Finale

I just finished putting the final touches on 2 very special little dolls...

Kara

and Sadie...

These dolls will always hold a very special place in my heart for so many reasons.  First off, they each come with a set full of wonderful accessories.  Not only are they each wearing fabulous outfits by The Melamoose Co. , Melanie made them each a few extra outfits:  Kara has 2, Sadie has 3.  Each gal also has a very special little elephant friend I made from a pattern designed by my new friend Shelly of Gingermelon.  The little elephants were so much fun to make.  I have been longing to create a couple of sets for a while now.  I always love the idea of getting a doll with a complete wardrobe and a special friend.  And a suitcase.  You have to love a pink suitcase!

The other reason these dolls will always be special to me is they are most likely the last dolls I will make under the Apple Tree House name.  Don't worry, I will still be making dolls!  I will just be doing them all under my Honeydotz brand name.  I am registering with the CSPIA to make sure I am in compliance with all laws governing things made for children and it will be much easier to keep track of things if it is all in one place.  Please take a moment and "Like" the Honeydotz Facebook Fan Page and check out the Honeydotz Web Site.  I am planning a lot of fun stuff, including a giveaway (or 2!!) and some free stuff as well.

For now, both dolls are available in my Apple Tree House Etsy Shop.  I will copy this post for the Honeydotz site as well so all of my new friends will have an idea of what is coming up.  

As always, thank you so much for your continued support on this fun adventure!

xo Debra

International Dot Day 2012

If it seems like it has been a while since my last blog post... that is because it HAS been a while since my last blog post!  Life seems to get busier and busier and there never seems to be time anymore for some of the things I love, but that is about to change.  I am now homeschooling both of my kids and we are starting to settle into a decent rhythm (for now!).  The house we moved a year ago is really coming together.  Mr. ATH and I have been busy at work fixing, updating, improving, and (still, slowly) unpacking.  I guess at this point if I haven't used it in a year I should donate it, but I am scared to accidentally give away some of my beautiful art yarn stash so I will persevere. 

I did manage to finish 2 of my new Ragdorf style dolls this week.  I am so so in love with this style of doll.  I took some of my favorite elements of both the Waldorf and Rag Doll style bodies and meshed them together into a 10 inch sized doll that can wear the same clothing that my old 10 inch style dolls could wear.  That means many of the doll clothes available on Etsy for this sized doll will fit my Ragdorf dolls, and the Lil Sally Doll Dress Pattern by Lil Blue Boo will fit them as well. 

The dolls do have black gemstone bead eyes so I do not recommend them for small kids.  I stitch them on super tight but better safe than sorry. 

So why did I title this post "International Dot Day 2012"?  Good question!  International Dot Day is a super fun day to celebrate the creative spirit in each one of us.  It was inspired by one of my favorite children's books, "The Dot" by Peter H. Reynolds.  If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it.  Even though my kids are getting big, this is still a fun read and the artwork is so special.  You can read more about International Dot Day here:  https://www.facebook.com/InternationalDotDay?ref=ts 
and here:  http://www.thedotclub.org/dotday/

To celebrate International Dot Day, I decided to make 2 special dolls inspired by the book.  They will be available in my Etsy Shop on Friday, September 14, 2012 at 9 pm EST.  Each gal is wearing a special dress made of designer print cottons in dot prints trimmed with dot ribbon.  They each have on undies with elastic waists and rosette trim as well as hand knit shoes.  The dolls will each be $120 plus shipping.

 Thanks so much for stopping by!

xoxo Debra
 

Ragdorf?

There... I said it...."Ragdorf".  It kind of makes me giggle a bit. 

When I contacted my lawyer to apply for the trademark for the term, she giggled too :) 

What is a "Ragdorf" anyway?  It is something I have been dreaming of and fiddling around with for quite a while.  It is my hybrid version of my two favorite styles of cloth dolls... the Waldorf doll and the Rag doll.   I took some of my favorite elements of each style.... the natural materials and sculpted head of the Waldorf, the long thin floppy limbs with over-sized hands and feet as well as the bead eyes of the Rag Doll.

This is what I came up with.... my first born 10 inch Ragdorf doll.  Her name is Friday, she will stay with my first born daughter:

This is Chrysanthemum, a/k/a Chryssie, designed by my youngest daughter. Chryssie is going to stay here too.

This is Tiny Bubbles, she is the new The Melamoose Co.  

And now to introduce the two new dolls that will be available in my Etsy Shop tonight, 5/24/12 at 10 pm EST.

First up we have Taryn.

Taryn is about 10 inches tall, has sun tan cotton skin, a head full of the softest wool blond hair that can be restyled.  Like all of my dolls, she is firmly stuffed with pure wool.  She is wearing an apple print tunic made from designer print quilting cotton, linen pants, and little hand knit shoes.  She has bead eyes and because of the potential choking hazard, I do not recommend her for small children.  She is wonderfully floppy and sits beautifully. 


And this is Lisa.

Lisa is about 10 inches tall, has sun tan cotton skin, a head full of locally hand dyed wool hair that is quite long and can be restyled.  She is firmly stuffed with pure wool.  She is wearing an apple print tunic made from a Japanese cotton linen blend, linen pants, and little hand knit shoes.  She has bead eyes and because of the potential choking hazard, I do not recommend her for small children.  She is wonderfully floppy and sits beautifully. 



As stated above, the upload for these 2 dolls will be at 10 pm EST on Thursday, May 25th 2012.  The Etsy website is:  http://www.appletreehouse.etsy.com    





I have had such an incredible time making these gals... expect to see more of them soon!

xoxo Debra

Sneak Peek at Something New...

Here's a little peek at the new 10 inch dolls that will be available in my Etsy shop on Thursday... time t/b/a.

Tiny Bubbles

No, not the kind you find in champagne... here is a little peek at the new 10 inch doll I just finished for a dear friend that I have nicknamed Bubbles. 

She is one of the first dolls from a new pattern I have spent hours and hours working on.  There will be a couple of dolls available in my shop the week of the 20th, please check back for more details and photos!

xoxo Debra

Like a Little Duck

my name is Debra and I have a yarn hoarding problem.  i love yarn.  a lot.  the yarn for the doll pictured below was purchased almost a year ago and I have been saving it for a special doll... i finally got around to finishing her this week and she was every bit as special as i had hoped she would be.

This is Jacqueline, she is on her way home to Michigan to a lovely grandma who will have her around for tea parties and such when her darling grand daughters stop by for a visit.

I also finished up another 15 inch custom doll that her mama has named Lil Bleu... she is on her way home to Oklahoma.

I know things have seemed a bit quiet lately, but rest assured that it is only quiet on the surface.  I am like a little duck, gliding smoothly across the pond, little feet paddling quickly below the water to accomplish my goals.  Please subscribe to the blog so you will see what I have been up to!  There will be some interesting gluten free baking stuff (bread!!) coming up as well as another new take on a doll...a 10 inch doll.

xoxo Debra

New Doll Style

I have finally changed, tweaked, and reworked my 15 inch doll pattern and I am so happy with the results!  This is the latest doll made with the new and improved pattern...

She is a custom doll that is now in California.  I love how she can sit, and her feet are so sweet in her little shoes.  I had such fun designing the little pattern and it was so nice to get back to a little knitting.  The neatest thing about this size doll (which actually measures between 14 and 15 inches) is not only can she wear clothing designed for 15 inch dolls, but she can also wear some 12 inch doll clothing as well.  I will get a pic of some of the Melamoose Co.  clothing that is sized for 12 inch dolls on this size doll so you can see how it works.

I am working on another custom doll in this size at the moment as well as a doll for the shop.  The shop doll will be a blue eyed gal with an amazing head of hair... but that is all I will say about that for now!

And while I am at it... maybe I will play with the 10 inch doll pattern as well....

Also, for those of you who have been wondering about the Team Ashley gals... Lisa has outed us!  http://www.lilblueboo.com/2012/04/meet-team-ashley.html#comments
There are some pretty amazing people out there and I am pleased to know them :)


xoxo Debra

Dumplings and Kits and Customs, Oh My!

The last 24 hours have been so amazing... the Team Ashley Auction was an incredible success.  Both Li'l Lisa and Li'l Stephanie will soon be on their way to loving new homes and I can't wait to see pics of them being loved by their new families.  Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to bid, click the donate button, donate a product to the auction, buy a t-shirt, or simply tell their friends and get the word out about our not so little auction. Speaking of the donate button, I will be leaving it here on my blog side bar for the rest of the month.  I am truly proud and humbled to be a part of a team of so many amazing women!

On to other news....

There will be an upload with 5 Apple Dumpling (8-9 inch) dolls tomorrow in my Etsy Shop tomorrow at 3 pm EST.  Here's a little peek at them...

I am working on rolling lots of little heads for doll making kits and as soon as I have enough together, I will be restocking the HyenaCart Store hopefully towards the middle of the month.  

I will be offering customs a little differently this time... if you are interested in a custom doll, simply comment here on this post or email me at appletreehouse (at) att (doT) net with your name, your e-mail address, the size doll you are interested in, and hair and eye color in a comment on this post before 8 pm EST 3/2/12.  I ask for all the details in the comments to speed up the process.  At 8 pm EST I will pull a few names from my favorite crochet cloche and contact them to set up all the arrangements.  I will be offering 8/9 inch ($95), 12 inch ($165), and my new 14/15 inch ($195) sized dolls.   All dolls require a $45 non refundable deposit to get started and payment will be due upon completion.  Please make sure your comment contains all of the necessary information.  Custom dolls will be completed by 4/15/12, I may be able to make an exception if you have needs for a specific date, please leave that in your comment as well.

  

This is a pic of the 15 inch sized doll (Lauren Elizabeth, a recently finished custom) 

alongside Lil Lisa, an 8 inch Apple Dumpling.  

I think I will go have a little piece of chocolate now..... xoxo Debra

Tater Tot

February has just flown by.  It honestly seems like just a couple of days ago when Team Ashley started talking about organizing an auction... hard to believe it all starts Monday!   I would like to introduce you to a very special little Apple Dumpling Doll I have created, just for this special occasion... please meet Lil Lisa.

Lil Lisa was named for Ashley of Lil Blue Boo's right hand gal.  I have to admit, when the whole idea of an auction came up I was so excited, then stumped as to the best thing to make.  In the past, I have created several BooFeeMooTree collaboration dolls (I love a fun group project!), and this seemed like the perfect excuse to make another.  Lisa is a really amazing woman... you can tell from photos and blog posts that Ashley and Lisa have an incredible friendship.  This little doll is my homage to that friendship.  Everyone could use a friend like Lisa.

My friend Stephanie said the doll needs the nickname "Tater Tot" as Lisa's trucker name is Ol' Tater... those of you that are following Ashley's blog will get that joke :)

Lil Lisa measures a little over 8 inches tall.  She has warm peachy cotton skin, brown eyes, and the most beautiful head of hair.  It is as soft as it looks in the photo.  Like all of my dolls, she is well stuffed with pure sheep wool and she will warm up as you cuddle her.   She comes wearing a pair of special ruffle pants by my sweet friend Melanie of The Melamoose Co. (you will see some special items throughout the auction with this signature Choose Joy fabric designed by Stephanie), a little tank top with an apple applique, and the softest pink hand knit sweater from Maizy Moo Knits.  She also comes with an apple print sleeper, a sun dress, and some hand knit undies.

The package also includes a sweet little purple suitcase and some of the prettiest stickers by Stephanie Corfee, Artist so you can decorate it.   I like to think of it as a Choose Joy to Go package.   I will update this post and post on Facebook when the shop address for the auction is released to the public so please check back!  And remember, if auctions are not your cup of tea, you can always click on the Donate button to help Ashley directly at any time.  Thank you for all of your support.




On to other news....

I have been inundated with more requests for custom dolls and doll making kits.   Next Thursday, I will do a special blog post where you will have the option to comment for a custom doll slot, so start thinking about what you would like!  I hope to have some more kits put together to stock the Hyena Cart Shop by the middle of the month, so please check back for those.

I am off to sew some more... have a fabulous weekend!

xoxo Debra

It Will Be EPIC

It is the end of January and I find myself in a very reflective state of mind.  I have had the opportunity to work on some pretty interesting things these past few weeks, and not all of them have been doll related.

I am sure many of you have been following the Cancer Chronicles by Ashley of Li'l Blue Boo.  If you haven't, I encourage you to take a moment and click the link to see what it is all about.  The Rite of Passage video is a must see, just make sure you have some tissues ready.
http://www.lilblueboo.com/category/cancer-chronicles

One thing very near and dear to my heart is the Team Ashley Choose Joy Auction and Benefit.  It will be held February 27th-29th, there will be more details to follow.  It has been a tremendous undertaking on the part of all the volunteers involved and oh so incredibly rewarding for us all.  Please feel free to grab this button and share it!

There will also be some fun stuff to purchase along the way...

like the $1 Download Thank You Notes from Stephanie Corfee, Artist  http://stephaniecorfee.com/downloads/a-special-dollar-download-fill-in-thank-you-cards-for-kids/

The first t-shirt from Team Ashley with artwork by Stephanie can be purchased here:
http://www.teamashley.bigcartel.com

This shirt is an homage to Ashley's never ending love of the Jelly Donut :)

And there is some more fun stuff in the works.  Rest assured that all profits from the auction, downloads, and T-shirts that I have shared will go straight to Ashley.

I am also adding a PayPal donate button to the sidebar of my blog if you would like to donate directly to the Hakshaw family.

On the dolly news front, I am working on a bunch of 8 inch Apple Dumpling dolls.  There will be curly boucle, Applestocking style, and hopefully a dreddy one (if the yarn cooperates!) in lots of fun shades... think pink, rainbow, purple... you get the idea!  I am leaning towards having the upload in a few weeks and having a larger number of dolls available so there will be some to choose from.  I am also working on a very special dumpling dolly for the auction, it will be a package with some fun goodies.  I will share more about her as we get closer to the date.

Thank you so much as always for your support!

xo Debra

Something New In Store

Doll Kits...

....and actually, there is a WHOLE NEW STORE!   One I have spent the better part of the week setting up.  I have gotten thoroughly spoiled by Etsy... it is so easy to set up and load items into your shop.  Probably one of the most user friendly I have seen to date.  I decided I wanted to do things a little differently for the kits though, so I set up a shop specifically in Hyena Cart for them.  Why, you ask?  Hyena Cart had a specific feature that I really wanted to take advantage of:  the ability to preview a listing.  When I finish a doll, 99% of the time I post a preview pic both here and on Facebook so people have a chance to really see it before it goes into the shop.  If there is a mad rush to buy, you know what you are rushing for.  A mad rush and picking out just what you want for a doll kit did not seem like a good match to me.  So, I spent many hours and pulled out lots of hair (computer stuff is so not my thing!) and I finally got it looking the way I wanted with a really nice offering to start the doll kit experience.

Here's the link to the new shop:

http://hyenacart.com/stores/appletreehouse/

You will notice the shop is set up into different sections.  You will pretty much need to get one item from each section.  Please take a moment to read the listing about how the doll kits work so you will be clear before you buy:

http://hyenacart.com/appletreehouse/mt/4134/4/How-the-doll-making-kit-works-DO-NOT-BUY

For now, I will be offering 2 different colors:

Mocha and Peachy

One of the things that has got me super excited about the kits is the new look of the instructions... my dear friend Stephanie Corfee   really took it to the next level.  Here is a little peek at what they look like:

I am totally loving the little doodle apples she did along the border... I am seriously contemplating having her do some kind of repeat to make a fabric.  How cool would that be?!?

Ok, I am off to finish making heads for these kits... in case you were wondering, they will be available Friday 1/13/12 at 1 pm!

Thanks as always.... Debra

The Scoop

I cannot believe it... I now have just over 2,000 folks following Apple Tree House on Facebook!  It is quite a milestone, one that I am so surprised and humbled to have made.  To celebrate reaching this mark, I will be offering a special doll making kit for $1 for sale comment style on my fan page on Wednesday, 1/11 at 1 pm EST (please click on the button in the sidebar and "like" me if you haven't already!).  You will have 24 hours to leave a comment, the name will be drawn 1/12 at 1 pm EST. 

And for those of you that have been oh so patiently waiting for kits, they are just about ready!  I have been photographing yarns and editing pics all day... there are 30 yarns in all, so there will be lots to choose from.  Stephanie Corfee, Artist is putting the finishing touches on the kit instructions as I type and there are just a few more things I have to get ready.  They will be available for sale in a new shop on Friday... I will announce the time and the shop address on Thursday, so please stay tuned!  Here is a yummy yarn pic to whet your appetite a bit for what is to come...

As always, thank you so much for your continued support!

Doll Kits

The first batch of doll kits are almost ready to be listed in my shop... lots of caps have been made, heads have been rolled, bodies have been cut.  I will be offering the kits a little differently this time compared to how they have been offered in the past.  There will be several listings to purchase to get the different parts. 

Thank you M.H. for the lovely photo... you did a wonderful job with your kit!

There will be a listing for the actual doll making kit which will include the pre-sewn body (2 choices for color), pre-made head, wool stuffing, and the complete instructions.  There will be listings for crochet caps for hair, one listing for each color available.  There will be listings for each base color of mohair available. 

There will be many listings for different art yarns for you to choose from.  That is going to take me a little while to get together... I have over 20 yarns I would like to make available to you, so there is lots to photograph.  I plan on having weights listed for the yarns as that is usually how I put a doll together.  Different thicknesses of yarns will have different weights and yardage. 

For the kits, I recommend you get one mohair and at least one art yarn, this will make sense after you get your kit and look over the instructions.  You want your yarn total weight to be about 4 or 5 ounces.  There will be extra yarns, but it has been my experience that extra yarn is always a good thing.  Sometimes it is nice to add a little more over time, and sometimes your little one might give dolly a haircut and you may need to do a bit of repairs. 

The kit instructions are getting a bit of an overhaul, CORFEE style!  I am super excited about this.  I know Stephanie will do a fabulous job and I can't wait to share a peek at the final results with you all.  You can see more of Stephanie's artwork at her Etsy shop.  She is the one who created my fabulous dolly art that I love so much.

Lastly, I realized this morning I am getting awfully close to 2000 likes on my fan page!  If you haven't already liked Apple Tree House on Facebook, please take a moment and do so.  When I reach 2000 likes, I will offer a special doll making kit for $1... think rainbows....

That's all for now!

xo Debra