SNOW WHITE & THE SEVEN DWARFS

It has taken me a little longer than I thought it might to come up with an idea for another MiniBear project. In fact it doesn't feel all that long ago I was not sure if I would ever be able to sew anything ever again! In mid July 09 I woke one morning to find I couldn't see properly out of my left eye.

Over the next couple of weeks I lost more and more sight in that eye and when the problem was diagnosed, I was seriously fearful that I was going to end up totally blind. Although my eye problem put a stop to all my crafting thoughts for a while when I felt better and was more hopeful in keeping the sight I had the only way I would know if I could still do these tiny creations was to have a go.

Glancing around some of my craft bits and pieces I spotted a paper mache' 'book' from one of the Hobbycraft shops and although not a unique idea, I began to think about trying to create a MiniBear 'something' that would fit the inside of the 'book'. closed book Paper Mache' book - 5" x 8" x 1 1/2"

The 'something' could perhaps, come orignally from a book maybe. I began to think in terms of a fairy tale (probably because we were heading for Christmas) and if there was one that I could adapt into MiniBear versions, It occured to me that I couldn end up with a MiniBear Library full of scenes from various tales!

Snow White and the seven dwarfs appealed to me probably because there were eight recognisable characters. I would have to add some accessories and so long as I could create the inside of the cottage, 'eureka' and my latest MiniBear Project was born!

Ideally the 'book' should be vertical so that it can open it as you would a normal book, but that would give me less space width-wise to use for the scene and so I tried turning the book horizontally. However, that way didn't seem right either as there would be too much space above the heads of the MiniBears. So back to the vertical aspect and of course, that way I could make an 'upstairs' and 'downstairs' inside the covers and the setting would be the dwarf's cottage.

Okay, so next idea to think about was the main character - Snow White. A quick rummage through my fabric stock and I came up with blue for the bodice of her dress and another piece of pale yellow for the skirt.

Apologies for the not very good photo (and yes, she does have only one ear still)

This is my first attempt at the Snow White MiniBear. Although initially convinced I was on the right lines, it didn't take long for me to realise it really didn't look good. I tried a circular version of the yellow upholstery fabric [for the skirt] - which I folded and pleated into what I hoped would be a more pleasing shape, but in the end I had to admit it looked totally rubbish!

It turned out to be simplier and easier to just go out and buy something more suitable - which I did. I had to buy a ¼ yard of the lemon yellow fabric just so I could use a 6" x 1" piece from it. Still, at least time time the result looked better. A bit more sewing, a few dabs of Sticklers Xmas Red in the right place and a bit of ribbon and I had my Snow White MiniBear

(I did try giving her black hair, like the Disney character, but it looked really silly, so I removed it).

Next on my 'to do' list were the seven dwarfs.

One of the things I find rather satisfying about creating these little scenes is that after the initial idea, I often give myself problems, without the slightest idea of how I can resolve them. The nice part is when, for no apparent reason, a possible solution pops into my head and then I feel even better if it works !

So here you can see three of my dwarfs. The one on the right (with glasses) is 'Doc' and the middle one (the only dwarf without a beard) is 'Dopey'. At this early stage they have neither arms or ears which I plan to do after I have solved the problem of designing their hats and tops.

Perhaps it is just me, but I am working on the coats and the hats and I am finding it surprisingly difficult to come up with an idea that I like enough to try. Anyway, here is a photo of Snow White with her (still earless, armless, coatless and hatless) 7 Dwarfs.

I can make 'santa' hats but to be honest, this is not the shape I want so I have been trying a number of alternatives but I have a feeling that each hat will have to be made individually for each dwarf as they are slightly differently shaped.

hats You will see from this photo a few of the attempts to get the right shape of hat - I even tried (unsuccessfully) to needlefelt* one - (second from right - mauve) in the right size and shape. It is very possible that I will have to make each hat to fit each dwarf rather than just sewing six hats using one pattern.

Looking at my 'Dopey' MiniBear, he didn't look right without ears, so here he is just prior to them being attached. dopey Actually I think he looks more like a mouse than a bear. Oopps!

Something which originally seemed really easy to create was the inside of the 'book'. But the more I thought about it the more I wondered where on Earth to begin!

So here are the now finished Snow White and her 7 Dwarfs - all ready to be inserted into the background scene, which I have yet to make.

After watching a bit more of the original film, I feel that the inside of the dwarfs cottage was actually quite plain, apart from all the wood carvings which I do not intend to try and recreate! One idea I am going to try is to make a thin layer of paper mache' to cover the inside of the scene. I am hoping that the rough but simple texture of the walls can be created by just painting the paper mache' when it is dry. I may try and make a little window, but we shall see.

Well, all ideas have to start somewhere and there is nothing for it, but to mix some PVA glue with water and see what happens.

Don't know what you think, but I think it is not looking too promising so far! Still, it is early days. Please come back and see how things progress.

UPDATED: 1st January 2010: Almost finished now, so here are some more photos so you can see what it looks like at the end of the Project (well, more or less. I still have to figure out how to put the title on the front cover)

The Spine and
Front Cover (still needs
the title adding to it though)

and finally............. The inside:

I wrote a shortened
version of the story of
Snow White for the back of the
cover, which goes to explain
(hopefully) what is happening
on the other side, in the main
body of the 'book'.

I do hope you have enjoyed reading about this, one of my latest MiniBear Projects from THE LIBRARY COLLECTION..

*NB: If you are not sure what I mean by 'needlefelting' - it is a craft which uses special needles which (when you keep stabbing at fibres - check the internet for details) mats together the fibres to form a more solid piece. The more you felt them together, the firmer it get.