How to Make a Stickdoll

First of all, what in the world is a stickdoll? The fact that it is underlined in that annoying squiggly red line when I type it is enough to tell you something. They don't exist, maybe? Well, they do, I promise. I'm going to show you how to make them (it's super easy), but first, I have to tell you the story.

See those? They are STICKDOLLS.

It was my first birthday party, and I was turning twelve. Things were coming off pretty good, everyone was having a good time. My best friend came, and her gift was a little different. It was made with love, so to speak. She gave me a cute little googly-eyed brown haired popsicle stick. At first I thought, "What..." but I was grateful, because she made it for me, and it was rather cute. I named it Tilly.
Turns out, Tilly came to be the best little (toy) friend I ever had. I copied my friend's idea, and made my sister one (She called it Milly.) Once we discovered that we can make these little dolls really easily, we made more, and more, and more...
And more. It came to be sort of a weird hobby for me, to make stickdolls and dresses and accessories, but it was unique hobby because no one else even knew what a 'stickdoll' was! When I got older, and (unfortunately) too old to be seen playing around with little dolls, (drat this society! I want to play with dolls!) I kind of took advantage of my creative skills to do all sorts of things with them. It's ridiculously fun for me to think of new and interesting things to add to these dolls. You want a princess stickdoll? One of those silver sparkly pipe cleaners wrapped around her head works great for a tiara. Do you want a stickdoll cap? Just cut off the very tip of an old knit glove and it works great.
It's insane, really. So now that I have you all interested, I'm going to get on with the tutorial, and I think I'll make another post in a couple of weeks, just to show you some neat things you can do to spice up your doll's hair and clothes and stuff. So! :)

You will need:

• Tacky glue (I'm just using what I have but Elmer's works great. I wouldn't recommend hot glue.)
• Popsicle sticks
• Wood circles (You can find these in the wood craft section of craft stores.)
• Googly eyes
• Yarn (You can use any hair color you want, even pinks and blues and greens! You will need about four feet of your color for best results. The yarn I used today is from Red Heart. It's great for crafts like this)
•  Sandpaper 
• White pipe cleaners
• Pink, red, and black colored pencils (Pink/red for the girl, black for the guy)
• You're also gonna need some felt, thread, and a little flower (or a button) to add some cuteness to the dress. I forgot to take a picture of these so I'm sorry about that!

Most of these things you can get at any craft store!

 Ok, so. The first thing you want to do is put the eyes on the wood circle. It's really ok if you get a lot of glue, because if you don't then they can come off really easily when they're being played with. A lot of glue will take more time to dry, but it secures them so much better in the end.

Not TOO too much glue. But it should squeeze out under the eyes a bit.

When your eyes are dry, put a little pink smiley on her if it's a girl, and a black smiley if it's a guy. Because, you know, guys don't wear lipstick.
Trust me. I know.
Now you glue it to the popsicle stick.

Now you have two stickdolls like this. Set them aside to dry for some time.

Don't worry, they'll have clothes (and hair) soon.

While your two dolls are drying, you can get the hair ready. You will need two long pieces for the front of each stickdoll, and eleven shorter pieces for the back. You don't have to measure, but if you would like to know, my two long pieces were 10 inches, and the shorter ones were 5.

I'm being specific here for the sake of a clear post, but when I do it, there's really no measuring at all. Just two long, and eleven a little shorter, that's all.
Put some glue on the top of her head...

...and the two longer yarn pieces.

The same with both stickdolls.

Now you just begin to glue the shorter pieces on the back. I usually do four strings on either side of the stick and then three on the stick part. Of course, you can just go crazy with the gluing hair if you want, but if you do the four-three-four like I suggest, then it will be easier to do braids and other stuff with it later. Repeat with the guy.

Four, three, four.

 Then, you just cut the hair to make it nice and even at the ends. It's best to do this when it's completely dry.

See? Nice and straight!

Cut the guy's hair up to his head.

Take your pipe cleaner, and cut it right in half. Then, fold down the tips of the ends so that they don't poke anybody. You fold it around starting in the front, to make the arms.

Now for the clothes!

Take your felt, and cute two dress shapes.

What would you call that shape? I don't know. : / Squished triangles, maybe. Anyways, make sure to cut the neck area so it will fit around the popsicle stick.
Then you just sew it along the edges, and then add a little flower, or a button, or both, to dress it up a bit.
Then you can put the arms on, and the girl is all finished! Isn't she cute?!

To make the guy's clothes, you just cut a square that will fit around the popsicle stick nicely, then sew it close to his body.

Make another darker one for pants. I also tied a piece of yarn around his waist for a belt. He needs some pizzazz too!
You're all done! What an adorable couple!

If you want, you can put their names on the back with a pencil. That's what we always did.

I hope you like your stickdolls! If you plan on giving them away, whoever it is will love them. Every time I've given away a stickdoll, it was never a mistake. They are so cute and fun! When you give someone a stickdoll, you give them hours and hours of fun imaginative playtime. Growing up with stickdolls gave me some of my best memories. Me and my sister gave weddings for them, birthdays, and they've been everywhere with us. So I have to say thanks to my friend for giving one to me, years ago. :) I even asked her permission to post this, since she invented them!
I hope you have a great week!
-Phoebe