Our little spooky ballerina is the latest curiosity to leave the sewing room. All her detail is painted free hand and is sealed to protect the paintwork. It took me hours to get the detail on the sun and the moon just right and I am proud of how good they look even though they are on such a small scale. Umbra has a six layered tutu which ranges from long to short to give it a full look instead of the traditional ballet tutu. Thought I would end the spooky season with something different and I know she is missing ‘goodbye’ beneath the numbers but I didn’t want it to replicate a ouija board exactly just in case someone tried to see if it would work. I don’t need that bad juju following me around especially not after this year. 

On other news I have confirmed my week for the Winter Wonderland fair! Very exciting! Marilyn should be heading off to her new home soon and so will the first quilt order!  Organising custom orders for the upcoming festive period too, looking forward to these.
for now enjoy Umbra and stay safe

So after having this amazing burst of creativity and filling a book with various ideas and designs; I am now spoiled for choice as to what ones to do next. I know it could be worse and I could be slapped with a creative block but this is annoying me to the point I am losing sleep. Asking my husband is no use as his response is usually “I’m sure whatever you choose will be fab.” Love the confidence he has in my craft but he is no help in the decision making at all haha. So I have two dolls with designs appointed and two faceless dolls creeping me out when I am sewing. I will never understand how I manage to make dolls even with being afraid of them. I am a weird gem. 

The quilt order is now finished and photos have been sent for approval which came back glowing. Really happy with the way it come out and so is the proud owner. Each side has two colours that compliment each other but contrast with the other side (hope that makes sense) it will when I can post pictures but that will be when the owner receives it. 

I have seen numerous artisans and OOAK makers doing compositions of the items they sell, so I decided to take one of the Four dolls I have for sale, Stitches, Banshee, Selkie and of course Edith. So while everyone else’s looks amazing I end up with one that looks like a cast for a very strange B movie. I quite like it, even my creative coven members are laughing at it, I can see them making a meme of it just to wind me up. Love them really. 

Edith the Crone is the latest curiosity to leave the sewing room. Absolutely love how well she turned out and her bag of magick just adds to her character. I also have to state that her potion is a herbal rose tea but please note that it is not for drinking. Her skirt and top have been distressed and machine embroidered to add a bit more detail. Edith also has a pair of bloomers on under the skirt (not shown). 

Update on the next fair!
​ I have asked for dates for joining a winter fair and I will reveal all when everything is set in stone. My display has also been taken down in the kingsgate due to the shops wishing to use them to promote their wares for Christmas. Fingers crossed I am allowed to use it again when the fair is taking place but if not it means more dolls for the stall.
I have sewn the calico dolls and I am choosing one design to start them off, it may take a while as I am torn between about 5. No surprise there. I have another two dolls alongside the calico coming into the painting stage but the next few days will be focusing on the quilt order I have in. I honestly don’t think I will be able to keep doing quilts alongside the dolls which is both good and bad, It is only me here after all. Plus the dolls and cats seem to be really taking off which is amazing.

Shop Scotland has been giving Pretty Darn Perfect shout outs on Facebook and Instagram which is brilliant and helping me get my curiosities out there. Banshee, Stitches and Edith are all getting lots of attention and I don’t think it will be long until someone snaps up one of them.

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Due to postage prices being hiked up if you live local to me and can pick up your doll, let me know after you have paid and I will refund the postage. I can also arrange delivery for those who don’t drive but live local.  Postage for the dolls is £7 mainly due to the size of the box, the scarves are cheaper postage because they can fit in the letter box. Always happy for people to collect their items or deliver myself.

Allow me to introduce Stitches, the latest curiosity to be added to the shop. I absolutely loved creating her as she challenged me to use new mediums and incorporate them into her design. It is my first time making my own decorations out of clay and it took two attempts to get them right but they look amazing and worth the hours watching tutorials on YouTube.
I have another creation starting to come together, just adding detail and depth to the outfit. 
​I have also got a new prop for the photos! Did you notice the wicker doll chair in Stitches photos? I picked it up last Friday from Buckhaven bargains and was delighted to find out it is an exact (smaller) replica of my mum’s princess chair. It was meant to be. It will also come in handy for displaying dolls on the stand.
The calico dolls are in the midst of being designed and I cannot wait to get them started, I also have half a dozen cats designed not to mention a quilt ready to, well quilt. It is a busy time right now and I am loving it. 
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Another doll has found its way to the Curiosity Shop! 
The Banshee is available to buy NOW!

There are another 19 dolls waiting for there transformation and the cats are preening themselves while they wait their turn. All hands are on deck in the run up to this fair, our first 7 day fair, so I need to sew like the clappers. So while I leisurely post the latest creation on social media and here, another two faces are drying and another is stuffed and on the stand waiting to be started. 
The kids are loving seeing all the fabrics, paints and drawings. They have even coloured a couple for me, not the colours I would have chosen but pea green and brown could work... right?? 
Keep watching this space for new creations and check out the Banshee!! 

It has been a while since I was even on here. I know. Awful. Thankfully not all the time has been wasted and so much amazing things have happened despite the world falling apart. Over the last four months I have launched a new fabric range, which is all hand dyed using a wax resistant technique. I have also had my first craft fair in ages, even though it was manned by my Aunt and Mum due to me being in pre-op isolation. The fair was a huge hit and my dolls are still on display in the shopping centre now! Orders are coming in for Christmas and we have been invited back for their Christmas wonderland fair too!!
The order book is filling up nicely too and I may have to ask Santa for a new motor for my sewing machine at this rate.
After years of hard work and breaks for babies coming along Pretty Darn Perfect is becoming what I had always visioned.

Oh and I finally fixed the shop too! So it will be up and running with Scarves, dolls, cats, scrunches as soon as I figure out how to add the shipping, working on that just now. I have mastered the listings, kudos to my husband for being so tech savvy. I have learned a few tricks from him and the online help for PayPal is amazing.
I have a load of designs to work through which I will be doing as soon as possible, currently working on my first quilt order! Told you exciting things are happening!
Here are some of the creations over the past few months


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Not even joking. A quick catch up -
We welcomed our baby girl into the world back in June 2018, yes you read the correctly, I now have two kiddies. Me time is very scarce hence why my opening hours have changed to stupid o'clock, thank goodness for bedtime. So a few changes have been made, mainly the new little crafty pieces I have done. Not sure if they are going to be permanent or not yet, please give feedback if you purchase any of the items.

I do have a few orders in at the moment which is great! Many of you will have seen the latest one to leave, Paul Stanley, he took a lot of hours, tears and of course cursing under my breath. The next one on the line is Dr. Frank N Furter, which has already been started and is coming along nicely. 
I am aiming to have stock back soon as possible but it is quite difficult between the orders and my two little humans. I also decided in my infinite wisdom to attempt quilting and may add it to my list of makes, but we shall see as I still have a lot to learn and perfect.

Another hurdle for me to overcome is the ongoing issues with my hands, thankfully the doctors are investigating, fingers crossed they get to the bottom of it soon. I have also signed up for my first ever 5k to raise funds for The Charlie Gard Foundation as part of  #Trysomethingnew. I will be running on the 25th May 2019 as part of the Edinburgh Marathon Festival, wish me luck.

I think that is all for now. Enjoy the new products and hopefully the next blog won't take another year to update, can't wait until the kids are old enough to help or at least type whilst I ramble on.

Firstly an abundance of apologies for lack of updating this website, it has been an emotional rollercoaster as my husband an I welcomed out beautiful little boy into the world on the 13th August this year. So the sewing room has been abandoned for some time, it is however getting organised so I can get the machines fired up once again and get Pretty Darn Perfect off the ground once and for all. Keep your eyes peeled for the shop springing back to life as this will be the main outlet for the latest critters.
One more thing before I go, I would like to thank all of you who have stood by me from the beginning. Now brace yourself for some amazing changes and a whole new look Pretty Darn Perfect.
Love the Dollmaker ♥

yep. One of the worst things to happen to an artist. Working on the final touches and I lost my inspiration, cannot get past it no matter how many times I pin something to it, sketch ideas or take photos to see how it looks. Nothing. Not even a teeny tiny spark. So after a glass of wine with my mum last night and a looking through my old art portfolios and my mum saying that my talent was wasted (in the drawing perspective) I once again picked up my old sketch pad and charcoal pencils and sketched. One completed sketch and one half finished sketch later and inspiration is now flowing! Might even take them on and sell them as prints as the likes and comments on Facebook and Instagram have really boosted my confidence. So now to see what you lovely people think, be gentle my skills arent as perfected on paper as they are with fabric.
First completed one is my absolute favourite Batman character from my childhood of course it has to be The Scarecrow, nothing I love more than this sinister character skulking about the Batman universe.