Some of you will recognize this cute little armoire. It’s featured in a lot of my sewing videos–especially the ones where the doll does the sewing, stop-motion-style.
Those of you who know me best are aware that I earn my living as a school librarian. Contrary to popular belief, librarians don’t earn a ton of money; so how can I afford to buy all the little trinkets and furnishings you see in my doll videos?
Well, for one thing, I’m a big fan of thrift shopping. Almost all of my dolls came from auctions, yard sales, thrift stores, and eBay. My furniture was purchased second-hand as well.
But there’s also a toy maker that produces pretty decent pleastic miniatures, from whom I’ve purchased a number of cute pieces you’ll see in my videos. It’s a brand called Gloria™, and you can easily find brand-new, in-the-box Gloria™ accessories and furniture in a number of places online: Amazon, eBay, and even on the Sears department store website. I believe they’re made by the Huahang Toy Company in China, but as far as I can tell, you can’t buy wholesale products on their website.
The doll armoire featured in this video is a Gloria™ product. Some diorama officianados will tell you that Gloria™ simply doesn’t make their products as well as Mattel™, but I beg to differ. Their doll furniture offers a nice variety of items; they make baby furniture, tables and chairs, tiny dishes, kitchen sets, bedroom sets, and much, much more. Their items are eclectic and although they may not be anything more than hard plastic, they can make a nice edition to a 1/6 scale diorama for any seasoned doll collector.
_______________
Not what you’re looking for? My Gallery Page is the easiest way to search through all of my patterns to find what you want. Each image on the Gallery Page takes you to links for patterns and tutorials.
If you’re wondering why I make patterns and videos without charging a fee, please visit the “Chelly’s Books” page, and that should explain my general motivations. It’s always friendly and kind to show your appreciation for my free patterns and tutorials by liking them on Facebook, pinning them on Pinterest, and/or tweeting about them (yes, you have my permission). You’re also welcome to add any of my YouTube channel’s videos to your playlists.
In case you haven’t heard, I’ve also designed commercial patterns for Lammily LLC. They have some new dolls in their line, including a new male doll, so you might want to visit the Lammily website to see what they’ve got going on.
I also have a series of tutorials for the beginning sewists on my YouTube channel. It includes video tutorials showing you how to do a basic straight stitch when sewing by hand, how to gather fabric, how to use the whipstitch to hem a garment, how to sew on snaps, and even how to design your own doll clothes patterns, just like I do!