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Dreaming of Summer Adventures

2/21/2013

It's bright and sunny and freezing cold outside - a classic February day - and I'm dreaming of doll adventures this coming spring and summer. I was skimming through last year's big adventure, and there are still so many photos that were never processed or shown, waiting to fill in the spaces, if and when, I do a proper story - or book. Here's one. Sigh... Oh to be there right now, in the glorious mountains on a warm, sunny, spring day! One can only dream....

The next four outfits are all cut out, and I've started sewing. Making four at once might seem a bit overwhelming, especially considering they are all different colours and styles, but even so it's faster than doing them one after the other. Plus there's the bonus of being done all of them at once! Right now I'm focusing on the clothes themselves, and once those are almost done, then I'll address the four sets of wings. I figure it should take at least two weeks. Maybe longer.

New Fabrics for the "Stash"

2/20/2013

Last Saturday we went to check out the new Lens Mills store over by Yorkdale. I decided I wasn't going to be happy making do with one of the four fabrics I'd already bought for my "Queen of the Night" costume, until after I'd exhausted every possible fabric store I know of that carries fancier fabrics. Well, I struck out on what I went looking for, but, as always, some other fabrics did follow me home. There were some very fancy, embroidered & sequined tulles on sale, so I chose three. They had literally hundreds of beautiful prints, but I stayed strong and resisted all but two - a beautiful butterfly print and a nice colourful heart stripe perfect for little dresses for the tiniest girls.

Of course, now they'll all go into my stash - neatly folded into the appropriate boxes for "later". I'm so looking forward to when my commissions are all done, and I can actually make something from the newest fabrics that follow me home - like immediately - right away after I finish what I'm working on. Inspiration is strongest at the moment I buy the fabric, and not necessarily there anymore months or years later. Actually, that's not totally true. Each fabric I buy has a specific costume idea attached to it, and what might change over time is the styles of costume I'm interested in making. Then the challenge becomes seeing past what the fabric was originally purchased for, and using it for something else. And it can be difficult letting go of that original dream. So, some fabrics stay neatly stored away for many, many years.

"Out for Delivery"

2/19/2013

Woke to those magical words this morning! I'm just starting to pull all the fabrics for the next four commissions - four fairy costumes - and it was hard to focus. I kept looking out the window. Where is that mail truck? Just after 1:30 the doorbell rang. It was Erzulie and Soa!

First one out was Soa. As much as I love getting a new doll, it is always a bit of a let down to see the blank faces with those eyes staring at me. Soa is one of those sculpts that looks a bit "odd" blank, but with a faceup she's beautiful - a lovely young Asian girl. I want them to have faceups - now! But I'm going to have to wait. I dressed Soa and found a wig that looked okay for a few quick photos. It's always hard to tell when the doll doesn't have a faceup. Size-wise she fits perfectly with Lonnie, and Byuri whose big sister she's going to be. Soa does have a much more slender face than Lonnie - not that "baby face" look - but that's what I wanted. Lonnie and Byuri came over to welcome her....and pose for a picture.

Then the little girls started unpacking Erzulie. They had heard a new friend was coming,
and they were so excited to help her out of her box and meet her....

Lonnie and Soa came over to watch...."Better get that girl something to wear!"

Then a quick group shot of the four little girls...

Now I can't wait to see them painted!! Too bad I can't do it myself. You'd think as an artist I should be able to, but I remember the frustration of trying to paint a porcelain doll nicely. And then there's the challenge of spraying the sealer lightly - I have a VERY HEAVY hand with spray paint. No, better to wait and have an expert do it.

Leather Bag Tutorial

2/18/2013

This is a very versatile, easy to make, bag pattern. Several of my dolls have a variation of this bag. Fantasy characters have bags which hang from a waistband, and are embellished with long streamers trimmed with beads and feathers. More realistic characters have simpler versions with braided shoulder straps. All you need is the basic bag pattern and you can add any kind of handle, straps, or embellishments.

The tutorial was put together for BJDCollectasy, and can be accessed by clicking on the image below. There is also a link in my Tutorials section.

the Ice Cave

2/17/2013

It was such a lovely day, we decided to take a drive up to Muskoka, and see all the snow. It was spectacular up there - fresh snow on every branch, and massive ice falls on the rock cuts. I had brought along a few dolls "just in case", and we managed to take a couple of photos - just a very few - since it's hard to find a good ice formation somewhere accessible that actually had an interesting bottom section. It was also a hand-numbing -17 C, not including wind chill, so we had to work fast, then get back into the car to warm up. So, here's Kyle and Narae in the ice caves...

And the whole ice wall rising high above us....

Kisses for Nami and Kayla

2/15/2013

My little Iple girls had another Valentines party today, and since I felt way more up to it this time, I took lots of photos. I'll have to post a Party Album, but for now here's a sneak peak at one of my favourite photos - of Nami. She's such a little cutie.

I also gave my Kayla - my sun-kissed Layla elf - a new look. Ever since she arrived something just didn't seem right. She wasn't at all like the images I had of her from all the gorgeous promo photos. I thought maybe it was her gray glass eyes - they just seemed so small and beady - so I switched them up for some larger 18 mm acrylic samples Pabol sent me awhile back.
I think I've finally found my Kayla!

"Hello, This is Iplehouse..."

2/15/2013

"The dolls you ordered are on their way." What a great email to wake up to on a dismal morning! It's my "birthday dolls" that I wasn't expecting until sometime in the end of March, or even April (they did say it would take up to 90 working days) Well, the dolls are on the way.

I took advantage of Iplehouse's Christmas Special - "Custom Dolls for Basic Prices Sale" - and ordered a light brown BID Erzulie, and a KID Soa in real skin. I had had my eyes on both for some time, hoping to get them one day, but with the major savings offered during the sale - not to mention the huge savings in having two dolls shipped at the same time - I decided to go for it.

Here's their promo photos. Soa will be painted younger-looking, to go with the new KID body so she can be Byuri's older sister, fitting age-wise between Byuri and Asa. Erzulie will be light brown - not the dark ebony. Her photo does not do her justice at all.

So now I'll be flooded with new dolls - the four new 2013 additions, all at once at the beginning of the year: Butterfly Narae & Narin, Soa and Erzulie. Oh well, it's not like I'll have all four done, standing there wanting a costume all at the same time. Everything takes time. First they need faceups, and then eventually some special costumes. Maybe by my birthday one or two will actually be finished. Let's see - that's just over two months from now. Sounds about right.

Easy KID Dress Pattern

2/14/2013

The tutorial with patterns is up! Just click on the image below.

Happy Valentine's Day

2/14/2013

The little Iplekids decided to dress up and have a Valentines tea party, complete with all manner of tasty pink and red treats - pastries, cookies, candies, chocolates - and Valentines for all.

I'm still recovering from yesterday's biopsy. The drugs they gave me sent me into labour. That's not a typo! As "Queen of the side effects" I knew there would probably be something, because the printout that came with the meds had some rather scary possible side-effects on it - but labour?!?! At 58 that's about the last thing I was expecting. "Oh yes, a very small percentage of patients have that", said the unsympathetic doctor, "Doesn't it make you feel all young again?" "Heck, NO!"

By evening everything had settled down and I put together a new little photo story - "the Snow Fort" - with the photos I'd shot the day before. Just click on the photo below.....

I'm still working on the KID pattern with the intention of having it up by tomorrow. The second sample dress is finished, and the patterns drawn. Now I need to scan them in and add labels. Then process all the photos and type up instructions. There's still another sample dress but I'll add that one after the tutorial is up.

KID Pattern Sample

2/13/2013

This is the dress being made, step by step, as part of the upcoming pattern tutorial. It's the exact same pattern as Lonnie's yellow dress with the embroidered white collar, but without the collar.

Now to finish the other two samples, draw up the patterns, and put together
the tutorial page, and in another day or two it should be up.

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