Shuffling along

It's weird, but every time I finish one commission I feel the need to take a few days off and just do nothing.  After I shipped out the Christmas tree from my last post, I did just that. I read and played silly Facebook games and watched tv.  But I think it was Wednesday I decided to get back to work.  Granted I'm not really working on the things I should be working in (i.e. photographing and listing loads and loads of doll clothes) But, eh, at least I was doing something productive. LOL

This outfit here is a culmination of several different 'experiments'.  The denim skirt was actually one of the first things I ever sewed in 1:4 scale... back in like March I think. The little white clutch I made with from scraps from the shoulder bag I made for the Hello Kitty commission. I simply folded the piece in 3rds, did a blanket stitch along the sides, pinked the top edge and added a snap. (Which I then covered up with a decorative charm-thing.
The Sweater is made from a toddler's leg warmer I found at the dollar spot at Target.  The piece didn't exactly turn out like I had planned, but thankfully it turned out better! =D
 Last but certainly not least are Lena's new shoes!  I found a tutorial online for making duct tape Toms for the American Girl sized dolls.  I simply resized the technique and used some wide satin ribbon that I added adhesive to the back to create fabric 'tape'.  I still need to refine the technique, but I think they turned out really cute!  I think I'll call them Dee's!

  My most recent project has been a fireplace for the girls up-coming living room set. I have been thinking about getting this Journey Girls Ski Lodge set from Toys R Us ever since I saw it.  From the 'compaints' I saw about it being too small for AG dolls, I realized that it really would be the perfect size for the 1:4 scale girls.  And at just $40 it really is a good deal.  I was all set to have my husband pick it up for me last week, but our TRU was out of it.  So I decided to get my craftiness going and just make my own! (and since I'm saving to buy my resin Ellowyne Wilde next month, that is probably a GOOD thing! LOL) 

I found this box among the stuff waiting to go out to the recycle bin, and after a little online research, decided that it was the perfect size for a rustic fireplace.   I had to finish up a couple of commissions before I could get started on it, but Thursday I was finally ready to get going.  The first thing I did was decide how large I wanted the opening for the actual fireplace to be. Once I did that I cut an X through that area and folded back the top and side pieces.  The bottom I completely removed.  I then used another large box I bad to cut out a long strip of cardboard that would fit inside that area and glued that in place.

 Yesterday I grabbed out the stash of cardboard egg carton lids that I have been saving for months. (I wasn't sure what I was going to use them on but thanks to this AWESOME blog, I knew they were perfect for making stone effects.

I did a little research online to get some inspiration for Fieldstone Fireplaces and came up with a design I was happy with.  I have spent the last 2 days (off and on) cutting and gluing on these fake stones.  My husband oh so helpfully pointed out that the wording kind of spoils the looks. *rolling my eyes, even though I knew he was kidding*  I'm totally finished with the front and one of the sides and once I finish this post I'll go back and finish the final side.  Tomorrow I will start painting and detailing the egg cartons to hopefully make them look like stone.  God willing I won't screw up the paint job!  I plan to make a cherry wood mantle and a faux slate hearth.  I think I will paint the inside black and cut some 'logs' from from small branches from the backyard.  I hope to have the girls fireplace finished by Monday or Tuesday, so that I can get started on their furniture! A fireplace isn't much good unless you have someplace to cozy up and enjoy it! :-)

Geesh, November is halfway over already!

Does anyone else think it's crazy that there are just 7 weeks left in 2013? This past year has just flown by, and each passing day seems to move faster and faster still. *sigh*

Well enough lamenting, back to your regularly scheduled programming.

A couple of blog-posts ago I promised to share the link to these fun scarves I have available in my shop.  I forgot. :-(  Sorry.  But better late than never I suppose.  You can find this lovely version along with 9 others in my shop HERE . 

They are 18" long and each version is a lovely array of shades and colors.  (and at just $2 a piece they are a steal! =D)

This afternoon I finished up, and shipped of the Barbie Christmas tree I've been working on for the past few days.  The tree stands about 13" tall and features ornaments in burgundy, blue, purple and gold (with some crystal ones thrown in for extra sparkle).  I sculpted a large gold star from polymer clay for the tree topper.  I also added a few subtle threads of gold tinsel.  The tree skirt is a lovely rich dark burgundy with a touch of gold trim.  I also added 8 wrapped packages in various sizes for under the tree.

My friend lives here in New York, so she will get her tree tomorrow.  I hope she likes it as much in person as she did in the pictures.  It actually looks much prettier in person as for some reason my camera hates purples. *shrugs*

I have several additional projects that I need to be working on, but can't seem to gather the energy to do so right now.  So I'm going to tend my virtual farm, then go read a book until Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. comes on. 

I'll catch up with y'all tomorrow!

Deborah

Howdy

Hey y'all it's Lena,

Mom's been really busy finishing up on several different projects and hasn't had time to update the blog this past week, so I figured I'd leave her virtual farm alone and come chat with everyone here!

Last week, we had our first snow of the year.  It was really pretty, I've never seen snow before.  Mom and Dad grumbled a bit, but my human brothers were super excited.  I wanted to go out and play, but Mom said she was too busy to take me, and the boys just wanted to play and wouldn't be able to keep an eye on me. (Stinks having little brothers who are so much bigger than me!) The temperatures started warming up and the snow started to disappear the next day.  I hated to act like a brat, but I really wanted to go outside and see the snow in person.  I was kind of bad and told Mom that I was going outside even if that meant I had to climb up tot he top of her work desk to get into my box of clothes for a jacket.  Well, I guess it worked because Mom set aside what she was working on to take me outside!

We bundled up nice and warm and headed out.  The snow was pretty much just in the shaded areas by that point, and my brothers said it wasn't good for much of anything any more.  But I liked it!  It was cold for sure, but so neat!  When we came inside mom ordered me a hat and a pair of mittens.  They are being hand made just for me, all the way in RUSSIA!!!  How cool is that!

Mom made us all some nice hot tea to warm us up.  The snow is now all gone, as a matter of fact it has warmed up quite a bit.  The weather has been kind of weird. But Mom promises that there WILL be more snow, and like my little brothers, I just can't wait!

The big project mom has been working on is a Barbie doll sized Christmas tree for a friend of hers.  It's coming along really nicely.

It's done in shades of purple, blue and burgundy, with gold accents.  Mom added some clear crystals to make it sparkle.

Today she added pretty gold tinsel strands and made a gold star tree topper for it.  She says she'll get some good shots tomorrow.

She still has to sew the tree skirt and wrap up some presents to go under the tree, but Mom said she plans to mail this out tomorrow.

Her next project is to make a fireplace for me and the girls.  She said that will have to be a break-time project as my human Gramma (Mom's mom) has been sewing clothes for the 18" American Girl style dolls and Mom is going to add them to her shop for Gramma. So she has to do photos for each outfit.  Oh and Mom say's she needs to photograph several outfits for me and the others girls to sell those too.  Looks like mom still doesn't have much free time, but I think she kind of likes it that way! lol

Well, I've chatted here enough for now I think.
Catch y'all later,
Lena

Man was I busy today!

Hi everybody, it's me Lena. Mom's busy reading blogs and tending her virtual farm..
(HEYYYY  I'm also editing YOUR pictures!!!)
Ooops, Sorry Mom, didn't realize you were reading over my shoulder.
 (mutter mutter mutter)
Any ways...where was I?  Oh yeah, Mom's working so I thought I would take over tonight's blog post.  Mom is still waiting on the buttons and zippers she ordered to get here, so she decided to take the product photos for some super cute scarves she's going to put into her shop.  I of course was drafted to be the model... (DRAFTED!!! You offered! mutter mutter mutter)

Well... um, regardless of how it happened I spent a good 2 hours trying on different scarves, tying unique knots and posing for over 100 pictures!!!  It's actually pretty cool to see how many different ways to tie a scarf!

This is one of the 10 different colorways that Mom will be offering, hopefully tomorrow.  It's called Deep in the Forest.  It's a lovely blend of Autumnal colors.  It fades from copper, to rust to a rich black.

Each scarf is 18" (45cm) long, so it's great to wrap all different ways.  This one we wrapped in a simple loop, then twirled the ends through the loop.  So chic!

We decided to call this one Peanut Butter & Jelly.  It's got 2 shades of purples that fade into a rich brown.  Sadly Mom says her camera hates purples, as we had a hard time really capturing this colorway.

This one we tied using an image we found on Pinterest . It looks kind of complicated, but it was actually pretty easy.  With the 3 colors in the scarf, this method almost looks braided!

Mom said that in tomorrow's blog post, she'll share a link for the new scarves!

Y'all have a great night!

Lena

Hello Kitty set is almost DONE!

 Actually, aside from the zipper for the hoodie, the set IS done!  Today I made up the shoulder bag, as well as a few pieces of jewelry to match the outfit.  I created the shoulder bag from a strip of soft white leatherette.  I basically just folded it into uneven thirds, sewed up the sides, then sewed a diagonal strip across the bottom corners to create an rectangular base. (I just followed the instructions on this site HERE but in miniature) Once I turned it right side out I sewed a snap for closure, added a strap and embellished with a Hello Kitty image, pale blue Cat's Eye oval stone and a soft blue Swarovski crystal charm.  (Note to self, and anyone else who wants to make one of these... I highly recommend sewing on the snap that goes on the body of the bag before sewing the sides up!  It was a bit of a pain trying to sew inside the bag! LOL

And here is a close-up of the bag.  I was really surprised at how easily the leatherette sewed up!  My machine had no trouble with it at all, heck I didn't even need to put a different needle in!

Lena has already asked me to make her one (or three of these!)  I have a large quantity of this material, so I want to see if there is a way to dye it to allow me several color options without having to buy more.

*Update* What can I say, I'm easily distracted... I just tried to color a scrap of the leatherette with Sharpie markers and alcohol inks... both methods seem to work!  I'm going to let it dry over night, then I'll give them a coat of some kind of sealer and see what happens! :-)  I love experimenting!

I'm so excited for the friend that I'm making this outfit for... her first Minifee arrived today!  She actually got the same sculpt as Lena, but her girl looks totally different! :-)  It's neat how just by having a different person paint the same sculpt you get a totally unique look!

We've decided that the two girls are going to be penpals, so that should be fun!  Lena asked if I could make Raine (that's her name, isn't it pretty?) a Welcome Home present.  I of course agreed.  I grabbed out my elastic thread and box of beads, and put together these little stretchy bracelets.  I think they are so cute!!!

Our last gift to Raine, is this pretty little necklace. I used a small pale blue Swarovski crystal for the drop. (It actually matches the one on her shoulder bag, and now that I think about it, looks like of like a rain-drop... perfect for a girl names Raine! =D

I forgot to check the mail today, so I am hoping that either the buttons I ordered or the zippers will be here.  I'd like to get Raine's outfit in the mail on Tuesday!  Guess we shall see.

Since I can't do anything more on this outfit until the zipper arrives, I think tomorrow I'll start working on my next commission... a 12" tall miniature decorated Christmas tree!

Stay tuned for progress on that too!

Took a little break fom sewing today

Since I am waiting on the zipper for the Hello Kitty hoodie, I decided to take a break from sewing today and just play with some of the things I purchased recently.

I found these fantastic cloches last week at Walmart.  They originally had little figurines of the boys from the group One Direction in them. (and I only know that because that's what the tag said! LOL) They were supposed to be key chain thing-a-ma-bobs, as there was a plastic loop attached to a key ring at the top.  The cloches stand about 2 1/4" (about 60mm) tall.  I sawed off the loop and sanded the top smooth.  I removed the little guys (who were thankfully loose inside) and then went through my Christmas miniatures.  I found a 6 pack of the snowmen figurines, but didn't want to do just those. (I only have 5 of the cloches...for now.)
I found this tiny little tree, I removed the large wooden base and created a new one from polymer clay.  I plan to decorate it with tiny beads and tiny wrapped gifts underneath. For the other ones I plan to make at least one tiny gingerbread house, and maybe a couple of even tinier glitter houses.  I promise to share the finished pieces once I get them done!

Next on my list for this weekend is a fireplace for the girls.  I found this granola bar box in the recycle bin and thought it would be the perfect height. Since I don't own a fireplace, I went searching the net for an image of a woman standing in front of a fireplace. I found this one. I think once I get a small hearth under it and a nice mantel on top it will be the perfect height. I plan to use egg cartons to create fake fieldstone... at least I think fieldstone is the right term.  I want my fireplace to look something like this one HERE.

I hope to get this done sometime within the next week, as I really want to set up a living room scene for the girls that I can decorate for Christmas!!!

(Oh btw, that is a new top Lena is wearing too.  I just used my regular t-shirt pattern, made it a little longer and cheated a bit on the neckline, but sewing a neat bit of trim over the edge rather than turning it under.)

My last bit of fun, is this neat gif I made using 2 pictures I took of an owl transfer I did on a new shirt for Lena.  I didn't realize that the image was Glow in the Dark, until I was getting ready for bed!  I just had to snap a picture!


So let's see, tomorrow I am going to sew up the shoulder bag that goes with the Hello Kitty outfit, then sew up the 4 t-shirts I have laid out and ready, sew the snaps on the red Christmas PJ set I made a few weeks ago (that I am waiting on buttons for) and also frost the 1:4 scale chocolate cupcakes I made today.  I need to decide on some kind of Christmas-y decoration for them.

Then if I get all of those things done, I'll get started on the girls fireplace!

Hope you all have a great Saturday!

Hello Kitty Commission nearly complete

Yesterday and today I worked on 2 of the last 3 components for the Hello Kitty commission.  The white tee, and cat eared hoodie.

I started with the t-shirt... I've made them several times before so I wasn't too worried about the actual construction.  The part I was concerned about was the image transfer.  I knew from past experience that the method I use can be somewhat finicky, so I asked my friend to choose at least 3 images that way I could start with her 'least' favorite and work up to the one she liked best.  Theoretically, by the time I started on the one she liked best, I'd have the technique down perfect.  Well wouldn't you know, the first 2 transferred perfectly and the third one (the fave) rolled up on itself, making it completely unusable!!!  Dang nabbit!!
Thankfully my friend is a doll and said that since the above image was her number 2 choice it would work just fine, rather than me trying to track down another image!

This morning I got up bright and early and started working on the kitty eared hoodie.  I've never made anything like this before, so I was a bit concerned. But aside from a couple small hiccups (um I sewed the hood together inside out! LOL) this pieces actually went together pretty fast.  I honestly didn't even follow the written instructions that came with the pattern. The main body is essentially the same pattern I use for my t-shirts just in reverse.  I lined the hood and inner ears with the same material I used for the socks I made so the whole thing coordinates.  I purchased a thin weight sweatshirt to use and decided to cut off the cuffs from the full sized sweatshirt to make the cuffs for this one. AND I totally LOVE the way it came out.

Lena loves it too, and has already demanded I make one for her (minus the ears though. ;-) lol).  Thankfully I have more than enough material to make her one too... I think hers will have a rich purple lining though.  This one is just waiting on the zipper that is in the mail to arrive and it will be completely finished!

Just a quick peek at the hood when it's down.  This sweatshirt is SO fluffy!!!!  I think I'm going to need to go out and buy a rainbow of sweatshirts to make a bunch of hoodies! =D

A quick shot of Lena in the hoodie.  I love the way this pic came out!  I adore my gorgeous girl!