Old and New Dolls

In case it isn’t totally obvious from the numerous posts on dolls and doll clothes, I love dolls and sort of collect them.  I recently added two new “friends” to my collection that I have yet to mention until now.

I was very excited about this one.  It’s an American Girl doll, Kirsten to be exact.  I found her at Goodwill last week for only 3 dollars.  Score!  I mean they are sold for like 100 dollars new, I don’t know about you but I prefer 3 dollars to 100.  Plus since I was little I kind of wanted one, but yeah, really expensive for a play doll.  I can sort of see the point of the price though, her hair is a wig instead of rooted hair like on most dolls and it’s really nice.  Her body feels surprisingly heavy and is very pose-able.  There are signs that she has been played with, (smudges on the limbs, stain on her dress which is hand wash only) but she still looks really good.   Basically she’s the kind of doll you could give to a small child without fear of her breaking it in a week.  She just needs a little cleaning and a new pair of shoes. 

This one I had been looking forward to for a while.  She’s a Monster High doll.  Draculaura from the Dead Sleep line, hence the pajamas.  Basically she’s a cute vampire who likes pink.  I got her from Wal-Mart.com for about 10 dollars, Wal-Mart does have some of the best prices on these dolls especially compared to eBay.  These dolls are incredibly detailed from their interestingly designed heads down to their lovely fingers and toes.  Plus they are the most pose-able fashion dolls I have ever seen.  She can bend and turn in her knees, rotate her wrists, flex her arms, etc.  They have very fine joints, this is also part of the problem with these dolls.  The joints are also sort of delicate, not so much that they break if you so much as look at them, but they may not be suitable for younger children.  The age on the box says 6 and up and I think that might be too low, but then again it probably depends on the child.  Actually another problem is with how some people view this, I have seen reviews on Monster high dolls where people claim that the dolls are cheap, low-quality, and even over-priced due to the fact that their kids broke them so quickly.  Being fragile and being cheap are two different things.  I’ve seen porcelain dolls in stores labeled as being for children, if one of these got broken by a child who played with it would it be considered a “cheap” doll?  I guess it’s really a matter of whether or not you child knows how to take care of their dolls and behaves accordingly.  A child who throws toys should not have a porcelain doll, and a child who’s Barbie dolls are missing parts and have frazzled hair should not get a Monster High doll.  Maybe try one of those pricey American Girl dolls.  But maybe I’m overthinking all of this, what do you think?

Read More »

Fairy?

Not sure if I mentioned this before, but I found this doll at a Goodwill that was closing last summer.  She was interesting and only about 99 cents so I took a chance on her.  She kind of looked like she was suppose to be some sort of fairy doll, but I’m not sure which.  It says “Disney” on her back and head.  Anyway, she definitely needed some work, but that’s part of the fun of getting old dolls.



Before, her hair was matted and tangled with frazzled bits.  She was a little dirty with a bad hip.  And of course she had no clothes, do thrift stores purposely sell fashion dolls without their clothes or do people really donate them all like this?



After, I cleaned her up and trimmed and styled her hair.  I made her this lovely dress though it came out differently than I planned.  No worries, I like it better this way.  It’s trimmed with ribbon that has embroidered blue flowers on it.



Going along with the blue theme, I added some small blue flowers to her hair.  Now she looks like a pretty elf or something along those lines.
Here’s the updated list:

• Bags
• Bracelets
• Barrettes
• Doll pajamas
• Doll makeover
• Wristbands
• Red skirt
• Ears
• Costume
• Handkerchiefs

Eight down, just two more to go.  The next project should be up by Wednesday or Thursday.

Read More »

Oops, I forgot.

I forgot to mention this here, but I signed up for a pinterest account.  Just what I need right?  Another account that needs to be “maintained” regularly.  I just wanted to try it out, so many people I know have been raving about.  However, most people seem to think of Pinterest as a way to promote oneself.  I guess it sort of works for that, but I'm using it more as an organization tool.  That is was it was created for, I think.  For example, let’s say I wanted to get a jump on my project list for Christmas.  I just set up a board for it and pin all the cute Christmassy tutorials I find everywhere.  I’ll have them all conveniently in one spot.  Works pretty well that way for me, how about you?  What do you use Pinterest for?

Read More »

Plaid and Crochet for Dummies

I found some red plaid fabric at a thrift store a while back, I can’t remember which one.  Anyway, I thought it would be perfect for a skirt even if it is sort of a cliché, the plaid skirt.



I tried the same pattern as the skirt I made for class (see It's So Huge).  I think it came out better this time, however the picture came out worse.  Yep, I have some skills with a camera.



Here’s a closer look at the matching accessories.  I thought of adding pockets to the skirt, but changed my mind while cutting the fabric for them.  I made them into a tiny bag instead.  My bags seem to be getting smaller and smaller for good reason.  As I mentioned before, smaller bags are better for choir since they fit under the robe.



And here’s the hair bow.  I realized that it’s been so long since I’ve made bows for my hair and the plaid looks good as a bow, so obviously I just had to make one.  I glued it to a hair comb since they seem to be more versatile than clips.



As a bonus, I also finished the wristbands on my list.  I realized it’s been quite some time since I crocheted anything, so I thought I should try to make something. Wristbands were perfect because they don’t require quite much skill, which I lack, or a pattern which I can’t read anyway.  That’s right, I can’t read crochet patterns.  Anyway, they simply tie on my wrist and have pink ribbon to make them cuter.  I just threaded the ribbon on a large needle and sort of weaved it on the wristbands after finishing them.  Adds a nice touch, right?

Here’s the updated list:

• Bags
• Bracelets
• Barrettes
• Doll pajamas
• Doll makeover
• Wristbands
• Red skirt
• Ears
• Costume
• Handkerchiefs

Seven down, just three more to go.  The next one should be up by Monday.

Read More »

Tiny Jim-Jams

Due to recent trips to different thrift stores, I have assembled a decent collection of cute fabric remnants.  Two of these were of the softest, cutest material and best suited for pajamas.  But who could wear pajamas made from a remnant?

How about our favorite 18 inch doll, Jenny?  Here she is wearing a pair of pajama pants made with a print featuring mushrooms and flowers.  She is holding the extra pair, there was plenty of fabric and I thought an extra pair would come in handy.

The other remnant was a simple floral print and it wasn’t large enough for more than one pair of pants.  However, there was enough to whip up a quick tank top to match.  All she needs now is a blanket and slippers and it’d be perfect.  Maybe later.
Here’s the updated list:

• Bags
• Bracelets
• Barrettes
• Doll pajamas
• Doll makeover
• Wristbands
• Red skirt
• Ears
• Costume
• Handkerchiefs

Five down, five to go.  The next one should be up this Friday, I hope.

Read More »

Hair Accessories Again? A Tutorial

One can never have too many hair accessories, especially someone like myself who can’t really do anything with hair except brush it and stick a clip in it.  And these were so pretty, I decided to show you all how to do them. 

Yep, another tutorial.  This one is for a large lacey barrette with flowers.  At least I think it’s a barrette. 

Anyway, you will need:

• Large barrettes or other clips and such if you prefer.
• Fake roses or other flowers.
• Lace, good chance to use up some of your leftovers.
• Premade bows if you wish or other embellishments of your choosing.
• A decent glue, I used Aleene’s Jewel-it again.
• Scissors
• Felt scraps in colors that match your flowers, bows, etc.
• A threaded needle, could be optional depending on your lace.

First, cut your felt in a long oval shape about as long as your barrette/clip/whatever.  This will be used as a base so it doesn’t really have to be perfect.

Start sewing the lace to edge of the felt.  You could try gluing it on instead, but I wouldn’t recommend it.  It depends on your lace and how easy it is to work with.

Should look something like this, sort of like a little rug.

For the flowers, I used roses with wire stems and had to cut the stems off.  This way they can be glued down easily.

About six roses are all that are really necessary.

Arrange your flowers on the felt base how you want them before gluing them securely in place.

If you choose to do so, you can glue some bows on the edge or anything else you like.  Charms, ribbons, whatever works. 

You should probably wait about 10 minutes for the glue to dry before this last step (go make a sandwich or something).  Simply flip the whole thing over and glue it to the barrette/clip.  Then set it to dry somewhere safe.

Now you have a lovely new hair piece that didn’t take long at all to make, except for drying time. 

I made two, one pink and one white.  They kind of look like something for a wedding or Easter though, maybe if the flowers were a different color or type.   Like mums for Fall and holly for Christmas.

Here’s the updated list:

• Bags
• Bracelets
• Barrettes
• Doll pajamas
• Doll makeover
• Wristbands
• Red skirt
• Ears
• Costume
• Handkerchiefs

Four down, Six to go. The next project should be up by Wednesday.  Why do I always seem to finish on Wednesdays?

Update: I made an easy tutorial for small ribbon bows that would be perfect to use instead of the premade ones.  Feel free to check it out.

Read More »