Dresses for Curvy Barbie

I've been chatting with MC about sewing for dolls over the last month or so. I sewed these two dresses for the Curvy Barbie body shape a very long time ago, but I decided that the dresses needed Velcro instead of snaps, and I kept putting off making that change. I finally forced myself to do it, and it did take me quite awhile to get all six of the snaps, over both dresses, off, but now the dresses can be worn and not stay on my "to-do" pile.

I'm sorry to say that I have forgotten where I bought the hook-and-loop closure that I used to close up the backs of these dresses. It is, however, very nicely suited for dolls. The hooks are not as large and grabby as on other kinds that I've used, and the attaching side is very soft, almost leathery in feel. As for size, the strips above were cut in half from a large roll that I have. This stuff goes through the sewing machine beautifully, and cuts easily.

The bodices of the dresses are fully lined, which I find the easiest way to finish a sleeveless dress, and the pattern was created by myself. Even though we're moving into what will probably be the hottest days of the summer here, I think I should start working on autumn clothes for dolls next. I'm trying out some new patterns, and September will be here soon!

Room Box Design

First off, I have to credit Jatman of JatmanStories, and Mr. BTEG, for some of the ideas that I used to make my room box with swap-able windows/floors. Jatman offers a tutorial about how she makes her roomboxes here.

It all started because I found moving boxes at Lowe's home improvement store, that are made of thicker cardboard than the standard moving boxes. I figured that would be especially ideal for making doll living spaces, so I bought one and brought it home, to do an initial try.

At first, I was thinking about just placing wall and flooring papers in the box permanently. It was Mr. BTEG who suggested the idea of being able to switch floors in and out. How to do it securely, was my question. At first, I thought of using pins, or small bulldog clips. However, Mr. BTEG came up with what I think is a far better solution: Velcro.

So here is the box, with sticky-back Velcro on the cardboard walls. The floor is a piece of foam core with scrapbook paper taped on it with double-sided tape. I felt this was the best way to secure the paper, as glues do not work very well on foam core. This floor admittedly is very patchy. I should have had four pieces of paper for this to work the best, but I only bought three. When I went back to Michael's, they were either out, or they don't carry this paper anymore.

The foam core piece for the floor is cut so it fits exactly into the box. The wall pieces will then stand directly on top of the floor piece.

So on the walls of the permanent cardboard box structure are pieces of sticky-back Velcro loops. On the papered walls of foam core, that I can swap in and out, there are corresponding pieces of sticky-back Velcro hooks. I got the idea from Jatman of using white Contact Paper to cover the raw edges of the foam core.

One wall is stuck to the cardboard box, flush against both the floor and the side of the cardboard box. Then, the other wall is set in, pushed tightly against the other wall, so there is not very much of a visible seam.

The green rug is a sheet of scrapbook paper that has a nice paisley design and also the illusion of texture, which gives it the appearance of a rug. There was a sale on scrapbook paper when I bought this at Michael's, so I bought the same design in at least two other colors. The rug is especially useful here to help hide the patchiness of this floor.

And that's my roombox! It's very simple, but I think the effect it produces is nice. I can cover all three side of the cardboard box with scrapbook paper covered walls, or use the same idea with a larger box, or have a larger box with maybe only two sides for different lighting and photography options. The nice thing about the cardboard box "foundation" is that it is relatively sturdy. I will also be creating walls with cut-out windows, and putting some kind of paper behind the right side of the foam core wall, to create an "outdoor" view.

I hope all of you who celebrated Easter yesterday had a very nice one. Life has been a little chaotic here at Casa BTEG, so I wasn't able to get an Easter photoshoot together. Hopefully, everything that's been making life crazy here will be resolved very soon!

Madame Alexander Travel Friends Dolls Germany and Ireland

Yes, everyone and their aunt have been reviewing these dolls lately, or so it seems. However, I haven't seen a review yet of Germany! And Germany surprised me by having quite a bit to talk about that was different from the reviews that I've seen. Yes, I went with my own heritage and picked the Germany and Ireland dolls, although Ireland's red hair was a bonus. Let's get a little info about these dolls first. They are 7" tall, and made of vinyl. They are part of Madame Alexander's Play line. A visit to MA's website showed me that they are currently dividing their dolls up into three categories: Baby, Play, and Collector. They have quite a variety of baby dolls. Play dolls are mostly represented by their 18" lines. And the Collector line includes their Wendy and Cissette dolls, among others.

This is going to be a very picture heavy review. Actually, since I haven't seen MA's Germany Travel Friend doll reviewed, this post is the first one I'm going to treat like a "real" review and not just an overview. Before the break, I'll show you pictures of the dolls in their boxes. Let me give my standard disclaimer here: the in-the-box pics are poorly lit because I often don't get the mail from the group mail box down the street until later in the day. Thus, the natural lighting is poor, and I'm eager to break the girls free, therefore poorly lit pics.

Pre-Mattel American Girl Samantha

Meet Samantha! She is the only American Girl doll I own, and she was made in Germany for Pleasant Company, which I guess makes her a little bit special. My guess is that I received her for Christmas of 1996. I could take pictures of her body, but it would probably make more sense for me to borrow my daughter's Samantha and show comparison pictures. In the meantime, I will say that my Samantha's body is relatively chunky compared to more modern dolls. I purchased Nellie's Spring Party dress for Samantha, and it is rather tight. In fact, I can't get the Velcro completely shut.

Picture courtesy of American Girl Wiki