Category Archives: Nature

In & Out of the Studio

How’s the first week of this new season going for you?  It started out pretty nice for us, but it is rapidly going downhill—cloudy, rainy, cool cold today.  Oh, and it will get worse as the week progresses; snow flurries are predicted.  Happy spring!

I had two outfits to pack up and mail on Monday.  Thought I’d show you how I wrap up my outfits in case you are curious.  It’s no big production, just the way I package right now.  I put my Amelia Thimble and Pukipuki sets into a small box.  This way the hat will not get crushed, which is especially important for the crocheted brimmed hats.  I sew the pieces onto card stock like how the first Barbie® clothes were packaged.  I use plastic envelopes for mailing these little boxes.  They can be mailed first class as they only way a few ounces.

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I don’t use a box for the larger doll ensembles; they aren’t needed with the Priority boxes I use.  First, I put all of the accessory pieces is small zipper bags, wrap the knitwear in tissue paper, stuff the sewn dress with tissue to keep it from getting wrinkled.  All of these pieces fit in a larger zippered bag.  I then wrap the bag in tissue; you can see the package below.  I used to use ribbon to tie the package, but ran out one day.  I got the “brilliant” (ha ha) idea to use coordinating or matching yarn from the ensemble to tie up the package.  The yarn can then be reused for hair bows or whatever other creative purpose my customers can think of.  I print out a little thank you note card with a photo of the ensemble, its title, and month/year made to include with the ensemble for future reference.  I use brown paper to wrap up this package and into a Priority box it goes.

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Outside of my studio I found this tiny clump of crocuses that naturalized a few feet away from the main grouping of crocuses.

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On Monday this was what a few of my dolls were wearing.

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I still had my husband’s macro lens on my camera, so took a few more close up shots of the orchids in the bay window.

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And,… that was how the beginning of my first week of spring went.  How was yours?

Oops, forgot to mention that Jpop will have a few Gracie elves and humans for sale on Thursday night.  Here’s the link:  Extra Gracie BJDs.  Also, I think, but not positive, that you will need an account with them, so I’d make one ahead of time if you don’t have one.  I imagine that these will get sold in seconds, so good luck.

The Last Few Days

Happy Sunday everyone.  Daylight savings time began (in most of the U.S.) very early this morning, so we sprang ahead and lost an hour of sleep, or I did anyway;  I didn’t want to lose an hour of my day by getting up late.  It’s all good… I’ll get to bed earlier tonight… usually I’m not too creative in the evening anyway.

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Yesterday morning the sun looked so brilliant rising in the eastern sky and then I realized that this was the end of the sun, it is slipping up behind the clouds.  However, the sun came out later and it turned out to be a very lovely and temperate day.  You can see the icy frost covering the grass.

A few days ago I received a special little envelope filled with vintage cards from one of my blog readers.  I’ve written about my love of vintage, especially illustration, in quite a few posts now, so it’s no secret how much I LOVE things with a past.  I must say how touched I was… thank you, Joy, so very much!!!  I will treasure these.

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Do you remember when ladies wore these kinds of orchids for every special occasion?  They would be kept in the refrigerator at home until it was time to go out.  I now know that they are Cattleya orchids.  I tried growing them years ago, but didn’t have enough light.

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I cannot grow Cattleyas in my home but, Phalaenopsis orchids do well as I have a bay window that they seem to love.  It gets chilly at night which keeps the spider mites away.  I have five plants remaining from a trip to Hausermann’s years ago, and four are in bloom right now.

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This past week I enrolled in a couple of Craftsy photography classes, Soft & Dreamy Portraits and Portraits at Play.  I’ve been playing around with my husband’s macro lens on my camera and learning a lot about using natural light in my photos.  Here’s a portrait of my Penny.  Sorry, she’s naked; I need to make her something to wear.  I love the soft, blurry background that you get with a wide open aperture.

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And, here are a couple more photos taken with the macro lens.  These are miniature potted tulip props that my husband brought back from Holland for me.  I found the perfect little watering can (it’s hiding behind the tulips) to go with them.

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I also took this photo of my test sweaters with the macro lens.  I never would have been able to get this close with my basic lens.

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Hope the new week starts off perfectly for you!  Bye for now.

Miscellaneous Ramblings

Both yesterday and today we’ve had the most perfect springlike weather here in northern Illinois.  It was so glorious today that our happy little crocuses woke up from their long winter’s nap.

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As I was sewing yesterday (Millie is getting a new dress) I kept glancing up at Gracie.  Hmmm, wonder what she’d look like in another wig… I decided to try Talyssa’s “messy braids” wig on her.  I have no idea the name or maker of this wig.  The braids stay braided very nicely though— I like it a lot.

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Does anyone know who makes this type of wig?  The fibers aren’t as silky as those on a Monique wig.

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I am getting tired of the few mohair colors of yarn that I have, and wanted to see if a finished sweater would dye up nicely.  Because the fibers are so long and fuzzy, I don’t even want to try dyeing the yarn; I fear a tangled mess.  I wanted very light colors, so mixed up super light dye.  The sweaters came out darker than I expected and a slightly different shade than what the dye bath looked to be.  The sweater ended up being very pretty pastel shades though.  I dyed the real thing today and took photos of the process to show you soon.

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My husband bought me a bunch of yellow tulips this weekend.  Sugar took one look at the bouquet and had to check them out.  She said that they were so pretty and they matched her dress perfectly.  Whoa, hang on tight, Sugar!

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She made it!  What a little monkey!

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Thanks for stopping by!  Bye for now!