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Discussion
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My comfort doll is something that has helped me through a lot, and I genuinely feel like she has been a large part of getting through a really, really hard time in my life. Right now things in my life are pretty complicated, but she’s genuinely helping me through something awful, so I wanted to share how I made her in case you’re having a tough time too.
\#1. Mindset. Get into the right mindset before you do this, this step is extremely important. no matter what you do, how much effort you put into this, this doll isn’t going to cure any anxiety/depression/anger issues, nothing. It will help, and it will offer comfort, but comfort isn’t curing whatever you’re facing, so reach out to someone irl if you’re struggling and make sure the mundane goes before the magical. Magic can’t cure you, but it can be a helping hand in getting you to your goal faster. This doll helped me majorly through my anxiety, but it didn’t cure it and if I used this doll alone to get through my anxiety, I wouldn’t be better. I might be worse.
\#2. Getting supplies. This is really personal, so chose what you like. If you find crochet comforting, add crochet cloth to this list. You will need cloth (or some kind of material, once I used a gourd) for the body, something to stuff it with (this can be polyfil, or cotton, anything you find comforting or convenient), a shawl for her of some kind, something for a face, and herbs to stuff it with. Please experiment, I used an apple doll for my dolls head, I made her with a purple shawl, and I used specific herbs to stuff her. Use what you have.
\#3. Herbs/stuffings. This is a really important step, in my opinion, so take your time with it. I stuffed her with apple pie spices, apple seeds, extra cinnamon, corn, marigold seeds from my great grandmothers plant, and some lavender oil on a cotton ball. I added these things because they reminded me of my great grandmother, and because they bring me a lot of comfort. If you find something else comforting, use that.
\#4. Assembly. This is very dependent on what approach to this doll you take, I’ll share how I did it, but if you want to do it your own way, please do. I sewed a plump cone with some of my favorite fabric, and I stuffed it then. Once I had added everything, I closed the top and hot glued my apple doll onto the body. Once I did that, I cut out a shawl from scrap fabric, and I glued on some hair to her head (optional) and I glued the shawl on (you can easily sew this on, I was lazy and I wanted her more quickly). It was really simple, and I assembled her in one hour, which means you can do it fairly easily as well.
\#5. Blessing your doll. Once again, very personal, but all that I did was say “Your name is \_\_\_\_\_, and your job is to bring me comfort. When I sit with you and hug you, you will comfort me.” and I ‘breathed life into her’ by breathing on her. Make this as elaborate or as small as you like, but I prefer to keep things small.
That should be it! I’ll post pictures this weekend if something doesn’t come up, until then, I hope you give this a try if you need it! I love my doll, and I’m so glad that I made her, so if you’re going through something, I hope yours helps you too. If you are going through a tough time, remember, you can always reach out to your friends or family, and if you feel that you don’t have any, you can reach out to a therapist. Peace and blessings.
