Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Nikki and the Ugly Christmas Sweater Party - What to Wear?

Ugly Christmas Sweater Ornaments from Christopher and Banks

Top Model Nikki (one of my two TM Nikki thrift store finds from a couple of years ago) was selected to model the not-so-ugly, ugly Christmas sweater ornaments purchased from Christopherand Banks.com.


Their sweater ornaments include a removable and pliable silver wire hanger, which I knew would come in handy to create doll accessories later.

For playscale dolls, I would prefer these sweaters to have been a little longer and the neck opening a little larger, but they are workable with much less difficulty involved to dress dolls than I experienced with the stiffened ones I tried previously.

Nikki's Pre-Ugly Christmas Sweater Party Photo Shoot 
Nikki tried on the elf sweater first.  It has mittens attached to the sleeves.  Dressed in this one, Nikki looks like a perfect helper for Santa.

Close up of the mittens on Nikki's hands illustrates the nice fit.

Each of the sweater ornaments has the year, 2015, embroidered on back.  I did not know this prior to purchasing.  I suppose the stitching could either be removed or painted over with matching fabric paint. For this year's Ugly Christmas Sweater party that Nikki is attending, she does not mind the year being on back.  Next year would be a totally different story, however.
Nikki likes the elf sweater, but wanted to try on the other three.  (Christopher and Banks offered a total of five, but the penguin sweater was not appealing to any of the playscale women here.)

Nikki really liked the blue color against her complexion.  The white snowman theme pairs well with her white leggings.  This one also has attached mittens that are a perfect fit.

Close up of mittens

Next to try was the gingerbread man sweater which is without attached mittens, but is hooded.

A silver bead is attached to the top of the hood.

Nikki likes wearing this one without the hood, particularly due to the mishap that occurred while pulling the sweater over her neck.

When found at the thrift store, Nikki had only one of her original gold hoop earrings, which she continued to wear.  The earring, unfortunately broke when the green hooded sweater was pulled over her head.  So word from the now wise is:  Before dressing your dolls in these and other narrow necked tops, remove their earrings, particularly if they are fragile.
After regrouping from the earring malfunction, Nikki tried on the white and gray snowflake sweater, which is both hooded and has attached gray mittens.  She likes the winter white look and didn't mind wearing the hood.

This one also has a silver bead at the top of the hood as illustrated.

 Nikki removed the hood but kept her hair tucked inside.  She took a hot chocolate break while new earrings were made using one of the silver wire hangers. (Who knew I would be creating jewelry with the hangers so soon?)
The wire hanger was straightened out, cut to an estimated appropriate length for two earrings, and wrapped around a small ink pen leaving a straight portion at each end.

After removing the now spiraled wire from around the ink pen, it was cut in half.  The two halves were stretched to create a nice design.   The tip of each curved end was tucked under the spiral above it to prevent fabric snares.  To help the earrings stay in place, the center of each straight end was bent downward to create a hook before placing each into Nikki's ears.

Nikki models her new earrings and will always remember to remove them before taking off or putting on any over-the-head blouse or sweater.

Nikki has decided to wear the winter white snowflake sweater.  She has graciously given her younger sis, Goddess Emerald, permission to tag along with her to the Ugly Christmas Sweater party.

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14 comments:

  1. Very nice! I love that some of them have mittens. Great job with the new earrings. They are tres chic.

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    1. The mittens are nice. Nikki continues to hold hers.

      Thanks for the compliment on the earrings.

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  2. That free shipping and ability to pay with Paypal got me. I just ordered 3 sweaters. I didn't get the white one, but I got the other three. Thanks. I think.

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  3. Love these...Nikki looks fab! Thanks for sharing. I may have to get a few.

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    1. Thank you, Jewell! Better grab 'em before they sell out and while shipping is still free.

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  4. I actually like these sweaters. Great job on creating the earrings. Very creative!

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    1. Thank you, GG. I like the sweaters too (all except the penguin one). While they are described as "ugly Christmas sweaters," there is really nothing ugly about them.

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  5. Those sweaters are so cute, and Nikki looks amazing in all of them! I like her last sweater the best.

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    1. "She" chose the last sweater because it was the last one she tried on and "we" didn't want to pull it over her head and put on another one. I think if I had chosen another one for her to continue wearing, it would have been the snowman. I really like the blue against her complexion. But she really does look great in all.

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  6. I like the white one with the hood! Nikki looks good in it.

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    1. Thank you, Ms. Leo. Nikki is still wearing that one!

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  7. Heck, I would wear those sweaters!

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    1. These sweaters really don't fall into the ugly Christmas sweater category (at least not the ones I purchased). The left-behind penquin one might.

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