Tote bags are now in my Etsy store!

I got several positive responses for my tote bag I made yesterday, so I made a few more. I added two to my Etsy store!

Click here to go to my Etsy site

 

 

Click here to go to my Etsy site

I really enjoyed making these (and yes, they do open and you can put stuff inside!). If they sell, I will make more. I also take custom orders on my site, if one wants a specific color or extra flourish (like the flower I added in the tote I posted yesterday); just click "Request Custom Order" on the left-hand side of my store's page.

Follow-up and update on Pam, the doll

Pam is all dressed up! Not terrible for my first go at dressing a doll (if I say so myself!). And those of you who commented on my last post, thank you! As you mentioned, fabric glue is LOVELY when making dolls' clothes in this scale. I did use the sewing machine on Pam's skirt, but fabric glue took care of the more fiddly sleeves and bodice. I used Beacon Adhesives Fabri-Tac. I love this stuff as it quickly dries so there is not much waiting between steps of a project. 

Also to answer a question from Iris March, the doll was made from a Teresa Glisson mold and painted by Jan Hughes (who sold me the doll). Her eBay page is here in case any of you are interested. (Her shipping was SUPER fast!)

If you noticed, I put Pam's hair up. I like it better that way. She looks quite elegant (and ready to meet her new neighbors!)

I also made a cute tote bag out of some scraps. I might make more of these. They are easy and fun, too!

I will be doing a photo shoot soon of Pam in the Glencroft, historical society, and herb shop soon. Stay tuned!

Say hi to Pam!

Well, I think I found a resident for the Glencroft. Pam arrived today (from California!) thanks to a kind seller on eBay. I saw her (perhaps through Small Stuff? I can't remember...) and thought she kinda resembled the character Pam (played by Jenna Fischer) from one of my favorite shows, The Office. Maybe just a little. Anyway here she is!

She arrived in New York without any clothes (oops?) so I am getting her outfitted and trying my best at designing clothes for her. This is my first time trying to make realistic doll clothing for an actual doll (don't tell her that) so this will be interesting. For now I have outfitted her in a slip and a tube top.

 She did come with her shoes, though! They're so pretty!

So I have sorted through my fabrics and picked out a few favorites...

I am going for modern (with some retro flair - like this awesome dress!). There are quite a few options here, but I am looking at the stripes...

...or the blue floral print. Both would be super cute! So, I am going to learn how to design a dress pattern and make a dress. Might be good practice as I really want to make my own clothes sometime soon! (My sewing machine and I have a real hot/cold relationship...I love it when it behaves, but occasionally it rebels. I am sure it's due to user error, though. I'm still learning the ropes!)

Anyway, what do you think..stripes (navy blue, they are on the left in the above picture) or the blue floral?

I am excited to get her dressed so she can "meet" Oscar, Esmerelda, and Stanley. I'll document her visit to the herbal shop, the historical society, and finally her move-in to the Glencroft! I can't wait!

Quilt update!

Well, I finished my first dollhouse quilt. Even with using the sewing machine, it was quite the venture. In fact, using a sewing machine probably upped the difficulty level a bit, since I had a 1/8" seam allowance. Hmmm. I might just make those pieces wider next time. ;)

Anyway, here is how it turned out.

The top of the quilt. I am pretty happy with this. The binding is a bit too wide, so I will definitely change that for the next quilt (and there will be a next quilt!)

This is the back. I'm not crazy about it, but I had LOTS of this fabric in my stash and wanted to use it. My sewing machine was being a pain too, so the stitches were less than awesome on this side. I still need to trim some stray threads.

This is how it looks on a bed. It fits a dollhouse scale full bed.

It does look good on the bed, so I am pretty happy with that! This quilt is one I will keep, but I will hopefully be designing and making some more for the shop once I get a good method down. :-)

Lessons learned:
1) Hand sewing may actually be better for tiny stitches.
2) Skinny binding will look better in this scale. (And maybe darker for this particular quilt, though I like it when it's on the bed.)
3) Patience is required!
4) I can make tiny quilts! :-D

Dollhouse quilts

Enjoying a beautiful day today! It's also been a week since I got married and I am very much enjoying it! (Our honeymoon is in July.)

I've been doing little crafting lately, but am happy to share something I just started making - a dollhouse quilt. This isn't easy and I am not using any tutorials to make one. (But, maybe I'll make a tutorial if this turns out okay!)

I found a bag of tiny fabric scraps in our storage unit a few weeks ago when we were looking for a couple other items. I brought it back to the craft desk and set it aside until I decided to make a tiny quilt. I have a real-life lap quilt that I made last year out of African fabric and I am hoping to make one that (somewhat) matches.

I started on it yesterday. First I cut pieces of the fabric (they were in 2 inch x 2 inch squares) into 2 inch by 1/2 inch strips. I then sewed together different patterns with a 1/8" seam allowance.

This is what I have so far:

I am going to join these together so there will be sets of 4 strips. Then I am going to find a solid color in my stash and join the 4 patterned strips to a strip of solid color then to another strip of four and then continue this until I get the desired length of quilt. Then I will probably cut this in half so the strips are 1" wide. That might look better. We will see!

As you can see, I cut and sewed quite a bit yesterday.

This is a pile of strips pinned together. I just need to sew them to get a group of four strips. :) Now, to raid my stash for a solid color. :-)

I'll keep you all updated about how this works out!

Hutches and pottery

I have a lot of extraneous minis. I am not sure if that is a good or bad thing, but recently, I was going through the extra pieces I had (which I keep displayed on a shelf in our living room) and decided to reorganize and maybe even pare down some of it.

I don't know if you remember that shadow box display of pottery I put together a while back. (It's here.) Well, the hutch in that shadowbox has two matching pieces. Interestingly, I got all three of them from different places, but they look like they were made by the same person/company. I decided to put all three of them in the shadowbox, with the pottery, and I even added a small enamel pot with forsythia, too.

Someday, I will hang this somewhere. For now, it sits on the table in our foyer.

Updated Herb Shop - just some pics :)

I added a new shelf unit (found at an antique store) for all of the herbs and accessories.

There are jars of all sizes, a basket full of seed packets, and some growing plants. Also, there's a mortar and pestle, canisters, and even some shopping bags on the bottom shelf. The cork on the shelves was added by me so the objects on the shelf were more stable.

Crystal balls and antique pottery in the display case.

I rearranged this shelf quite a bit and put the hats on top. I would like to add more items.

Bowls of stickers, a selection of gems, and Mexican tapestries.

My homemade bookshelf and screen, with a cute wooden carved rhino.

This shop is my first miniature project and I've enjoyed putting it together. Adding and moving things around means a project is never *quite* complete, and I like that!

Looking over some posters.

A book I put together from a kit. I love the details on this.

A better view of the shelves.

I made this hex sign from a brochure I picked up while in Lancaster, PA.

I thought this picture turned out pretty cool. :) Here, you're looking through the front door of the shop.

I just *love* this log with toadstools. I bought it from Earth and Tree a little over a year ago. :)