Monday, January 6, 2014

Isabelle's New Clothes

I took a little break from the store preparations yesterday to make a few things for Isabelle. (She used to be Isabella, after Isabella d'Este, but the name Isabelle grew on me and we're sticking with that for now.)


I know the title says "clothes" but I want to start with my favorite new item, her sewing studio. Even with all the pinkness, I think it looks pretty cool, and the Melody Valerie dress looks great hanging in the armoire. The dress form is actually sized to fit my dolls, so it can be used to model their clothes, and the pockets really work. (Those were a pain because I cut them and then glued paper to the back to cover the cuts, so I had to re-cut through the glue. But the fabric and dance program look nice, so it was worth it.)


I set Alia up with the painting set from Saige's collection to create an art studio, and had way too much fun photographing it. 


All that the studio needs is some artwork for the walls.


My favorite detail in this picture is the tape measure on the dress form, but the pincushion and scissors are a close second. The sewing machine goes on the empty shelf (the supplies are stored in the box on the top shelf), but when the machine is out the shelf looks so bare. Any ideas for things to store there?


The sewing studio all packed up. You can just make out the machine behind the folded table.


Just like in American Girl's version, the armoire has mirrored doors and a dance barre, though I liked the mirrors better without the curved tops so I left them rectangular. Isabelle is modeling the next new item, her performance outfit. It too has some changes from American Girl's design, because I love having the freedom to adapt American Girl's items to suit me. Maybe someday I'll make the crown, but I think Isabelle looks nice without it.


Corazòn is modeling the rest of Isabelle's new clothes, minus the leg warmers because that's just too much pink. It was a pain to fit the thumbs through the holes in the sweater, which makes me glad that the hands are glued on because I don't want to have to go through that again. Do real dancers have this much pink in their wardrobe? Individually I like all these pieces, but together that's a bit overwhelming.


Here's Corazòn's previous outfit broken up among the trio. As you can see, the pieces can work as casual clothing as well as dance wear, so virtual cookie to American Girl for clothing versatility. Who do you think looks the best?

I hope you enjoyed these pictures. What have you made from Isabelle's collection?

14 comments:

  1. Awesome! I like Corazon's outfit in the last picture!

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  2. Wow, I'm super impressed with the studio set! What did you use to make the mirrors on the front? It looks more reflective than foil. And Alia's outfit is my favorite. I love that shirt she's wearing. :)

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    1. Thanks! Believe it or not, the mirror is made from a sample light filter that light technicians use in theater productions to get various lighting effects. I used to work as a technician in theater performances, so I was able to get some of the sample packs of filters. I cut one up and used that as the mirror, and it does work better than foil. I'm glad you like the bunny shirt - it's one of my favorites.

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  3. I can't wait to see Clementine!

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  4. Replies
    1. Rani's neck was getting too fragile and I didn't want to risk any damage to her, so now she's more of a display than play doll. Corazòn is, broadly speaking, her replacement, but since I wanted Rani to be unique, they have some key differences appearance-wise.

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  5. I have a question... Where do you store everything? I am Looking into doing paper dolls as AG dolls are so expensive. I just dont know If I have room for everything... Plese get back to me soon! thanks!

    Miranda

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    1. I keep everything in an index card box, which you can read more about here: http://paper-doll-world.blogspot.com/2013/09/favorite-tutorial-ever.html. It's portable, small, and works great for storage. Let me know how it goes!

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  6. Wish I had a blog. I've gotten into making paper dolls lately and it would be so fun to share them. You're good, N! :-)

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    1. You can always send me some pictures of your dolls - I'm always excited to share other people's work here.

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  7. I love the way this turned out! You have such a great eye for detail! Love, love, love it !

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    1. Thanks so much! That means a lot coming from you - I love reading your craft posts and thinking about how to replicate them in paper.

      If you want to see the updated (and in my opinion, better) version of the studio, there's a photo in my post "Adventures with Sally."

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  8. I'm so impressed! I love it! I wish I had half your artist skill. I would have even bought the paper studio if you had i for sale because it is so unique!

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    1. Thanks so much! I'm so grateful for your support, and will be sure to update you when the Paper Doll World store is up and running!

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