It has been sooo long since I posted anything that today I thought I'd get caught up with all of you. I have been taking a break from card making an paper crafting and have entered the world of dolls. Yup, I'm hooked on the American Girl dolls (more likely obsessed).
I used to sew when my kids were young then helped with the local dance studio doing alterations and specialty costumes. I even won a few design awards along the way. As my kids grew I made dresses for semi formals and proms. I even did quite a few of their friends. I backed off when it came to doing their wedding gowns. (I wasn't THAT brave).
Fast forward to this past 2 years. I found I missed sewing and decided to make clothing for my grand daughters dolls. I have to admit I was a little rusty. I started taking design classes on line at Liberty Jane and now proudly test patterns for so very gifted and talented designers. I have taken Design, Pattern Making and lately the Couture Academy.
Along the way I have met some sweet young girls who are so blessed with fashion sense and love their Historical dolls. I am amazed at the knowledge they have. However there is one incredible six year old who just loves her dolls. Her name is Kiley and I am so honored to have made some outfits for her. You see Kiley is battling Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma.
After talking to her Aunt, she stated they were thinking of having a Yard Sale to raise money for Cancer Research for children. I thought they (or I) could raise more money by having several Auctions for the dolls instead. If she could donate some used dolls then I would gladly create custom outfits for them.
Well, I received 3 dolls but they needed some TLC.
At first glance they don't look too bad but on closer examination I knew I had my work cut out for me! Since all 3 will be going to Auction within the month I will focus on the first one I altered. She's the one in the middle. Yes, her hair has been cut so there was no saving this hair. What to do? Rewig. Yup, this is how I transformed her to become Sam. You can find plenty of You Tubes that show you how to do this so I won't bore you.
Here she is bald!
I used a non-acetone polish remover to remove most of the old glue on the head and cleaned the face with a magic eraser. You have to be real careful not to let any water or liquid in the eyes or the develop "silver" eye ( a fancy way of saying it removes the color of the dolls eye) and will need a trip to the American Girl Doll Hospital!
She looks to pretty to be a boy so I used some Copic Markers and added freckles and filled in the eyebrows for a bushier look.
With the eyes closed it maybe hard to tell what I am going for but trust me, the wig improves it a lot. I had researched what other people use and some said colored pencils, others use acrylic paint. Both of those materials are water soluble so I used the Copics since they are alcohol based and should last longer. Yes, I was scared to use them at first but once I got started it was fine.
Here he is in my first test outfit:
Meet Sam. I used a cargo pattern I had but wasn't happy with the fit and the shirt is okay but I wanted to make a "muscle" shirt and it just wouldn't fit as a layer. Also, I have been in a quandary as to what he should wear on his feet: shoes or sandals? Since this will be my first Auction for a cause I need it to be perfect.
I used to sew when my kids were young then helped with the local dance studio doing alterations and specialty costumes. I even won a few design awards along the way. As my kids grew I made dresses for semi formals and proms. I even did quite a few of their friends. I backed off when it came to doing their wedding gowns. (I wasn't THAT brave).
Fast forward to this past 2 years. I found I missed sewing and decided to make clothing for my grand daughters dolls. I have to admit I was a little rusty. I started taking design classes on line at Liberty Jane and now proudly test patterns for so very gifted and talented designers. I have taken Design, Pattern Making and lately the Couture Academy.
Along the way I have met some sweet young girls who are so blessed with fashion sense and love their Historical dolls. I am amazed at the knowledge they have. However there is one incredible six year old who just loves her dolls. Her name is Kiley and I am so honored to have made some outfits for her. You see Kiley is battling Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma.
After talking to her Aunt, she stated they were thinking of having a Yard Sale to raise money for Cancer Research for children. I thought they (or I) could raise more money by having several Auctions for the dolls instead. If she could donate some used dolls then I would gladly create custom outfits for them.
Well, I received 3 dolls but they needed some TLC.
At first glance they don't look too bad but on closer examination I knew I had my work cut out for me! Since all 3 will be going to Auction within the month I will focus on the first one I altered. She's the one in the middle. Yes, her hair has been cut so there was no saving this hair. What to do? Rewig. Yup, this is how I transformed her to become Sam. You can find plenty of You Tubes that show you how to do this so I won't bore you.
I used a non-acetone polish remover to remove most of the old glue on the head and cleaned the face with a magic eraser. You have to be real careful not to let any water or liquid in the eyes or the develop "silver" eye ( a fancy way of saying it removes the color of the dolls eye) and will need a trip to the American Girl Doll Hospital!
She looks to pretty to be a boy so I used some Copic Markers and added freckles and filled in the eyebrows for a bushier look.
With the eyes closed it maybe hard to tell what I am going for but trust me, the wig improves it a lot. I had researched what other people use and some said colored pencils, others use acrylic paint. Both of those materials are water soluble so I used the Copics since they are alcohol based and should last longer. Yes, I was scared to use them at first but once I got started it was fine.
Here he is in my first test outfit:
Meet Sam. I used a cargo pattern I had but wasn't happy with the fit and the shirt is okay but I wanted to make a "muscle" shirt and it just wouldn't fit as a layer. Also, I have been in a quandary as to what he should wear on his feet: shoes or sandals? Since this will be my first Auction for a cause I need it to be perfect.
This is my finally project! Sam will be going up for Auction on ebay Sunday August 2nd and run through August 9th EST. I'll update the link when it goes live. All proceeds will go to:
Let's help these kids kick this!
By the way, if you'd like to see the next 2 transformations then follow me right here or my FB page:
https://www.facebook.com/PintsizedPieces
The next 2 dolls will become the ballerinas from Swan Lake. (Wait til you see them!).
