This life hacks list is the one for all you parents out there. Need a little help with raising kids? Who doesn't? Well you're in luck thanks to this list of simple yet effective parenting hacks that are sure to make your life just that little bit easier.

After sculpting the doll face you’re happy with, there’s another hurdle to overcome - bringing it to life with painting. I see some doll makers and students of mine struggle with this. Painting could make your sculpture look livelier, more realistic. So how to achieve that? Today I want to share som

The central focus of the whole little piggy scene is going to be the fireplace. So, I needed to come up with a design that would fit the layout and accommodate the elements that I want to include. Important stuff, like firewood storage, a place to bake yummy loaves of bread, and of course a large enough fire to heat the house and cook in. I measured the wall space and then drew a rough design that was the perfect size for Maxwell. He seemed very happy with it! I decided that foam core would be the best material to work with. It's easy to cut and is much lighter than wood. Using my drawing, I measured and cut the pieces. I did a dry fit to make sure it looked proportionate to Maxwell. Then I glued and clamped it - leaving the front and shelf as separate pieces for easier brick application. While the glue dried, I set to work making my "bricks". I grabbed a couple lids from my pile of egg cartons. I picked out colors and squirted a little of each one on a paper plate. I started with the lighter color combinations as the backdrop, then splotched and dry brushed additional colors until I liked the effect. Once the paint had dried overnight, it was time to cut out the bricks. I only used two lids, but it took a very long time to cut each little brick to size. I wondered if I'd have enough, but looking at the giant pile of individual bricks, I felt pretty good about it. Brick by egg carton brick I went. In total, it took me about two full days to cover every inch. In the end, I had just enough! Lucky, lucky! I left the front and the shelf detached so that it would be easier to grout. This meant that I had to attach the side bricks and the brick openings around the shelf only half on so that they could be joined to the main piece and grouted after the pieces were glued together. I wrapped around and glued bricks where the openings could be seen. Remember the Dreadful Egg Carton Stones incident? I'll never forget it, so I diligently applied two coats of matte varnish, letting them dry thoroughly in between, and then used old reliable SPACKLE rather than MOSIAC TILE GROUT to grout the bricks. It came out perfectly, in spite of the horrible fear I aquired from messing up the stones. Phew! While I let everything dry and while I contemplated aging the grout/brick, I decided to get out the stuff I needed to make the fire. I purchased a fire kit from somewhere last summer. It has three bulbs; two orange and one red. It flickers and runs off of it's own battery so you don't have to worry about it pulling juice from your 12v system and dimming the lights (this is a known problem when you run the flickering bulbs on the main circuit of your house lights). It comes with a piece of shimmery cellophane and gives the effect of a real fireplace. I glued the three bulbs into a metal fire grate, then layered the cellophane and logs to get the look of a real fire. This is it when it was finished drying and hooked up to a 9 volt battery to test it. I love it! It's going to look great under the copper pot in the fireplace! I made a swinging pot arm and hook and attached it to the inside of the fireplace, then aged the grout and brick with a watered down brown wash. I love the way it all turned out! All it needs now is a mantle and some accessories! You can also see in the photo that I have finished the floor brick tile and have begun the kitchen brick tile, but I'll save that for another post. Maybe by then I'll have the rest of the walls bricked as well! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for one more mini day before work steals all of my time. Have a wonderful week! I hope to be back soon! Jodi

I have sewn no small number of doll clothes in my years of mothering girls and yesterday as I was working on yet more clothes with my girls for their 18" dolls, I was realizing that there are some things I've learned along the way to make sewing doll clothes fun and easy. I can whip them up pre

Sewing tricks from professional seamstresses. Your sewing is about to get easier and more efficient. Grab a project to test them out!

Here are some of the most important lessons I picked up in my first year of sewing. This isn't an exhaustive list, but these are some of the things that I struggled with or that confused me at first. These tips and tricks should help a beginner who is just learning to sew.

Doll making tips and tricks: Learn how to make the head of your handmade rag doll or stuffed animal smooth and even after stuffing.

Here are some tips and tricks on how to sew doll clothes for beginners. Pick the perfect fabric, pattern, and make a cute new doll outfit!

I’ve had the same doll in my garage for the last year. It was a Bratz doll – and the over the top makeup look wasn’t really what I wanted to give to a 6 year old, so the doll just sat on a shelf. Then I came across a lovely artist in Australia named […]

Nothing beats sitting back and looking at a finely crafted garment of your own creation adorning your favorite doll. Every stitch is perfect, every seam in place, and, of course, the fabric choice is impeccable.But how do you make sure you nail picking the perfect fabric every time? That's what I'm here to show you today!Stick around to find out about: The easiest fabrics to work with for doll clothes Draping and structure considerations Scaling down prints and embellishments Creative ways to find fabric you've never thought of Ready? Let's get to it... Choosing a Fabric Material Fabric material choice is important, especially when sewing for dolls. The small scale of doll clothes makes some fabrics more difficult than others to work with. My preference is to look for fat quarters at a fabric store. They have a ton of prints and colors so you have lots of options, and sometimes they're on sale for amazing deals. Fat quarters are usually polycotton blends, which are great for making doll clothes. They're sturdy, but not to heavy and bulky. Plus, they don't slip much, making it easier to work with small garments. Also, broadcloth fabrics work great for doll clothes as they don’t slip or stretch on you, which can be a real issue for beginners. Often, however, the pattern you’re working with will dictate your fabric choice and you may want to opt for something else. So, if you go for a different choice, always pay attention to the stretch of the fabric. Shiny polyester, rayon, and silk, for instance, are a little more difficult to sew because of their elasticity. Pay Attention to Drape and Structure Sometimes your pattern will call for a certain drape so it falls correctly and looks natural on your doll. Fabrics like rayon or silk work best to give your flowy dresses a perfect drape.The Cold Shoulder dress pattern below is a fantastic example of when you’d want to pay attention to fabric choice for draping purposes. Cold Shoulder Dress Sewing Pattern Or, on the other hand, if you need structure for a pattern like a coat or jacket you can use twill, denim weight or suiting. Choosing Print Fabrics If you’re going to use a print fabric when sewing a doll garment, choose a small scale for a realistic finished product. A good rule is to keep the motif the size of your thumbnail or smaller. A larger print may look amazing on the rack, but once you make your teeny tiny doll clothes, the print will often look too big, odd and out of place. There are exceptions for statement pieces, but again, this is a good general rule to follow.Check out these examples from one of our customers and her great use of small-scale prints on the Uptown Downtown 2-in-1 sewing pattern: Uptown Downtown 2-in-1 Sewing Pattern Another consideration with prints is if you choose a pattern like plaid or stripes you're going to need some extra fabric to ensure you can achieve a good pattern match. Choosing Embellishments Just like with your print fabric, you want to scale down embellishments like laces, trim, buttons, etc. so your doll clothes come out looking just right.You can find 6mm trim and lace at most fabric stores, or cut down bigger pieces to the perfect size and scale for your doll garments. You can also search Etsy for a huge selection of laces, trims, and other accessories perfect for doll clothes. Sometimes a bow or button is the perfect finishing touch to take your creation from good to out-of-this-world amazing!For instance, one of our customers added a button to one of our most popular embroidery shoe patterns and, honestly, we wish we had thought to include it in the original! Oopsie Daisy ITH Embroidery Shoes Pattern Get Creative with Fabric Sources With the small size of doll clothes, it’s a great idea and fun to find alternative sources of fabric to sew with (and it’s sometimes a lot less expensive too!).For example, I’m in a doll group where one of the members, Julia, used these place mats from the dollar store... ...to make these adorable outfits! Julia also has a Facebook page called Our Girls and Guys that has a great story and posts adorable outfits every day! I highly recommend checking it out :)Also, you can always upcycle what you have around the house to make doll clothes. Both the Free Sweater Vest and Sweater Dress patterns are created with old sweaters you surely have tucked into the back of a closet somewhere. Upcycled Sweater Vest and Sweater Dress Patterns Get creative and let us know in the comments what you’ve found to make doll clothes out of! Wrapping Up So, there you have it: everything you need to know to pick the perfect fabric for your doll sewing projects every time. And if you have any tips of your own we did include here, I’d love to hear about them in the comments section below :)

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Here are some tips and tricks on how to sew doll clothes for beginners. Pick the perfect fabric, pattern, and make a cute new doll outfit!

The dress at the top of this post was supposed to have long sleeves. In fact, I was using my own "candy corn party dress" pattern, which you can see below, but the pattern didn't fit! So this is a little bit embarrassing! After I attached the cuff to the dress's sleeve (see image below)

Crocheting an amigurumi doll can be tricky. If you don't get the toy exactly right, it can look creepy. Your kids will be running to you in the middle of the night screaming, "Mommy, that doll is looking at me!" That's not exactly the reaction we were hoping for. These seven tips are going to

Doll making tips and tricks: Learn how to make the head of your handmade rag doll or stuffed animal smooth and even after stuffing.

There is a lot that goes into making crochet dolls face… Every little detail is what makes the doll unique, special. Those details are my favorite part of making amigurumi- dolls or otherwise. The face deserves a lot of attention because it can change the whole aspect of the doll! When I started out, I...

See how to repurpose a cutting board into a miniature craft room and 5 easy tips and tricks for planning and making miniatures.

After sculpting the doll face you’re happy with, there’s another hurdle to overcome - bringing it to life with painting. I see some doll makers and students of mine struggle with this. Painting could make your sculpture look livelier, more realistic. So how to achieve that? Today I want to share som

Use this simple method to curl yarn for doll hair or hats. An easy way to give your little girl the bouncy curls she's always wanted!

Dollhouse miniature blog, 1:12th scale, miniature kits, miniature project sharing, dollhouse kit building, kit bashing, dollhouse tutorial

Doll making tips and tricks: Learn how to make the head of your handmade rag doll or stuffed animal smooth and even after stuffing.

Trying out DIY woodwork projects is one of the most interesting things to do. However if you are planning to take it up seriously then you had better be prepared to do some serious reading as to how…

Which Type Of Dollhouse Paint Would You Use If You Are Going To Paint A Dollhouse And What About Those Paint Techniques For Your Dollhouse?