Maria Forrester Illustration: Making Spirit Dolls, Worry Dolls, Altar Dolls, Healing Dolls, Witch Dolls

I guess I hate seeing things discarded and always think that most things can be repurposed. I have been thinking about making Spirit Dolls for some time and found some doll's heads on Ebay. They looked a bit worse for wear but I like that. It shows that they were once well loved and that nothing is perfect. Now to see if I can work some magic on them.

First of all I had to tackle the unruly hair and then face make up had to go. I found that Quickies Nail Polish Remover worked really well.

6 Bratz Doll's Heads

Washing doll's hair in detergent

Drying the hair on paintbrushes

Quite some time was taken detangling

Nail Polish Remover didn't work

After removing the face make-up (ordinary nail polish remover didn't remove any of it, Quickies was the way to go) I decided to draw on some basic features before taking the paintbrush to the dolls. I outlined the faces using pen and painted the faces using watercolour brush pens. Detail was added using coloured pens. I have no plan for how these dolls will develop, they will each show me the way. I only painted four of the dolls faces as I was trying to colour two of the doll's hair with ink. The purple washed straight out and the deep red I used turned the doll's hair pink, which I really like. Hair conditioner makes a real difference to doll's hair.

Basic Pencil Designs

Four of the dolls finished

Faces Varnished and Drying

While the faces were drying I started work on the bodies. I decided to create a simple pattern and sew this on my old manual sewing machine. No electric here, I have to turn the handle. I am not that great at sewing. I decided to fill the bodies with foam and sage and also added some rose oil to the foam. Later I looked up the spiritual use of each. Sage is used for protection, healing, granting of wishes, happiness and helps to rid sorrow. Rose oil is used for love, protection, forgiveness, meditation and spiritual practise. A perfect combination.

Sewing the Doll's Body

Filling the Doll's Body with Foam and Sage.

Starting to wrap the body

You can see in the above picture that I had already wrapped a couple of the bodies with yarn. Although most of the things I use are rescued I did buy the wool new for this as I wanted different colours and textures. A bamboo cane has been inserted to attach the head to the body and also make it a bit stronger. I've just looked up spiritual properties of bamboo and it has many, including negative energy clearing, great choice. I love being guided.

It took some time to completely wrap the bodies with the wool but they really look and feel right.

In the picture below I attached the heads by just pushing them on. The next stage is to make headscarves and decorate them using old jewellery and natural objects. A little bit of sewing involved and some things are just pushed in. These dolls are so beautiful and unusual. Close up pictures are below.

Heads attached

Finished Spirit Dolls.

Here are some close-ups of the dolls so that you can see them in detail. I love how each one has it's own personality and style. I will be selling these on my partner's Etsy store shortly. Each one will come with a detailed guidance sheet so if you would like to purchase one here is the link to his store: EarthrayneCrafts Blessed Be.