Author Archives: Cindy Rice

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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.

Miss Fancy Mouse

I’d like to introduce you to Miss Fancy Mouse.  She was born this week amongst this mess on my desk.

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I thought we were having a little bear, but I was wrong.  We had a mousling!  And a fancy one at that.

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Amelia Thimble is smitten again, and thinks every miniature I make is for her.  I’m sorry, my little Amelia Thimble, but Miss Fancy Mouse is for the Little Darlings.

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Miss Fancy Mouse wears a choker of beads and the tiniest of bows in front of her ear.  At the base of her tail is another little bow.  Gina loves holding Miss Fancy Mouse, but suggested I make a mouse carrier to keep her cozy and secure.

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Everyone here in the studio wishes you a fabulous day.  Thanks for stopping by.  Bye for now. ❤

A Wrap Up

I was (still am) so in love with this collection of fabrics (by Robert Kaufman) that I used for my past 6 ensembles.  Just for fun, I wanted to show you the fabrics and ensembles all together now that all 6 fabrics have been used.

One of the reasons this collection was such fun to work was that each was different enough to hold my interest–bouquets, all over 1980s retro roses, teeny tiny roses, and each of those three in two of the yummiest colorways, lilac/lavender/rose pink and blush/peach/mauve.  How could anyone go wrong, in my opinion anyway?  Originally, I thought my favorites would be the two middle fabrics with the cool palette colorway taking the blue ribbon.  Not so, I really loved using all of them… equally.

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Here are all the ensembles I made using these fabrics.

springtime joy 734rosies and lavender 765a whisper of spring 900a springtime garden stroll 920peachy keen for spring 981princess and the pearl 041

I’d love to know, do you have a favorite?

If you want to see more photos of the individual ensembles you can click on their titles Springtime JoyRosies and Lavender, A Whisper of SpringA Springtime Garden Stroll, Peachy Keen for SpringPrincess and the Pearl.

I hope you are having a beautiful day, my friends!  Bye for now!

 

“Princess and the Pearl”

Here are the photos from yesterday’s “miraculous” photo shoot!  You can read why I thought it was “miraculous” here.  BTW, the weather never improved after those couple of hours after noontime.  And, this morning, it’s dark, dreary, and rainy, yet again.  I keep reminding myself “April showers bring May flowers”.

The dress in this ensemble is the last of the 6 fabrics in this collection that I purchased.  Three prints are from the cool palette and three are from the warm palette.  Each palette had a tiny print, medium print, and a larger print with bouquet motifs.  This is the tiniest print in the warm palette, and is the most delicate of all the prints.

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Gina’s dress is a longer bodice styled dress.  The skirt is embellished with a double row of ecru English cotton Cluny lace snugged underneath pin tucks.  The first row of pin tucks is decorated with hand made pink satin bows which are sewn on equidistant from the center front.  The same ribbon is used for the waistline tie which ties twice around.

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The springtime lace capelet is hand knit with warm pink baby alpaca/silk lace weight yarn.  Rows of eyelets separate the panels.  Mirrored embroidery decorates the front panels and two of the back panels.

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Gina’s headband is very delicate and I think makes her look like a princess.  I’ve carefully arranged and hand sewn three different kinds of blossoms, a bow, pearls, and seed  beads onto the headband.  I’ve sealed the blossoms to prevent them from fraying.

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Pearl, Gina’s bear, is my first needle felted bear.  She is my fourth tiny animal–I am still learning this craft.  I love her though, and Gina does too.  She wears a matching bow around her neck and a heart appliqué (made from dress fabric) on her belly.  She is always ready to give her mom, Gina, a tiny blossom to show her how much she loves her. ❤

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Pearl has a teeny tiny “beary” cute tail!

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The other accessories include a pair of pink nylon tights and a bracelet with a mother-of-pearl heart dangle.  This ensemble was made with love and much care in its creation.

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“Princess and the Pearl” will be available tonight (April 4, 2017) at 7:00 pm CST, cindyricedesigns.com.