Glitter Eyes for Cheese Mice....

My difficulties in finding appropriate eyes for my Pipos Cheese Mice has been going on for years. Since they cannot have eyes with stems, finding anything that suits me is really, really hard. Pipos does put random eyes with their dolls, and its a crap shoot if I actually like them or not. I seem to land with mostly pink spectrum eyes, and it doesn't really work with most of my dolls. Harold (my beige basic mouse, and first of them crew) came with these gorgeous cobalt blue eyes. I loved them. Unfortunately, I lost his eyes when I was cleaning out a bunch of my stuff. They didn't end up in the keep or sell pile, and ended up in the trash. I deeply regret that.  I would have never thrown them away on purpose. This was probably 3 or 4 years ago, and trying to find anything that I like for him or any of them for that matter has been mostly a bomb out.

A couple of years ago I bought 3 or 4 pairs of eyes from someone who was selling them on the DoA MP. One pair was a glass stem less pupil-less gold glitter. I love them. They have gone from mouse to mouse to see who gets to keep them while the others fear they will never have anything actually decent for them.

A few weeks ago, my sweet friend sent me some blank 18mm DIY eyes, which was so nice and totally unexpected! I got 3 pair, which was perfect at the time, as I only had 4 mice, and only 3 of them still needed eyes. (I got another mouse shortly thereafter.) I love glitter eyes, and since you can use nail polish as well as paint, stickers, etc, I decided to use some nail polish.

I got some blue glitter polish for this project. I thought it would be the perfect color for Harold. I decided to go with white glitter for the second pair, and silver for the final pair. I compensated the polish with some of my micro glitter. Once I had them how I wanted them, I pushed the clear dome - or at least I attempted to. Now, this could totally be on the operator here, but I could only get the silver ones to actually go down and snap into place. The white ones I got partially put into place, but the blue ones? I have had to keep putting one back into the eye as it has randomly come off. Seems like Harold's bad luck continues. The color I went with didn't end up being as dark as I had thought it would be. It's like every time I try and fix my original mistake of losing Harold's eyes it's like "foiled again!"

As it turned out, Harold isn't even wearing them right now. I had planned also on the white glitter eyes being for my white cheese mouse Coconut Cream, the silver glitter being for Blueberry, and Grape Jelly keeping the gold glass. Right now, Harold is wearing the white, Coconut Cream the silver, Grape Jelly the blue, and Blueberry the gold. I don't have pics of them yet in their new eyes, but this is how the eyes look. I do really like them. :)

Now I just have to figure out what to do for my peach mouse, Peach Cobbler....

MSD Boy Lolita Project

This is a project for one of my own dolls. I had this crazy idea to put girl's Lolita clothes on a boy (I don't like any of the girl BJDs) but I love, love Lolita clothes. So, I bought myself a RS WS Song to dress accordingly. (I am definitely not the only BJD owner to do this. :P) I picked out 2 pieces of fabric for him - one is a turquoise heart print, and the other is a pale minty/sage print. My first idea of an outfit for him is a much simpler dress than some I would love to make. I have the basic dress mostly done, but I still need to add some ribbon and fabric bows to it. Here's how it is looking so far.

If you look closely, you will see his missing finger. Talk about a moment of pure horror. I have NO idea how this managed to happened. I do know that RS has infamously thin resin (thus their cheap price) so it had to be a weakness in the resin. I am very careful with my dolls. I don't slam them around, I don't let them crash, so to have a broken finger is pretty upsetting. It must have snapped off when I was putting the dress either on him or off of him. I couldn't find the broken off finger at first. :/ I finally found it the third time of looking for it. It was under my desk. I can fix this when I get some epoxy. But still. He's broken and I am really unhappy. Poor doll.

I still need to get his wig. I can't quite decide what I want to do. I am hoping that the pink mohair wig I found on DoA is still available. I think it really fits him. I love mohair wigs. I have never owned one myself, but I really love the look of them. Roosevelt has some cute kitty white Mary Jane shoes I got for him, and also another pair he ended up with by default. The measurements of the shoes were incorrect in the listing, so they do not work for my Doll Leaves Royal, but thankfully they work fr Rosie. (This caused the expected tensions between the 2 dolls. It's not Rosie's fault, but what does D'arcy care?) I also need to either make or find him some stockings. My pair of blue and white stripe stockings that are a little too dark for this turquoise dress, but they will have to do for now.

I'm all set to make his bloomers and petticoat. I was going to start on them last night, but after his finger broke, it kind of killed the sewing mood for me....

Falling back in love with Sewing for Blythe (hopefully)

I sort of fell out of love for sewing for Blythe the last several months. Not quite sure if I could say why, but unfortunately, I did. I remember back in 2012, when I was first introduced to Blythe by a sweet friend I had met through commission sewing on DoA. (Sadly, I have no idea where she went to. I'v tried to find her, but she has pretty much disappeared online the last couple of years.) She had recently gotten into Blythes and wanted me to meet the doll so to speak, thinking I would really enjoy sewing for her. She sent me a doll to try out and see if I liked her. First, I had planned to buy it from her. Then she decided we should trade her for sewing, and finally she just gave her to me! It was very sweet of her, and I had a lot of fun with my Blythe. The poor doll was in some need of a re-do, and so I did an admittedly bad re-root on her. (It was meant to be temporary.) And also I repainted her face. Thus Lenore was born. I had so much fun sewing. I had that basic free skipper pattern (you know the one) and branched out from there making my own patterns, and quickly. I was on fire with inspiration! Things took a turn some months later, and I ended up giving the doll back to her.

Fast forward to 2014. I decided to try and re-connect with Blythe. I took a chance and bought this beautiful blue haired girl. At this point I didn't really grasp fakes and factories. Of course, my doll was a factory. Not that I care. I love Lotus and wouldn't change her for anything. I went through several real Blythes which I eventually sold until I scored my Merry Skier. (Her names Pancake, and she is not going anywhere.) I tried to get back into sewing for Blythe, joining several swaps, donating to BlytheCon, and putting a few things in my Etsy shop. I just wasn't feeling that same excitement I had felt in 2012. Not sure what it was.

Somehow we managed to find some of my old pictures the other night from 2012. It's kind of weird what you can find my just typing in random things. It was neat seeing my old stuff. Seeing it made me remember what fun it used to be. It made me want to recreate some of my old patterns that had gotten tossed. I would love to fall back in love with Blythe and sewing for her like I used to!

So last night I decided ti just go for it. I drafted out 2 patterns which will hopefully be either exactly like or pretty much like my old designs. I cut out one dress, and will work on the other one when this one is finished. Here is the original dress:

This dress I had named "A Victorian Dream in Cream." I definitely have made some changes that I hadn't quite intended, but I am just going with it. Here is my WIP version of it:

And that is a terrible picture. Geez, my nighttime shots are awesome. Any ways, I have omitted the lace under the sleeve puff which makes the sleeve appear more different than it actually is. The bodice looks like it could be a little loose, so I might need to take in the side seams just a bit, but I am going to wait to see how much space the skirt takes up. I am thinking about making what was the lace underskirt of the original in a cream gauze, and also making it a separate piece, more like a petticoat. The skirt I can tell is already going to be fuller than the original. I might do something different with the collar, but I am a huge fan of the high neck.

This is as far as I am going to get tonight. (I am definitely sewed out for this fine Wednesday.) I am actually feeling that old spark again! I am so excited to finish this dress, which I can hopefully get to tomorrow night. I really don't have the perfect doll to wear this dress, so maybe some Blythe shopping? (I desperately need  Nicky Lad.)

The American Girl Lolita Project

I started sewing AG Lolita clothing about 2 years ago, lost interest in the dolls, and pretty much phased out sewing for them. (I kept one doll as I am still working on some historically more accurate Marie-Grace dresses for someone I met on the AGPT forum a couple of years back by responding to her WTC for this project. She has since become very dear penpal.)

Before Christmas I got a message on Etsy from a lady who was looking to have some dresses made for her AG doll. She had recently fallen in love with Loli fashion herself. As someone who loves Loli fashion for dolls, meeting a like minded dolly owner is always a treat! After discussing some ideas with her, she settled on going with the pattern I had already made, only instead of the pale butterfly print I had sewn it in before, she was looking for a pale icy yellow solid. You'd think that would be a simple thing to find, but alas, butter yellow is what is so easily found right now. Colors really trend through the years. I was finally able to find ONE option, which thankfully turned out to be perfect.

Here is the dress. I couldn't be happier with it.

My buyer wanted to add some pigtail bows to match it. She is also wanting a large single pony tail bow. I had meant to have this finished by the time she got back from vacation, but I had forgotten to settle on the exact size with her before she left. I want her input before I sew the actual bow for her.

The second dress is pretty much her brain child. It was fun seeing the dress come together. We started with an example of a human dress, and it went from there! She wanted it in lavender with a lavender print. I LOVE this fabric combination. This dress will also have the pig tails bows, and the still unmade single bow.

I am presently working on the third dress, the pink. It'll be made out of a pink printed with little white vines with hearts mixed with a pale pink solid. The bodice will be pretty simple, but the skirt is more of a challenge. I'm really wanting it to have several ruffles, so I'm working on some concepts to see what is possible and what is not. Hopefully I can post some WIP pics of this design soon! 

Princess Project - Girl #3 Finished! Pic heavy

Third girl is complete! I spent all afternoon sewing up the backs and sewing snaps on all the remaining pieces. I'm so excited!

These dresses are for the Lady Ophelia. She is the most practical of the 3, so I went for more lines for her's in the designs to go with her more serious nature. Her color theme is browns and creams. I believe her dresses ended up being my favorites of the 3, although Annmarie's blue Sunday Best vies for that place as well.

First up, we have her Summer Dress. This one is a mix of cream silk and a lovely brown linen. There is ribbon detailing around the square neckline, the front and back of the over skirt, as well as the sleeves.

Up next is her glorious Sunday Best. The brown silk was hand dyed. The sleeves alone on this dress took me a couple of hours to make, and oh was it worth it! I love this dress very much. :D The belt is made of some pretty gold and white trim.

And last but never least is her Ball Gown. I love this one too! The silk is all hand dyed. There is a lot of bead work on the shoulders, and down the front of this dress. The underskirt is has machine sewn stripes down front. 

All done! I'm going to take it to the PO on Monday to get it weighed. I can't wait to get it all boxed up! I have everything neatly bagged up, ready to be packaged. :)

Princess Project - Girl #2 finished!!! PIC HEAVY

Following the world's most frustrating photo shoot, I have gotten pics of the completed Crown Princess's wardrobe. These belong to AnnMarie - the elegant dreamer, who has a love for embroidery. In designing her dresses, I wanted to include one dress that featured embroidery, and go with an airy more fairy tale look. Her colors were pastel blues and mints/greens.

For some reason, while taking these pics, my doll would NOT stand. I think he might be protesting the many hours he has spent playing princess while helping me with this project. I owe him big time, lol, but he needs to hold out just  a little longer! In reality, I need to restring him. He is the kickiest, falling-est little guy. I have to carefully adjust his legs under the dress to get him to stand, and in adjusting the dresses I would either knock him over, or he would just crumple. For that reason, I don't think these pics turned out quite as good as my last ones, but hopefully, they still show the dresses off well.

Okay, enough complaining, lol! On to the pics!


This girl being the crown princess, needed a crown. I sculpted it out of polymer clay, then painted it. I will seal it before I send it. She wears it with a wimple, which was made out of cotton due to the necessity of providing the right hang. Silk would have been pretty, but too stiff. The veil is a panel lace.

First off, the one I am the most proud of I think out of all the dresses, Annmarie's Sunday Best. This one has the embroidery in 2 places. I went with several different colors for the flowers - a very white blue, a purple, and then for a pop of color, a deep red.

 I initially had designed the sleeves to be sewn onto the dress like some of my other ones, but once I started drafting the pattern, I realized it would hide too much of the dress, so I changed it to these detached sleeves that snap close. This dress has a lovely 3 layers that have an elegant train in the back. The dress silk is hand dyed, the corset was a store bought silk.

Next up, we have her Summer Dress. This one is made out of a mint chiffon. I sewed some white trim on the bottom of the skirt which matches the belt, which is attached to the dress in the front.

Last, but never least, is her beautiful Ball Gown. The silks were both hand dyed. The underskirt is in a spearmint, the over dress is a mix of spearmint and pistachio. I love the shade! I cut out pieces of lace to sew on the front center of the skirt and the bodice. Onto that, I sewed some dark mint colored seed beads. These also line the bottom edge of the underskirt. The sides and back of the skirt feature little puffs created by tiny pin tucks. I don't think I captured it very well....

And that finishes up girl #2! Next up, girl number 3! 

Princess Project Update - Girl #1 is finished!! PIC HEAVY

I am so excited to have one third of this completely done sans snaps for the backs. These 3 dresses are for Marianna, a Zuzu Delf Bichon Iron Fan LE. She is the younger princess, much more playful, and would rather be outside playing with her animal friends. My designs were really influenced by this as it has to fit her character. Her dresses are simpler than her sister's for this reason. Her favorite colors are pink, so we went with that for her theme. I did venture out a bit with the ball gown, opting for white and almost an orchid color for a little more variety. Her head dress I just finished today. I just did the final photo shoot for her beautiful dresses before I get them packed up to go to their rightful owner.

First off, the head dress. It is made out of silk and decorated with a lovely ribbon. I was lucky to have already found this in my stash after organizing a couple of weekends ago. I needed something that tied in with all of her dresses. This works perfect!

This next one is her Sunday Best. The silk is hand dyed. It has some little pearly white beads at the neck line.

This is her ball gown. It has quite a few beads. The orchid silk is hand dyed. I had fun mixing my dyes to come up with this gorgeous color.

The final one is her Summer dress. Silk is hand dyed as well.

I will be updated this blog with the other 2 girls finished clothing as soon as I get them photographed. :)