BlytheCon Minneapolis! I'm vending!

BlytheCon Minneapolis!!!

Art by Stephen Egts

I'm super excited to announce that I was selected to vend at BlytheCon Minneapolis.   

The theme of this con is the roaring '20s/Gatsby and Prince.  Here's the website with all of the details--http://www.blytheconmpls.com/.   And the super artist for this event is Stephen Egts.  I'm so excited that Jen Furman is the web designer.

This year the event will be over 2 days Aug 24 & 25, with the premeet and cocktail party on the first day and the shopping and socializing on the second day.. Everything will be held at the held at the Hilton Minneapolis/St Paul Airport Mall of America  at 3800 American Boulevard East Bloomington, MN 55425.

I'm already coming up with some ideas.  I have decided to make a much more limited selection, so that I don't drive myself batty for months prior to the event, with several different dress designs and just a few special hats.  I'll keep you posted when ideas ceome more solid and production begins.

Thanks for all of your support!

Tiki Doll Designs Collection for BCLA: thoughts on inspiration and perspiration

Forever Summer

 

I am so excited to be vending at BCLA this year!  This is my first time vending, and it has been a lot of work.  I spent time thinking about my collection, what I do best, as well as current trends and interests.  For some time now, I have been working on patterns from other designers and Japanese magazines. There are so many that I have always wanted to try, so I decided to just go for it and make them for myself and to share with others, too.  I do tend to add my own twist to these patterns. And every dress is a unique creation.

First off, the big news for me is that I have a new logo for BCLA! I am just thrilled with it! A very big thank you to Jen Furman at Jen Spectacular for my awesome logo. Look for it on my packaging, signage, cups, and pins.

 

New logo designed by Jen Furman

Summer Sundress Collection by Tiki Doll Designs

The Summer Sundress Collection is based on a Cindy Sowers pattern.  The pattern is available on Etsy as a download here. I used high end imported fabrics, such as Swiss batiste, gauze and eyelets.  All the fabrics start out as white. After making the dress, each one is individually hand-dyed using a variety of different dye techniques to achieve the varying dye patterns. Then the dye is set, and they are washed and shaped to dry.  After they are dry, I embellish each with Japanese glass beads and a bow, which has been specifically tied and dyed to go with the dress. They close in the back with a single snap. I feel these dresses are at the very heart of the Tiki Doll brand, glam summer forever exotics in jewel tones.

The Big Valley

Another pattern that I enjoyed playing with was the popular Tirin and Katten pattern.  It is also available as a download on Etsy here. I used this pattern for two different concepts.  The first, I call The Big Valley. Since BCLA is based on Hollywood, these dresses reflect the classic television show, a Western set in Central California. Created from vintage fabrics, silk, and chambray and embellished with detail stitching, leather belts, and real gemstone and pearl accents, these dresses evoke the spirit of the classic Western appeal.

African Wax Print Dresses

I also used the T&K pattern in a series of African inspired dresses.  I was lucky enough to find some superb African wax prints at a local designer fabric boutique.  Inspired by these traditional fabrics paired with silks and batiks, I am excited to offer a limited line of dresses as an homage to the newest girls on the scene, our dark skin girls produced exclusively by the Chinese retailers of what are commonly called “Fakes” by the Blythe community.

Baby Doll dress series

I did develop a new pattern of my own for BCLA, the Baby Doll Dress.  It is based on the classic little girls’ mid-century dress, also common of dolls in that era.  I chose this design for BCLA because of the link to the golden age of television, again, though I did update the look.  Other designers have made dresses similar for Blythe, as well. I have used trademark and vintage cottons, paired with silks, vintage laces, gemstones, and pearls.  Each dress is a unique expression.

 

Cabled Cardigan with Fur Collar

A small collection of the cable knit, belted cardigans with fur collars will also be available. These are hand knit of a merino/silk blend on tiny needles. They are perfect scale and are super soft with the most delicate sheen from the silk. Super fuzzy, animal-friendly, faux fur collar.

Blythe head on a Mimi Bobeck body

Dresses for plus size Blythe

Sweater, pant, and hat sets for plus size Blythe

The final pieces in this collection are a series of different items for the new, popular plus size Blythe doll.  She is a hybrid doll with a Blythe head transplanted onto a Mimi Bobeck doll body, from The Drew Carey Show doll line.  These dolls have a gaining interest but very little is available on the market for them. Each dress is a unique pattern.  I also have a few pants with knitted sweaters sets available. Some outfits even have hats! The beautiful wool is imported from Italy.  The yarns are alpaca and angora. The pink and yellow plaid is a soft textured, vintage cotton. After BCLA, I am excited to spend some time focusing on these girls and expanding the pattern selections for them.  And even offering some patterns online! 

Knit Hat Collection

Finally, I have a large selection of knitted hats. All of these hats are made from high end boutique yarns.  Some are beanies with rabbit fur pom poms. Others are a mesh slouch hat in variegated, super soft, silk and merino blend.  There are two cabled hats that are based on a hat worn by Hermoine in the Harry Potter movies. I even have one hat that is a replica of Hermoine’s Godric Hollow hat!  

So that’s my entire collection!  I will have a few additional items, such as doll prop sticks, Kaiser stands for Blythe, pink and purple striped stretch pants, cups and buttons.  

See you in LA!!!

Crafting for Blythe: Flower Purses!

 

Photo by Jen Furman

2 Girls + 1 Bottle Champagne = Blythe Purses!

I had a fun afternoon drinking champagne and making purses with my friend Jen.  She is the super talented Jen Spectacular!  You can check out her creativity here

Photo by Jen Furman

We decorated our purses with pretty, summery flowers. They came out so cute!

 

 We used stuff from my stash mainly.

All you need is scraps. But we also did a quick stop at Micheal's. We bought pretty, precut flowers in the scrapbooking section. That made it super easy because they were ready to use!

Photo by Jen Furman

We cut pieces of felt 2 1/4 inches by 4 1/2 inches to make a 2 1/4 square purse when folded in half and seamed up each side.  They are essentially just a pocket with the top open.

 


First, we decorated the front half with the flowers sewn in place with a bead in the center.  Jen used 1 striking flower as a point of interest.  Of course, I had to overembellish with flowers covering the whole front.  I painted the centers with pink acrylic paint before sewing them on with the bead in the center.
 




Then we folded the felt in half with the flowers on the outside (wrong side together) and did a blanket stitch up the sides.  Here a short video tutorial on blanket stitch for review if you need it. (It's not my video. Thank you to Red Ted Art for publishing this.)

 

 Finally, we attached just a bit of chain for the strap. You can adjust this to your desired length. This chain is great because it isn't open on the ends, so the thread stays secure, not slipping through the meeting point.

They turned out so darn cute! 

We had to dash to the local historic cemetery for some photos!

Photo by Jen Furman

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A super fun and fast craft accessory!  Give them a try!  

Moroccan Chicken with Preserved Lemon

I have long loved Moroccan food.  It is one of the great cuisines of the world-- exotic and flavorful, warming my palate and my mind with all of the romance of artists and writers flourishing in and inspired by this colorful locale.

A traditional living room. Photo by Xiquet - Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3528014

And this is my new favorite recipe!  I make it every week, and on the nights when I'm not making it, I think about having it later in the week.  I can't wait to make it for my family the next time I get a chance to visit.


A classic recipe, I have seen this on the pages of many Moroccan cookbooks, but I never had preserved lemons until now.  These are an important ingredient.  I have seen information about alternatives online, but I would not do that.   If your local ethnic market does not carry these, then they are available from Amazon here.  This is the brand that I use, but there are others available at a variety of price points just search under "preserved lemons."  After taking one from the jar, I rinse it under cold water to remove excess brine (salt).  Then I dice the whole thing up- rind, pulp, seeds and all.


Traditionally, this dish would be served over couscous, but I like it over quinoa for a modern healthier alternative, though rice would be equally good.  I also added artichoke hearts to my version.  I love them and they make a nice tangy addition.  I increase the chicken broth to give a little extra sauce to spoon over everyone's plate and have plenty for leftovers.  Here we go!  So good!

Moroccan Chicken with Preserved Lemon

Ingredients

2 heaping teaspoons ground cumin

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

4 large skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 ¼  cups unsalted chicken stock

⅓ cup rinsed and chopped jarred preserved lemon

½ cup kalamata olives

8 small canned artichoke hearts

1 tablespoon butter

Chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

Cut chicken breasts in half or thirds. Place in a ziplock bag with the cumin, salt, and pepper. Mix well to coat evenly. 

Refrigerate for at least an hour to marinate.

Heat a large skillet or pan over medium-high heat. Add oil and swirl to coat.

Add chicken pieces to pan and cook 4 minutes. Turn chicken over and add stock to pan. 

Sprinkle lemon, olives, and artichokes over the top. Reduce to medium and cook 6 minutes. 

Partially cover and cook 4 minutes more (or until chicken is done but it should be done at this point). 

Add butter to pan and stir until melted. Done!

Serve over couscous (or rice, or quinoa). 

Be sure to drizzle plenty of the liquid over all and sprinkle with the chopped cilantro.

Enjoy!

 

Momoko Workshop at BlytheCon Brooklyn

The Duffle Coat constructed at the Workshop

 














With the next BlytheCon fast approaching, this review is rather late in coming.  But it is still useful information about constructing the Duffle Coat for Blythe pattern project and other details of Momoko's general techniques.



First, I had a great time in New York!  The shows!  The premeet dinner!  The Con!  The workshop!

The premeet dinner

Some of the dolls at our table for dinner

This is the Matryoshka Doll carry bag that I made for us to carry our doll to Dinner and the other BlytheCon Brooklyn events.

My costume entry

For the Costume / Photo contest, I made a replica of Madonna's iconic "Like a Virgin" outfit.  They displayed photos of our entries on site during the Convention.

Ready to go! In our 1980s style outfits!

Leo / Poupée mécanique

Romina / I Have Wings

Bridgette with Gina Garan

A big thank you to the BlytheCon organizers.  This was a great event!  Every detail was perfect.  I had so much fun; it was absolutely a whirlwind of activity and then it was over before I knew it.  It was great to see old friends and meet new people.  Bridgette won a doll!  And I won a reroot from Piparrot!

The doll and reroot certificate that we won!

Momoko was very busy with a demo on her sailor dress pattern and a socks make and take event.  We sure will miss her and the demos at BlytheCon Los Angeles!

And a big highlight for me was of course the workshop.  This BlytheCon featured two workshop sections, one before and one after the main event.

BlytheCon Brooklyn Momoko Workshop: Winter is Coming!

Project: Duffle Coat

You can download the pattern from Momoko's Etsy shop here.

At the workshop, we had the choice of two colors, black or dark pink.  I chose pink.

Here are my tips:
1.  Momoko works in exact stitching.  She often sews or shapes to the millimeter.  Her classes always remind me to get back into the practice of exacting detail sewing.
2.  The seam on the hood: trim away the extra fabric AFTER topstitching.
3.  When shaping the pockets and tabs, fold the ends just slightly more so that they are not hanging out and visible in the final topstitch.
4.  Topstitching the tabs is difficult.  Glue them down firmly first, and not just a dot in the middle or they will twist and go off the straight mark.  Use tiny stitches to get a better look and have more control.
5.  I love the Dolly threads that Momoko sold us! So delicate.
6.  The underarm and back seam:  don't sew over them.Sew from the joint down and repeat, to keep the seam allowance free.
7.  When sewing the shoulder seam and the underarm seam, do not sew all the way to the edge of the fabric, leave the seam allowance open.  Then you don't have to clip there for ease.
8.  On the jacket yoke, make sure the yoke front edge is exactly parallel to the jacket front edge.  It will be very noticeable when you finish the coat.
9.  Sew the strings down by hand to get them in the exact spot.
10.  When sewing the sleeve: first adjust the stitches just slightly larger and ease stitch the top of the sleeve.  Pull the top thread to shape the sleeve into the nice curve that you are looking for in the sleeve shape. Now pin and sew the sleeve to the jacket.

This event was super fun! The venue was awesome. 

Thank you to Kathleen Stevens for organizing this wonderful event! 

You are so sweet, as well as accommodating of my advancing disability.

A huge thank you to Momoko Komori for sharing all of your knowledge 

and for being such a kind and patient teacher.  
 

 I love my Pink Duffle Coat!