Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Another chapter in the Djali saga...

The lovely GinO posted this gorgeous dress for sale on Prego, and of course Djali had to have it:  

 

There was no living with her until I bought it.  Of course, there's really no living with her now, either:  


"Yes, this dress suits my style EXACTLY."


"Finally! You're starting to listen to me!"

So I think this is a winner. (Thanks again, Ginny!) 

"Yes, it's very pretty, thank you." 


"Now make me some shoes to match. Chop, chop!" 

I swear, this chica has more attitude than all my other dolls put together!  

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Dressing a demanding diva

Anyone else have a doll who is hard to please? Djali is mine. She's my one and only Antoinette, so we went through quite an odyssey when she first arrived, trying to find clothes she could wear. Finally I made her a dress that fit her, exclusively:



And she was happy for a while... but soon grew bored:



She said the dress was cute and all, but it didn't really express her unique style. She needed drama, she said.

So last night I finally made a dress to suit her personality, and she nearly fainted with delight:



And since I used a stretch fabric, this gown will fit all of my regular Tonner girls as well - maybe even DeeAnna! Djali didn't much like that idea, when I mentioned it to her...


"Over my dead body."

I've never met a doll with so much attitude! 

Nandini's Bedlah

Another case of a OOAK doll outfit paired with the perfect doll is Nandini and this belly-dancing outfit, called a bedlah. I actually started making the outfit long before Nandi came to live with me, but I only completed it after her arrival. And in this case, the doll came specifically for this outfit (and others I plan to make) rather than the other way around. But either way, I think it is a perfect pairing:








Nandini is my Indian princess, and I have lots of saris and bedlahs planned for her. Since she is a Convertible Basic Jac, she came with two sets of feet. I wanted her specifically for this outfit, because belly dancing is done barefoot. So I wanted her to have flat feet, but I love having the option for her to wear heels, too. And in some pictures, you may have noticed, I used one of each foot! :p 

Snow-White and Rose-Red

The first time I saw pictures of Platinum and Raven Jane, I knew I had to have them both. They reminded me of the old fairy tale, Snow-White and Rose-Red. So when I got a chance to own them, back in December, I jumped on it! I had to have both of these dolls. One without the other would have been pointless.

So here they are, in custom made gowns, which I designed to suit both their names and personalities. I had scraps of these sheer fabrics that each had a large rose motif, and I designed the dresses to be alike, but just different enough to highlight Snow's softer side versus Rose's sense of drama:





Snow-White's gown features a shoulder drape that can hang two different ways - to hide the beading or to reveal it:






Rose-Red's gown is sprinkled with beads across the tucks and pleats creating the structured, fitted bodice that flows into the free and fluid skirt:






I love when specific dolls inspire me to create one-of-a-kind outfits for them!  These two gowns would never have existed if I hadn't gotten these two lovely ladies. 

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Meet Marguerite!

My latest girl, a 2009 Basic DeeAnna, is now named Marguerite. I'm starting to make shoes for her, and I have one pair finished, which is pictured below:





I really love her, especially now that I've washed and combed out her hair.  Here are her new pictures: