DIY Felt Dress Up Dolls

Ryan's twin nieces were turning six and I wanted to make them something special. I came across this idea for felt dress up dolls at Smile and Wave, which also led me to these extremely cute felt dresses by Olivia Mew. I absolutely love the way the dolls turned out! 

I couldn't wait to start cutting out the miniature fashionistas. I headed to Joann's and grabbed a bunch of felt. I hadn't done any crafts with felt in a loooong time. I was surprised to find they even had animal print felt. 

Of course, I had to throw in a little felt wiener dog. We had fun coming up with the accessories. Ryan made the cupcakes and cut the parrots freehand! He never ceases to amaze me.

Rachel was sweet enough to share a template for the dolls in her post. Use this as a jumping off point and then channel your inner fashion designer and run with it.

A hunt through my craft room turned up flower-shaped brads, mini pearls, ribbon, buttons, and lots of little bling. So I went to town adding the finishing touches to the clothes.

Meow! My attempt above at felt cat-eye glasses. Maybe if I had done them in black, they would have looked more like cat-eye glasses and less like a superhero mask.

I would have loved to make even more clothes and accessories. Ryan had to pull me away when I was still cutting out little hairdos and handbags ten minutes before the party was supposed to start. He reminded me that I could make them more wardrobe pieces as a Christmas gift (which is the perfect idea since I'm sure a few pieces will have been sucked up into the vacuum by then). 

Now I know that it's lame to give a dual gift to twins. But with the sandwich board they can each have their own side to dress up dolls. I personalized them with their names. Plus they have twice the wardrobe options so they can swap clothes with each other, doll clothes that is (one of the twins is much taller than the other).

You can choose a different color for the board felt. But I ended up following Rachel's lead and choosing a light gray. No other color worked as well. It's neutral and it allows the brightly colored clothes to pop.

Here's how to make the felt board :

Welcome Planter Box

I wanted something colorful and welcoming for our front porch. I went on down to Lowe's and bought this cedar planting box. 

 And they had these flowers, Lantanas, on sale 4 for $10. I love how each bloom has multiple colors. I found out they are also referred to as Ham 'n Eggs, because of their yellow and pink clusters.

 I love how the box looks! I also took out my big-girl power tools and screwed on a small iron sign that I bought in France years ago.

Bienvenue = Welcome

Patsy loves to smell the Ham 'n Eggs. ;)


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Makeover: Lavender Dresser and Hutch

Ryan and I went down to an antique center in Chico called Eighth and Main (it's huge, you should check it out if you're local). I came across this piece and fell in love with it. A few other people were eyeballing it, so I knew I had to jump on it ! I was not so keen on the lavender color, but I was willing to take on the challenge.

We talked the seller down to a pretty good price, since the mirror was broken.

Ryan took out the mirror and I painted two coats of "white dove." Unfortunately, the paint shop in our small town gave me the wrong sheen; the paint was too shiny. So I had to paint a third coat with an eggshell finish from Lowe's. The eggshell finish looks a lot more vintage. 

The day I decided to paint, it was 95° outside. It took about five hours for the first two coats! All of the little nooks and crannies were tricky to paint. Not sure I've ever sweated so much in my life. I looked like a hot mess, with paint in my hair and my "shake what your mama gave you" t-shirt on. 

This is what Patsy looked like while I was painting:

Don't worry, she had ice water.

To see the finished product, click here.

Meet Patsy

This is Ms. Patsy Cline, my new side-kick.

She is a miniature Dachshund with a dapple honey color.

She enjoys napping, chasing her ball, and sneaking out of my room, like a ninja, with mismatched socks.

We're working on potty-training and it isn't easy. You would think, having taught high school students for a couple of years, that I would have plenty of patience. On the contrary, she has taught is teaching me to be more patient.