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.

Bella is “Ready for Roses”

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Ah, and I am ready for the roses to bloom, too! Hello there. How are you?

It is the last week of winter here in the northern hemisphere. Yay!!! We got about 6 inches of snow last week and it just started melting yesterday. When the snow melted off of the garden beds I checked on the little crocuses which were blooming before the snowfall and they still are. I don’t know how those delicate blooms can withstand 6 inches of icy snow weighing down on them for days, but they held up fine. They sure are little troopers.

Last fall my husband and I planted quite a few different varieties of bulbs and we are eagerly awaiting their arrival. The early ones have started showing, but no buds yet.

My Ruby Red Fashion Friend Bella is a bit impatient this year and has skipped right past the start of spring to late spring when the roses will start to bloom. She really cannot wait!

Bella wears a rose print cotton dress with two different styles of cotton lace adorning the skirt. A rosy pink ribbon sash ties around her waist. Faux pearl buttons decorate the bodice’s back.

Bella’s elbow length cardigan sweater is hand knit with merino wool that has been hand dyed and the rosy mauve color custom mixed to coordinate with the dress. I embroidered bullion stitch pink roses at the neckline. The cardigan can be worn open or will close with rosy pink glass pearl bead buttons.

Bella wears a crocheted cap in white bamboo thread. A wool felt blossom and knitted leaf decorate her cap. Her drawstring bag matches the cap in materials and decoration. So that she would have something to put in her bag I made her a tiny hanky in cotton lawn. (This is how I used to fold and iron my grandma’s hankies when I would help her out with her chores.) Bella’s bracelet features a rosebud charm and pearly heart to show that I made this just for her with love.

Bella would like to know if you’re excited for the rose gardens to come into bloom. I cannot believe spring starts next week, can you? Those rose gardens will be glorious in no time!

I hope you enjoy the rest of the week and the upcoming weekend! Thank you for stopping by and visiting with me. ❤️🤗

Evianna’s First Ensemble, “Spring Greening”

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Happy Sunday to you! I hope it is a good one. The sun is shining and the snow is already melting here in northern Illinois. The snowfall we had on Thursday ended up being a disappointment for me, but that is ok. The flakes were so fine that they could hardly be seen. I think we ended up with 5 inches of snow over the course of about 18 hours. Maybe the next one…

However, I still made the most of the day by staying in and finishing up Evianna’s first ensemble. It was very relaxing.

Evianna is my Christmas 2022 doll. I love getting a new doll for Christmas… or my birthday… or Mother’s Day. In fact, anytime! A box showed up yesterday and it was a dolly shaped box… but it was only a new filter for our water filtration. 😞

Evianna is the first Li’l Dreamer Dianna Effner doll. She is a sweet addition to my Dianna Effner doll family. I love her!❤️

I found this dress partially finished in a box from another doll. I guess it didn’t fit that ‘new’ doll well enough, so I abandoned it. It fits Evianna quite well, not perfect, but nice enough so I finished it and completed her first ensemble. I have no notes on which pattern this is, so I have to start from scratch for her second ensemble. Oh, well…

I dyed merino wool to get the palest shade of yellow green for Evianna’s knitwear. In the hank the yarn looked barely dyed, but when knit up it is definitely a beautiful yellow green and matches the dress florals beautifully. I made her sweater a bit longer to cover the bodice length and gave it a slight a-line shaping. After many hours of embroidering, and adding shimmery Czech glass bead buttons her sweater was complete.

The beret was looking for some adornment, so that too, got some embroidery.

To complete her ensemble I made pale pink cotton tights. Her tiny crocheted basket holds some pink blossoms. Evianna’s heart charm bracelet tells her that this ensemble was made with love just for her!

Evianna and I say ‘bye for now’. Thank you for stopping by for a visit with us today. We appreciate the company! Take care and enjoy the week ahead! 🤗❤️

Dreaming About Spring

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Hello! 😁 It is a most blustery morning here in northern Illinois. The wind chimes are singing, singing, singing–tiny tinkling notes in the backyard and low notes from the bamboo chimes on the front porch. We are under a winter storm watch which starts in the wee hours of Thursday morning. Over 6 inches of snow and wind gusts up to 40mph will be Thursday’s weather conditions where I live.

However, today I am dreaming of spring; the crocuses and grape hyacinths are coming up and all of the snow has melted.

I dug into my photo archives to retrieve some of my favorite outdoor spring shots and thought you might enjoy them, too. I find it so rewarding to look back at these pictures in the middle of winter. I’d like to take more outdoor shots this year. It’s such a challenge though… My dollies are always falling over! Maybe I can figure something out. Any ideas?

Little Darling Gina in “Springtime Beauty” from 2019.

Little Darling Alice wearing “Sunshine in the Garden” from 2019.

Little Darling Gina showing off her dress’s lace yumminess, “Summery Blue in the Garden” from 2020.

Kaye Wiggs Millie in “Blue Skies, Sunny Days” 2015.

Kaye Wiggs Gracie wearing “A Lovely Blossom” 2017.

Wilde Imagination’s Patience in “A Stroll in the Garden” from 2015.

Do you have a favorite? If you are still stuck in the middle of cold, snowy winter weather I hope you at least enjoyed these springtime pictures of my sweet girls.

A lot of these dolls are retired, but can be found on the secondary market. For more information about the dolls in these photos visit my FAQ page–tab at the top.

Wishing you a wonderful day no matter the weather! Enjoy! Sending hugs to you!🤗❤️