Sewing, Flowers and New Hobby
Hi friends! In true "this and that" fashion, today's post has a little bit of everything in it. I hope you enjoy and find something of interest to read about. Did you love on yourself for Valentine's Day? I hope you had a wonderful day and treated yourself well. Above you see the flowers that The Mr. and I picked out together at Sam's Club. If you haven't checked out flowers there give them a try. They had HUGE amounts of flowers the day before Valentine's Day that were reasonably priced. It was fun to look at all of the choices and pick out what we wanted. I arranged the flowers in a large Longaberger pitcher and they are on display on our kitchen counter where we can both enjoy them! BTW, I'm not paid to promote Sam's Club. I thought you might just enjoy finding flowers at a good price. To me, flowers bring joy and beauty to whatever room they are in and I love having them on display. Although I use faux silk flowers around the house, there is nothing quite like real, live flowers!
I've been doing several different types of sewing projects lately (more to come on that later) and one I completed recently is this cute cat pillowcase. I found this fabric at Michael's and bought enough to sew two pillowcases. I love the black and white and how some of the cats are wearing bow ties! This fabric definitely fits into our house and Cassie and Garden have both told me that they approve! No word yet from River, however! (I may need to look for fabric with dogs on it!)
And guess what? I have a new "hobby" that involves Barbie dolls. This topic requires some explanation-a "back story" if you will. When I was a little girl, I absolutely LOVED Barbie dolls. I had a collection of dolls with clothes, some purchased and some handmade, that I played with all the time. I had a little suitcase that I kept my dolls and their clothes in and I carried that suitcase with me whenever my Mom would go someplace and I went along or when we visited friends and family and I always had something to play with and occupy my time. As I got older, I also had a Crissy doll (remember her?) that I also played with. My Mom sewed several outfits for my Crissy doll which I still have and one of my sisters sewed some Barbie outfits for me. These dolls were special to me. But, of course, eventually I outgrew them and they ended up in the attic. I believe my nieces played with the Barbies over the years and I don't really know what happened to them. My oldest sister returned my Crissy doll and the outfits my mom made to me several years ago and I have them stored safely.
So, here we are.....ohhhh 50+ years later or so......and I began thinking about Barbie and all the fun I had styling her in different outfits. I had bought a Dollar Tree doll a few years back (some of you may recall those posts) but somehow it just wasn't the same and so I passed her on for someone else to enjoy. And I even had a fourth grade student and her mother buy me a Barbie doll years ago as a Christmas present after I shared with the class how much I had fun playing with Barbies as a little girl. That was such a sweet gift from them! But, again, after a few years of Barbie being up in the closet, I gave her away to a thrift store.
Fast forward to this past Christmas season.....I was feeling very nostalgic about Christmases past, missing family members and the "way things used to be." Probably all of us have been there with experiencing these kinds of feelings. Anyway, I once again began thinking of Barbie dolls and I decided to give myself a nostalgic Christmas present. So.....I ordered myself a Holiday 2025 Barbie Doll!
Here I am Christmas morning unwrapping my doll. Yep, I wrapped the box and put it under the tree and the gift tag said, "To Debbie from Debbie." And yes, The Mr. might have thought I was a little silly but he's used to me! (wink)
So, here I am embarking on a new hobby of collecting and styling Barbie clothing and accessories. The doll arrived wearing this gorgeous ball gown with heels, earrings and a stand so she can be displayed. I decided to turn this gown into a bridal look and so I created a wedding veil for her using gold ribbon that I wound around a small pipe cleaner that I cut to size and then tied the tulle veiling strips to the headpiece.
I enjoyed creating the veil so much that I began to think about whether or not I would like to try creating outfits for her using fabric I had on hand. So....I went online and started researching sewing Barbie doll clothing. I found a simple pattern (I knew I would need something simple) and I gave it a try.
Here is the first dress I sewed for her. I added the yellow ric-rac to the hem to add a little something extra to the fabric and I also gave her a yellow headband to pull the look together.
The set came with about six mix and match outfits, several pairs of shoes and boots and a little purse. Also, this ball gown was in the set. It's a pretty pink gown with sparkles at the shoulders and on the bodice.
I prefer a longer skirt but this is how the outfits came. They all use Velcro as fasteners on the back and the shoes have slits on the back so they can slide on the doll's feet.
The fabric quality of the purchased clothing is just so-so. I used higher quality fabric on the dresses I sewed in my opinion. But, I do like having more variety for styling and having the extra accessories in shoes and boots. I was concerned about the finishing on the dresses I sewed, especially around the neckline area. But I noticed that some of these purchased outfits don't have finishing either. For instance, the white top above doesn't have finishing around the sleeves. The jacket covers that up.
So, this is a long post, I know, but I wanted to share my newest hobby with you....collecting Barbie dolls and sewing doll clothes and styling the dolls. I definitely plan on adding another doll in the future. Perhaps, as another Christmas or birthday present to myself? I was a little hesitant about sharing this on the blog as I fear some may think this is "silly" at my age. But, I can tell you that this new hobby gives me joy and is an outlet for creativity. And isn't that what hobbies are all about? I don't have room for lots and lots of dolls so probably two or three will be enough. And I want the fun of choosing the dolls myself. I hope to become more adept at sewing the doll clothes and, who knows, perhaps I will learn enough to sew a simple top or dress for myself?! Time will tell.
What hobbies or interests have you been enjoying lately? I hope you will take a moment to share in the comments. I look forward to hearing from you!
Until Next Time,
Debbie This and That
3 comments:
I love this so much!!! ALL of us adults need to play more. What better way is there than going back to the play we enjoyed as children to find inspiration and joy?! And the creation of outfits for Barbie is a new way to play. A new hobby. So many times when I ask people what they do for fun, they have difficulty answering. I often ask, what did you do for fun as a child, and the wheels start turning and eyes light up. Fun is so important! I applaud you for bringing Barbie back into your life and allowing yourself this joy.
Thank you for sharing your new hobby. Once again, you inspire me. And I love the cat pillow cases! I definitely think some dog fabric needs to find its way into a pillow case or a Barbie outfit. Maybe Barbie needs a dog of her own! 🥰
I love that you have 2 new hobbies (sewing and Barbie) and shared with us! We’re never to old to add creativity and joy to our lives.
I'm really impressed with the clothes you have made for your Barbie, and I think it's wonderful that you have embraced the joy and the memories of the Barbies from your childhood. I recently read an article about joy and play as adults. The writer stated that one way to experience more joy as an adult is to play again. Her advice was to think back to the play we enjoyed as a child and to try to recreate it or use it as an idea for ways to play and be creative as an adult. You are doing exactly that!
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