Author Archives: Cindy Rice

About Cindy Rice

My wonderful husband, my beautiful daughter, and I live in northeastern Illinois with our two sweet chihuahua boys. For as long as I can remember I have loved dolls and making things. I got my first Barbie when I was only three years old! My mom sewed for my Barbie dolls and taught me how to use her sewing machine when I was only seven. I cannot believe she let me near that needle, but she did. Not having enough money for my clothes habit in high school and college led me to start sewing all of my own clothes. There were so many fabric stores around back then and fabric was so inexpensive. I would wait for the 99 cent pattern sale and go crazy. Sewing for myself continued well into my 30’s. (I even made my wedding gown and bridesmaid dresses.) Shortly after I got married I left my full time graphic design position and started designing cross stitch patterns. I called my company “The Lilac Studio” and sold my botanical patterns at trade shows, through distributors which sold to retail shops, and mail order. My most popular pattern, “A Bouquet of Pansies” sold 5000 copies and won a J&P Coats Golden Needle Award! I was also featured in various cross stitch magazines and designed special projects for the magazines. When my daughter was born I didn’t have the time needed to cross stitch and design patterns all day long so I let my pattern design business slip away. And then I started discovering dolls again and I now had an excuse to start buying them. The only problem was that they were for my daughter and not for me. I soon discovered all of the adult collectors out there and decided I would be one of them. I started small at first, collecting Mattel Kelly dolls. Soon I collected over 100 Kelly dolls! After Kelly, I discovered Helen Kish’s Riley and Tonner’s Ann Estelle. I have since learned to knit doll sweaters and love an excuse to knit so most of my doll outfits include a sweater and/or hat. I love creating miniature outfits for dolls and enjoy sharing them with others. Currently I create doll ensembles for Ruby Red Fashion Friends, Kish Bethany, Dianna Effner's Little Darlings, Wilde Imagination's teeny tiny Amelia, Kaye Wiggs BJD, Boneka 10", Linda Macario's Penny.

This and That

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Thank you all so much for the input on Penny’s best look, that was fun. That post is here in case you didn’t see it. Here are the results:

1. Giselle very blonde bob

2. Giselle brunette bob

3. Raven long carrot

4. Tomboy auburn curly

5. Hannah brunette

Gina’s favorite wig, the brunette Hannah wig actually got no votes. I guess Gina doesn’t have to worry about it being snatched from her. A bob (in either color) seems to be the favorite style for Penny. I forgot to show you Penny wearing a Monique Bubbles (bob style) carrot wig which looks equally cute on her. I think so anyway.

Have you heard that the groundhog did not see his shadow, so it will be an early spring, 6 weeks to go? Maybe he is right; I saw a robin last week and we had thunderstorms yesterday. Not that 6 weeks is such a short length of time to wait for spring to arrive… I wish it would arrive NOW. I love spring, but this time of year can be nice too, sitting in front of the cozy fire with my knitting and a cup of hot cocoa, coffee, or tea. Sometimes I need to remind myself to stay in the moment and not rush my life away. So yes, I will enjoy the rest of winter. 🙂

I snapped a photo of my works-in-progress today. The ensemble with the pink sweater for the Little Darlings just needs buttons on the sweater and a bracelet made, then done. Yay! I’m not sure who to put it on, Lucy or Gina. Hmmm…

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Lucy will be showing you her new “Pink Happeness” ensemble tonight at 7:00 pm. She’d love for you to check it out. There’s a few photos of it on my Facebook page (right now) in case you’d like to take a peek.

Bye for now! Thanks for stopping by!

“Winter Elegance” for the Little Darlings

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Here’s Gina, my Little Darling, modeling “Winter Elegance”, one of the new ensembles I recently completed.

Her cropped cardigan is hand knit with pale lavender mohair/silk lace yarn. The hand embroidery rose bouquet motifs mirror each other at the bottom corners.

Sometimes the colors that I plan on using for my embroidery need to be adjusted as I start to embroider, which was the case with this sweater. I first started out with the bright magenta purple being used for the main roses, and saw that it was too overpowering. The sweater itself matches the blue violet roses very nicely, so I went with a deeper shade of purple for the main roses and used the bright magenta for the buds; I thought this produced a nicer balance of color. I added the beige colonial knot buds to pick up the background color of the fabric and add a pop of light color to the embroidery motifs.

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When I cut out the bodice for Gina’s dress, I picked out a motif to center on the front. The print has some directional design to it; there are vines of roses (in between scattered rose bouquets) which I chose to go in a vertical direction on the skirt.

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To complete Gina’s elegant ensemble is a beaded crocheted headband, a basket for her flowers, pair of tights, and a bracelet.

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For more information on Gina’s “Winter Elegance” ensemble, please visit my “Shop What’s New” page at cindyricedesigns.com.

What’s Penny’s Best Look?

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I have found with my dolls that there is alway a specific hair color and/or style that most often looks the best on them. There are exceptions, of course, but I find that after I’ve had a doll for a time, I find her “look”. I’m still searching for Penny’s look; I’ve only had her for a few months, so it’s still early.

This morning I tried multiple wigs on her with her new crocheted cap. What do you think? Any standouts?

This is the wig that I first put on her to take her photos wearing her new outfit. It is a Kemper Giselle mohair bob in Medium Brown. Gina (my Little Darling) wears this wig often as she looks best as a brunette.

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This is Gina’s favorite wig; another Kemper mohair wig in light brown, called Hannah.

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This mohair wig by Kemper is called Tomboy and the color is auburn. It is a strange wig (I think), but looks cute with a hat. Gina looks cute in it too. You can see her here.

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This Kemper mohair wig is called Raven and is in carrot red. It is very silky and very red. I think Penny looks great as a redhead; the strands of mohair on this wig are way too long for Penny though. I could always trim it if it becomes Penny’s best look.

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