Anne Fitzpatrick as Alice

Tell me a story of Alice and you'll have my attention.  Wonderland.  What a place this must be!  With enough imagination we, each one of us, can create a Wonderland in our hearts.  Alice's surely was fraught with confusion, troubling situations and extreme solutions to ridiculous problems.  But there were also beautiful worlds one would never experience without Lewis Carroll taking her by the hand and leading her down the rabbit hole.  And it is just a story.  A timeless story of a dream beneath a tree on a summer's day.

Some of the greatest artists, since the book was published, have had more fun illustrating the story, than we can possibly imagine.  Each championing themselves to out illustrate those before them.  And it continues to this day.

Children, and adults, have dressed up as Alice for the pure adventure and fun of it.  And whether we've actually read the book(s), or even pretended to understand what we were 

reading, the charm and pure fantasy of such a place is eternal.

I know.  I'm a huge Alice fan.  Those of you who've followed me since maybe even before I began this journal, have no doubt in your minds that Alice reigns supreme in my books.  Little Red Riding Hood, too, but that's another story.  Literally!

Show me an illustration of Alice and I'll be on Pinterest for hours looking up more Alice illustrations.  Mention Alice to me and my insides tickle and glow with memories of all the Alice costumes I've made in the past for dolls.  I've even created outside that paper doll and illustration box I find myself in and created a costume with needled felted rabbit for both Chinese New Year's Year of the Rabbit, and last spring's Easter theming the White Rabbit as the Easter Bunny.  So much fun!

When I printed out Diana Vining's paper doll costume pages for Anne, and saw there was an Alice dress, I would wait for the perfect time to make it.  I'm always ready to make another Alice dress, but honestly there have been so many fabulous things coming out of the VDC lately, that one supersedes the next as new dolls and outfits are continually being offered.  Not complaining!  Bring it on!  But when I make an Alice costume, it's a little more personal. Like the artists that illustrate, I'm taken to the task of doing something so many others have done, but now I must put my own signature and energy into it.  It becomes a little meditation.  The next Alice.

Ah!  And Diana's had a pocket bunny.  A pocket bunny!  Two things stand out in her illustration.  The red bow pinned to an interesting collar, and the pocket bunny peeping out with his paws hooked over the edge.  The entire creation of 2D to 3D would center around the final task of creating the pocket bunny.

One more time I used the blue cotton sateen I purchased for Anne's Cinderella dress.  Why would I choose any other blues when the paper doll dresses used the same blue wash?  Its a pretty fabric with a bit of a sheen, and while a bit heavier than I would wish, it makes a pretty doll dress.

The blouse is a separate piece from the blue jumper.  I'll admit that I'm not the best blouse maker out there.  I've made tons of blouses for dolls, but I like lining the things I make, and facings aren't my forte.  Oh, I can make them, but a full lining is divine.  Blouses with a collar such as the one I devised for this blouse needed a facing.  This wasn't the challenge.  Figuring out what Diana drew was.  All you see is two white gathered points on each side of the red bow.  

So what did I do?  I made a gathered collar that was very Renaissance in design, such as the queen would have worn.  Something like that anyway.  Its quite pretty, but the red bow is the focus, and it is a pure silk bow. 

Here's a side view of the collar and the puffed sleeves.  And the pocket bunny in near profile.

Always show a little back.  Its closed with tiny silver snaps.

While we're looking at the back, where did I get the great Alice wig that fits Anne?  It was one of Grace's.  I was looking for a 5/6 wig in blonde with bangs and couldn't find one anywhere.  Darn Monique for closing their doors.  Everything is BJD head size now.  And leftover Moniques that no one wanted.  Somebody PLEASE start making wigs for our dolls again!

Rachel could make a small fortune if she could get Ruby Red Galleria to make some doll wigs for us on a regular basis.  Grace and Anne need wigs.  Sure, some can be big styles, but we need wigs we can play with.  Long with bangs and no bangs in all colors.  That's my plea and I'm sticking to it.

But anyway, I was thrilled to discover that I had this wig from my Grace stash.  Now I wish I had two, so my Grace could wear it as well.

The pocket bunny.  I knew what I wanted this toy to look like.  To me it's a toy and not a real rabbit.  I wanted to create something that looked similar to those animee rabbits you see in GIF files.  Not a whole lot of detail to the body, but sweet and charming, which is what Diana's pocket bunny looks like.  Sweet.

The first attempt was too rabbity, and too big.  Oh!  You may have noticed that the pocket is a little oversized, but the dress needed this size to accommodate a proper pocket bunny.

His body is wire armature so I could bend his paws to fit over the ends of the pocket.  He's 2" tall, top of head to toes.  The ears had to be just long enough to say "rabbit" but come to some degree below the waistline of the dress.  This isn't easy stuff.  It takes a lot of fiddling and redoing to get something like this right, and to me, the pocket bunny made the entire outfit.

And of course I had to get Anne the Zuru Disney Animator's Alice doll in the box.  She'd have a doll for every outfit if it was up to me.  She'll have a toy or something to hold, to tell the story, regardless, but I love dolls with dolls.

I did manage a black silk ribbon headband for her to top things off.

A couple of months ago a very dear and wonderful person who knows my passion for Alice, sold me the Grace Alice box.  It was complete.  Teacup cookie and everything.  I am so eternally grateful to this dear lady.  I'm still overwhelmed with gratitude, and I hope she reads this and understands.  

So, I dressed Grace in her blue dress to display with Anne in hers.  The bag is everything!!!  What's left?  Dolly Dingle.  Diana drew Dolly as one of the cards (see below) and the next time I need a special project dear to me, I'll dress Dolly Dingle in this costume.  I need both an aqua knit, and a red raspberry knit for this costume.  One thing at a time.  

While warming up to write this journal, I spent some time on Pinterest's Wonderland.  I always find new artists and new illustrations to save off and share.  Favorites?  Just interesting.  Some are gorgeous renderings, some are vintage, indicative of the time they were painted, while others are just pure fun.  I was particularly drawn to the contemporary one with Alice dressed as a barista.  Forever Alice!

Love, Melissa

 

"I Do Believe In Fairies! I Do! I Do!"

Sometimes it all begins with the most innocent and unexpected bit of inspiration!  And when it strikes, there's no stopping the process.  

Yes, I zipped through creating Anne's kite flying dress, but only because a very special idea, a costume, had sprinkled its pixie dust in my eyes.  Tinker Bell.

Having opened another small box of Zuru Disney animation dolls for Anne, one in particular caught my interest.  Dressed in a green strapless dress with her blonde hair formed in a bun was a tiny Tinker Bell.  My first thought was, "Oh my gosh!  That Cinderella wig would be perfect for this!"  And it really took off from there.

The story of Peter Pan has long been a favorite of mine.  I have the gorgeously illustrated book by Maraja, Wendy Lawton's Peter and Wendy from her Lifetime Achievement Award 

ceremony, and just a few years ago, found that Robert Tonner had made a Peter Pan from his Michael doll, and I didn't hesitate to hit the BIN.  I made him a tiny needle felt Tink to sit on his shoulder.  

Like all the fairytales, they've morphed over time to suit the temperature and climate of the day they are written or retold.  Walt Disney was the king of gentling every fairytale he put his animation to.  And in doing so, made the stories palatable and iconic for the youngest most innocent members of our society since their inception.

I bring this up because my mother hated Walt Disney.  She claimed he ruined every wonderful fairytale ever written and refused to take us to see the movies.  I would have to find them later as an adult, but as a reader and purveyor of beautifully illustrated children's books, I read the stories as they were originally intended, warts and all, as they say.  Still, there is a sweetness and charm that cannot be denied to these fabulously animated Disney tales.

The Zuru Tink.

(And while I'm thinking about it, I saw the musical with Sandy Duncan, in San Francisco, back in the 90's.  That was my old life.  Ballets and musicals and art museums.)

Anne as Tinker Bell with her little doll.

You cannot talk about the iconic Tinker Bell without a serious nod to Margaret Kerry.  A talented actress and dancer, Disney hired her to be his Tinker Bell for the animated film version.  

On a stage with huge sets, Kerry flitted about the stage simulating the famous pixie providing the animators the physical actions to bring Tinker Bell to life.

Kerry would exaggerate her facial expressions in every mood and spirit, to further inspire the talented animators.

It is said that upon viewing the first six seconds of the film, with tears in her eyes, she exclaimed, "That's me!"  And the Tinker Bell we know and love today was born.

Tricky little costume here.  How do you go about studying a costume like Tink's on Disney's pixie and bring it to life on a doll?  Imagination.  

I could have chosen a green knit and made a tight fitting all in one pattern dress.  But Anne is a child with no feminine curves, so it would have come out looking like a tube.  Hmmm...  

I really wanted to make this costume from a lovely thin, green velveteen that I have, but the points and lining them would have been impossible to achieve.  I tried.  If you've ever tried to line velveteen, you know how impossible this task would be.  So, I went to my trusty silk cabinet for the fabric and began drawing the pattern on paper towels,

I gave the hip area a slightly generous curve to give the impression of hips, or more importantly, the look of the animated costume.  

Lucky me that I've made many bustier bodices for Cissy gowns, so creating a small one for Anne's child figure wasn't too far a stretch,  

The skirted part is fully lined with the same silk, as is the bodice.  Points like this can be difficult to turn inside out, but I wasn't going to be too serious or picky with this little costume.  I wanted a look.  I was not creating a French Fashion costume for Louise Godey.  Just a cute little Tinker Bell costume for Anne.  I try not to take my sewing too seriously, and often have to force myself to simply play.

Two little hooks and thread loops close the bodice in the back at the top and waist.

While dressing Anne and posing her, I found she can kneel beautifully can create many Tinker Bell poses!

This doll's articulation is impressive.  Play with her!  

Here's a pose similar to the hand placement in one of the images below.

Her wings are made from thin cotton covered wire found in artificial flower making, and a light blue sparkle netting.  

Her shoes!  I couldn't wait to make her shoes.  Those huge pom poms would make the costume.  The slippers are lined silk with green leather bottoms.  The pom poms, to create the right size, were needle felted.

I don't know.  This was so very much fun to make.  I haven't felt this inspired in a long time.  It was the tiny Zuru doll.  The Cinderella wig!  And it all just came together as if Tink herself, came along and sprinkled her pixie dust on my table.

Anne has become one of my favorite dolls to dress.  I think this happens the more familiar you become with dressing the body of a new doll.

I'm thrilled to have been able to sign up for Anne's Clubhouse subscription, but I'm also a little hesitant now to sew for her.  Rachel posted a sneak preview of some of the outfits the boxes will feature, and the dress I just finished was among them!  Lucky for the people who don't sew, because this dress is adorable!  I'm so glad they did this.  But which other paper doll dresses will be represented?  

Well, guess what?  I'm going to sew for her anyway.  No two are alike in anything.  Similar, but we all have our own signature to what we do.  And everything I create is practical experience for the next project.

I love child dolls.  For me there's more gleeful play to them.  Fashion dolls, lady dolls take on the elegance and beauty of the

styles they wear.  A child doll allows for the imagination to wander further afield at times.  

Tinker Bell was Walt Disney's right-hand fairy, and she will continue to symbolize the magic and mystery that Disney universes hold.

Will Anne become a symbol of childhood joy for the Virtual Doll Convention?  Let's wait and see!

Here's a little pixie dust to sweeten your dreams!

Love, Melissa

 

Anne's First Summer

August 5th is Blogger Day.  Did you know the word blog is a combination of the words "web" and "log"?  I didn't.  I just looked it up.  The idea of blog was intended as a personal diary of sorts, and this is precisely how I use it.  Wholly unintentional, I just happened to have finished Anne's fifth costume and was going to "blog" on it today, but now there's cause for a celebration because today is Bloggers Day.  So, let's get started!

First of all, and I know I mentioned this in my last post, I'd written a very comprehensive and long (normal) blog on Anne's gold skirt outfit.  When just about done, the Internet Goblins took over and wiped it clean off my computer.  This was just before I was leaving for convention, too.  I just shook my head and told myself that it wasn't meant to be, and we'd figure something out later.  

What I decided to do since I was working on Anne's Snow White cosplay outfit to go with Grace's, was to simply combine

a few outfits at a time when journaling about them.  I tend to have more photos than words to go with them, but then again, if you've been following me for a while, once I get started, I find the words just flow.

I love Diana Vining's paper dolls.  It is incredibly exciting to me when she does something like this for a new doll.  When the VDC introduced Anne, a set of lovely pdf paper dolls came with the purchase of each Anne doll.  It took a split second for me to know that I'd be busy for months to come, enjoying making some of them.  Why not all?  Well, some of them I could see from the start were going to be very difficult to find the fabric for.

For instance, the 2nd one I made which is the little "French" A dress, I had to use an Eiffel Tower print, and I don't think the dress was as well received because while it looked like the outfit, it didn't have enough busy print on it, and viewers 

would have to use their imagination to some degree.  I worked hard on that one, too.  I like it.  Anne likes it, and I suppose that's all that matters.  

And there are so many other things I want to do that just for now, I intend on creating only my favorites and the ones that will be easiest to find fabric for.

Let's start with the gold dress.  I like this one.  I was in a Paris mode of thought when I made it and did so with the idea that this outfit would be fun to tour museums like The Louvre with.  I actually called this Goldfinch.  Yes, I read the book and saw the movie.  Not an image we want for sweet little Anne, but the painting on its own, before the author wrote a fictional tale about the little painting, is precious.  And in that vein, we will stick to the title of the outfit, Goldfinch.

The flutter sleeves are signature Diana Vining paper dolls.

I chose a very vintage cotton in a tiny polka dot print to make the blouse.  The flutter sleeves took a couple of whacks since on the first pass, they were too small.  

I used a gold silk for the skirt.  Two reasons.  One is that I didn't have a cotton that would work, and the other was that there was a lovely big bow at the neck that screamed to be made out of silk.  Well, there's a third reason.  The gathers.  Silk gathers so beautifully and you can make a fuller skirt on a slim doll when you use it.

I made a lovely pair of white tights using Tamara Casey's pattern.  Love this pattern!  I've made plenty of tights and stockings and socks over the years, but this one is printer perfect.  The software program she uses to make these patterns is top notch and so appreciated.

I needed a pair of black shoes to go with several of the paper doll outfits, and this was the perfect opportunity to make a pair.  Just knowing about and planning the outfit that the shoes were made for is exciting to me.  But they're wonderful for Goldfinch as well.

The charming large bow at the neck just sets the entire outfit off!  Details like this is one of the reasons I enjoy making Diana's paper doll costumes for my dolls.  Playful.  That is Diana Vining.  A joyful, playful, incredibly talented woman.

The straps are held in place with snaps at the skirt waist in back.  Snaps close the blouse and skirt as well.

The back view.

Then along came Grace's Mystery Dress offering.  I had no idea what it would be.  I knew it had a full skirt from the silhouette drawing that was done to advertise the thing, and I...well, I don't know what I thought.  A 50's dress?  But OH what a treat it was!

Rachel offered us a Snow White cosplay outfit for Grace with gorgeous shoes to go with it. I was also introduced to the word "cosplay" which means costume play.  The way things are going, the Webster's Dictionary will be as wide and heavy as my kitchen table someday. 

But I had to make Anne an outfit to complement Grace's.  Once again, I took to my stash of silks and sat down at the drawing board.

I chose a bright lemon silk for the very full skirt, and a dark navy silk for the puffed sleeve bodice.  This is a dress, not a skirt and top.  The ruffled half-slip is sewn into the waist.  It is a fine pima cotton with a red silk ruffle attached to it, long enough to peek out from the hem of the skirt.

Oh!  And look.  The first photo shows her wearing the black shoes.  But I wanted special cosplay shoes for Anne to wear.  

I went to my trusty Pinterest page and found some darling ones done by Disney for little girls.  

The Disney pair was created from a faux leather with blue satin details and an apple on top.

The Disney shoes.

There was no way I was going to be able to make these shoes exactly like Disney's.  Silk frays and unravels.  Satin is even worse.  Oh, I puzzled over the design.  You can count on it.  I considered gluing silk to the leather, but then it might look gunky and there was the matter of the straps going through buckles.  These shoes use Velcro, but the teensy strip I'd have to use to close them would never hold.

So, I did the next best thing.  Adapted the design.  It might be hard to tell, I used a silk band over the instep of the shoes with a big bow to simulate the original design.  I actually bought a pair of red apple post earrings to used for the apple detail, but when they arrived, they were too large.  Good thing I made my own.  And, they look appropriate, in the right size.

A red leather belt finishes the look.

Grace and Anne in their Snow White cosplay outfits.

Then this wonderful member of the VDC group showed one of her dolls with this mini boxed doll by a company called Zuru.  I love miniatures.  Always have, and when I saw these dolls, I went onto Ebay and typed in "mini Disney dolls" and up came the Zuru minis.  I'm obsessed with them now!  

These are the perfect size for many little contemporary dolls to hold in their hands.  

Here's Anne with her Snow White doll.

Returning from convention, I got sick.  A nice little upper respiratory virus, thank you very much.  A week later, I'm finally feeling human again.  And I'm finally able to concentrate and sew again, which is everything!  

I'd begun working on Anne's blue nautical dress prior to leaving for Kansas City.  When I met Diana at convention, I believe I mentioned this to her and thanked her so much for sharing her incredible talent with us.  She inspires me to play.  When someone can do that, inspire a person, they add a brightness to world that carries on forever. 

This outfit I'll name right now.  Anne's Kite Day on the Beach. Even though the kite was a last and afterthought, it gives the outfit a story.

This dress was a little challenging.  I've made sailor collars before, but it's been a while since I have.  The nice thing about this outfit was that I'd get to use the cute little tennis shoes Anne came with.  They're perfect for the dress.

I chose a light blue and white stripped cotton that I had on hand to make the bodice, and a heavier white cotton for the collar.  The skirt of the dress is of the same cotton sateen I used for the Cinderella costume.  It will get used again in another, but that's jumping ahead.

A sapphire blue satin ribbon in two sizes was used to detail the collar, ends of the sleeves, bow and belt.  When I purchased it, I bought it in four widths not knowing which would be best.  And only one yard of each.  Big mistake.  I used every inch of the thinnest ribbon on that bodice and collar.  I had to be very careful and was concerned that I'd run out.  When you buy on Etsy, its a week.  Just plan on it.  Its a week to get to you, IF the seller is on the ball and they aren't always.

The ribbon was hand-sewn on.  It was the only way.  Besides designing the collar, most of the time was spent hand sewing that narrow ribbon on.  Top edge and bottom edge.  If you took it to the machine, you'd botch it up on the curves as the ribbon doesn't stretch and also needed to be folded at the corners of the collar.  Even running a stitch down the middle of it was out of the question.

If you did that, it would look sloppy and the edges would curl up.  Solution?  Glue?  No.  I hand stitched all that ribbon on, even at

the waist.  

When you put a lot of time into something like this, you can only hope it all comes out okay.  That's where making a mockup comes in handy, but I didn't do that.  Lucky me!  It all fit and sewed together nicely.

But like I said, I ran out of the narrowest ribbon, and I still needed to make the bow for her hair.  What to do?  Well, I had some braid left over from a long ago project and it appeared to be a similar color, so I used it.  I sewed two rows of it on the blue and white striped cotton, and made the bow on one of those mini clips for Anne's hair.

When a difficult project comes together like this one did, it's a day to celebrate!

Anne needed something to hold.  She needed and accessory and something to tell a story.  I did not want to put a boat in her hands.  I've done that so many times.  Then the idea of a kite came to me!  Those windy days on the beach are perfect for high flying fun.  So, I made her a little kite with an A on it.  

These are exciting times as in just a couple of days, we'll get to register for Anne's own subscription box!  It's called Anne's Clubhouse, and we got a sneak preview of the boxes just yesterday.  I adore the hopscotch illustration that is in the bottom of the box.  I played hopscotch as a child and marked up our front sidewalk very merrily with brightly colored chalk numbers.  There will be a new Club Grace subscription and one for Ellowyne as well, on the horizon.

But even more exciting than that is that the VDC will have a Tonner Halloween convention.  My next outfit for Anne will be in anticipation of this. 

Let's enjoy August to the fullest.  Thank goodness I'm feeling better today and the sky is a brilliant blue, the sun shining.  A perfect day for Anne to get her kite airborne!

Love, Melissa