Doll Dresses for All, With a Tutorial

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I originally intended to post this last Friday, but realized it would be better to post today instead.  I will explain why in a second.

Anyway, for the next project on my list, I made…

…doll dresses!

I of course made one for my ball jointed doll (you can see “her” reaction to it here), but I also made some for another doll.

This is an Ever After High doll that belongs to my niece.  She has two of them plus a Monster High doll, and all three have the same ultra slim figure and are in bad need for clothing.  I have made cute dresses for my own Monster High dolls before (see Dressed Duo and Red Shoes), so I thought I could make similar dresses for her dolls.

Today is actually my niece’s birthday, and since she is now about old enough to actually read my blog, it would probably ruin the surprise if I had posted this sooner.

So here’s all the dresses I made, except for the one for my doll.  I used the same easy bodice for all of them, just with different skirts and simple embellishments.  The fabric came from two large scraps I had leftover from some dresses I made (see Catching Up - Conventions Anyone? and Time for Some Catching Up).

And since I figured other people might have the same problem of having dolls with unique figures and no clothes to fit, I made a video tutorial for my doll dresses.  It shows how to make dresses to fit practically any doll.

Enjoy!

Here’s the updated list:

• Covers
• Bag
• Jacket and Skirt
• Hearts
• Little Dresses

Two down, three more to go.   The next one should be up by Sunday, possibly sooner.  Look forward to it.

Update 1/7/2018:

Now for those who want to make a doll dress, but are short on time (or patience), there is my new Turbo Version.  The same easy doll dress tutorial video, but half the time to watch.

Enjoy!

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Lace Twin Hearts Hair Clip, A Tutorial

After putting it off too long, I finally finished a project from my list.  And it’s a tutorial too.  Yay!  And a video.  Double Yay!

I call it the Lace Twin Hearts Hair Clip.  Perfect for Valentine’s Day, or anytime you feel like wearing a pretty heart on your head.

All you need are:

• Felt
• Pretty Lace
• A Needle and Matching Thread
• Scissors
• A Clip
• Pins
• Glue gun or fabric/craft glue
• A scrap of paper

Now for the video.

Enjoy. :)

Here’s the updated list:

• Covers
• Bag
• Jacket and Skirt
• Hearts
• Little Dresses

One down, four more to go.  I’m hoping to have the next one up by Friday.  Look forward to it.

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Valentine’s Day on Pinterest 2016 Edition

Valentine’s Day is almost here!  In almost two weeks!

As always, I have created a Pinterest Board for this lovely holiday as with most other holidays for this year.  Also as always, I had pretty much forgotten about it until now.

So here it is:

My 2016 Valentine’s Day Pinterest Board

Some highlights:

• Star Wars Valentine Cards!  Free Printable
• Hershey's Kisses Mice
• Vintage Valentine Silhouette, Free Clip Art

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Up to Thirty Four

Long story short, I made another craft project list over a week ago and forgot to even post it let alone actually start working on it.  So here it is:

Project List #34

• Covers
• Bag
• Jacket and Skirt
• Hearts
• Little Dresses

Short but sweet.  Now time to get cracking.

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2016 Resolutions Update: Round 1

It’s now more than two weeks into the new year.  I thought it was about time to report how I’m doing on my resolutions (see 2016 New Year's Resolutions).

Make more tutorials - Haven’t made any so far but I am in the process of making three, they are still in the planning stage though.  Look forward to them.

Reduce craft stash – Sadly, the only thing I have done so far for this one is to stay out of all craft stores.

Exercise – I have managed to squeeze in a quick 15 minute run after work 3 times my first week and two times my second week.

Stretch –  I’m doing terribly for this one.  I managed to do some stretching after running, but not the 10 minutes worth for my goal.

Save money – I had a set back on this one, a couple of them actually.  It’s called Christmas clearances and one very particular holiday sale.  That holiday sale was the real killer.  I won’t say what I bought since it will be quite a while before I receive it.  In the meantime I’ve been using it as motivation to help with my spending.  Whenever I see something cute in a store I choose not to buy it becasue I already bought something big and I shouldn’t really need anything else.  Nothing like guilt to keep you on track.

Clean out my closet – I have made progress on this goal quite easily.  I develop a method of organising.  I call it the basket trick.

To do it, just grab a laundry basket and head to your messy closet or cabinet.  Grab a bunch of stuff from it and dump it in the basket.  You will now sort through only the stuff in the basket and completely ignore everything else in the closet or cabinet. 

The point is to break up the big task of cleaning out the closet into smaller easier tasks.

Here’s my first basket.  Full of clothes from my closet ready to be dealt with.

Here you see I’ve sorted it in three piles.  The top left pile is stuff that I simply don’t want.  The top left pile is stuff that need to be altered or fixed that I still like enough to attempt, for now.  The bottom is the pile of stuff that I am actually keeping.

Here are the same piles properly contained.  The few items to keep are back in the basket.  The to-fix items are in an orange tote bag specifically for that purpose.  And the unwanted items are in a plastic grocery bag ready to be given away or donated.

Here’s the second basket, attempted a few days later.  This one wasn’t as full as the first because I didn’t have as much time to conquer it, but that’s okay.

Now sorted.  The pile on the left is the unwanted stuff, the middle is the to-fix stuff and the last pile is the stuff that I can put back in my closet.

Now contained.  The fix-it bag is starting to look awfully full.  I don’t actually intend to start working on the fixing or anything until after I’ve finished sorting the entire closet.  I want to re-sort it all to see if I still actually want to bother fixing and altering everything in there.

The third basket I attempted last week. 

Sadly the results weren’t as good for this one.  I’m keeping half the basket.  The two piles outside the basket are the fix-it pile and a very tiny pile consisting of two unwanted items.

All baged up.  I now have two full bags of mending.  And that’s the third bag of unwanted clothes and it’s barely half full.

Overall, it’s a good start to cleaning out my closet.  I need to go through approximately six more baskets to have it completely sorted.  Then I want to use the basket trick for my craft stash.  Wish me luck.

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Another Late Post: Black Friday Thrifting

I meant to post this well over two months ago, but things tend to happen, like Christmas.  Oh well.

Epic Thrift had another bag sale on Black Friday that I just had to check out.  This makes for the third bag sale I’ve gone to of theirs (see It's in the Bag! and Bagging it on Black Friday).

Behold!  The contents of my bag.  Looks pretty good right?

Here are few of my favorite items.

On the top left is a tarnished silver tray of some sort, I’m sure it will look great cleaned up. 

The top right is a small glass box, possibly for jewelry or candy.  The other three items are another little box and a couple of tiny vases.  The blue one looks like a smaller version of one I got years ago at a yard sale.

It’s hard to go to a thrift store and not find decent dishware.  I found two different sets of plates, plain white and a set with simple blue flowers. 

I also found a bowl.  I like bowls like this.  Good size, simple and cute design, easy to wash, and microwave safe. 

And a I got this cute mug, perfect for my tea.  I prefer drinking from a mug instead of a tea cup since they hold more and are less fragile but still pretty.  At least the mugs I use are pretty.

Now for clothes.  I thought these two blouses would be perfect to go with all my the dresses and skirts I make.  The one on the right has embroidered eyelets all over it and the one on the left is covered with pretty lace and other details.

I know it’s wintery and cold out, but you have to ignore the season sometimes to get a good deal on clothes.   Especially when it comes to these two tanks tops. 

The black one will be great and super comfy for next summer but the blue is actually good now.  It has pretty lace and ruffles and it looks great worn over long sleeve tops.

Long sleeved such as these knits.  The white sweater on the left I actually have already worn with that blue top.  They are perfect together. 

The pink cardigan I am not sure about though.  It is cute and I love cable knit sweaters, but it’s made with rabbit hair.  Not sure how I feel about that.

So many cute tops and sweaters, just need a couple of cute skirts to go with them.  Both of them are black and ruffly, though the one on the left is super ruffly.

Here are some more casual looking clothes.  Just a few t-shirts, several pairs of shorts because I needed more, and a few tanks tops including some pink ones.  It’s a good idea to stock up on things like this at bag sales since they take very little space in the bag and you always seem to need more.

Now the last few pieces.  On the left is a cute night gown covered with bunnies and other little animals, also a pair of pink Mickey Mouse pajama pants.  Yay! Cute comfy sleepwear.

On the right is a Hello Kitty make up bag and a Sanrio pocket planner.  I actually didn’t know it was a planner when I found it.  I just thought it was cute and could slip easily in the side of my bag. 

On the top right is a lunch bag.  That’s right, it’s a lunch bag though it would make a cute purse.  It has polka dots and has a cupcake shaped pocket on the side.  The main reason I got it was to shove other stuff in it.  I thought that if I rolled up t-shirts and stuff really tightly and crammed them in it, then the lunch bag could help keep them squashed down and take up less space in my bag.  Makes sense right?

Some to tally it up:

• 4 pairs of shorts
• 3 t-shirts
• 2 blouses
• 3 tank tops
• 2 dressy tank tops
• 2 sweaters
• 1 pair pajama pants
• 1 night gown
• 1 mug
• 1 bowl
• 2 jewelry boxes
• 2 small vases
• 1 platter
• 2 cute bags
• 6 plates
• 7 knives
• 1 cute day planner
• 1 small blanket
• 1 sheet
• 1 framed art print

44 items total, valued at over $120 at thrift store prices, and again it only cost me $20.  Pretty good haul.

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