What's baking.....in the Patissirie.

So in my spare time, in preparation for the new part of Santa's workshop, the candy factory, I've been making more food. I finished a gingerbread house and some cute gingerbread men with peppermint buttons and candy canes, and peppermint sticks, as well as peanut butter thumbprints. My grandmother used to make these with the hershey kisses in the middle of them, gently melting. I adored these cookies and decided to see if  I could make them in mini.

I did a little re-arranging in the Patissirie /bakery today, it has been so neglected. I stole the door from this diorama, a houseworks crossbuck door last year for Santa's workshop and painted it red, and glued it into that diorama. I have another similar door but it is now going into the candy factory. I have finished painting the exterior so I am now going to be working on the interior walls and floor and then working on that door and window finishes. I won't be posting pics of the progress until it's done and ready for pics, but thought you might enjoy the foods that are going to go in it and on the assembly line for the elves! 

And now, a little bit of the busy life of Trixie, who is attempting to wait on all of the customers eager to purchase all of the newly made pastries at the Patissirie!

I made all of the pastries, cakes, and gingerbread houses,Religieuses pastries,  candys, except for the ones in the case on the top shelf which are Re-ment and one cake made by an unknown artist.

Muffins in cake stand and orange juice, Re-ment, St, Honore pastry made by Me.

Enjoy!~Lisa

Sewing, sewing....

I did two sewing projects last night and need to continue on more. I finally buckled down and did Mrs. Claus' skirt. I cheated on her outfit. Nancy's doll things on Ebay made the little Christmas vest, and the white ruffled blouse was from a Silkstone clothing pack. I got her little glasses at the GLOSS convention. I made her skirt from red fabric in those fabric squares for .97 cents. (You would not believe how hard it is to find approriate scaled Christmas fabric.)
I also buckled down and sewed my Realpuki SoSo (Wren) some Christmas pajamas out of a Christmas sock from Michael's. I still need to add some buttons or pom poms to the front for her. I was surprised that they came out so well, it has been a long time since I sewed something this small. 

For those unaware in the fashion doll world, Wren is a Realpuki ball jointed doll. Their feet have magnets in them as do their hands and she stands on a small metal doll stand without support because of those magnets- I took the wire part out of the back of it. (sorry about the very visible price tag.) Her hair is a wig made of mohair. 

I need to make some pajamas or sweaters for Maizie and Dixie, my Felix Brownies as well. 

Mrs. Claus was busy yesterday with her photo ops with Santa and overseeing the elves working on the assembly line.

Well the elves are pensive and under alot of pressure! That's alot of dollhouses to get ready before Christmas! 
Still waiting on the door component which should arrive today or Monday.
Lastly, here is a display in my dining room created with the rest of the mini trees and one string of lights. The deer are from my mother's vintage Christmas collection.

In my next post I will explain a little more about the storyline of Wren and Finch Express and her role in Santa's workshop. She normally takes care of all the mail for the dolls with Marigold (a tiny sparrow who delivers the mail with the help of Wren) and now has volunteered to help Santa with all of his letters this year. More pics coming up soon!

Sneak Peeks of Santa's workshop....

Here are some sneak peaks of my new diorama in progress. I just received an order from Nancy's doll things on Ebay, who did all of the holiday jumper dresses and overalls for Santa's helpers. Her prices are very reasonable and make the dioramas more themed oriented with the holiday fabrics she used for these pieces. I was so happy with the first two items I ordered I decided to go all out. Here is a photo below. Sooki, my Poppys, and momoko dolls are all ready to help!

They are so adorable! I'm thinking of keeping this workshop up all year round. I have been really pleased how the workshop progress is coming along. For over a year since I built it, this roomscene has sat and collecting dust. I originally built it for a Mickey Mouse diner, with ice cream but it will look so much better as a workshop for Santa. 

There are three patterns, snowmen for the overalls and jumpers, gingerbread men, and little black dresses with wreaths and stockings- their blouses are red. All of the overalls and jumpers simply pull on and the shirts are elastic and fasten with velcro.

ABove, Cookie and Mary Lou are working on the dollhouse assembly line! 

I plan to add many details but wanted to give everyone a sneak peek. The corkboard is going to have lists, and signs. Toys and christmas presents will be everywhere. All the dolls will get their turn on the assembly line, since this is where all the toys are wrapped, and packed and loaded onto the sleigh loading dock. 
I hope you enjoy this little preview of what is to come!~Lisa

Experimenting with stop Motion photography- & a New Video!

I have long been inspired by those that do stop motion photography with their dolls on YouTube videos. The above video is a 'test' video as I used some techniques of stop motion, taking a still frame, then moving the dolls limbs to simulate the movement of walking, pulling out a chair, sitting, and drinking from a cup. I have wanted to go into a new direction with my dolls and work, and have been toying with the photography aspect of how to make my collection really seem 'alive'.

One source of inspiration I never tire of reading of on her three blogs is Caroline McFarlane-Watts of Tall-Tales Productions ( a blog devoted to her own miniature sets and project of creating a miniature film using stop motion) as well as her other two blogs-

Hummingbird Miniatures which showcases some of her marvelous 1:12 scale foods and 

Pixiedust Miniatures which showcases her magical minis. Her links to the stop motion and miniature set world has inspired and intrigued me to do research on this fascinating industry. 

This led me to looking at links on Youtube with stop motion. I realize that I will have to practice a great deal- especially on the art of walking for a doll. My above video is somewhat clumsy but was fun to do.I have been attempting to figure out how I would do a scene and how much work would be involved in filming it. I am also looking at purchasing a movie camera, to make filming more easier. Right now, I am having fun with the experimentation of the project and hope I can do some more intricate scenes. For now, enjoy the video!

New GI Joes have arrived..

I have had bunches and bunches of dolls that have arrived. First, Morning Dove arrived on Thursday...with my GI Joes arriving yesterday. Before that, my 2nd Momoko arrived whom I named Scout, she is so cute. I still have not deboxed Evening in Montreal Victoire! 

Here are some pics of the Joes. I acquired Man of Evil 2012 exclusive, and Adventure team guy too. I didn't deck them out in all of their gear. These Joes you will only find if you become a member of the GI Joe Collector club. The only problem I have with them is their ability to sit- very poseable, great facemolds. Man of Evil is quite interesting because he has a face mask but his 'real' face he is missing an eye with a scar, has an eye patch too. I thought he would be interesting to visit the Baroness. 

the clothing for these figures is really high quality. The little insignias are simply stickers that come off too easily. The Joes all have dog tags that are detailed too. The fuzzhead with the beard also has a camo jacket that goes on underneath the black jacket and he wears a tank top and boxer briefs as well. I purchased an extra set of boots so my Man of Asia could have some boots. The fuzzhead w/ beard also came with guns, as well as a skateboard! 
I did some recent sock sewing too for Scout. I had purchased some cute socks to experiment with and had an idea for use with some embellishments. Well, I made her one of those funny caps with dangling pom pom ties and used pom poms to make it look like a face on the cap.

Her sweater and cap were great fun to make. I loved how the sweater came together like a hoodie gathered at the neck with the pom poms that match the orange in her sweater, Momokos are so cute in bright colors. 
I have recently started a workout regimen at American Family and Fitness gym,with a trainer,  so my blogging may be cut back a bit. I had an indepth blog post I needed to do but have it in a draft, as it takes so much time with the links that I have /need to include. My health has not always been my first priority, and now that my schedule is manageable, I am making my health no. 1 at this time. Since starting I have felt better and I am able to move more quickly or have more energy. Also beginning to pay attention to what I eat, and not eat on the run so much. Now that I am slowing my schedule down a bit, I am hoping to devote more time to creating new items for the dolls, and my Etsy and Ebay stores as well. 

1970 Vintage Country Camper find

I think one of the reasons all of us collect dolls is at heart, we remember those happy hours of imaginative play we had- and what kind of dolls it does not matter- when we were small. There were no headaches except going to school and doing homework & a few household chores that your mom nagged you about. I know when I get together with the ladies from my Va. Fashion doll club, most of them collect vintage Barbie because that is what they have so many fond memories of- their Mother taking them shopping for Barbie's new outfit or wonders- getting the dream house for Christmas. I used to laugh at how people would go nuts over original packaging, still intact or even partially intact, until I myself succombed to the vintage mania. Such is the quest for the Barbie Country Camper.

I finally found one that looked like the one my Mom got rid of when I was a teenager and thought I was 'too old' for Barbies. I had both the Camper and the beach buggy- the Blue beach van is harder to find. I have on and off scoured Ebay for a camper that looked like mine with minimal damage. Some campers had the plaid tent and a pink and white flower design on the fold down table, others varied too. But lo and behold, I was scouring eBay yet again when just listed- was a Country camper, 1970, in the original box, unassembled. 

Wonder of wonders- it had the same orange tent and design patterns my old camper had I received when I was six or seven years old. It is fuzzy when I received it- I am guessing it may have been either a birthday present or a Christmas present. I also remember having tons of fun with my Malibu Barbie, PJ, Ken and Skipper going camping. The kid next door would bring his GI Joes and his Joe jeep and Joe would drive the camper because Barbie didn't know how (Ken didn't have a license because to us- he was a beach bum!lol so he didn't have a job!) the hours of play that camper received yet it was still in minor good condition except for a small rip in the tent- it seems all the tents on these campers were fragile- my mother would have me clean the wheels and wipe it down after I played with it. So I learned to take care of my toys. Her reasoning was if we played in the sand box with it I would track sand into the house, and the little boys mother next door thought the same. 
So my quest for the camper brought back alot of fond memories of growing up, when things and people were simpler, and Barbie cost $3.00 , lol. I think now if I find a fashion pak dress set for that much in Tuesday morning I've hit the jackpot!
The camper was missing the directions, so I am guessing someone got it, it came with two sleeping bags, two stools. My camper came with the campfire and cooking pots, so I may start looking for them on Ebay. The box graphics on this item were bold and lovely, and I think someone, whoever owned it, kept it in the box because that was a handy place to keepit, unassembled. Either way, it is an early birthday present or Easter present for me- birthday isn't until May!
So I took some quick pics of it yesterday. I will take more when I am more prepared and get everything together. I have been having knee and back pain so wasn't easy to stage the item. I meant to get my malibu Ken, Barbie and PJ in their outfits to stage with it, but haven't yet. So Poppy, the Momokos Scout and Cookie and GI Joe got to use the new camper.

The box was just as much of a present as the camper. I so remember tearing off the paper when I opened it as a child- who could resist the pictures of Ken, Barbie and PJ on the front? Here are some pics of the interior .

As you can see with Cookie standing by the tent, it is best for 'display' versus play. I folded it back up so Joe could drive (he is a little tall his head hits the roof) it reminds me of when my dad used to drive our camper, looking out the window and his rear view mirror having mom guide him as he backed into the spot at the campground. 

Unfortunately, Joe has chosen to park in front of LaBelle's and set up because there is a picnic table nearby! I did not have my vintage Malibu dolls ready except for Skipper. The swimsuit she is wearing came from a popular fashion pak for Skipper when the Olympics was on in 1971 or 1972? I cannot remember, I was only 6 or 7 years old. There was one for Barbie too- it came with a gold medal and red white and blue towel. When the Olympics were going on I came across this and meant to do photos of my Skipper, but she's ready now. Her original swimsuit- orange- I think is not in good condition or complete, I will have to look for it. One reason it is the same exact orange as the camper! 
I am planning to have some outdoor pics this year and the camper, along with my picnic table I have, will look great. I am also hoping to score a tent and some other items to create a really great scene. Iwould like to do more outdoor photos with the dolls so hopefully will get to do that if it stops snowing and spring gets here! Tuesday we are supposed to get a sleet/snow mix- again!
Enjoy the pics and more coming!