So out in the yard we went, gathering a big bunch of leaves to dump on the picnic table...
Teagan brought one of her dolls, all dressed up for the cooler weather in an outfit I sewed for her last Christmas. She was hoping for some pictures. Natalya had brought a big blue stuffed character, and Rachel had some tiny animal figures, and of course, they all had to be in the photos too. So out in the yard we went, gathering a big bunch of leaves to dump on the picnic table... .....a little roll in the leaves.... Then everyone up in a tree.... Quite honestly, I wasn't too keen on including the big blue Stitch, but these photos are just for fun for the girls, so why not? In the end I thought he worked out quite well. Anyway, the girls were thrilled, and afterwards I always let each one of them choose their three favourite photos, and I print them out for them to take home to put in their albums.
In addition to loving animals, Eric also loved trains.
So his friends all got him a new train car for his collection.... Eric and Nyssa are twins, as they both arrived together on the same day late last summer. Well, twins are always a challenge, since neither one wants to always be considered 'half a pair'. So I decided to make both of them their own cakes, and throw them their own parties. Eric loves animals, so I made him a cake covered with his favourite animals. I got him to agree to dress up a bit for his party and pictures, but he insisted on wearing his hat. Although I did mange to catch him without it when he was blowing out the candle.... There wasn't room to have all the little kids come to both parties, so we had to make the difficult decision as to who should come to which party.
Nyssa's party was first, and she invited all the girls to her's. Later in the afternoon it was Eric's party. He just invited his three best friends, but also asked Chloe to stay. He's had a small crush on her, ever since he first met her. And so Chloe wouldn't feel awkward being the only girl, he asked his sister, Nyssa, to stay too. I lost the cap to my glue bottle some time ago, and it was extremely annoying. I hate to wait for glue, so have always stored my glue bottles upside-down so the glue would be ready to use the minute I picked up the bottle. But without a cap it's not possible. I had to always wait, and the glue would dry in the nozzle. So annoying! Especially since it was a brand new bottle of glue!
So, recently on Facebook, I saw someone make shoes for their Barbie by wrapping her feet in plastic wrap, and then judiciously applying hot glue in the shape of a shoe. What an interesting idea! I thought maybe that would work for my glue bottle too! So I took a small square of foil and pressed it tightly around the tip of the bottle, and applied hot glue. When it cooled I trimmed away the extra foil. It worked! It's not the most attractive cap, but all that matters is that I have a cap again, and can stand the bottle upside-down again. All the little girls, and Lonnie, came to Nyssa's birthday party... I took a couple of group photos with her cake.... ..and then it was time for treats.... Nyssa liked the blue macaroons....
My little Nyssa, who is an Iplehouse BID Naias, and arrived in late summer of 2015, finally had her party last week celebrating her one year anniversary with us. Since she's one of the 'older-looking' BID sculpts, I figured she was turning '6' on her birthday.
Her dress was made from a length of lovely pink lace, a gift from Donna.... And to finish off another Halloween, here's a few more of my favourite
"day after" photos from the archives... It was six years ago today, on November 1st, 2010, that this website went online! At the time, I had two BJDs (Elfdoll Ryung & a secondhand Narae), and another two (KW Cinnamon & Iplehouse JID Asa) on order. I wanted to get into making doll costumes for sale, but what really inspired me to create a website, were the pictures I'd taken of Ryung on a summer trip up north, and then again on a cross-country trip to the Pacific. I was so excited about the photos, that I felt I had to make a website so I could share the pictures. Here's a few of those very first photos... So, even though I convinced myself that I was getting into the doll costuming business, and that was the excuse for buying so many different dolls at first, it was the photography that really captured my heart, right from the beginning.
Every year I try to find a nice pastry to celebrate the anniversary, and this year I chose a brownie. The messy icing seemed so symbolic of the year I'd just had. Almost nothing went as planned, and I got very few of the things done that I had wanted to. I did however make a dragon, and even if he had been the only thing I'd gotten done, it would have been a worthwhile year! However, Winston was intended to be just a prototype, and I still would like to make a bigger dragon, that holds it's pose better. I don't know when -or if - I'll ever get to it. I didn't get my Santa - Wizard done yet either, but he's been painted, so now the clock is ticking. Will he get done in time to play 'Santa' for this Christmas?? If I want him ready for any kind of photo story, I'll need him done by the end of November. That doesn't leave a lot of time, so I guess we'll see. I had wanted the Dark Fairies done well before Halloween, and they obviously weren't. Everything takes so long nowadays, and it's getting worse the older I get. Oh well. I guess better slow than not at all! What are my plans for the coming year? Well, first, to shoot the last birthday party for this year, and finish my fairies. Then to make a Santa character. There's a bunch of Christmas photo stories I'd like to shoot. Several of my dolls need sweaters for the winter, and if Iplehouse holds their annual Christmas Event, I'd really like to order two more KIDs. In the winter I'd really like to make a Wizard costume for my 'Santa' character. I'd also like to make some Medieval tents for my Fantasy crew. Plus I need more Fantasy costumes. And the girls who are going to work in the Diner need server uniforms. After that I'll see what happens. Or maybe it will be like this past year, and everything will end up topsy-turvy, and totally different things happen. Who knows? |
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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