Conan Visits The American Girl Store

I am woefully behind in posting about all things doll-related, I know! I just had a good mail day with a few new things from AG. I could not resist the markdown on Cécile and Mary-Grace's "Parlor Desk & Seat" and "Vanity & Accessories," even though I don't have either doll! They're the right era for Kirsten. I know she's supposed to be a pioneer, but in my world, she'll do anything 1850s. ;) I also have a few other random purchases that have gone unblogged including one of my own personal holy grail doll-related finds ever, but those will have to wait for another day. . .

I really just popped on because, I'm almost a half a year behind the times, but at any rate, I just discovered this hilarious video of Conan visiting an AG Place and I could not stop laughing; I had to watch it twice! It's funny even before Conan gets started, when the manager states that the book store is the "heart and core" of their brand?!? I thought it was the super expensive dolls and OMG I HAVE TO HAVE EVERY LITTLE THING FOR HER!!! LOL! (Seriously though. . . Have you seen the prices on the newest stuff? It's getting more than a little out of control!) Anyhow. I needed a laugh today, so I enjoyed this!

2013 in Review. . .

My doll family grew by two this holiday season!!! Molly was a Christmas present to me, since I was worried about her getting retired and me regretting not having her. Once she arrived, I knew I hadn't made a wrong decision. I love her, and am going to have great fun making cute 1940s things for her! Then for Christmas, my husband decided to get me another doll, and since my wish list was mostly things from Caroline's collection, he chose Caroline for me. She is so beautiful! Also, I am very spoiled!

I didn't do very much dollmaking/sewing this year! Sadly, all the doll heads I made back when I took classes are still floating heads. I really need to make some bodies in 2014! At any rate, here are some doll-related makes for 2013. . .

 

 

The pajamas and floral top were part of a wardrobe put together for my Mom's granddaughter who got her first American Girl doll this year! The flowery top was paired with a purchased pair of jeans and sparkley red shoes. Not shown is the Patriots Cheerleading outfit I bought, and the pompoms I made, using one of those cheap souvenir-type pompoms (as in, people-size) which I made into two smaller poms, and attached each to a small hair elastic so that they could slip over the doll's wrist. They looked so cute!

In 2014, I'm hoping to finish up a few unfinished sewing projects I have going for Charlotte and several of the AG crew, and of course, try and finally make some bodies to attach to the floating heads!

Wishing all my readers a very happy new year, and lots of luck and happiness in 2014!

Back on an AG kick!

Wow, I have really abandonned this blog lately, no? That's what happens when, after almost a year of being unemployed, I finally land a job! YAY! And, it's a good job, at that! However, it's contract work, which means I never know when it could end. . . So, between that, and the fact that I've started back at school in the evenings, I'm not ready to jump back into doll making class just yet. . . But I am enjoying a little splurging on the doll front. ;)

At the moment, American Girl dolls are the current obsession again. This is due to the fact that my Mom took her granddaughter to get her first ever AG doll, and I got to tag along! We went to AG Place Natick, and after investigating the dolls in person, she settled on Saige. Meanwhile, I swung by the doll hospital drop off before picking out a couple of accessories from Molly & Emily's collection (since it is being archived this year).

Who was I dropping off at the doll hospital, you may be wondering? A new-to-me Kirsten doll, who was near perfect, except for being a zombie. No, seriously. . . These is, straight up, the WORST silver eye I have ever seen!!!





Do NOT scroll down unless you can handle creepy zombie doll eyes. . .





No really, I mean it. . .





Okay, don't say I didn't warn you!







Yeah. I couldn't live with that! So off she went, to the doll hospital. . . And I should receive her back any day this week. Very excited about that!

So, how I ended up with this Kirsten is by randomly deciding to look up American Girl dolls on Craigslist one day, and happening to be the first one to respond to an awesome deal for Kirsten & some other stuff. I paid $100 for the lot, and feel like that's an okay price to have paid for the doll alone, never mind all the other stuff that was included. . .



OMG did you see what is on top of that outfit pile?!? My personal holy grail of Kirsten's outfit: the drindl. This has been near the top of my most-wanted AG outfits list since I was around ten years old. SO EXCITED to finally have it! I didn't have the nightgown yet either, so was happy to score that. I do have her entire "meet" outfit, so I will resell either this or the one I already have. The original PC box for her "meet" accessories was included, so I might sell that one, since that should up the value a bit. I snapped this picture pretty quickly after getting her home, and once I took the time to investigate more closely, I realized the birthday outfit is totally a knock-off. But, on the up-side, I thought she was missing her pantalettes, and they turned out to be on the hanger under the drindle. ;)

So, there was actually even more stuff included in this lot. . .



So, a little handmade stuff, the hair care kit, and the rollerblade outfit, etc. I'm not really interested in much of this, so that's just more things to resell. . . Although, I may just pass some of it along to Mom's granddaughter, since she's at the start of building her AG wardrobe. ;)

So, all this AG stuff has launched me on quite the AG kick again. Expect more posts with AG doll-related fun in the near future. ;)

Birthday treasure!

I had an awesome birthday last weekend!!!

Among my presents. . .



OMG!!!!! Does that look like not a big deal? Well, it is! It is, in fact, my first doll mold, and it's for this doll:



*squeals*

My absolute dream FFD mold!!! Of course, I have no kiln, and am not currently taking any classes, so I have no way to make her. . . Yet! But, at least I know I won't be crying some day if they stop offering the mold. ;)

Also, my in-laws gave me some dollhouse things! A miniature sewing machine (I had vintage a vintage style machine; this one was modern, like my people-sized machine!) and three beautiful porcelain dolls! I arranged them and took a picture to send to them to thank them, so figured I'd share it here as well. . .



This has inspired me to want to mess around with finishing my dollhouse, which has unfinished floors, walls that are all painted just plain off-white, and some needed repairs (mainly, fixing the front door, but also replacing some windows which have yellowed with age). And I really want to hang some pictures/wall decorations. I was always terrified of "ruining things" as a kid, but now that I'm a "grown up" (HAHAHAHAHA YEAH RIGHT!!!) I feel brave enough to put holes in the walls in order to finish the decorating! ;)

So long doll class, for now. . .

Well, it turns out that it's taking me a long time to score a new job, and with finances therefore being tight, I'm cutting some corners. . . One of the things to go is doll class, sadly. . . So, I'm taking a break from class until I get a new job and pull myself together again.

But all is not lost, because I still have plenty to do as far as making bodies (and then clothing)! Plus, I bought some paint and a random doll head to practice on, and took home my brushes and such, so that I can practice brows and lashes like crazy. When I go back, I'll be a brow/lash pro! ;)

Another French Fashion doll. . .

Finished the MD2027/Renee doll, but having my doubts that she is MD2027! Supposedly, MD2027 makes a 15" doll, but the finished head is much larger than the heads for my 18" dolls. Also, the limbs that supposedly go with her are so tiny that they'd do well for a doll that was maybe 13"-14" tall. I did some digging and found another mold by bell (MD2742) that looks similar to my doll, but I'm not sure my head is quite large enough to be the 23.5" tall that doll should be, and also, my doll teacher hasn't mentioned having that mold! It's really too bad that the popularity of this sort of doll making died out before the internet really took off, because I'd love to be able to Google and find someone else who made this doll and see if they had the same experience as me.

Before I post pics, I should also warn that I made a major mistake on day #1 of painting this doll: I used the totally wrong shade of red for her lips. Reds are tricky because they paint on all bright and saturated, but then fire off to be much lighter. I chose what I thought looked like a rose red color, but after firing. . . Eep! They were almost brown, they were that dark! But at that point, there wasn't much I could do, except to just go with it. . . So now, I'm apparently making a brooding, possibly secretly evil, gothic-yet-still-Victorian doll. . .



The wig needs some taming and she obviously doesn't have a body yet (and you can be she's last on the list to get one since I will need to pattern and sew hands with fingers!) but you can see where I'm going! I've been having such fun dreaming up a personality for her and planning her ensemble that I almost don't regret making the mistake with the lips after all! In fact, the only regret I have is that I didn't make the brows more angled, and I would have liked them darker, but alas, this was the darkest brown I could find. . .

This brings my total "floating head" count up to three:



The two in front are my first two French Fashion dolls, and they are from the same mold, but look so different from each other, don't you think? I think the one on the front left (the one I most recently posted about, but now with eyes, so decidedly less creepy) is my favorite, which surprises me because I hated her when I got her home.

Now I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to do in doll class. I'm overwhelmed by the growing number of floating heads (never mind dolls with bodies but still without clothing) piling up on my shelf, so don't really want to add to their number. It's already so bad that I had to give up the second shelf of my hutch for the dolls. By "give up" I mean that the fabrics that filled every particle of this space had to come out and be fit elsewhere, and I'm going to have to find new homes for some of it as it didn't all fit in the shelves in the closet!



While this arrangement is fine for now, I don't think it's going to work out in the long run. With the dolls seated, they just fit, but once those floating heads have bodies and are standing, they will no longer fit. I suppose I could try to find more furniture and have them all sit, but it seems kind of a shame to do that since the elaborate costumes I have planned for them (which were the whole point of getting in to the doll making in the first place) aren't going to look nice if they are seated. I'll just have to try and figure out something else, storage-wise. . .

Update on all kinds of projects from the doll studio!

I am woefully behind on updates regarding what I've been doing in doll class, that's for sure! So here's an update. . .

First, I finished a head for a second 18" FFD:



This doll is the same mold I used last time, but I did some things differently this time around. For one, instead of going with a pouring in a skin-like color, she was poured in white, and I did what's called a "wash" to give her skin a flesh color. Another thing I did was to outline the lips with a stronger red, in imitation of what was done on the antiques. I still feel I have a ways to go, but I'm pleased with how she turned out, in the end. (And no, I still haven't got a body, wig, or clothing of any kind on the first one! Therefore, this second one is likely to be a "floating head" for quite some time!)

Next, remember those super tiny fairy heads? Well, they have their bodies now!



Of course, no clothing or wigs on these guys yet. . . Nor is there likely to be any time soon because in my head, they are Christmas fairies, and I've no intention of finishing them in time for this Christmas, so I'll bet they don't get finished until next year's holiday season!

But most recently, I've been taking a brief break from the dolls and making a couple of ornaments in class. Every year, a friend of ours hosts an ornament swap, and hand made ornaments are encouarged. I decided since this is the year in which I've learned to make things of porcelain, that a porcelain ornament was in order! And, that instead of making life easy and using decals, I felt the need to hand paint a design, LOL! I decided on snowman because I figured they'd be fairly easy to draw. They were a little tricky in that you can't put white over colors, so for the first firing, I was only able to paint the blue background, and so they looked like this:



Then, over the next couple of weeks, I added the white, and then the details and the gold at the top (which has real gold in it!) I really hope they'll go over well at the swap!



So that's the end of doll classes for this year. I started in February, so took classes for almost a year, and I ended up with three antique repro dolls (well, the parts for them anyhow!), two fairies, and two ornaments. . . Not too bad! When I start back up again in January, I'll be working on yet another French fashion doll, but this time, from a different mold. . .



Bell's MD2027, or "Renee," creates a 15" doll, so this one could be a friend for Fanny. And, I'll be up for a challenge since the smaller scale means a need for even more intricate brows and lashes. I'm going to have to come up with a brush that is way less full or I'll go nuts, ha ha ha!

So, just for the record, between the dolls I made this year, and the few I aquired already-made, we're now up to eight dolls who need to be clothed, and of these, five need bodies (or repairs/replacement parts), and three need wigs. Not to mention, I haven't made anything for Charlotte in forever, and she's still waiting on getting a nice 18c wig made for her. Yikes! It seems like my New Year's Resolution should probably be to punch out a bunch of bodies, wigs, and doll clothes! ;)

Review of the Battat / Our Generation Baking Set

Okay, this one is only, like, eight months over-due in being blogged about, LOL! But, without further ado or delay, here is the "Baking Set."



There is a LOT of stuff in this set!



First off, everything you need to mix up something good, right?



Of course, it's non-functioning, but I like the fact that they put nice little decals and such on it that make it feel real.



And that they didn't cheese and just make the whole thing out of one hunk of blue plastic or something.



Look, your doll can make various cakes, or roll out and cut some sugar cookies!



And, for decorating, here are some shakers (maybe for pretend sugar/sprinkles?) and a frosting tube which I was surprised to find is actually cloth, with a plastic tip. Again, I'm impressed with the detail going in to these sets!



And, when the baking is done, it's time to feast on your creations! Included is a cupcake stand to display your cupcakes, cupcakes, plates, cups, and a pitcher.



There are a few paper/cardboard items that go along with the theme. . .



And, even a chef's coat and hat!



I felt it was pretty nicely made. Here is the inside of the coat:



Topstitching detail on the cuffs:



I haven't measured the Our Generation doll (I actually don't even have one!) but to my eye, they look thinner than American Girl. . . However, the coat fits!



And, the hat as well!



So. . . Adorable stuff, right? Totally! I do have a little complaint though, and here it is: You give me cake pans galore, and cookie cutters. . . But no cakes or cookies. . . And you give me cupcakes. . . But no cupcake tin. . . I just think that it might have been better if they'd had everything for making one (or maybe two) item(s), instead of random things. It's all super cute, but as a little girl playing with this, I'd have had more fun if I could pretend I was making the thing, from start to finish.

And to add to the confusion, here are two more items included with the set:



These sort of fall under cooking more than baking for me. . . Although, I suppose you could be using the spatula to lift the cookies off the cookie sheet. . . But oh wait, there are no cookies or a cookie sheet, LOL!

Now, if you've got some cash to plunk down, you can resolve most of these issues with the set. The Our Generation "Jenny" doll comes with a cupcake tin (and more cupcakes), so you could play-make cupcakes from start to finish. And if you REALLY have money to burn, the Our Generation "Gourmet Kitchen Set" also comes with cupcake tin and cupcakes. . . As well as baking sheet and cookies. (And so much other stuff and it looks so fun and OMG I WANT IT SO MUCH EVEN IF I'M "ALL GROWN UP"!!!)

*ahem*

The final verdict: Battat, you've done it again! The "Baking Set" is full of fun things to play with, and the quality is great. I still find it annoying that nobody really thought of the fact that you can't play-make one thing from start to finish, but, I guess I can overlook that because it's just all so cute. As a kid, I would have freaked out if I got this for Christmas, etc.! I imagine there's an awful lot of playtime with this one. So, this set gets an A- from me!

Body pattern progress!

So you all know how I've whined about this doll body situation; about knock knees, ginormous back sides, and posture problems. Well, I've been working hard on making a body pattern that satisfies me. I molded a body out of clay to pattern my own body off of, I studied a crazy insane amount of pictures of extant French Fashion dolls in their birthday suits, and referenced assorted doll making patterns and books. And, at long last, I think I'm just about there!



(Sorry about the creepy one-legged thing going on; I didn't feel like making twice the gussets and doing all that stuffing when I could easily see if it would work by just making the one leg!) I just need to tweak the gussets a tiny bit, and to scale down/shorten the bodice area a bit (that's what all the markings are about), and I think she'll be good to go! And, with the head attached, she's almost exactly 18", which was the suggested height for this doll. Just to compare, here is the pattern that allegedly was created to fit her:



*rolls eyes* Granted, I altered that body a bit, but I did not alter anything that would have impacted the scale/height. Although I did lengthen the leg to go down to the foot, instead of ending above the knee, I used the porcelain part for this doll to add that length. She would have looked freaky on such a tiny body!

Also, check this out:



No more problems with ginormous back-side, legs that won't come near being straight, and bad knock-knee-itis! My new body can't sit, but she can perch, and I'm fine with that, because I think that's about the same mobility the original dolls had, based on the creases/signs of wear I see pretty consistently on them.

Guys, I'm so excited! Today I get to finally break ground on the actual body; not a test pattern, not a mock-up, not any other preparatory step. . . It's time for the real deal! And you know what that means? That some day very soon, I will get to start making tiny Victorian costumes for this gal! Hooray for that!!!

Current Project: Fairies

Just wanted to give a sneak peek of my current project at doll class:



These are some very small fairy heads! I was going to make them ornaments for the annual Christmas ornament swap we do with friends, but then I decided they're too fragile/costly, so I think I'm going to keep them, and not even put them on a tree.

So anyhow, this is what I'm working on just now. . . I think I will finish painting in the next class, and then it will be time to assemble bodies. . . All porcelain, no sewing, which is great since these things are so ridiculously small!

Random doll-making thoughts. . .

I had a pretty awesome doll-making class last night! Up until now, I'd really been struggling with making fine lines. In fact, the brows on my French Fashion head? I just sort of accepted that they would be clunky and ugly, because I didn't think I could get finer lines with my brush. Well, last night, I was faced with painting lashes on a doll head which can not be more than an inch tall (finished doll height will be something like 6", I think!) and so I was messing around with the brush, and found a way to get finer lines. I made the most delicate little lashes!

However, now? I need to make another French Fashion head, using my new fine-line-making-skills! Also, I've been studying extant doll heads and seeing other things I could have done differently to give her a more authentic-to-the-period look. I think the doll I made is pretty, but very modern, so for my next doll, I want to aim at getting a look that is closer to that of the originals.

But for now. . . How about making a body for this poor floating head? I thought that might be nice! ;) I'd already looked at a TON of French Fashion dolls, but now, I've gone back and really scrutinized the body constructions, styles, and shapes. My primary concern was the knock-knee issue, because my dolls have severe knock knees and they look ridiculous. What I found is that I had a really, really hard time finding even one French Fashion doll which had this issue, and when I did, it was very slight. So, I've come to the conclusion that the pattern I'm using is wonky somehow, and I feel confidant that I'll be able to fix this is my own body pattern.

The other issue I have is that poor Fanny can not stand up/lay down. She is stuck in the sitting position. I found this issue was consistant with quite a few surviving French Fashion dolls, so I think this issue will be a bit harder to tackle. It's a little less of an issue than the knock-knee issue, but still, if the doll is deeply into the sitting position, it's going to mean the dress isn't going to sit right, and she'll have to be basically hung on a stand, and you will not be able to see her feet at the base of her dress, which will be a bit weird. So I'm going to see what I can do about it.

Anyhow. I'm going to get a start at patterning the body today, but I'm not sure how far I will get since this seems to be a day of distractions. . . We'll see!

Doll body pattern fail. :(

Ugh, I loathe making doll bodies, I really do!!! I didn’t start out that way. . . I started out thinking they were completely tedious (mostly because of setting in the gussets, which is the most miserable thing I’ve yet encountered in my 2.5 decades of sewing everything from corsets to curtains), but after now making three different body patterns, I’ve gone from slight annoyance to total aggravation.

First, it was Fanny’s body, which was some random 1980s pattern, and yielded the right height body, but it was knock-kneed, and had a huge rear. Then, the pattern for that “Marie Louise” doll I made in class, which was also about the right size (actually, as I look at her now, I think she’s too long-waisted, and her arms are therefore ridiculously long too) but severely knock-kneed. And now. . .



This may not look like tragedy at first glance, but it is, and I’ll tell you why: The body on the left is supposed to be for a doll that is three inches taller than the doll on the right (Fanny). To put it in perspective, here is a comparison of the two doll heads in question:



I’m using the pattern that matches the mold # of the doll head I made, so there is no excuse for it not to be perfectly sized. The only change I made to the pattern was that I added from the knee to the foot, but as you can see, the knee was already at the same level – if not shorter than – the location of Fanny’s. Also, I think the “larger” doll body is actually skinnier than Fanny’s, too! And, knock-kneed, AGAIN! UUUUUUGGGGGHHHHH!!!!! And I do realize porcelain shrinks when fired, so there’s a chance my head is slightly different in size than the head the pattern maker was working with, but. . . The fact remains that this body, at 13” tall, is nowhere near appropriate for an 18” doll – and that’s what the details about this mold claim the doll to be. So, it’s clearly just an improperly sized pattern.

Have I mentioned before that I have a zero tolerance policy for sloppiness in patterns? Well, I do. It’s because I think it’s sheer laziness when a pattern maker a.) does not make sure seams line up, and b.) does not do at least a mock-up, but better yet, a full-blown sample, of the pattern. If you’re not willing to do these two things, then you’re better off not publishing your pattern at all because all you’re doing is driving people to madness!!!

Okay, now that I got that out of my system. . .

Clearly, the only thing for me to do here is to craft my own pattern, from scratch, for these French Fashion dolls. It will come sized correctly for 12”, 15”, 18”, and 20” dolls (because those are the mold sizes I’ve encountered), all seams will line up, including gussets into their slits, and it will not be knock-kneed!!!!! And guess what? I’ll even test the pattern before I publish it. Novel concept, that. *rolls eyes sarcastically*

I don’t know when I’m going to become inspired to embark on that adventure, because the only thing I can think to do is mold a body somehow, then drape a pattern onto it, and work from there. . . And this seems like a huge amount of work. . . But in the meantime, I will work on attaching the head to the shoulder plate (need my Glennie’s help with that, as it’s a two-person job!) and then making a wig. Because I’m out of work and also as thrifty as any Scottish-blooded person you can find, I’m pilfering hair from an old Halloween costume wig, which I think is close enough in color to work:



And look! I was digging around in my box of doll parts (that really does sound so creepy!) and I discovered that when I was ordering pate possibilities for Fanny, I ended up with a cork pate that was too big for her. . . But is almost perfect for the new doll!



I’m pretty excited about having a cork pate, because it’s a nice solid foundation to pin the wig on to, (pinning the wig being a period way to attach the wig to this sort of doll, from what I’ve read).

So, this doll may not have a body, but hopefully she will at least soon be a well-coiffed floating head! ;)

The latest addition to my doll family!

I got an AWESOME surprise for my birthday from my amazing friend Sarah!!!



How perfect for me is she?!? She’s all in pink, and just so pretty! She has the most amazingly beautifully painted face:



I have no idea how old she is. She looks like maybe paper maché over a cloth body, and for some reason, I feel like maybe early 20th century? Her dress is very 1850s-60s in style, but her hair looks a little 18th century, which sort of makes me think someone was making a “period” doll.

She is wearing an adorable little pearl ring, which is so perfect because being a June baby, the pearl is my birth stone. :)



Even under her things she is lovely and unique, with all sorts of pretty lace trims!



So there she is, the newest addition to my doll family! Thank you for such an awesome birthday present, Sarah! :D

My first FFD head, finished!

I finished my first French Fashion doll head!!!



I am pretty happy with how she turned out. I like her in real life better than I like the stock photo on the Bell web site, and I already liked the stock photo, so. . . Good news there! :)

My next steps for her are to make a wig and a body for her. She'll be around 18" when finished, and will have dark blonde hair. I am going to be making the wig! For now, I'm pilfering hair from a cheap Halloween costume wig, but some day, I'll make one in nice mohair.

I'm presently trying to make a final decision on a style. I know for sure that I'm aiming for 1870s, and that I want no bangs, a center part, and then I'll style it somehow at the back. What I don't know is if I want something something that is very simple and pulled back, like the 1870 fashion plate below on the left, or if I want to go for the look with the curls down the back, like the 1874 illustration below on the right. At the moment, I lean more towards the curls-down-the-back. . .

  

In other news. . . I have no idea what to do next in doll class! I just recently got laid off due to a major workforce reduction at my company, and I am worried about how long it will take me to get another job, and if the severance will last as long as I need it to, and therefore trying not to spend frivolously in any way from now until getting a new job. But, I've paid for classes for the month of July, and it would be silly to not have anything to do all month, so, I think I'll just have to have another doll poured, and suffer the shopper's remorse! But then the next question is. . . Which doll? Hmm. . .