Christmas in the Air

Well, haven't written in a while but that doesn't mean I haven't been sewing or dolling in general.
I wanted to get a decent picture of the group for Christmas so I decided to redo Jensen and River's faces. Jen has aged a lot since I got him and you can really see where his resin has yellowed. In the picture above you can see the pinkish part on his forehead where it has been shielded from the light by his wig. So my goal was to blush the rest of his face to match that pink tone and make him look less yellow.
My second mission was to make River's head match his body better as he is hybrid (his body comes from Iplehouse and his head is Dollmore). He also had some scuffs on his makeup from an incident with his sunglasses so he needed some redoing anyway. His head is a little more of a pale mellowed yellow and his body is a pinkish pale so I took some white and pink pastels and gave him a few rubs with a makeup sponge. I think there is only a few different types of lighting where you can see a difference at all now.

I am currently working on Christmas projects. I need to make four stockings for the new dolls I got this year, and I'm hoping to make a few presents too. The bear above is just a little guy and is intended for an SD (63cm) doll. He is for a Christmas swap I am doing on the forum. He will be heading to California with in the week. I hate to see him go as he has been such a cute sewing desk bear but I did sew him specifically for someone else so he must meet his destiny.
Well that's all for now, but I will definitely try to update more often.

Mori outfit finished

I think I did a pretty good job keeping with my design.

 And one without the sweater:

I did it!

Here is Hen's new face!

I have to say I am VERY pleased with how he came out. I was so scared that I wasn't going to be able to make him look like the same Henry that I have always known. But now I love him even more! He has little freckles that you can't see very well because they are light.
I never thought that I would ever think I was good enough to wipe his face and recreate something that I would like even more. It just makes me so happy. ^__^

I'm gonna do it!

I have repainted all of my dolls except for one. My dear Henry has had his wonderful default makeup (which I love) since I bought him...but now I'm thinking I would like to paint him myself. It's not that I don't like the makeup anymore, it's just that I feel he is some how different from the others because of it. I kind of feel distant from him lately too, like maybe I'm tired of him so I think he is in need of the change. I will be searching for a new wig for him as well, it's just so hard to find the strawberry blonde that I want and I'm thinking I want a fur wig.
Anyway, I'm going to take the dive and wipe his face. There I said it, and there is no going back.
So here is a tribute to his beautiful and much loved face from Crobidoll:

Visuals

This is just to help me visualize how I will be using the materials that I chose. There are a few notions I would still like to incorporate...but we'll see if I can maybe add a bag or something.
The shirt underneath has three pin-tucks on each side of the buttons, a peter pan collar, and 3/4 length sleeves. I am thinking I will use a trim on the bottom of the pants where they cuff up. Maybe the pink lace again just to tie it all together? It does look really nice on the dark brown.
Anyway, I'll update again when I am working on the patterns.

Okay so here is what I have been up to!
I joined a sewing group on DOA were we pick a theme and all share our sewing progress together and it has been a lot of fun so far.
For the first round I chose to sew something for Tayler as she was feeling a little neglected. The theme as "Summer Breeze".
Here were my fabrics and inspiration:

And here is what she ended up with:

And because she was in need of some tlc I even redid her makeup and gave here a soak and a wash. She feels much better now.

The next round is "Mori" style (you can look that up on google if you aren't familiar with the term. Basically is is reminiscent of what a girl would wear if she lived out in a cottage in the woods). It's soft and feminine and although this style is perfect for Charlotte...I don't have her yet. Suri stepped up to the challenge though and these are the materials we have chosen:

 I'm planning to do a shirt with the calico linen and white (because the first is pretty shear) plus some trimmings. Then I want to sew some capri pants from the dark brown, and a sweater from that extra cozy "real" sweater on the left.
Here are some pictures I am using for ideas:

The second picture is mostly for the pants, but the top picture is what I am thinking of for her shirt (I might have to use a different technique for the pin-tucks though). I like the peter pan collar and the lace trims. As for the sweater I am going to make it rounded on the front and instead of your traditional closure it will have maybe two buttons, that way I can layer without covering too much of the shirt up. I might make a bag/purse of some kind too if I have time. I'm thinking I will sketch it out before I begin to draw patterns.
And for a little bonus, here is something I made between projects for Sylas. My Auntie gave me some wonderful fake leathery material that I knew would be perfect for his style, and this new vest was born:

Well, Madelyn is home now, and you know what that means. One more girl to sew adorable things for!
I found a second hand shirt with some lovely white flowery fabric and matched it with something in Maddy's favorite color (yellow) from my stash and I worked up this little summer outfit.

I love sewing for her, she is a great poser and looks good in everything!
More to come I'm sure. Until then, happy sewing!

dinosaur blanket

A little something for the newest little one before she gets here. This is very much inspired by her dad, Noah:

It has lots of different textures and it's a very pleasing weight and floppiness. I chose the rick-rack to accent it because I thought it rather reminded me of dinosaur teeth, and it needed more yellow because that is her favorite color.
Noah might be under the impression that this belongs to him...but I'm sure he will give it up when she gets here (he's not good at saying no). 

There is a new little one on the way for Suri and Noah! Their first born and only child Madelyn Su, is a spunky little Narsha,  a brunette with dark eyes and light freckles.
This is the picture from the website (Dollmore), mine will have the same hair:

She is from the same artist that sculpted Julia (my Zaoll Luv).

Okay, been gone for a while but I've still been sewing.
Here is Suri's completed outfit:

And Sylas wanted a bandana (no real sewing involved there, but he had to have t-shirt to go with it).

His whole outfit is hand made now.
And I made something new for my mom's little girl, Jordyn. It has little bloomers underneath, and is made with some retro style kitten fabric. The t-shirt can be added for warmer weather, or she can wear the dress without it.

Pants!

I got brave and with my trusty sewing book from the library I conquered pants!
They are actually quite fun to make and I am excited about trying different styles and combinations.
These are my first try, some green summer shorts for the girls.

But I decided I wasn't really fond of the length for capris so I made another pair today from the fabrics I got at Joanns just for the occasion.

These are brown with reddish orange accents, with working pockets. I am so happy with how they came out. And I have at least three different fabrics that match to make shirts with. Here is my current Pile.

 

BONUS:

Mom found these cute little ceramic dinosaur/dragon guy at Joann's and I had to have him for my desk area. I painted him last night and put a gloss finish on. He's a bobble head! ^_^

 

I have had this idea in my head to make Sylas some moccasins since he is half Native American and sort of a nature type. So Yesterday when me and my mom went to the second hand store in search of some fabric to make her little doll a couch with, I found an awesome (probably pretty expensive) suede men's dress jacket for $2! Need I say more.

These were very simple in design and the fabric couldn't have been more perfect. He is very happy with them...they are his only shoes right now, so I'm glad.

Tomorrow I think I will work on the couch, maybe take some pictures to show how. Doll couches are fairly simple actually. If you can measure and plan a little, you too can make one. I use a lot of hot glue.

Guess what I got!?

 

That's right, River has jointed hands! He is learning to play the violin from Henry (who is a little jealous but hides it well). Sylas is there for size comparison and because he is River's personal chaperone.

These things are so cool though, he can hold anything! They are so tiny and delicate though, so they make me a little nervous. That and they are constantly scuffing themselves, but it is easy enough to buff out with a Mr.Clean sponge.

Well, I will leave Sylas to get acquainted with his surroundings (in his own way) and go make him some more CLOTHES! I'm working on another button down shirt right now, but I'm really thinking he needs a fedora of his own...in brown.

Freedom Truth Beauty Love

And here are some progress, pictures of his makeup before and after:

I am so happy with him!
Name: Sylas Graves
Profession: song writer
Age: 26
Ethnicity: Mongolian/ Native American
Colors: blue, green, browns

He needs more clothes!

Yuri Update!

Well, he is officially on his way home. I guess the poor guy has been owned at least twice so I'm sure he is looking forward to his permanent home. While waiting for him I have decided to sew him a few clothing items before he gets here. His establish style falls under bohemian/grunge with a retro flare. Similar things you might imagine Johnny Depp wearing, a sort of vest and button up shirt, fedora kind of guy.
Here is the first addition to his collection.

Vest has working pockets and vintage buttons.
He still needs a pair of his own pants though, fortunately the other boys have some he can borrow. I'm thinking he needs a pair of camel brown pants and a ratty pair of jeans in his wardrobe.
I really need to conquer making pants. I figure once I develop a basic pattern I can modify it to different styles. I'd like to make some capris for the girls, and some shorts too. 

Dolly Update!

I am buying a used doll!!!!!!!
Yes, it's true I met and fell in love with a Migidoll Yuri hybrid. He will be coming from Canada, so he shouldn't take long to get here. I'm thinking his style is going to be kind of bohemian, linen shirts, scarves, boots, vests...Gotta start brainstorming. Eyelashes! I need to buy eyelashes.
I'll be back. I'll take before and after picture when I get him.

Last night I tried making another "Miho" shirt with a modification to the sleeves to make the finished product more clean looking. It's not really noticeably to anyone but me but I like it. 
Here is a practice one,  Julia stole it for now although I may end up adding it to my "for sale" pile as it is up to snuff.

I'm thinking the black would look good on a blonde too.
This pattern is very versatile in the way that it is loose fitting but looks good doing it. I know a lot of SD girls are bustier than mine and I'm sure they could fill this blouse nicely. Julia is fairly small and she can pull it off too. I am definitely keeping that in mind when I sew to sell. There is nothing more disappointing than buying something that doesn't fit.

When I am working on a project and brainstorming I always have a Pile. This Pile consists of fabrics that work well together or something I have purchased recently. It is nice to have a Pile nearby to draw inspiration from. If you stare at a fabric long enough you can really start to visualize the possibilities of the fabric. Sometimes a new purchase can work really well with an old scrap that you have forgotten about too, so make sure you dig out the old Stash every once and a while.
Here is my current Pile:

Hmm, yes.

Well, here it is my blog.
I created this blog mostly to keep track of my crafts and hopefully build up some patterns to open up shop on Den of Angels again. I own six SD sized dolls (meaning they are between 52-63cm in height) and two MSD sized (40-43cm). I also have a small 26cm doll living in the same household that I will be designing things for from time to time.

Yesterday I went to the local library and picked up a book called Design-it-Yourself Clothes by Cal Patch. It is most useful for someone like me who likes to draft patterns but has never been officially taught how to do so. The book is for humans not dolls, but all the same techniques apply just in a smaller scale. My first project was the "Miho shirt", a simple peasant style shirt that has shirring with a drawstring on the collar.
Suri and I were quite satisfied with how it turned out.

And here is what the pattern looks like:

The sleeves can be lengthened/shortened according to the style you want. The back and front pieces are doubled over on that straight center line to create one piece for each. Total there is only five pieces to the whole shirt. The collar is made from a strip of fabric that measured about 18" by 1.5".
I made the string to tie it with braided embroidery floss, but you could use yarn or cord too.
I am definitely thinking about selling some of these and creating an MSD pattern too. Tayler would look cute in one and I know some other JID owners who might want one.