Making a Wood Chair for Lalaloopsy dolls or other dolls

I went to Joann's etc store to buy some fabric but had to look around at the sale items. I came across these wooden flowers that were already painted and on sale. The wheels in my head started turning and thought those would make adorable chairs for the Lalaloopsy dolls. I forgot to bring one with me so just guessed. A friend had given me the spools of thread for my birthday to use for a Lalaloopsy project. Well this one is just perfect. So your materials are size 5/8" spools and you need 16 of them for the chair legs. Joanns or Michael's stores carry them empty.  2 of the pre painted flowers in the Joanns craft section. They have several to choose from but I liked these. They also had some pirate things which I picked up to make Patch a chair also. That chair isn't done yet. You also need glue that will hold wood together such as Aleenes tacky glue or the Goop glue. 2 paper clips. These were pretty large. My husband had them in his desk. Look around your house and you might find some things you can use also.
1. I glued 4 of the spools together to make 1 leg. I did this 4 times. 

2. I unfolded the paper clip to make an L. Then glued it to the bottom of one of the flowers. The part that is the seat. I set is upside down to dry.

3. I glued the legs to the bottom of the flower. Let it dry.

4. Glued the back of the chair aka the other flower to the remaining part of the paper clip that is sticking up. Let it dry thoroughly. Now you have a chair.

Lalaloopsy doll sitting in the chair. See how cute she is. You could use this same technique and make a table to go with the chairs for your 12" Lalaloopsy dolls. Fun and easy. Children could make these easily at a birthday party. I have not tried hot glue but if hot glue works then it would be a very fast craft project.

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Creating A Doll Outfit from Stuffed Animals

You can create your own doll clothes easily from stuffed animals. Makes perfect outfits for your dolls for holiday displays. This one is for a bunny for Easter. I found the stuffed bunny at Dollar Tree for $1. It will fit a 12" doll. If you cut the feet off of the stuffed animal then it will fit taller dolls but be shorter on them.

1. Open up the back seam with a seam ripper and take all the stuffing out.
2. I took the stuffed animal's head off by rippng out the neck seam. You now have the body and head separate. See photo below.

3.  Cut just the face out of the bunny head or stuffed animal head. Shown below with the face cut out. Discard the face.

 4. Sew bias tape around the face opening and around the bottom of the head.
5.  Add Velcro or snap at the neck line to hold the new hood on the doll.
6. Sew bias tape around the neck edge of the bunny body. You can also turn under and hem if you would rather do that.
7. Sew velcro or snaps on the back.
8. Open up the hand are at the end so the doll's hands can come through.
9. I left the opening unfinished. But you can hand sew a hem in the hand opening if you want. Dress your doll and you have an adorable animal costume for it.

How to Make a No Sew Tutu for Any doll

It is easy and fun to make a no sew tutu for any doll.
You will need 1/4" wide ribbon. The length will be determined by the doll's waist measurement. You will need tulle in the color of your choice. Match the ribbon.
1. Measure your doll's waist and add 12". Cut a piece of 1/4" wide  ribbon that length.
2. I lay a ruler on the dolls body from her waist to determine the length I want the tutu. Double that length and add 3 more inches.

3. Cut the tulle the length you just determined from the formula stated in number 2 and width of 7". I made this tutu for a 12" Lalaloopsy doll. I cut the tulle 6" long by 7" wide.
4. Scrunch up the 7" side of tulle into your hand. then fold the 6" in half.

5. Take the ribbon and put it over the folded piece of tulle and open up the loop that is the fold. Shown in photo below.

6. Take the ends of the folded piece and put them through that loop shown in the picture above, making sure the ribbon is in the middle of the loop and the ends you put into the loop. Pull tight on the ribbon as shown in the photo below.

7. Continue steps 4, 5 and 6 until the ribbon has tulle on it that is the waist measurement of your doll.

8. You may need to trim the length of the tulle after your tutu is completed to even it up.
9. Tie the ribbon in the back of the doll into a bow. Now you have a new sew tutu that took you minutes to make.

Have loads of fun making tutus for your many dolls in many colors.

What is Sueding BJD dolls

I learned a new term and technique that Ball jointed doll collectors use called Sueding. If a joint on the doll does not move properly then you can suede it. You use a hot glue gun. If you are trying to suede the neck of a doll then you pull the head up so it is away from the neck. Put a little hot glue on the head and let it harden. Then allow the head to sit back on the neck. The head will then turn and tilt the way that you want it to. Vinyl ball jointed dolls are made by hand and pulled from the molds by human hands. Sometimes they are not pulled perfectly so the joints don't fit the way they should. Using this technique really works.