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.

“A Merry Welcome”

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Seriously everyone, this is absolutely, positively my last Christmas ensemble of 2105!

When I got the shipping confirmation number last Friday night for Linda Macario’s Penny I was in shock. It had been so long since I preordered Penny that I had stopped expecting her to show up any time soon. I didn’t think she’d be my Christmas doll, that’s for sure.

So, when Penny arrived on Monday I thought that she’s GOT to have a Christmas ensemble for her first Christmas. In between baking cookies, wrapping up boxes to send to long distance relatives, Christmas shopping, chauffeuring (school is still in session), and everything else, I managed to get something made for her.

Without further ado, here is Linda Macario’s new BJD, Penny. She is about 8 1/2″ tall and very chubby and cute. She reminds me of a Christmas elf. Luckily, I had a Little Darling Santa hat that I ended up not using for the Little Darlings “I Love Rudolph” set; Penny claimed it as her own when she saw it. She also took one of their wigs. And, … she took Talyssa’s beautiful green eyes. Now, that sounds grotesque, but that is the life of a BJD. I need to order more eyes.

It’s always a bit of a puzzle creating ensembles for new dolls, a fun puzzle, but it takes time to get it completely right. So even though there are some changes I’d like to make for Penny’s next sweater dress, I think she looks cute in her first. I also want to get a dress pattern made for her.

It was a cold day and quite windy so I only took a few photos of Penny outdoors before heading inside.

Thank you for helping me welcome Penny into the world. I think she’ll like it here.

For more information on “A Merry Welcome”, please visit my “Shop What’s New” page at cindyricedesigns.com.

“Winter Bright”

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Just in case you are in need of some winter cheer, Lucy is here to brighten up your day

As I was taking these outdoor photos of Lucy, I thought of how red cardinals stand out against the white snow just as Lucy stands out against the bare tree branches.

“No, Lucy, the ornament is for the indoor Christmas tree.” Lucy feels a bond with the cardinals because I told her she looks as bright as they do, so she wants to do something nice for them. I told her that we do help them by keeping the feeder full of sunflower seeds. “Oh, good,” Lucy replied.

Keep smiling my happy Little Darling—you surely brighten my day.

By the way, this is my last Christmas ensemble for the Little Darlings and most likely my very last for 2015. Where did the time go?

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

“Jingle, Jingle Bell” for Amelia Thimble

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One more Santa set for Amelia Thimble… and here it is.

I had some of the hand dyed bright red merino left over after making Sugar and Amelia’s last sets. It turned out to be just enough to make Amelia another one.

I set her up in the Snow Village and even though she is a bit out of scale she still looked cute, I thought. Here she is posing in front of a pink Cadillac convertible.