Friday, January 27, 2017

Saturday Sewing Sum Up! - A Day Early!

It feels like I've been doing a lot more sewing lately, and today I will show ya'll what I've made over the past two weeks! (all this is listed in my Etsy shop; link is in the sidebar)


This outfit includes a forest green top with lace sleeves and an elk on the front. The brown khaki skirt has a patch of lace, and the legwarmers are also lace. I tried to tie the outfit together with the lace.


This unique "New York" fabric I upcycled from a human shirt. The jeggings are very versatile, therefore any of the other tops in this post can be worn with them.


This is one of my favorites! The top has lace sleeves and a world map. The skirt is army green khaki with brown stitching and a lace patch. It could also been worn with the brown skirt above, which was my goal.


Lastly are these light brown khaki shorts with a cuffed hem.

I'm excited because I have more sewing ideas in the works!

Thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Disney Duesday #2

A while ago I started a series called "Disney Duesday" which was to happen every week on Tuesday. I'm not sure if it will be weekly, but here is another installation!


Phoebe has an affinity for Monsters INC, as well as dressing up, so she put together an outfit to DisneyBound her favorite characters!






"Mike Wazowski!" ~ Boo

Hope you're having a great week! :)

Saturday, January 21, 2017

Blogger Recognition Award

Meg and Michelle at Canadian Doll Notebook nominated me for the Blogger Recognition Award!! Thank you so much!


The rules are as follows:
1. Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link to their blog
2. Write a post to show your award
3. Give a brief story of how your blog started
4. Give two pieces of advice to new bloggers
5. Select 15 other bloggers for this award
6. Comment on ecah blog to let them now you nominated them and link to the post you created

My story

I hadn't intended to start a doll blog. It sort of just happened! I already had a blog (it was Wordpress), and posted various things on it. I posted things I wrote and stuff I found interesting. Naturally, when I became interested in sewing and photographing my dolls, that made it the blog in the form of posts. Over time, my blog became devoted to all things doll! I believe this happened 3 years ago. Anyway, I now blog about dolls!

Advice to new bloggers

1. Blog design! I feel like an organized blog design is really important. Light colors behind dark colors are easier to read. There are some great color schemes put together out there, and those can be a wonderful way to make sure everything is organized. Also, pick a font that is easy to read. 

2. Have fun! Make posts that are fun for you to do!

I nominate...


Okay, that's not 15 but 9 is pretty good too :) My apologies if I doubled anyone up!

Thank you again to Meg and Michelle!

Monday, January 16, 2017

Family Photos!

Today I finally took a family photo! I had only planned on doing one shot, but then thought of some other poses so I had to try them! 😂
 





Also, you may notice I renamed my blog on the header! I decided the name should more reflect what I post about. I also made a new blog button, so if my old one is on your blog, feel free to use this new one!



PS I put different shoes on the girls so their heights would be varied ;)
PPS I put a poll on the sidebar ;)

Thursday, January 12, 2017

5 Photography Things I've Learned

Hi ya'll!

So, over the past few years I have learned a lot about photography. I have learned from reading other blogs, photography tutorials, people I know, and school. I still have a lot to learn. Photography is a journey. Along that line, I want to share a few things I have learned throughout the years! This will probably be stuff you already know but maybe it will inspire you to try something new!

1. Composition (Clothing)


Composition includes your doll's outfit and setting. I try to organize outfits that coordinate, are cute, and reflect girls styles. I also try to add accessories and hairstyles for the outfit to be more realistic.

Setting goes hand in hand with the doll's outfit. For me, sometimes a setting inspires an outfit or vice versa. Nevertheless, I try to match them. For example, if my doll will be modeling on the beach, I dress her in something beachy. If she is modeling with leaves, I put her in a fall outfit. This allows the tone and color scheme to coordinate as well.When choosing clothing, I also try to think of what colors will give the impression I am hoping for. Like, the picture above is neutral tones, allowing the pumpkin and leaves to really stand out.

2. Location


Trying out new locations makes your photos varied. Different backdrops and props can give a location new life. But I would also encourage you to try out new locations, maybe even ones that aren't in your yard or house. I often go to a nearby park or take a doll along when I am headed somewhere that might be picturesque. I carry my doll in a backpack with everything I need for a photo shoot (usually just the doll, hair supplies, and camera). I can wear the backpack and climb around until I find a spot to shoot. Then, I get my doll out and start photographing. That's just what I do!

3. Angle


Try out many angles! Get your camera as close to the ground as possible. Portrait, landscape, diagonal, the possibilities are endless! Perhaps the most important thing is to get down on your doll's level. This may mean sitting or even laying on the ground, but it will be worth it. Shooting at your doll's eye level allows the viewer to engage in the world of the doll. If you have the ability, step about six feet away from your doll and zoom in. This will help you get down to the doll's level. That said, there are also times when it is cool to shoot from above.

(Props can also add an aspect to a shoot. Like Curly in this photo!)

4. Pose


Equally as important as the angle, composition, etc. etc. are poses! While American Girl dolls don't have an overwhelmingly capacity to pose, they can move their arms, legs, and head. I try to take advantage of this to make poses look as lifelike and natural as possible.

5. Light


Lighting is also really important. Correct lighting can make the picture easy to see, as well as the colors the right tone. Natural sunlight works really great for getting lighting right. I try to shoot when it's either overcast, near sunset, or both. Otherwise, it seems like the light is to harsh. Another thing to improve lighting I've learned from various places is that using a poster board or piece of white paper can reflect and spread light. It's fun to experiment!

The picture above was taken indoors, at night, with three regular light bulb lights on. I was able to spread the light using two poster boards. I also posed Tacy so that her face would have light in the right spots.

Lastly, mindset is important! I try to view photography as an art, because it is! This helps me when I am doing a shoot, instead of thinking "I'm taking pictures of my dolls now", I try to think "I'm going to try to make a piece of art now".

So yeah! I enjoyed writing up my experience with photography and what I have learned so far! I love photographing my dolls and can't wait to learn more!

Thanks for reading ;)


Do you have any photography tips to share?

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Hawaiian Phoebe




I actually bought this dress the last time I was in Hawaii. I knew I would want to take photos of Phoebe in it, so I brought it along. There was a toy store, however, that sold many of this style of dress. I considered buying one, but they were over $20 so I decided I would just stick to the one I had :)








That concludes the Hawaii posts!



Thanks for stopping by!
 

Sunday, January 8, 2017

Phoebe Visits Museums in Lahaina

While in Hawaii, I took Phoebe to the Baldwin Museum, and the Lahaina Heritage Museum. Seeing that she enjoys history and vintage stuff, it seemed right!


The Baldwin Home is the oldest standing building on the island of Maui. There were six rooms on the lower floor including the entry, dining, bath, master, kids, and office.


This piano was in the entry. There were also some other old instruments on the shelves.


Phoebe explored the kids bedroom. It had two mosquito net canopy beds, toys, and the little table you can see in this photo.


In the office, there was a HUGE dictionary! You couldn't open it, but it was seriously ginormous. 


Phoebe in the window seat of the office. There were window seats in almost every room.


One of the books on the enclosed bookshelf was a 1861 edition of the Children's Magazine. Most of the books had to do with medicine, since the man who lived in the house was a doctor and missionary.


In the master, there was a large bed, desk, dresser, and crib. This doll was in the crib.


Phoebe in the master next to an old trunk at the foot of the bed.


Next we went to the Lahaina Courthouse, which had a small one room museum called the Lahaina Heritage Museum. Inside, there was a teeny tiny cannon, which was Phoebe's size!


There were also many old bottles and books.

I hope you enjoyed exploring these museums with Phoebe and I!


PS Did you notice Phoebe is added to the header? :)

Friday, January 6, 2017

My First Visit to an AG Store

As you may know, I went to the AG store for the first time! It was so great seeing all the dolls and things that I've seen many pictures of in person!

While I was there, I used a gift card I won to get mini Julie and mini Kaya. Thanks to Jessica for hosting the super-fun photo contests! The special edition mini dolls from last spring (I believe) were on sale for $12, so I was able to get two. They will be Phoebe's dolls :)