Freya’s spring style & pillows

In Finnish: Tiedättekö sanonnan, että suutarin lapsilla ei ole kenkiä? Täällä tuntuu olevan se tilanne, joskaan kyse ei ole suutarista vaan ompelijasta, jonka tytöillä ei ole vaatteita.

Do you know the saying that shoemaker’s own children don’t have any shoes? At least in Finland we have such a saying. In this case I am not a shoemaker but perhaps we could stretch the saying: seamstress’ girls don’t have any clothes. So very true around here.

Because, with the saying or not, the situation is pretty severe with my crew of girls. Even if I consider myself a seamstress I seem to avoid making clothes for my girls. With that concluded I decided to try to make something with a serious intent for Freya for the coming spring time, using one of the previously completed corset tops as a basis for the dress. And I must say I am pretty happy with Freya’s new pastel mint style.

A hint of yellow and green is hidden in the skirt. Tiny silk flowers. Previously completed flower headband adds in some color to the whole. I cannot seem to be able to decide which hair style is better…

One of a kind pillow covers on Etsy

I mentioned these in my previous posts. Finally completed, in two different sizes and designs, you can find these unique decorative elements from Etsy. Japanese design comes in size 50 x 50cm, pretty common size for decorative pillows. Pillow case has four wooden buttons on its back-side. Rectangular pillow comes in size 50cm x 24 cm, a bit of an odd size. It closes from the other end with four pattern buttons. The fabric in itself is Studio Ghibli’s Kiki’s Delivery Service Jiji cat -themed. Both are great decorative elements for anyone who loves Japanese style or the said movie. Have a further look at Etsy.

Lovely sunshine has inspired me to do more decorative elements. However, there are more than few designs that are waiting for me to proceed. More news coming up soon!~

March: Sweet Lolita & Cutiness

Updates now and other plans for the coming month.

I found one of my lace stashes and got inspired to use some of those for the new creations. As I also have a strong intention to use the fabrics from my box, those that I have accumulated over the years, the new pieces are from now on are likely to be both colorful as well as combinations of many great fabrics.

Sweet Lolita Mix & Match skirts – Lillycat & MSD sizes

Are you ready for some light blue sweet lolita skirts? These perfect Tsukifly Mix & Match pieces are one of a kind (OOAK) creations with slightly different details, available in Lillycat and MSD size.

Lillycat Sweet Lolita skirt has a high waist part and three rows of ribbons on the back side. It can be worn on top or under a shirt/corset. Small bow ties are positioned randomly  on the skirt and hem decorated with two different laces. Made out of sturdy light blue taffeta the skirt maintains its shape and can be worn with or without a separate tulle skirt.

MSD sized sweet lolita skirt has a polka dot brown/mint fabric for the waist and sturdy light blue taffeta for the skirt part. This skirt fastens with snap fasteners at the back and can be worn similarly on or under a shirt/top. Hem is lined with minty lace and ribbon bow ties are similarly randomly sewn over the skirt part.

Tulle & Lace skirts – Various sizes

Because girls can never have enough skirts and because those skirts that can be used with many different outfits are great multipurpose pieces I decided to turn some of the tulle and lace fabrics into skirts as I found some excess tulle from the box. More sturdy and some soft. Different colors. Enough lace for a skirt is more of a rarity, thus I anticipate that there will not be too many of those to come.

There will be a soft beige tulle skirt, a mint lace skirt and a pink sturdy tulle skirt available through Etsy soon. Working on the listings as we speak. All those may be used as a petticoat or on their own. All have an elastic waist band and therefore they fit for various sized dolls. Each of the skirts also comes with a small bow tie detail.

So things coming up – keep checking Etsy, blog and Instagram ~

 

Pullip fever and Tsukifly vintage month

Done and dusted.

Oh? You would like to have a bit more to read than the headline and one sentence? Sure. I will gladly elaborate on that request.

I haven’t actually got any Pullip that was original release by Groove. However, I previously had a great fancy over the Red Riding Hood Pullip – still do actually. When the time is suitable I may still consider getting her.

Another, intriguing new release coming in (although release is delayed till March I hear) is Pullip Optical Alice. I like her outfit and the overall design of her. While something didn’t strike me quite right with the Red Queen Pullip I might consider this one.

Overall, from the three Pullips I mentioned above and now that I look at the pictures again, I still feel like wanting to get my own Red Riding Hood at one point or another… We shall see whether I feel tempted by this new Optical Alice after its release…

Tsukifly Vintage Month

I strongly feel the headline is already kind of self-explanatory. February for Tsukifly has a theme of Vintage. What this means in practice is that the outfits for Etsy for February are both styled and made from vintage materials. All fabrics, laces and materials have been fully washed before any sewing has taken place. Additionally pieces are largely hand-fitted and hand-sewn as they are delicate. Still, I have found they are surprisingly sturdy and generally have lovely shade of white/off-white colors. I am a huge fan of these fabrics~

I have come to conclude that this practice of mine trying to choose a specific size for a month didn’t really work. It is more how I feel, for which size I have inspiration to sew for. Thus, trying to set such a restriction was a no-go. Therefore I will try this more lenient approach with themes ^-^

At least for February setting a theme was easy. As I stumbled across my fabric boxes I found all these nice laces. I call that an inspiration. While I wasn’t feeling quite well for the last months of the year 2016 it was all the more nice to be through my fabrics once again to have an idea what is in there. A lot. It seems to be that you can never have enough of fabrics. Always in need to this and that. Or the pieces aren’t big enough. Or something else isn’t quite right for the design etc.

Vintage for Etsy

So, for the vintage themed month of February Tsukifly store will have few theme related additions coming up. Let’s start with what I completed first. A vintage style outfit set for slim mini/MNF/Unoa size. The set will come with a white/off-white colored one-piece dress and a tulle skirt. I especially like how the different fabrics and laces came together. I used five different laces / lace fabrics and two ribbons. This will also fit flat chest MSDs as it is tied from the backside with that minty ribbon, so there is room for adjustment.

Second with more vintage feeling (?) is a Dollfie Dream (DD) dress. Rein is M-bust with Dollfie Dream Sister body, but the dress was made so its not too tight but instead has an airy feeling to it. Overall more of a classical style. For this I used also five different lace fabrics / laces. The lace collar/choker with a ribbon is separate from the dress. Zipper on the back side to make it easy to take off and put on.

Now that I come to think of it… The vintage lace dress is probably also first full outfit for DD size in Etsy. I remember completing few of the lace tops previously but they don’t count as an outfit. So happy for that as well! Teasers of the dresses here, more info, pictures etc. on Etsy ^^ I hope you like them!

Lately I have gone through my unfinished/in-progress box and all the stuff I have found! They are what the box is for – still unfinished/half-done but I intend to get around to finish them one by one at some point. First was this legwarmer/armwarmer pair for MSD/Unoa size. I have had them knitted for ages but they were missing finishing touches. Here they are. Finally. I do like how they look on Lune but then again she will not get to keep them. I still need to figure out what kind of style I would like for her… Bloomers, lace top and a short skirt perhaps?

As armwarmers

As legwarmers

 

Etsy’s January and dolly plans

Second update for the month. I feel like clapping my hands a bit. For both the joy of finishing these items as well as for the fact of having a second update for the month.

This is filled with photos of the new updates for Tsukifly’s Etsy shop. Some of the items were suppose to be there already for the previous month but due to health issues I was unable to finish any of the plans. Better late than never, right? So while I am home for few days I felt it was sufficient time to finish the projects.

My dear friend Irene greatly contributed to my focusing on Blythe size for the time being. It seems. Thank you so much dear once again~ ! So it did have a desired effect, right? Besides the Blythe socks I already mentioned earlier I was able to finish the dress set properly with a tiny off-white tulle skirt to go with it. Easy to put on a doll with my new faves: hook & eye closure at the back. Ribbon details on both sides of the waist area. Now found on Etsy.

Personally it seems I am a fan of tulle skirts for my girls. Off-white is quite nice on Mella even if she has nothing else on her. That is the off-white tulle skirt under the red dress set. Appears to look like a normal white in the picture though. Natural light is rather minimal in Finland for this winter time. I might be inclined to offer some tulle skirts separately for Blythe/Pullip size in the future.

Looking something like this. But they shall come later when I get there. If someone would like one in a specific size please inquire. In general these have 4 layers of soft tulle. As there are some designs from before I may consider a first pre-order item out of these. I have a feeling they would answer the demand better that way. And I am kinda out of the space to keep all the pre-made items, haha.

Other Etsy highlights for the month are a Dust of Dolls polka dot dress set with a similar off-white tulle skirt to go with the white/colorful polka dot one-piece dress. A snap fastener at the back and flower themed lace as a detail. Bubbla (my little model did give me some hard time – refusing to stand as my model u_u). Last pair of Tsukifly patterned stockings for Etsy. Second one in MSD size, the other longer stocking pair travelled within Europe already. These are short socks with ribbon details. And I like how the socks look with Lunetta’s shoes. I feel kinda tempted to keep them for her too…

SAMSUNG CSC

SAMSUNG CSC

Speaking of keeping the things I sew… I have a feeling I should sew things to keep for my girls as well. Etsy has got the majority of the things I have made during Autumn and now so my girls haven’t got any of the things they might need. Except for perhaps the other of the two finished kimono projects as I resolved to keep the other for Freya for the time being (she has no other full outfit at the moment either…) To add under the kimono I wanted to finish a lace top for her, similar to those in Etsy.
The top is in off-white to match with her cute panties I bought from Taipei’s doll fair already two years ago. At the time I didn’t have a clue for who they would be for. Now I am very pleased with the combo. A new wig as well. Lovely color -Usagihime’s if I don’t remember entire wrongly.

Also Lunetta got a new cute wig of which I will not add a picture just yet. She is my next target, still without a proper “own” outfit. I haven’t got a clue what kind of style I would like for her except for the shoes perhaps. A dress, short and tulle/lace details are in my mind. Have to sketch a bit. Even the color I would like for her is a mystery still.

I will get to consider something for her within the limits of my already too full fabric box. I need to use more of the ones I have instead of losing myself in fabric stores all over again…

Darker fabrics appear to make quite a nice contrast with Lunetta’s fair white skin. White or pink is no no, too light and does not quite suit her character either. I have a feeling this will require some time.

A comprehensive Etsy update

This time it appears I made my monthly update a bit too early. The past two weekends have been quite productive for me. Tsukifly Etsy shop will grow in the amount of unique clothing pieces on offer. Rightly so for the coming Christmas market if you think commercially? And I know there will be more to come and quite active updating this weekend and the next. For that reason I will post this extra post for this month to show off some of the new pieces.

Probably half of these pieces have been completed earlier but are around now with some proper sets of sale photos.

Let’s start with some accessories.

Tsukifly doll sized notebook. I made this already quite long ago. Really loved this scrapbook paper I came across and just had to try out. I think it turned out cute with lace

Hisa and the notebook – size reference

flower details and framed detail in front. Otherwise it is usable notebook with lined pages so you may write your doll’s story or make notes inside.Size is suitable for SDs or bigger dolls, otherwise may be a bit too big(?)

Hisa, my Volks Lorina, is the model for the majority of new sale photos. For one she loves books and reading. Especially old romantic novels like Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. She is also perfect for the new animal headdresses for she likes this kind of cute but elegant stuff. She has been in closet for too long, now is her time to shine again.

Fluffy Animal Headdresses

Inspired by the winter knocking to my door, I created something fluffy and warm to complement your doll’s winter clothing. Made out of a fluffy white fabric,these headdresses are cute and soft to touch. There are two styles available, one with cat ears and one with bear ears. They have lovely beige colored ribbon details. Made to fit for 9-10 inch heads such as Volks SD/SD13/SD16, Luts and Pullip heads. Now found from Etsy.

Two animal headdresses – Bear and cat Then towards the clothing additions.

Then towards the clothing additions.

Off-white lace dress is one of my personal favorites

First up is the Tsukifly Off-white lace dress for Lillycat cerisedolls. Modelled by Freya, my Lillycat Ellana, the dress is made of several layers of lovely off-white lace with white and rose ribbon/lace details. Some of you may remember those first pictures already quite a
while ago. Now, I can say finally, proper pictures for Etsy. More lace only clothing. I seem to like this material~

Then, as those few Pullip dresses previously offered in Etsy have gone I thought to offer few short, above knee-high dresses in Pullip size. These needed some work as I had no patterns in Pullip size and thus had to draw something from scratch. In total three different designs. First of the three with My melody fabric has been completed already before and will fit also for Obitsu body

Alice Pullip dress

. The other two dresses are made with Pullip type 4 body, Tsukifly’s newest custom, Papillon de nuit as their model. Second design is the simplest of the three and requires some work with its ribbon fastening going all the way down. Third of the three is made from the same fabric as Alice within Alice dress set for Unoa/MNF. I hope they answer the demand for Pullip sized clothing.

Kimono project – two completed kimonos

There are two designs. One is in beige background and the other red/orange. Freya looks good in both of them. Makes my choice harder as I originally thought it would be nice to keep one of the two for her as she has too little clothes of her own.

In general the designs are similar, however, small differences can be found. Beige has separate collar fabric with small visible stitches. The red/orange has no collar fabric and hidden stitches. Lining in beige is white, other has lining in light rose color. Obi for beige is partly out of the same fabric as the kimono itself. For the red/orange I wanted to make one which was more of a stand out. Thus white, red and beige colors without pattern with eye & hook closures. Both sets have a head bow tie made out of the other set’s main kimono fabric. So it is not a mix-up that they are not matching with the kimono sets they come with. That little fun detail.

I also completed two pairs of patterned socks which I have been meaning to complete for a while already. I quite like how they look with the kimono on Freya. I am also pleased with them as they are a bit thicker than a regular stocking fabric, thus they provide a bit of protection for the leg and can also fill in a bit over-sized shoes. My girls certainly seem to have too many of such shoes or a too little feet(?) The inside of the stockings is white so no danger of staining either. The other pair is in MSD / Slim mini size, now tried out by Lunetta. Find them from Etsy.

SAMSUNG CSC

SAMSUNG CSC

Tsukifly’s Midsummer air

It is almost midsummer in Finland. The day when sun does not set and bonfires are lit all across the country for the celebration of summer solstice. Extra excited as I haven’t been around for a while to see those but this year I plan to explore around. (Check more about Finnish midsummer).

It would appear my activity with my blog posts has increased somewhat. Having a bit of extra time helps. Summer holiday later might work against this fact as the access to internet may be hindered – cottage visits etc. to be expected.

New Arrival

That phrase bring to my mind the song scene from Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride. If you have seen the movie you know why. Not perhaps in the same way a new arrival but my girl crew has got a new addition. She is Centaur version Aehael from Souldoll. One which managed to convince me through the screen. I wasn’t entirely prepared to get anything new but sometimes you are not quite successful in fighting back…

Her name is Lunetta.

A girl born out of an unusual union of a faun and a unicorn. Cast aside by her faun community for being too different, her appearance taken after her father, the unicorn. Considered as scary and odd according to some of the community members. Whispering to trees and  weaving braids of flowers she bears her loneliness in her own way. Until an adventurous elf girl appears on a meadow where she sings.

The beginning of her story may sound sad but I assure you, things start to improve after a certain individual appears. Lunetta’s only friend until that moment has been a magical deer Elafi. Being a young one herself, Elafi does not always have the brightest of ideas to go around to which Lunetta can have a hearty laugh once in a while.

Still thinking over her outfit. For now it is a combination of many pieces I have had in my closet. Basically everything that is not black i.e. Tori’s clothing is on her for the time being. Rather a functional outcome I would say. During the weekend I had a productive period to make few complete dress sets for Etsy. The first one of those is the set she models above Alice within Alice -set with a pink Alice patterned dress and 3 additional pieces. The outcome is rather a Cinderella housemaid, but she looks cute.

It is a challenge to find her a wig that is of right size. She has smaller than average MSD head which means she is more like a Unoa/MNF than MSD. Thus she also wears YoSD/Tiny sized wigs which I do not have too many extras. We shall see. Or then she will end of having a collection of everything I have around.

The other complete dress set is filled with lace, it is a two-piece set, made with a ballerina in mind. I used quite many hours for details. More about it in my next monthly post including pictures and an Etsy link.

2nd Tsukifly Pullip custom

Tsukifly Custom Pullip Éclair

Having already mentioned about the possibility of a new custom may I present Éclair. She is a Mocha skin Pullip with a complete outfit with pinkish theme. Her outfit consists of a knee-length one-piece dress with details and a pair of cute pink shoes with bunny ears. She will also come with a contrasting long light-blue wig and mystery headpiece to complement the dress (not pictured). Find her from Tsukifly Etsy Shop!

Éclair was my first experience with a Mocha skin Pullip and I must say I really like the tone of her skin. It was fun to make her a face-up after a long pause. I still have certain painting / face-upping things missing. The search continues.

The 3rd Tsukifly Custom will be something around the keywords: white and bunny. A wig, eyes and certain other parts of her outfit are already around. Now should consider her face-up a bit.

 

Overall many projects have been completed this month. More or less. Next month may be less active due to the reasons already mentioned above. In any case a monthly update will be sure the be there.

 

 

Monthly Update: April

I am happy to inform you that a lot has been done since my last update.

Tsukifly Cerisedolls off-white lace dress

Let me start by sharing a picture of a lace dress I completed for Freya. She was in need of something old-style and white but this time I wanted to make a one-piece dress. I must say I am happy with the outcome, kind of vintage style mix out of off-white lace with white details and lace choker. She would still need a new pair of shoes to complement the outfit.

*searching*

Bunny hat pattern needed some update and now a specific tiny/yo-sd pattern exists. For 6-7 inch heads. Otherwise the design is similar to those hats that have been completed earlier.

Bunny Hats – Tiny/Yo-SD – Etsy

Three new bunny hats were completed and will be available through Etsy. I was also commissioned one of these bunny hats of which you may find pictures below. The hat is modelled by Mina (Aileendoll Camellia).

Some issues exist with the new pattern or rather with the order in which the pieces are attached so some fine adjustments are to be done. Next pattern is big SD size (9-10inch) while Pullip (10 inches) and MSD (7-8 inch) need to wait a while. Still considering also whether a separate 8-9 inch would be needed.

Commission – Bunny Hat

Commission – Bunny Hat

Some of you may remember news of a certain Tsukifly Pullip custom set, which was originally completed to be on display at the last Dolliverse held in the Netherlands. Since that display I have made few fine adjustments to make the custom set more completed. Now she will finally be available through Etsy. Her name is Sarinna and she will come with a custom face-up, blind decorated eye chips, Goldenrod Leekeworld wig and a complete hand-sewn Tsukifly dress set. Her eyelids are decorated with lovely real light violet lace details ~! Personally I am happy with how she turned out and I do hope she will find a loving home. Perhaps I will be encouraged to consider another Pullip custom project in the future as well. It was quite a lot of fun to complete this set.

Lace details of Sarinna’s eyelids

Tsukifly Custom Pullip Sarinna

Now that I am finished with my most prominent news I will be off to update Sarinna and bunny hats to Tsukifly Etsy shop ~! I hope to see you around.