Welcome Bryce!

Welcome, Big Bryce, to the Tiny Apparel crew! 🎉

Gus and Lucian met big Bryce, over at the gym, and they all hit it off immediately. At brunch, today, the cousins pitched bringing Bryce on board for an exciting new Tiny Apparel project: discovering which sewing pattern designs are best suited for big boys like Bryce!

Bryce enthusiastically signed on to help. He’s brand-new to modeling, and a little camera shy, but eager to try new things. We are all thrilled to have him on the team!

Welcome, Bryce! 🤝🎉

 

New Profil Picture!

 This week, Gus got a touch-up on the ol’ eye paint, and new glued on eyelashes. Time to pose for an updated profile picture! 🕺📸

I make Gus’ lashes out of tiny snippets of black faux fur. They are definitely on the silver-screen leading-man side of things, but I’m partial to the interesting shadows they cast in pictures. 😁

 

Sunflowerman

I’d like you all to meet a doll, inspired by the awesome... the incredible... the one and only, aesthetically brilliant genius of art and illustration: @sunflowerman!!! @sunflowerman is a painter, a menswear illustrator, a style icon, and a personal hero of mine!! If you are passionate about art, coffee, fashion, watches, or any combo of the above, I can’t recommend following his accounts enough!! And keep an eye out for the little Sunflowerman dragon! 😉🐉

Working on this project has been an incredible honor for me! It has taken me almost a year to complete, and is a project of many firsts; Including my first time rerooting a doll, my first time working with this type of curly hair, and my first time customizing a mini molded hat! I’ve carefully assembled a collection of accessories and pieces, for this tiny gentleman, inspired by Sunflowerman’s more casual styles. However, I will leave any face repainting to the talents of @sunflowerman himself. If you’ve seen his work, you’ll understand why! 😁
@sunflowerman @dresslikeanartist @sunflowerman.watch

Here's another view of the little @Sunflowerman inspired guy! This time he’s got some Texas vibes, and a cup of espresso to start the day. ☕️✨ last minute, he seemed a bit chilly in just shirtsleeves, so Gus gave him his leather jacket. 😄

An homage to @sunflowerman the globetrotter; the artist “born with a pencil in his hand;” the appreciator and creator of international treasures. ✏️✒️🎨🖌

Lucian's new Build

Hey you all! Look who’s got a #madetomove physique now! Lucian’s been hitting the gym and limbering up, this holiday season; and he’s gone from 5 points of articulation to 22! 🤸🏼🐇👟

A big thank you to my friends here on Instagram, who helped out with customizing advice and encouragement! 😊 Now Lucian can jump, do a push-up, and raid even more of Gus’ closet! 😁

Overhauling a Bench

Gus’ cushioned bench is getting overhauled with a brand new scrapbook paper veneer. I think the original white paper covering was starting to look a little tired. I’m loving the new bleached barn wood look! 

Here is Gus, looking yacht-ready and preppy, with his refinished bench. I think a set of cozy Flannel cushions, for fall, would be a nice touch too. 

Plants and Patinas

A while ago, @thelifeofstovall made me a pair of custom 3D printed planters and a beautiful 3D printed garden bench in the same classically-inspired style. Because each piece was printed in solid gray, I decided to customize them with a patina. To achieve a slightly weathered look, I first used a thin metallic gunmetal gray craft paint as a wash, making sure that it settled in all the recesses of the planters and bench, adding depth, and a subtle sparkle. When they were dry, I washed over all the planes and high spots with matte white acrylic, and finally I dry brushed all the raised details with a thick layer of the white paint.

Gus, here, is demonstrating the process:

To fill each container, I first stuffed it with tissue paper. Next, I clipped some leaves from a spray of artificial foliage, and glued their stems inside of an oversized wood bead. I then twisted clippings, from a faux evergreen wreath, into a ring shape and pushed them into the planter, on top of the tissue paper. Finally, I tucked the wood bead in the center of the planter, and arranged the artificial foliage until I was happy with it. 

Some mini flower pots and paper houseplants, made with the help of a @myfroggystuff tutorial, complete Gus' greenhouse. It looks like a lovely spot to relax with a good book!

Lucian Gets a Makeover

For a while, Gus' albino cousin, Lucian, has had a very structured pompadore. I originally styled his hair by gluing unraveled wool yarn over his plastic coif. However, I though a less structured style might suit him better, so, in a daring move, I removed his plastic pomp and gave him some soft, waving locks in a tousled fringe. Below, you can see before, and after. 

Meet Lucian!

I got a request to make a coat to fit a 'broad size' Ken doll. I needed a fitting model with the right measurements to complete the project, so I'm welcoming a new model on-board the Tiny Apparel team! Meet Gus' cousin, Lucian!

 

 

 Below are some photos of Lucian's transformation from a 'Camo Comeback' Ken Fashionista, into a one-of-a-kind albino model.

 

A Touch-up

After riding to and from shooting locations in a shoe-box, and falling on his nose a few times, Gus's makeup needed a little TLC. I touched up the old eye-liner, and while I was at it, I also added some definition to the sculpted detail on his lip. For both paint jobs, I worked with both acrylic paints, and a mixture of clear acrylic and guache.  

After his moment in the make-up chair, Gus was back his photo-ready self. I photographed his new look with some exciting new pieces of scrapbook paper that just arrived in the mail! 

The Duffle

I finally completed the Burberry inspired duffle coat. It's not an exact scale model, but I think I managed to capture a few of the details from the original. 

Here is Gus, posing on a pile of trunks. 

And here he is with the hood up... and down again. 

Sinatra got a little matching jacket.

Fringes and Fleece

Gus is rocking a new hair-do, with a super curly fringe.  

He also has a new shearling coat, made out of a little cream-colored polar fleece, and some really luxurious cotton flannel from Yankee Pride Quilts, which looks like a fine suede. 

Here is the complete new look, with cuffed jeans, a turtleneck sweater and a pair of Mattel sneakers. 

A Popsicle-Stick Chair

Gus has a new Popsicle stick chair, some throw pillows, and a cozy knit afghan. Now he and Sinatra will have a place to watch the shows during the upcoming fashion week. 

Before, and after. The Schleich Dalmatian, above, is what Sinatra looked like before his repaint.

Meet Gus

Here is Gus, 12 inch high model, ready for casting. 

On the right, Gus is posing with some illustrations of looks he might be modeling in the future. He is wearing a cotton knit T-shirt and a pair of cotton chinos. Gus has beaded and braided string bracelets on his wrists, and is wearing a matching necklace.