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Isis was proud of all the needlepoint pillows she and Lisa had made the past few months, and called Eric and Nyssa into the room to show them....  Eric quickly grabbed his favourite, and clutched it tight....  ...and Nyssa grabbed all the rest of them....  "You can't touch mine!!"   "Kids...!!!" ....It seemed to Isis, that some days, there was just no winning....  I decided Willie needed something to better go with Phairby's more elegant costumes. Her little 'Yoda' style nature outfit is fine for running around in the woods, but I decided she needed something else for a little nicer casual wear. She's not exactly 'elegant', so I'm making her two different coloured outfits inspired by the kind of thing the Witch from Hansel and Gretel would wear. Something one would wear if they lived in a 'gingerbread' house....  The dresses will get lacing up the front, and lace around the neck, as well as a sewn-in underskirt. I'm not sure yet what style of hat I'll make for each of them. I think it would be fun to make one like a witch's hat. Anyways, this time I'm being proactive, and making three of each right up front.
There are crocuses blooming in my front garden this morning!!  It's been six whole months since there was anything alive out there, and it's always very exciting to see the first flowers open up....so I had to go out there and take pictures.....
These are a very early variety of crocus, and are always the first flowers to bloom every spring  Of course, like every other year, these early crocuses start to open just before some major spring store comes along to bury them. Like tomorrow. But at least it's a beginning....
I took a couple of photos with all three of my fashion girls together....  Miho, on the left, has the original Iplehouse FID body, Monica is a slim Raccoon, and Bianca is a slim Iplehouse FID. Monica is a bit shorter and thinner than Bianca, so is the 'smallest'.     I've spent much of today taking pictures, and getting to know my new doll.... 
 She's gorgeous, and was lucky Bianca was off with the Phantom, so she could borrow her pink gown. Monica is a little smaller in all her measurements, so the dress had to be pinned in the back.  I think she's definitely going to need some body blushing, and a manicure. She can't have such dull boring hands with such dramatic makeup. Speaking of....our two granddaughters were over for dinner last night, and Monica was seated on the sofa on my dining room table, waiting for her photo shoot today. The girls always go to see what I have set up there. Teagan told me that she loved the makeup on "the doll in pink".  I only have five wigs her size, all in brown/black, and stole this one off of Miho....  I'm finding that she's a challenge to hold a pose. She's rather 'kicky', and I had to use eye putty to hold her hands in place for the photo above. She will definitely need some sueding. Maybe even some wiring.  She's most beautiful when looking straight into the camera. A true Fashion model!   Oh, those stray hairs!!  It's interesting that in her profile shot above, I see the same profile as in some of Raccoon's Bebe dolls (comparable in size to Iplehouse BIDs)      She's going to need some kind of dramatic gown at some point. I'm rather busy with other things at the moment, so it's a good thing she has something to wear in the meantime. I'll just keep looking at her to see what it is she'd like to have me make for her....
The new Raccoon arrived yesterday, so Ginger was eager to go meet her, and welcome her to the neighbourhood. She and Smuzhka got all dressed up, and brought along a bouquet of flowers.... "Wow, this is one fancy place..."  "Could we help you??"  "We came to welcome the new Racoon girl. Could you let her know we'd like to say 'Hi' please"  "I'm the new Racoon girl. My name is Monica. Nice to meet you!"  "But....but..... you're not a raccoon....."  "Well, yes she is. She is a Raccoon Fashion model..."  "Oh my! I'm so embarrassed! I seem to have misunderstood. I was expecting a 'raccoon'.... you know.... like us....."  "Here, I brought these for you....."  "Please take them!"   "I feel so dumb..."  "It's okay, sweetie. It was an honest mistake."  "Thank you for coming, and for the flowers! It was nice to meet you!"  "You look so beautiful in your new dress, that I'd like to take you out to a fancy restaurant for dinner. I think it might help cheer you up." "Really?!? That would be so nice! By the way, did you notice she has brown eyes like me, and her dress is the same colour as mine??"  Someone asked how I made Miho's wings, and how I attached them....  ...so I took photos to try and explain, and figured I should share here as well. I did post a photo while back when I first sewed and painted her wings.  I did not take photos of the wire frame I formed to support them, however, this is what the completed wing unit looks like from the back...  ...and the inside view, that goes against the doll's body/gown....  The doll's gown is strapless, so the only way I could figure out to attach the wings without unsightly straps, was to create a sort of 'clip' out of wire in the back. I formed a wide 'hook' of sorts from the ends of the wing wire - so it could be slipped down over the top edge of the back of her dress - and then padded it with felt, and covered it with white satin to protect the doll's resin. When clipped onto her dress, the whole thing stood out a bit far in back, and wasn't very attractive from the side, so I sewed some ruffles from scraps of the same minty green tricot as her dress, to hide everything....  Now I need to add this to the 'Creative Journey' about the making of Miho's gown, so it's easy to find in the future.
Ginger arrived to try on her new dress....  "I added beading and sequins, to make you 'sparkle' even more."  "So, what do you think??"  "It fits perfectly!!"  "I love it!"   "You did a fantastic job!"  "I think this will do the trick. That new Raccoon won't stand a chance."  I made two more 'Nature Sprite' outfits for Willie. I used white mohair for these two, to better match the white fuzzy eyebrows most everyone else's Willies have. Both outfits are almost identical, although the mohair bangs turned out a little differently. One outfit was photographed in the studio....  ..and the other outside in the garden....    For more photos, check out the Gallery page
Muffy Mouse got to work right away, cutting, and sewing....  "What was I thinking?? A beautiful high couture gown, in just two days??"  But being the consummate professional that she was, she kept on working....  And before too long, she was almost done...  |
AuthorMartha Boers is an award-winning Canadian doll maker and costumer specializing in fantasy and historical-style costumes. Archives
April 2025
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