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.

Well, we have instant coffee and pudding, instant messaging, and now instant winter… for us in northern Illinois anyway. Yesterday it was over a foot of snow and this morning it is 10℉ (-12℃), so it is definitely wintry out there.

Oh, what fun!!! No, not really… The only GREAT thing is that by the end of the week it will be in the 50s again! Yay!

As the sun was coming up, I took some icy looking pictures. Can you feel how cold it is?

Tonight (7:00 pm, CST) I will have “Snowmen and Candy Canes” available on my website. It’s only fitting, don’t you think? Here’s a sneak peak.

So, who do you think models it better, Lucy (top) or Gina?

Bye for now! I’ll be back later with the post for this ensemble. Have a great day!

The television meteorologists were all wrong! We were supposed to get up to 7″ of snow, and instead we got about 12″—and it’s still coming down, heavier than ever! This is a February snowstorm, wet and heavy. Luckily we were able to cancel our plans and call it a “snow day”, so a stay-at-home day for us.