Tag Archives: doll

“A Nostalgic Christmas”

Hello everyone, from snowy Illinois. It snowed all day on Sunday! We ended up breaking a record for getting this much snow during the first December snow (or something like that). With even colder temperatures arriving, this white stuff will stick around for a while. I’m not sure how I feel about that . . . so far so good though. I’m surviving!

Yes, Alice is here again to show you something new. Nelly’s dolls have a muted rosiness that I notice above their eyes; it’s kind of a vintage look. The colors in this ensemble are perfect with her coloring, so she gets another chance. I love how all the artists paint the Little Darlings a bit different.

I wanted to photograph my newest outfit this past Sunday. I think I fussed around with the photos all day. The Christmas tree seemed so busy and the color wasn’t as pretty as I wanted it to be. Finally, my husband gave me some tips (he was probably tired of hearing me complain–lol). He had me put a different lens on my camera, so I could stand back and zoom in on Alice. I also put Alice farther from the tree and opened up my f-stop as much as I could. The result was that I got a somewhat blurry tree with Alice all in focus. My favorite photos were taken when it was around 4:00 in the afternoon! It was quite dark in the room, but I had the tripod set up and Alice stayed as still as possible.

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This isn’t a typical Christmas print for a Christmas ensemble, but it kept calling to me to be made into one, so I did. The colors in this ensemble are shades of mauve, a little deep red, warm pink, salmon. They all go together beautifully because all the colors are neutral, nothing is bright. I even added a little bit of plumminess with the organza ribbon used for the sash and present.

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The embroidered motifs, are all slightly different compositions, both on the sweater and cuddle cap. I used four shades of floss to shade the roses. Ecru colonial knot buds add a bit of bright and the perfect shade of green foliage ties the blossoms together.

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Alice’s sweater is knit with Peruvian Highland wool and her 1950s style cuddle cap is knit with a wool/angora blend. Her scarf is knit with a lighter shade of mauve, also in Peruvian Highland wool.

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Isn’t Alice a beauty? You can see how this ensemble compliments her coloring and personality perfectly.

Alice enjoyed watching the first snowfall too. What a daydreamer she is!

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Alice’s “A Nostalgic Christmas” ensemble will be available tonight (December 6, 2016) at 7:00 pm CST, cindyricedesigns.com.

“Holiday Ready”

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As I sit here on this dark December morning there is a bit of anticipation in the air. We are awaiting snow, and it is almost here! I’m not sure how much we’ll get, it’s barely freezing, but it’ll be a treat watching it fall.

How are your holiday preparations coming along? We are moving along nicely here. Most of our indoor decorating is finished, and we are enjoying our cozy holiday lights, Christmas tree(s), and the many holiday decorations. It was extra special (and a little sad) this year as I got to unwrap (for the first time) Christmas decorations and ornaments from my parents. I think that we will maybe (hopefully) get some lights outside . . . or a wreath . . . or something.

My Little Darling, Alice, is very holiday ready in her new ensemble. I had an impossible time passing up (so, what’s new!) this snowman print by Lori Holt for Riley Blake Designs. It came in a few different colorways, but I decided on yellow because it reminded me of those super sunshiny days after a snowstorm . . . and it is such a happy color.

I wanted to make Alice’s set as Christmasy as possible so I picked the red and green from the snowmen’s scarves to include in the ensemble.

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The snowy white fuzzy mohair sweater is embroidered with more festivity—holly and evergreen motifs. Sparkly bright red crystal beads are used for the buttons. Alice’s beret is hand knit with hand dyed wool which is in matching bright red. Her snowball pom pom matches the sweater’s yarn. A pop of green was needed at the neckline so a skinny green scarf with red/white fringe does the job.

holiday-ready-146 Delicate white lace tights, a snowman miniature ornament, and sparkly bracelet (with snowflake charm) complete Alice’s festive look.

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“Holiday Ready” for the Little Darlings will be available tonight (December 4, 2016) at 7:00 pm CST, cindyricedesigns.com.

“Toasty Warm Holiday”

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It was quite a nippy morning when Millie and I had our photo shoot last week. Doesn’t she look toasty warm in her fuzzy hand made knitwear. She even has a little muff hand warmer, lucky girl.

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Did you have a muff hand warmer when you were young? I had one in white (most likely) rabbit fur when I was quite little. It had a little fox face on it which mesmerized me. To satisfy my curiosity, I went looking on ebay to see if I could find a muff like the one I remembered. This is what I found! I think I remembered correctly.

Millie’s muff is hand knit, and her bracelet is attached as the handle; it can dangle from her wrist.

Her dress is made with the same botanical holiday print as I recently used for Gracie’s “Holiday Botanicals” ensemble. Gracie’s was in a different colorway, a deep red background. You can see that one here. I think I like both colorways equally?

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Millie’s vintage-looking headband cap is extremely lacy looking and made to just covers the tips of her ears. A tiny bit of leaf embroidery and red tassels decorate the cap.

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The “light-as-a-feather” white mohair/silk sweater is embroidered with mirrored poinsettia motifs. The sleeves are more generously sized and give more of an outerwear look. The sweater closes with deep red glass pearls.

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Millie’s tiny gem of an ornament is made with an olivine AB bicone crystal and mother-of-pearl beads. A hand made red organza (matches dress sash) bow and hang tie is sewn onto a metal jewelry ring.

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I made Millie a teeny tiny white silk bow that I’ll include with the ensemble. It is too tiny for a clip or crocheted tie, so I attach it to her hair with a red tipped straight pin stuck parallel with the wig cap. The little bow in their hair reminds me of the actress, Rose Marie, (from the Dick Van Dyke show) that always wore a bow in her hair. BTW, Rose Marie is 93, and she has a Facebook page!

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This one-of-a-kind “Toasty Warm Holiday” ensemble made for Kaye Wigs “illies” or Millie, Tillie, Lillie (11″ BJDs) will be available November 16, 2016 at 7:00 pm CST, cindyricedesigns.com.