Este programa muito especial é chamado RAK (Random Acts of Kindness, ou Atos de Generosidade Aleatórios).
I'm a member of an online group called MSATMiniDoll, owned by Dana Burton, who is a very talented artist and an extremely nice and generous person! In this group, besides a great share of information and tips, there is also a RAK program (Random Acts of Kindness) that donates boxes with materials (doll kits, fabric, lace, trims, viscose hair, etc) to some members who really wish to create dolls but just can't afford it at the moment. All the material for the RAK boxes (and shipping money) comes from the generous members of the list.
Uma das participantes do grupo, Sandy Babcock, faleceu recentemente. Era ainda relativamente jovem, alegre, amava seus cães, sua família e amigos e, com muita paixão, as miniaturas e as dolls. E acreditava imensamente no programa RAK e a chance única que ele representa para quem quer criar dolls mas não tem como. E deixou no seu testamento, para que fosse doado ao grupo, vários kits de doll de porcelana. A Dana fez um evento especial no final do ano passado e eu, que participei do evento, fui uma das felizes ganhadora de um dos kits. Outros kits foram vendidos entre os participantes para arrecadar fundos também para este programa maravilhoso, ou inseridos nas caixas do RAK.
One of the members, Sandy Babcock, has recently passed away. She was still young, full of life and happiness, loved her dogs, her friends and family and, even more passionately, dolls and miniatures. And she truly believed in the list's RAK program. One of her last wishes was for her family to donate several of her doll kits to the program. As soon as Dana got them, she told us and during a special event. On this day, some members who participated were randomly picked to get some of the kits, the remaining ones were either kept to be given as prizes in future events, sold in the group to raise funds for the RAK program or included in the RAK boxes. I was one of the lucky winners of the day! :)
Logo o meu kit chegou. Vi-me diante de um lindo par de pernas femininas meio dobradas, dois antebraços, um torso que ia do pescoço ao quadril e uma bela cabeça, com as feições 'em branco', sem pintar.
My kit arrived soon. And there I was, looking at a beautiful pair of slightly bent legs, two delicate forearms, a neck-to-hip torso and a really pretty smiling blank head.
Sou amadora em dolls, até então só tinha feito duas. Até tenho uns 2 outros kits, também doados, mas fico com receio de usá-los e estragar tudo...
So far, I had only assembled and wigged two dolls. I still have some kits I got as prizes from the list, but I'm usually terrified to even touch them. We can't find those kits in Brazil, so if I mess up, it's not easy or cheap to replace them...
Mas este era especial. Eu TINHA que fazer uma doll que, pelo menos, tentasse fazer justiça à vida e ao legado de fé e generosidade da Sandy.
But... this one was special. I just HAD to make a doll that, at least, would try to honor Sandy's legacy and generosity.
Logo pus mãos à obra. Escolhi com carinho os tecidos que queria usar, o tom do cabelo, etc.
So I immediately started working. I carefully picked the fabric I wanted to use on her, and the hair, etc.
Mas queria fazer uma doll bem contemporânea, e mostrar seus braços. Então antes mesmo de começar a vesti-la, tratei de 'completar' o pedaço do braço que faltava, do cotovelo ao ombro. Primeiro tentei com Fimo, mas depois de levar ao forno ficava meio 'translúcido' e destoava da porcelana. Então resolvi 'atacar' com biscuit, que também é conhecido com Porcelana Fria, não por acaso. O mais difícil foi fazer chegar ao tom ideal, já que o biscuit escurece um pouco depois de secar. E aplicando camada por camada até obter um efeito natural, consegui fazer a doll ficar na posição que eu queria.
But... I wanted to make a very contemporary doll. And make an outfit that would show her full arms. So, before I did anything else, I had to 'complete' the missing part of the arms (from elbow to shoulders). First I tried to use Fimo, but after baking, it became a little translucent and didn't quite match the porcelain. So I decided to try cold porcelain, very common and easy to find here. Well, it's called (cold) porcelain for a reason, as it matched beautifully. It was hard to make the hue match too, as it darkens a little after it dries, but I managed to get it and the doll was in the position I wanted it to be.
Agora era a vez de dar vida ao rosto. Usei meu pincel mais fino e tinta acrílica mesmo. Tomei o cuidado de sombrear os vincos com blush, para dar um aspecto natural
Aí parti para a roupa, o colar, o cabelo.
Now it was time to bring that face to life by paining it. I used my thinnest brush and acrylic paint. Used make-up blush to give a natural shadow to the recess parts of the face and body. Then I finally worked on the clothes, the necklace and the wig.
E assim nasceu Laura. Eu sempre tive muito receio de errar ao fazer as outras duas dolls anteriores, mas Laura 'fluiu' MUITO fácil! Tão fácil e rápido que nem me ocorreu tirar fotos das etapas do processo!... E eu curti de montão cada etapa, mesmo as mais complexas! Era como se a própria 'doll' me dissesse a cada momento como queria ser: qual vestido usar, mais cor aqui, mais biscuit ali, menos acolá... E o melhor, fiquei MUITO satisfeita com o resultado!...
And this is how Laura was 'born'. Making the other previous dolls had been a 'painful' process, as I was always afraid to mess things up. But Laura as SO easy! So easy and fast that I just didn't think of taking pictures of the steps as I progressed!... I enjoyed it all so much, even the most complex steps of the way! It was as if the doll itself was 'telling' me at each step what she wanted to be: which clothes to wear, more color here, more porcelain there, less over there... And even better, I was SO happy with the result!...
Mais tarde a Lynn, irmã da Sandy, me contou que Laura é o nome da melhor amiga da Sandy, que coincidência maravilhosa!!! Hmm... teria sido a doll me 'contando' o que queria ser, me guiando, ou teria sido a própria Sandy, que lá de cima me guiava e inspirava a descobrir com ela a sensação maravilhosa que dá criar uma doll 1:12?
Later Sandy's sister Lynn told me that Laura is the name of Sandy's best friend, what a wonderful coincidence!!! Hmmm... was it the doll 'telling' me what she wanted to be, guiding me through each step, or could it have been Sandy herself, from up above, guiding and inspiring me to discover with her the wonderful feeling we get when we create a 1:12 doll?
Bem, só sei que curti! :)
E aqui está a Laura:
Well, the only thing I know for sure is that I really enjoyed it! :)
And here is Laura:
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| Um close da Laura, 'flagrada' enquanto arrumava os cabelos! A close-up on Laura, 'caught' in the middle of adjusting her hair, so girly!... |
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| Ainda não sei se vou colocar sapatos ou deixar descalça... I still don't know if I'll give her some high heels of if I'll leave her feet free... |
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| De outro ângulo. From another angle. |
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| Ainda vou criar um ambiente digno dela. Esta cadeira é só para a foto. I'm still going to make a room just for her. This chair is just to pose for pictures. |
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| Esqueci de tirar foto do kit que ganhei, mas vem assim, sem pintar e tudo separado. This is not the kit I got, but as I forgot to take a picture of it, this one illustrates how they come (to my Brazilian friends). |
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| E finalmente, aqui está Sandy Babcock, cuja generosidade fez Laura nascer! And last but far from least, here is Sandy Babcock, whose generosity turned Laura into reality! |
Obrigada Sandy, Lynn e Mitzy (irmã e mãe da Sandy) e Dana!!!!
Thank you so much Sandy, Lynn (Sandy's sister), Mitzy (Sandy's mother) and Dana!!!!
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