Mina's New Owl Hoodie!

Hola!

Mina Ingleton (our MyAG #5) did an interview with Claire over at the "American Girls and Cats" Blog and for it we took some new pics of her in an awesome Heritage Doll Fashions owl hoodie. It is a recent purchase. Her shorts are from L'Atelier de Sitara.

Check out the interview here to learn a little bit about Mina: http://americangirlsandcats.blogspot.com/2012/04/is-my-interview-with-mina-from-doll.html

Do you guys like these sorts of interviews? Maybe we should interview our own dolls and post them here on The DW? Thoughts?

In addition, we wanted to post the best shots from our photo session with Mina.

She likes to paint, so below you see her with her easel (usually placed on a tabletop, but we couldn't fit the table into the shot, haha) and one of her paintings. You also see her paintbrushes (stolen from the humans), and mini tubes of paint given to us by Utrecht as sample at a conference. Yay freebies!

Now all she needs is a mini paint palette.... and an apron... but we are working on those. Right now she uses the lid of a margarine container as a palette. ;-)

Thanks for visiting us today!

Stay tuned for more dolly fun!

Karen, Emily and the Too Tall Frog

Sorry for the lack of posts -- too much to do and not enough time to do it in!

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, we took these pictures and now we thought we should post them as a farewell to the warm weather of the late summer and early autumn here in Badger's Wood. Soon enough we'll be freezing cold -- winters aren't exactly "warm" up here where we live. ;-)

We actually have a couple more sets of "Karen and Emily in the Outdoors" pics that we haven't posted yet... maybe we'll get around to posting more of them soon enough. Hopefully.

In these pics, Karen and Emily are hanging out in the great outdoors with one of our garden sculptures- the Too Tall Frog. Karen is wearing a wrap-top dress from Heritage Doll Fashions and is carrying a beaded purse we purchased through Doll Closet. Emily is modeling a top from Doll Closet, a belt from All Dolled Up Doll Clothes, and a skirt from The Dollies' Dressmaker.

We hope you like the pictures!!

Reminders!
-- There are two more days to vote in our poll to help us decide who to include in the Fall/Winter 2011 Doll Giveaway.
-- Monday October 10th is the due date for our Time Warp (History) Photo Contest!
Send those pictures in people! So far we have one entry -- so that person is winning! Haha. :-)
Please email your photos to nora.demington@gmail.comfor your chance to win a $20 AG gift card.
Follow this link to learn more about this Photo Contest!

Cupcake Cutie Pie Wrap-Top Holiday Dresses

Holiday? Which holiday? Yep, we took these pictures in December as well-- four dresses that we bought for the girls to wear for the holidays. And we haven't posted about them yet. We feel... so guilty... but we are trying to make up for lost time now. ;-)

We purchased these dresses from Etsy seller Cupcake Cutie Pie, a Liberty Jane partner who is using the Heritage Doll Fashions Wrap-Top dress pattern. (Which we ♡) Go to libertyjanepatterns.com to find this pattern.

Heritage4 made the initial dress on the cover of the pattern booklet that you see above (in a wonderful fabric). Here is my bossy advice for today: Seamstresses should really try to use some striped fabrics for this pattern like she did. The dress really pops and flatters the doll because she has the stripes going in all different directions. And note how the vertical stripes in the center piece visually pull in the waist of the doll giving her that hourglass figure that AG dolls lack -- remember, finding a way to define the doll's waist makes the outfit more visually appealing.

Also, she chooses a contemporary, trendy type of fabric that we might see in human clothing (a nice sundress like this) in the mall today. Anyway point is: Heritage4 knows what she is doing -- Mimic her! Mimic her! Mimicry is the best flattery after all. ;-)

We show the holiday wrap top dresses on both AGs and Karito Kid dolls so that you can see that the dress and boleros fit them as well (although more loosely) and how tall the KKs are in comparison to the AGs. Three of the dresses came with bolero jackets and all of them came with shoes -- all of which even fit the KK feeties.

These are really well-made dresses, in great bold fabrics, and with wonderful accessories (one even came with a headband). We love the details of the contrasting fabrics for the center section which you see on three of them and the contrasting shoulder straps as well. Sometimes the main thread is even contrasting so you can see the lines of the dress better. :-) The great thing about this pattern is how you can play with the different pieces of it like this -- and Cupcake Cutie Pie has really shown us how great this dress pattern can be. We highly recommend this seller -- they have a great eye for color combinations and offer many awesome items. Check out the shop today!

The girls in their holiday attire -- Karen, Piper, Gia, and Noelle...

First slideshow...

Second slideshow...

Final pic...

If you are interested in a wrap-top dress for your doll there are several options out there now....

....from Cupcake Cutie Pie (they have more than just these sets)...

....from Angel Kisses Boutique...

....from My Precious Cargo...

....from The Dashwood Sisters....

Are you a seamstress working with this pattern? Let us know so we can check out your dresses! 

Did you decide to try "The Striped Trendy Fabric Technique" mentioned above? Let us know so we can check out your dresses!

Stay tuned for more posts everyone -- And be sure to 1) Like our new Facebook page if you are on Facebook (link is at top right of the side menu) 2) Enter the current giveaways if you haven't already done so 3) Read all the posts we have busily put on here lately (wink) and 4) Feel free to comment!

Karen and Emily Go Outside: Black Hoodies

Hola! ¿Cómo está usted? Have you entered our Fall Giveaway yet? If not, check out the post right below this one. :)

Today we were going to do swimsuit photos, but then we realized that we still haven't moved over all of those pictures from the laptop. Only some of them. Duh. We are slow. But we do have pictures of Karen and Emily in fall attire. Remember the post about the black and white Doll Closet shirts? Well this is like a 2.0 version of that post.

Karen and Emily are wearing the same jeans and tops, but they have added on two hoodies for the cooler weather we had here at the beginning of last week. Karen is wearing a swirly graphic hoodie handmade by Terri of All Dolled Up Doll Clothing. And Emily is wearing an awesome skull graphic hoodie handmade by Heritage4 of Heritage Doll Fashions.

Here are zee hoodie pictures!

Both Heritage4 and Terri have joined the Liberty Jane Clothing team. Heritage4 is creating patterns, and Terri has become a LJC Premium Partner. As a LJC partner, or Premium Partner (depending on what you want to be)--- you have permission to use the LJC patterns to create doll clothing to sell for a profit. Your profit! Isn't that exciting?!?! We talked about this program a little in some previous comment discussion- but we wanted to bring it to light in a post. Here is the LJC lingo:

"Have you been trying to figure out how to make some extra money?

We are modifying our pattern's commercial use policy to benefit work-from-home seamstresses in an exciting new way. If you've been looking for an opportunity to make some additional income, you might like this...

Become A Partner:

Previously if you wanted to use our patterns for selling, we had a royalty payment required that was cost prohibitive for many people. We are doing away with that completely. From now on, if you want to use Liberty Jane Patterns for selling through your Ebay, Etsy store, or other websites, then we are 100% supportive. And you can keep 100% of the profit. Since our patterns currently have clear language prohibiting you from using them in this way, (and I don't want to edit all my patterns), simply email me if you're interested. We will give you official permission to use our patterns for work-from-home sewing. You'll be an official partner. My email is cinnamon@libertyjaneclothing.com. All we ask for in return is that you let people know that you used a Liberty Jane Pattern in your item description and you clarify that it is not an original Liberty Jane outfit garment.

But wait, there's more...Want to become a Premium Partner?

Become A Premium Partner:

We are setting up a Premium Partners website for $9.99 a month. Benefits will include,

• Selling tips and recommendations, like our 10 tips for branding your business, as well as 'how-to' posts explaining pretty much everything we do. From pricing to photography equipment, and scissors to internet tools. We'll share everything.
• A discussion forum where we will answer any questions you have about our patterns, selling strategies, marketing questions, anything you need help with, we'll do our best to provide support.
• Priority access to patterns. As we move forward we'll begin to give you early bird access to our patterns before we release them on our patterns website. We're still working this out, but it will probably be something like 3 months exclusive use before they are released to everyone else.
• Traffic! we have a huge set of frustrated fans that are waiting to get one of our designs, and we're happy to refer them to you, with a direct link from our site to yours. Again, you can keep 100% of the profits. We are remodeling our www.libertyjaneclothing.com website and the new design will allow us to prominently feature your store, website, or listing. You'll be featured as a "Premium Partner". Additionally, we'll use our social media tools, (like Facebook), to drive traffic to your site.
• A free pattern download every month.

If you're interested, email me back and say, "Yes, I want to partner". As soon as we are ready to launch, (within a week or so), We'll send you further details.

Whether you decide to become a partner or premium partner, our vision is pretty simple... Just like we have partnered with top designers to expand the selection of great patterns, we also want to work with top seamstresses to expand the selection of our designs that are available to shoppers.

Again, if you're interested, just send me an email, cinnamon@libertyjaneclothing.com."

And here is the LJC pattern blog post with info about this program.

And here is a pattern blog post with a list of some of their current partners.

We hope that info helps you peeps out there thinking about selling dolly clothing for profit, or thinking about ways to expand your current offerings. :)

Heritage Doll Fashions Flower Girl Dress

Hola! Sorry we were MIA-- we got lost in the closet full of boxes while trying to find a box to ship JLY #21 to Renee. But we were successful and the shipment will go out this week!

We also found a box to ship some brand-new human jeans to Liberty Jane Clothing. We'll take some pictures of the jeans before and after their transformation. Penny found them on sale at Nordstrom-- grey stretchy jeans in large sizes that weren't too expensive. So we will send them to LJC and get some dolly skinny jeans out of them.

One of the pairs of LJC grey skinny doll jeans will be given away as part of our Fall 2010 Doll Giveaway!

But I am distracting myself from the point of today's post. We were kind of getting bogged down in all the MyAG stuff--- so we will come back to that later. Today we show you a custom handmade dress from Heritage4/Heritage Doll Fashions.

Heritage4 posted about this dress at her blog a couple months ago: clicky here to see her picture.

We ordered this for a relative, but we managed to take some pictures of it before we gifted it to her. It is the dress she wore as a flower girl in a wedding and her first communion dress, but made into dolly size. Emily is modeling it for us in our special "red room" as it is difficult to get good pictures of a white dress against a white door. ;)

As you can probably tell from the pictures, this dress features really fancy, slippery ('n shiny) fabric in layers: a design that isn't the easiest to create. So kudos and thank you to Heritage4 for creating this for us! It is tre impressivo!!!!

Enjoy zee pictures!

Heritage4 and LinneaAnne Now Have Blogs!

You may have noticed that December was lacking my Wednesday "AG Fans Message Board Member Special Features." My last one was for Thanksgiving time, I think.... Gee, I can't even keep track of my own posts. :P

But I wanted to start them up again as a continuing tribute to people's creativity, so here we are! And today's post allows me to inform you that both Heritage4 and LinneaAnne have started their own dolly blogs! Awesome!

Heritage4's blog has been around a little while longer, and it is a good place to see what she has created recently for AG dolls and stuff that is for sale. She just sold two dresses that were posted on there yesterday(ish). LinneaAnne's blog features her AG doll Piper and the first post was about her using a Liberty Jane pattern to create some doll clothing! Yay!

So want to visit Heritage4's blog?
Please click here!
Interested in what LinneaAnne's blog is all about?
Please click here!

To highlight their dolly creations and give you a taste of what you might see on their blog, we have included two slideshows (below) of some of the outfits we haven't posted about yet.

Heritage4's Slideshow
What do you see? Here are the descriptions, courtesy of Heritage4.

1. Red coat: This is a warm coat with red ribbon trim and decorative stitching. It was based on a coat that the doll Addy from the American Girl company wears.
2. Olive and red dress: This outfit is based of off the one that Maid Marian wears in the BBC "Robin Hood" series.
3. Purple, black and brown outfit: Another outfit that came from the mind. I started with a deep purple tunic dress and added to that a laced vest, black tights, and boots.
4. Black-brown dress and corset: This outfit was inspired by the imagination! A black print with a light gold design running through it caught my eye and I knew it would be perfect for what I had in mind. I also added a dark brown corset to it.
5. and 6. Brown polka dot dress: This outfit is historically accurate and reflects the style of the 70's. It is made from several panels and a mandarin collar. The second picture is a close-up of the top of the dress. You can see the collar a lot better.
7. Yellow-gold ballgown: This gown was made for a customer who was in search of Halloween costumes. Together we decided that this outfit would be just about perfect for her.

And here is one bigger picture, for easier viewing.

All photos above are the property of Heritage4.

LinneaAnne's Slideshow

What do you see? Here are the descriptions, courtesy of LinneaAnne.

1., 2. and 3. Molly's birthday pinafore dress, done in pink and white. Goes nicely with Molly's recital shoes. :-) Modeled by Lotta, my AGOT #3.
4. Addy's Patriotic dress. I got that ribbon wrapped around a Christmas present, and right away I knew it would work perfect as her patriotic sash. The coloring in the picture is a little off, the dress is really a deep beautiful red.
5., 6. and 7. Addy's school suit. This isn't the best picture...the detailing on the front of the blouse is really there, I promise. :-)
In true spirit of Addy's school suit, I lined the inside of the jacket with scraps I found in my mom's sewing box. They are leftover pieces from dresses she made me when I was little.

And here is one bigger picture.

All photos above are the property of LinneaAnne.

Newer readers, you may now be wondering what is the AG Fans Message Board... please click here! It is for AG Fans 13 years old or older. Heritage4 and LinneaAnne are both members on this Message Board particularly known for their sewing talents. :)

Happy AGFMB Special Feature Wednesday everyone!

And thank you so much to Heritage4 and LinneaAnne for allowing us to post about them here and to showcase their creations. We hope this increases your blogs' net traffic, heehee.

Happy Hanukkah!

It's the second night of Hanukkah, so we thought that we'd show you Rebecca today with her silver menorah, her nesting dolls, and a new green dress from Heritage Clothesline (Heritage4's Etsy shop).

So for the first night of Hanukkah, Rebecca received this two-tone minty green dress with a fantastic patterned fabric and a wonderful design. In the pictures below she is wearing it over a white tee shirt with gathered sleeves that we got from Liberty Jane Clothing. Tonight, Rebecca's Hanukkah gift was the nesting dolls that Penny purchased for her a long long time ago. Aren't they adorable? Penny tried to find a set that resembled the set in the NYC AG Place Rebecca curio cabinet.

Happy Hanukkah!

Revisiting Heritage4 AGFMB Special Feature

Here we are again, returning to Heritage4's
special dolly clothing creations!
Please enjoy this week's American Girl Fans
Message Board Member Special Feature!

Last time we looked at Heritage4 we posted about some of her historical creations. So for today we are posting about modern clothing. All photos in this post are the property of Heritage4. We begin with her highly sought-after waffle weave doll hoodies which you see in the top photo in this post and in the first four pictures below.

Heritage4 explains: "For this hoodie,
I wanted to use a print that had a younger look to it.
The fabric I found worked out
perfectly and feels so soft. "
I am digging these elephants!

Heritage4 says: "I spotted this fun fabric and knew it
would be perfect for hoodies.
A Steve Erwin inspiration no doubt."
Ooooo, alligators!!!

What does Heritage4 say about this hoodie?
"Goth is hugely popular for dolls and
I created this hoodie to capture some of that."
Yay for Goth doll clothing, yippee!

What's the scoop from Heritage4?
"This fabric is very interesting.
It has a smorgasbord of color and design.
It is just too much fun!"
So bright and cheerful!

Next we have a complete outfit being modeled by Jess.
Heritage4 tells us: "I wanted to capture some of today's trends
in this outfit. I combined a fun tunic top with
a black tee shirt and denim gauchos."

And finally we add on this lovely green dress which was
inspired by a dress Heritage4 saw in a women's clothing catalog.
"I drew up the pattern, selected the fabric, and this is the result."
Definitely the perfect dress for warm weather!
And aren't those flowers beautiful?!?

So many fantastic photos! Thanks again for sharing them with us Heritage4- I hope our readers enjoyed looking at them as much I as do. For our next AGFMB Special Feature we will return to the handcrafted dolly creations of LinneaAnne next week.

Wondering where you can find Heritage4 creations for yourself? She just opened an Etsy store! Click here to investigate it further. So far she has only listed one item (which we totally purchased right away), and she hasn't listed anything new yet. But keep checking back, she might list more things soon. :)

Later today, once I get myself a bit more organized, I will finally announce the 2009 Holidays Doll Giveaway. Is everyone excited???

AGFMB Member Special Feature- Heritage4 Intro

So your first question may be.... what is AGFMB?

American Girl Fans Message Board!

Your second question may be.... who is Heritage4?
A member of the AGF message board and a fantastic seamstress!

Heritage4 is this seamstress's username at AGFMB and at American Girl Playthings Message Board. Talented at photography as well as sewing, Heritage4 is very willing to sew for others. If you'd like to contact her for a commission please message her on either of the boards or email her at heritage863@yahoo.com. As an interesting note, Heritage4 just graduated high school- such impressive achievements already!

So here is the first post in what will hopefully be a long line of AGFMB Member Special Features. As you can see, we will tell you which skilled seamstress and/or crafter we are featuring- one per week- and also explain whether or not she is willing/able to sew/create for others. Not everyone we feature has the ability to take on commissions.

And most importantly, the objects you see in the photos are not for sale. In addition, all photographs in these posts have been taken by these featured seamstresses/crafters and are their property. We have received special permission to post them here.

Any questions about this new feature? Please feel free to let us know!

To begin with, pictured below are two versions of a "Bluebell Dress" being modeled by Kit. The first two pictures are of the first version. This dress was inspired by a 1940's pattern Heritage4 saw while scanning through old pattern books. She explains that her version "...deviated a lot from the original idea as I added my own touches to it."

The picture below is version 2.0 of the "Bluebell Dress."
(Heehee... 2.0... I'm so funny...)
Heritage4 told us that "it has a different style for the main fabric than the first version has, but uses the exact same pattern."
They are both so pretty!

And the last photo for today's post shows her replica of Samantha's Play Outfit from American Girl. We own the original AG version over here in Badger's Wood, and we think Heritage4's version looks even better!
Just look at all those lovely ruffles on that pinafore!

Thank you Heritage4 for allowing us to share some of
your sewing work and photography!
And thank you to Dollduds/Caroline at AGFMB for this super-wonderful
idea and all of the hard work she is putting in
to make this idea a reality!

To our readers- stay tuned for more of these Special Features, including more dolly duds from Heritage4. This is just the tip of the iceberg people! Yippee!

Next Wednesday we will highlight some outfits created by AGFMB Member LinneaAnne! And coming up next from my little vinyl fingers, on Friday I will show you our new Ramona J. Dove (fka Ivy) in her school uniform courtesy of Etsy seller SewQT.