Mother Nature Santos Doll by Susan

Hello crafty friends!  Today on the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts blog I'm sharing a Mother Nature inspired Santos doll.

My original idea for her was completely different than what you see today.  While my idea was neat, *this* particular Santos doll had a different design in mind.  :)  You may notice wings and a skeleton in the photos... just ignore 'em.

Here we go!  I used a small blade to cut the parts from the frame.  I usually just push down with the blade on both sides rather than pull the blade.  I'm not that graceful and run the risk of cutting too much.  Pressing down is safer!

I laid the torso on the paper I wanted to use and outlined with a pencil.  "F" is for front.  I had both front and back cut at this point and wanted to keep them straight.  I used Mod Podge as the adhesive. Once dry, I fine-tuned the paper edges with finishing sandpaper.  You'll see that better a little further down.

I highly recommend marking the arm holes on the first paper layer by using a pin to poke a tiny hole from the non-papered side.  It becomes a wee bit challenging to find the holes if you forget and put both front and back papers on without doing it.

For the inside base (painted brown for the earlier Santos version), I outlined both the outer edge and inner notches on my paper of choice.  I only needed to do the notches on the inside base since the skirt frame goes in them.  The base bottom paper is just the circle.

Mod Podge the inside paper to the base.  Once dry, use fine and superfine sandpaper to finish the edges.

Next, Mod Podge the outside paper (not shown here) and finish sand in the same manner.

I used a smidge of white glue on the bases of the skirt frame and cleaned up the bits that squish out with my fingernail or whatever would work.

Before the last frame piece was attached, I added embellishments.

The bird cage was painted brown, then gold, then with a silver wash.  I was making that up as I went!

At this point I have glued the torso to the top circle.  To hang the cage, I screwed a very small eye hook into the center of the top circle. Next, I added this top to the skirt frames and allowed to dry overnight.  You might be able to see that I dabbed glue in the circle's notches rather than on the frame parts as I did in earlier photos.  Getting all the legs in required a little patience and coordination, but it wasn't difficult.

I used small head pins and spacers to attach the arms.

Here she is in full.  I added a tiny nest and eggs.  I'm not sure if I'm going to add any more embellishments. Maybe a grapevine wreath for her head, but she will stay simple.

Thanks for your visit today!

Cheers,
Susan

GSL Cuts Used
Santos Doll Kit #C43L
Steampunk Shape Set (Cage) #D33A

Other Supplies Used
Pink Paislee "Butterfly Garden" paper
Dresden trim
Mod Podge
Fine sand paper
White gesso
Brown acrylic paint
Ivory acrylic paint
Brass bits and bobs
Glass beads
Paper flowers