Crossing the line......

Blimey... almost 3 weeks since my last post.  Doesn't time fly? 

And in that 3 weeks I have been working like a whirling dervish, making up the dollmaker's workshop packs.  It would have been so much easier to do all of them the same, but as this was my last major 'all singing-all dancing' kit I wanted to go the extra mile so offered colour choices on various components.

Predictably I tied myself up in knots over that but after endless hours in the workroom, followed by extensive double, triple and quadruple checking,  I was finally able to start packaging the kits in a military operation which involved commandeering the dining room table.

Almost all of the kits have now been posted.  Several destined for UK addresses will already have arrived.... those heading for international destinations are currently in transit.
Over several days last week I bowled up to the Post Office, laden with huge bags, fully expecting to be lynched by the muttering queue which quickly formed in my wake.  Despite the fact I had weighed each parcel, calculated the exact postage payable, completed the relevant customs declarations and prepared my own certificates of posting, there were inevitable delays as the boxes wouldn't fit though the lifty drawer/hatch thing, so I had to schlepp from one end of the counter to the bit where the post lady could open the window to take each box.  

Trust me, making that walk several times on each occasion, under the mutinous glare of The Queue is character-forming stuff.  It didn't help that the post lady was intrigued at the size of my parcels.... I usually send out very small, lightweight boxes, so my large, weighty packages were the object of much speculation, which I tried to deflect, sotto voce, so that The Queue wouldn't add neighbour-elbowing, eyebrow raising, and sniggering, to their repertoire.

But my time hasn't been completely devoted to giving the Post Office visiting residents of St Leonards on Sea something to talk about.

No by no nonny no.

I've finally got round to re-doing the fronts of my lovely Ikea Moppe boxes, which over the past few years have become a bit dog-eared and faded.

Plus, while I was re-organising the drawers, I came across a little box of Work in Progress dolls from way back, for which I'd prepared all the costume pieces, pleated the silk ribbons etc, so I've had a lovely few days dressing them.....

My work area.... messy but creative

I still have to complete their boxes, and carry out their photo shoot, at which point I will do the whole 'Tah Dah' thing and show them off. 

So, all in all, a VERY busy, but satisfyingly productive few weeks, which hopefully explains my absence.

However..... I'm now girding my loins for the NEXT thing.  The looming end of the tax year, which heralds my annual grapple with the accounts. 

*sigh*

I need to get out more.....

I had a bit of excitement today.

No, nothing arrived in the post.  
No, I didn't come up with an exciting new idea.
No, I haven't finished all the Atelier de la Poupee home workshop packs.... yet.

Instead my excitement was caused by this....

Yes.... today was the day I decided it was time to buy a new work iron.  Now if that isn't exciting I don't know what is.....

This photo shows only a small selection, from the cheaper end of the shelf.  Prices at the other end were eye-watering.  Does ANYONE need to spend £160 on an iron?

Regular readers will know that I get through irons at an indecent rate.  

For example, almost 2 years ago....  Iron Woman
And 6 years ago...  Fit For Purpose
And 9 years ago.... Well... I'M Excited...!

In my defence, I do a LOT of ironing.  
Not CLOTHES ironing of course... that would be ridiculous!  
No, my ironing consists of lots of fabrics, silk ribbons, trimmings etc.  For work purposes.

My last iron finally succumbed to the nemesis of all my irons... iron-on vilene.  With some additional help from assorted glues, starch, dyes etc. 

It's once gleaming soleplate no longer gleamed.  It was scratched and blackened, and no end of scrubbing was ever going to restore its once smooth glide, over precious fabrics.

So off we went to Tesco to find a suitable replacement, and after much perusing, humming and hahhing, I finally decided on this...

.... for the princely sum of £12.  

It's perfect.  Smaller than all of the monster-sized irons and it claims to be 'Featherlight Plus'.  I'm always a tad sceptical about claims made for just about everything, but for once Philips has got it bang on.  

It is indeed extremely lightweight.  The first time I tried it earlier, I lifted it with the same force I habitually used for the old iron, and it almost flew out of my hand and straight through the window! 

It will take a day or two to get used to it, but I really like it already.  It has a proper 'silk setting' which is a boon as my old one only offered generic heat settings... cool, medium, hot, thermonuclear.... and I was forever fiddling with the dial to find a temperature which would easily remove stubborn creases from silk but wouldn't frazzle it.

It even switches itself off if I haven't handled it for 30 seconds, which is great as I sometimes forget it's on.  It heats up in seconds too, in case I fall foul of the 30 second rule.
It also has a ceramic-style ''non-stick' soleplate which I'm hoping will withstand the vagaries of iron-on vilene and the multitude of other substances it will come in contact with.

So, all in all, I'm a happy bunny.  Although such an indecent amount of excitement over the selection and purchase of a household small appliance does perhaps signify that perhaps I need to get out more....

A year of dolls..... February!

Back in January, in a heady fit of enthusiasm, I pledged to create a little toy doll each week of this year, from my virtual collection of Pinterest images of antique dolls.

Unbelievably, I'm still on track, and have completed 8 new little dolls so far this year!  I'll gloss over the fact that I was still working on the last one on 28th February but that's what deadlines are for.

Of course, I haven't just given myself a deadline for January, or February.... I've given myself deadlines for each month this year.  Four new little dolls each month.... one a week.

That's 52 dolls.  

And here's me feeling smug about having completed 8 of them, on time.  Even with my parlous grasp of arithmetic, I can work out that I have another 44 to go.

And each one has to be designed from scratch, along with the fabrics if necessary, and dyeing silk ribbons and trims as required.  Not to mention wigging materials preparation.  
And the boxes..... mustn't forget the boxes. 

Still.... 8 down, on time.  So yayyyyy me!

Here are my February dolls, along with their original inspirational photos.

I had the fabric for this one's skirt and jacket made specially for me, as close to the original as possible.  In this tiny size there have to be some concessions to scale, and the materials I have available, but I was pleased with the way she turned out.

I already had a small piece of a wonderful blue and purple shot silk, which is almost identical to the one in the inspiration photo.  It's difficult to photo, but the silk positively shimmers and the colours show up beautifully. 

Tartans in this tiny scale are very difficult to find, and tiny print tartans in fine silk are impossible to find, so I had this fabric made specially for this little doll. 

I didn't have just the right shade of silk ribbon to match the inspiration costume, so I had to dye some specially.  Those tiny strung pearls around her neck were a nightmare... they're the size of poppy seeds, and even with the help of my magnifying lamp, persuading them onto a fine silk thread had me tearing my hair out.  I won't be trying that again any time soon!

To give a better idea of scale, here she is against my fingers.  And I have very small hands!

I'm honestly torn about selling any of these tiny dolls, as I love each and every one of them, but for this weekend only, they, along with some others I made last year, are available on my dealer page of the Mini Miniature Show.

Each one comes nestled in a tissue-lined colour coordinated box with illustrated lid, accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity.

This weekend I'll be deciding on the next 4 for this month, so watch this space! 

L'atelier de la Poupée Home Workshop Pack...

UPDATE.... all packs are now reserved! 

*** To pre-order your pack, please order and pay your deposit on the website HERE!***

As retirement gradually hoves into view on the horizon, finding the right time for my final 'set-piece' home workshop pack has been, as our little granddaughter is fond of saying, "a bit tricky.  

After all I still have a few years left before I hang up my dollmaking apron for good, and I'm still firmly entrenched in the process of downsizing my workroom and restructuring Tower House Dolls to accommodate my changing goals. However, if I leave it too long, I suspect I'll run out of steam, and possibly, many of the wonderful kits which I wish to include.

So over the past few weeks, I revisited my working sample, and all the boxes of things which I'd already made, and I've been gradually putting it all together.

As this is my last ever complete home workshop pack and a celebration of my 30 years as a miniature dollmaker, I really want it to be extra special, and I hope I've succeeded.

Tah dah......

Workshop pack will contain kits to make everything shown here... plus more!

The MDF laser cut display vignette is easily assembled and comes with illustrated step-by-step instructions.  It was designed specially for me and is not available anywhere else!  
There are a lot of special little details...stonework arched alcove with feature glazed window, 5 display shelves and etched floorboards

For the interior, there is a choice of two different Small Interiors wallpapers, which are pretty and delicate, so as not to overpower the minis on display within the vignette.

Choose either pink and blue.....

....or soft sage green and pink

The vignette... painted and decorated, with skirting boards in place

A large wooden table serves as a spacious workspace...

The table fits neatly into the alcove, under the window

An essential item for any dollmaker is good light, so I've included a battery operated desk light to illuminate the work surface.

Throughout the display is a variety of dollmaking themed minis... from a wonderful vintage sewing machine....

Vintage sewing machine kit

.... to boxes of doll's heads and bodies!

As well as all the paraphernalia a dollmaker might need.

A selection of fabric bolts

Dress form with dress

Wig stand with wig and jewelled tiara, jar of paint brushes.....

Cards of silk ribbons....

Selection of jewellery and accessories... choose between gold and silver

Sewing equipment

Haberdashery... buttons, cards of lace, reels of silk ribbon, skeins of trimmings,
and 12 pretty boxes with lids to store and display

Plus a selection of illustrated doll-related book kits...

I also wanted to include a special new doll, to accompany this kit and here she is......

This kit comes complete with colour coordinated box with vintage illustrated lid

*** A limited number of these doll kits are available to purchase separately - HERE! ***

I designed the pretty flower-sprigged fabric for her jacket and had it professionally printed onto the finest silk twill.

Starting with a jointed porcelain doll just 1  3/4” tall, you will make her silk underwear, lace socks and dainty silk shoes.  She wears a silk and lace dress and a flower-sprigged silk jacket edged with vintage lace trim.

Soft ringlet curls tumble from beneath her sweet boater-style hat, which is decorated with braid and silk trim.

As a final finishing touch, make a matching box with vintage illustrated lid!

The doll kit is available in a choice of colours.

Blue

Green

Peach

Pink

This exclusive new doll kit is included with the  L'atelier de la Poupée workshop pack, but you can also choose to add one or more of the following dolls, as kits, at the discounted price of £21 each.

Choose from....

Shabby chic doll - available in a choice of colours

Shabby chic doll - available in a choice of colours

Shabby chic doll - available in a choice of colours

Shabby chic doll - available in a choice of colours

Jumeau-style doll - available in a choice of colours

Deluxe Toy Doll - available in a choice of colours

This offer represents a saving of 25% on the normal price of these made to order kits.  This is a one time offer and additional kits must be ordered at the same time as the complete workshop pack by adding your request in the comments box during checkout.  Please note that you do not need to order them separately on the website, where you will be charged the full amount. (Although if this happens I will sort it out for you!) 

I only have 10 of the L'atelier de la Poupée home workshop packs, which are now  available to pre-order on the website HERE.

The cost is £125 (plus insured shipping at cost, dependent on destination)
To reserve a pack, I require a deposit of £25, and details of all the options you require (wallpaper colour, doll kit(s) costume and wig colours, accessories kit colour).

When your kit is ready to despatch you can either choose to pay the balance (including shipping) in full, or split it into 3 equal monthly payments.

If you need any further information, please contact me and I'll do my best to help.  😊