The 8" Sami Baby Pattern is back!

8" Sami Doll Baby Pattern

It is finally back with all plant based materials!

You can now get the pattern here and find video instructions on my YouTube channel.
Thank you for your continued support.

I really enjoy the pattern making and hope you enjoy creating your very own cloth babies ♥

Theresa xx

The first 5 vegan friendly dolls are ready!

They are finally here! My first 5 vegan friendly doll!
Meet (from left to right) Mireille, Zareena, Toby, Elanie and Billie.
It was such a pleasure bringing them to life.
In the process I learned many new things as I was re learning the way I am making dolls.
The corn stuffing is lighter yet as firm as wool, therefore the dolls have a lighter feel. The cotton yarns will unravel if you cut them, so I made the wigs with a loop crochet stitch.
The clothes are the same as before, made from pre washed cotton fabrics, the shoes are from acrylic or cotton yarns and I found a great plant based crayon to blush the cheeks with.

New Certificate of Authenticity and Care Instructions

The dolls will be coming with Certificates of Authenticity, Care instructions and a blusher.

I am so happy with my new logo. It represents the care and compassion I feel deeply in my heart for this planet and all living things on it.

It had to be a red headed girl, of course ;)

Many hours of learning how to do vector drawings went into it.

I also have new tags on the way. Exciting!!

Sami Dolls is going vegan

Sami Dolls is going vegan friendly.

From now on all materials will be from plant materials or acrylic. I will not be using any animal derived materials anymore.

I am so excited to be expanding my lifestyle into all areas of my life. I am striving to live a life according to my values of compassion and am excited about moving into a new direction with my business.

If you are interested to learn about my vegan journey, you are welcome to check out my webpage here.

About the new logo:
It had to be a red headed girl, of course. And I wanted the colours to be vibrant and happy. It represents the inner love, compassion and care we have in our hearts for the animals, this planet and each other. I believe that deep down every person wants to live as kindly and as compassionately as they possibly can and to me, living a vegan life brings these values into action.

I am hoping I am having your support.

Thank you xx

A beautiful handbag

Oh I am in love with this gorgeous fabric!!

It was sold out everywhere and I found some rare meters in some Australian fabric shops and fabric destash groups on Facebook. They cost me about 3x as much as they usually are.

But.... I NEEDED to have the fabric :)

This gorgeous bag is now up for auction in the Facebook Sami group .

Lotta

Lotta will be available along with some gorgeous other dolls on the 1st of June at 4 pm EDT in the Dollectable store.

Here is a video featuring her and all the other Pippi inspired dolls:http://vimeo.com/95914842

More bags

I seem to be in a bag making mood at the moment. I just finished these ones in the pictures and already have some more cut out and ready to go :) Keep an eye out for them in the shop.

Bag pattern

I love big handbags. I love vibrant colours. I love this handbag pattern and am quite attached to it. It took me a long time to decide to make it available for purchase. But I got a few requests and I think everyone should be able to have that much fun making themselves a bag like this. They make wonderful presents too!

Now available in my Etsy shop!

Claire

Claire will be my entry for the Cloth Doll Challenge 2014. I hope she will make some waves and bring lots of people into Sami and Waldy land :)

Dress pattern

A new pattern is available in the shop now!
35 pages of pattern pieces and photo instructions so you can whip up some fancy dresses and bloomers for your dolls :)
You can make 8 different dress styles (or more, if you get creative ;)) and the pattern comes in 5 sizes (8", 10", 12", 15", 18")
Click on the above picture to get to the downloadable listing in my Etsy shop.

Matilda

Matilda Rose is a stunning beauty.
She is 20" tall, a wonderful size.Her hair is a mix of wool yarns and she is wearing a dress, bloomers, knickers and knitted shoes.
She is available in my Indiecart shop now.

The story of the dress that was only worn once.

Once there was a young woman, a free spirit at heart. She loved to walk on the beach with her bare feet, she loved to feel the wind in her hair and the rain drops on her skin. She was wandering through a hippie town at the East coast of Australia and she found this enchanting shop called "Tree of Life". She was looking for something to make her smile. She was dreaming of wearing long, flowing dresses in happy colours. She looked through the shelves and aisles and found a stunning dress. It was simple. it was white. It was so uniquely designed and yet so ordinary. It was made to fit a 6 year old girl. Fortunately, this young woman had a beautiful daughter around that age.
She carefully took the dress off the hanger and walked to the check out.
When she brought the dress home, her daughter was so happy. She marvelled at the dress and touched it and decided that it was too precious to wear just like that. It needed a special occasion. A few months came and went and the gorgeous white dress never left the cupboard.
Finally a large gathering with wonderful people came and the dress had its first outing. The little girl was very careful not to get any dirt on it. But the day went on and the joy of running, climbing and jumping into mud puddles made her forget the preciousness of the dress.
Her mama watched her with a smile on her face as her gorgeous girl expressed her joy in this wild and wonderful way.
When they came home that night and the dress went into the laundry basket, the little girl discovered the mud stains and was very sad. Her mama tried to make her see the beauty and joy and fun in it and told her that it was still the most beautiful dress in the world, now "stained" with some precious memories.
But the little girl was so very sad that it did not dare to wear the beautiful dress again.
It went back into the cupboard on its hanger, every now and then they looked at it and at the precious memories, they touched it and smiled.
One year later, the dress was too small. They gave it away.

The not-so-young-anymore woman became a doll maker and designed this dress in the memory of her little girl's dress. She could not bear to make it in white, so she added a little colour to it. She even took it out to a photo shoot in an area surrounded by mud. But she made sure the dress would not touch the ground. The design is almost the same even if the colours are different, the way it hangs and flows. It is a perfect dress for twirling.

Now I need to make myself one :)

 Leilani and Nateeya will be available at the next Dollectable upload in my shop here.

Penny is available in my IndieCart shop now. It is a 24 hour auction starting at $1.

These two cuties are on their way home to the U.S. as we speak :) Joel and his little sister Katinka will be meeting their 2 sisters when they arrive.

I just finished dressing these 2 8" honeys today. I really like this size. So perfect for little hands.

Pippa and Bo will be in this month's Dollectable upload. Aren't they a funky pair? ;)

This week was bag week. Oh how I love sewing up these bright and colourful creations :)

Super cute girl power dollies, 8" mini power packages found their home all in the same family and get to stay together. How lucky are they???

 These two are my last 2 customs for February. After that I want to focus on using up the materials I have in my stash so I can make room for new supplies. I am planning on sourcing new materials to keep my artistic curiosity satisfied and to offer new and exciting dollies to my customers. Stay tuned for some changes :)

Rowan will be available at the March Dollectable stocking for a $1 auction. More pictures and a little story Rowan is telling, can be found on my facebook page.

 Ava wanted to see the beach one last time before she travels home into the snow. She also found some shells she will bring home to her new family.
Bye, bye, honey! Maybe you find your trade sister on the way ;)

Every once in a while something miraculous happens. You meet someone in online world who you click with and come to appreciate their every contribution, sharing and being.
One of these beautiful people to me is Julie of "Inviting Play". She is a incredibly talented doll maker who brings her dolls to life in the most playful and creative way. Her dolls carry some very special magic in them and no wonder her dolls are so highly sought after and desirable.
I got very very lucky. I got to make a doll for her and she made me one in return. Today we are planning the big reveal where we show each other the little beings we made for each other. I am so so incredibly excited and so happy to be welcoming one of her dolls in our home soon.
This is Ava. She wants to go live with Julie and her family. She is a very cheeky and adventurous little one but she is also a bit shy. She hides her shyness behind being cheeky sometimes. I wish I could travel with her. Maybe one day...?

This tall 18" beauty is going to fly home to join her sister soon.
I really like working on the big dolls but I also am looking forward to making some 8" dollies soon :)

Rainbow Brite inspired Custom

This little cutie will fly to her home in the US soon. Did I mention I love my job? :)

Giving back - Charity auctions Sami Dolls is involved in

I am very happy and honoured to be a part of these two wonderful charity auctions.The first one is a collaboration of around 20 dollmakers worldwide. One dollmaker created a doll, Una, which means "unity" and the other doll makers made her clothes, dresses, Pajamas (see picture, donated by Sami Dolls), little dolls to play with, a hobby horse, a felt tea set, a hammock etc. The auction brought over $3500 for the charity "Save the children".The other auction (Sami Dolls donated a turtle) is in honour of Tara Szetu, a young wife and mother who recently passed away. The proceeds will go to the family to help with funeral costs etc.
Thank you to my lovely customers who helped spread the word and entered their bids ♥

Today I uploaded some turtles in my Etsy shop. Aren't they so cute?

Opal and Ophelia are two very special sweeties I made using Pinkipunki's gorgeous Teeswater locks.

They are available in Dollectable this month.

I had the pleasure to make a Dorothy doll for a friend. And she came to pick her up from the island in person. She also is a professional photographer over at Sarah Rickard Photography and I watched her take adorable pictures of the dolly and I hope I learned something :)

I had the honour and pleasure to fill a very special custom order :)