Making a felt dress and a lace "shirt vest"

I recently went to Hancocks, a fabric store which will soon be going out of business. Here's what I bought:
YouTube video

and here's what I've made.

"Lace Cardigan" 

This is the first time I have actually made something for myself, and I love it! I found a tutorial for this piece here:here

"Lace Cardigan" 2

I've made these things for dolls before. They're cute, but they always feel so disposable, like all you did was cut a piece of fabric... because that's literally all you do. Still, it looks great with thin tank tops among other items

Lace inset shorts

I've seen these in different variations all over YouTube and the internet. I did have one difficulty however, and the was that most people used lace trim instead of lace fabric, so I had to use the selvage as the hem. They turned out fine!

"Lace inset tank top"

After looking on the internet I saw all different types of lace inset tops. I decided this one was the best because I wanted to keep the sequins in the front and I didn't have a lot of room in the back. This turned out ok, I just wish the lace were straighter

Felt dress one on custom Haunt the Casbah Draculara.

Felt dress 2 on Dead Tired Abbey

These dresses are based on a tutorial from long,long ago by myfroggystuff but unlike the no-sew shirt vest, these don't feel disposable at all. My favorite dress of these two... I can't decide. I love them both.

Sorry she has no clothes on, i just don't have a good outfit for her yet.

To match my shirt vest, I made one for my dolls! I kind of guessed on this so that to me makes it feel extremely disposable. (plus I have like zero orange doll clothing) But for now I will keep it around and see what I can do with it.

How exactly do I "bond" with a doll?

Allot of people sell one or all of their american girl dolls for one reason or another. But one of the less common reasons for selling the dolls is that "I just can't bond with them". I've experienced this feeling as well, especially with Emily,Marie-Grace even Kaya and Anna Clare. Here's how I overcame that feeling of "not bonding" with my dolls.

1. Remember the reason you wanted and bought the doll

It may seem simple, but sometimes you need to remember how you came to owning the doll in the first place. You can then remember the reason that doll may be special to you. For example, my third doll was Lindsey, and I asked for her as a birthday gift because she was GOTY the same year I was born. In addition to this, also remember how excited you felt when opening them. 

    2. Try a new style

Sometimes all you need to do is put some new clothing on a doll. You could have her wear an outfit from her collection that doesn't get worn often, or even put her in something completely wild and crazy. A new style isn't limited to clothing, you could also try out different hairstyles.

   3. Look at how that doll fits in your collection

Which doll is it that your're not bonding over. Is it your first doll you've had for years or your eighth doll you purchased last week? In doing this, try to find something for the doll that makes her strengthen the family. For example, if you have a YouTube channel, you could give this doll a staring roll in a series. Even if you don't have a YouTube channel, have this doll be the main character in any stories you may be playing.

I hope these tips helped you bond with your doll. If you're still not bonding, it's now your choice on whether or not to keep or sell a doll.

Monster High enters the 17" doll market

With the introduction of Monster high's first 17" doll, Gooliope Jellington, MH has decided to expand on the idea with new 17" original dolls. These dolls are the original dolls, just in 17" form. I personally think they will be great so Gooliope will have extra clothing options. Here are some pictures from Monster High Checklist .

 


So, what do you think about Monster High making a new size of doll and what other dolls do you want in 17" form?

Who is Monster High's Newest Ghoul?

A few weeks ago, Monster High revealed a new doll at the Time To Play Mag toy showcase, Gooliope Jellilngton. This doll is very unique, and I thought I'd share my thoughts about her.

The new Gooliope Jellington doll
Image Credit: notimemommy.com

The doll first off is very unique. I think she has either the large body mold or a completely new body mold, which is so cool! She's also got some new hair colors and what looks to be detailed molding on her arms and legs. Gooliope is apparently a "blob creature from someplace" and "Daughter of the blob" according to the Monster High wiki. I also love the fact that we don't know exactly who she is. I mean, that leaves a lot of opportunity  for fan fiction writers. Gooliope is also "a tealanted basket ball player" (no surprise there, with those legs) and is part of the Freak Du Chic line (Monster high wiki).

Here's some more interesting facts & trivia about Gooliope from the Monster High wiki:

"Her first name is a reference to the name Calliope, the muse of epic poetry in Ancient Greek mythology. A calliope can also be a musical instrument, based on compressed air (in her first release she wears a calliope on her head).

In her doll box, in the Monster Parent section of her bio, it said she is the daughter of the ..., revealing that either it is a secret until further information is revealed by the franchise, or it is simply unknown what her monster type is.

The radiation symbol in her eyes might imply that she might have been exposed to some kind of radiation at some point in her life."

So what do you think about this new Ghoul? She hits stores soon!

Taking down Monster High Dance class Rochelle's hair

Have you ever wondered what's under that beautiful bun? Well no more, I've done this myself and taken photos.

After taking the hair down and brushing it

After from the back

Before

During- from the front

During, from the back

Hope this helps!

Finding Twyla clothes

So I recently watched Mommy&Gracie show's review of the Scaremester dolls. BTW you guys AWESOME review. But in that review Mommy claimed that she didn't like how all the clothes twyla wears make her look like she doesn't have a neck. I thought this was an interesting claim, as I had never really noticed it. But today as I was thinking about what Mommy said, I got an idea. So Mommy, here is 13 wishes Twyla (sorry, she's the only twyla I have) dressed in 13 wishes Howleen's outfit...

Now the reason for doing this was that all the other MH clothes either looked ugly on Twyla or just didn't fit her really well, since she has that smaller body mold. I also liked the dress because it shows the neck very well. Then I explored my options a little bit more...

Creepateria Howleen In Briar's EAH basic outfit.
(sorry for the nude Cerise in the background)

C.A. Cupid in AG Mini Marie Grace's dress.
This dress fits almost perfectly with the EAH dolls.

Picture day Frankie in Cerise's basic outfit.

Dead tired Abbey in 13 wishes Lagoona's outfit.
I was trying to go for an Elsa theme here...

And Finally, Creepateria Howleen in C.A. Cupid's basic outfit.
I think this looks SUPER CUTE on Howleen.

So there you go, Twyla would certainly look better with more neck.

Funny MH captions

Because I'm always moving the MH dolls, they can get into some pretty weird poses...

Abracadabra!!!

Um, Twyla? Look at the camera, not the bird.

Apple: Ugh! Hunter you are so lame! (jk, I came up w/this one last minute)

We all need somebody to lean on....

MH makeovers and good lighting

So today I was a bit bored and decided to FINALLY do something about Twyla's bangs. If you're an avid MH collector you might know that twyla's bangs are rooted weirdly, causeing them to part in the center to where they almost aren't bangs. This was the first problem I tackled.

Before:

This is before. I'm using a rainbow loom band to smooth down the bangs. I also washed her hair before I did this.

After:

Here's the after! and... I'm not really happy. I think is is substantially better than before, but it's not perfect like I thought it would be.

I am also taking all these photos with my phone under the lamp. The lamp is a GREAT place to take photos of MH&EAH dolls!!!!

I need to fix Jane's hair, it's a hot mess. I have seen her hair down and I really don't like it down.

Jane's hair:

Next, it was onto Picture day Draculara! She had a LOT of gel in her hair. In fact, after I washed it, the water looked mysteriously white and foggy, so I hope I got some Gel out. I didn't get a before, but here's and after, don't her bangs look GREAT?!?!? I think they look much better than usual, but I still wish Monster high would do more thin bangs like Pic. Day Frankie or Dance class Rochelle.

Still, her hair is SO THIN and easy to wash:

Then I washed Lagoona's hair! I was quite unsuccessful, as There's still some gel right near the roots on the top of the head. This also shows how thin Dance class Lagoona's hair is.

Here's the hairstyle from the front:

I also LOVE taking photos under the lamp because I can display small figurines such as MH pets:

or my little polly pocket mermaid:

and if I want to do a review of a doll, I can easily take photos of small accessories like bags:

and derp eyes:

Yeah, so what do you think? Now I can't wait to get my next MH doll, which will hopefully be Freaky fusion Ghoulia I can do a blog review of her too!!!

Venus from Monster High has gone Goth

Okay, so I say I <3 fashion Venus pictures from either comic con or toy fair, I can't remember which. Either way, I thought she was cool, but I didn't pay attention... now, I'm like what?
Let me tell you how I know that Venus has gone goth

1. She has a black checkered print across her pink shaved side, like what? (ugh)
2. She's got jagged bangs. The bangs were purposely cut in a jagged shape.
3. She's got black highlights in the back of her hair. Black, seriously!?!?!?
4. She comes with a safety pin earring
5. Her vines and the boots that she comes wearing are both black
6. This Venus now has a very Abbey- like expression.
7. Her hair is so much shorter, and it looks gelled to!

That's my problem. I don't really like her that much. Cleo is okay, but looks a lot like oasis Cleo. I would post a picture, but I don't want to get in trouble with copyright, so you can just google "I heart fashion venus" or go and watch Nikki's review of the new I <3 fashion dolls on youtube. Have a good day!

Slo mo jokes!

I love Slo mo, he's so cool, plus the FINALLY made him into a doll! For a while now, I've been making some Slo mo jokes! I finally made a youtube video with all the jokes, but I may have forgotten a few. Here's what I got...

1. When I find Slo-mo, I want to SLOwly enjoy the MOment!
2. What kind of food does Slo mo like to eat... SLOppy joes!
3. I walked up to him and said "hey, I need some MO jo!"
4. What did Slo mo say when he was asked "sir, do you have your drivers license?" He said: ughhhhhhh!

I need some MO Slo mo jokes! Comment down below!

Monster high checklists

There are a lot of Monster high checklists out there. Many different options for any MH fan. The one I like best is Monsterhighchecklist.com where you can print out checklists to! ( Just be sure to ask your parents for permission first, printer ink is expensive) There are others out there to, or you could make your own by using your computer. I find ti best if you find one checklist to rely on and stick to it. Valerie, the creator of Monsterhighchecklist.com has also created an everafterhighchecklist.com where you can view all of the ever after high dolls. There aren't printable EAH checklists yet, but I'm sure there will be soon. I also feel that checklists are great to give to family so they know which MH doll to get you for Birthdays, Christmas, etc.
I hope you guys are okay with a short post, I'm working on a bigger post for later.

Ghoulia!!!

So, recently a new walgreens opened up near me. So, today it opened up, and I went in, and found skultimate roller maze Ghoulia! I was really surprised, I thought that Skultimate roller maze was gone. For a review, go here. They also had dead tired wave 3 (2 robecca's and lagoona's, 1 spectra) as well as a music festival Clawdeen that hoped in the case to. I hope to save up enough $$ to then go back and get all of DT wave 3. If I do this before they restock, that leaves 1 robecca and lagoona, as well as the music festival Clawdeen. Which I will leave for other customers. I hope they get a slo-mo. I really want him, and my 2 ghoulia's need him. Oh well, Happy hunting!

Fairytale games! (Hunger games parody)

I've been so excited lately with something that I've been working on... the fairy tale games!
The fairy tale games is a parody of the hunger games. ( based on book 1) If you don't know what the hunger games is, you might have to do some research to understand the series. I've been working on this list for the past few weeks in the back of my head, but now I have finally written it down!  This series is a way way way off, as a lot of the dolls I either don't have or aren't released. So, this is just a cast list, and some things are very much likely to change, so let's start with the main characters...

Katniss Everdeen- Raven queen
Raven is perfect for the role of Katniss, she's got mostly black hair that's long enough to put into a braid, plus, she has the perfect expression,blank!

Primrose Everdeen-Apple white (tinative)
This role is very tinative, as I don't even have Apple white yet, but she has blond hair and looks as much like prim, although she may be switched with Ashllyn, but the only problem with that is that Ashllyn is taller than raven, so it wouldn't look right.

Mother Everdeen- Cerise hood
With her black hair and white streaks, cerise is perfect to play mother.

Peta Mellark- Hunter huntsman
He just fit the role perfectly.

Gale-?
I don't have anyone to play gale yet, but Jackson Jekyll in the picnic casket 2 pack may be a good choice, only problem is that Jackson hasn't been released yet.

Gladys, Ghoulia yelps
Ghoulia has the perfect facial expression to play Gladys!

Now, let's move onto other characters

Madge- C.A. Cupid
I need C.A. Cupid for this series, because without her bow, I will not be able to produce this series, so I thought she would be perfect for Madge.

President snow- Gill Weber
Gill has a very cross expression, making him perfect for playing president snow, don't worry, I will take his bubble off when I make the series

Haymitch- Sparrow hood
Sparrow hood is not even in doll form yet, so this series will have to wait a long time, but when he does come out, he will be perfect for Haymitch.

Effie trinket-Honey swamp
Honey is perfect to play Effie, she's got an Afro, and that is why she is going to play her. As of now, I don't own honey swamp, but I am working on getting her.

Rue- Cedar wood
Again, Cedar has not been released, but her dark skin tone and wavy hair make her perfect to play rue.

The peacekeepers-
I know that Abbey bombinable will be 1 peacekeeper, but I don't know if I will need more, so I may just use Abbey's from different lines.

Glimmer- Ashllyn Ella (tenative)
Ashllyn has a good chance of playing glimmer, but may be switched for Apple white

I do not have anyone to play Marvel,Clove,Cato, Thresh or Cinna

Now for some side/non-main characters

Ceaser flickerman- Holt Hyde
Holt is perfect for Ceaser with his flame sculpted hair, I currently do not own him, nor have I seen him in person, so I will most likely order him online.

Fox face, Rochelle Goyle
Rochelle has always had a face that is perfect for Fox face.

Portia- Viperine gorgon
Viperine's face and hair are perfect to play Peeta's stylist, Portia.

I think Duce will play Senaca crane, but I'm not sure.

Alta ( Training center person/guide)- Briar beauty
Her skin tone and thorn tights make Briar perfect for this role, but I don't own her as of now, so that will have to wait. She may be dropped if I can't get her or if Briar needs to play another character.

So that's it, so here's the cast so far...

And here are the "extra's." These are the dolls who are going to be tributes unless they need to fulfill a role...

Do you like it? I hope you do! This list will definitely change in the future, but that's it for now. I hope I didn't leave anyone out, I went through my tribute guide, so I should have gotten everyone.

Jane Boolittle: is mattel trying to hint something here?

Jane Boolittle is my most recent doll, and I really like her. When she first made her debut behind the gates of monster high at Comicon 2013, lots of us thought that, by her shoe, we would be getting the first disabled monster high doll. After watching Mommy and Gracie show's interview with Garret sander that was proven false and the shoe was just a cool shoe. Now, you may be wondering what the shoe in question is, so here's what it looks like:

So, as you can see, the shoe does very much look like a leg brace,but,as confirmed by Garret, it is just a really cool shoe. Although, here is the interesting thing, Jane also comes with a walking stick. Now, the walking stick is primarily because Jane spends a lot of time walking around in the jungle. But I think it's for a different reason. If you don't know, here's what the walking stick looks like:

So, that is the walking stick. In her diary, she mentions her walking stick in the "killer style" section. She says"I also have an absolutely smashing walking stick I cannot stand to be without." She also says"The only clues I have are needles and my walking stick-I never go on a hike without it." That is the only 2 times I can find where she mentions her walking stick, but if you own Jane, you might want to look through her diary to make sure I didn't miss anything. From this evidence it seems that Jane is very attached to her walking stick, yet she only mentions it 2 times in her diary. So while Jane may not be officially disabled, I think Mattel may be trying to hint something here. 

So, what do you think of Jane's walking stick? Tell me down below!