Spring Fling - A giveaway collaboration

I am so excited to finally be able to announce the start of this fun collaboration. To enter to win this wonderful package of goodies, you must be a fan of each of these Facebook pages: Key*West*Kids, Lillianna Marie Designs, WildByDesign Boutique and Snicklefritz Friends and post a comment below. Be sure to provide a way we can easily contact you if you are selected as the winner! This contest will close to entries on Sunday, 4/10, at 12pm Pacific (3pm Eastern). At the close of the contest, a random number will be used to select the winning post and the winner will be contacted.

Note: The doll is my 12" size with tan skin, blond hair and blue eyes.

Half year anniversary giveaway

Just for fun, I'm going to do an impromptu giveaway to celebrate 6 months for my Etsy shop. The prize will be the winner's choice of fairy wings or superhero cape. Post below to enter and be sure I can find you based on your post here. :) This giveaway is open to all members of my Facebook fan page. Entry is open until 10pm PST on Sunday, 12/12.

December Giveaway - Doll #2

The second doll is this sweet little mermaid, Mariana. She's about 6" from the top of her head to the tip of her tail. For a chance to win Mariana, you must be a fan on my Facebook page and post a comment below. Be sure to identify yourself in some way so I can contact you at the end of the contest. I'll close this to entries on Sunday, 12/5, at 8pm Pacific.

Note: If the same name is selected as the winner for both dolls, that person can select which doll to receive. Another name will be chosen to win the doll not selected.

December Giveaway - Doll #1

I'm doing another doll giveaway - this time I'll giveaway 2 dolls. The first is this cute toothfairy, Opal. She's an 8" friend and dressed in a beautiful lavender and white costume complete with a small tooth shaped bag to hold her nightly collections. For a chance to win Opal, you must be a fan on my Facebook page and post a comment below. Be sure to identify yourself in some way so I can contact you at the end of the contest. I'll close this to entries on Sunday, 12/5, at 8pm Pacific.

Note: If the same name is selected as the winner for both dolls, that person can select which doll to receive. Another name will be chosen to win the doll not selected.

Snicklefritz Friends Doll Giveaway

As a fun way to celebrate October birthdays for my daughter and me, I'm doing a doll giveaway. I've made 2 dolls so the winner can select a boy or girl, Hollis and Ivy. The other will be available for purchase after the giveaway is finished. For a chance to win one of these cute little holiday elves, you must be a fan on my Facebook page and post a comment below. Be sure to identify yourself in some way so I can contact you at the end of the contest. I'll close this to entries on Friday, 10/29, at 8pm Pacific.

Edited to add: If the winner of the giveaway would like to purchase the second doll, I'd be happy to work with her/him. Although I'd love these two to be able to stay together, I totally understand if that's not realistic for the winner... just as I'm not able to give both away. :)

She's a doll!

I finished the Waldorf-style doll this evening at the request of my daughter. She has been so interested in the process and had already claimed the doll before I was done. I kept the hair from the second head attempt but made a new head that I like much better. Initially I was going to make the doll a mermaid but then decided to make her with legs and have a tail that could be worn like a skirt. My daughter loved that idea and has since requested I make wings, too, so the doll can be a fairy sometimes. We still don't have a name for this sweet little urchin but I'm sure one will be found to fit soon.

A little playtime

Since I sew for a 'living', it's not really a hobby anymore. I still like to do other crafts from time to time but don't usually have much time for it. Recently, though, a couple friends jokingly challenged me to try making a Waldorf inspired doll (there was an ulterior motive to their challenge but that's OK LOL). I hadn't done much looking at soft dolls since my daughter hasn't shown much interest in dolls in general. However, I thought it might be fun to see what I could do with what I had on hand.

First I looked online at tutorials and websites, like Bamboletta, for dolls like I had in mind. I realized that I wouldn't be able to stay totally true to the ideals of this style in that I'd be using polyester batting for the stuffing (wool is the preferred choice for these dolls) and my selection of knit and yarn colors tended toward the bright rather than skin tones but I was excited by the idea of trying. My first head was OK but not what I had hoped to achieve. The facial features were small and the 'hair' shed a lot of fluff with the slightest movement. Still, I thought it showed promise. Best of all, my daughter seemed very interested in what I'd made.

The next head was much better all around. She still doesn't have much of a chin but otherwise I felt like this might actually be something I'd enjoy doing. The next step is to create a body. I'm debating trying to draft my own pattern for that or purchasing one like the ebooks I found at Dancing Rain Dolls. I had been thinking of making her into a fairy but now that she's got hair, I think she might need to be a mermaid.