Merry Christmas!

This is the close up from the little outfit (sweater and dress) I made for my swap partner on Our Little Darlings.  This little doll sets it off perfectly!

Huggy Bear by Dianna Effner

I think I have blogged about this little guy before but he's so cute he's worth a new post!  I haven't had a lot of photography time lately to take any new photos so here's an older one . He's painted and made up from a blank kit (by me) and is so cute!

Old Chickens...

The chicken ladies are almost six.  I euthanized Rhoda this morning.  She was not well and had a tumor in her abdomen, likely an ovary.  I don't think I mentioned it here, but Matilda died of the same thing on February 26th.  Sometimes it's easier not to mention sad news, but I wanted to share a few photos of them in their prime.  It's sort of silly, but I still cry over every one when they pass away.  They're good girls and have been good pets. It's just hard when our pets get old.  I will someday get some new chickens, but not until the majority of these girls pass away.  I have 8 ladies left, and they still lay pretty well for old ladies!  And they don't need their spectacles any longer (you can see them in some of the lower photos) because they are old enough now that the drive to feather pick each other seems to have greatly reduced.

Rhoda (4/1/09 - 10/12/14):

This is Rhoda, being broody, when she was still a young chicken in September of 2009.

Here is Rhoda two winters ago, hanging out with Rosie, who is preening.

And Matilda (4/1/09 - 2/26/14):

Matilda, resting, in the winter of 2012.

Fall is rolling right along...

Inspired by fall, this dress was made from one of my own patterns.  The yoke has a bit of silk ribbon embroidery on it.

What's been occupying my time lately....

Besides taking care of Olivia, running a veterinary clinic and overseeing an endless veterinary clinic construction project, I have been working on helping Dianna Effner set up a new site for her fans.  I think I'm a little crazy with all these things going on at once!  Anyone who reads this blog and enjoys the Effner dolls I post should join up on the new site and have fun with us!  Here's a screenshot and here's the link to the site:  Our Little Darlings  I'm very proud of the new site and hope lots of people join up to talk about Dianna's dolls because they are so beautiful!

Bathing Beauty

Here is Anne of Green Gables, temporarily rewigged to be a modern girl.  Anne is a Little Darling, painted by Geri Uribe.  She's wearing a green gingham bathing suit that I designed.  I particularly like the ruffles on the behind!

End-of-Summer Picnic Pretty

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Here's the new girl again in a sundress I made from cotton gingham.  I used the technique of chicken scratch embroidery on the hemline and front to dress up the pretty gingham.  I may list this dress on ebay or etsy if I decide I can part with it!

Here's a hemline detail:

New Girl

Isn't she lovely?  She's painted by Nelly Valentino and is so pretty.  Already, she's made a friend, Anne, painted by Geri.  I need a name for the new girl!  Anne's little bathing suit has ruffles on the rear end and I'm quite proud of it!  I drafted the patterns for it myself.  The new girl's outfit is made from a pattern by Nedra (www.sewnedra.com).  More photos are in my Flickr account (click the link over on the right).

Happy Independence Day

Happy Independence Day to everyone in the US!  Our hot spell broke, which was lovely, because we have been undergoing a construction project at the veterinary practice and we've been so hot it's been ridiculous!  Today is delightfully cool and breezy.  I just wish the sun would come out a little, though!

Olivia turned 14 months old yesterday and is a busy bee.  She can say lots of things (mama, dada, baba/baby, love, cat, meow, moo, pop, etc etc) and she loves to use her baby signs, too.  She will sign little sentences, like "Cat eat" and "Help please" and then point at what she wants help with.  She's starting to LOVE my doll collection and wishes she could hug all of them at once!

The photo above shows Littlefee Ante with a little sailor dress that I made from a pattern by MyOwnLittleWorld.  The nice thing about the pattern is that it comes in a LOT of sizes to fit all sorts of BJD!

Peyton by Helen Kish

Peyton arrived a while back but he was still stifling in his winter clothes, so I hadn't photographed him yet.  I asked Texas Carol to make me some clothes for him and she made him this great polo shirt and shorts with grommets in the sides.  She does wonderful work!  Peyton looks much cooler.  Hopefully I can make him some more clothes myself at some point.  Carol was so wonderful to work with and also threw in a free gift!

Hankie Outfit

Willa was my model for the Hankie Challenge on the Our Little Darlings Yahoo Group.  I used a white sheer vintage hankie with pretty white embroidery to pleat for the top and I embellished it with coral embroidery. The skirt is a pleated coral floral hankie which is attached at the waist to a crocheted waistband that closes in back with a button.  It was fun to make.  I used a scrap of the skirt fabric to make a bow for her hair.  Just some basic info about the doll:  Dianna Effner's Little Darling Sculpt #1 with a hand-painted face by Lana Dobbs (she was a custom order).

Emma's Rose Trellis Dress

Finally, I've had a little sewing time occasionally!  I have a full view of this dress on Flickr, so feel free to check it out there.

Cute!

Olivia is almost a year old now and is walking well! She's a joy!  And she keeps me very busy.  We think she's pretty cute.



Anza says, "HEY!  I'm cute, too!!"



Anza is very gentle with Olivia, who is learning how to be gentle to the goats, too.  She thinks they're just HILARIOUS!  Especially when they caper around and butt heads!  It makes her laugh out loud!

The spring is warming up, my kitchen is almost done and I'm hoping to have some sewing time this weekend!

Endless Winter and Spring Changes

I've been a busy bee lately, chasing around 10 1/2 month old Olivia who thinks she can walk better than she can!  I also have a major construction project going on at work (the vet clinic) where we are expanding to 5 exam rooms from 2.  And my kitchen at home is also under construction.  No rest for the weary lately, but the kitchen is coming along nicely.  The old kitchen was very 1980s with floral wallpaper and blue-grey carpet on the floor.  We managed for 8 1/2 years with the carpeted kitchen but carpet simply does not work with a food-throwing soon-to-be-toddler in the house!  So the carpet is gone and a new vinyl plank flooring is down.  The new cabinets are in at the store and will be installed next week.  Here's the floor so far, and I'll post before-and-after photos once the whole kitchen is done.  I'm very excited to have a better kitchen.

In other news, the winter just will NOT quit around here.  There is still snow on the ground and it's cold and windy and today we're supposed to get more snow.  Spring cleanup is still impossible!  The squirrels are enjoying my feeders because there is very little else to eat yet.  I saw a robin today, though, so hopefully spring will come someday!

Janie in sundress

Janie in sundress, a photo by elizabeth's*whimsies on Flickr.

Someday spring will come!

I made this dress for an embroidery challenge on the Our Little Darlings Yahoo Group. It doesn't have much embroidery on it, but time is limited these days!

Matilda

Matilda the Chicken, a photo by elizabeth's*whimsies on Flickr.

Matilda passed away on 2/26/14. She was nearly five. She died of ovarian cancer, something that is common in old chickens. She will be missed. Here she is below as a day-old chick. I got her on April 2, 2009. Hard to believe that five years has gone by! Matilda was the head hen in our coop and the rest of the girls are a bit lost without her.

 

Bitty Belle in Pink Petticoat

Bitty Belle in Pink Petticoat, a photo by elizabeth's*whimsies on Flickr.

I made this as a custom order for someone on Etsy. I just love Bitty Belle. She reminds me why Helen Kish is one of my two favorite doll artists!

I did finally update my etsy shop, too (link over to the right).  There are a few dresses in there and some underthings for various sized dolls.

Just because...

Janie's Face, a photo by elizabeth's*whimsies on Flickr.

Janie was modeling for the etsy shop update, but her face was so pretty that I had to photograph it close up!

Another dress on three dolls

Bitty Belle, a photo by elizabeth's*whimsies on Flickr.

Here's another dress I made, soon to be on etsy, shown on three different dolls that it fits! (Bitty Belle by Helen Kish, 10.5 inch doll by Heidi Plusczok, and Byuri by Iplehouse.)