Hi everyone,
Just a reminder that “Christmas Charm” for your Dianna Effner Little Darlings, ends this evening on Ebay. I will truly miss seeing this one on Natasha! She was a very good model and I’ll be looking forward to her next dress in the future. Maybe I’ll let her pick out the fabric for her next one too! She did a nice job picking out this red fabric with the white furry cape. If you haven’t seen it, click on the picture at the right-side bar or you can click HERE.
Linda G in Minnesota wanted so much to thank everyone for the comments you left about her pictures of her dolls in their St. Lucia Day dresses, but for some reason she was locked out of the blog and wasn’t able to. I re-subscribed her to the blog and updated her name, so hopefully today she might be able to leave some comments. I’m sorry this happens occasionally, and I wish I knew what it was that causes it.
Well, another party is in the books… tonight was our Christmas Staff party from church and we had lots of great food and fun fellowship!
Now, I just have to make it through the Married Couple’s Christmas party on Thursday and I will be partied out for 2025! I just have to finish up some details for the game we are playing and make the Mint Cookie Bark and bake the Chocolate Chip Cookies for my favor bags. I have 3 1/2 days to get it done.
Come back tomorrow to see Sissy’s pictures!
THANKFULLY, I checked my email and WONDERFUL Barbara sent me some pictures of dolls!! Thank YOU very much!!! We LOVE dolls, don’t we?
Hi, Jeanne,
Hope this helps you some with your time constraints. I made these outfits after last season and took the pictures right away so I would have them. Glad I did because I sure haven’t had any time this year so far to take them.
The first picture is of my H4H dolls Nahji and Rahel. I loved this pattern and had fun making it in two color combinations.
The second picture is of my two Wellie Wishers, Kendall and Camille. These dresses are made from printed fabric from Tea Time Fabric Panels. I have these for other occasions two. They are fun to make. You just cut out the pre-printed fabric and assemble the garment. The fabric does tend to be a little stiffer than I usually work with but I was pleased with the results.
The third picture is of my two Paola Reina Minis and their cute little Christmas dresses. I let them choose which color they wanted, and they loved the results.
The fourth picture is of two more of my H4H dolls, Lauryce and Dell. I loved making these dresses. It gave me a chance to dig into my box of elegant fabrics.
The fifth picture is of two more of my H4H dolls, Lilian and Zelia. Zelia’s dress has a collar with an embroidered design from Embroidery Library.
And last but not least my two adorable little rascals RRFF Mini dolls Jamie Renee and Jody Michelle (Mini Hanna). No matter what I put on them they always look so cute. I actually bought them red shoes to wear this year but didn’t have time to take another picture.
Hope everyone enjoys.
Barbara
THANKS so much Barbara as I really had nothing for today! Your doll dresses are just adorable and you did a wonderful job on every one of them!
I liked Kendall’s dark peach ornament dress and Zelia’s red and white print dress with the embroidered collar the best, but they all were very sweet!
See everyone tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
What a fun post this was!
First of all, Jeanne I see that Natasha’s outfit has three bids already, and there’s still quite a few hours to go, so who knows what will happen?! It’s certainly a darling outfit, for sure.
Glad that one party is in the books now, and just one more to go.
Barbara, thanks so much for sharing pictures of your dolls in the lovely dresses you made for them. I like doing “sister” dresses, like you did for the first two H4H dolls and your Paulo Reina Minis, where it’s the same pattern but different colors. I’ve done that for some of my RRFF dolls, and it’s really fun.
I think my favorite, though, is Lauryce’s pretty pink dress with the coordinating jacket. I have some elegant fabrics on hand, too, but forget to bring them out when I go to sew for my dolls!
While “party girl” Jeanne is busy with her parties, it is nice that others have stepped up to help out! Barbara did just that and hit it out of the box with her girls! Did you actually make all of those dresses, Barbara?
I think my favorites are the first two, so pretty and just the thing for the holidays! I love the ruffled skirts and the fabrics too! Then I also like Lauryce’s pink dress with the elegant brocade jacket! Looks like Charlotte and I have the same picks, but really all of them are just darling! Good job, Barbara! I like that background too, so festive, and remember it from American Girl. The smaller dolls work out so well with those backgrounds, but the larger AG dolls cover up too much of them to really make them worthwhile getting.
Were you cold enough this weekend, Jeanne? It’s 13 degrees as I write this and feels like 2, but a warm up is coming and just in time for your next party!
Yes, Linda I made them all. Once I get started I can make great progress. It just seems I have trouble these days getting the process going. I agree about the backgrounds. I love them for the smaller dolls but not so much the larger ones.
Thanks Charlotte. I love taking the same pattern and making it different ways to see what comes out. I loved the fabric in the first two dresses. The fabric was from a coordinating fat quarter bundle and it was great that it had both the blue and silver and the red and gold combinations. Lauryce loves her fancy dress too. Her belt is a piece of ribbon with pearl heart buckles slipped on it. In the back I just included the ribbon in the back seam rather than tying it in the hope that it would stay together more easily. I just have to adjust the pearl hearts. I’ve made the pattern Lauryce and Dell are wearing more than once. It has three different possibilities, but I like the one with the fuller skirt the best.
I like your way of doing the belt! It stays put that way, and you don’t have to keep fiddling with it.
Do you remember which pattern that was (for Lauryce)? thanks.
It’s called “A Holly Jolly Christmas” by Farm Cookies. It’s a combination 14″/18″ pattern.
Oh, Barbara, what lovely outfits, your dolls have a wonderful mama!
They are so festive, and I love that they are in twos like that. I am running out the door in 5 min. Going to Savannah to my pain doc for a check up. Then, go to the stores before we go home. I will be enjoying looking at your dolls again when I get home. Thank you for sharing them, and for brightening my day!
Glad I could brighten your day. Putting them in twos really did show off the dolls and dresses better. I usually try to get so many dolls in the picture so I don’t have too many pictures to send. I decided if it was too many Jeanne would let me know and if needed she could do two posts. I remember the days when computers wouldn’t let you send so many pictures at once.
Good morning dear happy ones.
This week-end whizzed by in a “flurry” I hope most of you are in a zone where the weather is going to “warm up” this week, that polar vortex is taking a little break, I think, for a few weeks. ☀️
Barbara, what a beautiful collection of girls with the sweetest dresses ever. Oh gosh I can not pick a favorite. I love the elegant fabric dresses, the gold fabric must have been tricky to work with? Lillian and Zelias dresses look really nice, I love both styles.
Your two minis are so cute, like twins love the red and green
All of your dollys look so so pretty,. What a sweet collection and excellent photos. thank you for sharing all of these.
One of many things I did this week-end was make some little stuffed Goose ornaments for my grand kiddos. Mine look sort of like this: https://www.annwoodhandmade.com/happy-goose-ornament-sewing-tutorial/ It was pretty cold outside so I hid in the house. Today is still beastly windy and hubbs and I are grateful we do not have any appointments.
Jeanne, I hope all is going well with dear Reuben and also with George. Just go slow all of you. I hope everyone gets to see a lot of sunshine today and throughout the week. we need the sunshine!
Love, Rosemary
Hi Rosemary,
I also saw Ann Wood’s geese tutorial. I’m sure your grand kiddos will love them.I love all her freebies. I did buy a couple of her patterns that I hope to get to soon.
Thank you for liking my holiday dress photo shoot. Now I know I have to do things a year in advance to be on time for the actual holiday. Yes my little twins love their polka dot dresses. When I was looking for something to make them for Christmas I was thinking maybe white with red polka dots but when I checked my polka dot stash I saw the red and green combination. Knew that had to be the choice. The stuffed goose ornaments sound darling. I will check out the link. Glad you did not have anywhere to go in the cold.
Loved seeing the bids going up on Natasha’s sweet outfit. Can’t wait to see the ending. 🙂
Jeanne’s whirlwind of parties and activities make my head spin. Glad the one was successful and the couples to go. But, will she actually be done? Jeanne, never stops going like the Energizer Bunny. 🙂
How delightful that Barbara, saved the day with her great photos. The outfits are fabulous. It is so nice to see the wonderful variety and lovely creations. The first pattern in two different beautiful fabric combinations is perfect. Love it. The pattern for the H4H girls is great too. The jackets and what do you call it? A circle skirt? Well, with the special fabrics, the girls look amazing. Lilian’s dress pattern is also one I really like too. And I can’t make a choice of my favorite dress at all. They are sewing masterpieces. So creative. Thanks so much for sharing Jeanne and Barbara. Made my day. 🙂
Here, Charlotte, has finally sent some rain down this way. Expected tomorrow, I think. We’ll be glad to get some. But, not too much, please 🙂
We’ve been on a clean out the kitchen frenzy. Not moving food, but well, clutter. Because, at least part of the new appliances are coming soon. I managed to empty the cabinet above the stove and box it for now. My collection of Heath pottery and some vintage SB and Son. Everything is kind of sitting everywhere until I can figure out where to put it for awhile. And then, I started in on the cookie cutter collection. Washing and sorting all of them. I figure that I have been collecting them for over fifty years, so there are lots. We did find the one that other person made in high school. And another that belonged to my grandmother. I’m going to tag those and others. My faves are those old 50’s red plastic that came in so many shapes and sizes. So, I’ve got a lot more to wash and dry today with my dishpan hands. Ha ha. I know that Charlotte, has a lot of cutters as well. Why do I collect these? Not a clue.
The horrific shootings in Australia, have cast gloom on the world. I’m so glad that we have Jeanne, her blog, and followers to help us lift our spirits.
Hope everyone can keep warm. Way colder than I like here.
Thanks for your wonderful comments on my dolly holiday photo shoot. So glad I did all that after the holidays last year. I’ve been slow as molasses in January getting anything done right now. I remember the red plastic cooking cutters. I loved them. My mother used to make a recipe for cut-out cookies called Sand Tarts. We kids used to love to decorate them and they tasted great. I tried to start that tradition with my kids but I ended up doing it all myself. They had no interest in anything but eating them. Sounds like you have a lot of cookie cutter treasures worth keeping. As to where to put things like that, always a problem around here.
You are right, Joy, I have a lot of cookie cutters, too! I have my blue celluloid gingerbread boy from when I was a little girl, and a plastic Alice in Wonderland that I bought at an antiques show–the handle is broken off, but my thought was to use it on some kind of wall decor for my kitchen. My prize is a set of plastic or celluloid flower cookie cutters, still in the original box, from the early 1950s (guessing). I won that in a silent auction at my late mother-in-law’s church’s Christmas bazaar probably 30 years ago!
Dear Jeanne, thank you for showing us photos of Barbara’s doll daughters. She has dressed them in lovely outfits for Christmas.
Thanks Dorothy for liking my photos. I see where they had 6 inches of snow overnight Sunday to Saturday in Bethlehem. I’m sure you probably got some of that. Stay safe and warm.
This morning Ebay sent me a notice, complete with pictures:
Bidding at $92.00. Last call for ~ CHRISTMAS CHARM ~ Red 7 pc DRESS Slip Fur Cape SET for Effner Little Darlings
Did anyone else get it? I had not gone to Ebay to check this out, had not looked for Jeanne or RRFF on Ebay, or even done a Christmas-related search.
I’m hoping that this is a sign that this has gone out to lots of collectors and doll fans and that the 3 bids will soon be 13 or some other high bid number.
Barbara your girls all look so festive and delighted to show off their outfits. I think they’re planning on crashing one of Jeanne’s parties! Impossible to pick a favorite and I think the camera captured a special twinkle in their eyes. Thank you for sharing, really brightened my day.
Stay warm all, Dorothy L
Thanks for liking my holiday photo shoot Dorothy L. I can assure you the girls were exceptionally delighted to show off their outfits. If they had their way I would do a photo shoot at least once a week. But then they would be expecting new things all the time to justify that and these days not much is happening in that area.
What lovely photos, Barbara. All of her girls look just wonderful! My favorites are the ones on Camille, Zelia, and then your darling twins. Thanks so much for sharing them.
It was in the single digits this morning when I went out to feed the porch kitties. Now we have warmed up to 12, but still have that stuff 10mph wind.
I mean stiff
Some lucky dolly is going to get a new outfit for Christmas, it is really lovely Jeanne.
Barbara, your dolly outfits are so lovely. The only doll I have on display here is Sarah, all the others are packed away till I get more space back! She is still in the outfit she came in plus she is now wearing the Aran sweater I knitted which must be really uncomfortable in the 30C temps we have been having lol.
I have been making bags for our three coffee morning friends, we are gift giving today so was working quite late last night. They have all been made from recycled fabric or scraps. Sam made some Christmas decorations from polymer clay and transparent plastic balls and she made a lovely set of cards. I must take some photos if I can find anywhere that doesn’t have stuff on it. At least my mess is in the workroom outside!!!
We have another sick cat at the moment. I am wondering if Luna had a virus rather than asthma because Pearl is showing the same symptoms. She is quite a bit younger than Luna so doesn’t seem to be as sick yet but she is definitely off her food which is really unusual as usually she is trying to eat the food as I am putting it in her bowl. Not my cat, she is Jono’s so he might have to pay for her if she goes to the vet.
We could do with some of your rain, Charlotte. I have been watering my pots which I actually planted this year, but the rest of the garden has been neglected. They keep telling us that it will rain ‘tomorrow’ which it does in other places but it keeps missing Christchurch. The grape vines are loving it! Not so much the lemon tree! I have a few flowers on my tomato plants so won’t be too long before we are eating those.
Have a great day
So relaxing to read about everyone’s holiday festivities! And thank you Jeanne for posting Barbara’s photos of her dolls in their wonderful Christmas outfits!
I love seeing dolls posed in background settings and sometimes furniture is included. I wish I still had the American Girl doll set of background scenes that I purchased a few years ago to use in the future. And then I moved to Texas and had unloaded a lot of items that I thought I would probably never use. Big mistake on not keeping the scenes!! Little did I know that I would fall in love with Ruby Red dolls and start sewing doll clothes again!
Maybe I can work on backgrounds in the new year….I do have patterns to make upholstered chairs for dolls and can probably create some by looking at photos of people chairs. I still have the AG doll Samantha, two Wellie Wisher dolls, two Kimberly dolls, and the 18 in. Heidi Ott doll. Just not enough shelving to display them all. Might come up with more display areas when I organize and tidy up my art room after Christmas. I did try searching for used AG background scenes but had no luck. I might have to look for posters that might work if trimmed down.
Had a tooth extraction done a month ago and it has taken three weeks to really start healing…had Tylenol, meds, Ora-soothe gel from the oral surgeon, and used iced chill packs held against my jaw for pain relief. Did NOT expect this much discomfort to last this long. Needless to say, I “lost” a lot of sewing and crafting hours, napping more often, and was worried about not being able to finish my Christmas Santas and the schoolroom I am making for my Great-Granddaughter, to go with the Siblie doll I gave her for her 10th Birthday this year.
Santas are nearly done and the schoolroom is in progress….I will send photos to you soon, Jeanne, if you would want to post them! This years Santas are quite detail oriented and so I didn’t have time to create a snowman to go with each one this year. I gave up reading my novels while I ate breakfast each day and not taking such long naps, in order to utilize more crafting hours in the art room! I will return to my relaxing hour of reading with breakfast after the holidays though….I miss it!
So sorry to hear about your tooth problem Elizabeth. Sure hope you have complete relief soon. I had dry socket once when I had a tooth pulled. An awful experience. I was going to mention going to eBay to find backgrounds. That’s where I found some of mine. Also things like My Life As and New Generation doll backgrounds. They are actually less expensive. But I also have used things like quilt panels and, as you mentioned, posters as backgrounds. Would love to see your Santas.
I’m sorry to hear about your tooth/gum issues, Elizabeth. I pray that your mouth is feeling better and healing well now.
I for one look forward to seeing your pictures, whenever you get a chance to send them on to Jeanne! I’m sure we all will!
I have been so busy lately. I have not commented on the blog in days I think. It started when we took our computers in last Wednesday to have the data transferred to our new computers. That really only took about 24 hours and we picked them up Thursday evening but they are enough different I’m still finding my way around. Not to mention that software doesn’t transfer so I had to find the way to put my Quicken on my new computer without having to buy a new program. I’m still trying to figure that out for my Home Design program. I bought a perpetual Architectural program instead of a subscription so I should be able to put it on my new computer but I can’t find what they sent me initially and I’m not hearing back from them.
After the New Year I’m going to check out a new Chiropractor. There is a husband and wife in a nearby town that are actually diagnosticians. The first one I tried near here after COVID had me in and out in five minutes. He put me on a table, punched a few buttons, the table did the work and I left. Nothing good happened. Then Sean decided I should try his. He’s good for tune-ups and a nice guy but I need a realignment, and he doesn’t seem to want to make the effort. He just tells me it’s my age and the best I can do is come in for routine adjustments. Until I tripped over my dog, twice, during COVID, I had nothing wrong and all this started when I couldn’t get help for that. I don’t have arthritis and I really feel there is a solution if I can get my body back as it should be. This man has rave reviews and when you go for a consult he uses scanners, etc. to find the problem so he knows what he is dealing with. Since it’s getting harder to walk all the time, I need a solution.
It’s been cold here the last couple days but not even enough for a frost. I haven’t look but it will most likely warm up again before Christmas. Seems like many of my Sofa Sisters will have snow for Christmas.