Retail Therapy

    It's been a rough several months. I've definitely had to do some dressmaking

And I've possibly brought home more Disney Princess dolls than was strictly necessary...

they were on clearance?

...but when even the packaging is fun to play with, who can blame me?

   But of course, when you buy more dolls, they demand more accessories! Thank goodness TinyFrockShop was there for me in my hour of need.

I made the skirt, TinyFrockShop provided the rest of the ensemble

I've had my eye on this necklace for months!

A few impulse buys of course

It's metal! It's about time my dolls had a smartphone

I couldn't resist this jewelry set

But I was going on vacation, and that meant that Regina wanted a swimsuit of her own. Out came the fabric and sewing kit again!

I had never made a doll swimsuit (or any swimsuit!) before! It is made from the fabric of an old swimsuit that is far too small for anyone living here, so I found it fitting to turn it into a doll suit. Super stylish and perfect for her!

But then while I was on the trip, I made the mistake of going to a bulk goodwill. Those places are so horrifying, but I found a few treasures, including a couple of dolls. One was a GI Joe that is a double for one I already have. Another was a blonde lady with frizzy hair who just needed to come home with me! Into my bag she went and for only a few pennies! She has now been washed and had her hair styled back to perfection.

When I returned home, there was a package waiting for me. I had forgotten that I had ordered a few more dolls...and one was eager to be out and about!

The new ladies seem to be making friends. There is one more new lady who is nowhere to be seen. Hmm, who could it be?

I really think it is going to be a slow doll year for me, but I would love to get one of the new yoga curvies! Eeee! If only! (but there are also some really cute fashionistas too...hmm but I need to save for a doll shelf...this hobby is dangerous!)

New Year News

Okay so it's...almost March...but...it's still a new-to-me year!

I haven't been spending as much time with my dolls as I wanted to. Life keeps throwing curve balls. My computer died around Christmas, so I finally broke the piggy bank and got myself a pretty nice new one...but now I don't have any software to edit photos or videos with! We lost my grandmother last month, and nearly lost my uncle soon after. So...it's all a bit of a mess right now.

I needed my dollies! I brought them all in from the storage and they live in their box in here with me. There's not much space, but now I can take them out and make them clothing. A few new faces have joined since last year. Mostly, I am just getting reacquainted with the ones I already have!

If you follow my Instagram, you'll have seen many of these photos, but if not, enjoy!

Andrea and Anya have a comfy chat

Anya went all out for Halloween!

Snow Queen!

Mel shows off a new creation

A take on the Little Black Dress

A sweater dress made from a sock

Same sock, different sweater (and she's very excited about her new blue streak)

I made a dress from leftover scraps

Violet got a new look

Celeste got a whole new head!

Andrea and Mel went on vacation...

"We really...really need this vacation!"

On the plane

Where's our luggage?

...and returned with a new friend...

A new guy arrived...

And more keep showing up out of the storage pit, or ebay finds!

I even tried a little bit of makeup, just for fun, on this Flynn who needs some repairs anyway...I have plans for him! Muahaha!

I have much more to show, dolls I dug up, projects I've worked on (my old Stacie doll, Alexis, got rerooted and she looks like a mess!), but sadly no more pictures for now. Still, it was a pretty long blog post trying to get caught up from last year!

I'm so excited about winning Ms Brini's birthday giveaway! 

I hope life has been treating you all well!

December Musings

It has been a busy month here in 1/6 L.A., as well as 1/1 *location redacted*! I have been selling off a lot of my old, stored toys on eBay. It is sad to see them go, but also a good feeling to know that they will no longer be stuck in storage and will be going to homes that want them. I like thinking of the buyer being excited to get my toy in the mail. Plus, it gave me some extra money for Christmas shopping, shipping Christmas presents (wow, so costly!), and even a bit left over for some fun stuff for myself! Yay, new dolls!

I may have gone slightly overboard with the Barbie shopping, but I am not sure how much of it will be for me and how much of it will be additional gifts. There were a few that have been on my wishlist for quite a while, and I thought, well why not? They make me smile, and I can use all the smiles I can get! It's also funny collecting something where I can buy a pretty decent doll for $15. I am used to collecting things that cost three times that, at least! It's easy to go overboard! Especially with all of the new variety in dolls and clothing options!

The clothes I had for my barbies growing up were so strange, and not normal person clothes. They didn't fit very well, except the handmade clothes, and tended to be bright, neon colors! I've worked very hard recently to find basic items like T-shirts and regular pants for my dolls, but it is definitely a challenge. I guess Barbie lives most of her life in ball gowns and minidresses! I wish I was better at sewing!

I did sew this odd top for Stacie. The collar is stretchy and can be worn as pictured, or with the collar stretched down over both her shoulders. She is wearing a matching hair tie.

    Shopping is really fun, and I maybe spent too much this month, but I can't wait to open the packages and share them! I love how my doll collection is turning out so far!

A Few Updates

A brief moment in between storms

My doll time has gotten shorter as work gets very busy during the summer, and the next few months are going to be very busy indeed. We finally put in an offer on some property and it is exciting to think that soon I will have a place to put my little cabin-house! I've been living in a travel trailer for over a year, now, and it will be wonderful to have more space for myself and dolls and all of my projects. I am looking forward to it, and also hoping that the funds will come together. The property is definitely a fixer-upper (but that is kind of fun, too, seeing something so ugly turn into something beautiful!).

I did get around to doing Celeste's head swap onto a Made to Move body. The other body's neck was broken, so I temporarily glued the head on just so I wouldn't have a creepy body and head floating around the trailer. Oddly enough, Celeste's head is a great match (not perfect, but close enough) for the MtM but she is a little too pale for Celeste's old body.

























I also found Celeste a non-pink outfit for her chosen profession. It's a bit large for her, but that can be fixed. I love the reflective tape! Yep, she wants to be a firefighter.

Melody claimed a bunch of clothes from a Wal-Mart shopping spree, plus she begged me to buy her some black stockings. They're a little too short for the outfit, but I don't think Melody cares. She loves clothes and I love shopping for her. I think she might wind up being the most spoiled doll, closet-wise. It's funny how her funky personality just clicked.

Sam finally made it inside the house, by bringing food.

The dark blob is a hungry dog

I have also been attempting to make clothes. These are a few of my works. I don't work from patterns, so they generally turn out a bit...interesting.

Odd little shirt in progress, this is what happens when I make clothes while watching Deep Space Nine.

Stretchy "snakeskin" skirt

Not quite finished yet, just playing with an idea

This was a window dressing at one time. Now it is a sun dress.

I am also still gathering things, slowly, for building the nightclub. My fun funds got seriously depleted this month...but they will recover, I hope!