Eloise dolls & new cosmetic bags!

The Eloise dolls come in two sizes - mini (8") and large (13"). They're made from professionally printed thick cotton fabric, sewn by me and stuffed with polyfill. The backs of the dolls have assorted patterened fabrics (polka dots.. stripes.. pink) and since I don't use a pattern for cutting them out, each one is truly one of a kind! Available in my shop HERE.




And (FINALLY!) the cosmetic bags are back -- new and improved cosmetic bags, that is! These are more like traditional cosmetic bags, and less like pencil cases. They'll fit all of your odd shaped makeup do-dads like mascara, lipstick and eyeshadow without looking bulky. They're handmade by me, with a pink zipper, printed fabric and soft white lining. They measure approx. 6" x 2" x 3". Available in my shop HERE.

Flapper doll update! (or Eloise in her birthday suit)

I'm in a silly mood today :)

Well, here she is folks! After about ten different tests, this is my final pattern for the Eloise doll. As you can see, she's kind of naked. That's because she's about to be packed up and sent off on a trip to visit one of my best friends, The Seamstress Extraordinaire Casey, where she'll be fitted for a special Casey-designed flapper doodle dress! When she's no longer in the nude, I'll be offering her for sale in my shop. The dolls will be made to order, so if you're thinking of ordering one just a heads up that there will be a 1-2 week turnover time.

Now, some of the changes I made from my original pattern:

Before, her feet and arms were separate from the body, which was a pain to sew together (and the limbs were a pain to turn inside out and stuff this way, too). Thanks to the ingenuity of my little brother, she's now sewn in one piece, which for someone who isn't exactly a wizard with the sewing machine makes things a heck of a lot easier!

Also, I decided to embroider her features instead of silk-screen them. The silkscreen can be very hit-or-miss, and I like having more control over how it turns out. I think this method gives the doll more quality, too, and will probably be better as far as longevity goes.

And, last but not least, rather than paint on her dress I decided that she needed a real dress to wear, which is where Casey comes in! I think this finishing touch will make her absolutely perfect. I'm also considering a little string of flapper-beads, but their inclusion might make the doll off-limits for kids, and I'm not sure if I want to do that.

to-do-list notepad trio

I've had this idea on my to-do-list (ha.ha.) for a while and finally completed it last night -- it turned out so much better than I thought it would! I'm really happy with it!! The set includes three 25 page glue-bound notepads, each 7.5" x 3.5". The set comes with a to-do-list pad, a shopping list pad and a grocery list pad. Each set is $9 and is available in my shop here.

I've had a lot of inquires about the Eloise dolls (thank you!), don't worry I'm working on them and will have them ready very soon!! I'm having a wee bit of trouble with her hair, but once I get that all sorted out I'll start making them to sell :)

oodles of new stuff, new packaging and my cat

my cat Hypatia and the Eloise doll.. I thought this was pretty cute :)


new packaging for the magnetic paper doll set!! It's a little pocket-sleeve thing to keep the doll in when it's not on the fridge!


custom pendants, now available in my shop! $12 each, you can choose any design, but it's a good idea to choose ones that aren't too busy (since it's so tiny!) and would work well in the square shape.


new bookplate design! Thanks to Lulu for suggesting this illustration for bookplates :) I think I like it even better than my original design! available in my shop, 8 for $5, here.



flapper doodle postcard set! includes 5 cards, all with the Eloise and Ramona prepare for a night on the town illustration. I'm also offering custom sets, but since I order these instead of printing from home, there's an extra 3-5 day turnaround. available 5 for $5 in my shop here!

I'm having a pretty nice creative streak right now, and I have so many other ideas up my sleeve! I have an epic new product I'll be posting hopefully next week! :D

sneak peak at my new project!

Yup, Flapper Doodle dolls!!! I seriously cannot contain my excitement about these.

Now, this is just my trial doll - I just wanted to put something together really quick and then decide what changes I'd make for the final dolls. For the new dolls, the body will be white, and then I'm going to have a dress attached over top, instead of painting her middle section black. I think her head needs to be a teeny bit smaller, and I need to get better at sewing in a circle so her head isn't lumpy.. otherwise I'm really happy with how this came out! And her features are screen printed on, another example of my new massive screen printing skills ;-)

I really couldn't have made a doll if I didn't have a lot of help... My dad owns a small music t-shirt mail order business so he donated some old shirts for my fabric. My mom helped me figure out how to assemble the doll (I swear, I'd be nowhere without my mom. She solves every single problem that my incompetence prevents me from solving myself) and Casey taught me how to flip the thin little limbs inside out once I'd sewn them!

Once I figure out what I'm going to make the dress out of, I should have these ready to sell! I'm hoping I'll have the first doll finished sometime next week.

Now I'm having little dreams about young girls telling their moms that they can't go to sleep unless they have an Eloise or Ramona tucked in bed with them :)

new dolls and packaging for the BFF necklaces

I painted six new dolls yesterday, with the changes that I had talked about in the post about the first dolls. I used a finer paintbrush for the necklaces and facial features, and left the plain wood for the skintone instead of painting it white. I'm super happy with how they came out!

I'll be listing them in my etsy shop tonight!


I also made the packaging for my BFF necklaces today! Each necklace comes on its own card, and then the cards are sealed in a plastic sleeve before I put both necklaces in a kraft box with pink ribbon! I'm packaging the individual necklaces separately, though, since one will probably be a gift :)

I also overhauled the blog design today! What do you think? I added some links to the sidebar with all of my flapper sites (facebook, twitter, flickr, etc.) so if you didn't know they existed.. now you do!

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Eloise and Ramona wooden dolls

This is my first draft, future dolls will have plain wooden faces (not painted white, which I think makes them look more like Geishas than flappers) and I'm getting a thinner brush to use for their features. But otherwise I'm really happy with these :-D They're 2.25" tall each, and come in a set of two. This particular set is $10, but future sets will probably be around $15. In my shop here.