Bra Doll from Linda Thomas

It was just a few months ago that I got an order for the BRA DOLLs pattern from Linda Thomas. She had ordered some things from me just a month before and I knew that Linda was a new doll maker. She EMailed me to tell me she was going to make the Bra Doll for a family member who was having Cancer Issues. I was so thrilled to hear from her. Well just a short time later here came a couple of EMails from Linda and pictures she had taken of two dolls she had made from my patterns. WOWzer how fab. Her very first dolls and one of them a BRA DOLL . Looks like Linda used really beautiful lace from a most awesome bra to make the BraDoll dress. Love the ruffles in the back. I was so excited and thrilled to get her EMail and the photos. Here is a front and back photo of her BELLA Bra Doll. Linda I know your BELLA will bring cheer and healing. HOW WONDERFUL. Thank you for sharing her with us. huggers barbkeeling

BRA DOLL from Marilyn Vig

Just wanted you to see the bra doll I created, using a stump doll pattern from the march issue of soft dolls and animals--pattern by terese cato. All of her clothes are made from a red dotted bra, except for the red underskirt. Her hair is purchased and her faces is painted. very fun to make. her name is DeDe Ditz marilyn vig

WOWzer Marilyn she is so darling. Love what you did with her BRA Dress. Sooo cute. Thank you so much for sharing and taking part in Cancer Awareness. best, Barb Keeling

The CUPP Pup family dog. BraDoll Ideas

Doug Keeling was at it again with another family member for the CUPP Sisters. The CUPP Pup.

Since it is fashion wise to dress up your pets here is CEE CEE...wearing two bra cups as his fashion statement, with head and butt warmer hats. Now the CUPP family has the basic bra sizes covered. "Bea, Dee and Cee Cee" CeeCee has two names since the pup wears two cups. mmmm a two cup pup.

THE CUPP SISTERS, Doug Keelings Bra Doll idea

My husband Doug said he had a new idea for a BRA Doll and would do a sketch. We have had some fun laughs over the past year as some of our creative energy was to create Bra Dolls for Cancer Awareness. I think his CUPP SISTERS are really neat. Notice they both are wearing neatly done hats that are bra cups. It may be hard to see in the drawing but "Bea" and "Dee" have different size "boobs".... Yeppers these would be darling dolls. Okee there is another fun BRA Doll idea.

Lynn Greene's Bra Doll Tea Cup

Lynn is so busy that she 'EMailed when she first started her BRA DOLL. She took a Bra Cup and made a Tea Cup out of it which is way adorable. BUt she said not to put the picture up yet for she was going to do more. She when off to EDAC to play dolls with a bunch of other doll makers. When she got back she finished her project by adding a tall doll like a darling flower coming out of the center of her cute tea cup. The dolls hat is a bra cup. Toooo cute Lynn.

See the BRA DOLLs used in the pattern

After you enjoy this delightful blog of fun and funky Bra Dolls done in our challenge and done by people with other uses for the dolls. Some doll became Prayer Dolls for people working on recovery. But once you enjoy this blog, be sure and check out this one too.
http://keelingskrafts.blogspot.com/ This will show you the basic pattern that was used for most of the dolls. This pattern is on going and available on my website. Part of the purchase money goes to Cancer Research. www.keelingskrafts.com/catalog2

Judi Ward's BRA DOLL

Judi is sending her doll off to be part of the display at Dimensions Doll Show at the San Diego, CA quilt show in Sept. 09. The Cat Bra Doll she made will be part of the BRA DOLL Display at Dimensions, it will also be available as a drawing at the show. So some lucky person will get to take home this fab Cat Bra Doll. Judi sent this as her explaination of how she did her Cat Bra Doll and the inspiration.

"Her head is the cups from a lacy black bra, purchased at a flea market in France! Ohhh La La... sewn together down the center and in back to make the "football" shape. her nose is the little bow with the heart button from the center of the bra.
The rest is from a leopard print velour and stretch lace. I had very little lace so only her body got it.
She was fun and inspired by a small ceramic figurine my Mom has. I thought that would be nice as she has conquered skin cancer on her leg."

Shelia's Bra Doll

Shelia Godfrey and her mom Lois Boncer had lots of fun doing their Bra Dolls. Shelia took her bra apart and carefully folded in so the cup became the "fish fin". She sewed down the fins to give her a swim-able tail. Then she laced up the fabric over her boobs. A touch of color was added in a lovely piece of ribbon twishted over her body and around the back. She tacked the front of the garment at just the right spot on the upper tail, so the mermaid is perfectly balanced to sit up without falling over backwards. Love her bright orange hair. Way to go Shelia, she is wonderful.

Get Well Bunny

Paulette Carr and Doug and Barb Keeling worked on this project. Here are some photos to see the starting gate. We used the BRA DOLLs Mom Mouse Pattern and turned it into a Bunny. This is done for a friend who was in the hospital and needed some cheer-eeee-upping. So the three of us each took on a part of the doll making process and made the doll. Here is a start out photo and finished doll. Following are more photos. The Wee Mouse we did too, for a friend of Paulettes named "Kat". Seemed like a fun idea to make a mouse for someone named KAT. Kat is dealing with a "back again" issue with cancer so she needed lots of good cheers.

BRA DOLLs done as Prayer Dolls

Here are a couple of dolls that have gone from being BRA DOLLs for Cancer Awareness to Prayer Bra Dolls Healing Gifts. They were made as a "round robin" project on DollStreet and given to people who are dealing with serious illness. These are two dolls that Paulette Carr and Doug and Barb Keeling took on.
Paulette has a good friend KAT who is once again battling Cancer. So we took one of the Mom Mouse BRA DOLL patterns and did her a really cute doll. Paulette send us the darling body she had made, Doug did the face, Barb took on the head, and hair and tiny ears cut out of the side of the bra. This went back to Paulette, and she added the fuffy skirt, arms. legs and tail. Love the belt for the skirt which is the BRA strap. Way cute idea Paulette. Know that this will cheer up Kat. We are all cheering for you Kat.

The doll in works is another Mouse doll pattern turned into a bunny. Doug did the face, Barb took on the body and rose flower bikini and bra, Pauette, did those way cool arms and hands, put on the neat-o bunny ears which are bra cups. She will polish off the doll with finishing touches and it will go to a friend in the hospital who needs some serious cheering.

This is the first time Doug and I have played dolls doing a "round robin" and it was such fun to share doll creative play with such a great artist as Paulette Carr.

Marion Destounis Bra Doll.

I had the most delightful note from Marion saying she had a special need to make a BRA DOLL.

She had worked for a company called Wonderbra. Someone there is going to retire so she wanted to make them a BRA DOLL out of one of the company bras. Well that she did and is it ever lovely. First of all what a glorious bra it was who is now living a whole new life as a fab gown for a doll. That must have been some lovely bra, for the dress for the doll is outstanding. Marion promises a photo of the presentation so we shall look forward to that. Here is her doll.

Marion says this is only the third doll she had ever made. Her outstanding sewing skill surely does show. That is one lovely doll.

The BRA DOLLs how they started

BRA DOLLs Where the idea came from.
This is Barb Keeling explaining how this all started.

Last year I stood at the grave side of a friend who had lost her 12 year battle with cancer. My Dad had died of cancer some 40 years ago. More Cancer Research is needed I kept thinking. Was there something I could do to help with Cancer Awareness.?

I am a cloth doll and pattern designer. Why couldn't I design some dolls that could remind us about Cancer Care. So the BRA DOLLs were born. I designed a group of patterns that as part of the doll pattern, you must include a BRA. Yeppers a real bra. Doesn't matter how you do it or where you put it. Just use a BRA. Good twosome BRA DOLL and BREAST CANCER. I contacted groups of Doll makers and suggested they make a doll. Part of the purchase price of the pattern goes to Cancer Research.

The doll maker gang is made up of very giving supportive people. So BRA DOLLs began appearing in sewing rooms. I wrote an artcle for SOFT DOLLS AND ANIMALS magazine and shared dolls there. This story is slated for October time. October is Breast Cancer Month.

One of the ladies in our doll club is doing the 3DayCancer Walk. She has to train hard and long for the walk, but also has to find sponsors who will donate to her need to raise $2500. Part of the money raised from the my Bra Doll Pattern sales is being given to help her reach her goal. Doll makers helping Dollmakers all for a good cause.

Kelly who's doll is on this blog ZE-BRA, tells me she has talked with some gals who are donating their dolls to City of Hope or Cancer Recovery Places where there are folks who would love the supportive gift of a BRA DOLL. Kelly is a 9 year survivor of breast cancer so well knows the need of support when on the recovery path.

This blog is to show off the great dolls. So keep those photos coming. Get a pattern and give it a shot. The photo at the top shows all five of the dolls in the pattern. Each is fun to make and you will laugh yourself silly as you 'twist' a bra into becoming part of a doll.

The Bra Doll pattern is on the front page of my website. It is an easy download for all five of the patterns. You will have a great set of patterns that will be great for dolls with or without bras. http://www.keelingskrafts.com/

Keep those photos coming. Cancer is an "ongoing" thing, our support should be the same.

Barb Keeling barbkeeling@aol.com

Think I should sign my name: BAR-BRA

Cynthia Brendza's BRA DOLL

Here is a Bra Beauty, this one from the creative mind of Cynthia Brendza. She even sent a photo of the source bra That bra is now living a new life as a Mermaid fin and peeking out as part of her wee dolls bra. The shell is in part done out of the bra. Way to go Cynthia.

Kathy Houser's BRA DOLLs

Kathy is a very talented lady. Doing may types of fiber arts. She is also a very supportive person. She was one of the first to contact me when I posted I had this idea to use a bra as part of a doll. Right off the bat she made a BRA DOLL which is a Southern Belle. The doll was shared with her various groups, like the quilters and the doll makers. She said that doll was a "show and tell" for many fiber meetings. To top off her outstanding designer quality she is a more than skilled with the needle, so her dolls are lush in their construction. Thanks again Kathy for playing dolls with us. Your BRA DOLLs are awesoooooooommmmme.

As you can see Kathy used the bra cup for wings on this fab flying creation . It was a plain red bra and she added leather black spots to turn the bra into a Lady Bug.

I put up a photo of the bra and thong that she used to make the Sweet Southern Belles stunning gown. The skirt on the Southern Belle is the bra. Way cool. Doing these dolls out of bras is such an interesting challenge.

Lois Boncer's BRA DOLLs

Lois Boncer is a good friend. We are in the same doll club of IOLCC, San Diego, CA area. She lives near by too so now and again we share a cup of tea, bunch of laughter and lots of doll talk.

Lois is a very talented doll designer and has done that "forever". She mostly does animals. You have seen many many of them featured in magzines like Soft Dolls and Animals. She is the master of Animal Doll designs. She did two BRA DOLLs. One who lives in a clam shell, just toooo nifty. She took the bra cup underwires and bent them into a "wave" design & creating a great clam shell. She reduced the pattern size of one of the doll pattern, used Dougs fun Doll face on the doll. Then her next sensation is the same size doll riding a turtle. The turtle is made of two bra cups one on top of the other to make its shell. Legs, tail and a snappy head added to make a darling turtle. Way to go Lois love it.

Dianne Sahakian Bra Doll group

This and the next window shows Dianne's Bra dolls. She is the only one so far who did all five of the patterns. This shows the group. Dianne made ears out of bra cups. Put flowers on a bra cup to make a hat, she had a blast doing one each of all the pattern that came in the BRA DOLLs pattern package.

Dianne also donated one doll that she sent to a friend in the Hosiptal, She signed it from all the Doll Street members. Dianne had been in charge of aBRA DOLL Challenge she did with the DOLL STREET members.

Dianne Sahakian Bra Dolls

Ms. Snooty Puss with bra hat

Antoinette Mom Mouse Leaf Hat head

Bra Dolls from Dot Lewallen

Dot Lewallen did these Victoria Secret Twins. The one is wearing flowing, fluffy pants that came from removing the underwires from a lovely bra. She turned the bra cups into these billowing pants and used extra fabric to make the top of this "top models" outfit. Her sassy sister is on the loose with a pair of scissors. Her lovely outfit is toped off with the back hook part of the bra done in a stunning turn around the doll. A wonderful sort of retro space suit. Way cool for sure. You go girls.

BE SURE TO CLICK ON THE OLDER POST LINK below, for there are more darling dolls there.

Kelly Riley-Duckworth's BRA DOLL

This BRA DOLL is made by Kelly Riley Duckworth. It is called. ZE-BRA. The mouth is made using the underwires in the bra to make the mouth. She added the teeth after learning how to do that from a demo Lois Boncer did at our doll club, IOLCC. Then the ears are two bra cups. Way cute doll.

Little by little people are getting their Bra Dolls done and have shared their photos with me. I will post them here as I get the pictures. Each person has used a bra someplace in the dolls they have made. On DollStreet list some of the members were busy making bra dolls when it was discovered that two of the Dollstreet members where dealing with newly discovered Cancer. These people needed something the cheer them up. So bra dolls in process became PRAYER BRA DOLLS. The members decided to turn the doll making into a round robin so more people could take part in making the dolls. A doll was sent to Doug and I. Doug made a really neat head for the doll body we got. I used fabric stiffener on the side piece of the bra, and then made some really cute ears out of the fabric and added it to the head. Doug did another larger head. We boxed the who bunch up and returned then to Paulette Carr, who will turn these two darling part made dolls into the Mom Mouse Doll from the Bra doll pattern. The two dolls will be used to send to, two folks who are dealing with Cancer Recovery. Several members of Dollstreet decided to donate their bra dolls that will be sent to City of Hope or Cancer Recovery Hospital. The dolls will be giving to those who are facing the recovery process.

We are so happy with the positive things that are happening with the BRA DOLLs.