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I'm on a roll, trying to sort my poor neglected resin babies. I'm either sorting them or selling them!! I need to downsize my resin family a bit so whoever isn't getting any attention will be going. I spent a while wiring a couple of my dolls today and was going to wire Blossom too but when I picked her up and tried a few poses, I really don't think she needs wiring as she holds poses so well. She arrived to me with all her joints sueded and it seems to be working quite well for now. I've had this girl for about four years and really haven't done anything with her :( Bad dolly mum!! Today she had a bit of a makeover....new clothes and new eyes. I've always loved her smiley face, which was what attracted me to her to begin with.....she makes me smile every time I see her. Blossom is one of Jakzjewelz Woodland Whimsies series. She has cute lamb ears and is large YOSD size. These dolls have lovely chunky bodies and are quite heavy for their size. This makes them very sturdy......and lovely to handle. I also bought Sage at the same time....I'll introduce her here sometime soon I hope. She is very different to this girl :) Here she is.......   Thanks for coming to visit....have a wonderful day :)
Lynne xx
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OH MY.....look how long it's been since I posted 😱 Why does life keep getting in the way of my crafting and blogging?!! Anyhow, I'm here to introduce my little Miroxdoll "Joe" twins.......Josephine & Jasper. Poor babies have been in the cupboard for over a year waiting for some love. When they arrived I was actually quite disappointed with the tan colour....it was a lot darker than I'd anticipated and I was wishing I'd just played safe and stuck to the fair resin.....so they were put in the cupboard out of sight. I even tried selling them at one point but they were obviously meant to stay put here for whatever reason. About a month ago I decided to get them out to wig and clothe so I could try selling them again. After looking at them sitting on my work table for a few days I was smitten with them all over again. They really are very cute, just a bit darker than I wanted. So I packed their heads up and sent them off to Alena of Enchanted Crafts Group to have their faces done. OMG....I am thrilled with the results!! Alena has done an amazing job of bringing these two to life. They are perfect now! She has even managed to make the difference between the boy and the girl very easy to see! While the heads were away I made them some clothes. Now that they're all back together I'd like to introduce them......Josie & Jasper 💖💙 My gorgeous little twins. Face-up photo courtesy of Alena - Enchanted Crafts Group:  Back together and clothed......  I've done a little story of them having a play day.....posted under the stories tab 😊
Have a wonderful day wherever you are in the world Lynne xx My lovely friend, Sarah, in the UK has allowed me to adopt her gorgeous fair Willow....called Birdie. She arrived to some very cold weather, poor little thing! My blue girl, Sherbet was SO excited to welcome her Twin home :) I found some time today to put together a photo story of Birdie's box opening......posted under the Stories tab. Here's a photo of my two lovelies together....and one of them having a Tea Party in celebration of Birdie's arrival.   I made this bag for a friend's birthday.....  The pattern is the Jolly Chunky Bag by Lucy over at Attic24. I've made it up in Stylecraft Special DK, in left over colours from my Cosy Blanket....the first of Lucy's blankets that I made. I stumbled across Lucy's blog about two years ago and fell in love with her crocheting....she has an amazing eye for combining colours together :) I've been a regular reader ever since and have now made seven!! of her blanket kits!! I love going to Lucy's blog to have a read....it's always uplifting and her photography is wonderful. I wanted to make a 'yarn project bag' for a friend who also crochets but I don't have any of the chunky Stylecraft yarn, so I decided to use the DK and adjust the pattern to suit. I did two rows of pattern per colour for the base, then switched to single rows for each colour. The base measures the same as the base in Lucy's pattern....I kept increasing until it measured 23cm. I increased until there were 10 sts between increases for my base, using a 3.75mm hook. I'm really happy with how this turned out and hope my friend likes it too.  I made the sides high enough to hold 100g balls of Stylecraft DK vertically....it holds six full balls. I also wanted to line this bag and put a small pocket in it to hold a crochet hook, tape measure and small scissors or snips, so everything needed for a project is all in one handy place. I thought I'd post the process of making the lining here, in case anyone else would like to line their bag and wasn't sure how to go about it.....it's really quite easy. First step is to work out the base piece for the lining.......for this you need to measure across the diameter of the circle you've crocheted for the base.....mine measured 23cm. Then you need to add the seam allowance to this measurement.....I added 2cm to allow for a 1cm seam. So my fabric base circle is 25cm. I found a cake tin that was the perfect size and traced around it to get my pattern piece......  The next step is to work out the circumference of the circle to cut the side piece. Maths has never been my strong point so I resorted to Mr Google for the formula and found a Circumference Calculator .... YAY!! Just click on the link and enter your radius measurement into the box, click on Calculate and the measurement will appear in the bottom box....easy peasy :) (The Radius is half the diameter of your circle measurement.....so my radius measurement was 12.5) Once you have the circumference measurement you need to add the seam allowances to it.....my measurement was 78.5 ... plus 2cm (for two 1cm side seam allowances) = 80.5. So my side piece had to be cut 80.5cm wide. To calculate the height of the side piece, I measured from the bottom of the gold scallop edge to the bottom of the Lime row (near the bottom of the bag), which is the first row worked without any increases.....this is the first row of the bag sides. My measurement was 20.5cm so the side piece had to be cut at 22.5cm to allow for a 1cm seam to sew to the circle and a 1cm turn over at the top of the lining, where it gets sewn into the bag. SO.....my lining side piece was cut 80.5cm wide by 22.5cm high :) I wanted to add a pocket.....I cut a piece of fabric 17cm wide x 22cm high. Fold the pocket piece Right Sides together and sew down each side with a 1cm seam......photo below  After sewing the seams trim the corners as shown and then turn through to the right side.......  Press the pocket flat. The next bit sounds a bit tricky but it's really quite easy.....position the pocket with the raw edge facing up, where you want it on your lining. I positioned mine so it would sit in between two of the handles and would be about 4cm from the top of the lining.....so I placed the raw edge of the pocket 15cm from the raw edge at top of the lining fabric.....like this below  I hope you can see this okay....it's not the best fabric print to be using for demo purposes :( Pin the pocket with the raw edge facing up and then sew a 1cm seam across this edge, sewing through all layers. Once the seam is sewn, clip the corners on the raw edge and then flip the pocket up towards the top....shown below  Press the pocket in place then pin to hold. Top-sew close to the sides and across the bottom of pocket to attach it to the lining. Give it another press. If you prefer you can add a little hooky pocket like I did....I sewed another row of stitching 2cm from the top-stitching on the left side of the pocket to create a perfect size holder for a crochet hook.....so it's easy to find in the bag and you don't have to go hunting for it :)  Next you need to prepare the lining side piece so it's ready to attach to the base circle. Zig-zag or overlock the sides and top of the this piece, then press the top edge 1cm to the wrong side. Open out the pressed edge and sew the sides of the lining together with Right Sides together using a 1cm seam. Press the seam to one side (or open if you prefer) and re-press the top folded edge where the seam is. Your piece should now look like this....see below  Now it's time to attach the base circle to the rest of the lining. Mark out quarters on your Base piece and Side piece with pins.....as shown in the photos below.....the pins are placed on the (bottom) raw edge of the side piece.   Once you have both pieces divided into quarters you need to pin them together. Right Sides together, put the circle into the open 'tube' of the side piece and line up the pins on each piece. It should look like this....  Now you need to pin the two pieces together all the way around. Placing your pins vertically will make it much easier....as in my photo above. It's also much easier if you have the Base piece facing down with the Side piece facing you. The side piece will need to be eased slightly as you sew, to avoid any puckers. Sew with the Side piece facing up and the Base underneath. If you sew with the base facing up you are more likely to get puckers in the side piece. Once you have sewn the two pieces together, either zig-zag or overlock the seam allowance to reinforce it and deter fraying. Your lining should now look like this.....  Now top-stitch around the folded top edge of the lining. The next bit is a bit fiddly but does make a difference to how the lining sits when in the bag. Press the seam towards the Base of the bag lining by lying the bag on its side and holding the 'tube' up with one hand while putting the iron into the bag and pressing down into the bag.....you will have to move the bag around in a circle to press the whole seam. It's much harder to explain than actually do!! Once your lining is all pressed you're ready to attach it to the inside of your gorgeous crocheted bag. Sit the lining inside the bag, lining the pocket up where you'd like it to be, and pin the top edge of the lining to the top inside edge of the bag.....I sewed mine to the bottom of the Gold scallop row. Hand sew in place with small whip stitches. The inside should look like this......  The last step is to turn your bag inside-out so the lining is on the outside and smooth it down so that it's sitting on the base of the bag correctly. Then I like to attach the bottom of the lining to the base with a few stitches....so it stays in place when putting things in and out of the bag. I hand sew through the lining at four points around the base, just catching the crochet bag, and then tie off firmly. Voilà.....congratulations.....your bag is all finished. Give yourself a big pat on the back :)  I'd like to send out a BIG thank you to Lucy for all that she shares on her blog. ALL her patterns are FREE!! And they are all wonderful. I LOVE this bag and love how it turned out.....I'm not always thrilled with my creations but I am with this one! I'll be making another one soon for another pressie. Maybe one day I'll even make one for myself lol Thanks for hanging in there through this long post......I hope it helps someone to have a go at lining a bag. Have a wonderful day Lynne xx ETA: I've finished the second bag....here it is I used a cute owlie fabric for the inside of this one and the colours are leftovers from Lucy's Sunny Granny Stripe blanket, minus the Bright Pink (which I'm not that fond of). I followed Lucy's colourway until the bag was the right height, using 2 rows for each colour on the base and one colour per row for the body of the bag.....same as the first bag I made :) Love these bags......wish I had more friends I could make them for LOL I have quite a stash of leftover yarn and these are great stash busters!   Wow, it's been ages since I posted!! I'd like to introduce my new boy, Evan :)  Evan is a YOSD size BJD by Impldoll. He's 26cm tall and came to me blank. I've had so little time to do anything remotely dolly for the last couple of months as our daughter married a couple of weeks ago. I've been flat out with wedding sewing and stationery :) We had some warm weather last weekend so I gave him a face-up and then today I made him some clothes and a wig. I'm not happy with the wig but it will have to do for now...it's better than leaving him bald lol At some stage I'm going to wipe the face-up and redo it as it's not as brown toned as I wanted...he looks like a bit of a ginger. I'm determined this boy won't have red hair as nearly all my resin family are in red shades of varying hues. He's much smaller than my Polly (Meadow Dolls Patti) but will still be a good little playmate for her. I liked his body so much that I've ordered a girl body in his size to use with my Sprocket Glee's head :) As much as I love the look of the Sprocket bodies, they are painful to stand and pose. So Evan will soon have a half sister lol Poor boy was tired after all the work today so sat and read a book for a while....The Poky Little Puppy. We love Little Golden Books in our house :)  I'll try not to leave it so long between posts again!
Have a wonderful day wherever you are in the world :) Lynne xx  It seems like forever ago that I started working on this project! I've had Pale Pink Coco (by Kaye Wiggs) since September last year. She is very finely featured and has a lovely, very posable body, so I decided to bring to life the vision of a little Dragonfly Nymph that was playing in my head.....hence the name Dart.....that's what dragonflies do; dart around the surface of the water :) I made her bodysuit from a piece of lycra dance fabric I had tucked away in my stash. It's made from resizing and adjusting an MHD Designs pattern. I love Magalie's patterns, they are so well designed and detailed.....and the instructions are wonderful. I have a few of them now, waiting in queue to be made up. I couldn't find the right wig for the look I wanted so I moulded Dart's headcap from some Magic Paperclay I had in my papercraft stash. "Stashes" are such handy things to have lol I covered her head with cling wrap to protect her face and then moulded the clay over the top. It's very difficult to get a really smooth finish with this clay, which frustrated me a bit, but it's so easy to work with. I tried using Fimo too but spat the dummy with it when it wouldn't do what I wanted it to!! I finished the look with a coat of acrylic metallic craft paint and a little clear glitter paint, then added the two cabochons to represent the jewel-like dragonfly eyes. The wings were a problem. I really didn't have the time for a wing-making learning curve so I approached Christina from Stitch Soup and asked if she'd consider making a dragonfly wings machine embroidery file. I was so excited when she agreed to do these for me. There is now a set of wings on the site with five different designs in three sizes!! It turns out that Christina loves wings :) I hope to make more of these for a couple of my other dolls when I get time. Then there was the problem of how to attach them to Dart's bodysuit without them drooping or dragging the stretchy fabric down at the back.....I settled on designing a little corset belt that I have attached the wings to.....works a treat :) I haven't decided whether to give Dart a fantasy face-up or not yet. This is the original factory face-up. One day I might get brave enough to have a go at a OOAK face for her! I was lucky enough to find the exact shade of sapphire blue I wanted for her eyes. I've considered getting some fantasy eyes for her so I'll see how I feel if I change her face. Overall I'm quite happy with how she turned out.......it's close to the vision I had in my head. I find it frustrating when I get a creative idea that I can't bring into the physical, so this one is a win for me!   Thanks for coming to visit......have a wonderful day :)
Lynne xx I thought I'd post some of my past projects in collage form. First off are clothes for the Australian Girl Dolls........   These are some of the outfits I made for the girls' birthdays. I've included a photo of Emily & Jasmine in their boxes. The models for most of these photos are Matilda and another Aus Girl Doll called Amy. I sold Amy to a friend when I found BJDs :)
The little sandals were made by following a wonderful tutorial by Diane Morello...you can find the tutorial HERE Diane has some great tutorials for dolly things. Okay...I'll be back soon with another installment of past projects. Have a wonderful day Lynne xx  I'm going to start my crafty jottings with my reintroduction to dolls.......This is Matilda.....an Australian Girl Doll. Isn't her wild red hair gorgeous!!
The year my little granddaughters were turning 8 & 9, I decided to buy them a good quality girl doll each for their birthdays. My research led me to the Australian Girl dolls.....they are beautiful, sturdy and very well designed and made....and even better, they are designed by an Aussie couple with our Aussie culture in mind. You can read their story by clicking on the link.....HERE I bought blonde Emily for my blonde granddaughter, Kate, and brunette Jasmine for my brunette granddaughter, Amy. Then I proceeded to make both dolls a complete wardrobe.....I was in 7th heaven! I was so impressed with these dolls that I decided I needed one of my own...as a mannequin for the clothes I'd make in the future (my story and I'm sticking to it lol)....so I just HAD to buy Matilda :) Red hair and freckles are a bit of a family trait so I'm a bit partial to redheaded dolls. I just LOVE Matilda's wild red hair! The Aus Girls have a gap between their big toe & second toe so they can wear thongs (flip flops)....each doll comes with a pair in the box.....soooooo cute :) While scouring the web for doll clothes patterns and accessories I came across a beautiful blog by a very talented lady called Martha Boers.....her site is called Antique Lilac Her work is amazing! I suggest you go and get a cuppa and spend a wonderful hour browsing her creations. Anyhow, while I was browsing the beautiful posts I fell in love with her Kaye Wiggs dolls, which sent me on a search to find them. I'd never seen BJDs before and they fascinated me. Dolls that were posable....and could have their whole look changed with different eyes and wigs....WOW!! To cut a long story short, I eventually found Kaye's dolls and bought SK Layla. The preorder process was so foreign to me.....and the wait seemed forever for someone who lacks the virtue of patience.....but it is so worth it when that box arrives with a new baby inside! Of course, I couldn't stop at one lol In the last few years I've been very lucky to add to my resin family. I have a range of sizes now and love them all but Kaye's dolls will always be my favourites....her work is beautiful. Some of my family has been rehomed to make way for new arrivals and I'm always sad to part with one, but I have to be practical....I can't have them all.....more's the pity lol My greatest pleasure is to make clothes for them. It allows me to have a purpose to sew, knit and crochet cute little garments. And I love to make up stories for them. I enjoy developing their personalities as I go along and one day hope to do a series of photostories featuring them. More hours in the day would be handy...I'm still working and at times work overtakes my life to the point where I don't get any time with my dolls for weeks on end....I get withdrawals when this happens! Enough waffling for now! Next post I will show some of my resin family and perhaps share a little of their stories...and some of the clothes I've made so far. Have a wonderful day, wherever you are in the world Lynne xx |
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