Custom Zebra outfit

One of my customers asked me to make a matching doll outfit for her daughter for Valentines day.  She brought me the outfit and I took several pictures and studied it. Below are some photos's her the childs outfit.

I found the material at Hobby Lobby - zebra polyester and I already had black polyester. After looking at it and looking through my pattern selection I chose to use a standard pants pattern.

I took the zebra material - polyester and made ruffles and attached to bottom of leg pants.

For the top I used and modified McCalls pattern 5775 (lower middle photo on package) to come up with the top.

 

I made yo yo's and bow tie ribbons and hand sewed them. I used hook and loop tape to close the back of the top.  I was afraid it would snag so I tested it before attaching it and the kind I used doesn't snag the polyester.  I think it looks really close to the childs outfit.

Let me know what you think - I love to read comments and suggestions.

GiGi

 

Serger

I have now updated my tab - Serger - Taming the beast with several website links that contain some great tutorials (photo and video) for using serger, various techniques and tips, how to clean serger.  I have found several tutorials for the serger Brother Lock 1034D.  Check it out.  If you know of any tutorials for this same machine leave me a comment.  I have not mastered my serger yet.  Still learning.  Time is what I need.  Maybe someday soon I will master - tame it and start sewing clothes - doll clothes with it.

GiGi

Doll Giveaway Contest

Doll Diaries is giving away two dolls and outfits from Tonner Toys Dolls.
 City Girls - If you can dream it you can be it.  Color Block Astor and Taxi Billy. These dolls are 15.75 inches tall. A little bit taller than Barbie.

I am partial to  City Girl - Color Block Astor after reading her story of overcoming a medical condition - "determined and a survivor" and now is healthy and runs marathons. She has red hair and blue eyes. She is a fitness models, devotes time to friends and family to help train for running and donates to charity to help find the cure. Being a nurse myself - that is why I am partial to her.

City Girl Taxi Billy - has her own business - Buttercream Bakery.  She donates proceeds from her cookbook to charities around the city.  She has black hair and green eyes.

Check out Doll Diaries link for this giveaway - http://dolldiaries.com/tonner-toys-city-girls-doll-giveaway/comment-page-1/#

I think these dolls help builds girls confidence - dream it and achieve it. Becoming something they desire.

Here is the link to Ciy Girls - Tonner dolls 
http://www.tonnerdoll.com/city-girls

Thanks for stopping by and reading by blog
GiGi

Artist apron for American Girl doll

I won a Saige American Doll book from Liberty Jane Doll clothing http://blog.libertyjaneclothing.com/  from Twelve days of Christmas Giveway and after looking through the book and seeing photo's of the 2013 American Girl Doll Saige, I decided to make a artist apron for a 18 inch doll.  I just listed it on my Etsy site.

 

 I didn't have a pattern, so I created my own.  Just need some paint brushes and canvas.  I do enjoy sewing clothes for dolls.

 

 

I made this arpon from my granddaughter and she wanted to put paint on her doll's apron to make it realistic.  So we put on gloves and took some acrylic paints and smeared on the apron. 



Sewing basic Tutorials

I came across a sewing 101 beginner tutorial from Raechel Myers blog titled Finding my Feet. http://raechelmyers.com/sewing-101/

From the blog, "Finding my Feet," Raechel has a four-week course on Sewing 101 complete with detailed descriptions, labeled photos, and video tutorials. An amazing resource for beginner.  She uses a Brother sewing machine.  Videos are excellent - clear and to the point. I give her five stars for this tutorial.

New doll outfit and pattern review

I created a new 18 inch doll outfit. I used Simplicity pattern 3936 (B) for the top.  I have some mixed reviews regarding the instructions on this pattern. The instructions were not clear on "how to sew elastic" on the lower part of the sleeves and the 4 inch 1/2 in elastic did not stretch across the sleeve.  As I have mentioned before, I hate to make mistakes.  I was bound and determined to make this work. So I am posting a picture of the results.

Bear, Dolly and Moi: little Valentine bedding

Bear, Dolly and Moi: little Valentine bedding

 

Just seen this Valentine bedding on blog from Bear, Dolly, and Moi -adorable.  Tutorial  can be found in link Bear, Dolly and Moi: little Valentine bedding .

Hot Fudge Cake - recipe

Not sure how many of you love chocolate but with Valentines coming up next month and the thought of chocolate reminded me of a recipe I grew up with.  I thought I would share with you a recipe - Hot Fudge cake.  It is always a hit when I carry it to pot-lucks.  I like the idea that you can put the chocolate sauce in crock-pot to keep warm.  I hope you all enjoy it.  If you make this recipe come back and leave a comment and let me know what you thought of it or if you made any changes/alterations to the recipe.

Hot fudge cake

Cake:

1 box of favorite chocolate cake mix and bake according to directions in 9 x 13 pan and let cool. ( You can also bake in bundt pan and slice - this one looks better if you want presentation to look good).  If you like nuts you can add 3/4  cup chopped pecans or walnuts to batter.

Sauce:

1 – 12 ounce package of semi-sweet chocolate chips

1-teaspoon vanilla

1 large can of pet milk

1 box of powdered sugar

1 ½ stick of butter

Melt chips, butter slowly in large sauce pan.  Gradually add milk and sugar alternately.  Simmer for a few minutes until all sugar is dissolved and add vanilla.  Slice chocolate cake, place a scoop of vanilla ice cream and drizzle hot fudge sauce on top.  (Note – hot fudge sauce can be transferred to crock pot to keep sauce warm and this recipe can be doubled for large quantities).

Esty Store Created

Well, after several hours of working online creating my Etsy store - I have now created my own online store to sell my creative doll clothes and other items. http://www.etsy.com/shop/GiGisDollCreations

Once again - if you have set any goals for 2013 - go for it. 

Thanks
Margaret

My valentines doll clothes creations

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Here are some items I have created using purchase patterns and pdf patterns I have dowloaded from pinterest.  One of my favorite T-shirt patterns is from New Green Mama.  http://www.newgreenmama.com/2011/08/18-inch-doll-t-shirt-pattern-tutorial.html and my favorite skirt pattern is from http://daydreamdollboutique.blogspot.ca/2012/07/scrap-saver-18-straight-doll-skirt-free.html 

I also like being creative an altering patterns - something I thought I could never do.  It is just material...I sometimes have to keep telling myself that.  It is ok to make mistakes.  It is ok to throw it in the trash can...lol

One should never let fear stop them... I am the kind of person if I want something to just go for it. I can remember waking up after having an mild outpatient surgery at the young age of 26 and decided I was going to be a nurse and two weeks later I was at a university and enrolling into classes. I decided three years ago to get my MSN in nursing education and one week later I was enrolled and taking classes online. 

I have lots of patterns from McCalls, Simplicity and I just love the patterns you purchase online from Liberty Jane Clothing (LJC).  http://www.libertyjanepatterns.com/ They are to die for.  I love her creativity and the easy explanation in the patterns.

I just need more time to sew and sew...

I will be listing these items on my Etsy account (will be opening very very soon).

Goals 2013

I had two goals for 2013. One was to create a blog and the other one was to create and open up a Etsy account to sell the doll items I made.  I am getting closer to each of my goals.  I am new to sewing and crafting and I love it. It is addicting as well as Pinterest.  I never dreamed I would have nearly 200 boards and over 20,000 pins on my Pinterest page.  I have a lot of American Girl (AG) boards along with Barbie boards and pins.  Last year I purchased a sewing machine, embroidery machine, Cricut machine, and just this week a serger (learning this one...make take some time).

I bought my sewing machine to sew doll clothes for my granddaughters. Did not realize how addicting this can be. A few friends asked me to sew them some doll clothes to purchase.  I was very nervous at first.  I have never done anything like this.  So I made several tops, skirts, and purses and took them to work. They purchased everything I took and made request for more.  My daughter took doll clothes to where she works and they too purchased a lot and made request for more.

I always tell my nursing students that I teach - if you desire/dream it then go for it.  Sometimes in life we hit bumps and sometimes road blocks along the way. The goal is not to let those bumps and road blocks stop our dreams and goals but to be creative and find ways to move forward. I am looking forward to seeing what 2013 has to offer and what I can offer too.

Thank you for stopping by and since I am new to blogging I will be updating and continueing to create my blog.

GiGi