~~~SEWING my way to POFQ ~ American Girl outfits & Custom Park Bags! ~~~

[DMGeurts]

Well, someone needs to pay for this trip... I guess it's going to be me!

It's official, today I booked 8 days at POFQ, and I am a bit nervous. I've never stayed on property before... OK - take that back - I've never stayed in a Disney hotel on property before... but I will get to that later.

Here's the deal... In order to be paid in full by our 45 day mark - I need to make a few outfits... 52, to be exact. Which is 16 per month, or 4 per week, or one every day I have off of work. That's a lot of sewing, even for me, but I am determined to pay for this trip by myself.

See, I don't normally sew children's clothes, and I don't really sew adult clothes either - I prefer to sew American Girl clothes - Disney style. I have a philosophy on this, and it goes something like this... They don't complain if it's ugly, they don't complain if it's too tight, and let's by honest - they don't grow - so what ever I make for them, they can wear forever.

So, this is my competition with myself. I plan to count down each outfit I make, and I will even show pictures - probably too many pictures. My goal is to finish all 52 outfits before Christmas - however my ticker is set a bit before my official 45 day mark - just in case I get lazy and need a day off.

And, of course, I'll tell you all about my trip plans too.

I've never done a TR before - so this should be fun...

D~

ETA... I changed the title of my PTR, because I seem to have evolved into creating Custom Park Bags, as well. I never did finish all 52 AG outfits, like I had originally intented. Rather, a park bag that I designed for myself to carry in the parks, became something that a lot of people wanted to carry in the parks - so, here I am, making a lot of park bags - and enjoying it.

 

[DMGeurts]

Cast:

Me (D~)... 30 (something) mom of 2 (almost) teenage daughters.

Oldest dd Alli (but I always refer to her as A from now on). She is full of energy and always making people laugh - she is also always on the go - we can barely get her to stop - therefore, she is known to have a few accidents. She also loves to take pictures - of herself - she is a bit of a shutter bug - and if she isn't taking pictures of herself - she is posing for other people to take pictures of her - honestly - she has always been that way.

Youngest dd Tori (referred to as V from here on out). She is my helper... she loves to help me with whatever I am working on or doing - and she is such a fast learner. I've been teaching V to sew, along side of teaching myself to sew... and she has done some amazing things with her machine. She also loves to play the Wii and watch the Disney channel, but most of all - V loves babysitting the neighbor kids - she is always at someone's house, holding their babies, or taking their kids to the park.

And just a warning... despite the fact that my girls are close together (um - 54 weeks) - they DO NOT GET ALONG AT ALL - EVER. Any photo you see of them appearing to be enjoying themselves together, has been preceded with the phrase "pretend you love eachother girls"... it's become our family motto, of sorts. The only time they have ever gotten along is when they are both sleeping - and even then - it's sketchy.

We love food - especially Dutch Pancakes...

We love rollercoasters - especially the woodies...

Actually - we just like amusement parks in general...

And - we love to travel...

Our first trip to WDW was in Oct 2003... they were 5 and 4 respectively.

It was a wonderful trip - but I vowed to never sleep in an off property hotel again. We spent the majority of our trip, sitting in the parking lot at the TTC waiting for our hotel shuttle that never came. It was immediately after our return that I discovered The Dis... Next time, I would do the research.

Our second, and most recent trip, to WDW was in Oct 2008... The girls were 10 and 9 respectively.

This trip I planned for, and it was spectacular! Since DH is military (now retired), we stayed at Shades of Green... a fantastic resort - and the location is supurb. We loved it and would go back in a heartbeat.

A few cast members that deserve mentioning... DH, of course, who is a wonderful man - but does not share the Disney love as the girls and I do... He preferred to send us on a solo trip this time. You see, since DH was military, the girls and I spend a lot of time sitting at home and waiting on DH - not that he is always doing fun things - but he's done his fair share of travel... not to mention several yearly hunting and fishing trips - all while the girls and I wait at home. So, this time, I put my foot down and told DH that the girls and I are going to do something fun - and he thought it was a wonderful idea... as long as I can pay for a good portion of our trip with my sewing funds. Anyways - here's DH and I...

And, as long as I am at it... since DH also has to stay home to take care of our dog... "The Ruf" - short for Rufus...

Last, but not least... Someone that is going to play a major role in this trip, but will never leave my house... My 1952 Singer 15-91 that I fully restored this summer ~ affectionately named "Patience", because I needed a lot of it. She sews one amazing straight stitch (well, that's all she does)... and she makes me look good.

I am sure I will have to add more people later... but this should cover me to get started.

 

[DMGeurts]

Chapters

Preface: Cast Members
Chapter 1: Learning to sew
Chapter 2: Patience
Chapter 3a: Disney 2003 Part 1
Chapter 3b: Disney 2003 Part 2
Chapter 4a: My amazing husband Part 1
Chapter 4b: My amazing husband Part 2
Chapter 5a: WDW 2008 Day 1
Chapter 5b: WDW 2008 Day 2
Chapter 5c: WDW 2008 Day 3
Chpater 5d: WDW 2008 Day 4
Chapter 5e: WDW 2008 Day 5a
Chapter 5f: WDW 2008 Day 5b
Chapter 5g: WDW 2008 Day 6a
Chpater 5h: WDW 2008 Day 6b
Chapter 5i: WDW 2008 Day 7a
Chapter 5j: WDW 2008 Day 7b
Chapter 6: Where Patience lives
Chapter 7: Another Machine???
Chapter 7b: Another Machine Restored
Now N' Then photos

Plans

Current Plans

AG Outfits

Outfit #52
Outfit #51
Outfit #50
Outfit #49
Outfit #48
Outfit #47
Outfit #46
Outfit #45
Outfit #44
Outfit #43
Outfit #42
Outfit #41
Outfit #40
Outfit #39
Outfit #38
Outfit #37
Outfit #36
Outfit #35
Outfit #34
Outfit #33
Outfit #32
Outfit #31
Outfit #30
Outfit #29

Mini-Planner

***Note: On 11/27/2011 I changed the dates of our trip... All of my Mini-Planner pages are now current and up to date.

Front Cover
Dining Checklist - revised
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8
Day 9
Day 10
Back Cover - Calendar Page - revised

The Whole Thing


Custom Park Bags

Custom Children's Small Autograph Bag
Custom Teen/Tween/Adult Medium Autograph Bag
Figment inspired - Ultimate Park Bag
Mickey inspired - Ultimate Park Bag
Mickey Christmas inspired - Ultimate Park Bag
Figment inspired - UPB
Mickey inspired - UPB
Basic Navy Blue - UPB
Evil Queen Mini-UPB


Customs

The Ultimate Disney Park Bag!
Donald Small Zippered Pouch
Custom Donald Water Bottle Holder
Custom Donald outfit
Victoria's custom Goofy Messenger Bag ~ Shhhh, it's a Christmas gift!
Victoria's matching Goofy Zip Wallet ~ Shhhh, this is a Christmas gift too!
Allison's Zip Wallet ~ Shhh, it's a Christmas gift!
Allison's custom Haunted Mansion Messenger Bag ~ Shhhh, it's a Christmas gift!
My Toy Story Carry-on Messenger Bag
Toy Story Journal Cover
Toy Story zippered travel organizer
Toy Story zippered wallet
Allison's UP! Messenger Bag
Allison's Pirate skirt
Victoria's Pirate skirt
Custom Donald sweatshirt
Test Track Messenger Bag
Victoria's Goofy dress
Victoria's Goofy Skirt
D~'s Denim Donald Duck inspired capris
D~'s Denim Donald Duck inspired shorts
Our Peace, Love & What? shirts
AK Zebra - UPB (wide)
Victoria's Pirate outfit
Alli's Pirate outfit
D~'s Pirate outfit
Alli's Dug wallet


V's creations

AG Tinkerbell dress

So, you want to restore a Vintage Sewing Machine?

All my links in one place

D~

 

[DMGeurts]

Here's what I have so far... which isn't much. Updated 12/4/11

Trip dates:

March 6-15, 2012

When we first started planning this trip, the girls and I were only going to go for 4 or 5 days over spring break. Then Disney offered Free Dining, so that meant we would have to go down 3 days earlier to qualify for FD - and it saved us a lot of $$ to do it this way. Then, while I was researching airfare, I discovered that if we left 2 days sooner and came home 1 day early, we would save over $1200. So, yet again, I changed our dates to coincide with better airfare prices, and was able to keep our resort and our FD.

Resort:

POFQ

We requested bldg 6, ground floor (I have really bad knees and steps are often very painful for me).

Transportation:

DH purchased our flights as part of our Christmas gift! What an awesome man!!!

So, we are flying Suncountry non-stop both directions.

Our outbound flight for Disney leaves at 8:00am and arrives at MCO at Noon.
Our return flight leaves MCO at 7:30pm and arrives home at 10pm.

These are the perfect flights and exactly what I wanted. I wanted to fly out early to get there early enough in the day that we could go into a park if we wanted to. And I wanted to leave late on our departure day, so we could also go into a park if we wanted to. Since this is our first flight alone, I also really wanted a non-stop flight. I am also really excited because DH paid the extra $$ to have our seats together (I probably wouldn't have - LOL)... so we will have a window seat. We love to look out and try to figure out where we are by trying to read the water towers. I know, we are strange - but it gives us something to do. We have the entire row to ourselves, so we can stretch out a bit (while, as much as you can while flying anyways).

ME to our resort. We have never stayed on property, so ME is a totally new experience for us.

ADRs (free dining):
So, here's our confirmed ADRs. We made them on Saturday, September 10th . DD #1 (13 y/o) planned all of these herself - and I think she did a magnificant job.

I realize that we will have to pay for one of these meals OOP - any recommendations for which one? ETA, now that we've added an extra day, we have just the right amount of meals for our FD, so I can take the cost of a meal into account for our savings right?


3/5 - Monday - the girls' last day of school. Last minute packing day - but knowing me - we'll be completely packed weeks before we leave.
3/6 - Tuesday - Arrival early afternoon. Maybe go into a park for the evening.
3/7 - Wednesday - Crystal Palace (early morning ADR before park opens)
3/8 - Thursday - Cape May Cafe, Dinner
3/9 - Friday - 50's Prime Time Cafe, Lunch
3/10 - Saturday - Tusker House, Breakfast - Boma, Dinner
3/11 - Sunday - Garden Grill, Dinner
3/12 - Monday - day off from parks - O'hana, Dinner
3/13 - Tuesday - Tusker House - Lunch
3/14 - Wednesday - Liberty Tree Tavern, Lunch
3/15 - Thursday - evening flight home

Our park plans:

*3/6 (Tuesday) Arrive at MCO around noon. Take ME to POFQ. Check in and locate our room. Maybe go for a swim (coming from MN, I imagine this will be possible if it's wrmer than 40°) then explore our resort. Possibly go intot a park for some evening entertainment.

*3/7 (Wednesday) Our first park day. We have an early morning ADR at CP - before MK opens. We are hoping for a few great empty park pictures. After RD, we will head directly to Splash, get FP and ride a few times before it gets busy. Today, we are going to stick mosly to this side of the park. I would also like to get the girls' shadows done today - this is one of my favorite and cheapest souviniers that we got on our last trip - and they make a really neat memento. THis will be a long day for us - we would like to stay for the parades, if we can. We would, for sure, like to ride Splash Mtn in the dark - since we never have.

*3/8 (Thursday) This was our original arrival day. Since we decided to keep our Cape May dinner ADRs, we decided to have a second Epcot day, since this is the perfect location to get to Cape May, and then come back into the park. We will probably collect FP for the favorite attractions at RD. The girls really want to spend more time exploring the countries - so I really think we will take our time and enjoy all the things that WS has to offer today. We have plans to meet up with a couple Disers, and then tonight is our Dis-meet at Yee Haw Bob's.

*3/9 (Friday) DHS - Of course, we will be there at rope drop for the TSM run... hopefully getting a set of FP and then also riding right away, before the line gets too long. If the line is too long, we will just use our FP later, and enjoy that end of the park while it's still quiet. We are planning an early lunch at 50's Prime time - another of our favs. Both dds are thrill ride lovers - where I really don't like RnR, so I'll probably let them que up for that themselves while I wait outside. I have never ridden ToT (chicken)... However, I might be brave enough this time. The girls really want to see F! - so we will que up for that, after finding a quick CS meal along the way. This time - I will make sure that my camera batteries are fully charged! DHS is our only park day planned for DHS, unless we sneak in for a night of entertainment on our arrival night or our day off - so we really want to make the most of this day.

*3/10 (Saturday) Before park opens Breakfast ADR at Tusker House. Spend our day at AK. We have an early dinner scheduled at Boma, so we can explore AKL a little bit. Since the park closes earlier than all the other parks, we plan to be back to the resort early (relatively speaking, of course) to relax.

*3/11 (Sunday) Epcot day today. This is our second Epcot day, so we will try to do everything that we missed our first day, and just enjoy the park as much as we can at a leisurly pace. We plan to be there at rope drop - heading first for FP for Soarin' then across the park for TT - hopefully landing a set of FP when we are done riding. We plan to do world showcase when it opens, probably working our way clockwise around. The girls did the Epcot passports last time, and even though they are older - they still would like to do them again. Of course, we will do characters along the way. We will have an early dinner at Garden Grill (one of our favs) and spend the evening wandering around future world. Hopefully with enough steam to keep us in the park for Illuminations.

*3/12 (Monday) Day off from the parks. The girls and I would really like to do a trip to DTD - we have never been there in all our times to WDW. So, we plan to try and sleep a bit later today, and head to DTD first thing. We will probably grab a CS lunch while we are there. We'd like to be back to the resort early, so the girls have a chance to try out the pools at POFQ and POR. Otherwise, we will just do one in the afternoon. We are planning a dinner ADR at Ohana's. Then we will head back to the resort to do the other pool we missed earlier in the day.

*3/13 (Tuesday) - Our second AK day. Of course, we are going to head for our favorite attractions to get FP. We have lunch scheduled with Donald at Tusker House. We will try to do the things we missed on our first day in the park.

*3/14 (Wednesday) - Our second and last MK day. We are planning to do the Tomorrow Land side of the park today - We are also planning a lunch ADR at LTT. We plan to be at the park at RD, and head straight to SM to get FP. We will check wait times at Splash when we are done with lunch - we might try and ride it again today. Any parades or fireworks that we missed on our first day, we will try again to do today. We will try to get back to our resort at a decent hour, so we can get our luggage in order to check out in the morning.

*3/15 (Thursday) THis is our last day in the parks. DH was able to snag the late flight home, so we will be able to spend the morning in a park, if we choose. I am not sure which park we will go into, if we do. Probably either MK or DHS - MK because it's tradition to "say goodbye" on our last day, or DHS because we will only get one full day in that park. We don't have any ADRs scheduled for today, however, I will continue to check periodically to see if anything appeals to us. As of right now, we are even with our ADR vs. alotted DDP TS credits - so if we choose to add another ADR, it would mean a meal would have to be OOP. We plan to check out and have bell services hold our luggage until ME comes to pick us up around 5pm, if we choose to go into a park, I would like to be back to our resort around 2pm, so we can swim one last time, if we choose. I never like to be late for anything, so we will make sure we are back to the resort with pleanty of time to spare for ME.

D~

 

[AmandaRG]

Can't wait to see what you make! I have been making simple outfits for my girls for several years, but am now starting to branch out. Need ideas as I am not confident in designing my own!

Looking forward to hearing about your plans, too!

 

[dianemom2]

I guess I am the first one to comment. I will be following along and wishing that I was going too. I'd love to do a mother/daughter trip with my girls. I can't wait to see the AG clothes that you sew. If you put pictures of your AG clothes up on facebook, I can post them on my wall to help you get some sold.

 

[VBAndrea]

You're really leaving Patience in the hands of your dh and Rufus while you travel? I hope your new sewing room has a door you can padlock. And will the Toy Story fabric get out to use for this trip?

 

[MaryAz]

Joining in. Would love to see (and buy) some cute Disney AG things!! Love the vintage sewing machine!!

 

[2girlsmommy]

I'm in! I'm so entertained and in awe of what you create over on the disboUtique thread, I know this will be a great ptr!
Erica

 

[Colleen27]

Joining in, I can't wait to see your creations!

 

[Blyssfull]

Add me to the list of followers. Can't wait to see what you create!

 

[mommy2mrb]

Yay I made the first page
great start to your PTR!
so does the POFQ dress I bought the other day go towards your Disney $$?
I will definately be in line to get a few more, Megan loves all the dresses you created for her dolls!
good luck with your goal

 

[DMGeurts]

Can't wait to see what you make! I have been making simple outfits for my girls for several years, but am now starting to branch out. Need ideas as I am not confident in designing my own!

Looking forward to hearing about your plans, too!

Welcome!! I hope I can inspire you to create something wonderful - or at least try something new. There's a Disboutique thread over in the "Disney for families" section - they have all been a huge inspiration and help to me.

I guess I am the first one to comment. I will be following along and wishing that I was going too. I'd love to do a mother/daughter trip with my girls. I can't wait to see the AG clothes that you sew. If you put pictures of your AG clothes up on facebook, I can post them on my wall to help you get some sold.

Glad you found me!!! Some day you will get to do a trip with your girls... I am really looking forward to it - I just hope they don't fight the whole time. '

You're really leaving Patience in the hands of your dh and Rufus while you travel? I hope your new sewing room has a door you can padlock. And will the Toy Story fabric get out to use for this trip?

I am sorry Andrea... Yes, poor Patience is doing all the work, and I have to leave her at home... maybe I can photoshop her into some pictures? After all, she'd have to lose a bit of weight to meet the airline requirements, and I just don't think she could pull it off in time. Poor girl.

I am not sure about the TS fabric - it's taunting me, that's for sure. I have to get all of these other outfits made and sold before I can even think about anything fun for the girls and I.

Joining in. Would love to see (and buy) some cute Disney AG things!! Love the vintage sewing machine!!

Welcome!! I will do a post in a little bit to show some of the things I have made in the past. And I will tell Patience that you love her... she has a small following here on the Dis - and each time I tell her that someone loves her - she shows off even more. In all seriousness - thank you - Patience was a labor of love, and just a huge accomplishment for me... I couldn't believe that I had taken her completely apart, cleaned her, put her back together and she worked.

I'm in! I'm so entertained and in awe of what you create over on the disboUtique thread, I know this will be a great ptr!
Erica

Welcome - Thanks Erica! That was so nice of you to say. I can't wait to dive in and see what I come up with... it could be really great - or really not - it's the whole time crunch thing that I am worried about.

Joining in, I can't wait to see your creations!

Welcome!! Thanks for stopping in!

Add me to the list of followers. Can't wait to see what you create!

Hey - glad to see you here!!! You know me, I'll be showing my stuff everywhere - but everything that I make for this trip will be here... Including any customs I make - and that I can talk my dds into letting me make for them.

Yay I made the first page
great start to your PTR!
so does the POFQ dress I bought the other day go towards your Disney $$?
I will definately be in line to get a few more, Megan loves all the dresses you created for her dolls!
good luck with your goal

Hi Lisa! Yes, the POFQ dress $$ is already in the Disney fund... but it isn't included in the 52/53 outfits that I still need to make... I can't decide on a number - but it has to be, at least 52. You'll have to tell Megan that she is one of my favorite people to create outfits for - I just love seeing all the pictures of her with her dolls!

I hope I didn't miss anyone... Off to work on a bit more of my PTR... then I need to wake Patience up - no rest for the weary.

D~

 

[NiniMorris]

Woo Hoo...I missed this last night..was working on my own Daughter trip...sort of. (my daughter and son in law decided to definitely go to Disney with us in THREE weeks! Busy around here. (ARGH!)


O, calmed down now....

Great to see your PTR! You know I'll be following along. Really looking forward to seeing what beauties you create!


Nini

 

[blessedmom4]

Okay, your title called to me! HOW FUN, a trip with your daughters and you sew doll clothes! I want to do both! My youngest has an obsession with AG dolls (she only has one,but loves to look at them and read about them). She makes videos of her doll, creates her things from construction paper, boxes and clay (ie: phones, pictures, rooms, furniture..even video games...she cracks me up). I am looking forward to seeing these clothes AND reading about your trip!

 

[DMGeurts]

I wasn't sure where to stick this into my PTR. But it's kind of an important part of this story - so I believe it deserves mentioning - at least once.

You'll also have to forgive me, because I type like I am talking = rambling.

So, if you would have told me a year ago that "in one year, you'll be sewing - and sewing pretty well"... I would have told you, for sure, that you are off your rocker.

In jr. high - I hated home-ec... it was all I could do to get through that class with my fingers still attached. That was roughly 8 grade (but it could have been 9th)... After you hit 35, things like that get a little fuzzy. The point to the story is that I haven't touched a sewing machine since 1988-89.

About 5 years ago, my MIL gave DH her old sewing machine... Since he is military, he sometimes needs to be self-reliant... as in, sewing his own stuff. I told him, right then and there, that this was HIS machine, and don't ever expect me to touch it - unless he would like to see a major catastrophe.

About the same time, my girls started really collecting American Girl dolls - I joined a few message boards - and I always admired the wonderful seamstresses on those boards - what beautiful things they created - and so tiny.

I admired these seamstresses for years - even commissioning some of them to make outfits for my girls' dolls.

Then, last fall, I found the Disboutique thread here on The Dis... If you've never been over there - these ladies are amazing! Consider this your warning though - if you've ever had even the slightest interest in creating something - you will be inspired like you've never been inspired before.

I poured over each and every back issue of the Disboutique thread... with each one - the urge to create became more and more intense... And there are a lot of back issues - I think we are on #26 right now... at 250 pages per thread... that's a lot of reading.

All the while, that ol' machine in the back/bottom of my deepest, darkest, closet (you know the one I am talking about - the one where the door barely closes, and when it opens, you hold your hands up in front of your face as a self-defense measure) was calling to me.... After several weeks of resistance, I opened that closet door, and I waded through waist high mountains of soccer balls, tennis rackets... pushing aside winter coats and boxes of VHS tapes - this is a very deep closet - as it is under my stairs. Finally, after much effort and a lot of sweating - I got myself to the back (with a flash light in my mouth - since we don't have a light in this closet either)... I dug all the way to the bottom - and there is was... A Brother. What seemed like hours later, I waded back through the closet - heavy sewing machine in hand - and out the door. I plunked it down on my desk - the very spot I am typing this - and googled the model #. I was able to find the manual for a newer model - which was very similar to the one I had - and I read it page by page. Then I read it again, being careful to look at the machine and see the parts they were talking about. After several hours of reading the manual and exploring the machine - I felt I was ready for a test drive. So, I hauled the Brother out to the diningroom table, plugged it in (where I discovered a slight issue with the plug - but that's a different story for a different day), threaded it with the help of the manual, turned on the light, ran upstairs and grabbed an old pillow case out of the linen closet, ran back down, put it under the presser foot, and pressed the pedal.... AND IT WORKED!!!!! I couldn't believe it!!! I had just sewed a straight line!!!! All the way down the pillow case!!! And it worked!!! After a few lines - I decided to be really brave (for a first timer) and figure out the zig-zag stitch... so again, I took out the manual and figured out which dials I needed to move - and there I sat - zig-zagging up and down the pillow case until I had managed to sew the whole thing shut a million times over. The Pillowcase

You should have seen DH's face when he came home from work that day. Imagine his surprise, to come in the door and see his wife sitting at the diningroom table - with a SEWING MACHINE - a running sewing machine at that. He walked right back out the door, came back in, rubbed his eyes - and honestly I don't think he said anything for hours (speechless, maybe?) - he just stood there, watching me zoom up and down on this poor pillow case... I am not sure if he thought he should take me to the Dr., or if he thought he was seeing things.

I am sorry I don't have any pictures of any of this - I really didn't think, at the time, that this was an important event in my life - but it was. I still have the pillow case - so if you all want to see that - I can take a picture later.

So, trying to make a realllllllly long story short, I started finding free online tutorials about how to make basic doll clothes - I didn't want to waste good $$ on patterns that I would just wreck anyways. So, I made a few circle skirts... but I had all of these ideas in my head, just jumping around - begging me to create - but honestly - I didn't have the sewing skills to create what was in my head. Eventually, I got really sick of circle skirts (that all turned out really horrible too - I still have those, as well), and started drawing my own patterns - again - I still didn't want to waste $$ on real patterns. I was, honestly, very intimidated by them. Then, I had an epiphany, of sorts, which got me past the whole "$$ wasted" attitude... I was always worried about wrecking the fabric, or wrecking the pattern... then I realized... Seriously - how much is a yard of fabric? $4.00, $6.00? Whatever it is, I can "wreck it" all I want to - there's more out there - I can just buy more. The only thing really wasted is my time... So, I cut into that fabric with a vengance - there was no turning back after that.

The first outfit I ever created was Goofy... The whole idea came to me while I was laying awake in the middle of the night - and honestly - all that came to me was his hat. Then I started dreaming about all the little details in his outfit that I could pull into a real outfit. Not a costume outfit, but an outfit that a real girl would wear, and once piece at a time, it came together. All of these pattern pieces are patterns that I drafted, except the skirt isn't my pattern.

Donald came to me, much the same way...

Same with Mickey...

And Minnie (Minnie isn't my pattern here)...

Then Pluto (which also isn't my pattern)...

All of these were made by me between December and January of 2011 - so I had only been sewing for 3 months - max. Totally and completely inspired by the Disboutiquers.

Then came my Toy Story inspired outfits...

And my Princess outfits...

And then I taught myself how to hand applique (from Heather Sue's most awesome tutorial)... This is one of my first...

I really enjoy hand appliques... they are so much fun, and I get to add a lot of fun elements to my outfits... Here's a few outfits from my Villians series that I just finished up...

I've also started redrafting some of my favorite girl sized patterns into dolly size...
Oliver + S Icecream dress that I made for a swap:

With the matching Oliver + S Red Riding Hood cape:

And Farbenmixe's Feliz dress (which is now Megan's)...

And with the Disboutique Project Runway - I've really been working on fine-tuning some of my applique skills... This particular outfit took me 4 days of hand applique - not including the sewing of the actual outfit..

Splash Mountain front - Brer Rabbit...

Back...

I have made quite a few other items... which I will save for another post for another day, since I think I am close to my photo limit in this post. Besides - I need to stop wasting time - and GET TO WORK... the clock's a tickin'...

D~

 

[DMGeurts]

Woo Hoo...I missed this last night..was working on my own Daughter trip...sort of. (my daughter and son in law decided to definitely go to Disney with us in THREE weeks! Busy around here. (ARGH!)


O, calmed down now....

Great to see your PTR! You know I'll be following along. Really looking forward to seeing what beauties you create!


Nini

Yay Nini!!! I am so glad you made it!

I can't believe you only have 3 weeks to add 2 people into your vacation! Do they not know that this is WDW - and you need to plan, at least, 180 days in advance??? Ack! You must be a mess! Let me know if I can help you with anything.

Okay, your title called to me! HOW FUN, a trip with your daughters and you sew doll clothes! I want to do both! My youngest has an obsession with AG dolls (she only has one,but loves to look at them and read about them). She makes videos of her doll, creates her things from construction paper, boxes and clay (ie: phones, pictures, rooms, furniture..even video games...she cracks me up). I am looking forward to seeing these clothes AND reading about your trip!

Welcome!!! I had the worst time coming up with a title - and I still don't think I nailed it - but I knew the sewing aspect would appeal to some people and the short deadline would appeal to others... so hear I am - typing instead of sewing. LOL Sounds like your dd is amazingly creative! I would love to see the things she has created!

D~ <---- must go catch up on the Disboutique thread, and get to work. I think I've said this before???

 

[mommy2mrb]

Hi Lisa! Yes, the POFQ dress $$ is already in the Disney fund... but it isn't included in the 52/53 outfits that I still need to make... I can't decide on a number - but it has to be, at least 52. You'll have to tell Megan that she is one of my favorite people to create outfits for - I just love seeing all the pictures of her with her dolls!


D~

Oh D~ you are so sweet, brought tears to my eyes....told Megan and she just smiled!

I love your story about the machine and sewing again, can just see you DH face!
the fact that just three months after starting you were able to create these adorable outfits is just amazing
and I have the honor in telling everyone here we are the proud owners of your first creation Goofy and the pink Minnie outfit and your latest POFQ outfit and can honestly say, the photos don't do D's work justice, they are just amazing! and I will be buying more outfits in the future....need to help a fellow DISser get to WDW!
I just "Liked" youf FB site last night too!
waiting patiently for your next creations


oh and I started my PTR...new info in my siggie..

 

[kokotg]

oh, wow! those outfits are so great! I have three boys, and I'm always secretly envious when I hear about little girls and their American Girl doll obsessions. I remember when they first came out I used to read through the catalog while I babysat for my little cousins, wishing I were young enough for the dolls still. Although I'm not sure I could afford a little girl with an AG doll obsession AND Disney trips, so maybe it's just as well I had boys

Anyway, can't wait to read more about your trip!

 

[DMGeurts]

Oh D~ you are so sweet, brought tears to my eyes....told Megan and she just smiled!

I love your story about the machine and sewing again, can just see you DH face!
the fact that just three months after starting you were able to create these adorable outfits is just amazing
and I have the honor in telling everyone here we are the proud owners of your first creation Goofy and the pink Minnie outfit and your latest POFQ outfit and can honestly say, the photos don't do D's work justice, they are just amazing! and I will be buying more outfits in the future....need to help a fellow DISser get to WDW!
I just "Liked" youf FB site last night too!
waiting patiently for your next creations


oh and I started my PTR...new info in my siggie..

Oooh - I am heading over to your PTR right now!!!

Thanks Lisa for all the compliments - really - it's one thing for someone to admire the pictures I post, and it's a whole 'nother realm when people not only buy your outfits - but they are so happy with them that they keep buying them... DH will come home from work today and wonder why I am so happy with myself... LOL

oh, wow! those outfits are so great! I have three boys, and I'm always secretly envious when I hear about little girls and their American Girl doll obsessions. I remember when they first came out I used to read through the catalog while I babysat for my little cousins, wishing I were young enough for the dolls still. Although I'm not sure I could afford a little girl with an AG doll obsession AND Disney trips, so maybe it's just as well I had boys

Anyway, can't wait to read more about your trip!

Welcome!! I am so glad you found me... feel free to pull up a chair.

Thanks so much for your compliments!!! Maybe it's better that you had boys - but OTOH - you're never too old for dolls, especially if you look at them as a collection, rather than a play thing. Look at is this way - there are tons of grown men who collect Star Wars figures, GI Joes and baseball cards - all kids things - but it's OK because they are a collection. That's my perspective on the whole thing.

OK - off to post my #52 outfit...

D~