Tiny dress

Here's the dress I made from one of the patterns in Hankie Couture. I altered the bodice, so I could add beaded straps (which I will do when I have a spare moment). I didn't make the doll, but purchased her from an artist on ebay- neverland43. She reminds me of a borrower!

Let's make some doll clothes!

Hi! Today's craft obsession ( because I always have one!) is making doll clothes. Azalea and I love dolls and have, well, a mess of them, in a staggering array of sizes and brands. We're trying to curb the addiction, but only a little. Anyway, we added the new book Doll Couture by Marsha Greenberg to our craft book collection. Let's take a look.

The first thing I noticed about this book was the variety of outfits and the unique use of vintage handkerchiefs. 

I like the use of doilies as well. Of course, if you don't have a stash of hankies, you could use quilting fabric. The dresses are built from simple shapes and adorned with trims and bias tape, ribbon flowers and tiny buttons.

I had the idea of altering the patterns to fit my ball jointed dolls, since the pattern shapes seem simple enough to just reduce. This book has a lot more patterns then the authors previous book, Hankie Couture. That one has a few base patterns, very simple to trace onto paper towels to get started. It's for Barbie sized dolls, but these are easy to alter to fit other dolls ( I made a variation to fit my dollhouse sized doll).

While both books utilize interesting fabrics and have some good tips for tiny sewing, Hankie Couture has much easier items to finish. 

I was impressed with how many variations the author could get out of a couple of base patterns. Also, the finishing in both books is very nice, I love it when doll clothes are made beautifully. We enjoyed getting inspiration from both books and recommend them for an afternoon of sewing happiness. 

Here's where to get a copy:

http://www.runningpress.com/book/paperback/doll-couture/9780762453726

Small items

Hi! Here's a little sculpture I made out of polymer clay, to be cast in resin. I think I'll try to get an ivory or porcelain looking resin, so it has an antique quality. I haven't decided if I should add more details to the head, like a crown or head dress. Anyway, it was fun to carve.

This cute little dragon-eyed goldfish will become a pin in resin, I think. Although greg thinks it would look better in pewter. I'm hoping to have a bunch of new, small items to sell at Designer Con, this November in Pasadena. I will be sharing a booth with Jeremiah Ketner and his lovely paintings. I can't wait to go!