Every once in a while I get a custom doll order that gets me even more excited than usual.

When a mom contacted me about making Laura and Mary Ingalls dolls for her little sweetie's birthday, I couldn't wait to get started! As a little girl, I loved the show Little House on the Prairie, and even more close to my heart are the books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

I started with red calico and brown braids for Laura and blue calico and blonde braids for Mary.

Another essential piece was going to be the bonnets. I made these from some really pretty Liberty of London-esque vintage cloth napkins.

I modified the bonnet from a vintage Holly Hobbie doll pattern to fit these dolls. Isn't this sweet?

The dolls also needed some little white pinafore aprons over their prairie dresses, and then faces painted. Laura with violet eyes and Mary with soft blue.

Here they are completed and in their bonnets.

And here they are in their special winter cloaks, a sweet extra my brilliant customer added on.

I enjoyed this project so much and was so inspired by it that I've decided to reread the Little House books this summer, starting with this one:

If you are interested in a custom made doll of your favorite book character, click here for doll options, and here for costume and outfit extras.

I've been so busy filling orders that I feel like an elf! It's so fun having a hand in making Christmas wishes come true. Here are some recent custom orders.

Happy Holidays!

I recently made a pair of biracial dolls with natural hair for a beautiful set of siblings from Chicago. It was so fun to make the little costumes for the dolls too. And I really love how the curls framing the little girl's face turned out!

I also made a special customized art doll for a sweet little girl who was adopted from Ethiopia. Her mom told me she was so excited to have a doll to look like her!

A few others from this month:

I'm also working on some new designs of some little kitty dolls, so keep your eyes put for those!

This summer is almost half over, but it has already been beautiful and rich with tiny joys. (Minus the lost of our sweet doggie Skully to old age and a horrible flu/cold/hacking cough I just can't shake.) But let me focus on the many positives.

How is your summer going? Are you enjoying heavenly weather where you are as we are here in Boise? Any fun summer projects you've accomplished? Let me know in the comments below!

I recently got the most fun order from a fellow who wanted to order some Jane Austen Art Dolls for his wife for their wedding anniversary. Their favorite Jane Austen book/movie is Persuasion, the 1995 version with Amanda Root as Anne Elliot and Ciaran Hinds as Captain Fredrick Wentworth. This is my favorite version, too! It is always really fun to work with people who have the same level of enthusiasm that I do for a particular subject.

I've made Jane Austen lady character dolls before, but not a Regency era gentleman, so I was a little nervous. But I had done an Edgar Allan Poe doll before, and I knew that would be a good starting point.

When I told my sister about the order (she is a huge Jane Austen fan as well), she insisted that I make Captain Wentworth's cool hat. I knew I had to attempt it, but I wasn't quite sure how to pull it off. But after a great success with the jacket, I had the confidence I needed to try my hand at millinery once more. I was pleased with the results.

Here are some in-progress shots of the process.

I used a vintage hankie for Anne's shawl. Also some of the trim I used for Wentworth's coat was antique trim that I bought at an estate sale.

Thanks for taking a look! What favorite book or movie character would you love to receive in doll form as a special gift?