Finally finished all the photography of my little models in the three commissioned outfits, including the new white bonnets the customer requested. The lighting in the backyard was perfect for some very nice photos yesterday afternoon. Here's the girls in their new white bonnets.... ..and a couple of final shots of the girls in their coloured bonnets.... ...and all three together one last time.... All the studio shots have been taken as well, the girls are back in their everyday clothes, and I'm working on packing all the outfits up. Once I get that done, it's back to using up that toddler dress. The third outfit is well on it's way, and I'm working on the fourth matching hat.
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Byuri, the little Indian girl, invited her new friends to join her for some watermelon.... Elin and Nami love watermelon, so were only too happy to join her..... ..but one of the puppies just kept staring at Elin, making her feel very
guilty about eating in front of him. So she offered him a slice... Elin and Nami were out for a walk last night..... ..when they came across a little Indian girl and her puppies.... Little girls love puppies, so they all quickly became the best of friends.
With the little native outfit finished, it was time to try take some nice mood photos. So we went down to the lake last night. One spot along the edge of the beach is a great place for photography. Byuri with her puppies.......and then she spots some bunnies.... I got all damp and sandy taking the photos, as I had to sit on the edge of the beach with my
feet almost in the water. What I won't do to get nice pictures! Oh well, it's definitely worth it. Today I need to try take the last few photos of the three commissioned outfits, and do all the studio shots. I'm also working on the third outfit from the pink corduroy toddler dress. This next one will be along the lines of Byuri's Florida outfit, with long top, T-shirt, and leggings. Surprise, surprise, today is National Gingerbread Day!! Why it isn't in December, where I'd expect it, I don't know, but it warranted a photo or two. First Erzulie and Bonnie went to check out all the gingerbread houses from the Holidays which still haven't been eaten (and never will be)....... Then Bonnie decided she'd had enough of fake food, and took my bag of tiny gingerbread men out into the garden, to polish them off with a big glass of milk.....yummm!! I've been working on some white bonnets today, and the only bare head I had standing
around was Ringo, so I used him as my model. Let's just say, he was not amused! In an effort to clean things up, I thought i'd finish picking apart the toddler dress I made Nami's holiday overalls set from way back in the winter. The rest of the dress has been lying in a bin with all kinds of other bits and pieces of things I have yet to put away. Being a toddler dress, there really isn't a lot of fabric, especially considering the dress was made up of two complimentary fabrics - a printed pink corduroy, and a matching printed blue tricot. I've picked everything apart and pressed the pieces, and I want to see what I can make out of them. So far I've made a duplicate overalls and T-shirt set, which Bonnie is modelling. The pants are a bit narrower, in that the fabric pieces I still had, weren't wide enough to make them quite as pouffy as the original. The leftover pieces of the dress are not big enough to make any more overalls, but I'm hoping to be able to get two more outfits out of them. Hopefully a dress, and a jumper over another T-shirt. Maybe I can use the scalloped collar as a dress ruffle? It's going to be a bit of a challenge trying to fit everything out of all these small scraps.
I've also been busy today updating my photo albums. I had a huge folder of photos needing to be posted in the appropriate albums. I've taken two sets of photos out of the 'Iplekids Everyday, Part One', and updated it with all the most recent photos. I've also created two new albums - 'Lisa and Lonnie in the Scillas', and 'the Dandelions', to which I've added all the puffball photos. There's also a new album with photos of 'Mr. Ropuha, the Toad' which will be updated whenever he has new adventures. I noticed there's still several Gallery pages with links that don't work, because the pages haven't been finished yet. There's always so much to do!! At least I made a good start. We have success!! The second pair of moccasins turned out just fine. I spent all day yesterday making the moccasins, beading the hair ornaments, and attaching all the feathers. I used blue budgie feathers I saved years ago when we still had birds. The blue feathers are the perfect scale for the tiny outfit, and they are completely used up now. I also strung up a four-strand necklace using coconut, shell, and stone beads. The three girls look so good together. Makes me wish I had an appropriate place to take some interesting photos. Where's the Great Plains, and a wagon train when I need one? Now I need to do all the studio photography, but it's way too warm and humid today to bring everything downstairs. Plus, I'd like to just sit and admire them for a little while.
Before I start the next commission, I'd like to take a break this week and make a few new outfits for my smallest girls. I picked apart the rest of the pink corduroy toddler dress I used to make Nami's pink romper set (which Bonnie is currently wearing). I'd like to see if I can squeeze another set like that out of the fabric pieces, and maybe make another outfit in a different style as well. One day last week, the mice and toad were sitting out in the garden complaining of being bored.... "Well," said Mr Toad, "You can help me clean up all these pink petals", and he went to fetch a broom, rake and pail.... They worked for awhile, but there were so many petals, they soon got bored ..... "Well, then I have another idea..." said Mr Toad.... So they all joined him jumping into the pile of petals... Bored? I can relate. I made a pair of moccasins yesterday, but the first one turned out rather ugly, and both were way too big. I guess the leather was stretchier than I anticipated. So today I get to start all over and make another pair. Sewing the leather is hard on my hands, so I'll be happy when I finally get a good pair done. Here's hoping this next set turns out well!
I was challenged by someone to do a 'before and after' with one of my dandelion photos, so I was keeping an eye on the field where the first dandelion photos were taken to see when they were all gone to seed. But they were all mowed down. Then we discovered the high school property hadn't been mowed, and was a carpet of puffy seed heads. So we took Maya along.... There's an old saying among dandelion lore, that if one blows on a seed head and all the seeds disperse in one blow, then one's love is true. If any seeds remain, then the object of one's love does not have the same feelings for them. Poor Maya has been blowing on dandelions for some time now, hoping just the once that he could blow all the seeds off.... Oh well, maybe it's just an old wives' tale, so don't get too discouraged. Better go ask her directly.
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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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