Dry Fit

[whine]This is HARD![/whine]



Thank goodness I found, and joined, an online dollhouse building community! The members there recommend doing a "dry fit" of all the parts in each stage of the building process before you do any gluing. Good thing I listened. These houses don't exactly snap together. Tabs have to be whittled down and lined up perfectly for everything to fit.



There were several times during the dry fit that I was very, very, glad that I was only using tape to hold things together. Some of the pieces had to be reversed, and others arranged differently than I had expected.



Everything is quite square right now, but that's because all the pieces are fitted together. When I'm doing the actual gluing I'll have to do it one piece at a time and if I don't get each join perfectly square it could mean the pieces that come later won't fit together.

This is a LOT harder than I thought it would be!




Oh.....and in case you haven't noticed? Petunia is trying to get your attention. . . . . . .



She's modelling her brand new, hand knit, cashmere dress.

Experimenting Coming Up

I explored Home Depot today furthering my research on all the possible ways to simulate stucco for the little doll house. Right now it looks like I'll be using Spackle, as Trisha suggested. It was the cheapest alternative. Some of the other ideas would have been just as effective, but involved expensive purchases, or came in containers that were far too large for my purpose. I really loved Paula's idea of the stone effect paint, but it only came in gallon containers.

Before I go spackling the whole house I'll do some testing seeing if I like the results.

Petunia's New Shoes

Petunia's pretty excited. I was out this afternoon looking in thrift stores for textured wallpaper (to mimic stucco on the outside of the dollhouse I'm making) and on a whim I rummaged through the bin of toys. I'm always keeping an eye out for inexpensive, secondhand Kelly dolls as their outfits and shoes fit the Pukipuki dolls. The outfits, if they are in good shape, are just a bonus, it's actually the tiny little shoes I'm after. They aren't all that easy to find. I think doll shoes are the first thing lost by children (or sucked up with the vacuum by Moms tired of finding them laying all over!).



Instead of vacuuming them up, Petunia begs you overworked Mommies to send them to her. She'll take very good care of them.

New House Construction

As if all the fibre related hobbies were not enough, now I've taken up house construction and interior decorating as well ~~~~~~~~~ but on a miniature scale!



When my daughter asked, I gladly accepted a doll house kit she decided she didn't have time for. Now that I've opened the kit up and seen what is involved, I don't blame her! Scarey! This is definitely not a hobby for a busy mom with little recreational time.



I've been working on it for several evenings now and I've only cut out, sanded, and given a base coat to the pieces involved in the first step. There are many other steps to go as it is quite a detailed little house when it is done.

Hopefully it will look at least as good as this when I am done, though my paint, and wallpaper choices will be different, as will the set up.



It will be for a RealPuki Soso that I'm waiting for. The little cottage will be her home and fibre arts workshop.

I'll keep updating the blog as the project progresses. Right now I'm in the process of trying to decide how I could add some stucco like texture to the outside of the home. My hunt through every thrift store in town did not come up with any textured wallpaper.

Crafting Space ReOrganization

Haven't heard too much from me lately? I've been busy with a rather large project. Though I worked on it for hours every day, it still took about a week to complete. What was I doing? Reorganizing my crafting rooms.



Up until now I've been trying to sew in my former "weaving room". Having the sewing table in there meant that I had to fold my floor loom, cover it, and push it up against the wall.....which meant that I couldn't use it. It also meant that I had precious little space to sew in! I've moved the loom to what was my "stash room" so that the "sewing room" is JUST for sewing. I don't know why I never thought of it before, but with some reorganizing and decluttering there is far more space available in the "stash room" for the loom.



So now this soft grey coloured room is my Sewing Room. I invite you to click on the pictures. It will take you through to my Flickr album where you can hover over the "notes" to see what all this stuff is!



You think this is a lot? I made two separate trips to give donations to a thrift store and went twice to the spinners and weavers guild to donate a few things there as well. Oh....and took a large table loom to my daughter's house too.



This yellow room used to be the "stash room" and it was cluttered and crowded and full of stuff that I was storing but not really using. It's now my Weaving Room. Opposite the loom.....



.....is what I've allowed to remain of my stash. It's the messiest looking area of the two rooms but I assure you, it is well pared down and it's now organized so that I know exactly where everything is.



Even the closets of both rooms have been cleaned out and reorganized. Gosh I feel so efficient! I should go create something.

Taking a Friend for a Ride

When the sun came out today Peanut and Pumpkin could not wait to show their new little friend, Petunia, around the neighbourhood.

They started out with Pumpkin pulling.....

......and Peanut pushing....

....but soon Pumpkin's winter-tender tootsies were feeling the bumps in the pavement... (I did tell that girl to wear shoes!)....

.....and Peanut offered to give them both a ride.

Fly By Post

IMG_4855, originally uploaded by wovenflame.

Petunia having great fun riding my dragonfly patio lights.

Petunia's Arrival

Pumpkin and Peanut heard a bump against the door this morning and when they looked out the window they found this box.



It was addressed to me so they politely waited while I opened the outer wrapper. A very pretty, red, "story book" box was inside. Having travelled that way themselves earlier this year they had a pretty good idea what might be inside and the excitement mounted!



Peanut, having been my "first", now considers herself head of the welcoming committee.



"Hello", she whispered, "are you okay in there?".



Pumpkin, remembering what it was like to be struggling to get free of a face-wrap, made sure that annoying bit was removed right away!



As soon as her mouth was free the new little one shouted out, "HI! My name's PETUNIA! What's your  name?!" Not shy (or quiet), this exuberant newcomer!



Peanut's mothering instinct kicked in right away, but Pumpkin was left wondering if maybe she should grab the "head wrap" again to use it as a GAG.

Petunia was an unplanned, secondhand, purchase and she managed  to arrive before her "real" wig which is being custom made. Luckily I suspected this might happen and I had a few borrowed ones on hand for her to try. None of them are at all like the official one we're waiting for, but let's have a look, shall we?




EEeek! .... Um......this wild one got a unanimous NO from everyone. Just not the girl's style.



Although Petunia thought she might like this second one, Pumpkin and Peanut were biting their tongues trying not to collapse into an impolite fit of giggles.



Pumpkin was kind of partial to the super curly one....naturally.



In the end Peanut convinced Petunia that the slick, auburn bob suited her best for now. It was then time to pick out clothes!



I let Petunia choose any dress she wanted from the stock not yet listed in my Etsy store.



Surprisingly she looks best in the brown and burgundy one! I thought for sure she was going to be a girl who wore pinks and pastels.



Once she was settled comfortably with a wig and a new dress she decided to tell the older girls all about her trip.



I think she may go on talking and talking all night! ... *sigh*

Something Fishy

I had a heck of a time getting someone to model this fish hat for me.

Lots of people "loved it" and would put it on, but then they quickly yanked it off again when I brought out the camera.

Even little Kenzie figured Grandma was going a bit too far asking for a photo.

The Styrofoam wig stand wasn't impressed either, but couldn't run away.

Jordon, on the other hand, was a great sport about it. Thanks Jord!

DressSew Haul

Way back in January I was given $40 for my birthday to use on a trip to DressSew in Vancouver to purchase doll clothes making supplies.

I was finally able to go today and the trip was well worth the wait. I managed to get ALL of this for $39.97!!

32 DOZEN size 4/0 snaps (384 sets!)
8 DOZEN size 5/0 snaps (96 sets!)
large pin cushion with emery sharpener
X-large piece of supple, soft, suede leather
20 metres of baby rick rack
50 metres of lace
pkg of 50 decorative studs
10 small ribbon bows
pkg of 16 embroidery needles
6ft pkg of leather lacing

Oooooh Yeahhhhh! 

The piece of leather, at $8.99 plus tax, was the most expensive item. Most other things were 25 cents per package. The lace and rick rack was between 25 cents and 29 cents per meter. Score!

Alternate Elf Model

And here's what that little elf outfit looks like on my daughter's PukiPuki, "Maddy". The little knitted leggings were too small for Maddy because they are meant for a RealPuki, but the hat, and shoes will fit both a RealPuki and PukiPuki. The dress/tunic will likely be too big for a RealPuki but fits a PukiPuki perfectly.



I also made the funny little wig she is wearing. Hey! The hair is supposed to look wild and unkempt...she lives in the forest!

Who's a Poser Now?

Within a week of her arrival I noticed that my first LittleFee, Peanut, was loosening up a lot. She was a perfect poser when she arrived, standing rock solid. Over time though she loosened up to the extent that I would only leave her in sitting positions, except for quick photographs. She was loose enough that the special mechanism in her hips was not holding her legs in raised positions and her ankles were so loose she could gradually lean forward to the point that she would fall over. Sad state of affairs but I could not figure out how to tighten her up. Last night while drifting off to sleep I suddenly thought of the solution. I nearly jumped out of bed to go fix her right that minute, but was sane enough to wait until morning.

So early this morning, before I even had coffee, I was running around gathering the supplies I knew I would need. I decided I'd photograph the whole procedure and write up a tutorial for LittleFee owners. I'm hoping other non-doll-owner blog readers might find it interesting to see some of the inner workings of these amazingly posable dolls.

LittleFee Leg Tightening Tutorial

Start by removing the doll's wig and faceplate so that they are not damaged while you wrestle with the elastic. The feet will also have to be removed, and while you're at it why not take off the hands too so that they aren't lost or in the way? Have on hand a crochet hook or other strong narrow object, and a long piece of narrow ribbon. The ribbon should be at least twice the length from one ankle, up the leg, through the pelvis, and down to the other knee.

 

The leg elastic is a loop that goes from one ankle, through the pelvis to the ankle of the other leg. Find the knot. My doll's knot was in the right calf. Even though the doll was loosey goosey the elastic was still tight enough that I could not pull it out far enough to tie a new knot. So here is where I had the sudden brain flash last night.

Go to the OTHER leg, the one without the knot, and pull the elastic out far enough that you can get the crochet hook (or other strong object) in through the elastic loop and across the calf opening.

Thread the long ribbon through the elastic loop leaving both ends hanging (you can knot them loosely if you like). Remove the ankle ball and then the crochet hook. As soon as you pull out the crochet hook the elastic will contract, zooming up inside the leg. That's what the ribbon is for, to keep everything together and to keep track of the end of the elastic.

With the tension from the elastic released everything will loosen right up. Take a good look at how all these pieces fit back together. Note that the slot in the ball of the upper thigh faces inward, toward the crotch, and it in turn fits into the leg locking mechanism.

Now you can pull the knotted end of the elastic further out of the right leg. Just don't lose the ends of your ribbon as it hangs out of the left leg!

Tie a new knot a LITTLE higher than the last. I probably went a little too far. Even though Peanut was very loose and was losing her ability to stand, the difference in the position of these two knots was MORE than enough. When I was done Peanut's legs were so tight I needed a second set of strong hands to pull hard on the elastic (using the ribbon) so I could get the hook back in the other side.

Rotate the elastic so the knot is not at the very end, and then rehook the right ankle ball into place. Pull on the ribbon hanging from the left leg so that it eases the elastic back through all the leg parts. As it tightens up and the leg pieces begin nesting together be sure that you have them all facing in the right direction and that the hip locking mechanism fits nicely into the thigh ball and the grooves in the pelvis.

Now have someone pull really hard on that ribbon so that the end loop of the elastic peeks out from the left ankle. Rehook the left ankle ball, pull the ribbon out, and put the feet back on. Walla! You have your great poser back!