Material for dollclothes and other money savers

I thought I would pass along something I have used for years,
gathering materials for making doll dresses. I use silk in a lot of my
creations, and I can find silk blouses in thrift stores very cheap, I
get a huge amount of material for very little expense, the same goes
for ribbon and buttons and lace, I see it at yard sales and such for
minimum money compared to buying in a store.

I look at the world around me for inspiration, I have used many desert
plants for yard landscaping, some look like beautiful trees, some
"real" tiny flowers can be preserved with little trouble and used as
foliage both indoors and out in your minnie world. I used 2 dry ants
and a piece of wood as a outdoor bench in one setting. I have used
flower petals and pieces of butterfly wings for stained glass. Do not
be afraid to try something, it is how we learn...

Millie

It has been cloudy and snowing today, so I painted a big shiny Sun on
the wall of my creative room, she warms me now with her smile!

The flowers on the wall in our bedroom are ripe, so I painted a
hummingbird to enjoy the nectur.....

Life is wonderful,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Live it!

Millie wrote:

I thought I would pass along something I have used for years,
gathering materials for making doll dresses. I use silk in a lot of my
creations, and I can find silk blouses in thrift stores very cheap, I
get a huge amount of material for very little expense, the same goes
for ribbon and buttons and lace, I see it at yard sales and such for
minimum money compared to buying in a store.

Silks and other very thin fabrics are great. We see too many "dollhouse
dolls" dressed in materials that in scale would be three or four inches
thick! They look like kids so overdressed for winter that they couldn't
move a muscle.

We also use a little stage management to force fabrics to drape
realistically - a little hairspray or spray starch goes a long way to
holding them in place (not so much on dolls, but drapes, bedding,
upholstery, and gauze ghosts.)

- Herb



I look at the world around me for inspiration, I have used many desert
plants for yard landscaping, some look like beautiful trees, some
"real" tiny flowers can be preserved with little trouble and used as
foliage both indoors and out in your minnie world. I used 2 dry ants
and a piece of wood as a outdoor bench in one setting. I have used
flower petals and pieces of butterfly wings for stained glass. Do not
be afraid to try something, it is how we learn...

Millie

It has been cloudy and snowing today, so I painted a big shiny Sun on
the wall of my creative room, she warms me now with her smile!

The flowers on the wall in our bedroom are ripe, so I painted a
hummingbird to enjoy the nectur.....

Life is wonderful,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Live it!

Chuck wrote:

On 17 Feb 2004 15:16:40 -0800, (Millie) wrote:

I thought I would pass along something I have used for years,
gathering materials for making doll dresses. I use silk in a lot of my
creations, and I can find silk blouses in thrift stores very cheap, I
get a huge amount of material for very little expense, the same goes
for ribbon and buttons and lace, I see it at yard sales and such for
minimum money compared to buying in a store.

Another good source is fat quarters and other remnants at the fabric
store. While not necessarily as cheap as at the thrift store or at
yard sales, they still represent a substantial savings over the
regular per yard price.

Small prints not only make good clothes, but upholstery fabric and
wall coverings, in place of wall paper. Often, if you check the
bolts, you will find some with less than a yard left on them and can
pick them up for the remnant price.

And speaking of wall coverings, don't forget to check the hardware
store or even the "big box" stores for discontinued wallpaper books.
There is a wealth of decorating and even construction materials in
just one of those books, and once their discontinued they just throw
them away, so they're free if you catch them before they hit the
trash.


Yep - we've used a lot of those.
Also - sample pieces of leather (about 2" x 4") in an almost infinite
range of colors and textures, obtained from a recliner-chair store and
samples of formica and other hard coverings make wonderful counters,
desktops, marble table tops.

- Herb

Men's neckties, espcially the old polyester jaquard designs, make wonderful
upholstery fabric. I did a Victorian parlor out of a regular necktie & a
"clip-on" in a similar color for my dh.

On 17 Feb 2004 15:16:40 -0800, (Millie) wrote:

I thought I would pass along something I have used for years,
gathering materials for making doll dresses. I use silk in a lot of my
creations, and I can find silk blouses in thrift stores very cheap, I
get a huge amount of material for very little expense, the same goes
for ribbon and buttons and lace, I see it at yard sales and such for
minimum money compared to buying in a store.

Another good source is fat quarters and other remnants at the fabric
store. While not necessarily as cheap as at the thrift store or at
yard sales, they still represent a substantial savings over the
regular per yard price.

Small prints not only make good clothes, but upholstery fabric and
wall coverings, in place of wall paper. Often, if you check the
bolts, you will find some with less than a yard left on them and can
pick them up for the remnant price.

And speaking of wall coverings, don't forget to check the hardware
store or even the "big box" stores for discontinued wallpaper books.
There is a wealth of decorating and even construction materials in
just one of those books, and once their discontinued they just throw
them away, so they're free if you catch them before they hit the
trash.


--
Chuck *#:^)
chaz3913(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
Anti-spam sig: please remove "NO SPAM" from e-mail address to reply.


September 11, 2001 - Never Forget


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