Has it really been two months?

... I'm afraid it has been. I did lay low for a couple weeks because my March challenge kinda drained me, but I had no idea that it had been two months! So now I'm back and ready to start chronicling my ideas again. You're in trouble. ;)

I've found a new niche and I'm sure that there are going to be people who's responses are "You're doing what?" because I've already gotten a few. But I've found that I love reconstrucing Barbie dolls. I touched a little on the subject here, but because it's taken such a hold on me and I love it so much, I thought I would expand on it.

So, why dolls? A few reasons.

1) They remind me of my grandmother. She loved the collectible Barbies (the "wizard of Oz" set comes to mind) and would buy duplicates for her and for me. 

2) I've found that I can use many different crafting techniques on one doll. The perfect example was my Delenn doll. I got to sew (her costume), paint (her eyes and lips), and craft stuff (her head bone and triluminary) all in one project, without having to spend a butt load of money (of course, that can change the more detailed and "better" I want my dolls to be).

3) They take up less space and look cool then if I were to, say, make costumes for me and the hubby. Where would we wear them all to anyway??

4) Because I like it. Really, this should be enough of an answer, but alas, I know that people can't just accept that. And one thing I've realized is that there's really no difference from this and from someone playing video games or collecting trains or models or remote control cars/airplanes/helicopters/boats etc. 

How far have I gotten into it? Not very far honestly. I've been busy making things for others that I haven't gotten to engrossed into it for myself. That will change once some swaps I'm involved with are finished. But I wanted to share a few of the things I made for another person. We're involved with a swap and she wanted me to make some doll clothes for her. 

The first is based on this dress from The Swan Princess.

The pattern is my own. I actually used a slip for the white (yay for reusing!) and some scraps I had for the teal. The sleeves were the hardest part, but I think it still worked. The doll in the picture is an Aurora doll from Disney's Sleeping Beauty but I thought she would make a much better Odette. I repainted her eyes and combed her bangs to the side and I think it really looks like her! Now I just need to make one of these dresses for her!

The next is based on this Goblin King picture. 

Again, all the patterns are my own. I never knew it, but they make 1/16" eyelets, which are perfect for Barbie corsets and such. I thought they would be difficult to work with because of how small they are, but they were actually easier to use then then the 1/4" ones which I use on costumes. 

And the last (and my favoite) is a Belle inspired lolita dress based on this picture.

I love Beauty and the Beast and was so excited to make this outfit! Truthfully, I almost didn't send it to her because I loved it so much! The pattern is my own. I made the tiny roses out of red ribbon left over from Christmas. The shoes were plain barbie heels that I added clay to the front and painted. 

They were a lot of fun to make and I'm proud that I was able to accomplish it. Believe it or not, sewing in small scale is a lot more difficult then normal size! 

N.C.M #28 - #31 - The Final Posts for the Month!

Ok, so here we are at the last 4 items for National Craft Month!

#28 - Firefox's Green Lantern Cape!

For last Halloween, I was so busy making costumes for myself and 3 friends, I needed to take a break and do something that was fun. We had just brought home our kitty a couple months before and he loved sitting with me and watching me sew, I wanted to make something for him. Yes, I made him a Halloween costume. One of my friends had designed a Green Lantern costume and wanted me to make it for him and I had a bunch of scraps left over. The light bulb clicked on.

Looking at these photos makes me want to cry! He was so tiny and now at 8 months he's HUGE. Anyway, back to the cape. He didn't like it at first (as evident in the first picture), but later on I believe he began to like it. I suspect it kept him warm. I added the strap along his belly because it kept sliding around his neck. It was a nice, easy, quick project.

# 29 - Blue Shirt

You're going to stop believing me when I say I hate Simplicity patterns because of how often I use them. ;) But it was cheap (.99 cents!) and I really liked the pattern. Simplicity 3673 sat in my pattern drawer for over a year because I began to wonder if it would really look good on my figure or not. Finally, I decided I had to use it and created this amazing green dress that I love! (I promise to post pics of it soon). I liked it so much, that I decided I wanted to make it into a shirt.

I ran into a few issues with sizing, but less then I expected. The fabric is a really nice lightweight linen that I was given. It's not lined because I wanted to be able to wear it during the summer as well. I wore it this past Sunday to church and felt soooooo pretty in it! Which brings me to....

#30 - Pearl Earrings

I had made these earrings a while ago because I liked them but I didn't really have anything to wear them with. That is, until I made the blue shirt! 

Simple and feminine, these earrings are so me. It was my first piece of jewelry using copper and I wasn't sure if I would like it or not, but I found that I do. I've used it a few other times and it's growing on me,

#31 - My First Purse

I wanted to post this even though it's older because I'm so proud of it. I wanted a purse with pockets. Lots and lots and lots of pockets so I could keep things nice and organized (and somehow, even with all those pockets, I failed). And I wanted it brown. Simple enough, right? Nope! I couldn't find anything I liked anywhere! So I patched some pictures together and severely butchered  pattern and came up with this.

This was the first purse that I ever made. It's made from 1 yard brown fabric, an old pair of hubby's pants (lining) and another $2 purse I got from the Salvation Army (all the zippers, clasps etc). I love this bag. It came out really well for my first attempt. (I had one lady ask me about it and she could not believe it was my first purse!) I used it non stop for over a year and it held up very, very well. The only reason I switched was because of my Doctor Who carry bag. 

So that's it! 31 projects in a month, both old and new. This was definitely a challenge for me because I didn't want to post just old things, but new as well. It helped me stretch my imagination, and taught me how to stretch my budget too! I can't promise that I would do it again, seeing how there were some days where I really didn't want to write, but we'll see. ;)

N.C.M #25, #26, and #27 - Babylon 5 and Superman Doll Recons!

It all started with my Weeping Angel Christmas Tree Topper. Reconstructing a Barbie doll into something waaaay cooler was so much fun, I thought about reconning other dolls into my favorite characters. Truthfully, I was afraid that people would scoff at me "playing with dolls" but I found that there's a whole community out there that does this! And what I found out is that I like using several different techniques on one project (sewing, using clay, painting, etc). I haven't done many so some of my techniques are still... rough, lol... but I really enjoy what I've done so far!

Delenn from Babylon 5

I'm going to post my latest one, and favorite one, first. :-D I love the show Babylon 5. If you haven't watched it, look it up! Fantastic sci-fi show. And my favorite character is Delenn, a Minbari who transforms into a Minbari-Human hybrid, which is how I made her.

She was really fun and challenging to make! I drafted the pattern for her clothing myself. The fabric was given to me, and I actually plan on using it to make a Delenn costume! I just needed a tiny bit and thought the sacrifice worth it. ;) The gold and silver trim were ribbons that I glued/sewed on. Fray Check was my best friend for this project. It would have been so time consuming to hem everything, especially when a majority of the edges were going to have trim on them anyways. 

N.C.M. #21 - #24 - Jewelry Sets

My latest kick is making jewelry. It's fun, it's easy and something I can do quickly (most times).

The first set is my favorite. The green glass beads I got from Hobby Lobby and the bronze beads from Walmart. I can't tell if they're butterflies or flowers, but they're pretty! I like this set because it's alittle more dress down because of the bronze colors.

The next set is one based on Doctor Who. The keys and blue beads are for the Tardis and the wing is for the Weeping Angels. I wish I could have a few more elements to put into this piece, to make it a little more Doctor Who-y, but perhaps less is better. I will have to change the chain because parts are tarnished. :(



The next two sets are ones I just whipped up when I was bored. They're made from glass beads I got from Joanns on sale and the clear beads came from A.C. Moore.

N.C.M #18 - #20 - Doll Clothes, Wedding Stuff and Scrapbook Page

#18 - Doll Clothes

One of my favorite dolls as a child was a handmade cloth doll my Mama bought me. She was so pretty and cuddly and I just loved her! But then I grew up, moved out and forgot all about her. When Mama passed away, I found her again. And looking at her on my shelf, I decided that I needed to make her some new clothes! (Her name is Felicia!)

The first set was from Disney's Beauty and Beast because it's my all time favorite movie!

Belle's Blue Dress

Belle's Library Dress

Belle's Christmas Dress

For her fourth dress, I chose to make Christine's pink gown from The Phantom of the Opera. I'm beyond thrilled with how this one turned out!

 I drafted the patterns for them myself. Each dress was made from scraps I had laying around so the only things I had to buy were the roses. My favorite one is Christine's because of how lovely the train turned out and she's usually wearing it. 

N.C.M #16 and #17 - Ruffly Teal Shirt and Dressform

#16 - Ruffly Teal Shirt

I really love Modcloth.com. They have some of the cutest clothing I've seen in a long time. But unfortunately for me, they don't sell their stuff in plus sizes. :( Which was heartbreaking for me when I found this amazing ruffly teal dress. But then I remembered that I bought some material on clearance that was almost identical in color! I didn't have enough to make a dress, but I did have enough to make a shirt. This was probably a good thing for me because I don't wear dresses too often.

My Version

The Original

Instead of chiffon, I used a jersey knit fabric. For the bodice, I used Butterick pattern 5454 and made the pattern for the ruffles and the bottom myself. I did put the bow on it, but I liked it better tied in the back instead of the front.

I'm actually rather pleased with how this turned out. I normally wear things where the seam is directly under my bust or without a seam, so this style was a bit weird for me. But I had several positive responses on Craftster so I may have to re-evaluate my stance on that. And my husband things I look sexy in it too. Seriously folks, the hubby stole the laptop and wrote that. Now I just have to wait for the 5 inches of snow to melt so I can wear it.

#17 - Dressform

This is something that my dear friend Hilary helped me make. Well, technically, she made it. When I started making my own clothes it was becoming slightly difficult because I was constantly trying things on to get the right fit. I wanted to buy a dressform, but at $200+ it was slightly out of my price range. That's when I found a tutorial on how to make my own dressform using duct tape! The result...

It was rather simple. Hilary just wrapped me in several layers of duct tape then cut it down the spine and I taped it back up. It took her about two and a half hours to wrap me and another two hours for me to stuff it with newspaper. Unfortunately the duct tape method is not the best to use because when stuffing, it pushes the proportions off. So certain areas I can use to help fit (shoulders and bust) but others are actually bigger then I am (waist and stomach). After I lose some weight, I want to try another method using packing tape, where it will actually be solid with much more accurate proportions. You can see the tutorial I want to use here and you can bet I'll let you know if it works or not. :)

N.C.M #13, #14, and #15 - Household Goodies

I've never really focused on making things for my house before, but lately I feel this need to create things for the house and fix it up a bit. Not huge projects, but things to make it feel more like home.

#13 - Candle Holders

I love candles. The smells, the light, the calming effect they have. And dear hubby bought me some candles for Valentine's day last year that I never used. So I broke them out only to find that I don't have a lot of candle holders. So I broke out the computer and did some searching and found an idea for using old non-functioning CDs! But I didn't want plain flat ones, I wanted to have them curved like a bowl. After some more searching I found that you can put them in the oven to make them pliable. And this is the result.

I'm really happy with how they turned out! I didn't expect the rainbow effect, but it's so pretty! To make these, it's really simple. You need a pair of heat resistant gloves, CDs or DVDs that don't work and an oven. Heat the oven to 350 degrees and put a CD in for 2-3 minutes. Test to see when the CD is pliable. Once it is, quickly and wearing your gloves bend up the edges. It starts to harden very quickly, so you want to be quick about it. I did them one at a time because of this. That's it. ***Disclaimer: You do this at your own risk! I am not responsible for anything that may happen!*** It does start to smell, so if possible have your windows open. I probably won't make anymore until it's warm enough to open windows to let it vent. :)

#14 - Coasters

I'm a huge tea drinker and unfortunately I've started to notice some rings on the table. Oops. Coasters are in order! My kitchen colors are light pink, cream, and green (because those are the colors of the dishes I have from my beloved Mama). I looked through my fabric scraps and found some that would match the colors and theme very nicely.

Umm... Yeah, that coaster really is square, it's just the angle of the picture that makes it look weird. ;) I like that they're reversible so they can be plain green when used with the dishes or pretty when alone. There's a layer of felt in the middle, so they're thin but effective.

#15 - Tea Wreath

As I said above, I'm a tea junkie and drink several cups a day. And it's a pain the neck to dig through the cupboard trying to find the boxes. I had seen this and thought it a clever way to make the bags more accessible. And let me tell you, it's amazing.

It's wonderful because I can grab a tea bag easily and only need to refill it about once a week. It took only an hour to make. To make this you need:

- a 12x12 piece of cardboard

- 20-24 clothespins

- glue 

- glue gun or superglue

- some scrapbooking paper

I glued a piece of paper to the 12x12 cardboard then traced a dinner plate to get the circle. I measured to create the smaller circle and cut it out. Then using a scrap piece of paper I cut strips of paper and glued them to the clothespins. I chose pink and cream since it's my kitchen colors. Then I used a glue gun to glue the clothes pins to the circle. Poke a hole in the top and slip a ribbon through. That's it! Really simple, but worth it for us tea addicts. :-D

I think my house is on it's way to feeling like home.