MarcotsGirlsDolls Etsy Shop Interview and Giveaway

Back in my earlier days of collecting, I was constantly on the lookout for Regency era dresses for my 18 inch dolls. That led me to the online seller MarcotsGirls, also known as Gloria. ;) I was impressed with the quality of her work, the reasonable pricing, and the variety of styles and eras of doll dresses she had available.

Those of you who read Tess and Maggie's blog or have enjoyed some of my earlier AG photo shoots will probably recognize the two Regency dresses I purchased from her, as modeled here by Hayden and Jenna in an earlier photo shoot:

I originally discovered Gloria's work on eBay, but these days she does the majority of her online transactions Etsy.com, where I recently rediscovered her at her Etsy shop, MarcotsGirlsDolls.

I thought it would be fun to give her a shout out here on the blog. She graciously agreed to answer a few interview questions and send a handmade dress for a giveaway. :) 

1. Thanks for joining us on the blog today! :) Could you tell us how you got started with sewing doll clothing? 

    

    My two daughters and I started making and selling 18 inch doll clothing about fourteen years ago.

2. What is the first doll you can remember getting?

    I remember way back when I was about ten years old, getting a 20 inch or taller doll that came with a hair dryer-the vintage type that you actually stuck your whole head into.

3. What is your favorite type of doll to sew for?

    Eighteen inch dolls, followed closely by the 16 inch A Girl for All Time dolls. Until recently, I primarily created historical fashions. Now, you'll find both historical and contemporary outfits in my Etsy store.

4. What is your favorite era of period clothing to capture in doll form?

    Colonial and Regency

5. How do you come up with ideas for your doll outfits?

    I visit museum collections, both online and in person. I also get a lot of suggestions from my adult daughters and friends. Television and movies are also great for inspiration. But usually, I buy a fabric I like with a particular style and time period in mind. The trims and little changes that we do help to make a dress unique.

6. Do you have any advice for people who would like to start sewing clothes for their dolls?

    My advice to anyone starting to sew doll clothes for the first time would be: start simple. Your expertise and knowledge will grow as you gain experience and confidence.

7. Where can we find you online?

    You can find my shop at https://www.etsy.com/shop/MarcotsGirlsDolls. You can keep up with any news about additions to my shop or sales by liking my Facebook Page. On occasion, I still offer a few items via eBay under the seller name marcotsgirls.

***

Thank you so much for taking the time to share with us, Gloria. I always enjoy getting to know a little bit more about my favorite sellers. :)

As I mentioned earlier, Gloria very graciously sent me a doll dress for a giveaway here on the blog.

I decided I would open it so you can see what you'll be getting. :)

The giveaway prizes include an adorable 1950s era dress, a reversible matching coat, and a pair of doll-sized saddle shoes. The dress and coat were handmade by Gloria. The shoes were not, but were included as a fun accessory for the outfit.

Emma decided to be our model today. (Emma's glasses, hair ribbon, and Emma herself are not a part of the giveaway.) ;)

The dress from the back.

The bodice...

...and skirt.

The bodice and skirt have pretty, bright red rickrack embellishments.

The back of the dress has Velcro closure.

I love the fun black and white criss-cross pattern of the material.

The saddle shoes are just adorable. They went on Emma's feet easily and look great with the black and red of her dress. 

Here's a look at the sweet coat from the front...

...and the back.

The outer material is a fun red and white polka-dot pattern.

The material of the collar, cuffs, and inside of the jacket match the material of the dress:

The coat has snap closure at the neck.

Or, if you're feeling like a change, the coat is reversible.

Here's the collar, cuffs, and inside of the coat when it's reversed:

And the same snap closure at the neck.

I think I almost prefer it with the black and white material on the outside. But both ways are really cute. :)

This outfit looks so darling on Emma, especially with her dark hair. ;)

So, it's been a while since I've done a giveaway here on the blog. Here are a few guidelines:

1. This giveaway is for readers in the USA only. (Sorry to my international readers...I'll try to do another giveaway including all my readers at another time.) 

2. If you're under eighteen years old, please get a parent or guardian's permission before entering. I'll have to get your mailing address, and I want to make sure that's acceptable to them.

3. To enter, please leave your name or username AND email address in a comment on this post. Your comments will not be published and will only be seen by me.

4. For extra entries, you may: 

      1) "Favorite" the MarcotsGirlsDolls Etsy Shop

      2) Like the MarcotsGirlsDolls Facebook Page

   If you do either of these, please leave a comment here and let me know so I can count your extra entries. :)

5. The giveaway will be open for entries until Saturday, July 2nd. On Sunday, July 3rd, I will chose a winner by random drawing and send them a confirmation email.

6. The winner will have one week to email me back with his or her mailing address. If I have not heard from the winner by Sunday, July 10th, a new winner will be selected.

Thanks so much for entering. Can't wait to see who wins! And thanks again to Gloria for participating in this post and providing our giveaway goodies. :)

Glamerup 18" Doll Clothes Review and Giveaway

GIVEAWAY CLOSED

Last month, I was contacted by "Glamerup" and offered some of their products for a review and giveaway.

Glamerup is a website specializing in doll clothing and accessories for 18 inch dolls such as American Girl. You can find outfits, necklaces, shoes, and other accessories that fit AG and other similar dolls.

Here are two of the outfits I selected for review. Hayden and Anjali are my models today. ;) 

They can't wait to share their new outfits with you. :)

Anjali is wearing the "Veronica Leaves Print Pajama" set. (You can see it on Amazon.com HERE.) I was happy to add this outfit to my doll clothing collection, because I'm always short on pjs for my dolls. :) 

A back view of the pjs. 

The pj top from the front. 

It has button closure. 

The buttons were very easy to button and unbutton. 

The stitching on the clothing is nice and even.

The bottom of the pj top.

Here are the pj pants.

They have an elastic waistband with no Velcro or buttons.

The pjs are made of a lightweight, cottony material. They are super cute and would be a great addition for any doll lover's collection.

A few shots of Anjali enjoying her new jammies:

Next up, we have the Frozen-inspired "Winter Travel Outfit". (You can see it on Amazon.com HERE.) 

I feel like I should have had Charlie model this dress since she's the closest in coloring to Anna, but Hayden practically begged me to wear it instead. She's a huge Frozen fan, and Anna is her favorite character. ;)

The outfit has several layers. We'll start with the cape.

I liked all of the detail on the cape, such as the lace trim and the little puffy balls hanging from the ends.

The cape has a "frog" closure in the front. 

The frog opens easily...

...so the cape can come off.

The cape from the back. I want to apologize for some of these pictures, including this one. My camera ended up giving the cape more of a salmon color than it really has.

It has a nice layer on the top. 

The hem of the cape. This is closer to the actual color, by the way.

The inside of the cape is lined with a pink, satiny material.

The next layer is the dress. Doesn't it look nice with Hayden's coloring? :)

I thought about finding some boots or shoes for her to wear with this dress, but then I decided I just wanted to focus on the outfit itself. Don't worry, I won't send Hayden off on a snowy quest without providing her with shoes first. ;)

The collar is really cute on the dress. 

A closer look at the bodice. I love the embroidery. One interesting thing about the bodice is that it's actually made with a slightly brown leather-like material. It's especially noticeable in this picture because of the way the camera decided to capture the lighting. When you see it in person, though, it's not noticeably brown.

The skirt of the dress. I like the details and the nice pleating.

The hem of the skirt.

The dress from the back. 

I love the golden trim on the bodice.

The bodice opens with Velcro in the back and is completely separate from the dress underneath.

And speaking of the dress, here it is without the bodice. 

The material is pretty thin, but it doesn't feel flimsy or poorly made. The pleats in the skirt also make the skirt part seem less see-through than it really is.

This would be a great outfit for any Frozen fan. I love all of the nice details on the cape, bodice, and skirt. It's simple enough for a younger collector to use for her dolls, but looks nice enough for a collector to use for display. :)

Here are some extra photos of Hayden in the outfit. :) Because photo shoots are kinda my thing. ;)

And here's one of Hayden and Anjali together: 

I'm quite pleased with the clothing from Glamerup. It's well-made and easy for little hands operate. The pricing is comparable to other good quality handmade doll clothing online. They will be adding more items to their inventory in the coming months, so you'll want to keep checking back for more items. I would definitely recommend Glamerup to other doll lovers and collectors for fun, affordable doll clothing and accessories. 

If you'd like more information about Glamerup, be sure to check out the following links:   

-Glamerup Website

-Glamerup on Amazon.com

-Glamerup's Facebook Page

-Glamerup on Pinterest

-Glamerup on Twitter

Glamerup was gracious enough to include some items for a giveaway, too. :) Hayden and Anjali are here to show you the goodies. :)

The winner of this giveaway will receive a sweet little summer dress called "Lovely Mariella" and a doll-sized snowflake necklace. 

I didn't want to open the dress so the winner would be the first to open it. You can see the dress on Amazon.com HERE if you'd like a better idea of what it looks like. 

Another shot of the dress.

Here's a look at the adorable necklace. (You can see it on Amazon.com HERE.) 

It has a nice screw together clasp. I love these types of clasps on doll necklaces. A regular necklace clasp can be pretty difficult to open and close on such a small chain.

Here it is free from the card...

...and here's how it looks on a doll. It makes me think of Elsa. :)

So, here are the giveaway rules:

1. This is a worldwide giveaway. Any of my readers can enter. :)

2. If you're under 18, please get a parent or guardian's permission before entering. I'll have to get your mailing address, and I want to make sure that's okay.

3. To enter, please leave your name or username and email address in a comment on this post. Your comments will not be published and will only be seen by me.

4. The giveaway will be open for entries until Friday, May 1st. On Saturday, May 2nd, I will chose a winner by random draw.

5. The winner will have one week to email me back with his or her mailing address. If I have not heard from the winner by Saturday, May 9th, a new winner will be selected.

If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments. :) 

Best wishes, everyone!

I received these items as free sample products from Glamerup. All opinions and ideas expressed in this post are my own.