My Musketeer has his shirt.....

Forgive the haziness of the photos, and the glare of the white, but it's ridiculously hot and humid outside this morning, and I think Tedros would have preferred to not be wearing a shirt at all. Here's a full-length shot....

I find the 'white' very overpowering, especially on such a hazy morning, but in the end only his collar and cuffs will be showing. I made the shirt more like a modern shirt, as opposed to being historically accurate. I needed it to fit nicely underneath his jacket.  I also didn't bother putting buttons and snaps all the way up to the top. I figured no one is going to want to do it up tightly at the neck anyways. He's carrying his cloak, which is a very dark navy, lined with a bronze silk.

The next step is to design the patterns for his jacket/doublet and hat, and get started on them.

Took a few photos of my little Cinnamon fairy this morning - with a white Rose of Sharon 
and a tall spiky false dragonhead (wonder who ever came up with a name like that?}

I don't have anything new to share on the Musketeer front, as it's progressing (if I can call it that) at a VERY slow pace.  And I had so wanted to get him done this weekend too.  Oh well, maybe the new antibiotics I'm on will kick in, so I can actually get somewhere. He does have a lovely lined cloak now, and his shirt is quite far along. Better get to it.....

It's been such a lousy summer for spraying sealer, that my Ringo had remained unpainted ever since he arrived way back in May. But this past week there were actually a couple of nice dry days in a row, and Charie was finally able to paint him. I picked him up last night.

It's almost weird seeing him painted, as he's been faceless so long, but I think he's really cute. He reminds me of one of my granddaughters who pulls that face every time she doesn't get her way.

For now he has the reddish Pageboy wig. I had trimmed a brown Roxie wig for him back when he first arrived, but when Efreet unexpectedly came to join my little doll family, he adopted that wig. I tried making a different wig for Efreet but it turned out terrible, so I took advantage of a Monique wig sale and ordered two more 'boyish' wigs. When they come, I'll see which ones looks best on whom.

I think Ringo is very cute. I find his expression changes considerably, depending on the angle he's photographed from. When he looks down, his pouty lower lip really stands out, making him look sad, but looking up he looks more pensive, like he's intently studying something....

When I was at Charie's, I had the opportunity to see firsthand an Iplehouse doll in the Peach Gold resin. I had seen many owner pictures of beautiful dolls in the PG resin, but when photographed beside a Real Skin doll, the PG seemed to make the RS one look a very dark unnatural colour in comparison. So I welcomed the opportunity to see one in real life. Charie had painted a PG Bonnie, and the doll was indeed very cute, but much as I had always suspected, the PG skin tone did not go well with my RS Ringo at all. The rosy colour of the PG made my Ringo look dark and 'green' in comparison.  Since most of my dolls are the real skin, I won't ever be buying any in Peach Gold.

Today I want to finish Tedros' Musketeer shirt. It's not going to be completely 'period authentic', as I didn't want it to be too bulky under the doublet. I also decided to sew the lace-edged cuffs onto the sleeve cuffs. It's a lot easier to sew that way. I figure most people who buy the elaborate period costumes aren't going to be constantly redressing their dolls, so if it takes a bit more effort to get the doublet sleeve over the shirt sleeve, it's only for the one time anyways. 

....and boot embellishments and a sash. My Musketeer costume is crawling along, 
slowly but surely. I lugged Tedros outside to take a photo to show where I'm at.......

...and the boot embellishment details. 
The brown boots themselves will not be part of the costume.

As much as I keep complaining about his size, Tedros does have a very nice body. The EID dolls have much more realistic proportions, unlike my smaller JIDs which have way more 'doll-like' proportions.

Speaking of great-looking EIDs, Iplehouse released the newest character in their Carved Heritage series today - Lawrence.  What a great character, and I just love, love, LOVE his costumes!  Both of them. Good thing I don't want any more of the bigger dolls, or I'd be sorely tempted. But I can always go look at all the great photos. I wish IH would make JIDs that looked like some of these larger guys.  I also wish we could order the weapons separately, as I'd love the rapier and the matchlock gun for my Tedros when he eventually gets a Musketeer outfit of his own.

Next thing to tackle is the shirt. It will have lace-edged collar and sleeve cuffs.  I haven't decided if I want to make the sleeve cuffs separate. It certainly would be a lot easier to put his doublet on  if the cuffs were separate. But then, with the cuffs attached to the sleeves, it would keep the shirt sleeves from bunching up inside the doublet sleeves. I just think the shirt itself would be more useful without the lace-edged cuffs. So, which way to go?

This time of year is always bitter-sweet. August is usually a notoriously hot humid month, but the flowers in the pots out back are looking their best. The last dew day lilies are still in bloom, and the exotic hibiscus are finally starting to bloom. Leaves are starting to turn yellow and fall is in the air. But today we are in for a one-day mini heat-wave, so I went out early to take some photos.

I'm making a bit of progress on my Musketeer costume, but it goes rather slow. All my ailments are in major flare-up and I have an ear infection as well. But Tedros does have some pants now, and a sash. The pants are the first pair I made with a proper 'fly'. Usually I just do an elastic waistband, but Tedros is so big, and has such a nice body, plus I couldn't imagine a Musketeer having to go into the bushes and pull his pants down, so I chose to make a fitted waist with a front opening. Today I hope to tackle his boots. Well, not exactly the boots themselves, but the embellishments which can be added to make a regular pair of boots look 'Musketeer'. 

Well, I've run out of stalling tactics - I even started working on old trip photos, just so I wouldn't totally be wasting my time. But it's high time to finally tackle the Musketeer commission for Tedros.

I managed to find everything I need right in my stash, and I have everything worked out in my head. Now to just start drawing up the patterns and cut out the fabrics. I'm just not thrilled about working on something quite so large. I've really gotten used to the Tiny sizes!  So, I thought I'd take a few photos of my smallest Iplehouse dolls, along with the largest size.....EID Tedros.....

He's three times as tall, and must weigh over ten times as much. It probably takes more 
resin to make an EID arm, than it does to make an entire BID doll. Just look at the size
 of those hands.....and those boots!  

But I still like him!  Well, better go strip him down and start with those patterns!

Today I thought I'd share a picture of my 'outdoor photo studio' - my backyard patio. 
It's where all the 'Fairy Gathering' and 'Wedding' shots were taken.

The back of my yard is cut into a small hill, and it's a shade garden full of hostas, with impatiens and begonias in pots for colour. The plants and flowers are all way too large scale-wise for the dolls to be positioned anywhere near them. But when the dolls are set up on the patio table, and I'm sitting on a bench to take the photo, the garden with pillars makes a perfect background.

I didn't take any long shots of the photo set-ups outside, but did take one of Leona decorating the wedding cake. How do I make her look like she's really in my kitchen, like in this photo?

The technique is called 'forced perspective'.  Through Forced Perspective one uses optical illusion to make an object appear farther away, closer, larger or smaller than it actually is. I used it outside as well to make the garden and pillars look the right scale in the background.  But inside it requires a bit more effort. To make a doll look like it actually belongs in the room it's being photographed it, it's important to raise them up to almost my eye level, and then using a tripod, photograph them straight on.  Here's a look at the set-up with Leona in my kitchen.....

Just a few final wedding photos today. I'm very happy with how many of them turned out. Everyone looked so good. I especially loved how the fairy dresses were perfect for the flower girls. With white tights and matching shoes, the soft pastel dresses took on a decidedly formal look.

I've finished processing all the wedding photos, and there were a lot. Too many, in fact, for just one album, so I made three; 'Wedding Preparations', 'Wedding Portraits', and 'the Wedding Reception'

All in all, it was a very successful photo series. I think it will be difficult to come up with something new equally as interesting in the future.  Although I think I do have an idea starting to form. Maybe later in the fall. First I have Tedros to tackle, and then some trip clothes for whomever I decide to take on our next road trip.

It's always a bit of a risk having very young children in the wedding party, and Aeran and Kyle's wedding was no exception. The smallest flower girl, Cinnamon, tried to be good, but she was constantly distracted. First by some puppies in the middle of trying to take the formal portraits....

...then fooling around with the bride's veil....

....while she was dancing.....

....and trying to feed cake to the puppies....

..until she finally was too tired to cooperate anymore.....

With the wedding behind us, almost everyone is back in their regular clothes. I just have to switch Aeran and Kassia's costumes back. Then un-decorate the pillar and railing. 

I took Tedros out of the cupboard a few days ago already, and he's been standing there looking huge and intimidating. I've started going through my boxes in the search for the perfect fabrics. After I get the final wedding stuff cleaned up, I have no more excuses. 

Musketeer Tedros, here I come!

The girls all stop to watch the first dance....

With the wedding behind us, and the flower girl dresses finally free, the fairy outfits are now up 
for sale. Just go to 'Fashions for Sale' page and click on the thumbnails for more information.