I made the case out of cardboard, with Apoxie edges. The handle was a miniature, 1/12 scale, swivel door handle, which I build up with a bit of Apoxie. Then I painted it.
Then I wanted to make a carrying case like my Mom's machine. Her's was wood, and the handle of the sewing machine would fold upwards so the case would fit over it. But my little sewing machine crank wasn't moveable, so I made my case with a solid wood bottom so no one would ever be tempted to try and force it over the sewing machine.
I made the case out of cardboard, with Apoxie edges. The handle was a miniature, 1/12 scale, swivel door handle, which I build up with a bit of Apoxie. Then I painted it.
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Iris was thrilled to have a brand new sewing machine. It was the latest model.... ....and she just had to check it out. Sewing was going to be so much easier...and faster....now.
Then it was time to paint all the decorative gold embellishments on my little sewing machine, using one of my very finest brushes. I knew I'd never be able to paint the name 'Singer' so I cut it from a paper printout and glued it on. Then with all the decorative painting done, and the fly wheel attached, and several coats of satin varnish.. ...and the machine threaded... Big and small...
I've wanted to have a Victorian sewing machine for my dolls for a very long time. There's plenty for sale online, but they are all 1/12th scale, and that's way too small. I'd been using a brass pencil sharpener shaped like a vintage sewing machine in my photos in the past, but I wanted something better. Something like my Mom's vintage 1870's sewing machine.... Jan had shaped a couple of pieces of wood last summer - the main body, and the wooden base - but the thought of making a sewing machine just seemed way too intimidating, so the pieces had lingered in a bowl on the end of the kitchen table ever since. Then in February I finally decided it was time to attempt to finish it. The wooden body was a bit irregular, so I added a layer of Apoxie to smooth it out. The biggest challenge was finding something for the fly wheel. Then I came across a bag of LEGO wheels at Value Village, and thought there was one in the bag that would be perfect, so bought it. I removed the tire, and built a rim of Apoxie around the outside. It had a thin wire inside so I could make a handle protrude out of it. The handle was made of three beads. I wanted the sewing machine to look as realistic as possible, and I wanted to be able to thread it, so I wanted to use a real sewing machine needle cut in half. For the presser foot I took one of my tiny metal forks and broke out the middle two tines. Then gathered all kinds of bits and pieces - wire, studs, snaps, and some tiny beads - that might be useful for some of the machine parts. I had my Mom's machine and the tiny brass pencil sharpener for inspiration... I painted the body and base plate black, and Jan drilled some holes for the needle and 'presser foot' and I glued them in... Jan drilled holes for the wires I'd cut and shaped. I had some thin silver metal, which I cut the bobbin plate and feed-dog out of. I glued them in place and used carving tools to press the indents suggesting the feed-dog into the metal. It also glued a metal plate on the end. Then Jan drilled holes into it for the wire loop 'take up levers' that I'd formed. I used a large snap fastener for the tension disk. I wasn't going to bother with the thread wind-up mechanism, so glued another snap and decorative stud to suggest the parts on the full size machine. A hole was drilled for the dowel which would hold the fly wheel, and it was glued in. Finally, the bottom of the main body as a bit uneven and there was a slight gap between it and the base plate, so I added a ring of Apoxie to cover and support it. Then it was time to paint it.
It's been a very unusual winter here, with record-breaking high temperatures, and almost no snow. Yesterday we went to visit out daughter, who lives in the Windsor area. (which is across the river from Detroit, for all you US readers). Well, she had crocuses already blooming .... And there were even some dandelions blooming! This morning I took a look at our sunny front garden, and sure enough there were some crocuses in bloom there as well.... I don't know if this means an early spring, or not. We've had snowstorms here even at the end of April, but with global warming everything has changed. So who knows?
I had knit all three of my Ruby Red dolls a sweater, hat, and scarf, thinking they'd be ready to go out and play in the snow. But it's been a really weird winter with almost no snow. There were three light dustings in the night that melted as soon as the sun came out. And two what were supposed to be 'major' snowfalls that started in the night, only to turn to rain. So nothing.
So I took a few photos of Sara in her new sweater, inside, playing with her dolls. I always check to see what 'Special Days are coming up in case I feel inspired to take photos for one. I knew I wanted to do Peanut Butter Day, but it wasn't until the last minute that I finally decided on who to feature. The Avery twins and baby dragons! Which meant I needed the 'kitchen' half of the dragon's lair. I still had a castle interior up on the dining room table, still waiting for me to photograph a scene that I'd been wanting to for weeks, so that meant clearing out half the set and piling everything to one side....again.... Then I set up the dragon's kitchen on the other half. I have a binder with print-outs of every room setting, so I know exactly what needs to go into any particular room. I just take the print-out down to the basement and gather all the furniture and props I will need. Then it takes just a few minutes to put everything together in the dining room, and I can add the dolls and dragons. ...and I can start taking photos.... Someone on FB thought I'd actually baked a tiny loaf of bread! LOL I may be a perfectionist, but that would be going too far, even for me. Someone else commented that the bread and peanut butter looked "so real". Well, that's because they were. I wanted white bread, but we don't eat the stuff. Then Jan remembered that there were still some hotdog buns lingering in the downstairs freezer, left over from a family BBQ last summer. So I took one out and started slicing it nice and thin while it was still frozen. Then I spread peanut butter on several to make thensandwiches. I had to be very careful so that the slices of bun didn't come apart in the middle. Then I took two empty, small glass jars, and put peanut butter into them. Had to be very careful not to get any peanut butter on anyone, especially the dragons, since they aren't exactly washable. Then for the photo of Sparkle, I used a tiny elastic and eye putty to help her hold the spoon and empty jar.
February 23rd was Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day, and Holly was taking her pup for a walk down by the lake.... It was cold and windy, and she had brought along a treat for her dog... "Here you go boy..." No sooner did she take out the treat, than another dog came running..... She heard a lot of barking coming towards her.... It seemed that every dog in the park was coming for her biscuit... "Good thing I brought along an even bigger one!" "Now there's enough for everybody."
March 1st is National Peanut Butter Day, so Avery and Emily were over at the dragon's lair, helping make peanut butter sandwiches for a picnic.... Avery was busy slicing up the loaf of bread... ...while Emily spread the peanut butter. But the little dragons weren't being much help... Peanut butter was one of their most favourite foods, and Elliot couldn't wait to try the sandwiches... Nuri wasn't even waiting for the sandwiches, but was helping herself to the peanut butter with a spoon... "You know.....at that rate there's not going to be any left for our picnic."
After taking photos of St. Nicholas visiting the Royal castle, it was time to change the set to Miho's castle. Which meant switching some of the furniture, all the wall hangings and the table coverings. There were a lot of dolls, and I do try take a few photos of the entire room with everyone in it, trying to take al least one with everyone clearly in the photo and not blocked by someone else. Then I move in to take the closer up photos, to draw attention to the various parts of the scene.... I'll keep getting in closer and closer.... Unfortunately, my castle walls aren't that high - just the height of a sheet of foam core - so whenever there's a wider group of dolls, the photos usually end up with the tops of the walls and the edge of the table showing. Then it's just a matter of cropping in... Then finally, with the last of the Christmas dinner photos taken, it was finally time to clean up all the Christmas decorations for another year.
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AuthorMartha Boers is an award-winning Canadian doll maker and costumer specializing in fantasy and historical-style costumes. Archives
March 2024
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