking forward to learning what "Prince Charming" means to all of us.