Veruka Dolls Land ~~ Handcrafted Story Dolls

About New England doll artist, Gwen LeBlanc,

The One & Only Creator of Veruka Dolls

A Story behind each doll ~~ Leading to another

The Old Man Of the Mountains

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Inspiration

Franconia Notch State Park used to be my favourite place in the world. The Old Man of the Mountain was the inspiration for Hawthorne's "Great Stone Face" published in 1850 and New Hampshire's state symbol. It was a huge natural rock formation that resembled an old man's face. Sadly, it collapsed in 2003; it's gone, but not forgotten.

                         How long have you been creating?

All my life, really. I was one of those annoying kids who were always improving the decor and furnishings with purple crayon or sissors. I've been selling my dolls on-line for about three years now.

Fetchie

Inspiration: Ai! Super-cute felt friends mascot doll fetiche, with a matching bird pal. Applique felt face and features, in red, white, and blue. They are all hand-made, and painstakingly hand-sewn. Larger doll is about 7 inches tall. Bird doll is about 3.5 inches tall and has a vintage button eye.

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                         Amusement In Gwen's World

Just as My Lure revolves around Stones, Wood & Metals When Gwen was asked What Material she likes to work with, She responded: Felt. Fabric of all kinds, I like the colours and textures of vintage ones. I'm really into glass beads - they come in an amazing array of colour and size. And old buttons, especially big funky plastic ones, maybe a little faded. I used to get a lot of faded finery from a friend in the rag and bone trade -- I liked to think about who wore them, and the suggestion of 'better days' that comes with them.

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One of My Personal Favorites The Reclaimed Monsters!

Inspiration:

Some small friend comes by to keep me company today. Little monster-y friend, made from recycled fabrics, a vintage embriodered cloth, blue check fabric, stripe-y blue cotton, with an applique face and features, big dark eyes. All hand-made, painstakingly hand-sewn, individual. He's just under five inches tall. Stuffed with soft, silky bamboo fiber - a renewable resource.

Thanks for looking, check my listings for more cool swag, I would be happy to combine shipping. I make all the dolls by hand, one at a time, in my doll-housed size studio. I don't have a machine, or a staff. I do have a turtle, but he can't sew.

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                        Transcending Words

Communication. The dolls are sort of my ambassadors to the outside world. Sometimes I have a hard time explaining my ideas, but the dolls - everybody seems to know Exactly what they're saying.

                       Day of the Dead Dolls

Spooky! Ghostly JANELLE IS HAVING A BAD HAIR DAY. Super-cute folk art mini doll, JANELLE, who's having a bad hair day (literally). Weird folk art doll, small plush, accented with purple and green buttons, applique features, attitude. Check out her cute padded butt. All hand-made, painstakingly hand-sewn, my initials are embroidered on the reverse.

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ECO-FRIENDLY GWEN I recently got a chance to collaborate with some other dollmakers in the Doll4Art group, and it was really great to work together with other artisans. I think that I'd like to do more collaborative projects. I'd also like to increase the amount of recycled material I use in my work - I'm concerned about the sheer amount of Stuff that just exists, it seems as if we're Racing to turn raw material into Garbage that we can't put anywhere anyways. Massive amounts of consumer goods to fill for the most part artificial desires, which you know, I didn't need it in the first place, I say "now why the heck did I buy this?" and so out it goes, unto the heap. I'm looking to salvage more in 2006, give it a new life.                                                                                             Fetchie

A slouching skull-headed plushie doll, in pink, soft fleece with applique felt face and features, tiny black heart. All hand-made, painstakingly HAND-SEWN, check out his cute padded tushie. About eight inches tall.

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Can You Believe!

I don't own a sewing machine. Well, not a working one anyways -- everyone always asks me that .. I don't know,

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To look into a mirror is to see death. This doll has two faces, the golden haired maiden on the one side, the skull head on the other. Scraps of heavy fabric, with felt applique, accented with embroidery stitches. Its stuffed with rag reclaimed from some other projects. This small, lovely art doll is approximately nine inches tall. All hand-made, painstakingly hand-sewn (with purple threads) Unique and individual. 

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KYBUNKER'S take on Veruka Dolls
:  
I Sincerely Love watching The Veruka Dolls FB posts! Gwen is a Must have on Twitter!
Her mind works in a mass series of storybooks come to life through her dolls
To Own a collection, One piece at a time can transform Bedtime Stories Around the world

My All time favorite doll is the Crime Scene Doll. My father is a Homicide Detective here in Arizona
The crime scene doll would be Perfect for his Gift. I've got my eye on it!

After Viewing Gwens Dolls on her Etsy + Sites,, Which one speaks to you? What does it say?
We'd Love to hear your feedback! Please leave your comments below