Kitty's New Outfit

 

Her pink floral dress is made from double gauze. This was the first time I had used this fabric and it's not the easiest fabric to lay and cut, but it turned out okay. The tunic (a new design) is 21 wale cord and they both close at the back with press studs (snaps).

Christmas Wish To All My Readers

Have a Happy One! 

Project: A Touch of Dark Academia

Last Christmas my hubby bought me a doll house, and while it's been sitting in my doll room gathering dust, I have been hatching a plan. I want to turn this house into a derelict house, one that was once owned by a man of magical talent . . . a man of interlect, who might have been a master of chemisty, a wizard, a sorcerer, a scribe or to put it simply . . . a combination of them all.

It will take me forever to finish it, but I am determined I shall!

After all the sewing I needed a change, and so for the past few days I have been creating some pieces of furniture for one of the rooms. Non is complete yet, but I wanted you to see where I was heading.

The eyeballs you can see in the left hand dressed (pink jar) are from some inexpensive dolls who's eyes I replaced with better ones. I experimented to add webs and this was done by using my glue gun, some tiny stretched bits of cotton ball and green flocking. The jars are filled with herbs, spices and metallic flakes. 

I made the birdcage hanger from three stacked washers for the base, a small piece of dowell, a paperclip and some jute string. The bookholder is made from card, dowell and washers. Both are decorated with sculls, doll hands and more green flocking. To make the candle holders I used the brass backing plates from small door knobs and plastic noteboard tacks which I painted gold to match the brass . . . the candles are birthday candles which I cut to size.

The other pieces are from my 1:12 scale stash. I am currently working on a Grimoire for the stand and some other books for the dressers. I could have purchased some but that wouldn't be as much fun would it?

Overalls for Christmas

Katie now has a short-sleeved jumper (sweater), a pair of coruroy overalls and beautiful leather boots to match the colour of her glasses. 

Her jumper does up at the back with buttons and her overall has buttons over press studs, they are lined inside with the same fabric that I used to trim the pockets.

Now what to do with her hair? I will not cut her hair, but I would like to give her a new style of some sort which would suit her cheeky nature.

Another Shampoo & Set

I kept looking at Sophia's hair and how dull it looked along side Greta's. The length wasn't cut evenly either, so it was into the bathroom for a wash then onto the table for a cut.

Looking at her now, in her newly completed outfit (with those very special leather shoes) and her hair at a good length, I'm happy with her. I will add, her hair is still not as lusterous as Greta's, but it's better than what it was.

The Dolls Have Arrived!

But I'm not allowed to play with them until Christmas Day. Of course that doesn't mean I have to wait until then to make clothes for them or purchase lovely, expensive, REAL LEATHER shoes & boots. It took me a little while to decide on the following, but they are on their way and I should have them next week.

Orange Wagner Sandals

Turquoise Wagner Boots

Fucshia Wagner Boots

Not sure who's getting what yet, except for the bunny slippers, they belong to my little curly haired Greta who is now wearing a pretty white lawn nightdress and a knitted dressing gown. I will post photos of her once the slippers have arrived.

Sophia's by Teamson

Purple Wagner Sandals

Gotz Sneakers

I also ordered some pretty corduroy fabric to make coats or maybe overalls for three of my dolls, two of which match closely with the Warners boots.

Well that's my news for now,. Anyone else being creative? I'd love to see what you're doing. 😘

Getting Ready for Christmas

Hubby has been bugging me about what I'd like for Christmas this year and wouldn't you know it, I couldn't think of anything I'd like more than dolls. He said go look for them now so you don't miss out, after all shipping from overseas can sometimes take a little while as we get closer to the 25th December.

I had already ordered Carmen as a sibling for Avery and Sophia and she was due to arrive this coming week, so I looked at all my other Gotz dolls to see who might need companions. Clara has Emma and Luisa; my Chosen Kitty has Katie and Ella; that left me thinking about Greta.

So I decided I would like Lea and 75th Jubilee Greta as her siblings, however, the second Greta would need to have her name changed. The dolls themselves are quite different from my first Greta and neither will stay as they are, I want to redo their hair and change their outfits as I'd like all three siblings have a similar look. 

Then I spotted the first Happy Kidz with teeth!! Be still my beating heart, how on earth did I miss seeing this Gotz Anne Elf (Christmas 2024 Signature Edition)??? Hubby said I could have her too, isn't he just a darling? I am so very lucky he is so supportive my dolly addiction.

I noticed in some of the promo photos her teeth looked a bit peculiar, but then I saw a photo on Pinterest where this doll had been repainted . . . she just looked so gorgeous and I knew if I put my mind to it, I could become a fairy godmother to my own little Anne and make her just as lovely.

Are you receiving any dolls for Christmas this year?

A Sister for Katie

My little Gotz Happy Kidz Ella 2022 arrived on Monday. I had really been looking forward to receiving her as I particularly loved the way she was dressed in a pink, lilac, white & gold lurex thread Chanel-type dress, a pair of pink canvas espadrilles and a straw hat.

However, I was very disappointed with her clothing when I removed her from her box as the fabric had been cut slightly crooked and the waistline had also been sewn crooked, but in the opposing direction which emphasised the mistakes in the making of her garment. The saving grace was her lovely espadrilles & hat.

Nevertheless, she was undressed and redressed in no time at all and this is how she looks now.

She most probably won't stay in these clothes as the dress is slightly too big in the chest for her . . . another disappointment. I used the correct ply wool and needle size, so this pattern maybe more suitable for a chubbier doll.

New Do for Greta

I was very determined this morning when I sat down at the kitchen table. At last I had finally decided to cut Greta's hair . . .  I could stand those messy tangled curls no longer!

STAGE 1 - WASH & DETANGLE

Washing was so much easier than I thought it would be and using a detangler helped to loosen her hair beautifully. It's often the thought of doing something new, the fear of doing it wrong, which stops us from doing things we should do . . . today I am begining to dare!

STAGE 2 - CUT

The new hairdresser's scissors I had purchased to tackle the next scary job were being used at long last . . . once again, this task was easier than I thought it would be.

STAGE 3 - CURL

To curl or simply leave to dry? That was the question that held me up for a bit . . . then I decided to curl.

STAGE 4 - COMPLETION

Now doesn't she look the picture of innocence? I love how soft these curls look and feel, however, I may brush them loose at a later date for a more natural look. Let me know what you think. 😘

Katie's New Look

It was Katie's day to visit the eye specialist as she's been having trouble reading. After testing her eyes, the optometrist prescribed new glasses. Katie wasn't very happy about it at all, hence the rather grumpy look in the photo below.

When she found she could read the small print in her favourite book, she felt a little better. I made her a new dress and cardigan to cheer her up and think the dress fabric has just enough blue and green in the print to compliment the colour of her new specticals nicely. 

Oh Katie you do look so pretty. Maybe we should go shopping for a new pair of shoes that will match your outfit better? 

What do our readers think? Should we look for lavender shoes to match her cardigan, or aqua to match her glasses?

Renewed Interest

Sometimes it only takes one doll to create a spark . . . then before you know it, a whole new interest takes hold and two more dolls arrive in quick succession.

Immediately after the arrival of Katie I found myself ordering . . . Götz Happy Kidz Sophia 2020. What a stunner she is! I'm very excited about this doll and am looking forward to photographing her.

Then later . . . Götz Happy Kidz Greta 2025. Although I really love her pretty face and blue eyes, I felt the curly hair was just far to much. I also noticed the dress she was wearing had a funny smell and her stringing isn't up to the usual Götz standard, her legs are very floppy.

I must say it's really nice to own some Götz Happy Kidz with blue eyes, so fed up with brown. I'd also like another with green eyes to team up with my Chosen Kitty.

All three of the latest arrivals have had their clothes removed and are waiting for new outfits to be designed and completed. The Velcro, once again annoyed the heck out of me, especially when undressing little Greta, her hair kept getting caught in the back of the dress! GRR!

I think I may wash, trim and restyle all their hair, to give each a personality of their own. Any suggestions?

When You Least Expect It

No I'm not talking about my very belated post. I'm talking about a doll I purchased ten years ago, then sold because I received an offer I could not refuse, and regretted it there after.

Do you remember my Götz Happy Kidz Katie? The one with the beautiful red hair?

Well I found another quite by accident yesterday on eBay, all thanks to my dear friend Diane who had sent me there to look at a doll she had in her own collection. This is the replacement Katie (below) who comes complete except for her eyewear.

She was quite a find because this particular mold is difficult to come by, and to find her here in Australia was a real bonus (no expensive shipping to contend with).

There is quite a back story with this doll and how she came to be.

First there was Emily and Katie:

Emily and Katie (above) had the all vinyl toddler bodies of the Kinderland and then Precious Day dolls, with only the articulated arms and swivel legs. Emily and Katie who were released in 2011 were very successful, which no doubt is the reason why Götz included them in later ranges.

Then came Luisa:

Classic Kidz Luisa released in 2015 (above) with a multi jointed body, had blonde rooted hair and brown fixed eyes with delicate eyelashes on the top eyelid. She was a more grown up edition of Emily and Katie.

The Götz Classic Kidz line of dolls was discontinued the same year, with Götz choosing to produce that particular face mold only with red hair. While the specific line was retired, the body used for the Classic Kidz dolls was carried over to the current Götz Happy Kidz line.

Then there was Katie:

Katie, designed by world renowned doll artist Hildegard Gunzel, was the only Happy Kidz doll with this face mold produced by Götz after they discontinued the Classic Kidz range, until more recently. Now there are other dolls from the same mold with blonde, brunette and even black hair, but none with this colour.

Götz followed up with the 36cm Little Kidz Elli in 2020 and Lotta. The likeness between Katie, Elli & Lotta is hard to deny, it's as if Götz revived Emily and Katie but with a new body and more mobility.

Elli

Lotta

No matter what your thoughts are (and I'd love to hear them), I find Götz very confusing when it comes to names verses molds and am just happy I found my replacement Katie.

Till next time, stay safe and happy, big hugs,

X

Intermission

As many of you are already aware, I have an obsession with dolls that have a cute toothy smile. It has never mattered whether the smile included just one tiny tooth peeping through or several and my Wichtels smile the best of all my dolls.

For the longest time, I've had a desire to own a "Samy" Wichtel, who has the cutest smile of all the Wichtels, you could say she was my grail doll. Over the years I have searched different doll shops and she has constantly evaded me. I cannot truthfully say this was because she was a mold that was not made available to Schildkrot, but I have a suspicion this is probably so.

This meant if I was to have a "Samy" Wichtel, I would probably have to order one from Rosemarie Muller directly . . . which inevitably would cost a lot more then the ones from Schildkrot. 

Then last week, in the midst of selling two more of my unwanted dolls, I spotted Merle on eBay UK. Needless to say, and regardless of price, she hopped straight into my cart and was on her way to me in no time!

She came in a box different to the Schildkrot boxes and when I examined her, I found she had been signed by Rosemarie and had a lovely soft Kanekalon wig which is tied up in a pony tail, instead of the regular human hair wigs.

Merle's garments also had a different tag . . . a gold embroidered Muller Wichtel, where my other Wichtels bear the Schildkrot turtle logo.

Here they all are, left to right: Frieda, Heidi, Renata, Liesel, Merle and Gretel (my names)

RM1.1 ANIKA,  RM6.0 KRUMEL,  RM7.0 BUBI,  RM8.2 FLO,  RM8.3 SAMY,  RM15.0 MIO.

Now you may think I am breaking my own rules here, knowing I like to have uneven numbers of dolls, but I look at it this way, I have FIVE Schildkrot Wichtels and ONE very precious Rosemarie Muller Wichtel.

I shall take a couple of days enjoying them all, then it's back to work on my project dolls. Keep safe, happy and enjoy your dolls.

Big hugs,

X