Wednesday 30 November 2016

Holiday in the Highlands! Part 1 - Glen Coe

This is going to be a pretty massive story so I'll probably split it into a couple of posts so I don't overdo it on the photo front! I've been meaning to post this for months but it took forever to sort out the photos and then I went on another holiday and took even more, so it wasn't exactly a priority, lol.

Despite having been born and bred in Scotland, I'd never managed to make it over to the picturesque west coast of the Highlands, though it had always been one of my most coveted holiday destinations. This year we decided that our September week's holiday should be spent up north rather than our usual jaunt in Dumfries and Galloway and wow, was it worth it!

(Apologies in advance for all the instagram spam - I took a LOT of pics this time round and most via that, haha! If you'd like to look at the photos without my commentary, they can all be found here!)

Tuesday 29 November 2016

Ugly Christmas Jumpers and some much needed furniture...

Long time no blog yet again! I've got the computer mostly sorted now but I've been in a making things mood recently rather than a computery one so I've hardly been on the PC since we got it back!
I've been sorting out all my photos from my holiday to the Highlands a few months ago so I'll be doing a couple of posts on that soon as there's a lot to show you all!

I have been busy though, and surprisingly for me, looking forward to Christmas.
Most years I'm a bit ambivalent about the whole thing as it always reminds me of the year I was really depressed and spent most of the festive season in tears, but this year I'm really looking forward to it. A lot of that is due to Max and Juno - I really want to set up some festive scenes with them so I've been busy hoarding all manner of accessories and bits and pieces in advance, not least their clothing!

I've made a few jumpers over the years but always found doing the sleeves really awkward...right up until I realised I was sewing them in a needlessly complicated way and since learning the right way it's changed my life!

I'd seen plenty of doll jumpers made from socks before and even made a couple, but it wasn't until I watched one of MyFroggyStuff's brilliant tutorials on Youtube that I thought about really Christmassy jumpers. I saw a really cheesy pair at the local charity shop, so I grabbed them to go along with a couple of other things I already had that I thought might come in handy. The red thing at the top is the knitted cover for one of those reusable handwarmers which I haven't used yet, and the red jumper below it was a tree decoration from Poundland last year which needed just a little work to fit properly. The blue patterned socks are printed ones from the £1 shop, and as they are very stretchy I thought they'd be better for something else entirely...



 The rough pattern was cut out and sewn up...

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...arms added...

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...until finally...

Juno's winter attire! Made from novelty socks! . . . #dollclothes #dollcrafts #dollstagram #instadoll #barbieclothes #barbie #maxandjuno #custombarbie

I used some super slim velcro for the back which is thankfully almost unnoticeable.

As you can see, the blue socks made some excellent leggings!

Juno's winter attire! Made from a Christmas ornament and novelty socks! . . . #dollclothes #dollcrafts #dollstagram #instadoll #barbieclothes #barbie #maxandjuno #custombarbie

The jumper decoration's sleeves were sewn shut at the ends and were a little short for the doll so I made some cuffs from another sock and closed up the back with poppers. I used some black fleece to make fingerless mittens but I'm going to have to get rid as they've started to stain her hands! D:

Juno's winter attire! Made from a Christmas ornament and novelty socks! . . . #dollclothes #dollcrafts #dollstagram #instadoll #barbieclothes #barbie #maxandjuno #custombarbie

The hat is made from yet another sock and the scarf is just a long rectangle of very thick knitted fabric sewn together.

Juno's winter attire! Made from a Christmas ornament and novelty socks! . . . #dollclothes #dollcrafts #dollstagram #instadoll #barbieclothes #barbie #maxandjuno #custombarbie

Max's white hat was falling apart at the seams so she got a new one too which suits her a lot more I think. (also socks. XD) She's not really the novelty Christmas jumper kind but I think Juno will bring her round/bribe her into it eventually.

Max has a new hat. 😁. . #dollclothes #dollcrafts #dollstagram #instadoll #barbieclothes #barbie


As you may have noticed in some of the pictures, I also made some cushions! I bought a fat quarter on holiday with lots of brightly patterned deer with the intention of making one of the girls a set of pajamas but they're too close together in the pattern for me to isolate one for the front of a top so I've had to improvise.

...and a novelty Christmas cushion because, why not? πŸ˜‚ . . . #dollclothes #dollcrafts #dollstagram #instadoll #barbieclothes #barbie #maxandjuno #custombarbie

I really wanted a sofa for them though as so far I only have one chair and I'd like to do some proper christmas scenes with them later on. Sooo, I dug out some cardboard boxes and started experimenting...

Custom sofa

Custom sofa

Custom sofa

I'm not happy with it really as it's too shallow for them once the cushions are on and the armrests and back are too low but never mind, it'll do for now I suppose.
 It's more of a loveseat than a sofa but meh.

I made the girls a sofa the other day. It's mostly cardboard with some nice foam-filled panels and seriously squishy cushions. It's not as good as I'd have liked and in hindsight I wish I'd made it in a more neutral colour but never mind. . .  #dollcrafts

I made the table too - balsa wood and cork for the top, and sturdy paper straws for the legs. . .  #dollcrafts #dollstagram #instadoll #dollfurniture #barbie #maxandjuno #dolldiorama #dollprops

The table was a quick make using a rectangle of balsa wood, some cork sheeting, paper straws and some plastic gems painted silver for rivets to give it a kind of industrial feel. The background and flooring is all scrapbook paper and I really want some more as it's really effective!

Relaxation. .  #dollcrafts #dollstagram #instadoll #dollfurniture #barbie #maxandjuno #dolldiorama #dollprops #6thscale #playscale

Personal Space. . .  #dollcrafts #dollstagram #instadoll #dollfurniture #barbie #maxandjuno #dolldiorama #dollprops #6thscale #playscale

I also made a quick cushion from some scrap fur fabric I had knocking around.

Amita. . .  #dollcrafts #dollstagram #instadoll #dollfurniture #barbie #maxandjuno #dolldiorama #dollprops #6thscale #playscale #custombarbie #barbiecustom
You'll get to meet this newbie in a future post!


That's it for now, though Juno is a total enabler and when I saw these socks in Poundland the other day I knew they only had one possible future!

'You can never have too many jumpers apparently...' . . . #dollstagram #dollclothes #dollcrafts #dollsewing #barbie #barbieclothes #maxandjuno

Yes, Max, you will be made to wear at least one of them, sorry!