Doll Jewellery

Just recently I've been researching easy projects for kids, specifically for nine and ten year old girls - my friend's granddaughters.  The first thing I came up with was a pipe-cleaner dog...

I got the instructions for this dog from here and it worked great for these two girls to make.

 

Luckily, in my stash, I had pipe-cleaners.  I have a lot of things in my stash for 'just in case'.  So, I suddenly got hooked on these pipe-cleaners and wondered what else would be a good project for girls.  From here I got the inspiration to make doll jewellery, another nice easy projects for kids.  Here's Ginny modelling what I've made so far...

A hairband and a necklace.  I used chunky beads because they fit onto the pipe-cleaners easily and are not so fiddly for kids to use.  Here's how the beads fit onto the pipe-cleaners...

I trimmed the whiskery bits off the pipe-cleaner for the necklace and curled the ends so that they hook together at the back of the doll's neck - that's the one on the right of the picture.  For the hairband I just trimmed the middle part where the beads fit, then I made the curled hooks at the ends and attached a pony tail band to hold it together at the back of the doll's head.  I think they worked out nicely - a good project for girls and their dolls.

A Dolls House

I have two 1 inch scale dolls houses.  This dolls house has been waiting for about ten years for me to get on and do something with it....

Do you ever find yourself thinking that you can't get on with something because you feel you 'should' be doing something else?  That's how I feel about dolls house miniatures.  I really want to get on and make things for my houses and come up with some nice room boxes but something has been stopping me.  Well, at 65 it's about time I stopped this silliness and got on with things!!!

The bit I don't like doing is the painting and decorating so you won't see any of that going on.  I do like setting up room scenes and making furniture and stuff.  I also like buying furniture etc!

So, occasionally I will be doing a post on dolls house miniatures - it is doll related after all.



Doll Shoes

I've been having yet another go at trying to make some decent shoes for my Gotz Just Like Me doll.  This doll is about 10.5 inches tall and has really tiny feet that measure about 1.5 inches (40mm).  I can get shoes for my 18 inch tall doll but here in the UK I can't find the tiny shoes.  Here are the efforts I've come up with today...

Looks like there is a bit of tidying up needed on the soles of the sandals.  Anyway, these shoes aren't a bad as some I've made in the past.  After watching a great series of videos I had another go, this time using craft foam for the soles as you can see in the above picture.  It works out much nicer than using fabric covered cardboard, which I just could not get to grips with - glue everywhere, shoes stuck to my fingers, bits coming apart and lots of horrible frayed edges.  The white shoes are made with felt and then have a foam sole glued on.  The sandals I made by folding a strip of fabric, then smearing a layer of glue in between and ironing it so that it stuck flat and gave a bit of extra support to the fabric.  Then just sandwich the strip in between the craft foam soles, very quick and easy.  If you go and watch the recommended video you'll see the fabulous sandals she makes.  She also has videos of how to make lots of other doll things.



A Dress For Bridgette

Here is the first doll I bought, she's a Gotz Precious Day Girl Elisabeth but I renamed her Bridgette...

I bought her because I was making American Girl sized dresses for a friend and I needed a doll to try the dresses on for size.  This doll was a lot less expensive and is the same size.  I made her quite a few clothes to start with then got another couple of dolls and started making clothes for them.  So, poor Bridgette got a bit neglected and I thought it was time to make her something new.  I got the pattern for this dress off the internet but of course I can't find the link now!  I think it is a bit short and would look better with a blouse/tee shirt under it as you can see her cloth body.



Spring Outfit

Today I was surfing the web for no-sew dolls clothes when I came across two wonderful videos, episodes 2512 and 2513, that feature Joan Hinds talking about her '30 Minute Doll Clothes'.  I tried to find the CD/book of the same title but it must not be available here in the UK.  So, I made up my own patterns and used her way of sewing them together. 

Here's Ginny modelling them...

 This is the sundress

Sundress with bolero jacket

I think this is the quickest I've ever completed an outfit.

Blossom Toys Doll

This doll has been hanging around at various family members houses for years.....

It is a Blossom Toys walking doll, about 25 inches tall, from the 1970s or early 80s.  It no longer walks, needs a good wash and brush up and only had shoes on until the other day.  Her hair has been cut at the back, right down to the roots, so I think a headband is needed.  I have made her some underwear, and the skirt, so at least she is now decent.  My next job is to clean her up and finish making her some nice clothes.

Does anyone recognise this doll?