How do I love thee, let me count the ways...... My dolls work hard for me. They stand for hours, days, months, never complaining about the workload or even when accidently pricked with pins. And even when I fit a dress on one doll only for me to pull it off and photograph on someone else, they utter not a word. Instead they look beautiful and smile which makes me smile! So this year, to reward them for all of their dedication and hard work, I decided to do something special for Valentine's day. I went to.... Tiffany's.
In the film, "Breakfast at Tiffany's," Audrey Hepburn's character gleefully remarks, "how can anyone not feel happy at such a wonderful place!" I totally agree. When I lived in New York, I'd go to Tiffany's just to lift up my spirits and dream. Yes, there are lots of diamonds and gold baubles, but there's also the works of contemporary designers like Paloma Picasso and my favorite...Elsa Peretti, best known for her sculptural heart collection which is where we'll start.
What is interesting about the Peretti heart (lower left image) is its freeform design. What that means is that when you make your wire hearts, they don't have to be perfect. I bent a small piece of 18 gauge silver tone wire into a heart as best I could. After forming my heart, I gave it a few whacks with a hammer to flatten, then hung with fine chain around the doll's neck.
Her heart collection is comprised of a variety of items, including belt buckles! For the red belt, I found a ready-made heart, but you can simply bend a piece of wire (18 gauge in this case) into a heart. Make a V then bend each end towards the center. Cut a narrow strip of leather (or ribbon) and fold it over one side of the heart and glue. Then wrap the leather strap around the doll's waist and knot it on the other side.
Pssst.....Notice on the doll's index finger is a ring. I took a tiny length of 24 gauge wire and wrapped it around a toothpick. With the wire pliers I crushed the coil down and pressed each end inward. You can also use tiny jewelry jump rings as rings for your dolls!You can make your own chain by joining a succession of small hearts together. The bracelet is a string of tiny hearts made from 24 gauge silver wire.
(Note: If you make more hearts, you've got a chain belt!)Simply loop each heart together and make an S link to hold the bracelet together. Her pendant is simply a fine chain with a pendant of two intertwined hearts.
Inspiration for the next set comes from my own jewelry box. I love charms! The top photo is a bracelet I bought myself when I reached a milestone birthday. The middle image is a heart charm necklace my mother gave me for Christmas many years ago. And the bottom is one of my charm bracelets. Each charm represents something from my life!
Most crafts and jewelry supply stores carry a wide variety of chain. At a major US crafts store, I found a silver tone chain dotted with tiny hearts and rhinestones. I measured the chain on the doll and formed two rows for the necklace. Then with the remainder, I made a double chain charm bracelet.
Paloma Picasso, the daughter of the late renowned artist, is also a resident designer for Tiffany's.
I found this silver bird pendant (bottom image) designed by her. I also found the stamped metal bird (left) at a store in Paris. Instead of using chain, I made this silver neck wire which I felt was more contemporary, then added my bird.
Look for interesting pieces of pressed metal to make pendants, like this Chinese red medallion.
Simply thread a bit of carpet thread, embroidery yarn or thin satin ribbon through the medallion. Make a loop at each end in the back and attach an S link to close.
If you have Fashion Royalty dolls whose hands come off (handspeak system), beads with large holes make for very pretty bracelets. The hole should be about 3/8 inch (7 mm) though you might get away with a 6mm hole.
For 16" dolls, look for beads with a minimum of 1/2" inch (12mm) holes. And....consider small (human) rings, as well!
Diamonds are a Doll's Best Friend...Trust me.... they'll settle for ANYTHING that sparkles including those glitter shoes we made in the last post!!!
On her wrist, I took an ordinary plastic Barbie bracelet and gave it a coat of glitter. Rhinestone letters or symbols (generally sold in crafts stores) slipped onto a strip of leather makes for a glamorous belt or neck cuff.
Hollywood! Holly Would!!!Nothing says rock star like a pair of wing tipped glittery eyeglasses! These were made from two weights of wire, then coated with glue and dipped in silver glitter!
1. To make the glasses, I used a 18 gauge wire for the top and legs. Form an M that spans the width of the doll's face and a bit more.
2. Bend the sides back and place on the doll's face. Make any adjustments needed.
3. Now take a thinner wire...in this case I used a 24 gauge wire. Wrap around one corner. Form a loop and wrap around the center. Form another loop then wrap around the opposite corner and cut. Adjust the loops over the eyes and using your pliers, squeeze the thinner wire into each corner.
For this pair of glasses, I used a textured, novelty wire for the top. This makes for a nice looking pair of glasses by themselves. For the Hollywood version, I used ordinary smooth wire, then coated the finished frames with glue and glitter.
Jewelry isn't the only thing Tiffany's sells. There are also handbags, like this one in the store's signature color!
For tips on making this bag, look at this
tutorial to see how we made one that's similar (the purple bag near the bottom of that post.)
Before leaving the neighborhood, a handbag in Valentino's window caught my eye.
Love this clutch bag and I had an extra bird. So I folded a small piece of leather into an envelope handbag and glued on the bird! The diagonal cut, I felt, made the design more dynamic!
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