I'm Just a Little Crazy

A few months ago, I wrote that I was done with my huge batch of red outfits that I started last year.  That might not been the complete truth.

While I was cutting out the "Dial M For Murder" red lace dresses last year, there were a lot of leftover scraps.  Since one of my sewing goals is to use up all my fabric, I decided to make a bunch of different cocktail dresses with red lace bodices.

 

I ended up with 35 bodices.

 

Some dresses got white chiffon skirts, some red ones, I also made some of the dresses with tulle skirts.  I ended up with 13 different styles by the time I was done.  I had fun finding 13 dolls and 13 pairs of red or white shoes for the group shot.

 

 

This is a different version of style H.

Some of these styles are sold out.

If you are interested in purchasing one of these dresses click here.

 

Modes Royale Sashed Sheath

I adore this dress!

This dress was inspired by a 1957 Modes Royale design.

I love Modes Royale patterns.  I have many, many, many plans to make more of their fashions.

Don't be fooled by the basic sheath lines.  This is not an easy dress to make.  The pleated bodice drape, and armholes are very labor intensive.  The armholes are hand sewn onto the dress.

As you can see, I used the scraps from this fashion to make these sheaths.  This is a great design for scraps.  The chiffon sash and bodice drape are leftovers too.

This dress looks great on Poppy too.  It is a little too tight for the Tonner dolls, but I am going to alter the pattern so it can be adjusted to fit the Tonner dolls.

I had a lot of fun with Poppy during this photo session.

I think this dress would be beautiful in a brocade, or a lace.  I may also make a floor length version someday.

To purchase this dress click here.

To purchase this pattern click here.

Dior Houndstooth Ensemble

I am so in love with this suit!

This outfit started with the brown and cream houndstooth fabric. I bought a small amount of it (wish I had bought more!) in Portland, Oregon back on 2007 or 2008. I didn’t have anything in mind, I just liked the fabric.

Then I found this Dior creation in a 1953 L’ Officiel magazine. It was love at first sight.

I finished my huge batch of cream outfits (more pictures coming soon!) the same day a huge batch of backdrops from RaiHing arrived. I had a great time playing around with my new outfits, new camera, and new backdrops. I still have a lot to learn, but I am happy with the results of my first fashion shoot with my new camera.

I love this street backdrop, but Ivy looked too large, the close-up isn’t too bad though.

I “heart” this backdrop. I may have to buy more of the old wall backdrops. They are so versatile.

The hat started out like the one in the original photo, but then it wouldn’t stay tight on her head. I added the bows so I could hide pins behind them and pin the hat into her hair.

I had to guess how the dress looked under the jacket.

Love this outfit, backdrop, and my new camera!

These suits have been sold.

Happy New Year

My wonderful husband gave me a new camera for Christmas. Yesterday I received my first three backdrops from here. I took a quick picture without setting up any extra lighting or editing the photo on the computer and this is what I got!

I am so excited to try my hand at taking better photos now. Now I just need some time.

The outfit that Ivy is wearing was inspired by Dior and I am working on making more at this time.

Oh, and I have 14 more backdrops that I want to order now.

Autumn in Paris

Oh my gosh!  Two posts in one day!  I can’t believe my awesomeness!

This post is about photography, one of the many things that I need to work on, along with not buying more  fabric, and making better use of my time.

I blame the incredible Rebecca’s blog for my new obsession; buying large posters for use as backdrops.  She can also be blamed for my recent purchase of all four Grace Kelly Barbies, even though I don’t really collect that size of fashion doll anymore.  Sigh, I am so weak.

 

I found this poster titled “Autumn in Paris” at Michael's a few months ago, I love it.  I need to figure out how to blend the ground with the poster, but at least Ivy is standing by herself in this picture.

I hate to always crop off her feet.

This one is not so good.

I love the close-ups of the doll with the poster.

This is “Symphony in G Minor” with a new body wearing an outfit I made years ago to go with the hat from one of the Ashton Drake’s hat and purse sets.

More close-ups

 

Now I need to go mop a sticky floor.

Scraps

One of my new goals is to use up as much of my fabric stash as possible, including my scraps. During my last few projects I made up some outfits out of scraps. It feels really good to use up the whole piece of fabric and be done with it. Now if I could only sew faster I could get through my huge stash!

















These sheaths were made from the same silk as this dress





I even had enough for another bodice. Twilight Girl looks very "Mad Men".









All four outfits will be on sale in my store.