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.

The Parade of Sweetness Continues…

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Yesterday it was, “All Sugar and Spice”, and today it is, “And Everything Nice” for the Little Darlings.

Gina’s dress is a drop waist style with slight puffed sleeves. The dress is hand knit in a blush pink Peruvian Highland wool yarn with many shades of pinks and reds used for the bullion stitched rose embroidery. I embroidered the motifs in an asymmetrical composition where the drop waist begins.

Here is a closeup of the embroidery I did on Gina’s dress.

The back of the dress buttons with raspberry colored glass pearls lined up all the way down to the hemline.

Did you see Gina and Patsy together? They have become good pals and both of them have made me promise that they will get to have more fun together again.

One more photo of sweet Gina in her new dress…

Gina and I both hope you enjoyed seeing her in her cozy new sweater dress.

Have a great Sunday! Fall is in the air!

Bye for now!

For more information on Gina’s “And Everything Nice” sweater dress ensemble, please visit my “Available for Sale” page at cindyricedesigns.com.

Finally, for Patsy

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It’s been about two years since I’ve made something for poor Patsy. She is such a good sport though, and didn’t hold a grudge against me. Look at how she shines in her new sweater dress ensemble! She looks happy to be modeling again, doesn’t she?

This ensemble will also fit Tonner’s 10″ Ann Estelle and her friends. By the way, did you see Mary Engelbreit’s post about Ann Estelle dolls? Here is the link to my Facebook page where I shared her post. Ann Estelle and Sophie were favorites of so many for quite a while; it would be fun if they were being made again.

There was a slight crispness in the air today, so sweater weather is starting here in northern Illinois.

Hope you enjoyed seeing Patsy’s new sweater dress ensemble. Bye for now and thanks for stopping by.

For more information on Patsy’s “All Sugar and Spice” ensemble, please visit my “Available for Sale” page at cindyricedesigns.com.

Some Info For Eye Candy Lovers

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Do you love looking at photos for inspiration? I know that I do. The first thing that I usually do when I am thinking about a new outfit is to go back and look at past ensembles that I have made.

Did you know that you can also go back and look at my original sales page from each ensemble that I have made (starting from March 2014)?

This is how:

Go to my website.
Click on the tab at the top titled “Slideshows“.
Click on the doll’s photo that you’d like to see photos for.
On this page you will see one or more slideshows going on. (If the slideshow moves too fast for you, you can click on the circles underneath each slideshow to move backwards and forwards within the slideshow.) If your cursor arrow turns into a hand icon when it is on a certain photo, you can click and go to the original page from when that particular ensemble was for sale. Remember that this feature is only available for my ensembles created starting from March 2014.

When I first started my website, I signed up for a one year contract because I wasn’t sure if I would like selling my outfits from a website. Well, it has worked out, so last spring I renewed my contract for 5 years and I was able to get unlimited pages for my website. What this means is that I can keep those original pages for viewing which makes me happy.

🙂 🙂 🙂

So, try it out, if you’d like. I hope my photos inspire you today.

To get you started here’s a photo from a year ago. If you click HERE, you will get taken to the original sales page on my website.