Dolly Haul

Some more items I received to add to my incoming Mi's hoard. I'm going to have to build a bigger closet soon enough!

First up on the list is the wig I ordered from Funnylori/Unstrung Hero BJD. As always it arrived promptly and is really quite lovely. The fur was suggested to be challenging, but honestly I'm not too worried about it. It's even tamer than I expected, and I've worked with similar wigs before. It's a nice brown with lighter tips, which is the look I'm going for. I've also started working on a wig that is brown and white, as the character has primarily brown hair with some lighter pieces throughout. So this wig will work nicely.







The next item I received is the necklace from Vanilla Mint Designs that I had mentioned last week.
It's even lovelier in person, especially with the way the beads shine. It appears to be very well made, and I am eager to try it out on Mi once she arrives. Shipping was quite prompt and it arrived nicely packaged. My only potential complaint was that it didn't ship with tracking, which is a little odd as I've rarely come across a seller who doesn't. I prefer to have it as the mail often works in mysterious ways, but at least in this situation it worked out well.











The final two items came from the same seller off of Den of Angels. The boots I purchased because they were inexpensive but cute, and would work well for a few of the outfits I have in mind. They are fairly stained on the heels/soles (which I was well aware of), so I think I will be reworking them a bit to cover those spots. It's hard to tell in photos, but they're actually a nice sparkly purple, especially when the light hits them.








The final item is a pretty knitted cloak that has a distinctly mori* feel to it. I think it will work well with some of the other outfit pieces I have already, along with some things I am currently waiting on and working on. The pin is also removable which is nice in case I want to use either item without the other.

Dolly Sewing: Crop Top, Plaid Shirt, and Harness

The new girl does tend to wear a lot of dresses, both due to her personal style and my own wish to put her in them. However, she also needs some more laid back elements to her wardrobe both for alternatives and due to story elements. One such item is her plaid shirt, which according to her story she "borrows" from her father. Initially I looked to purchase a shirt, but I couldn't quite find the right one. Most had silver threads or strange designs, which wouldn't do. So I decided to craft my own instead. This was a bit intimidating as I wanted it to be fairly accurate to real plaid shirts (with the various overlaid fabric pieces, cuffs, and working buttons. This is the finished product, which I'm particularly happy with!

The plaid shirt here is shown over the other two items I'v recently made: a white crop top and an elastic harness. I love how harnesses look and feel (I own a few myself!), and I thought it would work well for my girl's style. It's hard to show this without having it on the doll, but this gives you the gist. Once she arrives I will take some photos of her in it as well.

A Fox of My Very Own

But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world....
~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

I recently watched  The Little Prince movie, and I immediately fell in love. I have never read The Little Prince before, but this movie pulled me into its world and convinced me that I need to. It reminded me a great deal of Coraline, and even a bit of Paranorman in some ways although it was created by a different studio. The animation was very well done, the plot and action suited the story, and the music was beautiful. 

The story follows along with The Little Girl who lives in a boring, grey, predictable world. She is struggling with growing up and the pressures her mother places on her future. She meets the Aviator by chance, as the older gentleman accidentally shoots the propeller of his plane into her house. The two connect, and he shares the story of The Little Prince with her. Of course adventures ensue, with a mix of real world and fantasy that come together in a wonderful fashion. If you have a chance to watch it, I absolutely recommend it.

While watching the movie, I was charmed by the fox toy that The Little Girl finds in The Aviator's house. He was very cute, and I have a weakness for fox plushies (as evident by my growing collection of Nick Wilde plush...), so I thought I would try and make my own.  He is a little different than the fox from the film as I couldn't find the exact fabric, and I wanted to tweak a few things. I will also probably switch out the current buttons for something slightly different in the future, but overall I'm really pleased with how he turned out.

I drew up the pattern myself, taking into account that he was mostly a tube with legs and a tail. If I make another one in the future, I will shorten his torso more as I do think it turned out a bit too long. I would also adjust his tail attachment as it currently does not allow him to sit very well. I would also probably add weight to his bottom/legs for this purpose as well. For his back I chose to do nine stars rather than a full coverage pattern as nine is my favorite number and it was simpler to sew a set amount. Overall I think his ears were the hardest part, and I would certainly tweak that part of the pattern in the future.

Some photos for size reference, he's actually quite big! He also does jingle like the fox in the film as I added a small pocket of bells to his head. So when you tilt him this way or that, there's a soft tinkling sound.

Dolly Shopping

More dolly shopping!

I'm mostly trying to limit my dolly shopping to items I can't make, or ones that would at least be more cumbersome to create in my current set up. Since I'm currently hand sewing everything (until/if I get my machine out of storage), I have steered away from some larger items and super stretchy fabrics. I did want at least one pair of leggings for the new girl, so I've been browsing on line to see what might work.

These ones from Star Shine Designs immediately jumped out at me because...well just look at them! Amazing Halloween print that is in scale mind you, and fits the SD13 range. These may take 2-3 weeks to be made, so they may arrive after the new girl does, but they will be worth the wait I'm sure. I've been admiring designs from this Etsy shop for some time, bookmarking various listings (especially the MSD ones!) for future planning. I couldn't resist jumping on these though lest they slip through my fingers.

The second item I purchased was another one off my Etsy wish list that I'd come back to several times over. It's a lovely SD sized necklace of Czech glass and opal made by Vanilla Mint Designs. I'm particularly fond of opals myself (they happen to be my best friend's birthstone), and this necklace is quite pretty. My dolls don't often wear a lot of jewelry, but each usually has at least one piece. This seems fitting for the new girl as it's pretty, but not overly sparkly or "loud."

I shall make sure to review these items/shops once they arrive!

More dolly sewing!

The dolly sewing binge continues!

I envisioned this set once I saw the skirt fabric, as I couldn't help but see a Halloween-themed Wednesday Addams look. The two pieces are separate, which means the shirt can be worn with other items as well. I also made another similar skirt out of some lace fabric which of course I forgot to take a photo of. It would require leggings or tights of some kind underneath it though as it is somewhat sheer. More photos of that to come!

Dolly Closet

 Lately I've been suffering from a bout of insomnia that's been bad for my waking hours, but fantastic for cleaning and crafting! The other night I decided I wanted to create a dolly closet of sorts so that I could display the new girl's clothes. This was the 3am brainchild of wrapping paper, a shoe box, a plastic balloon stick, and some felt. Oh, and a lot of double-sided tape. I added the flowers after the fact, and they work well as a stopper for the bar. It's more of a temporary set up, but I quite like how cute it looks. I made the hangers out of cardboard as well, and added some little clips for the skirt. I will be making some more clothes so that hopefully I can fill up the whole "closet" before she arrives.




Another image showing the little shoes on top. I think this looks so cute! I definitely want to make a better executed one with different materials in the future.

Doll Sewing: Starry Night Dress

I just finished making this dress for the incoming girl, and while it's not exactly her style, I'm quite happy with it.

Back of the dress with the cape/train detail.