I created this little character one day last week just using scraps of things on hand. I was at loose ends. With the May Studio Tour cancelled my interest in finishing up the dolls in progress had waned a bit - quite a bit.  And, the 100-mask challenge was finished. The process of making this figure and the resulting doll reminded me of some earlier doll ideas, so I dug out a box labeled "inspiration Dolls" just to see if any inspirations presented themselves.

It was fun to see these familiar faces again. The Largest doll here is about 12" tall and the smallest is close to 5" tall. Some of them became the first in a series or introduced one element that was used elsewhere. And, yes, there was a little but of inspiration. 

Maybe what I should do next is dig deeper into the stash of collected items on hand and see what could happen. I have a silly vision of using up everything - every scrap of fabric, every bead and button. That would be another 100-piece challenge! It would be interesting to see what #100 would be, or if that would even be the last one! I'm not committing to that idea, yet.

​ In the meantime, I plan to finish photos of all the new work and get that posted on my website under a "Studio Tour" tab.

These guys were begging for masks ... since social distancing was not possible for them. How could I resist? 
I have been imaging a "tube" figure for awhile. This is the result so far, after a number of disappointing attempts. The polymer clay heads were built on dowels and then mounted together on a base with stuffed canvas bodies.  The tallest figure is 14" high.  Maybe they need arms, but this way there are no hands to wash!

OK. These four are set to weather the virus as best they can, but could I justify making masks for all my dolls? Guess not. Maybe I could do something more useful?
​This week I connected with a group that is planning to make 6,000 masks for our community. So far, I've sewn 65 masks.  I challenged myself to clear out my fabric stash and sew 100 masks. There is still stuff stowed away here and there,  so it is still possible. 

I forced myself to throw way handfuls of scraps as I was cutting these out, especially the really tiny pieces and fabrics I never liked very much, anyway. But, I've always been drawn to the odd, inbetween pieces, sometimes even more than to the whole, flat fabric, so I kept the little bits that called to me. Now my stash is smaller, but better than ever! I could still make masks for my dolls!