Thursday, February 26, 2009

KNITTY WONDERS!






















The doorbell just rang on this snowy February afternoon and Elizabeth was presented with more beautifully knitted Barbie outfits. Cecily continues to awe with her attention to detail in these tiny knitted clothes. Now Barbie is ready for Whistler in her long "fur" lined coat and apres ski in her green and purple ensemble equipped with matching scarf and hat (truly, this is an outfit I would covet myself).

Sunday, February 15, 2009

BARBIE COUTURE

















As a girl, I enjoyed playing with my Barbie dolls. My favourite thing to do with them was dress and undress them in different outfits to get them ready for whatever activity they were dressed for. The playing never actually got done, if I recall correctly, since I obtained more pleasure from their clothes.
My Barbies met an untimely demise when I revisited them as a teen only to find my younger sister had either shaved their heads or had given them Mohawks (Johnny Rotten had a heavy influence on her life at that time!).
Now my daughter has turned five, she is showing an interest in this classic toy. Her Auntie Cecily has been making them "couture" knitted dresses that are exquisite. She knits them on tiny 2mm needles and it has been a challenge to source out finely woven yarn.
There is the Barbie sporting the "boyfriend" over sized sweater and matching comfy pants with coordinating headband and handbag (yoga girls??). There is the Barbie wearing the ruffled baby pink dress poised perfectly for a spring date night with Ken. One Barbie is resplendent in a form fitting gown, not unlike Michelle Obama's inaugural ballgown. Another outfit is a little creme number with a tulle overskirt, matching cardy (think twinset) and headband. The favourite is, at this time, the wedding dress. Sewn to perfection with darts - Barbie does have a decent chest - and finished off with hand beaded embellishments and beautiful full veil.
Thank you Cecily - your talents and thoughtfulness are endless.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

PRETTY PARTY!


I thought Elizabeth's party was quite lovely and all of the girls seemed to have fun. We created little clothes peg dolls which were easy and evoked a simple whimsy. The cake was designed by my husband. It was a pink stage with white scalloped icing. He drew tiny ballerinas and cut them out with precision scissors and attached them to the cake with a toothpick. Next was the curtains which was cut from chipboard and covered with brown and pink cardstock that was then detailed with pink pencil crayon - these were the stage curtains. It was original, effective and we loved it. The only mishap happened then following day when family gathered for round two with the cake and one of the ballerina's head somehow went up in flame after the candles were blown out. No harm done.