Her grandfather had gone out, and Bonnie just wanted to take one last look at the shoes.... "These gold ones are my favourite.." "Why don't you try them on?" "Here, we'll help you...." Winston had been stocking shelves, and noticed what they were up to... "Oh dear...." "I don't think you should be doing that..." But they just ignored him, and took out even more shoes to try on....
The shoemaker's shop was very busy with the new shoe order..... ...and as each pair was finished., Winston would carefully wrap them and put them into a box.... And another pair done....
I'd been waiting for some decent snow for months now, so I could take a few last photos in the Ruins Garden - ones I'd wanted to but hadn't been able to, since we'd not had any new snow since Christmas. So, even though it was extremely cold and very windy yesterday, with -20 wind chill, we ventured out to take them. There was no one at the Ruins Garden, and the parking lot wasn't even plowed. I had wanted a photo of Owen & Leona's family arriving at the castle for the dinner in my Christmas Story. I figured better late than never. It was so windy, and bitterly cold, that I just managed two photos, after both Owen and Coco were blown face-first into the snow. But that's all I needed.... The wind made a mess of Leona's hair, but there was no fixing it under those conditions.... I also brought along Jude, just in case the weather wasn't too terrible. I only set him in one spot on a snow-covered railing, with Jan standing close by just in case of a wind gust. Part of me thought it was cruel having him standing out there with bare arms and knees in such bone-chilling weather, but he wasn't complaining..... He definitely needs to go back again on a nicer day......like in spring.....
Nick got to work on the shoes for the Queen and her ladies.... He was an expert shoemaker, but he also had some very special assistants.. There were some very skilled mice.... ...who were experts at the really fine detail work... ...and Winston helped out too.... It was a very busy little shop...
It's Valentine's Day today, and as seems to be the pattern these days, I didn't shoot anything new this year. So I'll just post some of my favourite stories from Valentine's Days in the past....
Valentine Treats, 2020 Nick measured all the lady's feet.... Bianca was the last... "This is very interesting..." "All four of you have the exact same size feet..."
Last month, when I was making some fancy shoes for my Fashion size ladies (Iplehouse FIDs and Raccoon Monica) I thought I'd take advantage of the shoes being under construction, and use them in a fun little photo story.... Getting MeasuredThe Queen wanted some new shoes, so the village Shoemaker was summoned to the castle. The Queen and her ladies were very important clients, and he needed to take exacting measurements.... First he measured the Queen's feet. "I'd like a beautiful pair that matches this gown.." His granddaughter, Bonnie, took notes, recording the measurements, and the Queen's colour choice... All the ladies were ordering new shoes, and they were patiently waiting their turns... "Okay, I think I have all your measurements that I need. Who is next?"
With the Christmas Story behind us, it's time to share all the 'behind the scenes' photos and stories. I decided to put everything together into one big album......the Making of A Christmas Story
I've been working on fixing some of my horse props. Back when I shot the 'Popcorn Tree' sequence for my Christmas Story, I quickly made a harness for a horse to pull the sleigh. But it was only in the middle and front, and tended to bunch up in front if I didn't pay attention....which I didn't. It became clear that the harness needed a back section to help hold everything nicely in place. So I added that yesterday. Much better!! Then there were the saddle stirrups, which were not in the right place for my FID guys. They were way too far back, and even though I'd tried making new stirrups a few years ago, they were still not in the right place.... So I cut off the plastic stirrups, and made new ones out of leather. I stitched them on through holes drilled in the saddles..... I do have several more horses that will need the stirrup adjustment, as well as new bridles, since most of the them came with bright pink accessories, which is totally not suitable.
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AuthorMartha Boers is an award-winning Canadian doll maker and costumer specializing in fantasy and historical-style costumes. Archives
April 2024
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