Dolls at the Lake

 I took three dolls to the lake to get some pictures this weekend.

First up is American Girl Girl of the Year 2020.

Joss is happy to be at the lake, even if she couldn't go surfing.

Next is Ruby Red Fashion Friends Stella. She looks cute as always.

Then there is Ruby Red Create Your Dream Doll Jeanette. I just got her, as the dolls are on sale this month.

I love Jeannette's face. She has less pose-ability than other Ruby Red Fashion Friends, but that is reflected in the lower price point.

Her skin tone is a little odd. She looks very grey when she is next to other Ruby Red dolls.

It doesn't look that bad when she is on her own.

She is a little grey-ish here.

She looks fine in this picture!

Her clothes are all printed on cheap fabric, but again, I expected that from the low price point.

Thimbles and Acorns Prairie Dress for RRFF

 I was looking for doll clothes to sew for Ruby Red Fashion Friends, and I was delighted to realize that I own the Thimbles and Acorns Prairie Rose pattern for Wellie Wishers.

Wellie Wishers and Ruby Red Fashion Friends are slightly different sizes, but so far I haven't had any problems with them sharing clothes. The biggest size different is in the size of the heads, not the bodies, I think. It makes them look more dissimilar than they are.

I made this pattern before, in American Girl doll size. You can see my version of that here: Blog Link.

The pattern has both a modern version and a historical version. I was torn on which version to make, but so far I have chosen to make the historical version. I think that they are both pretty.

I think if I make the modern version in the future, I might make the skirt somewhat fuller.

These dolls are somewhat taller and thinner in proportion than the AG dolls. This sometimes feels a bit odd when I am taking picture. I'm sure I'll get used to it.

Again, you can see Stella hiding her sneakers under her historical dress. Ha.

Doll Joy Joy Dress- almost finished

 I made the Joy Dress from the Doll Joy pattern maker on Pixie Faire.

The repetition in the pattern name and the pattern maker name is a bit annoying.

Anyway, I was really excited to get this pattern as a Freebie Friday, thank you.

I made the pattern sized for 14.5 inch to 15 inch dolls.

Sadly, I don't totally 100% like this pattern.

I like the sleeves, they are really cute. I love doll clothes with long sleeves!

I thought that the neck was too big on Stella, and it would be better with a narrower neck. Which I can fix next time, but not this time.

The dress is meant to be a very loose fix around the waist. It looks cute in pictures, but it bothers me in real life.

The material for this dress is from a blouse I got at the thrift store. I like the fabric.

All I have to do to finish this dress is finish the bottom hem. I have not yet done so.

For one, thing, I do not want the dress to be any shorter than it is. Next time, if I ever make it, I might make the bottom ruffe a half inch longer to compensate for that.

And as I said, the loose fit around the waist bothers me. I am tempted to cut the whole thing shorter and add a fitted waist. Or even make it into a blouse.

Anyway, I can't make up my mind what to do!

KDD Beth Dress for RRFF

 I made the Keepers Dolly Duds Beth pattern, sized for Ruby Red Fashion Friends!

This pattern in this size was a Freebie Friday pattern, and one I am very happy to have.

It is just as cute in the Ruby Red size! I found it easy to make, especially since I had made the pattern before.

It's smaller, but not so much smaller that it is too difficult.

I just wish that I had better shoes to match this to put on my Stella! She is wearing sneakers under her lovely dress.

Stella looks really good in green. I shall continue to sew for her!

You can see a version of this pattern when I made it for American Girl Addy at this link.

Ruby Red Fashion Friends Doll Stella

 I recently bought several Red Ruby Fashion dolls due to a recent sale.

I have always thought that these dolls were very pretty. The high prices were a bit of a deterrent, and I am pretty loyal to American Girl.

The sale made me decide to get some!

The first doll that I opened is Stella. She is gorgeous! I love her hair.

I REALLY love her eyes. The description says that she has green eyes, but I think that they are blue and hazel, like mine.

I really like the sweet faces and the posing ability of the Ruby Red dolls.

They can share a lot of clothes with the Wellie Wisher dolls and the Hearts for Hearts dolls.

The dolls and the clothes feel high quality. What I do not not like is that the clothes that they come with look very mismatching to me, except for the more expensive special edition dolls. I will be changing the clothes on all of the dolls.

They are 15.5 inches tall and skinny, so they are a lot more portable than the AG dolls, as well as poseable.

They are also a bit risky. Some dolls from this line, especially the Siblies, had eyes change color over time. This is one reason why I was reluctant to spend so much money on one of these dolls.

I made the jumper she is wearing. The pattern is the Forever 18 Inches Faux Button Jumper,

Right now, I am very happy with the new addition to my doll family.

Sewing Doll Sweaters

 I went to a thrift store where they sell clothes by the pound and looked for clothes to cut up and use for doll clothes. I am really excited with what I found there.

I feel like getting the texture right is important in making realistic doll clothes, and using real clothes is one  way to do that!

I used the Liberty Jane T-shirt Variations Pattern.

Here is sweater # 1, modelled by #62, Stella: 

And here is sweater #2, modelled by Tenney.

I am really happy with both sweaters! My wallet would be in much more danger if AG made more realistic everyday clothes like these.

I love pretty dresses, but sometimes a doll just needs to relax and stay warm.

Moana Disney Bound

 I am really pleased with this Disney bound of Moana!

Like my Disney bounds for Belle and Ariel, this dress is made from Simplicity 8072.

I used a bodice that is patterned in diamonds in coral and yellow.

The top and the skirt of the dress are made from a tan fabric with a very subtle pattern on it.

The bodice has one teal button to stand in for the heart of Te Fiti.

I put sandals on her feet. The color doesn't quit match, but it kind of works.

I now have Disney bounds for two of my favorite princesses! I love Belle and Moana.

My other favorite princess is Merida, but she's going to be hard to make a bound for, I think.

I do know who I want to model a Merida bound in my collection. It's going to be Aurélie, who has red hair and blue eyes.

So far, all of the Disney bounding dresses have been made with fabric that I already had in my house. I am really being creative!  It's so fun!

I think for Merida, I may have to cave and buy fabric. But she's worth it.

In the meantime, I am continuing to make more Disney bounding dresses with fabric I have on hand!

Fourth of July Dresses

 I am really jumping around on the holidays out of order, but I wanted to make some doll dresses for the Fourth of July for my little cousins. I had the perfect fabrics on hand.

I used to love the Fourth of July, but now I have mixed feelings about it because it does not acknowledge that this land was stolen from indigenous people.

With that acknowledgement, I love these dresses.

I used the pattern for the Liberty Jane Peplum Top once again. I made the waistband 1.5 inches and the skirt 6.5 inches.

I feel that this gives it more of a classic look, rather than a trendy one.

I also added a quarter of an inch to the back of the dress to make sure that this would fit my cousins' dolls.

It's very funny to be taking pictures of Fourth of July dresses in the snow! 

Oh well, you do what you gotta do.

I am happy with the dresses, and my cousins will be, too. I like how each dress is unique, but they go very well together as a whole.

Pattern Review: Keepers Dolly Duds Coat Essential Pattern

 I recently made the Keeper's Dolly Duds Coat Essentials pattern.

I wanted to make coats for my little cousins' dolls.

I try very hard not to make identical items for the sisters, so they can't fight over whose is whose.

So I made the same coat pattern in red and green.

My favorite part of the pattern is the pockets, which are elegantly stitched into the seams. They are so cute! Every doll needs pockets.

It's a nice pattern, but I felt that it was a bit loose in the front. This may be because I put in velcro instead of buttons. I know that the girls always ask their mom to help them change doll clothes, and I didn't want her to have to button and unbutton, haha.

I also thought that the collar should come just a tiny bit more forward on the front of the coat.

I think if I made it again without buttons, I would take about a quarter of an inch off the front of the coat, and that should fix the issue.

Looseness isn't a bad thing on a coat, though, because it can fit over layers more easily.

I know that my cousins will love these coats and not even notice the minor fit issue, haha.

Doll of Color Month

 September is Doll of Color Month on Instagram.

There is a new topic every day to encourage you to show off your dolls of color.

I am not going to follow every prompt, but I did try to follow some of them.

This led to taking some group pictures, which are very hard to do!

I am not totally happy with these pictures,but they do show the dolls I wanted to show!

All my dolls of color

Spring pictures

I got some very cute spring pictures that I am happy to share!

Anne

Tamsin

Stella

Melody

More spring pictures

Stella and Astrid also got a change of clothes.

They posed themselves like this as I was carrying them outside. It was like Stella was hugging Astrid. Aaaw.

Astrid is wearing the 1930s Gathered Dress from Heritage Doll Fashions.

Stella is wearing a dress from Simplicity 8575, which I love.

Pretty dolls!

Beth's Summer Camp

Greenchiligirl described my pictures of the new MCM dolls as "Beth's summer camp."

I like it!

So this morning, summer camp went to the beach.

Cedar ans Amelle

 I am still getting used to my fancy camera. It has a setting to use when there is back lighting that really improved my pictures today.

Cedar, Amelle and Stella

Stella and Amelle

Cedar and Amelle

Stella, Cedar and Amelle

Cedar

Amelle

Amelle

Cedar

Amelle

Cedar and Amelle

You guys, I am so glad I bought these My Life As Adirondack chairs. They are awesome.
It makes it so much easier to make an outdoor scene with dolls.
Especially if they don't want to stand up!

Cedar and Amelle

Cedar and Amelle

I think the girls enjoyed their morning at the beach!

Cedar and Amelle

Items bought at MCM are not supposed to be resold and are not eligible for free repairs from the company.

Cedar, Stella and Amelle

Dolls and some other items have an X marked on their bottom to show that they came from MCM.

Most items also have their barcode marked out.

In the doll collecting community, it is considered acceptable to pick up a doll for another collectors as long as you are only reimbursed for the original cost of the doll and shipping, and do not make a profit on it.

There were a lot of requests on American Collectors this year. I was not able to fill most of them.

I planned to buy two dolls and Melody's bed for myself, and I agreed to pick up dolls for three other people instead. Since you have to carry everything you buy out to the car, that was as many as I could handle for sure! 

To be honest, five dolls was probably more than I could handle. I bought two dolls and a bed, and I wore a hole in the bottom of the brand new bag that I was carrying them in.  I am sad about that.

One of the dolls I was looking for was JLY 58. By the time I got there, there was only one 58 left, and she had permapanties, so I did not buy her.

I got a 66 who is named Cedar for greenchiligirl and a 62 who is named Amelle for BeauCouer. I am so glad I was able to bring two dolls home, even if I am not keeping them. I always warn people that I keep the dolls for a couple of days and take pictures  of them. 

I enjoy doing this, and I think it's nice that the dolls get to see a bit more of Wisconsin than just the inside of the warehouse. It's sort of a miniature travelling doll arrangement.

I took pictures of Cedar, Amelle and my #62, Stella together. I think some of these turned out nicely.

Thanks for letting me play with your dolls, guys!

Amelle

Amelle and Stella

Cedar and Amelle

Cedar

Amelle

Cedar

Cedar

Amelle

Cedar

Cedar and Amelle

Amelle

Amelle and Stella

Amelle, Stella and Cedar

Stella

Cedar

Amelle

Cedar

I hope you enjoyed the pictures! 

It's much more fun to go out and take doll pictures than it is to mope around my empty house.

I took pictures of Ruby the first year I went to MCM and JLY 59 the second year.
This is a fun tradition for me.