Latest Kidz n Cats customisation....

I thought I'd share some photos of my latest custom work on a 2016 Kidz n Cats Lena.  I will probably be putting this girl up for adoption very soon.  Lena is brand new, I bought her just to customise, so she's never been played with. She's had the 'full works' including new glass eyes, full makeup, new eyelashes and I've also hot glue sueded her legs and neck to make her hold poses better.  She is from 2016 and her body is nice, her legs do not snap back straight like some of the earlier bodies did.  Her wig is her original as I thought it suited her well, it's not glued down and she still has the ribbons that she came with, I just forgot to put them back in her hair!.  She is wearing her default outfit:

Thank you for visiting, I hope you all have a lovely weekend.  My son Brendan is arriving tomorrow night from the UK, to visit with us for a week!!!  I'm very excited!!!

Big hugs, Sharon xx

A new outfit for Alice...

Alice is my little Kidz n Cats girl who arrived, and I customised, just before Christmas.  I really don't see her as 'Alice' so I'm currently trying to think of a new name for her. 

In the meantime, she got a nice new outfit a couple of days ago and so insisted that she wanted to have her photos taken and show it off on my blog! 

So here she is, my sweet little girl with her big brown eyes, sharing an outfit that I bought from a seamstress in the UK:

Sorry there are so many photos of her, I just like her sweet face so much that I couldn't choose which photos to use!!!

Thank you for visiting, I hope you're all having a great weekend :)

Hugs Sharon xx

A 'crafty' weekend!

Last weekend I did a bit more sewing, this time making a dress for my Robert Tonner My Imagination doll who I'd read was a good fit for American Girl sewing patterns.  Well I have a ton of those so decided to make her a dress and I read correctly because the dress is a perfect fit on her. 

The pattern has short or long sleeves and a curved yoke at the front.  I guess I should have taken a photo without her jacket but it was a bit chilly ;)  The leggings are made from stretch fine corduroy and are my own pattern.  The jacket is a very cheap 'made in China' jacket that I've had for years, but I soaked it in diluted bleach and it looks much nicer now!

I do like this doll, she's lovely quality and it's great that she can wear so many of the patterns that I have but her eyes are a bit staring, so I might change them at some point.

I also made a wig for my Fairyland Minifee tanned Chloe.  I had ordered some alpaca from a seller on Etsy and had to wait for it to arrive from Estonia.  I made a hard wig cap and then I made the hair into wefts which I then attached to the head cap using PVA glue because it dries flexible and clear.  Using alpaca is a nightmare and it got everywhere!!!!  It's beautifully fine and soft but it got up my nose, in my eyelashes and all over my clothes and the floor!!! 

Anyway, the wig came out quite well for a first attempt until I decided she needed a fringe!  Oooops epic fail!  But I'm still happy with it and if I keep it 'messed up' like this, I think it suits her.  I love the colour and think the colour is really nice for her.  Would I make another?  I don't think I would in a hurry, no.  Apart from the alpaca being expensive, it's a very time consuming job and I realise now why sellers charge anything from £50 upwards for a custom made wig!

Tee shirt and jeans by me, canvas shoes by Dale Ray. 

Finally, although I didn't make this hat and coat set, I thought I'd share some photos of my little Gotz Happy Kid Emily (2016) wearing it.  I think it's made from real wool and has a faux fur collar and hat and is from the doll company Bonnie & Pearl.  It's great quality and the perfect fit on Emily.  (Leggings and boots made by me)

Thanks for visiting, I hope you all have a lovely week ahead and that you stay safe and warm.  It's been a bit nippy here in southern Spain recently but hopefully the temperature will be on the turn soon :)

Big hugs Sharon xx

Happy New Year!

I just wanted to stop by and wish all of my readers and blog followers a very Happy and Healthy New Year.  I've been a bit lax with my blogging recently but plan to try harder in 2017.

The last year has been a really mixed bag for me.  At first I thought to myself "WOW, 2016 has been a really sh*tty year!"  But then I had to slap myself around the head a bit to remind me what great times I've also experienced this past year!

The biggest being my son's wedding of course, gaining a gorgeous new daughter in law in Virginia, and really the wedding itself was just amazing.  I cannot count the number of people who've told us how wonderful it was, in fact everyone who spoke about it, actually said that it was the most beautiful and romantic wedding they'd ever been to, so that can't be bad. 

Also I had a great trip to the UK in November with my friend Magdalena, her first trip outside of Spain and of course first time flying.  We went to visit my mum to celebrate her 80th birthday with her and we had a very good trip.

And of course after my health scare back in September, it was excellent news in October to hear that I was in the clear.....I cannot tell you how difficult the seven weeks 'without knowing' were!! 

There are lots of other things that I could put on here but I wanted to keep this short and don't want to bore anyone!

On the dolly front, there were some comings and goings.....probably more comings than goings to be fair, but I'm happy.   I know that I've not been sewing my commissions but I'm slowly getting back to sewing, so who knows what the future may bring.

I will leave you with a few photos of my newest addition, the last doll to arrive here this year.  She is a tanned Mini Fee Chloe by the BJD company Fairyland of South Korea, and she is MSD sized, approx 40cm tall.  She has a custom faceup by Caroline of Viridian House in the UK.  I have been hankering after another MSD for a while now, so when this lovely girl was pointed out to be as being for sale here in the EU, I decided to go for her.  I plan on making her some clothes in the New Year but for now she is borrowing from other dolls! :)

Thank you all for visiting and commenting on my blog in 2016, I hope you will continue to come here in 2017.  I wish you all a very Happy and Healthy New Year, may it bring you all that you would want for yourself...and then some! 

With love and big hugs
Sharon xxxx

Gotz me some new girls!

I was recently offered the opportunity to buy a couple of Gotz Happy Kidz by a lady in the UK who's doll collection is going in a different direction.  The price for the dolls was just too good to pass up, firstly because one of the dolls is from 2012 and therefore no longer available and the second one has only recently been released in the shops so is brand new.  I can resist anything but temptation!!

The first girl is Sophie, she is a redhead with brown eyes, released in 2012.  She is in excellent displayed condition and her hair is in it's original style.  She came in her full outfit with tags and certificate.  This face mould is my favourite of the Happy/Classic Kidz face sculpts and I now have three with this face, except all are different hair/eye combinations.  I didn't take any full length photos of Sophie, but here are a couple of closeups.  She is wearing her original outfit which is in perfect condition.

I will take some full length photos of her soon.

The second girl was such a surprise to me.  I had seen photos of her from the Nuremburg Toy Fair back in January and then as she started to arrive with collectors, so I saw some 'in real life' photos.  I thought she was nice enough but she didn't 'grab' me.  Then last week I saw some photos of her and thought "she has potential" but is she for me?  But because of the excellent price (who doesn't love a bargain!) I decided to buy the two girls and have them shipped together. 

Well what a surprise!  The second girl is beautiful!  Her default outfit and hairstyle don't do a thing for her in my humble opinion.  The outfit is very well made but the fabrics are too 'grown up' for a child doll.   This is NOT my photo, I have borrowed it from My Doll Best Friend's blog and was taken by Maxine when she visited the Nuremburg Toy Fair.  These dolls are available to purchase from her website:  Happy Kidz Charlotte

So after removing her outfit,  I immediately washed and restyled her hair to remove the styling products that Gotz put in and changed her outfit for something more childlike.  Below she is wearing a baseball style tee shirt that I made this afternoon, having already embroidered the Monster High skull on a piece of fabric in anticipation.  The skirt is a BJD denim skirt from Iplehouse.  I've had the shoes for ages and have no idea where they're from and the hairband was lurking about in my dolls clothes box.  I think she looks so much younger and cuter dressed like this, don't you agree? 

Thank you for visiting, I hope you've enjoyed seeing the new girls that have come to live here in Spain with me.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Violet takes a bow.....

A new girl came to live here yesterday, arriving safely from her 'birthplace' in Germany....she is Violet, a new Zwergnase Junior from the 2016 collection.  I have loved the Zwergnase dolls for a while now but I was unhappy with how sparsely rooted their hair is at the front.  It's a shame because the rest of their hair is so thick and full, but the front does let it down, and it has put me off buying another Junior from them.

So imagine my delight when I heard that their 2016 collection included some girls who were now wigged instead of rooted!  Zwergnase Juniors used to be wigged before 2008, when they were discontinued and they first released rooted girls.  But finally the company seems to have listened to their customers and have brought back wigs......I hope this continues.

I was atracted to Violet straight away, but hesitated too long when she arrived at a doll shop in France that I sometimes buy from.   But in the end I decided to order directly from Zwergnase in Germany and I must say, if my experience was anything to go by, I would highly recommend them.  All of my emails and questions were answered quickly and my order was processed with speed.  About two hours after I paid my invoice so I received my shipping notification and my doll and two pairs of extra boots that I purchased, arrived within 5 days, which is really good!

So here she is, my sweet little Violet who is now known as Léonie, because of her 'mane' of lovely hair!  She is handpainted and her wig is full, soft and curly.  Her outfit which consists of lightweight cotton trousers with elasticated waist, sleeveless grey cotton smock top, striped socks and a fully lined vinyl hooded raincoat with patch pockets, is bright and colourful and well made.  Her big boots are real suede. And she has an attractive wooden necklace.   I think I'm going to have fun with this pretty and quirky girl!

Now for photo overload!!!!! ;)

I hope you've enjoyed meeting Léonie.  

Thanks for visiting, enjoy the rest of your week!!