Belinda, the kitten cat, ate-up each and every rat! |
Belinda by Eric Parker
That ever you did see.
Belinda, the kitten cat, ate-up each and every rat! |
Belinda by Eric Parker
The following doll clothes are for Spring or Summer weather. Most of what our dolls are modeling this Summer is made from altered children's clothing. Sizing unwanted items down, is in my opinion, the most economical way to dress dolls. It eliminates the need for purchasing extra trims; recycling zippers, buttons, embroidery and elastic can save quite a bit of cash! Of course, there is also the added bonus of outfitting your dolls in some very professional looking pieces.
Butterflies, polka-dots and stripes are all in fashion this year; you may see these woven, printed and embroidered into all kinds of juvenile garments! Classic sneakers, sandals and flip-flops are made to coordinate with every look as well.
On the left, stands our doll Christine dressed for a visit to a summer theater performance. Standing on the right, is her friend, Candace; She is dressed in her favorite overalls and stripped long sleeves. She is on her way to watch fireworks in the park. Candace is also wearing hand-painted sneakers made to look like the night sky. |
Dolls have all kinds of event to attend and participate in during warmer months, so they need flexibility in their wardrobe: skirts, shorts, dresses and overalls. Even a pair of colorful cut-offs may be included in our doll's summer mix.
Christine and Kit both wear summer time knits with embroidered features. Christine is in a floral print skirt and Kit in the latest blue, stretch jeans. |
Christine is wearing metallic strappy sandles and Kit is in neon orange sneakers. Fun footwear is always an added bonus to dolly coordinates. No outfit is complete without just the right shoes!
Left, Christine wears a simple Searsucker striped dress is just the right choice to wear to church on a warm summer evening. Right, Kit wears a bold floral knit print along with her bunny ear tee-shirt when playing in the park or watching a movie at home with her parents. |
Mesha's peplun top is decorated with 3D silk flowers and Candace wears a cheerful green polka-dot dress. The tiny embroidered lady bug on her bodice is pink, just like her flip-flops below. |
Mesha and Candace are ready to visit the market in town. They have so much to do to plan their family picnic but perhaps they will also have time to eat at the local pizza parlor and admire the flowers in the park. There is a free art show going on in the park too. Their fashions are perfect for all of their plans.
Kit's top has a splash of yellow at the shoulder to make it look unique. Mesha pairs classic overalls with trendy polka-dots. |
Summer fashions don't need to be fussy. Keep them on the light side, make them playful and charming. Above you can see Kit wears blue stretch shorts and a white and blue printed floral top. Mesha wears a polka-dot top with her buff pink overall shorts. These dolls are ready for fun and play but may still be dressed just right for a day at the zoo, shopping in a mall, attending a ballgame or visiting with girl friends at home.
Our doll, Christine with her boogie board (12'' x 6'') |
Step-by-Step Instructions:
Prevent Shark Attack at Sea:
Our Mesha doll waiting to swim. |
A child's bank operates like a crane toy arcade when collecting coins for safe keeping. |
As we recreate our own version of a Hawaiian family market, we will post pictures, instructions and links to product crafts and furnishings included in our Maui Souvenirs and Snacks Shack here.
Hawaii General Store and Souvenirs:
This grocery counter is made from a recycled desk supply catty and box ''stand'' beneath. |
Above and below are detailed photos of another display counter included in this doll shop playset. I decoupaged the large front shelf using a cheerful printed lemon paper, the exterior sides of the box stand using a textured woven canvas and finally the interior of the stand using a Shabby Chic wooden paper print. This is where our dolls display tropical fruits to sale inside the snack shack.
The top opens up for more storage and the bottom box ''stand'' can be easily removed. |
The spinning eyeglass display case on and off stand. |
Bolts of Hawaiian print fabrics wrapped around cardboard cut-outs, 6 1/2'' x2 1/2 inches. These were made to fit into a merchandise cabinet display. |
Hostess Stand made from a box. |
The grill shown open, lid up and the grill shown with the extra drawer for assembling the hot dogs and burgers with toppings is seen open and empty. |
Above are three signs, print and choose one to decoupage to the front of your grill. |
Lounge seating for our doll's bowling alley is made with cardboard boxes and wooden blocks. |
Box seating for dolls can be made with just a bit of imagination and a few supplies. The seating here was made with cardboard, decorative paper, wooden blocks, white school glue, masking tape and Mod Podge. This set may also be used as additional seating for our Sock-Hop Diner. I covered the lounge chairs with a paper that would look attractive across the room from the My Generation Diner playset. (I have restored this piece for our Sock-Hop Diner that I will link to from here in a future post.)
The table was purchased from resale. It was once a votive candle stand. I painted and decoupaged it with faux wooden paper to compliment the seating in our doll's bowling alley. The dolls can set their scorecards and drinks on the table as they compete with their friends.
To make seating like mine you will need to cut cardboard in one long length measuring approximately 18''x 8 1/2''. I bent one long piece of cardboard into sections approximately measuring 4 1/4'' x 5 1/2'' x 5 1/2'' x 2 1/2 inches. (see photo, above left) Use masking tape to hold this shape for one of two identical seats. Then glue wooden blocks for tall, heavy legs. These blocks for my set are 5 12'' x2 3/4''x 1 1/4''. I also used small triangular blocks glued to the upper corners of the seat backing and the wooden legs to give the lounge even more strength. This is not really a necessity but an option. You can see the small triangular block in the photos. The last two steps were Mod Podging the paper surfaces and painting the wooden blocks a brown color to go with my bowling alley color scheme.
What the lounge seating looks like from three different angles. |
Colorful doll sized bowling balls, pins and a cart are needed for the doll's bowling games. I used a box measuring 9''x 2'' x5'' to make the cart. 1 1/2 inch wooden blocks were glued to the bottom of the cart for legs. Glue inside just one shelf of equal size to divide the box into a cart big enough to store bowling balls.
What the cart looked like before I papered it. See it has wooden blocks for feet. |
The bowling ball cart from three angles, finished with pastel color in the interior shelves and a hand drawn, wooden exterior. |
My basic, long narrow bookcase for our doll playsets. It is used to define parameters of a doll room during play. |
''Wherever the art of medicine is loved, there is also a love of humanity.'' Hippocrates |
Below I will keep a current listing of those crafts, articles, fashions and other artifacts about hospitals and doctor's offices for pretend play.
These hand-crafted, rustic signs help our dolls find their way around camp.
Every doll camp needs to be somewhat organized. So, we made signs to help dolls find their way around the camp. The design is typical of those found in real summer camps. Each drift wood sign is mounted to a 'pole' or 'tree stump' and text is written in our case but at a real camp it would be carved into the sign and outlined with paint.
Supply List:Left signs read, Bathhouse and Lake
Center signs read, Camp Office, Lodge, Cabins
Right signs read, Mess Hall, First Aid and Chape
I have found these clever little toys in dollar bins or less than five dollar bins of stores like Target, Michaels, Hobby Lobby and Walmart. They are perfect for dressing up a dolly daycare center.
Toy ark includes: lion, elephant, hippo, giraffe, penguin and a crocodile. There should be two of every animal but there isn't in this set. Penny shows the size comparisons. |
The toy above is a Noah's Ark, painted wood with cheerful animal characters. The is a long tradition of toys made in this country based upon this Biblical theme. Long ago, people referred to them as ''Sunday Toys.'' These toys were only played with quietly on Sunday and were somehow related to Bible stories for children to be taught and remembered.
Miniature building blocks com in red, green, blue, yellow and purple colors. Penny for size comparison. |
This is a teething toy for a real-life baby. |