ANGELIQUE MINIATURES CELEBRATES 28 YEARS TODAY!

STORE BANNER HORIZONTAL PNG

 

To celebrate this anniversary I thought I would share some pictures of my favourite doll projects from more recent years (since digital cameras and the internet!!!).

From fairies and fantasy to historical characters, I have thoroughly enjoyed each and every one of them. The planning, research and actual creating never fails to excite me and I look forward to each new project that comes my way, so please enjoy my selection:

Anne Boleyn costume for 16 inch fashion doll.

Anne Boleyn costume for 16 inch fashion doll.

Miniature Fairy riding a unicorn.

Miniature Fairy riding a unicorn.

 Princess Diana wedding gown on miniature mannequin.

Princess Diana wedding gown on miniature mannequin.

 Miniature late Victorian Summer Bride.

Miniature late Victorian Summer Bride.

Custom made Aurora Rose tutu for 16 inch ballerina doll.

Custom made Aurora Rose tutu for 16 inch ballerina doll.

Miniature Giselle or Sylphide tutu set.

Miniature Giselle or Sylphide tutu set.

Miniature Fairy Slippers (shown with an English penny and American five cent piece).

Miniature Fairy Slippers (shown with an English penny and American five cent piece).

Miniature Fairy Flower Seller with her unicorn companion and helper.

Miniature Fairy Flower Seller with her unicorn companion and helper.

Miniature Brown silk bonnet with shirred ivory silk lining and matching reticule.

Miniature Brown silk bonnet with shirred ivory silk lining and matching reticule.

Miniature striped cotton walking dress with matching tall bonnet and reticule.

Miniature striped cotton walking dress with matching tall bonnet and reticule.

Something for the Maid. A much plainer miniature cotton house dress and apron along with a little mop cap.

Something for the Maid. A much plainer miniature cotton house dress and apron along with a little mop cap.

18th Century Marie Antoinette style gown modelled by 16 inch Tyler Wentworth. Made in pure silk.

18th Century Marie Antoinette style gown modelled by 16 inch Tyler Wentworth. Made in pure silk.

Miniature Dita Von Teese style gown and hat. one twelfth style.

Miniature Dita Von Teese style gown and hat. one twelfth style.

 Valentine Ball gown for 16 inch fashion doll.

Valentine Ball gown for 16 inch fashion doll.

Miniature Faerie of Spring and New Life.

Miniature Faerie of Spring and New Life.

Miniature Princess Grace wedding gown on mannequin.

Miniature Princess Grace wedding gown on mannequin.

The miniature Elizabeth Bennett Regency wedding bonnet.

The miniature Elizabeth Bennett Regency wedding bonnet.

Front view of the miniature Fairy Harp. The harp stood about six and a half inches tall.

Front view of the miniature Fairy Harp. The harp stood about six and a half inches tall.

Miniature Young King Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon.

Miniature Young King Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon.

Miniature Queen Jane Seymour.

Miniature Queen Jane Seymour.

 Miniature King Richard III with his wife Queen Anne Neville.

Miniature King Richard III with his wife Queen Anne Neville.

Miniature King John and his wife Queen Isabella.

Miniature King John and his wife Queen Isabella.

Miniature Elizabeth 1st doll complete in room setting.

Miniature Elizabeth 1st doll complete in room setting.

Miniature Scrooge.

Miniature Scrooge.

Miniature Ross and Demelza Poldark.

Miniature Ross and Demelza Poldark.

Miniature tricorn hat.

Miniature tricorn hat.

Miniature Anne Boleyn and Thomas Cranmer.

Miniature Anne Boleyn and Thomas Cranmer.

Battle of Flodden (c 1513) Scottish Pikeman outfit for action figue (around 12 inches tall).

Battle of Flodden (c 1513) Scottish Pikeman outfit for action figue (around 12 inches tall).

Coronation robes for 17 inch male fashion doll.

Coronation robes for 17 inch male fashion doll.

Victorian underwear for 16 inch fashion doll.

Victorian underwear for 16 inch fashion doll.

'Romanza' ballet costume for 16 inch ballerina doll.

‘Romanza’ ballet costume for 16 inch ballerina doll.

French (Breton) costume for 16 inch doll.

French (Breton) costume for 16 inch doll.

Alice in Wonderland costume for 12 inch fashion doll.

Alice in Wonderland costume for 12 inch fashion doll.

Miniature Lord Byron Albanian costume.

Miniature Lord Byron Albanian costume.

Miniature Lord Byron Regency tail coat outfit.

Miniature Lord Byron Regency tail coat outfit.

And last but not least:

Medieval style Autumn costume for 16 inch fashion doll.

Medieval style Autumn costume for 16 inch fashion doll.

Miniature Queen Mary 1st (Mary Tudor).

Miniature Queen Mary 1st (Mary Tudor).

I hope you have enjoyed my selection…just a few of the many favourites I have created over the last few years. All of them have given me enormous pleasure and taught me such valuable skills and patience.

 

 

 

 

 

I have a BRAND NEW on-line store!!

Hello,

I have just opened a brand new on-line store at E-bid.

At the moment I am working hard to add as many of my in-stock-and-ready-to-send miniature dolls as I can. Several of these dolls are listed at below my normal retail prices and will make excellent Christmas presents for your friends……or why not treat yourself?

I plan to add quite a mix of miniature dolls from ordinary every-day characters to fantasy and fairy folk.

If you would like to see my new store please go to

https://www.ebid.net/uk/stores/Angelique-Miniatures

Be sure to check back often to see all the new dolls that I add over the next couple of weeks!

Hope you enjoy your visit!

Summer Solstice Is The Time To See All Things Fairy.

The Fairy Harpist miniature doll with hand customised fairy harp.

Hello everybody!

Each year around the 21st June is the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year when the sun is nearest to the earth, here in the Northern Hemisphere. It is supposed to be the true start of Summer…..although with all the rain and lower temperatures than April here in the United Kingdom, I am begining to think that Summer has been and gone earlier this year!

The Summer Solstice is also supposed to be a very magical time  according to ancient legend and folklore. On this day at dawn or at dusk, if you are very lucky……you may just be lucky enough to see……….wait for it……….fairies! It is said that at these special times the veil between the world of humans and the world of The Fae  is very thin and you may just be able to glimse them dancing and celebrating, for fairies love to party. And if you see any fairies that need some shoes, please tell them that they can buy some from me in any colour they would like!

Miniature Fairy Slippers, just an inch long. Made in silk, with cotton lining and little leather soles. Shown with an English penny and a US five cent piece.

But just in case you don’t get to see any of them this year, I thought I would share some pictures of some of my own fairies with you instead. But before I do, you may remember a certain little Baby Fairy who donated herself as a prize in my competition in May. Baby Fairy is now enjoying a life of leisure in Wales and if you would like to hear all about her new home and new friends, let me know and I’ll see what I can do……….I’m sure she would be thoroughly delighted to tell you all about it!

I have loved all things FAIRY for as long as I can remember and I really love making them as miniature dolls. Below are some of my favourites made over the last few years.

I once came across a gorgeous artificial rose stem that leant itself perfectly to a mother and baby fairy snoozing together. The baby didn’t need any clothing so she had some tiny dried flowers and greenery in her hair instead. The mother I dressed in little chiffon petals.  The mother fairy just about fitted onto the lower, larger rose while the baby fitted easily into the small bloom:

Mother and baby fairy sleep soundly on separate flowers in 'Rose Dreams'.

 One of my favourite and most recent fairies was ‘The Fairy Flower Seller’, detailed in a previous post. This one took a very long time to make with all the tiny flowers to secure in place but was a very enjoyable project. I chose lavender over pale pink silk for this fairy and dyed the flowers to go with these colours. 

The Fairy Flower Seller with her pet unicorn who carries all the flowers for her.

 One of my most popular fairy ensembles has to be ‘Holding Court’, a miniature Fairy Queen with floral crown, sitting on a golden flower-decked throne. For this fairy I chose a shot (two tone) silk sold as ‘Blackberry’, quite a bold and dark purply pink with black cross weave. To contrast, the under-gown was made in pale pink silk with metalic gold fancy braid and gold criss-cross on the bodice. Again, all the flowers were hand-dyed to match and tone.

'Holding Court' miniature fairy ensemble.

 The throne origianally started as a plain stained wood, high-backed chair. It was hand crafted and bought on an online auction. I customised it by painting it with gold paint and glitter and then decorated it with filigrees, crystals and tiny hand-dyed dried flowers. I then added a little silk cushion (to match the fairy’s dress) with fancy braid and tassels. Here is a picture of the throne on its own:

The 'Holding Court' customised throne.

You may have noticed the ‘Fairy Harpist’ at the top of this page. She came about mainly because of some favourite music on a cd that I love to listen to when I am designing and creating my fairy folk. This is a cd of the beautiful (in my opinion) Victorian harp music, recorded by an equally beautiful harpist, Elizabeth Jane Baldry. The cd is called ‘Harp of Wild and Dreamlike Strain’ and is a collection of fairy-themed Victorian music never before recorded until Elizabeth Jane recorded it in the 1990’s. I believe it is still available and can be obtained from Elizabeth Jane’s web site (see link in blogroll or at the end of this post).

I chose the colours of bluebells for the Fairy Harpist’s gown as it was bluebell time when I created the first doll. Here are some other pictures of her silk dress:

Side view of the miniature Fairy Harpist.

Back view of the Fairy Harpist's gown.

I already had a miniature harp in my dollshouse so this was quickly ‘borrowed’ and customised with gold glittery paint, golden ribbon, filigrees, crystals and tiny dried flowers to match the Fairy Harpist. It took a long time to carefully secure all those flowers into the right places but was worth the time and effort.

Front view of the miniature Fairy Harp. The harp stood about six and a half inches tall.Back view of the miniature Fairy Harp.

 Well that is all for now, but if you have enjoyed this post please leave me a little message as I would love to hear from you.

If you would like to see Elizabeth Jane’s web site please click here.

If you like miniatures please do take a look at the latest AIM (Artisans in Miniature) online free magazine here.

 

AND THE WINNER IS……………..?

Hello everybody, it’s me again, Baby Fairy! And just in case you wanted to see another picture of me….which I know you do, here is a new one:

Me riding on Esmerelda's head.....she really enjoyed this and so did I!

Oh what HUGE excitement here because we had lots of lovely competition entries to try and win me! Some of them were absolutely correct and some were……ummmm……… how can I put it?…….very good but……..ummm…….not quite right! But of course I am DELIGHTED because all of you who entered wanted to win ME!…..I knew you would! Oh yes, I knew that you would all recognise a good thing when you saw it!!!!….Yes I did!!! And I told all my friends so and they all agreed with me too! And I was jumping up and down so fast about it that all of a sudden I went all funny and the next thing I knew, I was on the floor flat on my back with all my friends looking down at me………but they all thought it was very funny…. so that was alright.

So, without further ado, onto the subject of the competition. Now because I will be going to live with a new mummy, my present mummy, (who was a bit cross at what I had done…but she has well forgiven me now because I am just too cute to be cross with for long) has appointed a per…….permin……perman………an ‘all the time’ competition secretary. Mummy was actually very impressed by my fantastic idea to hold a competiton and has decided that since there were quite a lot of entries ( even though not all of them were right…heeheeehee!) she would quite like to run other competitons from time to time and help people to have fun and enjoy themselves.

 She has chosen the resident House Gnome, Holdsworthy to be in charge of all further competitions as he is very old, very wise and very trustworthy and Esmerelda said she would help him too….so that’s all sorted out now. Anyway, we couldn’t find a suitable hat to put all the correct entries in and Holdsworthy’s hat wasn’t big enough so I suggested we used Mummy’s best Minton porcelain bowl as it is so pretty. The only trouble was, it was full of pot pourri but that was no trouble as I suggested we tip it all out and then try and pick it all up later and put it back without Mummy noticing……..so far…so good….she hasn’t noticed that half of it is missing and the rest is under the settee.

Now you all remember the question you had to answer was: WHAT DOES A DRAGON HAVE TO DO WITH THE MONTH OF APRIL? And then you had to look on the previous post to find a clue to help you get the right answer and the clue was: 23RD OF APRIL.

The correct answer was either ST. GEORGE or ST. GEORGE’S DAY and all the people who mentioned either of these were entered in the draw. Holdsworthy wrote all the names on little pieces of paper, folded them up and put them into Mummy’s lovely bowl. Then I was lowered into the bowl by my ankles and I had to grab one of the pieces of paper before I was pulled back out again……..I felt quite dizzy being upside down but don’t worry because I am fine now….and I am touched by your concern for my wellbeing.

So I suppose you want to know whose name I pulled out don’t you? Well here it is………drum roll: drrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…………trumpet fanfare…….tatattatatatatatatataaaaaaaa!!!!

I bet you've never seen a unicorn, a gnome, a baby fairy and a dragon all in the same place before, have you??!!

 Congratulations to ………..PAUL SMITH! You have won ME!!!!!!!…..your very own Baby Fairy and I’m going to come and live with you really soon……..how lucky are you!? Now even though I’m only a Baby fairy I can see from your name that you are not a lady human so I can’t say ‘Hello Mummy’ to you. So instead I will say HELLO MR. MUMMY! I am so looking forward to living with you and bringing absolute joy into your life. You and I are going to have so much fun and I just know that you’re going to love me.

So, my mummy will be contacting you very soon so that I can be sent to you as soon as possible.

Big hugs and lots of kisses to everyone who entered the competiton and I hope that you will sign up to mummy’s blog so that you will know as soon as the next competiton is announced.

It’s goodbye from me now and I hope that you have all enjoyed yourselves and had lots of fun and giggles.

Bye bye.

Love Baby Fairy x.

WIN A BABY FAIRY!

 

Well hello there!

Let me introduce myself………I am, as you can see below, a baby fairy. I bet you’ve never met one of those before, have you? No?……Well no time like the present then, is there?! Anyway, just so you can see what I look like, here I am riding on my unicorn friend:

‘Hey look at me! Aren’t I clever?!’

 Now you don’t see a sight like that every day do you? But we have a lot of unicorns in Fairy Land. They are quite a common sight there.

 I know I look a bit silly on such a large magical horse as I’m so tiny….less than an inch tall but one day I might be big enough to ride properly….without falling off all the time!

I don’t know if you saw my mummy’s last blog post…..the one about the wedding gowns….and before you say a word, yes I know that Louise is not my real mummy……my real mummy was a fairy. But fairy mummies have a bad habit of leaving their babies amongst the flowers while they flit off to do their work, then they forget where they have left us….so we end up being rescued by kind human mummies……I just wanted to straighten that out before we go any further.

Anyway, about the last blog, you may have noticed at the bottom of it was a picture of a lovely dragon (my best friend and she’s called Esmerelda) and a question about what do dragons have to do with the month of April. It is just a fun question but nobody has answered it yet…….. and my mummy is rather miffed about that.

So, I have stepped in and am offering myself as a prize to the lucky winner who gets this question right. Before I tell you how to enter the competiton to win me, here are some more pictures of me having fun. This is me relaxing after rock climbing on this lovely piece of ama…….amy…..ame…… ameth………purple crystal.

These pointy bits are a bit uncomfortable in the you-know-where!

 I promise that I will be a very well behaved baby for the person who wins me and that I will no trouble at all to them. And bye the way, it is totally not true that fairies are very vain…….that was just a nasty story put about by a group of goblins a very long time ago. Now, I bet you are just dying to see another lovely picture of me….yes you are…….you know you are! This is me looking absolutely beautiful in some lovely cris…..crys…..crysan…..thimm….mummmmies…….pretty flowers:

I know.......I am an absolute sweetie....but please.....don't praise me too much or it will go to my head!

 

Now about this competiton to win me. This is what you have to do: Below is a picture of my friend Esmerelda the dragon. The  question is WHAT DOES A DRAGON HAVE TO DO WITH THE MONTH OF APRIL?

Esmerelda.......a very friendly dragon....and the only one we could find to be photographed.

If you think you know the answer, click on ‘leave a comment’ under this blog and a box will appear for you to put your answer in. Please also leave a little message with your answer and if you wish, your first name so that my mummy can tell you apart from other people and contact you if you are lucky enough to win me! You must leave your answer BEFORE THE END of May Day (1st May).

All the correct answers will be put in a hat and the winner will be drawn on the 2nd May….when Mummy has had a chance to recover from the shock of what I have gone and done!…….I am hoping that Mummy will want to do more competitions in the future as she is a very nice lady and loves to make people happy.

The winning entry/message will be posted on the blog (along with a picture of me again). The winner will then be contacted by Mummy (or asked to contact mummy if she can’t contact them!) and she will ask them for their address privately so that I can be shipped to them as soon as possible (I am getting very excited!!!……….and I’m jumping up and down ever so fast!!!).

(Deep breath)….In the meantime, if you would like a little clue for the competition then you can visit the  post before this where you will find one.

I am looking forward to meeting my new Mummy and seeing my new home soon. Until then, bye bye from me.

Baby Fairy xxx.

PS. NONE OF YOUR COMPETITION ENTRIES WILL BE DISPLAYED ON THE BLOG SITE UNTIL THE COMPETITION IS OVER……..SO YOU CAN’T CHEAT BY PEEPING AT SOMEBODY ELSE’S ANSWER!!! HAH!!!

WARNING: THIS BABY FAIRY MINIATURE DOLL IS MADE FROM BISQUE PORCELAIN AND IS NOT INTENDED FOR CHILDREN TO PLAY WITH.

THE BELLS ARE RINGING FOR HIM AND HIS GIRL (PART TWO)

There see!……..I told you I’d be back, didn’t I?

 It was just impossible to fit in all the wedding gowns that I wanted to share with you last time in one post, so without further ado, here are a few more:

Remember I told you about Tracie, the lovely lady who has commissioned quite a few very interesting wedding gowns in miniature from me. She is the lady who owns the miniature church and holds exhibitions in it on her blog. (I hope that you were able to go and visit Tracie’s blog and see the wonderful miniature church and exhibits in it). Anyway, amongst Tracie’s interests is the Regency period, (the early 1800’s) that most elegant era at the end of the Georgian period but before the Victorian. Amongst the miniature Regency costumes that I was asked to make for Tracie was  the wedding gown of Lady Byron. I made this costume on a mannequin.

Miniature version of Lady Byron's Regency wedding gown.

 Tracie was lucky enough to be able to visit the costume museum in Bath in order to have a private viewing of Lady Byron’s wedding attire and was even allowed to touch it and take close-up photos of it!!!!!! I don’t usually feel envy but I have to admit I was almost emerald at that one!!

Despite being in quite delicate condition, Tracie was able to take some wonderful photos and the above interpretation in miniature is as a result of the pictures that she took. The real dress was made from light-weight cotton trimmed with cotton lace and is very plain compared to some of the celebrity wedding gowns that we are used to today. However, it was indeed bang on trend in it its simplicity for those times. My moniature version is also made from very fine cotton trimmed with narrow cotton lace that has been cut down from a much too wide lace.

Whilst at the costume museum, Trace was also able to see…….. and touch(……….excuse me while I just flush emerald again!!!) Lady Byron’s wedding pelisse (a pelisse is a type of ladies Regency long coat). The pelisse was made in creamy coloured silk and was apparently quite dirty, especially along the hem. This is probably not too unusual as the Byron’s were married in Winter. The real one had quite a warm lining which of course Lady Byron would have needed for a Winter wedding over that thin little cotton dress.

Here is my interpretation of the Lady Byron wedding pelisse, this time on a miniature doll (faceless to resemble a shop model) This miniature version was made in lovely pure silk satin, in a delicate beigy/creamy shade and made to look as if it is being worn over the dress:

Lady Byron miniature wedding pelisse.

Still on a Regency wedding theme, Tracie also commisioned some general wedding attire of this period including another pelisse, this time on a hanger and also two wedding gowns on mannequins and two Regency wedding bonnets. Here is the other pelisse, made in a beautiful cream silk jacquard edged with tiny braid:

The other miniature Regency silk wedding pelisse on a hanger.

 Here is the first of the wedding gowns and this one is quite fancy with a train and trimmed with plenty of lovely lace. This was made in ivory silk dupion:

A fancy miniature Regency wedding gown and matching bonnet.

 Below is a close-up picture of the matching wide-brimmed bonnet showing the detail on the back:

Close up view of the back of the Regency wedding wide-brimmed bonnet.

 This is the other Regency wedding gown…..much plainer in style but typical of the times. The gown was again made in pure silk dupion with an over-dress of silk jacquard:

Slightly plainer but still as charming miniature Regency wedding gown.

 But for me, one of the most favourite of miniature challenges was the little Regency veiled wedding bonnet, based on the one worn by the character Elizabeth Bennett in the 1990’s BBC TV production of Pride and Prejudice. The base was made in silk-covered card with tiny hand gathered silk tulle along the length of the bonnet, ending in a tiny veil at the back. Decorating the bonnet were bands of narrow braid and tiny hand-dyed dried flowers. The inside of the bonnet was also lined with silk and trimmed with lace:

The miniature Elizabeth Bennett Regency wedding bonnet.

 Not to be left out of the wedding dress fiesta, here are a couple of the larger dolls modelling theirs. First up is the Spring Bride wedding gown and veil modelled here by 16 inch Tyler Wentworth. This gown was made in ivory silk dupion ruched at the hem with little cream and yellow rose buds and worn over a petticoat trimmed with delicate cotton lace. Underneath was a stiff net petticoat to hold out the skirt.

 

Spring Bride modelled by Tyler.

Next is Clea Bella the 16 inch ballerina modelling a One Of A Kind long tutu called ‘Wedding Belle’  This one was made using a small remnant (a lucky find!) of embroidered and beaded organza and was placed over the net tutu layers. I managed to find a lace trim that was very similar to the border of the fabric and this was used both to trim the dress and the tulle veil. 

Wedding Belle modelled by Clea Bella.

Last but by no means least in the wedding own fiesta are two miniature dolls. The first one you have seen before in a previous post last year and this is the Late Victorian Summer bride. Dressed in ivory silk trimmed with cotton lace, this bride’s costume is typical of the 1870’s /1880’s.

Miniature Late Victorian Summer Bride.

Below is the other miniature bride and this time she dressed in a much earlier style based on the crinolines of the mid 1800’s. This is the Winter Bride wearing a coat of ‘fur’-trimmed cream silk jacquard with large bell-shaped sleeves and a matching cream ‘fur’ muff. The coat is worn over a full ivory silk skirt with a deep frill of delicate cotton lace along with a lace-trimmed blouse, embellished with timy crystals. On her head is a small matching bonnet with a dainty little tulle veil that drapes over the back of her hair.

Miniature Winter Bride.

Now before I go, I have one quick question for you. Here it is: Whilst the following creature has nothing to do with weddings (at least I don’t think it has!) what has it got to do with the month of April 

What does this beautiful dragon to do with the month of April?

What does this beautiful dragon to do with the month of April?

 Would you like a clue?……….OK………..the clue is: 23rd April.

If you think you know the answer, just for fun, leave me a message at the end of this post.

In the meantime, you might like to visit Tracie’s blog page to see her lovely costume (and other) displays in her miniature church.

Please also take a look at the latest AIM (Artisans In Miniature) on-line magazine here.

Until next time……bye for now.

MARCH IS HERE WITH SHAMROCKS AND DAFFODILS.

Gosh! Doesn’t time fly? It was only last week that I was writing February’s blog, wasn’t it?!!!  And yet here we are already in March.

Although the daffodils and crocuses are already out here, the wind is still chilly and reminding us the Winter may not have finished with us just yet. But lots of buds and pretty flowers and blossoms are starting up so Spring is definately on her way.

The season of Spring has inspired many a doll and costume for me, not least my Faerie Of Spring and New Life. This miniature one twelfth scale doll is dressed in the colours of Spring leaves and snowdrop white with flowers of daffodil yellow and forgetmenot blue. Her trusty steed, a snowy white unicorn accompanies her as she carries her little baby in a flower-filled basket.

The Faerie of Spring and New Life.

 On the subject of daffodils, it was St.David’s day on 1st March. St. David is the patron saint of Wales and the daffodil is the Welsh national flower. So in honour of all my Welsh friends and readers, here is a ballet costume that I designed and made several years ago for the 16 inch ballerina doll, Clea Bella. This costume was inspired by some lovely miniature artificial daffodils that I was lucky enough to find. I used them to decorate Clea’s hair and she is also holding some as she dances.

Clea Bella modelling the Spring tutu with mini daffodils.

 

Talking of patron saints, March also sees the celebration of another famous saint, St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland and the Irish national flower or plant is the lovely shamrock.

The shamrock has inspired many a doll costume for me but I have often found that obtaining shamrock fabric has been like looking for a needle in a haystack. One would have thought that it would be so easy to get hold of it here in England, especially with Eire being just over the water but, would you believe, I had to buy it all the way from America!

Here is a costume that I designed with some gorgeous shamrock fabric (from America!). It was well worth the search as it was just the perfect scale for Clea Bella again in this eighteenth century inspired dance costume called ‘Erin and the Magic Shamrocks’.

Clea Bella dances the part of 'Erin' in the shamrock fabric costume.

 

Whilst buying the shamrock fabric that I used for ‘Erin’ I came across some lovely shamrock trimming. It was a wide and a narrrower embroidered lawn that just happened to be the right length for a long tutu for Clea called ‘Shamrock Waltz’. The wide trim was about six or seven inches deep with green shamrocks dotted all over. The narrower trim was about an inch and a half wide with a scalloped border and matching shamrocks. I was able to cut a bodice front with a shamrock right in the centre. The bottom of the skirt had the narrower trim along the lower edge and this was also used for shoulder frills and a headdress.

Clea Bella modelling 'Shamrock Waltz' long tutu.

 

Not to be outdone, little Riley was in desperate need of a tutu but there was just not enough of the trimming left. So I used plain satin in white and emerald to make her her own little shamrock costume called ‘Shamrock Sweetie’. I desperately tried to buy more of that lovely trimming but sadly, to date, have never been able to find any more of it. It was such a shame as it was pure cotton and so lovely and fine….just perfect for doll work.

Little Riley Kish in her 'Shamrock Sweetie' tutu costume.

 

With all this talk of Ireland how could I resist talking about Irish dancing? I would have loved to have learnt Irish dancing but it was not to be. How lovely it would have been to be able to dance wearing some of those wonderful dresses that the girls get to wear. And those costumes take some making too. There is so much time and work in them.

I found making an Irish dance costume for Clea quite a challenge but I was not going to let it beat me and with a lot of practice, I was able to make a pattern to fit her. I used pure silk dupion for the dress, lining and cape and some pretty little foil shamrocks finished off the decoration just nicely.

Clea wearing her 'Call of Eire' Irish dance dress.

 

Here is Clea Dancing so that you can see the lining colour. The fabric on the centre front of the bodice and the ends of the sleeves is a patterned gold lame.

Showing the gold coloured lining of the skirt.

 

And here is the back view showing the cape.

Back view of Clea's Irsh dance dress.

 

Of course, it wasn’t very long before one of the Kish girls wanted an Irish dress so it was back to the pattern drafting table for me. Although the Kish girls are the same height as Clea, they are a totally different shape around! I used silk dupion again along with the gold lame but decided to use an ivory colour with an emeral green lining. Unfortunately the camera wouldn’t show up the richness of the emerald and washed it out a bit which was a great shame so you will have to imagine a real, rich emerald green.

Miss Kish models 'Kished in Eire'.

 

Here is Miss Kish showing off her skirt lining that you have to imagine is rich emerald.

She couldn't dance as well as Clea but how could I refuse her the dress?!

 

Here is the back of the costume showing the machine embroidery on the cape.

Back view of 'Kished in Eire' dance dress.

 

Another image of Spring, apart from the flowers, are some of the animals that are associated with this season. Not least are the little Spring lambs jumping around in the fields. So cute and funny to watch.

 Last year I was asked to make a Georgian lady costume pattern for the British miniature magazine that I write ‘How to’s’ for. I chose the Shepherdess costume. This was a fashion craze in the eighteenth century for rich ladies to dress up as shepherdesses. They apparently found the image of the lonesome shepherdess rather romantic and wanted to portray this in the way they dressed.

Many of them even kept little lambs on their lawns and pretended to look after them! Maybe this is where the nursury rhyme of Little Bo Peep came from……it seems that she wasn’t a very good shepherdess and was always losing her sheep! Anyway, here is the miniature Georgian Shepherdess along with her little lambs in a pretty counrtyside setting.

Miniature Georgian lady in fancy shepherdess costume, complete with decorated crook and lambs.

 

Of course I just couldn’t close without giving a little mention to the little Spring or Easter Bunnie (even thought Easter is so late this year!) So here is little six inch tall Riley Kish in her cute pink bunnie outfit.

One cute little pink bunny outfit, modelled by Riley.

 

If you enjoyed reading this March post please don’t be shy and leave me a little comment if you have the time please. I love to hear from my readers.

Also, don’t forget to take a look at the AIM (Artisan’s In Miniature) on-line magazine. It is full of lovely, lovely miniature things by some wonderful miniature artisans. Click here to go straight there or you can use the AIM link in my blog roll on the right of my What’s New blog page.

Costumes inspired by St. Valentine’s Day.

Hello again,

I thought I would share with you some of the costumes and miniature dolls that I have made over the past few years that have been inspired by St. Valentine’s Day……can’t believe we are into February already! Where did January go?!!

Anyway, below is one of my favourites originally created for 16 inch Clea Bella but it also works well in one twelfth scale miniature. This ball gown is based on those worn in the 1870’s and has a bustle and train at the back. Below are the pictures of the 16 inch version, made in pink silk:

16 inch Clea Bella models the Valentine Ball gown (side view)

       

Back view of the ball gown showing puff detail, train and tails.

The front view of the ball gown showing frills and trim.

 

Below is the miniature version of this lovely ball gown but this time shown on a mini  dress stand (or dummy) rather than a doll. I found that I was able to use the same trim for both sizes with no problems:

Front view of the miniature Valentine Ball gown.The flowers are a mixture of hand-dyed dried and hand-made silk.

Back view of miniature version.

                                                        

Side view of the miniature Valentine Ball gown.

 

Of course, pink is not the only popular colour used for costmes inspired by St. Valentine’s Day. Red is probably the most used and several years ago I found a gorgeous cotton fabric with tiny red hearts all over it.

I found that the fabric was suitable for miniature dolls and larger doll costumes alike. Here are some examples of costumes using this very versatile fabric:

16 inch Kish doll wearing 'Sweet Valentine Kishes' costume.

 

16 inch Clea Bella wearing 'Valentine Polka' ballet costume.

                                                                                                                                                                          

Miniature dolls. The Queen wears the heart fabric for her under dress.

And last but by no means least, one of my favourites. This little doll is less than six inches tall and she made the perfect model for this cute little tutu:

Little Riley Kish wearing 'Funny Valentine' ballet costume. The tiny red foil hearts were 'table confetti'.

BRAND NEW DOLL: ‘THE FAIRY FLOWER SELLER’.

I was happily dyeing dried flowers recently when I was inspired to create another of my fairy and unicorn ensembles. I have no idea where the idea came from but it popped into my mind in full glorious detail and I just had to create it.

Whilst I was making the Fairy Flower Seller herself, a  little poem about her suddenly took form in my mind and before I knew it, this little character and her unicorn friend had come into being. Below is the poem:

The Fairy Flower Seller with her unicorn companion and helper.

THE FAIRY FLOWER SELLER.

Come decorate your castles

With my mystic, magic flowers,

Come deck your halls with greeneries

And blooms to top your towers.

 

Come smell the scent so heavenly,

Of lavender and rosie,

Come one, come all to purchase

By the garland or the posy.

 

I’ve blooms of pink and purple

With yellow, blue and white,

To brighten up a rainy day

Or scent a lover’s night.

 

Come buy my pretty flowers,

To soothe you while you rest,

There’s plenty here for everyone,

I only sell the best.

 

COPYRIGHT ANGELIQUE MINIATURES 2010.

 

 

 Below is a description of this pretty pair and also some other pictures:

 

 

An enchanting hand crafted one-twelfth scale miniature porcelain doll and unicorn ensemble.

 

The lovely fairy flower seller stands just five and a half inches tall. She wears an over-gown of lavender silk with golden lacing at each side and down the centre front.

Showing the lacing detail at the side of the dress.

 The gown is edged in pretty floral braid and is worn over an under-gown of pale rose silk. On her feet she wears matching lavender silk pointed-toe slippers, decorated with crystals and tiny faux pearls. Underneath her gowns is a delicate ivory cotton lace petticoat and lace-trimmed knee length cotton pantaloons.

Showing the opposite side and the flowers in her hair.

Her long ash blonde tresses cascade over her bare shoulders and she wears a ring of colourful dried flowers, silk roses and greenery on her pretty head. In her hand she carries a bouquet of dried flowers tied with silken ribbon. The fairy flower seller is partially wired for ‘poseability’ and is supplied on a removable doll

A veiw of the back of the dress, wings and hair.

Her lovely unicorn companion stands approx. six and a half inches tall (from floor to the tip of his horn) and measures approx seven inches long (from tail to nose). 

Side view of the unicorn.

His hooves and horn are painted glittery gold and on his head he wears three shimmering crystals above his nose. He wears a lavender silk ‘coat’ embellished with floral braid to match his reigns. Across his chest hang three little golden bells from fancy crystal flower filigree decorations. Two large removable straw baskets hang over his back, laden with dozens of colourful hand-dyed dried flowers.

A front view showing the two flower baskets.

I have to admit that I thought I would never finish all the bunches of flowers for the baskets. It did take rather a long time to make each individual bunch and arranging them in the baskets was no mean feat either but I was very pleased with the outcome.

This ensemble is currently for sale so if you are interested please contact me for the price, remembering to let me know where in the world you are so that I can send you the price in your own currency.

HOW ONE THING OFTEN LEADS TUTU ANOTHER!

Many people have asked me how my miniature fairy slippers, tutus and ballet costumes have come about. Well, it was one of those cases where one thing did indeed lead to another. But first I would like to tell you about a particular favourite order that I made for a young Australian ballet student.

I am often asked to reproduce human-sized costumes into doll size and find this a very enjoyable challenge. I especially enjoy historical and ballet costumes and one of my favourite projects was when I was asked to make some tutus to fit the 16 inch Tonner NYCB ballerina doll.

The doll’s costumes were commissioned by Sue, the mother of New Zealand ballet student, Katie and were for a birthday present. Katie was dancing in a competition and the doll’s costumes had to resemble as near as possible, both of Katie’s own tutus. Sue sent me some pictures of the Katie’s tutus and the rest was up to me.

The first tutu was for the part of ‘Princess Aurora Rose’ from the famous ballet ‘The Sleeping Beauty’. This was an absolutely gorgeous tutu in pale peachy pink with lace, pearl and sequin detail on the bodice and top frill. Unfortunately I no longer have the close-up pictures of the lace detail that Sue sent me but here is a lovely picture of Katie dancing in this beautiful tutu.

Katie dancing in her Aurora Rose tutu.

 This costume was made by Katie’s dancing teacher Philippa Campbell and the lace detail was applied by Katie herself.

I found that I had both the right shade of pink silk for the bodice and tulle for the frills plus I was also able to find a really lovely cotton lace that could be cut about to make the details for the bodice and top frill. All the flowers on the lace had to be cut out separately and applied individually around the top of the bodice and down the centre front and then onto the top frill. I then applied all the pearls separately and finally the sequins were dotted over the rest of the top frill. Tulle arm frills were made to match the tutu frills and I made a headdress from wired beads. Here is a picture of the finished costume modelled on my own NYCB Ballerina doll.

The finished doll-sized Aurora Rose tutu.

 Here is a close up of the lace, pearl and sequin detail.  

Close-up of the lace, pearl and sequin detail on the doll's tutu.

The second costume was a really exotic style of tutu for the part of ‘Esmeralda’. This had a bodice in a dark shade of greeny- blue with matching lace sleeves and golden braid decoration, extending into shaped lace and decorated silk panels onto the top frill of the tutu.

Katie dancing in the Esmeralda tutu.

 The top tutu frill was a paler shade of greeny-blue tulle and the rest of the frills were pale ivory in colour. There was also a headdress made from crystals. This costume was made by a professional Aukland tutu maker called Margaret Shore. Here are two lovely pictures of Katie wearing this gorgeous costume: one of her dancing and one of her receiving her prizes.

Katie receiving her prizes in the Esmeralda tutu.

For the doll’s tutu, I found a good match in dark greeny-blue silk dupion for the bodice and panels. The lace was more of a challenge as I had to dye this myself. After a bit of experimenting, the right shade was reached. I already had all the tulle for the tutu in stock as well as the trims. I have quite a stock of different bodice and sleeve patterns for tutus that I have made over the years so the only new pattern that needed making was for the decorated panels that sat on the top of the tutu skirt.

The doll-sized Esmeralda tutu.

Here is a picture of the finished doll-sized tutu (shown below left) modelled by my own NYCB doll (who didn’t want to take it off!)

 Here is a close-up picture (below) of the tutu bodice detail.

Close up of the detail on the doll-sized Esmeralda tutu.

Close up of the Esmeralda doll headdress.

 The headdress was made from lengths of rhinestone chain wired together to fit the doll’s head.

Having made a lot of tutus for the larger dolls, I decided to try scaling down to miniature size (one twelfth scale). I had already been dressing tutus onto the miniature dolls for some years but had not made a miniature tutu on its own without the doll wearing it. Experiments started and I found that my ideas worked out fine and I set about designing some miniature ballet costume sets.

I decided to concentrate on four designs based on the most popular ballet characters.

 These were Princess Aurora Rose (from The Sleeping Beauty)

Miniature Aurora Rose tutu set.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                  Odette and Odile (from Swan Lake)

Miniature Odette tutu set.

Miniature Odile tutu set.

                                                                                   and the long white tutu from Giselle.

Miniature Giselle or Sylphide tutu set.

 I also decided to offer each tutu with a head dress on a wig, displayed on a stand and also a tiny pair of ballet shoes.

The ballet shoes for the sixteen inch dolls were not made by me but were commercially produced by an American company but there didn’t seem to be anyone producing realistic looking miniature pointe ballet shoes. I realised that I would have to come up with a way of making them myself.

I had made miniature ballet shoes onto my one twelfth scale ballerina dolls but never made the shoes on their own. I decided to dig my own old (and very well used) pointe ballet shoes out from the back of my wardrobe and take a closer look at them.

My old (and very well-worn) pointe ballet shoes.

After much fiddling around with tiny pieces of silk, I eventually worked out a way of making a one twelfth scale version under an inch in length.

Miniature ballet shoes in traditional pink, gold and black. (Shown with an English penny and American five cent piece.)

 These completed the miniature ballet costume sets perfectly and even became popular on their own too.

 It wasn’t very long before I was asked to provide the ballet shoes in a little hand-decorated gift box of their own

Gift boxed miniature ballet shoes.

 and these have proved very popular indeed, especially as I am able to produce them in a huge range of colours as well as the traditional flesh pink.

Well, one thing led to another, as it so often does and the idea of miniature ballet shoes in gift boxes led me to thinking ‘Why not have gift boxed Fairy Slippers too?’ Once again experiments began and after much fiddling around ( although not as much as with the ballet shoes!) and these tiny pointy- toed silk slippers took shape.

Miniature Fairy Slippers (shown with an English penny and American five cent piece)

 I offered these in decorated gift boxes again and in many different colours and they have also proved extremely popular.

Gift boxed Fairy Slippers....A must for all smart Fairies!

It just goes to show just how making one thing can lead to making several other related items. Without the tutus for the larger dolls, the miniature tutus would not have happened. Without those, the miniature ballet shoes wouldn’t have been developed and without those, the fairy slippers would not have happened.