and the roar will rise from the streets below

Meet Helena.

I did something really self indulgent to every part of my being. I got two dolls in bad shape off shopgoodwill for Christmas and have been giving new life to she who was once known as Grace Thomas. Her wig was barely there and she was dirty and she has some magic marker tattoos on her torso.

Anyway, when wig replacement shopping I came across this one from BasicsForDolls on Etsy and had a sudden vision; a Hot Topic fever dream if you will. She will dress how I wanted to when I was a youth (I REALLY wanted dyed hair and this exact outfit. The furthest I was allowed was the MCR shirt and black skinny jeans, lol) and she will live out her best scene kid doll life.

Her outfit was made from scratch by me (even the shoes!) and I could not be more excited.

[Image Description: Two photos of a light-skinned American Girl doll. She has blue eyes and short sideswept purple hair. She wears a black My Chemical Romance shirt with a Spider-Man pin, a black leather skirt with two silver chains on the side, fishnet stockings, black boots with a pink inside, long white earrings, and a black can tab as a hairclip. The second photo zooms in closer on the doll. End Image Description]

I made some faux TOMS because Olivia the sewing model has forever had no shoes. She was perpetually barefoot since I didn’t have anything cute to match her strawberry dress.

They’re made from red and white quilt cotton, some trimmed down eyelet lace, craft foam, and a lot of patience. I’ll try to get a cute full body photo set when I get a chance.

I noticed real TOMS have a little logo tag on the side... so I made my own from a sacrificed dress label with my name on it.

They could be neater but they’ll serve their purpose. I quite like them!

I’m trying to avoid spamming everyone’s dashboard by reblogging this repeatedly, so I just want to say right here a big thank you for all the compliments on this post! I’ve read them all and everyone made me smile! 💖 Now that I’ve made a pair of flats I want to tackle sandals next... and boots... and sneakers... it’s going to be a problem.

Here’s a pic of Olivia in her new shoes!

Olivia modeling a fancy party dress I whipped up for a family friend’s daughter. Pattern by me, materials from Joann. I hope she likes it!

A little update: this dress was delivered to its intended owner when I was in NY recently, and the girl loved it! (I do think her mom loved it even more, though.) While we were visiting, she got a doll out and put her in the new dress. Mission accomplished. I love surprising people and making them happy!

please welcome the star of our show… Miss Medda Larkin!

we STAN an amazing artist

a lovely protrait of a lovely girl

Olivia is modeling another prototype for Etsy. I haven’t sewn a blouse/skirt combo in a while, and had this RV fat quarter in my stash for ages, so I paired it with some coordinating cream cotton. Not my finest work, but it’s a start!

All buttonholes are functional, and the skirt closes with a hook and eye in the back. Oh, and the pockets are real too, because dolls totally need places to store stuff.

Thoughts?

The pockets are probably bigger than any of the pockets on my clothes. Take notes fashion companies!

I include pockets in every garment that could possibly need them-even doll clothes-as a big ‘screw you’ to the manufacturers of every pair of jeans I’ve ever owned, lol. If I, an amateur sewist with a budget of 50¢ and a ball of lint can install pockets, so can they.

I love Sarah Jacobs and Katherine Plumber. I also love drawing them. They’re having a fun girlsies sleepover in this modern AU I threw together.

I love Sarah Jacobs and Katherine Plumber. I also love drawing them. They’re having a fun girlsies sleepover in this modern AU I threw together.

Another set of photos of this lovely young lady to formally introduce her as…

Olivia!

I was debating names that had been suggested to me while sewing this dress until Olivia by One Direction came on shuffle, and I looked at her and knew it was right. (The 1D part also proves that I am a very predictable person lol)

I’m working on patterning for my hopeful Etsy as an excuse to sew dresses for this gal.

This fabric has been in my stash for at least a year-it’s a fat quarter I got at Walmart for like 50¢ on clearance after the Fourth of July. Glad I finally found a use for it!

a perfect name for her with a great inspiration :)

thank you!!!

Another set of photos of this lovely young lady to formally introduce her as…

Olivia!

I was debating names that had been suggested to me while sewing this dress until Olivia by One Direction came on shuffle, and I looked at her and knew it was right. (The 1D part also proves that I am a very predictable person lol)

I’m working on patterning for my hopeful Etsy as an excuse to sew dresses for this gal.

This fabric has been in my stash for at least a year-it’s a fat quarter I got at Walmart for like 50¢ on clearance after the Fourth of July. Glad I finally found a use for it!

She and her dress are so pretty! I love her eye color and the print :)

Oh, thank you very much! I just now saw this comment. I totally wish I had more of this material but it was just a fat quarter. Hopefully it will resurface again sometime soon!

another photo of my nameless gal… still taking name suggestions! I’m stumped.

one of these names is not like the other?? not quite sure how to respond to the second one lol but thanks for the suggestions y’all!

A little weekend sewing project 🥰 a fancy gown for Elizabeth. I saw the brocade in the remnants bin at JoAnn and couldn’t help myself. When I found the pink satin-y material for $1.50 at Walmart, I knew exactly what I was going to do.

Materials, with leftovers, cost under $8. Sewing time was maybe an hour and a half. Pattern was drafted by me.

This is beautiful! Alas, I have nowhere new the talent required to make a masterpiece like this.

Thank you!! (btw, I’m thinking of putting up a sewing/craft tutorial sometime soon!:D)

hey, AG sewing/AG historical knowledge tumblrs!!

I picked this brocade remnant up at Joann for $4 because I fell in love with it and felt I could make something fancy for a doll. However, I’m struggling to pick an era. Any suggestions?

A bit of an almost-finished WIP but here’s Jess modeling the 1770s-inspired gown. I picked up some coordinating pink at Walmart for $1.97.

I still need to make some adjustments, figure out how to attach the center panel piece (snaps? Velcro?), and probably add a million more of those tiny pink bows. Thoughts?

It looks lovely! Felicity’s Holiday Gown has a stomacher (center panel) that attatches with snaps, and I personally love snaps. But I think velcro could work too!

It’s looking amazing! I definitely second what @thedollpeople says especially as brocade is notorious for fraying and velco could contribute to that. Best of luck and let us know how it goes!

I totally learned through trial and error this weekend that brocade is a bit more difficult to work with than what I’m used to 😂 I don’t have a lot of experience with the pricier materials but this was a $4 remnant and I couldn’t resist.

I’ll probably work with snaps when I can pick some more up. For now, it’s being held in place with some pins.

Also~Felicity’s holiday gown was literally my favorite doll dress growing up. I was super fascinated with her time period (and a trip to Colonial Williamsburg in elementary school was cooler than Disney World at the time haha)

hey, AG sewing/AG historical knowledge tumblrs!!

I picked this brocade remnant up at Joann for $4 because I fell in love with it and felt I could make something fancy for a doll. However, I’m struggling to pick an era. Any suggestions?

A bit of an almost-finished WIP but here’s Jess modeling the 1770s-inspired gown. I picked up some coordinating pink at Walmart for $1.97.

I still need to make some adjustments, figure out how to attach the center panel piece (snaps? Velcro?), and probably add a million more of those tiny pink bows. Thoughts?

I’m seeing D Cappella in Clearwater in less than two weeks AND my mom surprised me with M&G passes so that means I can deliver art to the group!! They’ve all been very supportive of my doodles and I’m really excited to bring them some in person. All seven of them are super sweet and deserve all the love y’all, so if you can make it to their tour this year I highly recommend it!!

oh hi there! had a wonderful time last night; here are some of my highlights:

-when I was mid-saying “I have art for you guys-“ Morgan recognized me and pulled me in for a hug

-Joe asked what my username was (I put the prints in envelopes so they didn’t see right away) and then they all said “OH MY GOSH IT’S YOU”

-during the q&a someone asked about their musical backgrounds and when they brought up Morgan’s history in newsies I softly went “wooo!!” and she wooo’d back lol

-y’all know how much I love Morgan already but wow she’s such a sweetheart

-they sang the Mickey Mouse club theme song during soundcheck it was adorable

-shOWTIME

-my mom said during the show that someone on stage quickly said “shoutout to Kelsey” between songs but I didn’t catch that BUT my sister heard it too so they must not be making it up? Currently seeing if anyone caught it on video lol I don’t believe them

-immortals put FOB to shameeeee don’t get me wrong I went through my alternative phase like everyone else but RJ can really kill it

-no spoilers but they sang a certain song from coco without mics and the audience was dead silent til the end, it was super emotional

-it was also their one year anniversary of forming the group!

-I could cry about how much I love Sojourner Brown but I’m gonna limit myself to: holy moly

-it’s worth noting that my sister’s favorite part was literally just Antonio

anyway, it was such a wonderful experience and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Super neat seeing them and then realizing they all know who I am lol

get your tickets to see dcappella! you won’t regret it

y’all my sister is finally deep into 1D hell and she won an auction for a set of one direction dolls on shopgoodwill. Harry is missing his outfit and she already has her Harry from way back when, so I’m getting the naked one and im apparently sewing one of his Gucci suits in Barbie size.

Alright, currently deciding which suit/outfit to replicate... any suggestions? I have experience in machine sewing, hand sewing, and hand embroidery so I’m up for a challenge 😅

live like this forever

A little winter overcoat made in about an hour and a half, conception to completion. I used pink fleece leftover from a previous project and finished it with some cover buttons.

It’s wide, meant to be able to accommodate some poofy skirts (the dress underneath is actually a modernized party dress based off the pattern for Kirsten’s apron dress, which has a big gathered skirt!)

What do you think? Would you be interested if I put up a tutorial for making one of these?

This is so cute! The cover buttons were such a good idea! Is the bodice lined or faced?

Thank you! There’s a facing around the neck edge and along the front. I didn’t line the whole thing as I didn’t have a matching lining fabric to go with, and the fleece is kind of bulky as it is.

Also!! Bonus photos of Jess modeling the coat along with a modified Kirsten’s apron dress. Not the same time period, but they look cute together and vintage/modern combos are a thing anyway. I think it works.

These, along with two Addy remakes (her birthday outfit and her patriotic dress) and some other fun extras are being wrapped up for my little sister’s birthday, which is two days after Christmas. In short, I’ve been working double time to get her presents in order 😂