Good Day for Crafting

Don’t you just love Mondays.  Well today I do, I finished the rest of my projects today.  I said I would didn’t I?  Just don’t ask how much progress I’ve made on my studies.

First up, this is a Barbie doll that used to belong to my niece.  She didn’t want it anymore and I seem to be a sucker for forlorn looking dolls.  Well, there’s nothing more fun than fixing them up right?  

So, here’s the before…

…And after.  

She was easy to clean up except for that hair.  It took a ton of conditioner to smooth out that rat’s nest.  I decided not to give her a hair cut, though it was tempting.  

Looking at her long flowing hair, I envisioned flowers.  So I whipped up the wreath using tiny fake ones leftover from another project along with some wire.  Then I whipped up a dress that I thought would look good with the flowers.  I used the same fabric as I did for that doll dress in my last post, I did have tons of it leftover.  I made a strapless dress because it seems more light and airy, like spring.  

So now I have a “Spring Princess” doll.  You think my niece will want it back now?

Next, remember those simple $1 gloves I tweaked (see More Pretty Stuff)?  Well after about two winter seasons, they weren’t looking too good.  Trust me, they look way worse than in this photo.  I wanted to find a way to recycle them into something that is cute and could possibly be used in the spring weather too.

The solution?  These fingerless gloves, as modeled by my niece.  The fingers are the first things to wear out I any of my gloves, so why not just chop them off?  Beyond that, all it took was some lace and a lot of zig-zag stitching to transform them.  Now all I have to do is figure out what to do with them when their wear out again. 

Last but not least, these tiny plushies.  I got the idea somewhere to make tinny-tiny little plushies.  I think from a book, but I don’t remember.  

Anyway, I used some of my stash of fleece scraps and some googly eyes to make them.  They are basically two pieces cut in simple shapes, zig-zag stitched around, then stuff and stitched shut.  Finish up by gluing on the eyes, then quickly make some more.  They are after all really fun to make. 

The larger ones are about 2 inches tall and the smaller baby ones are about an inch.  They kind of remind me of the those ghost things from Pac man.  Maybe that’s why they seem so adorable to me.  

Anyway, I still need to think of what else to do with them.  I was thinking of making some key chains with them, or maybe some pencil toppers.  Decisions, decisions.

Here’s the updated list:

• Floral bag
• Wreath
• Doll
• Top
• Doll dress
• Gloves
• Black purse
• Tiny plushies
• Tiny “men” clothes

Nine down and out.  Now nothing to worry about but those pesky tests and school work.

Read More »

More Lace and Excuses

It’s kind of funny.  I said before that I would post the next project “this Thursday”, and by that I certainly did not mean two weeks from Thursday.  But that’s precisely what has happen.  The excuse?  More like excuses.  First, I had several projects for school to work on including a few “surprise” ones.  Throw in the end of Tax Season which meant being slightly busier at work for a period.  And the biggest and saddest excuse of them all.  A game.  I found a free RPG and since it had been some time since I played one I thought I would try it out a little.  It’s called Ahriman’s Prophecy and it’s surprisingly addictive.  See for yourself if you don’t believe me, you can download it here.      

Anyway, using that floral print fabric, I have made a skirt, a dress, and a bag.  So now here’s the final piece from it, a sleeve-less top.  It’s great because I can wear it together with the skirt sort of like a dress, or with other pieces to avoid blinding people with too much matchy-matchy-ness.  It has shirring in the back so I can pull it on easily and breath easily.  Still are some little quirks to it.  I made the straps slightly too long which isn’t too bad since I “fixed” them.  It just baffles me, I was so sure I measured them properly.  Also, I like the ruffle at the bottom but I can’t help but think that it might not be the most flattering place to stick a ruffle.  Otherwise I am satisfied with the way this came out.

Continuing on, remember Jenny, my Our Generation doll?  She’s the model for this pretty and dressy new dress I made using another commercial doll clothes pattern.  The fabric was an old remnant I got from my mom.  It’s from a stack that she dumped on me, perfect for making doll clothes.  Anyway, I do love how pretty it is, even if it was a pain to sew.  The fabric is so slippery, my poor sewing machine.  Anyway, the pattern was a cinch to use, the only problem with it is that I think the skirt would look better if it was a little shorter.  Same with the sleeves.  Other than that, I love the dress.  I kind of reminds me of a flower girl dress for a wedding.  Maybe I should make some accessories to go with it.  That would be cute right?

This last one is a bag idea I sort of tried before, but in white.  Basically covering the pieces for the bag with rolls of lace before sewing them.  This one I used black lace that is considerably wider than the white lace I used before, so it was noticeably faster to make.  A few other differences with this one is that instead of a zipper to close I used a clasp I ripped from another bag I didn’t like anymore.  Also, with the white bag I made the strap by twisting strands of lace into a cord.  With this one I just folded the lace in half and sewed.  The lace is the perfect width for that, plus it helps to show off the design of the lace.  Over all I’d say it came out well, although I guess it is kind of strange to be making a black bag when it is getting closer and closer to summer.

Here’s the updated list:

• Floral bag
• Wreath
• Doll
• Top
• Doll dress
• Gloves
• Black purse
• Tiny plushies
• Tiny “men” clothes

Six down, just three more to go.  I should have the rest done by Monday at the latest, I mean it this time.  Also,  I should warn you that the next project list will probably up a little later then expected (expected date is the first of May).  I have a quiz, two major tests, and finals coming up in the next two weeks.  Enough said.

Read More »

The Finishing Touch, and Some Menswear

I was going to post this yesterday, but after waking up early and attending and singing for two church services, I was exhausted. 
Anyway, I mentioned before that the first two projects on my list needed to be done by the end of the week.  Rest assured I did finish them right on time.

The first is this little bitty bag.  I have already used this fabric to make a skirt and a dress and there is still more than enough to make another skirt or something.  So I thought I might as well make a matching purse to go with all these somethings.  It is about 7 inches in diameter, small enough to fit under my choir robe.  It was a perfect edition to my Easter outfit yesterday.

And the second project was the finishing touch to my Easter outfit, a wreath for my hair.  I had a different idea for it in mind, but that plan kind of fell flat.  This is plan B, take wire stem roses and twist them together to form a ring.  Then wrap green ribbon around to cover the wired part.  Loop on long hanging ribbons and it’s ready to wear.  It barely took 10 minutes to make, but it made quite an impression yesterday.

I got one other project finished this week, clothing for a “man”.  I wanted to make some doll clothes for my nephew, “Ken” doll sized ones.  It presented a slight challenge for me.  The clothes had to be just right to fit a Ken doll, be easy for my nephew to take off and put back on, plus look like something a guy would actually wear.  Sadly this meant no lace.  This translated to a pair of yellow elastic waist shorts, a white open top with a tank underneath and a blue messenger bag.  All easy to slide on and official approved by my nephew.  The shorts I made based on a store-bought pair I had lying around.  They are actually pretty quick and easy to make once you figure out how to do it.  There may be more in the future.  Much more.  By the way, the doll in the picture isn’t my nephew’s it is one of mine.  I got it years ago from one of my nieces,  She didn’t want it because the head kept on popping of which creeped her out.  I traded it for a doll with a more secure head, problem solved.
Here’s the updated list:

• Floral bag
• Wreath
• Doll
• Top
• Doll dress
• Gloves
• Black purse
• Tiny plushies
• Tiny “men” clothes

Three down, six  to go. The next one should be up by this Thursday.

Read More »

Story Time: Strange Auntie

There once was a little girl who had an aunt whom she called Auntie.  She loved her Auntie very much.  Auntie lived close enough for the little girl to walk over all by herself and that’s what the girl did, every day.  The little girl loved it at Auntie’s house.  In the small yard there was a garden full of the most interesting and unusual plants she had ever seen.  Inside, you could see all of Auntie’s dolls.  They were all so very beautiful and sometimes Auntie let the little girl play with some of them if she promised to be very careful.  Auntie had a room that was full of almost nothing but books about practically everything there is, at least the little girl thought so.  The little girl loved Auntie’s sewing room the most.  Auntie made all her clothes there and they were the best.  So colorful and flow-y, she looked like some of the flowers in the garden.  “Auntie Flower”, the little girl thought with a smile.  Auntie also cooked foods she had never heard of but were always good, made up funny stories that made the little girl laugh until her stomach hurt, and let her play with Ferdinand, her pet ferret.  It was always so much fun at Auntie’s house.

One day when the little girl was on her way to Auntie’s, she passed by some bigger kids.  They were talking about the little girl’s Auntie which made her happy at first, until she realized what they were saying.  They were saying how weird Auntie was and that her house was kind of creepy.  The little girl was shocked.  No one had ever told her that her Auntie was “weird”.  She didn’t want to have a weird aunt.  So she ran the rest of the way to Auntie’s house and told her what the kids said.  Auntie thought for a moment, and then with a small smile said “I love you so much that I will change for you, but what should I change?”  Then she thought again.  “Should I stop collecting my beautiful dolls?” asked Auntie.  The little thought about this, then replied, “no, I love that about you.”  With a grin Auntie asked, “should I stop making all my lovely clothes?”  To this again the little girl replied, “no, I love that about you.”  This continued on and on.  For everything Auntie asked, the little girl had the same reply.  Until finally Auntie asked, “is there anything else I can change?”  The little girl tried to think of something, but couldn’t.  That was everything.  Then the girl said, “no, because I love you just as you are.”  Auntie was happy to hear this and so was the little girl.  Having a “weird” Auntie isn’t a bad thing after all.

Read More »

Up to Twenty-six

March sure went by fast.  Now it’s April 1st and time for my new list.
Project List #26

• Floral bag
• Wreath
• Doll
• Top
• Doll dress
• Gloves
• Black purse
• Tiny plushies
• Tiny “men” clothes

I will of course have them all done by the end of the month.  The first couple will need to done before the end of the week.  The last project will be a challenge for me, you will see why soon.

Read More »