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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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