Unpopular Opinions about the AG Dollhouse

 I am planning to totally personalize the American Girl doll Dollhouse.

There's a lot I don't like about the original. 

I don't care about sound effects. I'm deaf. It's a waste of money to me. No doubt they were trying to make it more playable, but it doesn't appeal to me. 

I like working lights in a dollhouse, yes. I wish the light fixtures were more classic and less trendy.

I don't see any need for a bathroom. Again, this seems to be popular with kids. I just don't care.

I really hate images of furniture and rugs printed on the floor and walls. It makes it look like a cheap Barbie dollhouse made of cardboard that I had as a kid. 

I think having a hot tub on the second floor is silly. It makes it less like a real house.

I think they would have made more money by cutting out a lot of the special effects and pricing it lower. That would have made it more achievable for more people. Obviously they were trying to make it "luxury." To me, they just made it silly.

I'm planning to make mine a lot more Victorian and classic and remove a lot of the included features.  I want to be able to display both historical and modern dolls and change the interior for both the season and the time period. 

I have a lot of ideas about how to do this. I will share soon.

American Girl x KidKraft Luxury Dollhouse On Its Way!

 I saw in a group that the American Girl x KidKraft Luxury Dollhouse was being sold in Big Lots.

Problem: I live in a state without Big Lots.

I asked my ever-suffering best friend to check her Big Lots. They had it available at a super low price. $40!

She bought it for me and took it to my parents' house.

My mom is bringing it to me on Friday.

I plan to personalize it. I'm very excited!

Honestly, I plan to paint the walls white, add personal pictures in the picture frames and in the windows.

I will add furniture and different curtains.

I would really like to add William Morris wallpaper, but that might be too much, due to the problem of finding some in the right scale and working around the windows and things.

I wouldn't do all this if I had bought it at full price. For what I paid, I can do whatever I want with it.

Apparently, it is huge and barely fit in my friend's car.

She is SUCH a good friend.

Madame Alexander Snow White

 I was delighted to find this Snow White doll at the thrift store for $3.

She's not my favorite princess, but this doll is a real cutie!

Don't worry, Snow White, you are safe from your stepmother now!

I must admit, I am really falling for the 8 inch Madame Alexander dolls.

Thrift Store score!

 I had a lucky day at two thrift stores yesterday!

At the first thrift store, I got Honey the golden retriever for $1, and some fabric that is perfect for an upcoming project for $1.

At the second thrift store, I found a grab bag of AG clothes for $3! It included part of Kit's twin sweater set, Julie's white meet blouse, and Julie's pajama top.

I have some planned doll clothes projects that I am very excited about! I want to make a two piece Victorian Halloween dress with a striped skirt. I want to make a doll version of Emily Dickinson's iconic white dress. And I want to make several 1700s dresses from the movie Portrait of a Lady on Fire.

Writing these down helps me to remember my ideas, LOL.

Happy Birthday, R!

 Today is my friend's birthday!

She really wanted a Jane Eyre dress by Pemberley Threads for her Addy. We are ignoring the 20 years' difference between this 1840s dress, and the year Addy lived in, 1864..

I asked what color she wanted, she said purple, and here she is.

It goes very nicely with my cute little irises.

I think this is a great pattern. It looks elegant and is easy to sew.

The bodice was a little loose on my Addy, but better too loose than too tight. Her Addy is an older one who is likely chunkier anyway.

Here is a gorgeous picture of her Addy wearing the dress!

Perfect for Easter!

A Stitch in Time 1916 Summer Dress

 I haven't made many patterns by A Stitch in Time.  The 1916 Summer dress is lovely.

I found this pattern to be relatively easy to sew. It is really beautifully engineered, so that everything matches up perfectly.

The opening on the back of the dress, for instance, end at exactly where the first ruffle starts.

It includes several possible variations on the skirt, sleeve, etc.

I loved this and will be making more variations of this pattern!

Sewing Machine Drama

 Well, it's not MUCH of a drama. But I had to take my sewing machine in to a repair shop an hour away. 

They aren't 100% certain they can fix it. So I am waiting for a call saying either that it is fixed, or that it can't be fixed.

I don't want a new sewing machine, I love the one I have!

Fingers crossed that it gets fixed!

In the mean time, I have been cutting out sewing projects. I lost count at about ten. LOL. I have no idea I have cut out and ready to sew now. Lots of doll dresses!

Pattern Review: Keepers Dolly Duds Nancy and Mary Jane Dress

 I made the Keepers Dolly Duds Nancy and Mary Jane pattern in full!

I used a version of the pattern to make Nanea's Christmas dress, but that didn't have all the scallops.

This version has the scallops!

I always feel when I make scallops that they could be more defined.

These aren't the best and aren't the worst.

But it's a pretty dress, and I am happy that I tried to make the pattern!

I love this fabric. So pretty!

Another Dress for Caroline

 This is another dress made from the Thimbles and Acorns Wrap Front Regency Dress pattern.

I did not realize that the pattern also contains the pattern pieces for a second, simpler doll dress!

This one closes in the back.

I was happy to dive in and make another dress for Caroline.

This dress was supposed to have tucks taken in on the skirt. However, I did have a mishap cutting out the fabric for the skirt and decided to just go with a simpler skirt made from a shorter piece of fabric.

I think it's a pretty dress! I think that this pattern is more versatile than I realized, and I enjoyed making this.

A Dress for Draculaura

 My friend talked me into buying a Scare-adise Draculaura. 

(You know who you are, and I know you are very proud of yourself.)

I didn't want her to be stuck in a swimsuit year round, so I needed to sew her a dress.

I made the Requiem Art Designs Petite Curvy Goth Girl pattern.

I had the perfect fabric in the form of a fat quarter that I bought at Wal-Mart a few years ago.

I did most of the sewing by hand, since the pieces were so mall. I was sitting on the couch with all the tiny pieces in a bowl. 

I am not sure about the collar. I feel like it didn't turn out as well as I would like. I am not sure white was the best color for it either, but I couldn't think of what other color to use.

The bodice fit is a little loose on her. It doesn't look bad. I just don't know if I should have bought the petite small size instead.

The sleeves are so narrow that I had to take her hands off to get it on her. Thanks goodness for removeable hands!

Hopefully, this will not be the last dress I made for Draculaura.

Pattern Review: Thimbles and Acorns Wrap Front Regency Dress

 My first doll dress of the year!

I made the Thimbles and Acorns Wrap Front Regency Dress pattern.

I'm so proud of myself!

I did have to read the instructions carefully on this one.

The sleeves are actually the easy part. They are straightforward sleeves, just long and with a wrist band and snap to create the bunching.

The top was the challenging part, but I got there! 

It's so pretty! I love this fabric print.

Caroline is happy to have a new dress to wear (and to get out of the closet, let's be honest.)

I was very sick over Christmas. It feels so good to be up and doing things again!