Jules and Juleps or

The best week of my life

MDCC Modern Doll Collectors Convention 2016, Louisville, Kentucky

Claudia and Claudia or Laurel and Hardy :-)
Claudia and Claudia or Laurel and Hardy :-)

 

Ta Ta Ta Da, all of a sudden my life changed completely.

 

When Claudia asked me if I would like to carry on her doll business in Germany there was no doubt or any other answer than YES.

 

What an honour and pleasure working and living with the Ionker family.

 

Therefore I founded my own company

 

Boneka Tradition

 

to get on with the wonderful Boneka business.

 

What an adventure! We started an inventory clearance in my new ebay shop, planned our movements (Claudia to Bali, me to Braunfels) and prepared our journey to Louisville to meet our friends at Modern Doll.

 

And here we are: Claudia and Claudia, a dreamteam.

Claudia said she feels like Laurel and Hardey and she pointed at me and said: "You are the stupid one" - Ha ha ha

 

To cut a long story short: I had the best week of my life meeting new friends, all born with a doll heart and the nicest persons ever.

 

Thank you ladies, you all turned my week into my

 

BEST WEEK OF MY LIFE!

 

Katie's new clothes

A trip from Switzerland to Germany

Katie's Sunday's Best
Katie's Sunday's Best

 

 Here is Katie who was my guest for a few days to model me for a new wardrobe.

 

Katie is a beloved doll from a little girl living in Switzerland and Katie came in a box nacked like a little monkey and I was lucky to make some new clothes for her.

 

She also had a wellness treatment, I washed and combed her hair cleaned the face, arms and legs.

 

Katie traveled home with her new clothes and her little new traveling compagnion (a little doggy).

 

Here is part of what the family wrote to me.

 

Dear Claudia,

Tonight was The Night - we sat the kids down before bedtime and said we had something special to show them. Of course everyone was curious and excited.


My daughter set your box on her lap and opened it - and let out a yelp! She could not believe Katie looked so different! And at first thought it was someone else besides Katie, she was hardly recognizable! We all marveled over her beautiful dress, the embroidery and stitching and buttons and details.

My daughter was overjoyed to see all of the other colorful packages you had wrapped! She then saw your note and read it out loud to us all, with an enormous smile on her face. We were all in disbelief at the job you had done with Katie's hair (!!!), her shoes, stockings, little dog, and on.
She seems like a completely new doll "person"!

 

………

 

We just cannot believe the job you have done, and feel you've given us all an unforgettable gift.

 

……

 

For now I just wanted to let you know that your package arrived safely. We're so glad we found your shop on etsy! And so appreciative for all of the care and effort you put into this gift to Katie and my daughter, and all of us!

 

I'm so happy Katie arrived home sound and save and I made a little girl happy.

It was such a joy having Katie as a guest.

 

Good bye Katie

 

The girl is mine....

after 10 years saving money and drooling over sewing machine brochures, here she is:

My new Bernina 770 QE

The girls testing the new sewing machine
The girls testing the new sewing machine

 

 No, I did not win the lottery but I feel like I got the jackpot!

 

After I've sewn miles and miles of seams with my Bernina 1130 which was a great machine to learn all the skills I have now, I thought it's time to think about a new sewing machine that has everything I ever hoped for.

 

Thus I studied sewing machine brochures and  watched videos on youtube until I found what I want. Of course a new Bernina!

 

The girls stood in the first row when I asked  for compagnion for my travel to my sewing machine dealer. My 10" Effner Boneka girls jumped up and down heavily weaving.

 

And they did good! They told the dealer about every feature Mummy needs to make that tiny clothes for them and they supported me with negotiations and have been as sweet as can be. Nobody can resist this little darling faces! Can you see them dancing and hear singing?:

 

Yes, we are Bernina girls!

Welcome Alice

Outfit made by me from illustration Alice Liddel
Outfit made by me from illustration Alice Liddel


 

In spring 2015 a customer from US asked if I could do a special dress from an illustration from Alice Liddel. 

 

Of course I could  but I didn't have the doll as a model and therefore I couldn't garantuee the perfect fit.

 

So my customer had the idea to send me the doll .

 

What a fun creating the outfit and to turn  14inch doll Chrysalis by Helen Kish into a perfect Alice.

 

After I send my customer some pics I was joking if I could only send the outfit and keep the doll ;-)

 

Know what: we made a swap!

Now I am Alice' s new Mum and I am so happy to welcome this sweety pie in my gang.



Sewing for the charming Müller-Wichtel®

By the german dollmaker Rosemarie Müller

Butterfly with Bali Batics
Butterfly with Bali Batics


 

In summer 2014 I was asked to create some appliques for these charming little girls. They are made by the german dollmaker Rosemarie Müller.

 

Aren't these little fellows the most charming chubby little girls? They look like real toddlers and come in 10 and 13 inches (26 and 32 cm).

 

 

I was thrilled making some appliques in two different sizes on the beautiful polka dot fabrics she brought me to play with.

 

 

To tell you the truth: I felt in love - with the dolls in their lovely new dresses.

 

More pictures of  the funny little gang you can find on the website of Rosepuppen.

 


Hurray

 

My first Boneka Design for Sale

 

I am blessed with a wonderful friendship to Rosemarie Ionker, the famous designer of Boneka Dollfashion Company.

We are always talking about our ideas of dollclothing, tecniques and such and stuff.

 

In fall 2013 I was asked to design some dresses for Boneka and I was so thrilled that I pulled out all my fabrics and embroidery yarn and started to create some little outfits for 10"  and 13" Dianna Effner Dolls.

 

And voila, here are my little pumpkins.

These and some other designs by me are now available at Boneka Dollfashion.

The Handyman can

 

My cute little 8.5 inch Heidi Plusczok doll came to me as a poor little girl with a huge slit over her whole face.

No question that I adopted the orphan immediately to give her a home.

I thought for a long time about how I could repair her face. I was so afraid to worsen it that I didn't do anything at all.

 

Instead of that I named her Promise because I promised to treat her well and I will sew a closet full of doll clothes for her.

 

Like my girl came to me somehow also the best hubby of all came into my life. Soon Dr. Handyman prepaired Promise for a short and painless surgery. Oh my god, but I felt pain when I saw all that glue running over her face. I thought it will never be removed in a lifetime. But Dr. Handyman repaired the slit, removed the glue completely and polished her face.

 

Promise recovered soon from the treatment and is now Dr. Handyman's biggest fan.

Isn't he the most wonderful hubby in the world`?

Avery has a new home
Avery has a new home

 

 

13 Thingies and a Ribbon


A Doll for wardrobe swap

 

 

What can you do if there is no single dolly dollar in your purse but you want to give a doll a new home?? So I came up with the idea to offer a swap. In one of my beloved doll groups I offered to sew a whole wardrobe of choice in change of a doll.

 

This is how Avery came to live with us and became Riley's new best friend . Avery was so excited coming to Germany that she couldn’t wait and she tried to hitch hike to me. Fortunately her Mom could catch her before she boarded into a foreign car…..

 

While Avery was travelling save in a box I started to sew the outfits. My swap partner wanted to be surprised, thus I could put all my creativity into a new wardrobe for Ann Estelle. The whole gang raised the arms when I asked who would love to model for me. Except Sophie, she declared there is too much sweetness in the fabrics I’ve chosen.

 

If you’d like to have a new wardrobe for your doll (one I have at home as a model) and you want to give one of your dolls a new home just let me know. I’m interested in dolls from 7” to 16”. I’m still looking for a 14” Piper and 8” Tulah by Helen Kish. I’m open to any other suggestion. Maybe one of your dolls speaks to me “I want to live with you.”

 

Let’s have fun – Let’s swap!

Oktoberfest

About Dirndl Dresses

Original Kärntner Dirndl Dress
Original Kärntner Dirndl Dress


 

Maja is modelling a traditional Austrian Dirndl Dress from the Kärnten area with the typical blue fabric with white polka dots.


Maja has chosen this style to represent Mum’s (that’s me) roots. Mum’s mother was born in Vienna and has still aunties and uncles in the wonderful Kärnten area in the town Klagenfurt at the lake Wörthersee.


A Dirndl is a type of traditional dress worn in Germany – especially Bavaria and Black Forrest Area – Liechtenstein, Austria, and South Tyrol, based on the historical costume of Alpine peasants. Each region has its own Dirndl style, special fabrics and embellishments.

The dirndl consists of a bodice, blouse, full skirt and apron.


The dirndl originated as a more hardy form of the costume we have today; the uniform of Austrian servants in the 19th century (Dirndlgewand means "maid's dress"). Simple forms were also worn commonly by working women in plain colours or a simple check. Originally, each village had its own style and crest. The Austrian upper classes adopted the dirndl as high fashion in the 1870s

Bow tied at the left: Maja is still "available"
Bow tied at the left: Maja is still "available"

In popular culture it is sometimes reported that the placement of the knot on the apron is an indicator of the woman's marital status, with a bow tied on the woman's left side indicating that she is single, a knot tied on the right meaning that she is married, engaged or otherwise "taken", and a knot tied at the back showing that the woman is widowed.

 

Look at Maja’s bow, it seems she is looking for a boyfriend!

 

Fireflygirls of the world


Welcome to Firefly girls of the world.

Founded by Roberta, a former member of our yahoo group “Ann Estelle’s world”, we soon all wanted to build a scout troop. I was thrilled from that brilliant idea and started my own troop. Soon I found matching fabrics for yellow blouses and green pants for the uniforms. My girls were also very excited.

Ann is leader of the fireflies, although Sophie carefully has an eye on everybody’s correct fitting outfit. Linda, all girl, declared she would never wear pants and she even wanted a pink uniform. Well pink uniforms are not allowed but for my sweety I sewed a dress. Gracies uniform is made in China and it happened that the troop No. is stitched on the wrong side of the sleeve. Kelly, more like a boy, never cares about her uniform. She inherited her uniform from her big sister and it is a bit too wide. So what! Poor Sophie – she always is near to having a heart attack when she sees how lousy Kelly's uniform fits.

 

If you want to see more from the adventures of the firefly girls of the world visit me at facebook or Roberta’s website The lifes and times of Ann Estelle
http://www.thelifeandtimesofannestelle.com/firefly-girls-of-the-world.html

 

 

 

Gracies uniform is made in China.

It is embroidered with little fireflies

all the way down the button tab

 

Kelly's uniform has a lousy fit. Sophie tells her to close the blouse and to knot the scarf.

 

The seniors Jane and Barbara wear a more informal uniform with t-shirts and pants. As leaders they sure have another scarf.


 

And here comes the cutest scout girl ever!


What an inspiration

 

Happy Birthday Ann Estelle

Mary Engelbreit is a well known graphic artist and children's book illustrator, who makes beautiful drawings.

One day I received a package from Cindi, one of my quilting friends in USA, with a great surprise. Different fat quarters from Mary Engelbreit fabric. Oh I was in heaven!

Incidentally the same time I found a cute drawing from Ann in a charming birthday dress surrounded by all her presents and balloons.

Inspired by this drawing I made a dress like this with the fabric I received.

Although I asked Mary Engelbreit kindly for permission, unfortunately I am not allowed to show her original drawing.

Instead of a kind response to my email with the attached picture I got a rude answer that I didn’t expect: her marketing department wrote back that I am NOT allowed to sell this dress. Well, I didn’t want to sell the dress, I even didn't think about it. I just wanted to say how much I was inspired by Mary Engelbreit's drawing. Besides I'm not sure if Mary ever received the mail with my picture.

Anyway, I still love the dress and the blonde little girl with the glasses.

Happy Birthday Ann Estelle!

Special Offer!


For Sale


New and unused books

from

Rosemarie Ionker!

If you would like to purchase one of the outfits which are

FOR SALE

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