And they're LIVE!!!!

Hey y'all, I apologize for leaving everyone in the lurch the past couple weeks, been busy getting the 1st wave of the Subscription boxes out and ready to go live!  
And I am proud to say they are!!!  =D  The March 2017 box Snuggled on the Sofa is available for purchase HERE

The lovely Mari (Iplehouse JID Tatiana) is showing off the bevy of items included in the inaugural box.
Each box will contain a large plush creamy white throw blanket, a white tonal print pillow, a glass of red wine, a ceramic plate with 2 chocolate chunk cookies, a creamy candle, a large succulent in a striped planter and a trio of books from author and BJD collector Diana Wicker

The books are designed from Diana's coverwork and while not readable they are openable with individual pages.

When I first put this plan into action I sought out several people in the BJD universe, who agreed to accept an advance 'copy' of the 1st subscription box in exchange for their honest and individual reviews. I hope you will go visit these wonderful folks and check out what they had to say about the Snuggled on the Sofa March 2017 box. 
Danielle at Vita Plastica has done an indepth video review on Youtube
April at April's Sea of Dollie Sweetness created a fun review 
Ternessa at Confessions of a Dolly Lover  did a short and sweet review featuring one of her larger dolls 
ShellyS from Flickr  took several great shots

There should be a couple more reviews coming in the future. :-)
If you are interested in purchasing your own box of MSD sized props and accessories head over to my shop and grab one for just $20 plus shipping! 

Another List Finished

I gotta say I am loving making lists again.  It is so satisfying to cross everything off the list!  Yep, I completed everything on my To Do List!

 I started out my day pulling the resin I poured yesterday.  I had real high hopes that these would come out fully cured with no stickiness since I mixed the resin in a plastic cup rather than the wax coated Dixie ones.
Le Sigh... I was disappointed yet again, nearly every piece I pulled out was tacky!

But oddly the spheres I cast in a commercially made silicone mold came out fully cured and rock hard...again.  Actually out of every single batch of resin I have poured, those have properly and completely cured each time. *ponders* I have a feeling that the molding compound itself may be to blame. Grrr.  I don't want to chuck the molds since the casts themselves are shaped perfectly AND there are ways to counteract and clean up the tackiness, but it adds a few extras steps to the process.  C'est la vie!

After fussing with the resin for a while I moved onto the clay candles.  Not only did I get the 6 candles I planned shaped, but I also made a few extra.  I need to pick up a bit more translucent clay, but for now I am happy that all the candles for the Reviewer Boxes are ready to hit the oven tomorrow.

I finished painting the little pencils and I am just thrilled with those. Then I went through my tiny ceramic plate stash and found the perfect plates for the cookies that will go in the Snuggled on the Sofa box.  I even decided how I want to package those when they go in the box. So that makes me happy. 

Time to go plan out tomorrow's list and play some FaceBook games before The Walking Dead comes on! ;-)

Almost Got it All

So, when I left you last night this was my To Do List for today, plus taking the dog to the groomers and the boys for haircuts.
 As of 5 minutes ago I had crossed off everything but the candles. (Also the boys didn't get their haircuts today, but that was by their choice.)

I had every intention of getting to the groomers when they opened at 10, but last night I couldn't sleep, despite my best efforts including a mug of Sleepytime tea. :-( So when my alarm went off at 9... I turned it off!) I was up at 10 though when the dog scared the crap out of us by wagging his tail into the door! 
Ichabod is an 80# Black Lab/Great Dane mix with a whip like tail, and needless to say that whip against the hollow core door...yeah, not exactly the best way to wake up! 
But he and I were off to the groomers shortly there after and then back home not much later.  I stopped at our mail box (our neighborhood has banks of mailboxes at one end of the street rather than individual ones) and found a check I had been waiting on.
So after dropping the dog at home I was off to the OTHER side of town to deposit it and grab a few things from the store.
Needless to say it was almost 3pm before I got home and into my studio.

That being said I, first, set to work getting a batch of resin mixed up in the new plastic cups I bought, and then once those molds were set aside to cure, out came the clay and a few hours later a squadron of succulents was ready for the oven! They will get baked tomorrow.


 Oh and I did get the miniature pencils on my list painted.  Tomorrow they will get the metal band-thingy and their erasers then those will be ready to show off.  Those are also for future subscription boxes! ;-)

Time to go make tomorrow's To Do List!   Night! :-)

Keeping on Track

I am a horribly unorganized person.  My dear friend April over at April's Sea of Dollie Sweetness can  tell you how often I lose things that were literally sitting on my desk! So while working on these Subscription Boxes for March, I am going back to something that has worked for me in the past. LISTS!

On today's agenda was to finish the last 3 pillows for the Reviewer boxes, cast (and finish) some resin pieces, and create a Word doc for some books that were generously donated to me by an author who happens to collect BJDs!


Of course I also wanted to complete 6 sets of her 3 book series. This pic doesn't show it, but I completed everything on my list today! :-) I was very pleased with myself.  Although it wasn't without any hiccups.

 While in the end they turned out fine, I have been having trouble with my resin castings.  I have poured probably hundreds of ounces of resin over the years, but never dealt with sticky resin before! Every batch I have poured in the last few days has produced several pieces that were tacky even after 24 hours.  The weather has been lovely, and the resin was mixed in the proper ratios so I wasn't sure what the issue was.  However upon doing some research, I think I discovered that the Dixie cups I was using (which are lined with wax) was in some way reacting with the resin.  It was weird that not all of the pieces ended up tacky, but whatever. lol I was able to counteract the tackiness by using pearl powder on some before sealing it with either clear gloss paint sealer or clear nail polish. Needless to say I'll be picking up some plastic cups tomorrow to mix my resin in!

This water bottle turned out fabulous!  I am looking forward to casting many more of these. They will also be included in an upcoming Subscription Box called Purse-u-ing Greatness!

 

Next up on my list was the books.  A fellow BJD collector Diana Wicker  who is also an author (be sure to click her name to visit her website!) has generously allowed me to use her cover art in making the books for the Snuggled on the Sofa box. I originally planned to include just a single book, But her series looks too good not to include all three! =D

So YAY!  My list making worked today, hopefully it will work tomorrow as well.

In the morning before I do any work I need to take the dog out for a paw-dicure ;-) and then the boys to get their hair cuts.
But once I get home it's nose to the grindstone and fingers to the clay!
Hopefully tomorrow I will have loads to share with you!

Pillow Pile Progressing Perfectly

I am settling in to work on the items for my upcoming Subscription Boxes.  Today's agenda included working on a dozen and a half pillows.
I started with a tone on tone vine printed white cotton and cut out two rectangles roughly 4x6".  After cutting out the matched pairs, I sewed around them leaving an opening on one side.

I like to use both a straight and a zig zag stitch to help guard against fraying and the seam blowing out. 

Sew, sew, sew and well, sew some more.  I tend to try and work assembly line style when working on things like this.  It seems to make the process quicker.

So I cut everything out, then did all of the sewing around the rectangles. Next up comes the turning, stuffing and blind stitching the openings closed.

Four down and 14 to go! =D

MSD BJD Mini Subscription Boxes Coming SOON!!!

Now that the American Girl commission is all done I can get back to my preferred scale. My MSDs/1/4 scale crew.  I just adore this size and love creating unique clothes, foods and props for them.
About a year ago I got the idea to make up a Subscription Box series in this scale with the hopes that other people who enjoy setting up dioramas would enjoy getting a monthly box of themed goodies.
Due to moving, working and so many other things it never really got off the ground.  Last week I decided that maybe MINI boxes was the answer.  I brainstormed and created for a few days and came up with the items for my first box as well as the theme for 6 more!
I think to start with, I will do Bi-Monthly since most items will be hand made by myself.  Every other month will allow me plenty of time to get enough items created for each box.

The first box in the series will be called Snuggled on the Sofa. It will include a nice fluffy pillow and a big comfy fuzzy throw blanket for burrowing under, as well as a mug of either cocoa or coffee and a plate of cookies.  You've got to have something to nibble on while snuggled up!
Lastly the set will include a novel of some genre to read,  a potted plant and a candle (which I forgot to photograph. smh). I love the little details that knick-knacks and accessories on shelves add to a scene.
 All of these items will either be handmade by me or purchased by me for the boxes.
 I am  currently looking for 1 or 2 people who love filling their scenes with fun props as well as blogging, Flickring,  Instagramming or doing YouTube videos. I need a couple reviewers, in exchange for your honest posted review I will send you the first box in the series free of charge.
If you are interested please contact me! Thanks in advance!
 

Finally Finished

It took a bit longer than I anticipated, because of a rough weekend, but I finished the 3 My Little Pony: Equestria Girls cosplay outfits for my customers' American Girl dolls!  They shipped out yesterday afternoon and should arrive on Friday.
Good news is that my customer LOVED the pictures I sent her of the final outfits! That is always a relief for me to know the customer feels their vision was realized! :-)

So as a reminder I started out with these images of the 3 My Little Pony Characters; Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle.
 I used this image to make notes on which patterns to use and adjustments I wanted to make.

Worked out really well to have this nearby as a reference. :-)

When all was said and done I ended up with 3 what I think are pretty faithful representations of the images I was given as inspiration.  While I can see things I would have changed or done differently, I think in the end they worked out really well.  I hope my customer enjoys them!