My Daisy Convention 2016 loot; goodie bag and prizetable items and more.......

With the convention coming up, I had a bit of a job, trying to figure out everything that was needed.
I was so lucky Ralph sorted everything with the hotel and the restaurants.
Still we had been writing out 4 competitions, so that meant we would need prizes for 4 competitions.
At another doll group someone mentioned it was possible to make doll sized t-shirts with iron on transfers, and of course that inspired me.
(Remember all those lovely t-shirts the Pippa ladies get each year at the convention, made by Peg?)
I had to find a t-shirt pattern for Daisy, and see if I could make t-shirts with the convention logo too.
With my first t-shirt, I ironed a bit too long (as it was only a very small transfer, you don't have to iron as long as mentioned in the manual), but it was well enough to feel confident to make more t-shirts.
So I had a bit of fun with that, and I will make more of them, also of previous conventions, in the near future.

One of the attendees bought these as a goodie bag gift.

So we're at the goodie bags, Vicky did a wonderful job on making reusable bags for us:

I made some laminated labels to personalise the bags, and have them ready for the next conventions......

Here are pictures of all the wonderful donations that were in it:

postcard, stickers and badges by Lyndsey, Daisy colouring book & pencils by Ralph, laminated picture by Michelle from NZ, and copies of selected pages from a Mary Quant catalogue by Michelle S.

2 Daiso outfits by Jillian, 3 charms and necklace on the left by Helen and selected ribbons and trims and accesories by Cendi

hat and 2 beaded coathangers by Laila, the matching outfit is the OOAK summer outfit swap I got from her, and the shoes were in a package of shoes I got off the prize table from Helen. The pink dress is donated by Janet, and the checked bag, necklace and crochet scarf are from Veronica

blue jacket and tartan pants donated by Elaine, necklace and dilly bag donated by Ingie, t-shirt donated by Jo, skirt extra donation to the convention doll team from Donna Maree, rest of the pink/green/white outfit donated by Donna Maree, shoes part of the shoes I got off the prize table from Helen.

mug donated by Helene and me, fridgemagnet donated by Christine.

For the competition winners there were also prizes:

for the first prize winners I made up a bag with the convention logo and selected fabrics, felt, trimming and beads

For the second and third prize winners, there were either smaller bags with a package of printed felt and selected ribbons or a pencilcase with logo:

As I was lucky enough to win 2 pencilcases, I was allowed to swap one of them for a prize off the prize table:

a selection of fabric and a lovely hat, made and donated by Laila

And of course there were the prizes from the quiz and the prize raffle:

these dolls and their outfits were already in my possession, but they were making a run for the shoes of the prize table (from Helen) and two of them managed to put their hands on the necklaces I got from Veronica

postcards for each attendee, Ralph gave us a belt, and Ingie came with these lovely Sinamay hats to decorate. I also got a wallet and keyring, a package of Karina accesories from Veronica and a package of Barbie shoes and purses from Ingie. The box with the little cards were my prize from the quiz (I came second this year)

I also got some pretty fabrics from the fabric swap:

My little Rebel would like to show off her prize:

A BIG Thank You to everyone who donated. Your generosity is much appreciated!

My contest entries

I had a couple of people asking me if I could share some more pics of the details of my contest entries, and I thought it would be fun to also share with you the work in progress.
As soon as I knew the themes, I started brainstorming what to make for the competitions, I read up on a lot of Hans Christiaan Andersen's fairytales, and my first thought was about the princess who had 12 brothers which were turned into swans, but I had difficulty finding enough miniature swans at a reasonable price, so I decided to go for another fairytale.
The Phoenix Bird spoke to my imagination, and I made a hidden board on pinterest for inspiration...
I have now made this board public, as the competition has finished.
pinterest Phoenix
So, the decision was made, and inspiration found.
I went to the market to look for materials, both for my Phoenix and for my Viking, and I ended up buying ribbon and braid.
So my first part of the outfit started with making a skirt, with all those different coloured ribbons.

 Next, I bought some red metallic fabric, with the intention to make a catsuit, but obviously the fabric was less stretchy than I thought, so I cut off the bottompart, and only kept the top.
I also planned to make a mask for her, as I found an excellent tutorial for it from Antique Lilac
apoxie mask tutorial
All I had to do was follow the steps, and bring in my own fantasy:

When the mask was cured, I lightly sanded it, and painted it, afterwards
As a finishing touch I added some glitter and boa feathers:

Although I had made the mask on a Daisy with a standard body, I thought a Dashing Daisy would be much better for a Phoenix, as she would be able to spread her arms (and wings).
Just a week before the convention I finally got hold of one that was in need of a reroot, added bonus was the fact that she was softheaded, so really an excellent victim. I was very pleased to find out the mask fitted well on her.
I still had some fire mist saran hair in my stash of reroot hair, so I immediately started a reroot and styled her hair in a ponytail. I had planned for spiral curls, but never did them before, but decided to give it a try anyways.

I didn't have small straws, so decided pipecleaners were the best option.
While Daisy's hair was drying, I had another look at the outfit, I still wasn't satisfied with the top, so decided to see what it would look like if I would glue boa feathers onto it. That really made a difference, and I started to feel confident I would actually be able to turn her into a nice bird.
I made up another pattern for a pair of somewhat tight fitting trousers, not the most impressive trousers ever, but most of it would be either in the boots, or under the skirt, so well enough for my purpose.
Final step was to make up a pair of wings. I had several tutorials on my pinterest board, and decided to kind of combine them. A few days before the convention she was all ready, my beautiful Phoenix Bird:

I had also been working on a necklace for her, but when the top was covered in feathers, I decided the necklace would be too much, so this turned in to my entry for the jewelry competition:

Meanwhile I had been working on my Viking competition as well.
I thought it would be fun to make a Viking which would be totally different from last years convention doll, and I already had a Viking inspiration board on pinterest, so whenever I found something I fancied I just added to it.
At a sewing/crafting for dolls group on facebook, there was a pattern by Marian Jasper for a smock for Ellowyne, and I decided to try and resize it for Daisy.
It really is an excellent pattern with lots of detail.

After sewing the smock, I decided to try and make a leather corset top
 

Next, I had in mind to make a bow and arrow, and followed a tutorial from Antique Lilac, but one day before the convention I realised I still needed to finish the arrows and decided to leave that out all together.

I embroidered the smock with a small chainstitch.

I also finally managed to make a closure with a bead and elastic loop.

Of course she also needed an overdress, and I thought the fabric I used last year would look great for it, and I was just hoping no one would recognise it being the same.

Of course this was still not enough, I felt she also needed some kind of armor, so I started experimenting with my leather ribbons again:

I also made some armgards and a 'leather' necklace to finish her protection.

I had also bought some faux fur braid at the market, which I thought to make a cape with, but I decided she would look better withouth a cape and just added a bit of it under her corset, as a little Viking touch up. I also made the boots with it, basically just sewing it up, and cutting a leather lace to size to hold them up.

My husband had been sawing a shield for me, which I finished with stain, and I added some leather to the edge and found a lovely dragon on ebay, which was just the right size for the shield. As a finishing touch I added dollshouse nails so the leather would also stay in place.

I had also found some miniature swords on ebay, so I had been making a scabbard and a belt for it too.

The last step would have been a reroot, but I felt I was running out of time, so instead I grabbed another doll which I had already lying about rerooted, and braided her hair to make it a Viking style girl.

I tremendously enjoyed my creative journeys for these competitions, I used many materials and techniques I never used before and am really pleased with the results.

My Daisy Convention Loot!

I thought to spend a special entry on all the lovely things I got at the convention this year in Denmark.
Lots of gorgeous goodies in the goodie bag:

Everything you need for  a cuppa:

FruChocs by Jillian, Coaster by Michelle S, Mug by Helene and me

 Daisy getting cosy:

pillow & duvet by Lene, knitted cardigan and necklace with pilgrim charm & glass bead by Laila, tights by Ingie, Brush by Donna-Maree, long pearl necklace by Jillian, fridgemagnet by Christine, Koala (a marsupial and NOT a bear :) ) by Jillian, cuddly teddybear by Elaine

 And some miscellaneous items:

red box with Daisy logo and Daisycards by Ralph, laminated picture by Michelle B, lovely floral fabric by Cendi

And of course the beautiful handmade bag, made by Vicky:

Then there are my prize-table wins:

Lovely bridal outfit and replica's of original Tivoli posters, made by Laila

pretty sporty Takara outfit, donated by Jillian, and lovely evening dress, donated by Elaine. Both combined with the sparkly hats that were quize prices. pretty necklace donated by Cendi

purple Romany inspired outfit made and donated by Ingie, Sunday Best variant donated by Ralph, Ice Queen inspired outfit made and donated by Donna Maree, Blythe postcards donated by Vicky

My OOAK outfit swap by Lene:

My competition prizes:

A BIG thanks to everyone who donated! I feel well and truely spoilt rotten!