New Clothes

Okay, I've had these clothes for a while, but this is the first time sharing them online. The first is an outfit by Mattel that I saw in a store and liked enough to buy. It came with everything that you'll see on the doll except for her hoop earrings. I tried to do a jaunty fashion pose, and it bombed, but here you are. I also posed Dani taking a bow for her virtuoso violin performance. :)

I'm not sure why the outfit came with two copies of Amazing Grace. Of course, I do have another Barbie violin, so I could set up a violin duet.

The second clothing item is a beautifully knit sweater (jumper) by DollClothesbyOksana on Etsy. She also sells 1/6th scale knitting patterns.

The sweater is gorgeous, but fairly tight to get on. The item description said that it was for a curvy Barbie, but I might put this sweater on other Barbie bodies from now on. Either that, or keep this sweater on this Barbie forever. Although she'll get mad at me in the summer.

In the process of fitting Barbie into this sweater, I learned that Curvy hands aren't meant to come off. Admittedly, I was prepared that they might not be able to be removed, but I didn't mean to tear the joint.

Oopsie!

Fortunately, I managed to fit the hand back on to Barbie's wrist. Trying to fit those sleeves over Barbie's hands without snagging the sweater was difficult, though.

I have been playing around more with my Cricut. I managed to successfully cut out all the pattern pieces on this PDF, which I turned into a .png, which can be uploaded into the Cricut Design Space. The pieces cut out nicely, even the little arrows at the top. However, I haven't managed to replicate this with just a few pattern pieces clipped from the entire PDF. I need to play around more, but I'm pleased that cutting out pattern pieces that I upload, using the Cricut, looks like a real possibility.

I also discovered that Inkscape and Cricut both use SVG files, or Scalable Vector Graphics. I am going to have to edit my previous post, because it looks like Inkscape may be usable with the Cricut. I just have to study how.

I also have to make more room in my craft/photography area, in order to be able to take better pictures. I definitely have lots to keep my busy, but that should include posting, too!

My Last Halloween Project - Not Doll Related

I made this costume for the Dancer when she was 15. She wanted to wear it to a gaming convention called Origins. She's worn it a few times since, and she wanted to wear it to work today. The bodice desperately needed new binding, and I originally made the off-the-shoulder sleeves too large and too loose. So the Dancer and I drove out to a quilt store to pick out new cotton fabric for the binding, then I made some bias strips. The Dancer helped me rip off the old binding, I machine-sewed the new material on, then flipped the binding over the raw edges and hand-sewed it down. I also folded the sleeve material in half, tacked it together, and re-sewed the sleeves back on to the bodice by hand. She freshened up the fabric paint on the front and back of the bodice. I made this back in the original Frozen I heyday, so I was fortunate enough to find pre-printed material for the skirt. It doesn't look exactly like the movie, but I wasn't up for making a paneled skirt, and hand-painting several panels with the movie-accurate pattern. :P I also found her necklace, and the hair comb that Anna wears with this costume, on Etsy. I'm glad the Dancer has gotten as much wear out of this as she has, and of course she's planning on wearing it when she goes to see Frozen II.

I hope you all had a great Halloween. We don't get trick-or-treaters here, which I find sad. Maybe someday I'll have grandchildren to go out with.

J-Doll Wigs, Outfit and Shoes

I let myself get way too far behind in blogging, and then when I finally went to put up a new post on Thursday, I discovered that our home internet was down. Time to get back into the blogging groove!

Back in October of 2013, I purchased my first J-Doll, Unter den Linden, whom I named Lindsay. She's a beautiful doll, but her long, blond haired wig was rather dry. Now that there aren't as many dolls out there that I want to buy, I have been spending more money on clothes and accessories. I saw a couple of relatively inexpensive wigs in J-Doll size and decided to take the plunge to replace Lindsay's original wig. I bought two, one a short cut with auburn hair, and one of long dark-blond hair with bangs. Which one do you like better on Lindsay?

I also purchased a knit tank top and tiered skirt from the same Etsy seller from whom I bought the wigs, a place called LazyDaisyWorkshop. I asked Lindsay to model this for me as well. I think the outfit goes nicely with her new long-haired wig.

Lastly, I've been buying a lot of Re-Ment lately! I decided to take a gamble and buy a set from the Little Twin Stars bedroom series and see if the shoes fit my J-Dolls. And they do! They take a little bit of easing on, but that just means they stay on well. Also, keep in mind that Little Twin Stars had a pink and blue theme, pink for the girl star and blue for the boy star. Therefore, each original set had one shoe in pink and one shoe in blue. Once I determined that the shoes from this set fit, I bought another set so I would have two shoes in each color.

If you want to think about getting these for your J-Doll or Pullip, the dolls modeling these shoes have the type four body. I also tried a shoe on my J-Doll with the type three body, and it did fit her as well.

Lastly, a full length picture of two of my J-Dolls wearing the shoes. The brunette with the braids is wearing a Shibajuku Girls dress that I reviewed here. If you remember from my review, the interfacing of this dress kept rolling up so that it showed at the top of the neckline. I've since tacked that down by hand underneath the collar, and it has also made the collar lay flat. The blond on the left is wearing a dress from Robert Tonner's Only Hearts club line, and it is extremely versatile, as it will also fit Mattel's Stacie, and Hannah at Never Grow Up has put this dress on an Ever After High doll as well.

I'm finding that I really enjoy picking up all these new things for my dolls!

My Entry in the Latest Requiem Art Sewing Contest

Some of you may know the Requiem Art name. She has an Etsy store that sells sewing patterns for several different sizes of dolls. She also has a blog where she talks about her patterns, and has an ongoing story featuring her Pullip dolls. She has had sewing contests in the past; this is the first one that I've entered. The theme for this contest was "Fancy." Do you think Ashlynn's gown is fancy?

I picked an Ever After High doll because if I win, I get free patterns in EAH size until 2018! And EAH are the dickens to sew for. I've successfully created patterns of my own for Barbie's size, and Tonner Marley, but I'd rather not try to create patterns for EAH. Although, now that I say that, I did come up with the pattern for the skirt above by myself. Fitting around the waist was a pain, though, and I'm still not entirely happy with how the back came out, but it didn't have to be perfect for this photo. :)

Anyway, voting should start soon on requiemart.com, and runs until February 7th. If you like my design, I'd appreciate a vote!
ETA: Vote for me here. I am entry number one in the Petite Slimline category.

Sewing Progress: J-Doll and Curvy Barbie, Update

I spent a good bit of the early part of this year cleaning and organizing my doll/sewing area. While I'm thankful for the space I have, the number of dolls, and the amount of fabric, trims, etc. that I have make my storage space quite tight. I'm still working on that, but I had a strong urge to get back to sewing, too, so I'd like to show you a couple of things that I've made recently.

Melanie is wearing a purple gingham dress of homespun type fabric. I think the fabric really suits her. It looks a lot like something you might see a Momoko doll wearing. The next time I make the dress, I would like to get the bottom ruffle to hang better.

Curvy Barbie models a pink gingham dress. I guess I have a thing for gingham! I'd like to get a few more dresses like this sewn up this weekend and in my Etsy store next week. There isn't much for the Curvy Barbie to wear out there.

It's so satisfying to complete a project successfully!

New pictures below the fold.

Liebster Award 2016

This time around Farrah Lily from Cozy Comforts and Dolls nominated me for the Liebster Award. It's a chance to get to know bloggers with under a 1,000 followers, and also find about new blogs.

As usual, this award involves thanking the person who nominated you, answering their questions, coming up with questions of your own, and nominating people to answer your questions. In case, the number of the questions is eleven, and the number of the nominees is five (six is right out.)

1. Who is your favorite cartoon character?
Snoopy! Back in my day, it was always An Event when the seasonal Peanuts special appeared on television (get off my lawn.) I always loved to watch them, and I still have some of that great jazz music on my playlist. And Snoopy is my favorite. I love when he and Woodstock sit down to eat Thanksgiving dinner after Charlie Brown and his friends have left for Charlie Brown's grandmother's house. I love when (in his imagination) he dances with the bunnies in the Easter special.

Knott's Berry Farm, November, 2001

2. What's your favorite flower (or plant if you're not a flower person)?
The pansy. I love all the different colors and color combinations that a pansy can have. It's why I named my Etsy store Sweet Purple Pansies.

3. What's the weirdest thing you've ever eaten?
In Mr. BTEG's Italian family, Christmas Eve dinner consists of seafood. The first Christmas eve dinner I ate with Mr. BTEG's family, was at his grandmother's house. Among other things being served was calamari. But not just any calamari. It wasn't breaded or anything. It looked like the squid had been boiled and set right out on the plate (they still had their eyes!) Desperate to make a good impression with my possible future in-laws, I tried some. Meh. But it was better than trying the eel.

4. What was the last movie you saw (in home or in theaters)?
Um. Wow. I'm not big on movies. Probably the Hunger Games, a couple of years ago, when it was on Netflix, and my daughter and husband were watching it. Or maybe Cabin in the Woods, when we still had cable.

5. If you could visit any country in the world, where would you go?
Romania, but specifically Siebenbürgen, Transylvania. I'd love to see where my grandfather's parents came from.

6. How did you meet your best friend?
My husband is my best friend, and we met at college in the late 80s. Neither of us can clearly remember the first time we met, though. I guess we didn't think it was momentous as it turned about to be. :)

7. What is your dream job?
A doll clothing designer, of course! (First two patterns created by me.)

Franklin Mint Lily wearing period undergarments

My version of a dress Joan Crawford wore in the film The Women, worn by Ashton Drake's Madra Lord

American Girl high school marching band Color Guard costume I made for daughter's friend. I made a few changes to a pattern from a Joan Hinds book.

Tonner 16" Daphne, wearing two piece costume, pattern by Vince Nowell

8. If you could make a custom doll based on any character or real person, who would you make?
Loki from the Marvel movies. Yes, the character has already been made, but I'm not happy with how any of the faces turned out. If I could create a custom doll, I'd have the face sculpt made to my satisfaction.

9. What's your favorite season?
Autumn. The days are not as hot as summer, but still comfortably warm. The leaves on the trees become vibrant colors. Football season is starting. Major League Baseball is making the run towards the playoffs. Halloween takes place in autumn; it's not my favorite holiday, but it's fun.

LEGO haunted house, based on the places of amusement for visiting that occur every Halloween in the US,  created by Mr. BTEG

10. If you could talk to/understand one species of animal, which would you choose?
Cats. Although I would also like to go back in the past and talk to some of the pet cats we've had over the years who have crossed the Rainbow Bridge.

Why did Callie like to drink from the bathtub faucet?

11. If you could instantly learn any language, which would you choose?
It might be fun to learn an Asian language, so I could go to a doll website like this one, and be able to understand it! But I like Japanese and Chinese dolls, and Atelier 613 appears to be in Korean? So I'd go with German. I learned it long ago, but I've forgotten so much of it from lack of use.

So here are my questions:
1. If you could have one doll outfit made in life-size for you, which one would it be?
2. If you could make a custom doll based on any character or real person, who would you make?
3. Inset eyes. Yes or no?
4. Do any of your dolls have personalities based on people in real life?
5. Do you have any dolls that you would like to be friends with in real life based on their personalities (whether created by the manufacturer or you?)
6. Is there a skill or ability you would like to instantly learn?
7. Do you have a travel doll that you take with you when you're out?
8. Some people write stories using their dolls as character inspirations, or draw pictures of their dolls. Do you do anything like that?
9. Do you like to treat your dolls as canvases for face-painting, new wigs, etc., or do you keep your dolls the way they came?
10. Who was the first doll blogger you followed?
11. What book or movie or television show would you like to see get its own doll line?

Now the hard part, nominations. I'm going to choose: Hannah, Natalia, Smaller Places, Presto, and Lisa. No pressure, guys. Only do this if you want to.

2016 Liebster Award

jSarie at Revenge of the Toy Box has presented me with the Liebster Award. Thank you!

The rules for award participation are as follows:

RULES:

1. Thank the person who presented you the award and link back to their blog
2. Post the award image on your blog. 
3. Answer 11 questions posted by the presenter. 
4. Nominate 5 blogs with less than 200 followers. 
5. Create 11 questions for the nominees to answer. 
6. List these rules in your post. Inform the people you chose of their nomination by leaving a comment on their blog and link them your post.

 1. What was the first doll or figure that started your collection?
Caboodles Barbie. Mr. BTEG bought her for me because I liked Barbies, and I liked her miniature Caboodle makeup carrying case. It was the first doll I got as an adult.

2. What were your favourite doll-related moments of 2015?
Getting my Makie doll Meg, and finally getting my second American Girl doll, Caroline. Sewing more for dolls than I have in years. And finding more doll bloggers on the internet!

3. What are you looking forward to in 2016?
Toy Fair, first of all. Can't wait to see what's new for 2016!

Secondly, I'm looking forward to making more doll clothes for my Etsy store, and more clothes for my own dolls. Struggling right now to find time and energy to finish another dress.

Lastly, I'm going to the 2016 Tonner Convention!!! It's being held in Columbus, OH, and might be one of the only chances I'll have to attend a doll convention close to where I live. It's the Tonner company's 25th anniversary, so I'm looking forward to seeing if there are any souvenir dolls made from retired lines.

4. Do you have a favourite doll in your collection?
I don't really have a favorite doll so much anymore. There are dolls within some of the lines that I collect, that I like more than others. One of the top favorites is still Calendar Girl Sydney.

5. Do you have a favourite size of doll, and if so, which one and why?
Probably the 16" dolls. They are a nice size to sew for, and to display. I love my American Girl and Madame Alexander Cissy dolls, but I really don't have the space for more than two or three each. Playscale size and smaller dolls are easier to display and find furniture and accessories for, but sometimes you can't get as much detail with the smaller dolls.

6. Do your dolls have character back-stories?
Not really. At some point I would like to, but there are other things I want to do first, like sew them more clothes and improve their display spaces. Back-stories are not really a high priority.

7. Do you prefer to buy character dolls or blank slates?
I prefer blank slates, by far. The only doll that I have that looks someone in real life is one of the Tonner versions of Judy Garland as Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. And honestly, she doesn't look exactly like Judy's character. Any doll that's supposed to be Cinderella or Alice in Wonderland, but doesn't look like an actor or actress in real life, I can ignore the story they were given. Even my American Girl 18" Samantha and Caroline are not entirely the dolls as written about in their stories.

8. You can have any doll maker make the doll of your dreams. What does it look like?
She'd be an 18" vinyl doll, with golden brown hair, blue eyes and pale skin. She would wear a blue dress with lots of tucks and insertion and lace. She would have silk stockings and high button boots. She'd have a few pieces of gold jewelry, earrings and maybe a brooch. She would have to be at least 18", I would think, just because of how complicated I would like the dress! I would have the Tonner Company make her; the company has done really well with vintage styled dolls in the past.

9. How do you protect your dolls from damage (sunlight, hungry pets, angry children, wild animals, etc)?
I keep my dolls out of direct sunlight, and up on shelves or dressers. At one time we had a cat who was very fond of eating anything net or tulle that came his way. One of our cats now will also occasionally chew on things, so I have to keep them up out of her reach. She has never tried to jump up there. Fortunately, my children are well past the age of messing around with my dolls.

10. How do you store your dolls?
Store... hmm. I have most of the dolls in my collection out on display. I wish I had lots of enclosed shelving with glass doors. Since I don't, I try to store my dolls in bookcases or cubes so they get less dusty.

11. How do dolls fit into your everyday life?
Dolls keep me company. Not that I talk to them ever, nor do I change around a display or redress a doll everyday. But I get enjoyment out of looking at them; each one has a personality that seems to come through. I always have a plan in mind for what I want to do next involving my collection, even though everyday life often precludes my plans.

I nominate:
1. Presto at Growing Up Is for Quitters
2. Farrah Lily at Cozy Comforts and Dolls
3. Lisa at Once Upon a Doll Collection
4. Addy at Dollyton City
5. RagingMoon1987 at Confessions of a Dolly Lover

My 11 questions are:
1. What was the first doll or figure that started your collection?
2. Is there a retired doll or doll line that you'd like to bring back?
3. Have you ever acquired a grail doll?
4. What are you looking forward to in 2016?
5. Do you have a favorite doll line or manufacturer?
6. Any doll lines that you've moved on from?
7. Do you have an idea what dolls you would like to acquire this year?
8. What would your dream doll accessory be? I'm talking things like furniture or a car or a set of dishes.
9. If you were to write a paper on an era of doll history, which era would you pick?
10. Do you do any creative activities related to your doll collection?
11. How do dolls fit into your everyday life?

And this makes post number four for the month of January, so I've fulfilled a resolution for this month! :)

Plans for 2016

I've had vague ideas about what my 2016 doll collecting and blogging goals should be, but when I took some time to really solidify my plans, they boiled down to putting more time into my hobby! I still want dolls to remain fun, but I want to push myself a little farther this year. I'm hoping that I won't burn myself out on doll collecting, but that I'll get more out of it if I put more into it.

I would like to add a few more dolls to my collection, but I'm not in a huge hurry. I have some J-Dolls on my wishlist that I'd like to acquire if I find them at a good price. I picked up a Georgia doll for my 10" Ann Estelle crew, and I'll be posting some pictures of her. I wouldn't mind picking up a few more dolls in that size. I might think about getting another Makie.

I did dip my toe into the world of Ever After High dolls! I had some store credit at zulily from something else, so I was able to pick up Ashlynn Ella and Hunter Huntsman for only $13.99, including tax and shipping! Yeah, like I needed another type of doll in my collection, but there are a few I've thought about getting that I still really like after a period of months, so I couldn't resist kicking my collection off with a fantastic deal.

Sewing more doll clothing is a big goal. Buying dolls on a budget often means buying nude or basic dolls, so there's not a lot of doll clothing going around to begin with. I also need to make more items to sell in my Etsy store. Yes, I know you're not supposed to start an Etsy store with only one item. I'm hoping it will be a motivator for me personally to sew more if I have a shop open. For sewing doll clothes in general, I need to remind myself that the more I sew, the better I will get.

I would like to write four new posts every month. Usually in a good month I publish three. I figure if I do more sewing, more doll dioramas, and more traveling with Meg, I'll have enough to write about. Speaking of which, Meg is accompanying the Evil Genius family on a trip very soon! I'll tell you about it when we get back. I also have a surprise or two that I hope to share as the year goes on!

I'll close this post with a couple pictures of Ann Estelle in the dress that I made for my Etsy store.

New Dress for Madame Alexander Travel Friends, Plus a Furry Life-Size Companion

With the more relaxed pace of summer, and only having one daughter at home, I've been trying to work hard at sewing, in the hopes of opening up an Etsy store for doll clothes soon. Today, I completed a dress that fits the Madame Alexander Travel Friends. I'm not happy with the bunchiness around the sleeves, but I think that was partially from trying to loosen the armseye up a little, because last time I thought it was too tight. I'm such an awful perfectionist, and I need to work through that if I'm going to sell my work. I'll never get anything up for sale if I'm never happy with what I sew.

I really love the dress on Russia. The blue just seems to suit her hair and eyes. I think next I am going to work on making a dress for the Mini AG size. I should be able to tweak this pattern a bit. Believe it or not, the Mini AG has a bigger chest circumference than the Travel Friends, at least the stuffed Minis.

My daughter has been gone all week at a youth conference, so her cat has been following me around for company since her girl was gone. I was taking some pictures on the floor today for an eBay auction, and Agatha decided to insert herself into the photography, as cats do. So here's a picture of one of our beloved kitties.

J-Dolls and Sekiguchi Boots

While looking around online to see what kinds of shoes/clothes I could find for my J-Dolls, I found some Victorian high-button boots made by Sekiguchi that I absolutely fell in love with. Not surprising given my interest in Victorian-era clothes! But I wasn't going to pay over $20 for molded plastic shoes that are less than 2" tall. Then, while getting myself in trouble surfing eBay, I suddenly found a store that had them on sale, at a price I was willing to pay. Not only that, but the store is located right here in Cleveland (although I don't think they have a physical storefront), so I got the shoes the day after I bought them. On the downside, I did have to pay sales tax. But I managed to pick them up after all!

Sekiguchi is the company that currently makes Momoko dolls. I've put in a link to the website, although it is all in Japanese. There is a link there, however, to global shopping at the Petworks store, which is in English. The boots apparently were part of a line which is called Sekiguchi The Other Channel, or STOC. I found it interesting that the name and the acronym are in English (it's also referred to on the package as the STOC Market.) Perhaps they are called something else in Japanese. I was surprised that some Japanese doll manufacturers sell so many separates, everything from shoes to tops to tights, because in the past I've read other companies, such as Tonner, can't really make enough of a profit with outfits alone to justify adding more into the lineup. Dressed dolls have been where the money's at. Madame Alexander has also reportedly turned down consumer requests for more separates for Cissy, for example. I know people seem to go nuts for extra clothes and accessories for ball-jointed dolls too, so who knows? Maybe selling separates instead of entire outfits is the draw? Or maybe it's just a difference in collectors? While the prices at the Petworks store are much more reasonable, at least for shoes, to what I've seen at places like eBay and even other Japanese outlets, many people seem willing to pay big bucks for dolls like Momoko, Azone and Pullip, and what they wear. Hey, as long as it's not coming out of the grocery money, whatever. Still not paying over $20 for molded plastic shoes, myself. :)

The boots work pretty well with J-Doll, although the white boots were such stiff plastic that I had a hard time getting them off of Melanie, my model. The poor girl even lost her lower leg at one point! :O I don't think there was any permanent damage, although I did see little bits of flash on the table. She did stand by herself wonderfully in those, though. The black boots were much softer plastic on top, almost rubbery, and didn't support Melanie at all, plus they were frustrating to photograph. And I know you want to see the photos, so I'll finally move on to those!

They kind of make Melanie's feet look too big, but they're not horrible

My shaky hands did not help detail on these boots come out well, either.

Surprisingly, Melanie rocks the black boots even with the light outfit. I think the black polka dots and the fact that the outfit looks Victorian inspired both help.

I have to admit, the extra detailing on the back of these boots is nice.

Here's a picture of their height. Even though the metric numbers are backwards for those of you use them.

Overall, I'm very happy with my purchase. I'll definitely be extra careful with the white boots, and the black ones, I just hope those don't stain. The Petworks site does warn that some of their shoes might do that. Maybe if I get solid tights instead of lace ones it would protect the feet and legs?

So do you like to buy different outfits for your dolls? Do you change their clothes often? Do you buy direct from manufacturers, or from individuals on places like Etsy?