My Christmas Present To Me...

magkelly · 12-19-2011, 12:41 AM

and what I did with her...

I just took this tonight as a quickie pic for one of my doll boards. I didn't bother to set up the tent. I probably will tomorrow though because I'd really like to take some pics that do this thing justice. A while ago I saw this jeweled corset in a video and I fell in love with it and I decided to go and find out who was responsible for it. Turned out it was this duo called The Blonds and they had a thing with making these really high end couture corsets. Since there is no way I can afford to buy such a thing for myself and even making it would be cost prohibitive I decided to make it for my big fashion dolls to wear instead, in fact I decided to make 2 versions, one in black, silver with peacock crystals like theirs and one in hot Barbie pink, silver and pastel aurora borealis crystals. I'm still working on the black one but I finished the pink one in about a week working a couple of hours each night. I think it was like 15 hours including sewing the corset and skirt, maybe a bit less. Every single crystal, every tiny glass bead, all the silver sequins I did all that by hand. I also made the corset sans pattern myself and yes, the beading goes all the way around it.

The doll is a Jadde Lee doll. She's by Madame Alexander. Basically she's a larger upscale fashion doll sort of like a Barbie for adults but made of much nicer materials than your standard Barbie. She's normally would cost over $125 but that I snagged for like $25 when a local store had a clearance items 50% off sale. She and one other doll they were my Christmas presents to myself.

I had a tough time getting it to look somewhat like it actually looks in person. I'm going to have to retry this with a light tent soon. Swarovsky crystals tend to photograph every color except what they actually look like unless you really know what you're doing with them apparently. These are actually very light crystals and I couldn't get the color even close until I adjusted her to stand waist twisted a bit with one shoulder slightly back. The corset it actually not cut that way in front. It fits like it's supposed to, with a gentle curve going gradually up towards the straps but I'll be darned if I could get an accurate shot of those crystals with it sitting on her the right way, with her arms down and her waist facing just to the front. They came out almost magenta every darned time. I think when you're looking at them straight they just pick up too much of the hot pink suede I made the corset with maybe?

Anyway this is just so the gang on my doll board can see. Thought you might like to see it too...

Oh, and the original black corset that inspired me can be found here:

Phillipe & David Blond

It's in the Ladies and Gentleman collection though there are several variations on the theme spread through their collections. I love their work actually. It's really interesting, a little crazy and over the top sometimes, but interesting...

Last edited by magkelly; 12-19-2011 at 12:49 AM.

wildweasel · 12-19-2011, 05:14 AM

Nice work, you must have good eyesight and steady hands to do the beading that well - my ex was into beading so I know how tricky it can be.

VisualDarkness · 12-19-2011, 04:23 PM

Nice one! Even though this is way out of my area I can see that the doll is well-done. With all that sparkling she needs to attend some kind of classy dinner/ball etc.

magkelly · 12-19-2011, 11:29 PM

Originally posted by wildweasel

Nice work, you must have good eyesight and steady hands to do the beading that well - my ex was into beading so I know how tricky it can be.

Actually my eyesight sucks lately. I hit that stage where the muscles in your eyes start to relax and you start to lose close up vision and it went badly. I'm having major problems with that. My doctor says it will settle down eventually but for right now it's a headache focusing manually, reading etc. I use a big magnifying lamp to do stuff like this now otherwise I couldn't do it. As for the hands being steady not so much and I had multiple prick marks to show for it. ;P I love doing it though, beading, sewing and I just refuse to give it up. I can bump up text and use the magnifier. Whatever works...

12-19-2011, 12:41 AM	#1
magkelly Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,901	My Christmas Present To Me... and what I did with her... I just took this tonight as a quickie pic for one of my doll boards. I didn't bother to set up the tent. I probably will tomorrow though because I'd really like to take some pics that do this thing justice. A while ago I saw this jeweled corset in a video and I fell in love with it and I decided to go and find out who was responsible for it. Turned out it was this duo called The Blonds and they had a thing with making these really high end couture corsets. Since there is no way I can afford to buy such a thing for myself and even making it would be cost prohibitive I decided to make it for my big fashion dolls to wear instead, in fact I decided to make 2 versions, one in black, silver with peacock crystals like theirs and one in hot Barbie pink, silver and pastel aurora borealis crystals. I'm still working on the black one but I finished the pink one in about a week working a couple of hours each night. I think it was like 15 hours including sewing the corset and skirt, maybe a bit less. Every single crystal, every tiny glass bead, all the silver sequins I did all that by hand. I also made the corset sans pattern myself and yes, the beading goes all the way around it. The doll is a Jadde Lee doll. She's by Madame Alexander. Basically she's a larger upscale fashion doll sort of like a Barbie for adults but made of much nicer materials than your standard Barbie. She's normally would cost over $125 but that I snagged for like $25 when a local store had a clearance items 50% off sale. She and one other doll they were my Christmas presents to myself. I had a tough time getting it to look somewhat like it actually looks in person. I'm going to have to retry this with a light tent soon. Swarovsky crystals tend to photograph every color except what they actually look like unless you really know what you're doing with them apparently. These are actually very light crystals and I couldn't get the color even close until I adjusted her to stand waist twisted a bit with one shoulder slightly back. The corset it actually not cut that way in front. It fits like it's supposed to, with a gentle curve going gradually up towards the straps but I'll be darned if I could get an accurate shot of those crystals with it sitting on her the right way, with her arms down and her waist facing just to the front. They came out almost magenta every darned time. I think when you're looking at them straight they just pick up too much of the hot pink suede I made the corset with maybe? Anyway this is just so the gang on my doll board can see. Thought you might like to see it too... Oh, and the original black corset that inspired me can be found here: Phillipe & David Blond It's in the Ladies and Gentleman collection though there are several variations on the theme spread through their collections. I love their work actually. It's really interesting, a little crazy and over the top sometimes, but interesting... Last edited by magkelly; 12-19-2011 at 12:49 AM.

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12-19-2011, 05:14 AM	#2
wildweasel Inactive Account Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Plymouth Posts: 359	Nice work, you must have good eyesight and steady hands to do the beading that well - my ex was into beading so I know how tricky it can be.

12-19-2011, 04:23 PM	#3
VisualDarkness Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Uppsala, Sweden Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,439	Nice one! Even though this is way out of my area I can see that the doll is well-done. With all that sparkling she needs to attend some kind of classy dinner/ball etc.

12-19-2011, 11:29 PM	#4
magkelly Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,901 Original Poster	Originally posted by wildweasel Nice work, you must have good eyesight and steady hands to do the beading that well - my ex was into beading so I know how tricky it can be. Actually my eyesight sucks lately. I hit that stage where the muscles in your eyes start to relax and you start to lose close up vision and it went badly. I'm having major problems with that. My doctor says it will settle down eventually but for right now it's a headache focusing manually, reading etc. I use a big magnifying lamp to do stuff like this now otherwise I couldn't do it. As for the hands being steady not so much and I had multiple prick marks to show for it. ;P I love doing it though, beading, sewing and I just refuse to give it up. I can bump up text and use the magnifier. Whatever works...