Alice's First Meetup!

Alice and I went to our first dolly meetup today. We stayed for about 2 hours and we met so many other dolls and dolly owners! We're still bummed about the loss of our beloved Bernard, but we're not giving up hope of finding him someday. Perhaps by some miracle the puppy did not eat him, and he's merely on an vacation somewhere.

In the meantime, Alice has an adorable new little friend, Mr. Benjamin. This bunny is a gift from a lovely girl we made friends with at the meetup. :)

I bought Alice a miniature donuts and coffee set... I think she likes it!

Warm Winter Coat

Ooh, double post day! It's cold cold cold today, so I made Alice a new winter coat.

Brrr.... today's chilly weather (and all the talk of snow!) got me thinking about Alice's winter duds. She still has her blue furry coat from last winter, but i figured it was time for something new. Here is what we came up with...

I used pink baby corduroy for the outer shell and then I lined the inside of the coat with Liberty of London cotton in "Nina-Rose". The lining is not visible when the coat is buttoned up, but just know it's there makes me happy. I also sewed on a white minky fur collar and cuffs, to match Alice's white fur earmuffs. Isn't she a cutie?

I wonder, should I add buttons to the front of the coat? I have some 4mm plastic white buttons (but I'm afraid they might look cheap), and I also have some tiny round goldplated beads I use as buttons. Or I could do a small pink bow in the center of the white collar in front... hmmm, decisions, decisions...

New Dress for Alice

This is my first foray into using dark fabrics. This is dress is reminds me of My Fair Lady with Audrey Hepburn. The hat doesn't match at all because it belongs to another outfit, but I plan on making a black top hat especially for this dress. :)

Alice and I think the dress looks better with boots rather than with mary janes. The dress is Victorian-ish, so boots are definitely better because they look more sophisticated. The weather is starting to get cold though, so I don't know how much longer Alice can wear sleeveless dresses! Perhaps I need to make her a new winter coat?

Slight Emergency

I got some new puki sized shoes today, and as I was taking pictures I popped Alice's wig off to adjust it. To my horror, I discovered a deep scratch/gouge on the side of her face, in the area usually covered by her wig.
Que a mini freakout, because Alice is my most precious dolly. I have no idea how the gouge got there or when it happened, but now that I'm not in shock anymore it doesn't seem so bad. It's a unique part of her character, and it definitely makes her different from all her look-alike sisters (and brothers!) out there with the same face. I've made a little bandaid for her to wear under her wig...
So now she's feeling much better. Cuddles with her bear Bernard were also helpful. =)

Alice's Summer Lottery

Please click on all photos to see them in their actual size! For some reason, this blog makes my photos appear all fuzzy and blurry until you click on them. =P

I will be accepting lottery submissions until Thursday @ 9:00 pm (east coast time). Since I have made more than one prize so that there could be more than one winner, I would appreciate it if winners would pay their own shipping costs. Otherwise I could only have one winner, and one prize, and it would have to be limited to US residents only, and I didn't want to do that. ;) So winners pay their own shipping. (I will provide the shipping materials free of charge of course)

And here are the prizes...

Golden Court Dress

Now that Emily has settled in, of course I had to make her a princess dress of her own so she wouldn't feel left out when Alice wears her pink one. ^_^ I wasn't planning to make Emily a yellow dress, it was supposed to be blue or pale green, but somehow I picked up my yellow fabric instead and decided to try the yellow. I'm glad I did, because my gold thread embroidery looks pretty good, and overall the dress is a happy sunny little outfit. <3

Sisters

Yesterday I made Emily her first dress of her very own. I used some of the lovely trims and laces Anna-Lu sent me, and I think the finished product is very pretty indeed! I was so inspired I decided to try my hand at making my own silk roses... plus Alice needed a dress to match Emily's, so she wouldn't feel left out. Below is my first attempt at silk rosebud making... it's a lopsided little thing, but I think Alice appreciates the pains I took to make it for her dress. <3

Little Emily

I took this lovely photo this morning, and I feel inspired to make Emily something blue and gold. I think I am going to lightly paint some pretty design on a scrap of blue fabric with gold acrylic paints and see how it turns out, but I want to make her a beautiful little Rococo dress. :)

Bunny Girl

Alice finally has something with bunny ears. I made this dress and hood set yesterday, and I put wire in the ears so that they're posable. This may be one of my favorite things that I've made so far, the little ears are so much fun!

It's funny how the more I sew for a doll, the more I bond with it. Alice will probably always be my favorite, because I spend the most time with her making clothing and thinking up new designs. <3

Present from Anna-Lu! <3

Alice and I received a present from Anna-Lu today. ^_^ We won her sewing materials giveaway drawing a couple days ago, and today our goodies got here. So many lace and ribbons and buttons and bows! Alice is already casting me sly glances, asking wordlessly when she'll be getting something new.

After my last final is over tomorrow Alice, then we'll talk! ^_~

An Old Project....

I haven't really been paying much attention to my littlest one recently, so I decided to spend some quality time with her today. I tightened her elastic, cleaned her grimy little body with soap and water, and viola! She's as good as new! This photo is an older one of her wearing her vintage lace teddy, but it's one of my favorites. I was briefly trying out grey eyes on her, so this is one of the few photos she has where her eyes are grey. =P

Here are my two pink little girls, with their matching dresses. =) I haven't sewn anything new for a while, but I just bought the most perfect pink baby corduroy fabric that I'm dying to make into cute matching coats. <3

Alice Gets Some Attention ^_^

It's been a while since my poor little Alice got a new outfit, or even some pictures taken, so today I made her a little dress and cropped jacket set. =)
Of course she insisted her friend Bernard must also join in the fun...

New Boots for Alice, also a New Friends

Over the winter holidays I commissioned a pink pair of ugg boots for Alice, made by the talented Miriam at Mimisstuff. The boots are exactly what Alice and I had in mind, but the best part is the tiny jointed bear that Miriam sent along with the boots. Bernard, as he has been christened, is a very detailed and wonderfully made mohair bear, and he looks just like his larger Steiff cousins. I don't know the make of Bernard himself, but the stiff mohair and his overall appearances looks a lot like the classic teddy bears that used to be filled with sawdust. <3 We are in love!

Happy New Year!

Alice and I just want to say Happy New Year to everyone! =) Hope everybody's holidays have been lovely and restful.

Alice Doesn't Understand the Concept of Winter

My dear sweet little girl doesn't seem to understand that winter is no weather for pretty spring outfits. Nevertheless, the she has insisted on wearing this dress and apron set today, despite the fact that she has an adorable little winter coat and earmuffs in her trunk. ^_^

Turning Pants into a Dress!

I also made Alice a new dress out of an old pair of pajama pants she had. One leg was a little shorter than the other and she never wears pants anyway, but I loved the fabric and I wanted to see what I could do with it. I very carefully took all the stitches out and I ironed the fabric to get all the wrinkles out. When all was said and done, it was just enough fabric in the pants to make her a little dress. I used some of my precious vintage tiny lace and we were both very pleased with the results. Alice is modeling the dress with the boots we bought from Anna-lu. <3

Bunny Slippers and a New Dress

I made these during Thanksgiving break, but I haven't had a chance to write a post about them until now. Alice loves her shoes, but she tends to walk around barefoot at home. It's been getting really cold though, and I was concerned for her little feetsies. I had some leftover white fuzzy material, so I made these experimental little things. One of them is slightly smaller than the other, but both fit just fine. Here is Alice with Teddy, enjoying her slippers.

Introductions All Around!

Meet Alice! In June 2008 I stumbled by chance upon a photo of a puki puki. It was a puki pukisha, and I immediately became obsessed with find out where this doll came from, how much it cost, and how soon could I get one of my own! Finding Fairyland's website was easy, although choosing which puki would come home with me wasn't. However, as soon as I saw puki Pipi's face, I knew she was the one. Alice was her name, and she arrived at my house roughly one month later.
With no prior sewing know-how I immediately began to make things for her. My first attempts were somewhat poor and messy, but by carefully looking at how my own clothing was made I innovated and streamlined my technique. This blog will be a place together all my designs together, and for Alice to show off her adorable modeling skills. =)