"Mmmmm warm..."
I think they want some of their own, it's a bit chilly outside. Excuse the bad lighting, again, as I said chilly. Strictly indoor pics today.
Of course cold days mean warm snuggles...
Happy Holidays!
Sunday, December 18, 2016
Sunday, December 11, 2016
For Christmas... mini Blythes!
Decided to fool around with some Click Chicks (those little puzzle dolls you get from gumball machines for about 50 cents) and created some mini Blythes for my girls, I tried to give them that Junie Moon flair, I think they are rather cute. They were pretty time consuming to make (so... so tiny...) but well worth it. I think they are awfully cute, and my gals seem to enjoy them too :D If anyone is wanting to make there own...
A single piece of scrap booking paper (about 79 cents at Joann's) Made about 4 little Blythe like boxes and backer paper for the little dolls. The pattern is from Dr Blythenstien and can be found HERE I did a bit of adjusting so that they would be a good fit for the Click Chicks, use your own best judgement there.
I baked them in the oven with new hair (I got rid of the hair back plate on one, and covered it over with polymer on the other two) and baked a bit of hair and clothing on them. When done, I did a bit of sanding, a little more embellishment, sealed the little girls, and viola!
And yes, the eyes are intentionally a bit Junie Moon (love those little release drawings). Just remember to bake them at low temp (you don't want a melted doll) and have fun.
A single piece of scrap booking paper (about 79 cents at Joann's) Made about 4 little Blythe like boxes and backer paper for the little dolls. The pattern is from Dr Blythenstien and can be found HERE I did a bit of adjusting so that they would be a good fit for the Click Chicks, use your own best judgement there.
I baked them in the oven with new hair (I got rid of the hair back plate on one, and covered it over with polymer on the other two) and baked a bit of hair and clothing on them. When done, I did a bit of sanding, a little more embellishment, sealed the little girls, and viola!
And yes, the eyes are intentionally a bit Junie Moon (love those little release drawings). Just remember to bake them at low temp (you don't want a melted doll) and have fun.
Tuesday, December 6, 2016
Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time - Ugly X-mas Sweater!!!
I've heard many stories of people making doll clothes from Christmas socks... this sounded like fun and I of course wanted to experiment making ugly Christmas sweaters :D
So I went and picked up some Christmas socks that looked suitably obnoxious. I tried to freehand the pattern based on some youtube videos I'd seen... the results? We shall not speak of them... very disappointing, all I can say is those guys in the videos are better at freehand cutting than I am. Anyway, I got smart and used a long sleeved shirt pattern for knits and a bit of single fold bias tape and here are the results...
The bias tape made it quite easy to finish the edges neatly. And for anyone who is hesitant in working with knits, I had little problems with stretching while doing the underarms, but if it does become an issue, adjusting the tension on your machine -or- (if you hate changing the settings on your machine when you have them just the way you like) using the paper trick seems to help keep things from warping out of shape.
The paper trick (for those unfamiliar) consists of running a strip of paper along your seam as you sew the knit fabric sections, it acts as a stabilizer and after you've finished you simply tear the paper away from the inside and outside of the garment like perforated paper (because after you've sewn it that's pretty much what it is). It comes away easily enough and you have a nice unwarped seam. Of course you don't need to do this where the bias tape is used because it has pretty much the same effect.
For anyone wanting to use the pattern I found this on on the internet long ago and can't seem to find a proper link to it anywhere so here's a pic with a ruler for size...
I've long since lost the instructions to go with it but I pretty much just put bias tape on the ends of the sleeves and then folded the fabric along the dotted lines, matching up A to A and C to C. Then you just sew the underarm and the sides of the torso together (you can finish with a bit of a zig zag to prevent raveling if you're worried about that). Then you can finish the remaining edges: neck, back, and the bottom of the torso, with bias tape as you choose. You can have the back overlap and close with snaps (as I did) or perhaps sew the bottom half way up and leave the top of the back open, finishing it with some surging or zig zag to keep it from unraveling.
This has been a fun little project and it went pretty fast. I may make some more for my other Blythes.
Edit: Ha! Found it! The pattern is HERE. It's the one for the boat neck T shirt.
So I went and picked up some Christmas socks that looked suitably obnoxious. I tried to freehand the pattern based on some youtube videos I'd seen... the results? We shall not speak of them... very disappointing, all I can say is those guys in the videos are better at freehand cutting than I am. Anyway, I got smart and used a long sleeved shirt pattern for knits and a bit of single fold bias tape and here are the results...
The bias tape made it quite easy to finish the edges neatly. And for anyone who is hesitant in working with knits, I had little problems with stretching while doing the underarms, but if it does become an issue, adjusting the tension on your machine -or- (if you hate changing the settings on your machine when you have them just the way you like) using the paper trick seems to help keep things from warping out of shape.
The paper trick (for those unfamiliar) consists of running a strip of paper along your seam as you sew the knit fabric sections, it acts as a stabilizer and after you've finished you simply tear the paper away from the inside and outside of the garment like perforated paper (because after you've sewn it that's pretty much what it is). It comes away easily enough and you have a nice unwarped seam. Of course you don't need to do this where the bias tape is used because it has pretty much the same effect.
For anyone wanting to use the pattern I found this on on the internet long ago and can't seem to find a proper link to it anywhere so here's a pic with a ruler for size...
I've long since lost the instructions to go with it but I pretty much just put bias tape on the ends of the sleeves and then folded the fabric along the dotted lines, matching up A to A and C to C. Then you just sew the underarm and the sides of the torso together (you can finish with a bit of a zig zag to prevent raveling if you're worried about that). Then you can finish the remaining edges: neck, back, and the bottom of the torso, with bias tape as you choose. You can have the back overlap and close with snaps (as I did) or perhaps sew the bottom half way up and leave the top of the back open, finishing it with some surging or zig zag to keep it from unraveling.
This has been a fun little project and it went pretty fast. I may make some more for my other Blythes.
Edit: Ha! Found it! The pattern is HERE. It's the one for the boat neck T shirt.
Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Finished Faceup
Parsley now has her face up finished and sealed. I may make changes to it later but for now I think she's looking pretty good :)
A Whole New Bod...
I
got a wonderful surprise in the mail! The fantastic Lisa Sheppard
(who I know from the official Makies fan group on Facebook) offered to send me the dress I'd picked for my Parsley if I'd been able
to make her, and in the package was another body and wig so that she
can have a "sister" I was just so flabbergasted, she's just been so wonderfully sweet and generous I don't know how to put it into words! Thank you so much Lisa, now I need to think of what this new girl should look like. Very excited!
Friday, November 11, 2016
More Makie Maxis
Parsley, still as yet unfinished, modeling a new Maxi dress. I'm finally satisfied with the pattern...
And here's a few pics of Beatrix in a little yellow number...
And here's a few pics of Beatrix in a little yellow number...
Tuesday, November 8, 2016
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and... no, just Parsley
This is Parsley...
She is the Makie doll I intended to make after Beatrix, someday, when I could afford it. But of course life has a way of interfering with one's plans and now that the company has vanished I had given up on making her. However a very nice person on the Official Makies Fangroup on Facebook was able to sell me both the body and the wig she would have had :D With these two things in hand I decided to make the head. *GASP* Yeah, I'm not sure it's such a good idea either, but the idea wouldn't leave me so of course I had to see it through till the end. I did used to sculpt doll heads out of polymers back in the day, though those were smaller, and I figured I could at least give it a shot. So here is my first ever attempt at a Makie head, based on what I wanted Parsley to look like, to the best of my ability. It's not finished by any means, she still needs some micro sanding and this is my first time working with watercolor pencils (she is not yet sealed) but it's been fun so far and I wanted to share what I'd done up till now...
Here she is partially through the sculpt...
And again, a little further along...
After I had a start to the face, to kind of see where her character was going and get attached to the idea, I began to fill in the back of the head with the idea of going back to finish the face after...
Building up the hollow of the head. I was surprised at just how few pictures of a bald Makie profile I could find on the internet (I wanted to get the shape a close as I could) though I did manage to find one....
Filling the head with thick coils to aide in the curing and cooling (this thing is was obviously going to be thick)....
And I'm more or less finished with the face. I intended her to have a bit of a wide face and this is even a bit wider than intended but since the polymer will shrink a bit and sanding will be needed I'm pretty pleased to call this good for the sculpt. Ah, almost forgot, the eyes are glass and heat safe, I ordered them from China....
Placement of the hole for connecting the head to body, I was so pleased the bod came with the ball joint for the neck, I wasn't sure if it would....
Baked and first sanding. With the piece being so large I knew there might be some browning if I wasn't careful. I set the temp lower than recommended and let it go for longer. Luckily the head cured and I got away with only a light bit of brown on the nose and one eyebrow, which was easily sanded off....
More sanding needed, and no face up yet, but I decided to set the head on the body to see how things were going, I made her a little green dress as close as I could do to the one she would have come with (she's currently borrowing Beatrix's shoes)....
And now her face with a bit of color, still unsealed yet....
And that's as far as I've gotten. hoping to make more improvements in the future.
Here she is partially through the sculpt...
And again, a little further along...
After I had a start to the face, to kind of see where her character was going and get attached to the idea, I began to fill in the back of the head with the idea of going back to finish the face after...
Building up the hollow of the head. I was surprised at just how few pictures of a bald Makie profile I could find on the internet (I wanted to get the shape a close as I could) though I did manage to find one....
Filling the head with thick coils to aide in the curing and cooling (this thing is was obviously going to be thick)....
And I'm more or less finished with the face. I intended her to have a bit of a wide face and this is even a bit wider than intended but since the polymer will shrink a bit and sanding will be needed I'm pretty pleased to call this good for the sculpt. Ah, almost forgot, the eyes are glass and heat safe, I ordered them from China....
Placement of the hole for connecting the head to body, I was so pleased the bod came with the ball joint for the neck, I wasn't sure if it would....
Baked and first sanding. With the piece being so large I knew there might be some browning if I wasn't careful. I set the temp lower than recommended and let it go for longer. Luckily the head cured and I got away with only a light bit of brown on the nose and one eyebrow, which was easily sanded off....
More sanding needed, and no face up yet, but I decided to set the head on the body to see how things were going, I made her a little green dress as close as I could do to the one she would have come with (she's currently borrowing Beatrix's shoes)....
And now her face with a bit of color, still unsealed yet....
And that's as far as I've gotten. hoping to make more improvements in the future.
Monday, October 24, 2016
Friday, October 21, 2016
Click Chicks, Custom Mini Dolls on the Cheap
My husband and I were at the movie theater recently and in a surge of childhood nostalgia I decided to go check out the games and bubble gum/toy vending machines while we waited for our show. That's when I discovered these...
These little darlings are known as Click Chicks. And at fifty cents a piece, and sporting little bodies with big anime heads (remind you of anyone?) I couldn't pass them up. I bought two and quickly discovered the second one I bought didn't come with a body, so I bought a third.
They each come with a face, a body (um.... well one didn't), a colorful hairstyle (which also makes up the back of the head), a little snap on dress, and a small sheet of sticker decorations for the dress and head (little bows and the like) and some sticker eyes in case you don't like the original eyes and eyebrows the face comes with (they wash off easily enough). And here are my experimental endeavors to that end...
Ignore the eyes on the one on the right, they looked very cute on the sheet but not so great when I put them on her. I think these dolls are very clever, the stickers peel on and off easily and it seems if you have any sort of skills with tiny painting you might be able to paint faces on them if you wanted. I don't know how the plastic would stand up to low heat in an oven, but I'm tempted to take the extra face I've got and try it out, if it didn't change much one might be able to customize with polymers as well. I could see adding some polymers to the dresses or the hair for the purpose of adding texture. Even if you couldn't bake them I know some people in the Lego community who add polymers to some of their creations and set them with a hairdryer or heat gun. Overall they are cute and have quite a bit of potential, I may do some experimenting.
These little darlings are known as Click Chicks. And at fifty cents a piece, and sporting little bodies with big anime heads (remind you of anyone?) I couldn't pass them up. I bought two and quickly discovered the second one I bought didn't come with a body, so I bought a third.
They each come with a face, a body (um.... well one didn't), a colorful hairstyle (which also makes up the back of the head), a little snap on dress, and a small sheet of sticker decorations for the dress and head (little bows and the like) and some sticker eyes in case you don't like the original eyes and eyebrows the face comes with (they wash off easily enough). And here are my experimental endeavors to that end...
Ignore the eyes on the one on the right, they looked very cute on the sheet but not so great when I put them on her. I think these dolls are very clever, the stickers peel on and off easily and it seems if you have any sort of skills with tiny painting you might be able to paint faces on them if you wanted. I don't know how the plastic would stand up to low heat in an oven, but I'm tempted to take the extra face I've got and try it out, if it didn't change much one might be able to customize with polymers as well. I could see adding some polymers to the dresses or the hair for the purpose of adding texture. Even if you couldn't bake them I know some people in the Lego community who add polymers to some of their creations and set them with a hairdryer or heat gun. Overall they are cute and have quite a bit of potential, I may do some experimenting.
Thursday, September 22, 2016
A Little Makie Maxi
I started work on a maxi dress pattern for my Makie girl Beatrix. I can't say i've perfected it yet but I have high hopes. Here's B in the prototype....
Friday, July 1, 2016
Hound's Tooth Heaven
I finally finished a project I've been working on for some time. I've been in love with the look of Chanel jackets for quite some time so I decided to try to replicate the look for my 18" girls (I may do the same for my Blythes someday but - OH - all those tiny stranded stitches!) Anyway after much blood sweat and tears, this is the result...
If anyone is interested, the pattern is available for sale on Craftsy here or on Etsy here. Enjoy!
If anyone is interested, the pattern is available for sale on Craftsy here or on Etsy here. Enjoy!
Monday, June 13, 2016
Kuspuks!!!
I've been having great fun with a lovely little kuspuk pattern by Jennie Bagrowski (or jenwrenne on Etsy. Her brilliant kuspuk design has brought back many happy childhood memories of my life in Alaska. I'd see these cute coat in the spring and summer when the weather was warming up and their bright colors always made me smile...
Here's Natalie in my latest creation, I added an extra panel of fabric to the skirt than what was called for in the pattern but I wanted a bit more purple in there. If anyone is curious about kuspuks you can learn all about the traditional Yupik garment here. And if you want to see just how versatile they are look here. Of course once my other girls saw the kuspuk they had to try it out as well...
Chloe seems to like wearing it. I even knit some little mukluks to complete the outfit. Oddly my fondest memories of these little dresses/coats wasn't of the garments themselves but of how they appeared in the artwork of Barbara Lavallee. I remember seeing a lot of her work all over Fairbanks as a child. Oh and Tiffany tried it on too :)
As they all look pretty cute in them I'll be trying to make more of these in the future.
Here's Natalie in my latest creation, I added an extra panel of fabric to the skirt than what was called for in the pattern but I wanted a bit more purple in there. If anyone is curious about kuspuks you can learn all about the traditional Yupik garment here. And if you want to see just how versatile they are look here. Of course once my other girls saw the kuspuk they had to try it out as well...
Chloe seems to like wearing it. I even knit some little mukluks to complete the outfit. Oddly my fondest memories of these little dresses/coats wasn't of the garments themselves but of how they appeared in the artwork of Barbara Lavallee. I remember seeing a lot of her work all over Fairbanks as a child. Oh and Tiffany tried it on too :)
As they all look pretty cute in them I'll be trying to make more of these in the future.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)