Kit, Modern Times and Sugar

Good morning Monday :)  I think spring is officially here in the NW.  Blue skies and chilly mornings, but warm afternoons and of course the flowers!  I feel like shining up all the glass in the house, if I had time!

My "Prairie Girl" kit is now up and ready!  I really enjoyed creating it and seeing it develop.  My testers were so helpful!  I think they had fun :)  I'm ready to start the next kit.  I think if I have a variety of kits, that customers will be thrilled, so the next one up will be a modern woman.  I have a lot of requests for modern dolls and it seems miniaturists are welcoming more modernity in their scenes.  I welcome any suggestions for kits.  Feel free to email or respond to this post!  If you like modern minis, check out these blogs:
http://call-small.blogspot.com/
http://modernminihouses.blogspot.com/
http://minimodern.blogspot.com/
https://blog.etsy.com/en/handmade-miniatures-on-etsy/

One of my testers suggested a "sugar skull" lady in full costume and that got me started on researching the Day of the Dead.  What a beautiful holiday, albeit a bit creepy.  It's so lovely to see all of the colors and sparkle involved.  So, that's what's on my dolly brain right now.  Thanks Stephanie!

All finished!

Just a quick post to show my finished wedding couple.  They were really fun to make.  I'm still working on perfecting my male dolls; it's harder than you think!  These two are up on Etsy now!
Etsy

I can see clearly now the flu is gone...

What a beautiful rainy morning!  I'm in such a great mood because I am no longer sick!  Yes, the flu had me down all week last week and it was a doozy.  I'm still breathless and weak; nasty stuff!  So it really made me appreciate my health and normal energy levels.  I'm back to it!  Life is good :)

My test party for the Prairie Girl kit went very well.  Thanks to my gals who tested for me, Jackie and Stephanie.  They really helped me refine the kit and my communication of the directions.  I've decided this kit is an "intermediate" level and I will label it as such.  I do plan on simplifying the patterns and methods and making more of a "beginner" level kit to offer as well.  The only thing I have left on this kit is to format those directions and I should have it up in the shop this week!

My current custom dressed project is a bride and groom.  I think that's pretty iconic yes?  I'll post pictures when they are close to completion.  I'm also still working on molds and so far so good.  It's a time consuming process though, of drying plaster and porcelain and then the refinement of the model.  Right now I am working on a pair of expressive hands and a realistic body.

Until next week my friends!  Enjoy your health, enjoy your families!

I've been working on a couple of things this last week, and one of them being a new product that I hope to carry regularly.  The second one was a labor of love inspired by Dior, one of my favorite fashion designers.

My product idea is a kit.  I made note at the Seattle Show how many people wanted to create dollhouse dolls on their own, but really no knowledge of where to begin.  So I thought why not?  And really how fun is it to share with people a passion of mine?  I hope I can create kits that are easy to understand...so I'm having some family members over next week to be my guinea pigs.  They are crafty ladies, so I'm sure they'll be able to help me fine tune this kit.  Here is a preview of the label:

This would include the porcelain doll, all china painted and assembled, the fabric, notions, wig and instructions.  This doll mold is one of my most favorites, "Kelly" by Doreen Sinnett.  One of the more challenging parts of this kit was my pattern development and then the printing of the scaled fabric to the pattern pieces.  Like this:  

This is the actual fabric.  It seemed to streamline the process and perhaps make it easier for the doll maker to get those tiny pieces ready for assembly.  Hopefully, if this is my final stage of development, I will have these kits available very soon in my Etsy shop (www.etsy.com/shop/lillislittles).

And then, my Dior doll.  So much fun!  I love the New Look era of fashion!  She sold within 15 minutes of my posting her up!  Her jacket is a cream colored silk, tailored to fit, with a peplum.  Her full pleated skirt cascaded down from a fitted waist yoke.  I think she turned out lovely :)

So there you have it.  My last week's labor.  Here's to the miniature biz!  

It's been awhile....

I've neglected you, my little blog!  It's definitely been awhile since I've posted.  Honestly, so much has happened in the last year that has changed things drastically!  I'll try to post this in a nutshell (he he) !

First off, from the previous post I wanted to show a picture of the doll that came from that inspiration. (http://lillislittles.blogspot.com/2015/02/victory-rolls-in-miniature.html)  She's in someone's treasured collection now, but oh what joy to create her!

In this last year, I've gotten engaged!  Yes, my sweet love of 2 years now!  Soulmates are real!  Love is real!!

I now have a little studio in our garage that he has built for me.  I will take pictures soon, but it's adorable.  Painted in blush with white trim and a pained window looking out on a beautiful fir tree.  It's my piece of heaven.  Life is bliss.

I've been working hard on Lilli's Littles and making my online presence and offline presence more real than ever!  My etsy shop is growing and gaining more admirers and I've gotten the chance to meet some wonderful people all over the world.  etsy.com/shop/lillislittles  .

My first show was the 2016 Seattle Miniature Show ( http://www.seattleminiatureshow.com/ ) .  What a blast!  My daughter came with and we giggled all weekend.  So many nice people to meet and chat with.  I plan on going to more shows.  I learned quite a bit from this first show and gained some great advice from fellow dealers.  Look for me at the Portland Miniature Show this fall of 2016!  http://www.portlandminiatureshow.com/

Some of my latest creations:

So that's a quick rundown of the latest events since the last time I wrote.  My life is wonderfully happy and my business is growing and my ideas are ever expanding!  I've many more miniature doll products that I hope to introduce.  Keep watch and thank you for reading!

Lilli

  

Victory Rolls in Miniature

We live in a diverse and exciting world.  Endless inspiration.  Well, at least when you can see it!  So I'm constantly looking for inspiration.  Especially in creating my dolls.  It's usually some fashion trend from the past, or a book I'm reading, and currently a show I've been watching on Netflix.    It's called "Bomb Girls" and the setting is 1940's wartime.  The time of Rosie the Riveter.  These characters are so engaging and I have to say, the setting and costumes are incredible!!!  So, yes, this is my inspiration...this week!

http://www.globaltv.com/bombgirls/

I've a sweet little blue eyed doll in mauve pumps that I plan on dressing in a small print pink/mauve dress.  Shoulder pads included!  And of course, Victory rolls!  I'm thinking I'll try these rolls on myself first, then on the doll.  Doing hair on miniature dolls has always been challenging for me. I like to simulate actual hairlines, so they don't look like wigs.  In reality, they are vicose fiber that I manipulate into styles.  I'm constantly changing my technique and learning new ones.  It helps to breathe when doing the hair.  So you don't pass out from frustration!!

I'll post pictures soon.  Now back to my bathroom mirror to attempt those Victory rolls!!!

A bit of plaid and pearl

Hiya folks, so I'm still trucking along making dolls and working on the business side of things.  I get a lot of inspiration from Etsy articles.  Sometimes I think that this business isn't really viable or able to be successful because...well, they're dolls and who's in to that kind of thing?  You'd be surprised.  Reading those articles shows me that no matter how obscure the product that you make is, if you do it well, you will find success!

I've always liked miniatures since I was a little girl.  I'm not a doll collector and I make this clear to people, but I really love miniatures.  I love how one can get lost in a miniature scene.  How we can create another reality in tiny form.  The artisanship and skills of miniaturists amaze me and I strive to get that quality into my dolls.  When I attend dollhouse miniature shows, I spend hours pouring over these tiny works of art.  It's incredible the skills that people have!

Most of my business will be online, but I hope to attend a few shows here and there.  I want my dolls and products to be of high artisan quality, that one would normally expect to find at shows.  With online shopping such as Etsy and websites, the world has opened up to artists.  It's exicting!

So here's a glimpse into my creative process.  The picture below shows how I prepare cut fabric to make into clothing.  I draft my own patterns...really it's just deciding in my head what I'd like to make and then making it!  I also do some research into costume history to make the doll authentic. There are adjustments here and there that I make, such as cutting away length or more neckline, snipping, gluing, fitting.

People ask me if I hand sew the doll's clothing, and yes I do sometimes.  Half sewing and half gluing.  In miniature, sewing usually creates bulky seams and that just doesn't look good, so I glue a lot of my seams and embellishments on.  I spray fabric stiffener onto the clothing to simulate folds and drape, but I do this in stages.  Usually the biggest part of the outfit, I will hand sew and then spray...if it were glued, the liquid stiffener can pull apart the seams.  The last bits after I used the stiffener are glued, and if I need to use the stiffener on any other part of the outfit, I will apply with a tiny paintbrush.  Here is a finished doll, from that fabric above.

So off to more doll making!  What a wondrous adventure I am on!  Thank you for coming along with me :)