Tiny Blue Lace Dress for A Doll, and a Tutorial?

It has been a while since I made anything for my ball jointed dolls, and one particular doll has been waiting a long time for something to wear.

This is Yuna, a 1/6 scale ball jointed doll that I got last November.  Until now the only thing I had made for her to wear was a sweater (see From Socks to Doll Sweaters) to pair with a borrowed dress from one of the other dolls.

But now she has this adorable little blue doll dress to wear.  It is made from a scrap of blue cotton left over from a Halloween costume (see Halloween = Tulle) with a little bit of lace. 

I decorated it with tiny pearl beads and a tiny rosette and ribbon bow.

And for those who have ball jointed dolls this size or similar sized dolls, I have a little treat.  I made a sewing tutorial for this dress on my doll blog.  It includes a free downloadable pattern.  Feel free to check it out.

In addition to the dress, I whipped up a simple little felt bag and a cute lace headband.  The bag is made the same way as the felt doll purses I made last summer (see 5 a Week: Cute Felt Bags for Dolls with a Tutorial).

The headband is just some lace with a bit of elastic at the back.  Super easy to whip up and super pretty.  I think I want to make some more, for me and my dolls.

Overall, it makes for one cute little dolly outfit.  And there are more to come later.

Here’s the updated list:

• coats
• hearts
• organize
• blouse
• outfit

Four down, just one more to go.

Read More »

Bodyline Blouse Review and Re-do or a Lacey Makeover

This post may contain affiliate links, please check out my disclosures page for more info.  Thanks!

A while ago I bought a blouse from a Japanese site, Bodyline.  This is the third one I have bought from them (see Catching Up – A Wee Bit of Online Shopping).  I could not resist it.  The prices for pretty much all of their stuff had dropped drastically.

I manage to buy the blouse (it’s l157 in off-white) and 2 pairs of tights for about $34, that’s including the shipping and about the same amount I would have paid before for just the blouse. 

There were a few snags.

The tights are nice with a pretty color and texture, but one little problem.  They don’t fit.  The legs are too short for me, surprisingly.  But I have plans for that in the future.

Anyway, there is the blouse to deal with.  It is a pretty design with a cute but large collar, and the fabric is decent.

It laces up nicely with ribbon in the back to adjust the fit.  It fits me well, so no problems there.

It has detachable sleeves so I can wear it as a short sleeve blouse in warm weather…

…and have long sleeves in the winter.

The problem is all the lace, that awkward ruffly lace. 

In the product photos it looked more like a lace used in some of their other blouses which I totally love.  This blouse was cursed with a lower quality lace.  And the gathering of the lace and it’s placement only made it looker cheaper, at least to my eyes.  Time for a little makeover.

First I snipped off the lace from the collar.  The collar is quite large and the lace only emphasized that.  So did the rather large ribbon bows which had to go. 

I then removed the lace from the sleeves and from the front.

Here’s the interesting part, instead of replacing that old lace with something new, I reused it in different ways.  I took some of the now flat, unruffled lace and pinned it down the front of the lace in slightly overlapping rows.  Much prettier to look at now.

I also cut some of the lace into thinner strips of lace to use along the edges of the collar and the short sleeves.  Thinner lace is more discreet on a large collar.

After sewing down all that lace by hand, I remade the ribbon bows into smaller and cuter bows (see my video tutorial for making simple bows if you don’t know how).

And now the finished blouse.  It is much better, prettier and easier to pull off.  I just need a pretty new skirt to pair with it, but that’s for another time.

Here’s the updated list:

• coats
• hearts
• organize
• blouse
• outfit

Three down, two more to go.  The next one should be up soon and it will be super cute.  Look forward to it.

Give it a try:

• Prym Dritz Seam Ripper
• Loops &Threads Seam Ripper

Read More »

Pretty Pill Organizer or Another Way to Store Craft Supplies?

This post may contain affiliate links, please check out my disclosures page for more info.  Thanks!

Here’s a nifty idea that I have been dying to try for months.  Decorating a pill organizer to make it cute or pretty.

I got the idea from this video on YouTube.  There’s other ideas there too, but this one stuck out at me.  I almost immediately got a pill organizer from the dollar store and……let it sit around.  Just gathering dust.

But let’s finally gather the supplies and do it. 

I used some gems and flat back pearls, lace, scissors, and two types of glue.  Aleene’s tacky glue and Aleene’s Jewel-it, my favorite glues. :)

The Jewel-it is specially for the gems since that’s what it is designed for, and it does a great job.  The tacky glue is for the lace because it just needs a good strong glue.  You could probably use a glue gun too if you are in a hurry.

Anyway, I just glued the lace around the organizer, being careful not to block the lids for the little compartments.  Oh boy, is that a bad shot.  These photos were taken on a rainy day. :(

Then I added a few pearls and a large gem in the center.  I could have added more, but I wanted something more subtle.  You could also decorate with bows, ribbon, flowers, etc.

Now the final step is to fill it, but I’m not going to fill it with medicine or supplements though that is a good idea.

I’m using it for craft supplies.  These organizers are perfect for storing things like jewelry findings and snaps.  Keeps them secure and neatly organized, in the cutest way possible.

Here’s the updated list:

• coats
• hearts
• organize
• blouse
• outfit

Two down, three more to go.

Give it a try:

• Aleene's Original Tacky Glue 4 oz.
• Aleene's Jewel-It Embellishing Glue 4oz.
• M&J Trimming
• 7 Day Plastic Pill Organizers

Read More »

A-Maze-ing Valentine’s Day

This post may contain affiliate links, please check out my disclosures page for more info.  Thanks!

Finally I have my first project ready to share.

Anyway, I started thinking about Valentine’s day a little too late this year.  So I wanted to possibly give some cute little cards to a few people, but again this is a little late so making something super elaborate wouldn’t work.  But I also didn’t want to just buy a box cards in a store.

Then I thought of mazes.

Many of you already know that I draw mazes and post them on my maze blog.  Last Christmas I made a cute maze to liven up gift cards, so why not make a little something for Valentine’s Day too?  Which means…

Maze Valentines!

I made a cute set of mazes to give out to special people.  And just like with the gift card maze, I made them available to all. 

You can find the download link here on my maze blog.  Feel free to print them and give them away or use them to decorate you gifts.  Get creative, and please share your creations with me.

Here’s the updated list:

• coats
• hearts
• organize
• blouse
• outfit

One down, four more to go.  Look forward to the next project.

Give it a try:

• Recollections® Cardstock Paper Value Pack

Read More »

Up to Thirty-Nine

Things have been busy and tiring here at home and work, hence the lack of anything crafty.  But enough with the silence, it’s time to start crafting again. 

I made a hopefully manageable list of fairly easy to complete crafts.  No excuses now.

Craft Project List #39

• coats
• hearts
• organize
• blouse
• outfit

Yep, just a short list of hopefully short projects to complete.  Time to get started!

Update:  I finished this list.  Yay! Check it out here.

Read More »

New Year’s Resolutions 2016 to 2017

It’s a new year, a time for reflecting on the past and looking forward to the future.  And that means setting goals.

This is something I attempted to do last year (see 2016 New Year's Resolutions), but I wasn’t as good about updating you all about my resolutions (my last update was 9 months ago!).

So here’s how I did:

Make more tutorials

My goal was to make 12 tutorials last year and I made 10.  Two shy, but that’s not too bad. 

Here’s all the tutorials for 2016:

• Lace Twin Hearts Hair Clip Tutorial
• Easy Fitted Bodice or How to Make a Dress for Any Doll
• Lace Rosette Tutorial and Kitties!
• How to Make a Ribbon Bow
• Lace Rosette Shoe Clips Tutorial
• Cute Doll Drawstring Tank Tops Tutorial
• Cute Felt Bags for Dolls Tutorial
• Lace Sandals for Dolls Tutorial
• Doll Head Bands Tutorial Including a Cat Eared Head Band!
• Rhinestone and Pearl Pins, A Quick and Easy Tutorial

 

Reduce craft stash

This one was mostly successful thanks to the basket trick I used (see Major Craft De-Stash, Part 2).  The problem was in staying away from craft stores.  Thanks to that, I think my craft stash is almost a large as it was at the beginning of the year. :(

Exercise and Stretch

I put these two goals on hold to focus on the others, but I found I made some progress on them anyway.  I found myself squeezing in small bits of exercise most days without thinking about it.  And stretching too, especially during slow periods at work.

Save money

I changed this goal from building up my savings account to paying down my credit card.  I’m happy to say that I brought the total balance down to $1000 and should have it completely paid off in less than two months.  Yay!

Clean out my closet

This goal was was successful too because of the basket trick, sort of.  My closet and drawers are full of clothes that I love that actually fit me, and now I can actually close the door.  The problem is I also have bags of clothes that don’t totally fit me, but I love them enough to alter them.  I just need to get to them all.  I at least made some progress on that this year (see Blue Plaid Revisited, a Dress Makeover).

Despite a few issues, I’m pretty happy with how the year turned out.  But now it’s time to look forward. 

So here’s:

My 2017 New Year’s Resolutions

 

Pay off Debt

This one is obvious.  Since I’m so close to paying off that card, I might as well add it to the list.

Say No to New

This one is a little more interesting.  I’ve been thinking a lot about our planet and how much space we take up on it.  When new products are made and purchased the old ones have to go somewhere, and many times this somewhere is landfills. 

I thought to reduce this somewhat in two ways.  First, avoid buying anything unless I really, really need/want it.  This way I have less stuff that occupies valuable space.

The second way is to only buy stuff second hand if possible.  This means searching out items at thrift stores, yard sales, consignment shops, antique stores, etc.  The bonus for this is that I will save money and may end up with more interesting stuff.  Thrift stores and antique shops are full of fun stuff.

Organize and Plan

I’ve been thinking that so much of the stress in my life is somewhat linked to a failure to plan things out and organize them.  True I’m good at making to-do lists for crafts and stuff, but I think I need to go a bit further than that. I’ve got a lot of stuff in my life to juggle around, and as I get older I will probably gain more to juggle.

So I’m starting out in search of a system that works for me to plan out everything in my life.  From blog posts to birthdays, work schedules to workouts.  I intend to keep it all in order so I don’t end up pulling my hair out toward the end of each week.

And that’s it.  I’m keeping the resolutions short and sweet this year.  Doing too many makes it too overwhelming, just failure waiting to happen.

What about you?  Got any goals for this year?  Let’s work on them together!

Read More »