Happy Holidays from The DW Blog!

Here is the Official DW Blog Holiday Card for 2012!

Maple wants to know why the birds are only on her.... 

;-)

Using Tinsel for Holiday Photos: Part Two

 Here we go with Part Two...

Again this idea is from The Spicys Doll Blog

Tinsel Photo Backdrop: http://the-spicys-doll-blog.blogspot.com/2012/12/tinsel-photo-backdrop.html

We assembled ourselves in front of the tinsel.

TIP: Click on any of our photos to be brought to a larger version of it in a slideshow in case you want to see our shots enlarged. 

Liv changed her outfit for the shots, so we were both wearing our holiday sweaters.

Liv's sweater is also from Buzzybea on Etsy, and her fish pants are from Acorn Soup/Fox and Family on Etsy. They were originally MY fish pants. But I lent them to her. I am so generous and awesome.
Again, Liv's Janes shoes were custom-made for us by A Bee Line on Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/ABeeLine

Pants and leggings and shoes.

Purple sweater.

Red sweater.

Practicing head-shots.

Practicing head-shots.

Two good head-shots with our normal lens.

 

Stay tuned for Part Three:

The Official DW Blog Holiday Card!

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Using Tinsel for Holiday Photos: Part One

Sup peoples, Maples here.

This is a "Maple Insists" post -- I insisted that we have a holiday photo shoot this year. And I insisted I be in it. Despite this new girl being here and everyone being excited about that.
Liv Something is her name.

Nora was taking the photos and said it would be nice if Liv and I were in the shoot together.

Sigh. I guess I'll accept that.

So this year's Holiday Photo Shoot was based on an idea from the The Spicys Doll Blog.

Tinsel Photo Backdrop: http://the-spicys-doll-blog.blogspot.com/2012/12/tinsel-photo-backdrop.html

Eventually we managed to come up with these two portrait shots with our new 50mm lens, which you can see them on our Facebook Page as well.

TIP: Click on any of our photos to be brought to a larger version of it in a slideshow in case you want to see our shots enlarged.

More of those 50mm shots will be coming here on the blog, but right now they are on the other computer, in a different state.

So for this post you'll just have to live with the set-up and
the next post will be normal (non-50mm) shots.

Like The Spicys recommend, we slapped some tinsel around a clothes hanger.

Then we packaged-taped that hanger to the closet door that we usually stand in front of.
(Ignore the door handle...)

For the tinsel-prepping Liv is wearing a plaid button-down shirt custom-ordered from Royal Doll Boutique on Etsy. A grey tank top and jeans from Liberty Jane. Liv's Janes shoes were custom-made for us by A Bee Line on Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/ABeeLine

I, Marvelous Maple, am wearing a tank top and leggings from Sylvie and Bruno on Etsy, and a sweater from Buzzybea on Etsy. My shoes are from American Girl.

For two dolls it probably makes more sense to do two hangers and two sets of tinsel. Or even more tinsel if you wanted full-body shots in front of the tinsel. We were mostly going for head-shots though.

Here I am telling Liv how to arrange the tinsel.

 

Here she is listening to me like a good girl.

 

Stay tuned for Part Two... 

when we assemble ourselves in front of the tinsel in preparation for the head-shots.

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Maple Insists: Ten Tips for Traveling with Dolls

Hola! Maple here.

Welcome to a "Maple Insists" post.
With no pictures.

Well except this one....

It's the holidays and I shouldn't be too snarky to y'alls.

Well, maybe a little snarky.

And probably bossy.

Okay, I'll be bossy....

It's that time of year when you might be taking a doll or two out into the world to travel to grandmother's house over a bridge, over some snow, over several states, etc. etc.

So I've created a list of Ten Tips for Traveling with your dolls.

1) If you are bringing a doll with you on a trip, don't forget the doll.

Yep, someone had to say it.

_________

2) Bring dolls with easy-to-manage hair. You don't want to spend your whole time away from home fixing doll hair. 

__________

3) When prepping dolls for traveling pull their hair back in a simple ponytail or braid so the hair has less chance of getting tangled or caught in things like seat belts, zippers, your brother's slimy fingers, etc. etc.

___________

4) Try not to bring too many dolls. Most of the time one or two dolls is enough. The more dolls you bring the higher the chance that you'll forget them and leave them behind somewhere. Like in an airport bathroom. And none of us wants to be left behind. Especially in an airport bathroom.

You might think, "Well if I forget something, my family will notice and tell me to find it."

Wrong. 

Most of the time your family has a difficult time just keeping track of their own stuff while traveling. See your parent counting on their fingers? That's them making sure all of the family members are still with them.

Don't expect your Mom, Dad, sibling, husband, wife, etc. to make sure you still have all your bags, coats, purses, Ipods, snacks, and dolls before moving on to the next location.

That is your job.

______________

5) This may not seem logical to you, but don't put jewelry, shoes, socks, scarves or hats on the dolls. You might think, "Hey, We're traveling, let's show off to the world my best outfit with all the doodads I can slap on my doll." Bad idea.

These types of extras can easily fall off and get lost. So don't even bother putting them on.

Just stick with a simple dress or pants and a shirt, and forget the rest.

Everything you put on the doll when traveling should require a lot of effort to take it off.

So it doesn't just slip off and get left behind.

________________

6) Anything you dress your doll in should be light-colored. No dark jeans and red shirts. 

A tan dress. A white top and skirt. All light colors.

That way if something gets spilled on them or something happens to the doll, the color from the clothing won't transfer over onto the vinyl of the doll.

Dark colored items are much more likely to stain your doll.

Which is why we always say don't leave them on any of your dolls for too long.

But we do recommend having some sort outfit on her.

No one wants to try to explain to a TSA agent why they have a nekkid doll in their baggage.

_____________

7) And on that note: Never dress your doll in your favorite outfit when traveling. Or that $150 outfit you bought custom-made. Or something that is rare, retired, archived, etc. etc.

Just a simple, light-colored outfit that is easily replaceable and not your absolute fave.

_____________

8) If traveling by air, don't put your doll in checked baggage. 

Checked baggage can get lost. And you may never see that doll again.

Sorry to sound doomsday-ish, but it is true.

Also, in the check baggy part of the plane the temperatures and pressures change dramatically.

You don't want your doll's vinyl to be exposed to extreme temperatures of hot and cold, this can damage the vinyl.

We always bring any AG dolls into the cabin with us.

In the cabin, the temperature and pressure are maintained at normal levels.

____________

9) Wrap your whole doll in a light colored fabric. Like a tan sweater or white towel. This protects the doll from damage. Make sure you wrap her head especially so her face doesn't get damaged.

We all know the anguish of the doll that fell on her face and got a nick out of her nose vinyl.

Just wrap the doll up.

No need to show her off to the world 24-7.

If you want to take her out to play, okay. Unwrap her.

But then afterward, rewrap her and protect her.

______________

10) And then put her in a bag. A tote bag. A bag that zips. Something to make it easy to carry her.

Don't just slap her under your arm and run out the door.

Especially if you are traveling by air. You'll want her wrapped and safe in a bag for going through the airports, airport security, the Xray machine conveyor belt thingy, etc. etc.

Okay, that's ten.
Queen Maple has spoken and you shall all obey me.

______________

If you have anymore tips and recommendations for traveling with dolls, 
please feel free to include them in the comments below!

Thanks for visiting us today everyone!

And Happy Holidays!

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Holiday Dailies: Trends to Sew 9

Welcome to #9 of the Holiday Dailies: Trends to Sew.

We had a bit of a hiatus there with the weekend and the arrival of Marie-Grace, now Liv Brooks, and then another weekend, and stuff.

We have another ad that we ripped out of Seventeen magazine for your perusal. ;-)

WARNING: Lots of pictures!

Today's Trends to Sew Top Tip: Go to clothing stores, hit the sale sections, and buy XXLs or bigger. Then just cut up all those human clothes to make doll clothes.

Don't stay in the women's and junior's sections. Hit the children's, the men's, whatever is on sale and clearance -- human clothing is where you find the most affordable and most trendy fabrics.

We've said this before, but we should probably say it 3,000 more times.

Deconstruct human clothing to get great fabrics for doll clothing!!!

____ Native American Patterned Sweater

This is a PacSun thang.

And here is the new GOTY 2013 Saige sporting the PacSun look.

Who would have guessed that AG would be trendy?

Or maybe that was an accident?

Probably an accident. 

The rest of Saige's clothes are well.... they need help.

From AGoverseasfan's video: http://youtu.be/QyU3EpfgnB0

PacSun Sweater Examples:

_____Denim Vest with Shearling Lining

So. cute.

____ Shredded Light Wash Jeans

Liberty Jane's post on how to distress denim:

http://www.libertyjanepatterns.com/2009/10/how-to-distress-your-denim-instructional-video.html

Lots of tutorial videos on there.

Involves sharp objects -- so be careful!

_____ Upholstered/Tapestry/Cloth cowboy boots

From PacSun

From Zappos

We have seen this in duck boots as well.

REI and Zappos.

Not sure about the creation logistics of this one, but if someone can pull it off -- 

that is awesomeness.

Check out Liberty Jane Patterns for boots patterns in many shapes and styles.

http://www.libertyjanepatterns.com/

_____Slouchy knit hat

Patterns:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/80045896/sophie-pdf-knitting-pattern-for-18

http://www.etsy.com/listing/116983204/newlyn-a-textured-stitch-patterned

http://www.etsy.com/listing/61911080/pdf-pattern-crochet-hat-for-american

We have this one in purple.

It is complete coolness and we love it.

_____ Black Moto Jacket

Pacsun's knit moto jacket -- you don't have to do leathers, pleathers, suedes.

Be creative!

Try it in peach -- again, a popular color that we've mentioned 600 times....

They also offer one with lace overlay and sleeves

Liberty Jane's moto jacket pattern: http://www.libertyjanepatterns.com/2012/06/motorcycle-jacket-doll-clothes-pattern.html

_____ Flirty Dress with Lace Accents

Lovely for layering over leggings, tights, long-sleeve shirts, with jackets and cardis.

_____ Lace Shirt

PacSun has a lot of lace shirt and tank options, but these are two of their long-sleeve offerings.

Beautiful stuff. Allows for a lot of layering creativity.

Though, the girl needs longer skirts....

____Knee-High Socks with Booties

No extra pics for this one. Mostly a hint for those of you offering whole outfits in your shops or styling outfits at home. Looks cute with shorter dresses and skirts.

Stay tuned for Three More Trends to Sew this month!

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