I did get some gold shoes made for Stella and you’ll see them in a minute…
But first… look what I did…I’ve been working on this a few days. I have something hidden in the drawers of this hutch…
This was my trims drawer… and there is nothing good I can say about it… it was a DISASTER! A TOTAL DISASTER! It had gotten so bad, I was having a hard time closing the drawer, let alone LOOKING for something to use…
I had wound my trims around small chipboard squares a long time ago, but as you can see, they were kind of covered up…
I cleared off the majority of the things on top and you can see what was underneath…
Most of the rubber bands I had used were sprung out of shape and the trims weren’t being held in place like they should have been… so I took most of them and used new tiny rubber bands to hold them tightly in place…
Working most of one whole day, I was seeing quite a bit of progress…
I tired to fill every nook and cranny of the drawer…
How about another look… it’s nicer than it’s ever looked…
How about just one more?
I still have more to wind, but I ran out of chip board squares so I just put it in a ziplock bag for now…
I also cleaned out one of the other drawers in the hutch… I put all my vintage rick rack, my piping, and my single fold bias trim in a drawer along with some crochet thread…
I also decided to put my Christmas fabrics in the bottom drawer since I’ll be needing them again…
And if that wasn’t enough organizing… I tackled the bookshelf in the sitting room… We have to take all the books off of it when we get ready to put down our new floor because the bookshelf has to be moved… We put the books on some sawhorses in the guest room for now…
I haven’t really gone through them yet… but just have them semi organized by category…
Okay, now onto Stella’s gold shoes…
I had bought some metallic gold leather…(it’s real leather, but I’m not sure how the metallic part is added) You can tell if it’s real leather because when you soak it in water to make it pliable to bend over the toe area, it will bend. Faux leather will not bend like this…
Anyway, Stella loves them and she has no hard feelings against me any more! YAY!
I didn’t even think to take any pictures of them being made, except those first ones I showed you with them around the foot molds I had made out of Sculpey clay. They are kind of like a Mary Jane… with just a simple strap over the top of the foot and a little gold bow on the side.
The bottom sole is a piece of black leather that looks like alligator skin…
Tights can be worn with these shoes…there is a little bit of wiggle room in them..
Stella likes them and hopes you do too…
Well, I just need to get some gifts wrapped or found and I’ll be ready to list these dresses… individually… if you were wondering…
Tomorrow I’ll show you something from Charlotte! It’s from a Little Darling Dolly Swap!
See you then,
Blessings, Jeanne
Hi, Jeanne! My goodness, your trim drawers look fabulous! You are way more organized than I am, that’s for sure!!
And the Christmas fabrics together in one drawer…Uh-oh, Gigi just peeked and she suggests that that pink snowflake fabric would be just perfect…for HER!! LOL You know how my Gigi love pink!!
The gold shoes came out beautifully. I love the gold bows on the side, too. Well done!!
Oh Jeanne, those golden slippers are darling! They are just the thing Stella needed for her beautiful dress, and they add a touch of “sparkle”! Will you be selling those with the dress too? The other two dresses don’t seem to have custom made shoes, so I was wondering if these shoes were meant to stay with the dress. At any rate, they are just perfect for that outfit! I think it is my favorite of them all!
Wow, what a time you had yesterday fixing up your trim drawers! They look so nice and neat now, you almost don’t want to touch them to muss them up again, but where would that leave us? You sure do have enough to last a lifetime! Now that things are slowing down and winter is coming, maybe you can get more acquainted with your trims again!
Dear Jeanne, if you ever take your organizing talents on the road, please come to PA. I could certainly use your skills (laugh). It all looks so nice and neat now.
Stella looks very sweet in her outfit. The shoes are incredible. You are definitely becoming the shoemaker to the (dolly) stars!
Love the trim madness. So nice when it is under control. Definitely will help with the creativity. š
Love the golden shoes. You’ve definitely gotten down that cobbler thing. Stella’s little foot is not as small as the Meadow Dumplings who wear a 38mm shoe, but is still a comparatively small shoe too at about 54mm. These shoes are really small. Have no idea how the cute strap/bow were added, but they are adorable and so stylish too. I’m sure there is dolly envy at your house.
Sounds like the flooring job is coming up next. Can’t wait to see that. š
Your trim drawer is beautiful now — have you found space for all that extra trim?
I’m so pleased that it’s not too late to comment on Stella’s outfit, which I forgot to do yesterday. You even gave me a closeup of her sash decoration. Hers is my favorite of the three dresses, and the golden slippers really make the outfit complete — except maybe thigh-highs for everyone.
I think there’s time for a Thanksgiving dress — which of the new historicals have you not dresses? Maybe Addy? I suggested her before — or intended to — because Lincoln made Thanksgiving an official holiday. Besides, Addy dresses are always special and she looks lovely in fall colors.
Oh, boy! I am sure we all have our ādisaster drawers!ā We all get disgusted and organize them so they look awesome, and before we know it, holy cow!!! What happened??? Well, Jeanne, another job well done, and we all know how good it feels to see a disaster get organized. Looks fantastic and sure will keep the āhunting ā time to a minimum.
You were well-entitled to an Etsy meltdown. Someone yesterday suggested hitting the ā0ā until you got to a central operator. That often does work, sooner or later. At any rate, we all know you are honest as can be, and sure wouldnāt blame you, once you get to the bottom of this horror show, to kiss (spit??) Etsy goodbye. Weāre all sending lots of tender love, my dear.
Now, about those gold slippers. Hot dog! They are really magnificent! You are, indeed, getting better and better at this. Brava.
Hope everyone had a good holiday weekend and that you have a great one today.
Dorothy in PA, I am certain a Victoria or Sweet Victoria will end up at your address some day. Sometimes we have to take āalternative routesā, but at least they are available. Some day I will send Jeanne a pic of all my Rubies Laura thought I was looking to build an orchestra; well, a new violin is on the way, and I have my eye on a flute, French horn, harp and cello. No hurry. Waiting is good for the soul. And how awesome that our AG accessories and furniture work for the Rubies! A real ābonusā.
Dear Sally, thank you for the good wishes. I usually do get the dolls I want eventually. I watch ebay constantly (chuckle). I rarely win raffles at doll events though (smile).
I will be happy to see photos your Victoria when she arrives so I can “ooh” and “aah” at my niece.
Ditto all of that, dear Dorothy! Cheers!
Jeanne, the Christmas dresses for the RRFF are absolutely beautiful. Itās hard to choose a favorite as each one is special. Andā¦ the golden shoes are perfect for this dress and any outfit you make with a good theme for the RRFFs. You are getting pretty good at being a doll cobbler!
Your drawers look great. Good job! Iām a stickler for keeping drawers and cupboards neat and organized. It does take up time to occasionally straighten them up though.
Btw, Iām really liking Rosen. If I can find her, she may have to join the two Stellaās I have. Rosen has such a sweet face and I love her hair.
Sounds like you might be putting another floor down in the sitting room? How exciting. Iām sure you are excited- that just about ends your plans of renovation? Wonderful!!
I really love those shoes! Cute style and the little bows add the perfect touch. All these dresses are so perfect. This is one time I’m glad I can sew. If not, I would just have to have at least one of these dresses and deciding which one would be stressful.
Your drawers are perfect for organizing your trims. I don’t have anything like this so I keep mine in individual Ziploc bags in bins by color. When I need a certain color I just take the bin in to my recliner and go through them while I watch TV. It’s actually fun to remind myself what trims I have.
I have several wonderful instruments I bought for my girls a few months ago. Since I haven’t got around to doing a recital I’ll just say they are rehearsing their hearts out and will perform someday soon. And now we have to wait for the baby grand to arrive. I’m sure the girls will need some rehearsal time to get used to it. My former piano teacher could sit down at any piano or organ and play it like she’d been doing it forever. Not me. I have a spinet but my lessons were at a church that had a baby grand. I always did better with the piano that is familiar to me and really didn’t have enough time on the baby grand to feel comfortable with it. I thought it was just me but then I read where several concert pianists insist on having their own piano at every performance. The cost of shipping must be enormous. It seems my teacher is the unusual one.
It’s still a lot warmer here than what I’d like for this time of year. Right now the 80s and mid 70s are the best we can hope for and the 70s are usually at night.
Very sweet shoes!
Wow, what a tremendous amount of trims you have, Jeanne. No wonder you rarely have to go to the fabric store to find something you need. I’m sure it feels good to have them organized. I like to know where everything I have is and have it neat.
Now the book collection I can relate to. I have a lot of books also, some from my childhood and many others over the years.
Stella’s golden dancing slippers are lovely.Her dress can take you from Christmas into new Year’s Eve. All three dresses are very sweet. Three little Rubies are going to be very happy.
The shoes are lovely and your trims drawer put my boxes to shame. Well done. Got a notification today that my Sara is on her way. Will let you know when she arrives.
I finished another little smocked dress for one of the AG girls. I bought the pattern from Pixie Faire and the instructions for the smocking (by machine) are the best of all the instructions I have seen. I find making dolly size dresses are a great way to practice! I plan to make another child sized dress next to see if I can improve on the smocking I did on the first one. The dolly dress was gingham like the child’s dress I made (left over fabric) and instead of machine gathering I did it by hand and the end result was lovely Much more even. I will probably make a couple of practice pieces of the next material since it isn’t a gingham so not easily hand gathered (the smocking dots provided make pleats a bit deep for the machine embroidery)
I was very bad yesterday I bought myself another sewing machine. My Elna was quite an expensive machine that I bought in 2011. It has developed a problem and so far the repair man hasn’t been able to fix it. Unfortunately it seems to happen after prolonged use and of course they don’t test them for very long. The main problem is that it catches somewhere and either ‘jumps’ or breaks the thread. It will work perfectly for quite a long time but when it starts it just keeps on doing it. Sewing that should take 30 mins can take a couple of hours. It was particularly annoying when I was doing the embroidery for the smocking since a broken thread made it hard to match where I was up to. My new machine is a Janome and half the price of the Elna and a few embroidery stitches aren’t there but it has a lot of very useful auto features not on the Elna. I thought I might get the Elna fixed and sell it but Sam wants me to keep it and sell it to her. I wouldn’t do that if she wants me to keep it I will (then I will still have the few stitches not on the Janome lol)
Winter is supposed to be over but you wouldn’t know it at the moment Yesterday was horrible, driving rain and really cold here, and down south it snowed!! and not just a sprinkle. This morning it is more of the same! Ugh. I guess i won’t be walking the dog today either.
Congrats on the new sewing machine. š Sorry about the cold weather. š
Holy moly your trims and ribbons look way too organized for me! Iām happy to keep them contained in labeled baskets. Donāt get me wrongā¦ it is wonderful! Good jobš
Iām head over heels about those shoes! They are so professional lookingā¦ everything about them is perfect. The toe being so round and the edges so straightā¦ would love to take a class! Maybe you could give us a zoom class? We could send you a fee and register. Give us a list of what to have ā¦ how fun!
The trim drawer is amazing as are the tiny shoes. Youāve mastered cobbling. Is that the right word?
Those gold shoes are amazing! If you become a dolly cobbler I will be a buyer. Stellaās Christmas outfit puts me in the holiday state of mind.
Good work on those trim drawers! Magazine worthy organization.
We drove to our sonās home in North Carolina to sit with the dog while they are out of town. A nice break from packing and worrying and worrying and packing. I would rather be finding fun dresses and accessories for dolls. Enjoying everyoneās collection vicariously!