Issue 19 - Civil War / Victorian Collaboration Photo Contest Winners

PHOTO CONTEST GRAND PRIZE WINNERS

Best Story

Winner: @jos_agdollhouse

Prize: Full Set of Bbeauty Dolls Victorian Boots in 4 Colors

@connieporter1864's Addy books were my favorite American Girl series.  For this contest, I decided to make an 1860s day dressfor an adult woman, and I thought who better to sew for than Addy's beloved mother, Ruth Walker.  I chose a gray striped cotton, which reminded me of Addy's pink striped meet dress.  The sleeves are lined in a pale pink, another nod to the meet dress.  Ruth worked at Ford's Dress Shop, so I imagined that she got to sew herself a new dress with shop materials of her liking.

I photographed Ruth in her and Addy's garret room above the dress shop.  She is holding a tape measure, scissors, and an embroidery hoop, since she is often sewing late into the night.  Also on the dresser is the kerosene lamp that Mrs. Ford gifted them for Christmas.  The final sentimental detail to my photos is Addy's shiny Spelling Bee pin, which I pictured her lending to her mother to complete her look.

Thank you again to Heather Rosales of @bbeautydesigns for hosting this contest.  It was a joy to envision the story of another American Girl - an American mother named Ruth Walker.

Most Creative Photo

Winner: @dollietreasures

Prize: 6 Sets of Jewelry by Sata & Haykush Designs

As soon as the theme was announced, I knew I wanted to bring one of my favorite classics to life - Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.  The version closest to my heart is the 1994 film I grew up loving, and I chose a scene that perfectly captures the sisters' daily moments.

This scene shows Meg trusting Jo to curl her hair for the ball...but Jo's carelessness leads to disaster - burning her hair completely off. "You've ruined me!" Meg cries - until Amy comes to the rescue with ribbons to disguise the missing curls.

I'm Jessica, also known as DollieTreasures.  I began my doll-making journey in 2020, inspired by my love of art, music, and classic literature.  Since then, I've created over 200 handcrafted character dolls, each one designed to capture the spirit of the stories that inspire me.  Every DollieTreasures piece is created as a collectible work of art, with a deep focus on storytelling, detail, and imagination.

Thank you so much for this honor, and experience!

Best Handmade Outfit

Winner: @pasttimesfashion

Prize: Full Set of Bbeauty Dolls Undergarments

My name is Sonja Glassey.  I am a self-taught hobby seamstress, you can find me on Instagram @pasttimesfashion and on my Facebook sewing page SGCreations.  I make historical dresses for 18inch dolls since 2021 and started to draft my own patterns after I found photos of antique dresses I wanted to make but for which no patterns were available.

Like this English girl's dress from circa 1869.  I found suitable fabric by Marcus Brothers and four different kinds of Simplicity laces to recreate it.  I started with the short sleeve dress, a ruffled layer going up the sleeves in the mid section.  The long sleeves can be added on.  

The pelerine is fully lined with wide black satin ribbon and shows an elaborate bow in the back.  The photo with the two dolls shows the dress with pelerine on the left and the sitting doll wears the dress without it.  This dress is easting lace by the yards: The dress has 4 yards, the pelerine has 9 yards of lace and wide satin ribbon (lining) combined.

Views of the original historical dress from which inspiration was taken

Best Living History Scene

Winner: @dollface.agig

Prize: Full Set of Bbeauty Dolls Undergarments

Christine and Clover, the two dolls that make up the small collection that belongs to Cyra of @dolliface.agig, are frequent adverturers and time travelers.  The ladies are pictured at a Civil War reenactment, bringing supplies to the Union soldiers.  

This experience was one of a kind, featuring talented actors and real artifacts from the era.  Museums and events like these are one of Cyra's favorite places to take her American Girl dolls.  The history seems to come alive!

Final Remarks

We want to take this time to thank everyone who followed along with this collaboration, who purchased from the artists, and who support women-owned and small businesses.  Special thanks to Satenik Donaca, Sarah Tafelsky, and Ava Smith for joining us on this journey.  They each put in an incredible amount of work and effort into helping this series.  We also want to thank each and every one of the people who participated in the photo contest.  As we grow, we will continue to make the prizes bigger and to give back to the doll community and sewers.  Be sure to watch our announcements for the next collaboration series theme and participate with us!

This collaboration is unique as it ended exactly on my birthday.  For those of you who have followed me a long time, historically I have always done a sale on my birthday and this year is no exception.

SPECIAL SALE FOR MY BIRTHDAY

IS CALLED MIX AND MATCH MAGIC

Mix and Match Magic gives a savings of 15% for purchasing 2 or more products from our website. Sale runs from today 5/3 until 5/6 at noon.