Valentine's day exploded in my living room

It looks like a Valentine's Day explosion in my living room. These are the dresses I found packed away. About half of them are finished, and the other half are all in varying degrees of completion. Oh, and one lone St. Patrick's Day dress on a Barbie doll.
I think the red dress right in the middle is probably my favorite. It is made from red satin and organza. I remember seeing it on a Barbie before and it is stunning. I think I made a similar one and sold it on eBay before and had decided to make another one and never got around to selling it.
So, my goal is to get these done and on Etsy. I have already set the shop up, but have not made a banner yet. My to-do list is long and arduous. But, in the famous words of Walt Disney:
"The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing."

Barbie on the Brain

Well! If I didn't have to work so hard, I could craft all the time. I kind of feel the same about crafting as Bubba from the Forrest Gump movie felt about shrimping- we can just be crafting all the time! I am still working on the yo yo project, though true to my crafting A.D.D., lately I have became reinfatuated with the fashion doll after finding a pile of finished and semi finished Valentine dresses in my fabric stash. Now everything is all about Barbie.
So work did me in today and I am tired tonight. The good news is the fashion doll pattern CD came today. (Yea!) It might be OK, I've only had a chance to look at it briefly. It's more of a guide anyway, because the time has long past that Barbie is one size fits all, so some tweaking will need to be done.
I have been researching Barbie body styles and types and found that there are at least eight different body styles now; vintage, TNT, posable, Shani, belly button, silkstone, pivotal, and model muse. And that's not even counting Barbie friends. I have most of those body types with the exception of the pivotal. It's very new. I got my first Barbie Basic for Christmas with the model muse body style. It is the number 2 model with the Lara face mold (see photo). I have my eye on numbers 3, 4, and 12, too. These dolls are insanely skinny. I smell a highly collectible doll forming in these beauties. They're selling out like hotcakes. There are 12 of them with different face molds. They all wear a little black dress, and so far, I have not seen any outfits being released for them, just accessory packs.
Most sewing is done for vintage and TNT, and more recently the silkstone doll. Outfits for silkstone, if they're really well designed and expertly sewn, can fetch upwards of $100.00 or more per outfit. This price is actually down from a couple of years ago where I've seen some go for more than $500.00- depending on the label. It was rare, but I saw it.
As I learned in my last 2 1/2 years getting a Master's degree in marketing, the most important thing to do when starting a crafting business (or any business) is to decide on a brand name and logo. It is that important to your customers because the name is how the customer is able to identify your work and find you easily. A label also ensures you stand behind your work and are professional.
So I picked a brand name for the doll clothes line; Ella Rose Doll Fashions with a pink rose logo. I don't want to be strictly associated with Barbie-the Fashion Royalty line by Integrity toys is awesome, too. Why Ella Rose- I don't know. A rose is usually known as the most beautiful flower, and Ella reminds me of; 1. Eleanor Roosevelt; a strong and sophisticated woman, and 2. Ella Enchanted; a girl in a Cinderella princess movie. This combination reminds me of the type of doll designs I see when I clothes my eyes.
So right now I'm focused on Barbie and her need for wardrobe. I have a goal to make myself finish and post the Valentine dresses for sale by this weekend. My Etsy shop awaits an inventory- so I best get with it soon.

What Do You Love?

People who love crafts usually love them all, but when given opportunity to choose a craft to do, they will lean toward a particular type as being their favorite. For me, it's sewing and dolls. As I said before, I used to sew Barbie Doll dresses for sale on eBay. It was probably one of my favorite times in life, but one I lost hold of as life demanded more of my attention.
It was around 2002 to 2003 that I was involved in doll dress design. Most of my dresses were the frilly ballgowns that were so popular for the time. How I longed to do something more contemporary, but there did not seem to be a market for the type of dresses that I wanted to do at the time. Unfortunately, I never got back to it when a market did grow for that style of dress. The Mattel Silkstone Barbie collector doll and the Integrity Fashion Royalty dolls were rapidly gaining popularity after I stopped sewing. Soon, one doll fashion designer began to stand out fr0m many others selling on eBay; a woman named Brenda from Canada (Sorry, I do not know her last name) who sews under her label, Matisse.




Her use of pattern and fabric are stunning in combination with her skill in sewing in miniature.Every detail is perfect, right down to buttons, linings, buckles, and handbags. Notice the fabric used in the brown jacket? It looks like leather, doesn't it? It is liquid knit, undoubtedly much easier to work with in miniature than leather. Each tiny outfit is perfectly accessorized,complete with belts, scraves, and jewelry. Her skills in sewing are as good as her skills in photo composition and marketing. I have been following her work for years, and quite possibly it was she who created the market by the beauty of her work and her stunning displays. Truly amazing.

I could just sit here all night and put pictures up for you to see- but just do your self a favor and visit her blog. She offers lots of information on sewing in miniature, as well as links to many other tutorial sites.
Lately, I have been reinspired to design for Barbie. I was going through my fabric stash and came across some dresses I had started before. Wouldn't you know it, there are several Valentine dresses that only need minor work to complete them. Just in time for Valentine's Day! (They are "frilly ballgowns" but I will finish them.)
I also just ordered a CD on eBay that is loaded with several of the vintage fashion doll patterns- quite a steal at $4.95. Such a steal that I don't mind not having the actual pattern and having to print out the pieces (transferring doll patterns to card stock works much better than the flimsy tissue paper paper, anyway.)
Soon, I'll be sewing away and selling on Etsy this time! My plans are to sell doll dresses, handbags, glamour aprons, miscellaneous accessories, and some supplies like fat quarters and bags of trims. My shop will be opening soon. Keep watching Etsy for Sunday Sewing Shoppe. That will be me!

Is it real? Or is it a babydoll?

It's a babydoll. Isn't she amazing? Reborn doll artists take an ordinary vinyl baby doll and turn it into a true to life replica of a real baby. Now, that's a lot of talent!I honestly can't tell the difference in some of them.

The process starts with choosing an appropiate doll to be "re-born". Because their dolls are made with more realistic features than other doll companies, Berenguer Dolls is the manufacturer of choice. Some people mold and sculpt their own dolls or purchase them from private artists.

Re-Born artist,Karen Whitmore described the process in detail. The doll must start out as a blank canvas- all factory paint must be removed. The ears and nostrals are opened and felted, and then the painsaking process of the painting begins. It normally takes many layers of various techniques to replicate the mottled skin look of a newborn. The hair is rooted in single strands, the eyes are set in if it's to be an open eye baby, the details are tended to, and the doll is put together and weighted to the approximate weight of a baby in that age range. Whew. That's a lot of work.

However, some people find them to be creepy because they look so real, and for that, they've made the news a few times. MSNBC and Dr. Phil both did shows on the Re-Born craze citing the realism of the dolls as a news worthy topic. So whether or not you'd like to own one of them, you must admit, the artistry that goes into these dolls is incredible. And yes, they are expensive. Depending on quality of work, you could expect to pay about $300.00 per doll and up.

3 Hearts for Origami Birds

Today I awoke to the magical majestic freeze of a winter morn. Add a couple of inches of snow on top of the ice and it only meant one thing to me- snow day! At least for part of the day. I did manage to get off to work eventually.
One thing that snow days are good for is crafting. I played around with my yo yo projects for a while today and I think I am coming up with some good ideas. I can't wait to share them with you.
Another thing I wanted to do was to set a goal to find at least one project done by another crafter everyday and share it on my blog. So, without further ado- here's my pick of one thing that I love for today: A tiny Origami bird made out of part of a tea bag by Ken Murakami. No easy feat, I might add. I tried to make one with a 6" square sheet of paper and couldn't do it. Anyone have Origami tips for making a crane?

The creativity of people truly amazes me and puts my crafting A.D.D. brain in motion to want to make everything! Perhaps one day one I will learn to edit my desires, but for now, I want to make it all!



Happy crafting!!!

Yo Yo Crazy

One of my New Years resolutions is to find more ways to reduce waste and be more green. Not only is this good for the planet, it can be good for the wallet, too.

Crafting green is really pretty easy. Many crafts can be made from scraps and common household items that are normally destined for the trash. One such craft is making yo-yos. Yo-yos have been used for making quilts, pillows, and decorative pins for scarves, lapels, and purses. They are no more than a small piece of fabric cut into a circle and gathered around the edges with needle and thread. Simple, yes, but they can be used in so many beautiful ways.

The picture of the holiday pin came from the website of fabric and lifestyle designer, Heather Bailey. She has an excellent tutorial on making yo-yos. She shows photos of actual photos of the process, not just a drawing. Good pictures are great for people like me who need to see to learn.

So, it looks like yo-yos will be my project this week. I can't wait to see what I can some up with!

Happy crafting!

Ann

Happy New Year Crafters!

The beginning of a new year is always a time of reflection for me. I often take some time over the first few days to evaluate what happened over the past year and to plan for what I want to happen in the coming year. This blog is just part of that plan. I feel as though I am finally answering the call of what I should have been doing all along- getting myself more involved in something that I love.
As early as I can remember, I enjoyed crafting. My interest grew over the years by watching my mother. One month she would be quilting, the next month she crocheted, and the following month needle punch would be all the rage for her. She taught me how to make paper snowflakes, to embroider, and to sew at an early age.
She was first and foremost a utilitarian crafter, crafting more for what was needed before what she desired. She taught me that if you can’t afford something, see if you can figure out how to make it. Hence, I remember crafting a pair of Romper Stompers out of coffee cans and string at the tender age of 5. I fell off of them and nearly broke my neck and put out my eyes, but it was the start of something greater (Just kidding! But seriously, they didn’t work.)

These days I enjoy all crafting; designing, making, and sharing. Sharing, I believe, is one of the best parts of being a crafter. It is as much fun to see what others are doing as it is to do it for yourself. So, please feel free to share a craft or add some input to my ideas.

I am, therefore, I craft.

Happy crafting!