Category Archives: Effner Dolls

“Vintage & Rosy” for the Little Darlings

Yes, it’s me again with another ensemble to show you.  I was so busy with creating new outfits during the last couple of weeks; I was on a roll and didn’t take the time for photography, so here they are almost all at once.  Sorry, I hope you don’t mind. 🙂

Here is my Little Darling, Gina, in a one-of-a-kind 1970s inspired ensemble.  This is one of my favorite floral prints.  It reminds me of the 1970s, but without the orange, using pink instead.

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Here’s a picture of my best friend and I right before our 8th grade graduation, long, long ago.  This is the dress that I thought of when I saw this floral print.

graduation dress

I also used this print to make an ensemble for Patience, but hers is in a brighter colorway.  You can see it here.  The colors in Gina’s ensemble are more muted, so this would be perfect for wearing into the fall season too.

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The bullion stitched embroidered roses, hand dyed rayon ribbon, tiny thread bows, and a few bugle beads add lots of rosiness to this ensemble while the English cotton Cluny lace, fine thread crocheted ballet slipper shoes, and whitish flowers in the fabric add that warm white/ecru vintage feel.  I love the touch of blue in the print and brought that out with a few colonial knot embroidered flowers and the heart dangle on the bracelet.

The crocheted ballet slipper shoe tops are made with very fine thread.  The Little Darlings have the cutest shaped feet and ankles, so these hand made “tinies” show them off.   The roses on the slippers are hand made out of the lace with a bit of rayon ribbon and a seed bead added.  The extra lace rose and the pink crocheted rosebud on Gina’s wrist are separate, so they can be tied anywhere: hair, over waistline ribbon, wrist, etc.

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vintage & rosy 267For more information on Gina’s “Vintage & Rosy” ensemble, please visit my “Available for Sale” page on cindyricedesigns.com .

 

“A Midsummer’s Garden”

As we head into summer our gardens will be at their summer’s best.  Are you ready to enjoy this special time of year?

My Little Darling, Gina, has donned a summery ensemble to wear while meandering amongst the flowers and maybe picking a few too.

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a midsummer's garden 039Gina’s pure white bamboo lace sweater is embroidered with its own mirrored garden motifs.  They coordinate with her summer dress which is in a palette of cool summer colors.

a midsummer's garden 035a midsummer's garden 045The knitted lace motif follows the hemline of the cardigan and down the center of each sleeve.

The little crocheted ballet slippers add a magical touch to this ensemble and show off the Little Darlings’ sweetly shaped feet.

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a midsummer's garden 026Gina picked a few blossoms just for you!

a midsummer's garden 048For more information on Gina’s “A Midsummer’s Garden” please visit my “Available for Sale” page on cindyricedesigns.com .

“Lavender Rosy Garden”

I am someone who loves the purples–lavender, lilac, violet, purple, plum, orchid, mauve (although I got burned out on this last color in the 1980s) and I am someone who loves roses, so this new ensemble for the Little Darlings practically created itself.  Just kidding, of course.

Jeanne, at the blog, I Dream of Jeanne Marie, started creating a yummy lavender dress for American Girl dolls a couple of weeks ago and looking at her pretty lavender outfit got me itching to make something in this shade right now too.

a lavender rosy garden 905I have this rose fabric in four shades and two of them are purples.  This rose print reminded me of my grandma’s pillowcases that she always used.  I wrote about that hereHere is Patience’s rose dress made from this fabric in a red violet shade.  This lavender print is a bit bluer than Patience’s ensemble.

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a lavender rosy garden 917It was a bit tedious getting both rows of lace to line up perfectly, but I am happy I took the time to get it perfect.  The double rows of lace make this ensemble dressier, I think.

a lavender rosy garden 921I knit the sweater out of lace weight mohair/silk and embroidered two mirrored image motifs on the front.

a lavender rosy garden 902For more information on this ensemble for the Little Darlings, please visit my “Available for Sale” page at cindyricedesigns.com .