Other dolly projects...

I'm taking a moment away from my beloved Silkstone Barbies, Fashion Royalty, Momokos and doll town to show some projects I will be working on with my larger dolls on my other dolly blog Pumpkin Hill Studios . This has to do with my ball jointed dolls, and my American Girl dolls. I have long wanted to do not only more sewing for my fashion dolls, but for the larger dolls as well. One of the things I began to do was hoard, er, collect, patterns that I found for free or low cost on ebay and Etsy. One major site is Liberty Jane

Liberty Jane has a Freebie Friday if you sign up for their newsletter and you have one day to download the pattern. I have already collected some great free patterns for a beginner such as jean skirt you can upcycle old jeans for their fabric, doll t-shirts, and a prairie dress like the type Laura Ingalls wore. I have successfully sewn their sundress from one of these free patterns and for someone who is a dolt like me using a sewing machine- I handsew everything because, amazingly, it is easier for me that way. I have very little patience for my machine! I think this comes from my perspective, of thinking backwards- some patterns are even hard for me that might be simplistic  for others. I find that taking paper and sculpting it onto the dolls' body gives me a better outline to work with than someone else's patterns. That is one thing I am attempting to overcome. I had someone tell me that this is a gift what I do- I don't know about that. I fiddle with the fabric like a sculptor does versus like a phenomenal seamstress does. I guess because I am so used to clay. So yeah, that is my backwards contribution to sewing, lol..

I had recently received a copy of a free pattern some of my Barbie club members received at the last convention and decided this weekend to try it. I love the strapless sheath dresses of the 60's. It turned out ok, but the bodice part is weird. I used a lovely lavender/purple cotton fabric.

This is my market day Silkstone modeling the sheath I finished. The bodice buckles a bit in the front and it was not really clear where your darts and all should be as there were no instructions, just the pattern pieces printed. So I played with it a bit. It does not lay nice and flat in the back so I may redraft the bodice top, the skirt is really nice. 

I was pleased with the front but no so much with the back. I have also been attempting another vintage pattern, but had to scrap it. Like I said, sewing with patterns is a problem for me, I have been trolling sewing sites to educate myself on sewing terms like slopers, darts, tucks, etc. 

Right now I have some vintage Skipper patterns on the way, and waiting for them to arrive. This ebay seller sells reproductions of the actual vintage patterns with free shipping, so if the pattern is good I plan to order more from her and will recommend her site here. Happy Sewing!~Lisa

Edge Vanessa has arrived....

'Edge' Vanessa , the doll that won the designer competition at the Fashion Royalty convention in 2013, by Lisa Ramsey, has arrived. And she is stunning.

When I first ordered her, I was on the seat and going through one of my buyer's regrets...I thought as soon as she arrived, I would be putting her for sale on the doll pages. Not a chance.

The box, the packaging, her face sculpt, hair, the dress, - all are wonderful. 'less is more...' concept certainly applies here and I can understand why Integrity picks simplistic designs in these competitions. Her shoes , and accessories are lovely. In these photos I haven't yet put on her gloved hands-(I am not partial to mitts or gloved hands on fashion dolls with evening wear. ) She has a small black purse and some lovely jewelry. Her shoes are pumps like spectator pumps, I will have to take some photos of them. So for now, I am going to enjoy her in this gown-- it is lovely and I tried to get some pics from the back as it seems to be made a trifle differently then normal mermaid gowns, its train kind of billows, and it is lined.

The winner of the design competition at the 2014 GLOSS Fashion Royalty convention was Culte de Paris also known as Julia LeRoy. Her design stood out and based on this doll, I may also buy her design next year. One of the wonderful things about the W club membership is at the convention is a design competition. The top winner chosen will have their gown or design manufactured by Integrity toys. The winner gets 5 copies of their design and credit for it, but no payment.  It was exciting for me at my first convention to see how this process is done and it was a hard choice as there were oodles of lovely gowns. 

Lady of the White Woods...

So today Barbiecollector.com is releasing Lady of the White Woods with an edition size of 700 so the rumor goes. I used quick shop to order her and she is already on Backorder for Feb. 24th. That will probably change as soon as her shopping button is posted this afternoon. I missed out on Forest Elf who is now going for $229 on ebay, because of the GLOSS Fashion Royalty convention. But this lady is simply gorgeous. Plus I have some fun dioramas that will take minimal setup for her. 

Since she is being released today I have posted one of the stock photos of her, she is already ordered so I can make sure she comes home. She is absolutely stunning, my imagination is already taking off with a Lord of the Rings/White Queen type of castle like a fairy might live. 

Still in de-decorating Christmas from the dolltown and I have rearranged quite a bit. Dolls are going to be incoming- Edge Vanessa as well as this lady above and Poetic W club doll will be here by next week too. Then there is re-joining the W Club. I already renewed my membership at Barbiecollector.com which is open now too. Highly recommend it as I have decided I need all of the Forest elf series now, lol....and here I was in a previous post talking about nowwhere to display all of the dollies except in tubs! I am hoping that will change this year as we make renovations on the interior of our home- hubby said if we could move things around a bit maybe a larger room with shelves so I could display the dolls on their stands and still have my dolltown table. He enjoys seeing the dolls when they arrive and gives suggestions on the dioramas...so here's hoping I can move up to a larger room!

Dolls, Dolls, and more Dolls....

It is the beginning of the new year and I have come to the conclusion after looking at my doll room, (please do not be shocked at the pictures of my private hoarding , er, collecting, cough , cough...that I have, (gasp) too many dolls. 

The pictures I am about to show you are not of the lovely IKEA shelves and pristine pink walls of the usual Barbie Collector/Fashion Royalty perfectionistic collectors with perfect pretty dolls in a diva like setting. I WISH. Rather that of a collector whose one desire is to build the perfect scene and diorama and laments the lack of space to store and build and play. (yeah, that's me.) So I decided to go in an viciously clear out the herd. Put them on dollpages. More money for more dolls and more props.

 I am usually sitting around like this, not perfectly coiffed like Poppy below, but in my jeans and reading with a nice snack. Yeah, I love to chill and I don't wear designer duds either, lol. My dolls do, though! 

Then I started going thru the tubs and boxes and got stymied. 

I succeeded in only listing one doll. Two Victoires I thought would definitely go were Grande Seduction Victoire and the convention Victoire. Then I opened them up and decided I liked them. I already have two, possibly three red headed Victoires! I don't need another. But I looked at her and she had that 50's Cecil Beaton look with the black pantsuit /weekender Dior thing going on. I couldn't , just couldn't list her. She wasn't a favorite on ebay either.

So instead here I have decided to show you my doll dilemna. My problem is they are also making so many wonderful Barbie Basics with interesting facemolds.  So here we go for a little 'tour' of the smallest room in my house and most convaluted.

Above is the entrance. When I moved stuff around in the room, some of the older tiles came up. Eventually when we do more renovations, this room will be last. Those bags in the doorway? Convention dolls NRFB. The chair? More crap and NRFB dolls. and diorama items. you name it. In the corner, shelves, two of them back to back to make them deeper with props. Infront of that, my foamcore backdrops. In front of the window, another table with shelves underneath and my childhood dollhouse. 

oH the shame. Now you see my real mess. I moved things around a bit and am still figuring out where to store Christmas. The tree hasn't come down in the dollhouse and the dolls are squirrely for Valentine's day. I keep the window clear as possible to let in light for photos. Right now I found more dollies I had forgot about and some need to be redressed and so on. Behind me is the doll town tables with tubs full of dolls underneath. As well as backdrops too. In the middle is squeezed the dollhouse. (Ironically, I was wondering if I could fit another dollhouse in here!) My cars and camper are underneath the table which you can't see. 

The dollhouse, with temporary dolls on stands who need to be dressed or are custom projects or I just put them there with other items. The corner shelves with props and more dolls and my drawers with shoes, bags, stands and food items as well as a chair that was in here to sit on. More dolls in boxes...Clark Gable has not been deboxed, hmm, wonder how that happened. 

This room was and always has been on the renovate list but since it is only used by me, I put the other house renovations first. This is the first time my new year's goals have been stymied because I am finding it hard to part with dolls! And there are more incoming. I am thinking of just putting a hold on more pretty dolls if I can. 

I think my biggest problem is I feel pure guilt when I look at how many dolls I have...and that I can't play or display them all. I feel like an addict waiting for my next newest dolly 'fix' around the corner.  I know my good intentions will evaporate if I go on Barbiecollector.com or look at all the pics on Flicker and Doll Divas. 

Hopefully I can clear out some of the dolls on my Dollpages since I have lowered some of the prices. Here's hoping!~Lisa

Lowered prices on my DollPages doll listings-

I have added a couple of more dolls and will be adding more to my Dollpages listings. Today I added Poppy Parker the Girl from Integrity with her extra gloved hands, nude, and with her box and shipper for $99 , free shipping in the USA only. 

If interested in any of the dolls, please Email me with your name, address and zip(on your paypal account, I only ship to the address listed with the paypal account that pays so make sure your address is current.) as well as any ebay feedback links or doll pages links for your references. I will invoice you thru paypal and then ship immediately upon confirmed receipt of payment. 

Also lowered is the price on my Intimate Reveal Agnes to $599.99 from $700, as well as Elise Jolie and other dolls. All with Free shipping and insurance in the USA. 

Re-vamping the town...

I haven't posted much for this new year despite my goals because I have been working on taking down the doll town Christmas decorations! Taking down my full size decorations will be easy compared to the doll room! (I still have my little trees with lights up in the dining room window with my holiday Poppy in her cape up, my husband really enjoys her and the deer displayed like that.) 

Today I did some moving around in the doll room which isn't easy. I had Santa's workshop in my window but needed it out of the way since I need to set up some large props for the bjd and the American Girls. So I re-vamped the town, and took down my faux boutique window and fake cafe front. 

As you can see, I put Santa's workshop up all the way into the corner along with its Christmas items and toys and Santa himself. I took my happy living dollhouse that folds up with those cute french doors facing out like it is someone's condo or apartment. The boulangerie/patissirie is next to LaBelle's since this is supposed to be a french town anyway. The only thing that irritates me is the exposed lavender wall in the skyline in the corner behind the workshop, but that will have to be photoshopped out. I took some time to give my Artist Barbie silkstone some love. 

She is one of my favorites, since she is supposed to be an artist in Paris, wearing that generic outfit we think all models in Paris must wear, lol. I adore that little Eiffel tower statue I found at Michael's and am going to get another for the bakery display inside. She is indulging in a coffee and a St. Honore pastry with Mops. I am working on more of these pastries, they are time consuming and to make more progress I make them en masse in all three scales- 1:6, 1:4 and 1:3. One of the reasons for the town revamp is I need the light to set up my larger displays for the 1:4 and 1:3 St. Honore and other french pastries I am creating. I completed some chocolate ones, but the 1:6 ones are not ready yet. So no pictures yet, :( . 

As an afterthought, I had a recent purchase on ebay arrive for my custom Sheldon Cooper- his shoes. I decided to see how he looks with Amy.

He's got that crazy smile he 'has' to smile. I purchased his head off of ebay and the body too, it was the slimmest one I could find. The pants are off of ebay as well as the shoes. I still have to order his Green Lantern tshirt and under shirt as well as make a bunch of comix for him and get some star wars figures. This doll looks as close to Amy as I could get, and she looks great with those glasses on. 

So this is a look at my workspace in front of the window- it is a mess with dolls that need to be re-dressed and items that need to be put away. Valentine's day is coming and I have so many items I am working on- as well as the windows of LaBelle's boutique. 

As you can see, I have a ton of dolls that need to be redressed, including my Trixie and Poppy in their gingerbread dresses in the bakery! More trolling on ebay and etsy for the perfect valentine outfits! I'm going to attempt to think outside the box for my Valentine's day windows too. Lots of pink , red and black. ~Lisa

Happy New Year!

  Happy New Year! I hope everyone has a great beginning to the year 2015!

I have been a little AWOL lately as with New Year's Eve and playing catch up with 'real' life stuff I haven't had much time to take many pics since the day before. Today I am working on laundry, and more laundry and getting ready for when the week gets back to normal and we are pretty holidayed out. 

However, I had some time to work on my dolly goals for 2015!

I got into the habit of making goals instead of resolutions, especially for the doll collection. Resolutions are passe and never work, with no set plan or method of operation to make that goal happen. With the doll collection, I like to assess what I would like to  do, my overall objective is, and how to keep my focus. Last year one of my goals was to work on more in depth dioramas, and I think I did that. I revisited old ones, made new ones and tried new things. So my continuation of that diorama building will be to take it to the photostory level, with a written 'script' or short story to go by. I might need some fingers crossed on this one! Goal 1.

I am also going to limit my fashion doll purchases. I simply was bombarded by the W Club last year as well as with convention dolls. There are dolls in their boxes that I have only just took out and looked at then put back in the box. This is a unique situation for me, a de-boxer.  I have alot of my convention dolls up on my doll pages site for sale. Dolls in boxes don't work for me, they need to be in use. So I may be cutting back on alot of the doll purchases except for the hommes, Poppy Parkers, Victoire and the Dynamite girls and boys. I just passed on the last W Club doll who was a FR2 with those freakish long legs. 12.5 inches high is just too high for a female doll in a 1:6 scale setting. I may invest in more silkstones as the two new ones coming out are exceptionally lovely. (I may also undress my Fiorella and redress her in something lovely and use that gown for another doll.) Goal 2

Goal 3- Sew more for the dolls. I have one vintage Barbie pattern that is still not completely cut and the fabric next to it. This sewing will expand to just more than the 12 inch fashion dolls- to my bjd's as well, as my Sybarite. I would like to experiment with sewing 18th century costumes, and kind of perfect that this year. It's a longshot but I really need to work on this for my Chateau project- Louis needs an elegant beaded long vest and jacket as well as his sash with his orders. Lots of time and embroidering and beading on that, as well as sewing the tiny Louis Charles' outfit. 

Goal 4- ties in with Goal 3- Concentrate on creating more doll foods- specifically the doll pastries in all the scales. I realized the other day how much creative fun I had making St. HOnore pastries and I want to perfect more. Experiment more with the dolly foods.  Happily, it ties in for me with the doll collection. 

Goal 5- Expand collection with larger dolls. Getting into the larger scales of doll foods, I have a Sybarite, three American Girl dolls, and an MSD sized ball jointed doll. I am thinking of buying two new dolls that are larger this year- an SD sized Island doll 58 cm- Eleanor, and a Tonner sized Deja Vu. Right now this is going to be difficult and some of the 1:6 scale purchases might have to take a back seat. I am also hankering after another Realpukis, and already am thinking of some Christmas scenes where they could be elves with my little current Soso, Wren, who was so adorable in Santa's workshop this year. This goal may take some time to effect. 

Right now this is the beginning of my goal list for the collection, I hope everyone is having a great beginning to their year! Lisa