Mood for Mods: Flattening seams

Today I'm opening a new tag dedicated to doll tutorials. Mood for Mods (as in "modifications") deals with ways of fixing or restyling factory doll outfits. Skirt too short or too tight? Shoes with floppy heels? No problem! Are you in the mood for mods? Let's see what can be done!

I have thought a lot about the idea for this series and I finally decided to go with it. I'm a bit of a perfectionist and I like to have everything my way. I can't bear to dress dolls in outfits with glaring faults and I don't want to throw them away either. So far I successfully modified a few items and a couple are still in progress. Yesterday was my birthday so I want to celebrate it with a story about my doll gift, PD Spectra, and how I fixed her misshapen sleeves.

Introduction about my jewellery and beaded earrings pattern

Lately I'm often told that I've been neglecting my jewellery and it's hard to disagree with that. I love beading, both the process and the results and part of my intention when I created this blog was to share what I do and gain new knowledge - hence the name "multicrafteral". Looking back at all these doll posts, I understood it was about time to start mixing in some beading, but first I want to explain where I'm coming from in the world of jewellery making. If you're visiting from Pinterest, the earring pattern is at the end and you can skip to it. Big pictures ahead, open the full size :)

New dolls I brought home

Ever since I started the blog I decided for myself I'll update on every doll purchase. Not because I want to boast, but because I want to keep track of my progress - how often I get new stuff and how much time passes before I start working on it. So, after my latest trip, it was inevitable I bring home a few goodies. Let's see what I found.

My autumn trip around Europe

Strasbourg Cathedral viewed from Raven's Bridge

I finished the last post saying I'm going on vacation till the end of October, and now, between a full hard drive, a broken computer and an unexpected kitten wreaking havoc in my house, I realise it's been a month since I returned and I didn't even drop a word to say I'm alive and well. Time to fix that! This post is loaded with pretty autumn pictures, some of them are larger than usual and clickable ("open in new tab" for collages). I'll leave the crafts for another time, now let's look at travel photos!

G(l)oo hair mystery solved

Hi there! Notice that I added a new little tab up there ^ to explain how I feel about writing tutorials. I'm always eager to share knowledge but I'm rarely the right person for this, no matter the subject. Now that more projects of mine are coming to an end, the number of tutorial posts in my drafts is is getting dangerously high. I'm going on vacation tomorrow and I won't be back until November. Don't worry, your comments will publish themselves and I'll reply to everything when I come back. I played a lot with my dolls' hair and I felt that I can't cover everything in only one article. I'll try to tackle each topic separately in a logical order. Today we'll brush (heh!) on hair cleaning - I'm talking sticky, nasty, gooey gel hair.

My sole tutorial (with spider sandals for MH and a lot of pictures)

I promised a tutorial for my accidentally discovered method of making soles for doll shoes, and here it is! Three shoes made like this have been around for quite a while now; they have been put on and off many times, dropped and even stepped on lightly (I can be a real klutz >.<) and I'm happy to say they survived without noticeable warping or other damage. Now I can share the tutorial with confidence. There are over 40 photos next - click on if you can handle...

Two new dolls

I finished my spider shoes and while I sort through the bazillion photos for the sole tutorial, I'll share the newest dolls in my collection. Hubby returned from a business trip to France and brought me not one, but two dolls!

Update on current projects... and pinterest!

Hi there!
Summer is coming to an end, I finally have the energy to dust my old projects. Do you know what aestivation is? It's like hibernation in summer. Well, I feel like I'm waking up from something similar, because I hate hate hate summer! Time to get creative now!

Shoe project

Any guesses on what it will be?

I found my Monster High shoes on Pinterest with the following text: "Beautiful OOAK shoes for Monster High ! °0° Tuto on the Website"

This is flattering, but there's no tutorial yet! It's just the clasp!

So I made up my mind to change this as soon as possible. My long due pair of Barbie boots isn't moving at all. I had to think of a design that involves the least amount of leather to make some quick shoes for the sole tutorial. 

Massive Monster High update

Recently, I had the occasion to buy stuff from the USA and have a friend pick it up and mail it to me. Of course, dolls made the top of my list! The price difference is significant, especially if we're looking at used or deboxed dolls (we don't have a secondary market for brand name toys here). I decided that I had to have Cleos, especially the only fringeless Dead Tired version, which I find the most beautiful; more 'Lauras, because of the amazing hair and soft skin tone, and a Ghoulia with longer hair. I will not describe how much effort went into hunting down the seven MH I ended up buying, but I'm very proud of myself now that the package is here!