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 Grocery Giveaway Package

I was one of two people who won a prize in Xanadu's grocery giveaway. It seemed like it took the package forever to get here, but it was actually less than two weeks, which is not bad coming from Australia.

I also received my Cu-Poche Alice doll order today, and Alice insisted that her curious nature made her perfect for opening the box and checking out the contents. So here's Alice, and her thoughts.

I see.. um, another box.

I am hungry after my long trip!

This lid is on too tight!

Maybe I'll just go shopping instead!

I might need my Cu-Poche sisters' help to put this together!

I also got some cute clothes, that I suspected would fit my 10" Tonner dolls. The first was a hand-knit orange dress, with orange buttons down the back. There was also a pair of orange tights. The dress looks fine on Ann Estelle, and orange is the perfect color to wear here this time of year. The tights "fit" her legs and feet, but there is a lot of extra material pulled up around her waist underneath. Unfortunately, the tights were too thick to allow me to put her own shoes back on. There was also a pair of shoes in the bag, which don't fit Ann.

In another bag was a blue sun dress, or this could also be what we would call a jumper, since a blouse would fit nicely under it. It has a faux button closure over Xanadu's favorite, snaps (press studs.) There was a separate turquoise underskirt with a ruffled trim, too. In Xanadu's honor, I got my redhead, Sophie, to model these.

There was also a blue hand-knit cardigan sweater in this bag, with real buttonholes and buttons. Sophie can wear this, but it is not quite wide enough for her.

As I sat down to write this, it occurred to me that this cardigan might fit Meg, my Makies doll.

Alas, Meg is in several separate parts right now. I want to give her a face-up, and also find her a new wig, that isn't so long and cumbersome. I've been putting off the face-up because I was nervous about it. The Dancer, though, has gotten me interested in make-up for the first time in my life, and doing make-up on myself, has given me more confidence in making Meg's face look right. I'll be sure to update you, of course, when Meg is back to herself, and we'll see if the cardigan fits.

I also got this adorable pair of baby shoes and socks. These might fit my daughter's Bitty Baby.

And lastly, two more pairs of shoes. One is a rubber pair, that look like they came from a Frozen doll. They have the effect of being gathered to a flat sole underneath, which reminds me of my daughter's ballet slippers.

And a pair of black boots with black and glitter accents, and a buckled strap. I was hopeful that these would fit my American Girl dolls, but they are just a liiiiittle bit too snug to be able to pull up over the foot. :(

This is such a fantastic bunch of doll clothing and props! I'm so thankful to Xanadu for all these items, especially since some of them were most likely hand-knit and hand-sewn by her. It was a nice way to brighten my day.

Twelve Days of Christmas - Day Four: Barbie

The Christmas holiday is a perfect time to catch up on craft projects!

Huge accolades to the Swedish knitter here who has put up over one thousand doll knitting projects for free.

At Long Last, the Liebster Award

Presto tagged me for this award ages ago, and I feel guilty, because I've had blogger's block lately. I also have no idea who to tag for this. Eleven people is a lot to tag, and most of the bloggers I know have already been tagged for this. So I'm going to answer the questions, finally, and let it go. :)

1. What kinds of toys got you into collecting and customizing? 
Barbie got me into collecting, when I started buying them as an adult. I don't really do customizing, yet. I'm actually seriously considering passing off painting to my youngest daughter. She does a fantastic job painting miniatures for Pathfinder games, so I think she'd be a natural. I do have a Belle doll that has had part of her lip paint rub off; I keep meaning to make this my daughter's first doll project. :)

2. What's the coolest way you've repurposed something to work on/with one of your projects?
Oh dear. I haven't really done this, either. At least, not as an adult. As a kid, I had the Sunshine Family dolls, and they were all about making sofas out of milk cartons and dressers out of matchboxes. I've turned bookcases and shelves into diorama roomboxes as an adult, but lots of people do that.

3. Sonic or Mario?
Mario! Although my daughters regularly smoke me at MarioKart.

4. What do you do to find inspiration?
Since my doll projects involve sewing, I look at all kinds of clothes, from historic to modern, for real people and for dolls. My Pinterest account is mostly dedicated to clothes for inspiration.

5. What time period would you most like to live in, other than the modern one?
The turn of last century. There were still beautiful, elaborate clothes, but things I like having, like indoor plumbing, were also becoming more common.

6. When has a project just made you give up? Why?
As far as sewing projects, I've given things up when I try to create a pattern for something over and over, but can't get it to look the way I want. I've also tried knitting a blanket for a doll bed, and given up on that three times. One was when the pattern wasn't written correctly, and it took me several tries to realize the pattern was wrong, and not me. By that time, I was sick of the whole thing. One was a lacy blanket that was enjoyable to work on, but every time I made a mistake, I couldn't figure out which row was which when I unraveled. Lastly, I tried a pattern where I just couldn't get past the first few rows without making a mistake. I'm using the wrong yarn or something, at least for me, I think.

7. What's the most versatile tool in your arsenal?
Well, my sewing machine, definitely. But when I have to do hand sewing, my best go-to item is not a tool, but a book.

 Not only are there all kinds of stitches in there, but the directions are just right for me!

8. When has a project surpassed your wildest expectations? How?
I don't know that I will ever make anything that surpasses my wildest expectations. I'm a perfectionist, which means I can always look at something and say, "I could have done that better." I'll show you a picture I made for a contest, where I wanted 16" Gene to look like she came from 1907. I ended up happy with this one, because I thought the silhouette and general style were pretty much 1907. I drafted the pattern and made everything myself, including the hat.

9. What's your all-time favorite movie?
The Wizard of Oz. And somehow, doll manufacturers do seem to come up with some unique takes on the movie costumes, now and then.

10. What's a skill you want to learn someday?
Painting plastic furniture. Especially the extra touches that make an item really pop and look realistic.

11. If you could live in a fictional universe, which one would you pick?
Does Narnia count? I mean, Earth-as-we-know-it is part of that universe, but Narnia is its own place.

If for some reason I missed you being tagged, and you want to play, email me and I will give you eleven questions!

Tonner 10" Ann Estelle and Sophie

I was inspired by Lisa at Once Upon a Doll Collection to show you my two 10" dolls that are part of Tonner's Mary Englebreit collection. I have an Ann Estelle very similar to hers, except mine has straight legs. I also have a Sophie. Both dolls have strung arms and legs, which don't bend. Tonner eventually gave the ME dolls bending legs, and now his 10" Patsy dolls have bending arms as well. For a short period of time there was an opportunity to obtain a no-headed very articulated body from a 10" doll enthusiast. I believe Tonner also offered headless bodies briefly, with bending arms and legs. I was interested, until I read that the older Ann Estelle dolls, that I have, required some extra work on the neck knob first. I didn't trust myself to accomplish that correctly, as a complete newbie to Frankendollying, so my girls still have their original bodies.

This post will mostly feature Ann Estelle. You will see more of Sophie when I present the St. Patrick's Day dress that I made for her. Ann comes with a high-quality pair of glasses, as per the Mary Englebreit drawings, but I doubt my Ann will wear them much. I have to wear glasses and dislike doing so, so my dollies won't have to either.

I love Ann's eyes

Ann came in her original box and with her glasses, but otherwise nude. I got a great deal on her from The Doll Page's Show and Sell Site (RIP.) She is temporarily borrowing Sophie's romper that she arrived in, as a Sophie Basic.

I have two knitted cardigans that I bought off eBay. This is one is turquoise, the other is pink. I hope to be able to do this kind of knitting myself, with practice. The lighting in the second picture is terrible, but you can see the neat, even and tiny stitches.

Speaking of eBay, at one point many years ago, there was a seller who painted small wooden dressers in a Mary Englebreit style, and I snagged one. As you can see, the black and white stripes match those on Ann's romper. All the drawers open, and are untreated inside.

Here Ann is with her friend Sophie, whom I bought many years ago. I'd love to get more friends for her and Ann, but despite Tonner offering many dolls since the ME ones who share a body type, the ME dolls still command high secondary prices, so it will require some saving to add more to my collection. Of course, I waited a very long time until I found the deal on Ann, so I can be patient.

Fashion Fever Doll, and a Fashion Avenue Outfit

Today I have pictures of a Fashion Fever Teresa in her original outfit, and a regular doll on a Shani body, who is wearing a Fashion Avenue outfit.

I love the Teresa face mold

I love the Mackie mold as well, although her lips are an interesting color.

I understand why some people prefer fabric purses to plastic ones. However, I much prefer Teresa's purse versus the one this Fashion Avenue outfit came with.

I like the positioning of Teresa's hands as well, although perhaps one should have been palms to side. These rather remind me of Monster High and Ever After High hands.

Here Teresa stands up to show you her whole outfit, including those shoes! I could never walk in those things, even in my size! :D

I forgot to get a good picture of the buttons on her cardigan -- the edges keep wanting to turn inside out. But you can see the threads sewing them on. :)

The pattern of this sweater really makes it special. Mattel could have gone with a plain stitch, but they didn't. The knitter in me admires the tininess of it.

The same thing goes for the waffle weave of this shirt. It makes the entire outfit a stand-out.

Lastly, the dolls model some doll-sized storage bins that I bought at Michael's. They were $1 each. I also saw them at Office Max. I would imagine they're in other stores as well.