Liberty Jane Clothing Blog

"Anyone Can Sew"- 4evragz's Experience With Sewing Clothing for the 18" American Girl Doll

2011-08-17T12:17:00.000-07:00

Thanks to 4evragz on youtube for this fun and inspirational video of her sewing journey using Liberty Jane Patterns to sew clothes for her American Girl® Dolls.

LJC Facebook Update

2011-08-15T12:49:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to let all of our fans know that our Liberty Jane Clothing Facebook page has been disabled. We are in the process of trying to get it resolved and will update you as soon as our fan page is up and running again. In the meantime, to stay up to date with our latest news and products, be sure to sign up for our newsletter. Thanks for your support and understanding.

-Cinnamon

Small Waistbands are a Breeze on the Bernina 330

2011-08-15T09:55:00.000-07:00

Here's a fun sneak peek of a skirt that I'm working on for the 2011 Fall line. It's a similar style to the skirt version included in the Faraway Downs Sewing Pattern, but it incorporates the updated waistband style that was introduced in the newest version of the LJC Jeans pattern designed to fit American Girl Dolls. This outfit will most likely continue in the Malibu Libby Line, the varying shades of blue and the delicate floral print are reminiscent of days spent lingering on the sandy beaches of Southern California.

I love the fact that on the Bernina 330 I can slip the skirt right around the base of the machine! It measures just 10 1/2 inches around which is just perfect for sewing clothes that fit 18 inch dolls. Previously, on a machine with a wider base, sewing the small waistbands was more time consuming and a bit frustrating! Trying to keep it all laying smoothly and avoiding the opposite side of the waistband was a challenge. This may not seem like that big of a deal, but little things like this that save time and make things easier always put a smile on my face!

-Cinnamon

A Mannequin out of Duct Tape? Yes You Can!

2011-07-29T08:35:00.000-07:00

Summer's a great time to bond with your kids, right? Well, Libby and I did some serious bonding the other day. :) Libby's been developing quite a passion for sewing lately. She's made outfits for her American Girl Dolls, Pullip Doll, Karito Kids Dolls, even her AG mini dolls. With the release of our first girl sized pattern she's now wanting to make some clothes for herself. We saw this fun idea in the book Sewing Clothes Kids Love to make a mannequin out of duct tape and just knew we had to try it out! It was fun easy to do, all you need is a few rolls of duck tape (we used Totally Tie Dye and a mix of other colors), some old clothes, and a little bit of patience! Watch the video below to follow along as we attempted this fun project for the first time.

We also mention in the video that we have a PO Box set up for Liberty Jane Clothing fan mail, since you can't see the YouTube description in this post, the address is below. We'd love to hear from you! Send us a note, question, or even a sewing tip on a postcard and we'll try to incorporate them in our posts or videos. You don't need to provide any personal info, just sign it with your online blogger or wordpress ID or YouTube user name.
Thanks!

Liberty Jane Clothing
PO Box 8058
Bonney Lake, WA 98391

P.S. Can you name all 8 dolls standing behind Libby? Hint: 3 of them are JLY, 3 are GOTY, 1 is MYAG and 1 is Historical. First one to comment below with the correct answer will get a coupon code for 3 free patterns from Liberty Jane Patterns!

(Anyone can comment, just click name/url if you don't have a blogger ID)

Winner of the T-shirt Giveaway!

2011-07-25T15:43:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! Thanks for the amazing response to our recent giveaway.

The winner is Kanani and Hazel!

Their comment #32 was randomly chosen by random dot org and they've been contacted by private message. Congratulations!

Josefina, Stephenswodadancer, and LJ Gives Back

2011-07-23T08:08:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, we have our customized Josefina American Girl doll up for auction on EBay this week. The auction ends tomorrow July 24th! She has a beautiful real human hair wig which provides tons of fun styling options and is so easy to maintain and keep frizz free! She comes dressed in a custom Liberty Jane Clothing outfit and an additional outfit from ModDoll by Liberty. Check out the listing for more detail.

Here's a fun video of Sarah AKA Stephenswodadancer receiving her this past summer, to fix her up and restring her limbs. Sarah did an amazing job!

We've had Josefina for several years and she's modeled several outfits for LJC. It's a bitter sweet feeling to part with her, but we're using the proceeds from auction to kick off our LJ Gives Back Fall 2011 project which will benefit a great program in Romania helping kids who have grown up in orphanges learn valuable life skills to successfully transition into the real world. We'll have more detailed info on that in the upcoming month.

Here are a few pictures from her experience at Liberty Jane Clothing. You'll notice in the first few that her hair is longer, that was the original length of the new wig but we decided it better suit her at waist length so she took a trip to the salon and got a haircut. Enjoy!

Giveaway - Seattle American Girl Store Opening

2011-07-17T13:59:00.000-07:00

Ready For A Give-Away?

Here's the thing...we decided to brave the crowds on Saturday July 16th and go to the grand opening of the newest American Girl Store in Seattle a tthe Alderwood mall.

Here's a video log of Libby's first experience at an AG Store. We've spent years and countless hours looking through the catalogs, it was so fun to finally go to a real store!

Giveaway

We've got a super cute Seattle AG Store exclusive red American Girl tee shirt and a fun Art Starts craft book (valued at $18.00) to giveaway to one lucky commenter!

You have 5 ways to enter:

1. Leave a Comment below telling us what your favorite pattern is from Liberty Jane Patterns (1 entry, required)
2. Follow us on Facebook and leave a comment below letting us know (1 entry)
3. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel and leave a comment below letting us know (1 entry)
4. Join the Liberty Jane Flickr Group and leave a comment below letting us know (1 entry)
5. Share this giveaway on your blog, FB, youtube or twitter and leave a comment below letting us know (1 entry per share )

Leave a separate comment for each entry. Giveaway ends July 24th at Midnight Pacific. Winner will be chosen randomly by random.org.

YouTube Summer Design Contest

2011-07-05T08:33:00.000-07:00

The current Liberty Jane Design contest on YouTube is a bit different than the one's we've done in the past. The contest is running all summer long and there are three first place winners that will each receive their outfits made for them for FREE! Just click the linked text to watch the announcement video and enter your video responses.

The first winning design was announced on May 29th. It's called "Indian Summer" by AnAshownews. I love this dress design! It reminds me of something that I'd see Taylor Swift wearing.

There are a few elements in the design that really caught my eye. The first is the neck line. This style of halter is something that I haven't done before so it was a fun challenge to make it. I used a crocheted trim sewn into the seam and added the orange and copper beads by hand.

The dress has a simple flowy skirt with a raw edge and orange stitch detail at the bottom. It is layered over a slip made from the same textured yellow knit fabric. I used several types of trims, beaded and crocheted, at the bottom edge and added some orange decorative stitching to give it some bohemian flair.

The hat was fun to make. I don't know how to crochet or knit, but I plan to learn this summer! This created a bit of a challenge. I used four chocolate brown headbands that I found at a craft store. They're about 3 inches wide and made out of ribbon and yarn. I was able to cut them apart and sew them together to make this cute hat! I love how it came out :)

The picture below shows the original drawing and the finished outfit. This outfit will be mailed to the designer, AnAshownews, as her prize! These design contests are a lot of fun. There are so many promising young designers out there. Keep submitting your entries, the next winner will be announced on July 10th!

Red, White, & Blue - American Girl Style!

2011-06-15T08:53:00.000-07:00

With the Fourth of July holiday right around the corner, I thought I'd share a collection of American Girl doll outfits featuring some serious Americana Pride! These cute outfits are made right here in America by a variety of Liberty Jane Partners, some of the outfits are made with Liberty Jane Patterns and some are their own amazing designs.

Enjoy!

Oh Yeah, just click the names above each image to go to the listings to buy them...

The Pink Paisley Totes

Fashioned 4 you

Doll Closet

Cinnamon's Bernina 330 Journey - Entry #1

2011-06-14T09:45:00.000-07:00

As many of you already know, I was recently asked to be a brand ambassador for Bernina. I'm so excited about this amazing opportunity to use and review one of their newest sewing machines, the Bernina 330!

So far this experience is slightly reminiscent of getting a new car. Going from a lower quality machine with years of wear and tear to this higher end machine has a bit of thrill and excitement. I love the clean lines of this model, I know this has nothing to do with the sewing performance but when something is pleasing to the eye it draws me in, makes me excited to work on my next project.

There are a few nice features I noticed right away....

First - was the quiet hum of the motor. My daughter walked in when I was using the Bernina 330 and her first comment was, "Wow, mom! It sure is quiet!"

Second - it has a slide speed control! I love this feature. If you want to sew fast, you can, but for a beginner or a perfectionist (like myself) it's great to be able to set the max speed. I can set it to a speed that gives me the best amount of control and no matter how hard I press on the foot pedal it won't sew too fast. Love that!

Third - it has a handy little measuring guide right along the front of the machine. This is great for all of the small pieces of elastic that go into my American Girl doll outfits. These are just a few things that I noticed at first glance. I'll post about more of the features in the future.

Here are a few pics...

Until next time!

Cinnamon

Lot's of Fun FREE Summer Sewing Projects!

2011-06-02T08:48:00.000-07:00

Kathleen over at the Grosgrain blog has just completed a month long series of FREE pattern and tutorial posts featuring seamstresses from all over the web. Free Pattern Month featured a new pattern each day and she posted one of our freebies, the Heritage Drawstring Dress Pattern, too! Thanks Kathleen for including us! Most projects are not doll related but there are a lot of easy sewing projects and fun things to make for yourself or someone you might know. So go check it out and let me know if you make something fabulous!

YouTube Contest Outfit Sneak Peek...

2011-06-01T15:17:00.000-07:00

We just announced the first of 3winning designs from our current Summer Design Contest on YouTube. This one is a sweet yellow halter style dress with intricate bead work. I love this design, it reminds me of something that I'd see Taylor Swift wearing. I have the basic pattern figured out and I love how it's coming together! Here's a picture of the halter style neckline. This will be a great pattern to add to our growing collection of doll clothes patterns. Next I'll be adding the beads and accessories...

Here's the video showing the original design:

Below is the contest announcement video. Remember the contest goes until August 21st, so keep posting your video entries as a response to this video to enter. You can see all of the video resoposes here.

Amazing Memorial Day Gift...

2011-05-27T20:03:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, check out our fun free gift for Memorial Day weekend...

Make a reversible American Girl Doll Dress

2011-05-27T16:44:00.000-07:00

We just posted this fun tutorial on our Doll Clothes Pattern website it's under the tab "Projects & Tips". It's a fun twist on the It's A Wrap Pattern an original design by Ardently Admire. The tutorial was done by an LJC Fan and it's super cute! I can't wait to try this idea myself. :)

Here's a picture of the reversible dress for an American Girl Doll. Click here to see the full tutorial.

and the pattern that you need to make the dress...

This seems like a fun and easy project and I think you could also do this same technique with the Bandeau Top Pattern just use a snap in the back instead of velcro.

Have you tried it yet? We'd love to see your finished project. Just post a link below in the comments. Also, if you have a modification of some sort using one of our patterns and want to share it with other LJC fans, just send us an email at cinnamon@libertyjaneclothing.com

Thanks and have fun!

40 Zambian Seamstresses Update...

2011-05-25T09:50:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

As you probably remember we did a special project with our Fall 2010 Line to bless 40 Zambian Seamstresses with training and supplies, (including several industrial sewing machines). They have formed a cooperative to help the orphans in their community - all centered around a very special place called the Needs Care Center. Anyway, we actually over-funded the project, (thanks to your amazing support), and with the left over funds they purchased desks for the school.

Yesterday we got this nice note (and pictures) from the students - and we wanted to share it with YOU, because if you purchased from Liberty Jane in the Fall of 2010, then you helped make this possible...

"The Grade four in class using the just bought desks from the money that was donated. We as grade four pupils of Needs Care school we are saying thank you so much for the wonderful donation, we used to write on our thigh, but today we are more than happy to have these nice desks. We say thank you, and God bless you."

Regards

Needs Care Center Pupils

Silk, Techniques, and Kanani's Haircut

2011-05-16T16:39:00.000-07:00

Our latest spring line outfit Ready for Ruby's features some very chic silk fabric that we picked up on our recent trip to Britex Fabrics in San Francisco.

When working with fabric that retails for $39/yd. making the first few cuts can be pretty daunting! I used a less expensive fabric that had a similar weight to make my first few mock-ups. It took several attempts to get the proportions just right. Once I had all of the details figured out I could confidently cut out my pattern pieces on this luxurious fabric.

I was excited to use a new technique that I had seen in the Spring 2011 issue of Sew Stylish magazine. There was an article called Sheer Practice and it showed a few different seams and hems to use with sheer fabrics. I used the technique for A Fine Hem. It worked beautifully. Usually this type of fabric frustrates me because it's difficult to hem and looses the lightweight flowiness once it is hemmed. :) This technique eliminated both of those issues - yeah! I love the look of the finished top, it has a sense of relaxed sophistication.

Here's a picture of the finished top on Kanani, American Girl Doll. Now this brings me to the issue of Kanani's beautiful hair... Yes, we cut her hair. She's a beautiful doll with beautiful hair, but for us it was to much hair to work well for modeling purposes. I realize that some of you will think this is totally taboo and I don't recommend this to anyone (there are a lot of wigs available). Her hair did cut nicely though and is still long and beautiful, just not down to the floor.

Here's a link to our EBay store where you can find the outfit along with other spring line outfits and below is a fun video showcasing the outfit :

Spring Line Sneak Peeks...

2011-05-07T09:25:00.000-07:00

We'll be launching our 2011 Spring Line on Ebay on Sunday the 8th! Here are a few sneek peek pics...

Enjoy!

Shop Britex Fabrics Online!

2011-05-02T09:51:00.000-07:00

So you've heard me mention that I love Britex Fabrics, right? Well, now you can browse through their exclusive assortment of beautiful fabrics, lace, notions, and buttons online! Wow, what an amazing opportunity to create simply unforgettable OOAK creations.

I visited Britex Fabrics a few weeks ago, here's a video from outside the store...

And here are a few pictures inside...

4 Floors!

Cool Art...

So many trims!

And right next door was Betsey Johnson! I love that store :) Here's a few pictures of Libby looking around...

Rainbow Dance - behind the scenes custom outfit video

2011-04-26T22:50:00.000-07:00

We've been hosting design contests on YouTube for several years now and it's been a lot of fun! We repeatedly get asked how we turn those drawings into reality. So we thought it would be fun to show you how we do what we do! During the last Design Contest Results announcement video we picked several of the outfits in the Top 100 to use for this special project. Each of the girls who designed these outfits will receive them as a free gift - So fun!

The first design that was selected was called Rainbow Dance by Lauren from the youtube channel Onehappyhome. Her video was so cute, I love the giggle at the end, and the design was so fun and colorful! It's not really my typical type of outfit project, but it was a lot of fun to make!

Below are both videos, the making of the outfit and her entry video.

Here is a picture of the finished project

Summer 2011 Design Contest Official Rules

2011-04-17T21:03:00.000-07:00

2011 SUMMER DESIGN CONTEST DETAILS:

Hi everyone, here are the official rules and guidelines for our summer 2011 Design Contest. If you have any questions, just post them as a response to this blog post.

Here we go:

No purchase necessary. A purchase will not increase your chances of winning.

Many will enter, only a few will win.

Void where prohibited.

Contest Dates: The Contest starts 4/5/11 and Ends 8/21/11 at Midnight (Pacific).

Announcement Of Winners: The winning designs will be announced on Youtube on May 29th, July 10th, August 21st.

How To Enter: Via Youtube thru the Liberty Jane Clothing Channel.

To enter simply create a video of your design and upload it as a response to our official contest video. Make sure each video entry only has 1 design. So if you want to enter 2 designs, make 2 videos entries.

By entering the contest, you are promising that the Design is your original idea, it can be inspired by another outfit, or similar, but it has to have some unique elements that you have added.

By entering the contest, you are promising that you haven't already entered your design in one of our previous design contests. In other words, DO NOT recycle your old designs that you already entered previously (that didn't win). They won't win.

By entering the contest, you are acknowledging that Liberty Jane Clothing creates unique designs for retail purposes in an ongoing way, and our future design work, and any design name, isn't restricted to exclude anything similar to what you've submitted. In other words, you can't get mad at us if our future designs, (or names of outfits), are similar to an outfit you submit. We do not run these contests to get design ideas. Any similarity between our future work, and your contest entries will be coincidental.

Judging Criteria: This is a skills based contest. Entries will be judged on the following criteria:

1) Overall Presentation - including the outfit, (and the video itself).
2) Scale and proportion of your design - Your design needs to look like it fits an 18 inch doll.
3) Color and symmetry - Design elements and color choices need to be contemporary.
4) Originality - some small element needs to be unique and interesting.

Prizes:

The winning designer gets their outfit made for them for free.

Notification: Winning designers will be notified via email from Liberty Jane Clothing before the formal announcement video is completed, generally a few days before, but it could be last minute, we make no promises, and don't assume anything. After communicating with the winning designers, we will post a video showing the winning designs.

Delivery Of Prizes: Winning designers will need to provide a street address to Liberty Jane Clothing, so we can mail the prize. It does not need to be a home address, it can be a work address for example. Shipping will be paid by Liberty Jane Clothing. There is no expense if you are the winner - it's all really free.

Updates and Ongoing Announcements: Any announcements or updates will be posted as comments on the Liberty Jane Clothing Youtube Channel.

If you have questions, simply post them as a response to this blog post.
The Liberty Jane Team

Sew Expo With Melody Valerie Couture

2011-04-10T21:57:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

Last month we had the chance to spend a day at the 2011 Pacific Northwest Sew Expo with Melinda from super cool Melody Valerie Couture! We had a great time and it was fun to meet up. Here are a few pics, and yes we promised to keep her identity a secret...

LJ Gives Back: 40 Zambian Seamstresses Spring Update

2011-03-30T07:09:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

As you'll recall our Christmas 2010 charitable project was to equip 40 Zambian seamstresses with the tools and training they need to open a successful garment business. We didn't know what would happen when we asked our friends and customers to join us in the effort. Amazingly we crushed our fundraising goal and provided $4,000 to the program.

Since that time the ladies have begun training, machines have been purchased, and the project is underway. Their goal is to sell items at the local "Tourist Market" so that they can support the 475 orphans that live in their community. We've been there. We've met them. They are gracious and kind people.

It's an honor to partner with these 40 special ladies and the children they are serving. Thanks to our special partners Esther Makandawire Director at the Ngombe Needs Care Center, and Lana Lynn Program Officer at Kids For The Kingdom.

Here are some new pics:

Cute Tunics for American Girl Dolls

2011-03-17T09:23:00.000-07:00

We published the Lemieux Doll Boutique Button Down Tunic doll clothes pattern a few months ago. It's a fun style top with some great variations. We love to shop at Justice and have seen several styles similar to this in their store. They even have a sleeveless version perfect for summer! I just came across a bunch of great tunics made by etsy seller CutiePieandMe and thought I'd show you some of the pictures for inspiration. You can click the highlighted name to go to the esty shop.

Here's the AG Doll Clothes Pattern that we have available.

Below are a few cute examples from Cutie Pie and Me.

This is a nice variaton made without the ruffle.

A cute plaid version. This one is available for purchase.

Another great fabric choice!

Pjs Giveaway for your American Girl Doll!

2011-03-14T15:55:00.000-07:00

We made a video showing you how to make some cute pjs for your American Girl Doll and now we're giving away the actual doll sized pajamas used in the video. The giveaway is happening on our doll clothes pattern website. It starts today and goes through the 18th. The winner will be announced on the 19th. To enter and read the details, just click the here.

Here are a few more pictures of the pjs...

Liberty Jane Designs Word Search Puzzle

2011-03-04T09:42:00.000-08:00

Just for fun, here is a Liberty Jane designs word-search puzzle. Can you find them all?

BFC, INK. Doll Harajuku Skirt pattern - sneak peak...

2011-02-19T07:13:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

Here is a sneak peak at an upcoming pattern...

Sneak Peak At Our First Ellowyne Pattern...The Trendy Tank...

2011-02-05T10:37:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

[update: It's live - click here to visit our pattern store and download your free copy]

We thought we'd share a sneak peak at our first Ellowyne Doll pattern - The Liberty Jane Trendy Tank. It will be free of course...we hope to have it done in the next few days...

Let us know what you think...Do you hae an Ellowyne Doll? Have you heard of them before?

10,000 Facebook Fans = a New Free Pattern!!

2011-01-21T18:33:00.000-08:00

Dear everyone, we want to get to 10,000 'likers' (aka fans) for our Liberty Jane Clothing Facebook fanpage. Would you be willing to help us by spreading the word? When we hit that number we'll release a new free pattern (yes this is a bribe). Fun right?!! Okay - GO!!

40 Zambian Seamstresses Update...

2011-01-10T18:49:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

We just wanted to share a quick note that last week we polished off all of the fundraising required to fully fund the 40 Zambian Seamstresses project in Lusaka Zambia. We want to thank the 7 customers and friends that joined us by giving funds directly to Kids 4 The Kingdom, and the countless customers that bought items in December. Together we were able to make this project a reality. Because of your generosity 40 Zambian women are going to get trained to be seamstresses, they're going to get several machines, which they'll use together, and supplies, and they're going to work cooperatively to sell at the local Tourist Market. Their work will directly benefit the 475 orphans in their community by having a portion of all they earn go to a feeding program at the local school. Awesome right?!

In fact - 'shocker' we ended up over-fundraising by $1,000. We crushed it. So in addition to the 40 Zambian seamstresses being trained and equipped, the Needs Care Center in Lusaka is going to be able to accomplish a bonus project. That's the kind of bonus we like!

Thanks again,

Cinnamon & Jason

Fall 2010 Malibu Libby Outfit

2010-12-10T18:03:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

We'll be releasing 3 more Fall Line outfits this Sunday - December 12th - on eBay. One will be Harajuku, one will be Outback, and here's a sneak peak of the next Malibu Libby Outfit...

An Amazing Christmas Gift for just $3.99

2010-12-06T11:07:00.000-08:00

A $3.99 Christmas Present? - YES YOU CAN!!

Are you scrambling to find an amazing Christmas gift for someone who loves American Girl Dolls?

Don't stress! Follow these simple steps to pull off the biggest miracle you've ever seen:

1. Download our Trendy Pattern Guidebooks (digital downloads), and print them out, (it's free).

2. Hunt through your closet for some old 'no-longer-used' clothes. Focus on solid colors, or small print patterns.

3. For the fastest outfit possible, make a Mini Skirt/ T-Shirt Combo outfit. (The t-shirt pattern is free, the mini skirt pattern is just $3.99). The fabric is in your closet. The Mini Skirt will look 'professional' even if you're not a good seamstress, there is simply no way to screw it up. The T-Shirt will look good or bad depending on how well you sew it, but go slow, take your time, and if needed, discard your first attempt. Have faith - you can do this!

4. Focus on packaging! It's all in the presentation right?! Focus on amazing packaging and the gift will sell itself. Here is our best suggestion, use a hard box, like a chocolates box. It will give your gift the feel of a professional 'real' gift.

5. If you have time, repeat this process using a few more patterns, or (even faster) just use a few different types of material and create 3 or 4 mini skirt and T-Shirt combos. 3 or 4 outfits made from different colored fabrics will feel like a TON of clothes. Package them seperately and the 'bulk' of all that packaging, will make it seem like you spent a lot.

6. Say it is a "Liberty Jane" design - They'll probably say, "Awesome, I love Liberty Jane".

I know, the big toy companies have us all programmed to think the only gifts of value have to be high ticket items, shrink wrapped, and made in China, but it just ain't so. You CAN have it all - an original gift, hand made, quickly, that will ROCK your daughter or friends on Christmas.

If you're reading this at 11:00 PM on Christmas Eve, drink a cup of coffee, and focus. You can do it!

Cinnamon

2011 New Years Design Contest Official Rules and Guidelines

2010-12-05T17:58:00.001-08:00

2011 New Years DESIGN CONTEST DETAILS:

Hi everyone, here are the official rules and guidelines for our New Years 2011 Design Contest. If you have any questions, just post them as a response to this blog post.

Here we go:

No purchase necessary. A purchase will not increase your chances of winning.

Many will enter, only a few will win.

Void where prohibited.

Contest Dates: The Contest starts 12/5/10 and Ends 1/23/10 at Midnight (Pacific).

Announcement Of Winners: The winning designs will be announced on Youtube on or before February 6th, 2011.

How To Enter: Via Youtube thru the Liberty Jane Clothing Channel.

To enter simply create a video of your design, and respond to the contest in one of the two ways. You can enter as many unique and original designs as you'd like, but make sure each video entry only has 1 design. So if you want to enter 2 designs, make 2 videos entries.

By entering the contest, you are promising that the Design is your original idea, it can be inspired by another outfit, or similar, but it has to have some unique elements that you have added.

By entering the contest, you are promising that you haven't already entered your design in one of our previous design contests. In other words, DO NOT recycle your old designs that you already entered previously (that didn't win). They won't win.

By entering the contest, you are acknowledging that Liberty Jane Clothing creates unique designs for retail purposes in an ongoing way, and our future design work, and any design name, isn't restricted to exclude anything similar to what you've submitted. In other words, you can't get mad at us if our future designs, (or names of outfits), are similar to an outfit you submit. We do not run these contests to get design ideas. Any similarity between our future work, and your contest entries will be coincidental.

Judging Criteria: This is a skills based contest. Entries will be judged on the following criteria:

1) Overall Presentation - including the outfit, (and the video itself).
2) Scale and proportion of your design - Your design needs to look like it fits an 18 inch doll.
3) Color and symmetry - Design elements and color choices need to be contemporary.
4) Originality - some small element needs to be unique and interesting.

Prizes:

The Grand Prize Winning designer gets their outfit made for them for free, plus a 2011 Girl Of The Year.

2nd place will receive A 2011 Girl Of The Year IF our Youtube Channel has 3,500 subscribers by midnight pacific on January 23rd. So tell your friends.

The Top 50 entries playlist will be shared on our Youtube Channel.

Notification: Winning designers will be notified via email from Liberty Jane Clothing before the formal announcement video is completed, generally a few days before, but it could be last minute, we make no promises, and don't assume anything. After communicating with the winning designers, we will post a video showing the winning designs.

Delivery Of Prizes: Winning designers will need to provide a street address to Liberty Jane Clothing, so we can mail the prize. It does not need to be a home address, it can be a work address for example. Shipping will be paid by Liberty Jane Clothing. There is no expense if you are the winner - it's all really free.

Updates and Ongoing Announcements: Any announcements or updates will be posted as comments on the Liberty Jane Clothing Youtube Channel.

If you have questions, simply post them as a response to this blog post.
The Liberty Jane Team

Karito Kids Doll - Jeans Project

2010-12-03T20:32:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone, I thought I'd share a few more pics from the Kario Kids Jeans project. This was fun and it will be exciting to see if people decide to use the pattern. We're hopeful, but we realize it's a much smaller community than the AG community. Let us know what you think.

2010 Falloween Contest Winning Design

2010-11-28T20:39:00.000-08:00

Black Friday Sale - Thanks Everyone!

2010-11-26T23:16:00.000-08:00

Wow, our Black Friday sale started for us at 9pm Pacific last night, and it's been a wild time. We had sales start immediately and go throughout the night. Everything is pretty much gone now. That's amazing.

We are incredibly grateful for everyone that showed up and bought something. As you guys know our goal is to fully fund a special project in Zambia with our Fall Line efforts - and this Boot & Shoe sale was a big part of that effort.

We cannot thank you all enough - together we are doing something special in support of a truly wonderful program.

Cinnamon

Esther's Needs Care Center Video

2010-11-25T12:48:00.000-08:00

Here's a slideshow of our Special Fall Project partner. Read about it on our website

Liberty Jane Patterns For Karito Kid Dolls

2010-11-20T15:19:00.000-08:00

Super secret project...

We are happy to announce that Liberty Jane has partnered up with the great folks at Maiden Flight Clothing to begin publishing Karito Kid sized patterns. They will be published on http://www.libertyjanepatterns.com/ We'll start with our basics - Trendy Tank, Trendy Tee, Strappy Tank, Jeans, and a few others. Of course some will be free, as usual, so customers can try out our patterns and decide if they like them. Then we'll continue to expand the catalog to include more favorites from our AG sized outfits if we find a following. The first few patterns should come out in the next week or so. Here's a sneak peak...

Why Karito Kids? We've admired the mission, purpose and appearance of Karito Kids for a few years now. We've always thought it would be fun to begin to design for more dolls, and this seemed like a good first step. We're excited to support their collector community and see them grow as a company.

Why are we moving into something outside of the American Girl eco-system? As you might recall from my 'about me' page, I started designing for 17 inch Kimberly Dolls when I was 8, so it feels pretty natural to start working with different dolls. We'll see how it goes. If it goes well, we'll probably expand into more doll categories in the near future.

Why Maiden Flight Clothing? This is a fun example of a visionary designer, (Nancy), creating a cool brand, finding an interesting niche, and launching something new and exciting. When we brainstormed together about Karito Kids, we realized the enthusiasm and interest was a perfect match. We're excited to see if this project finds a market.

Tell us what you think...

Mod Doll Mag for American Girl Dolls - Tutorial

2010-11-17T08:17:00.000-08:00

Here's the Tutorial video on how to out the pages together for the newest issue of Mod Doll Magazine, a mini magazine for your American Girl Dolls. The pages to print out are in the previous post.

Mod Doll Magazine for American Girl Dolls

2010-11-17T08:04:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! Here's the second issue of Mod Doll Magazine. Just click the images and print them out full size (8.5 x 11) on plain white paper. The instructions are on the pages and you can watch the YouTube video to see Libby put it together.

40 Zambian Seamstresses - LJ Gives Back

2010-11-06T00:20:00.000-07:00

Liberty Jane Gives Back Special Project: Equipping 40 widows in Lusaka Zambia to become seamstresses.

Hi everyone,

Our special project for the Fall of 2010 is to equip 40 widows, (and single ladies), through Esther's Needs Care Center in Lusaka Zambia. They'll get sewing supplies and training so they can generate income for themselves, and for the support of 475 orphaned children in their community. Your support of Liberty Jane is making this possible.

Esther Explaining The program.

Esther Makandawire is the Program Director. Her and her team have identified the participants, and all they're waiting for is the funding to make this amazing effort a reality. They've even done market research, identified items that will fetch top dollar, and found a wonderful selling location, (the Saturday Market in Lusaka where all the tourists go).

The amazing part is that these 40 ladies aren't just starting a business for their own benefit, or for the benefit of their family alone. They are doing it to support the orphans at Esther's Needs Care Center. Imagine that! 40 Widows, joining together to care for 475 orphans, and we get to help.

Can you imagine having 40 widows trained and equipped to start their sewing efforts, going to the local market on a mission to make money to support the orphans in their community? That is going to be amazing. We've got to be a part of that story!

To help achieve this terrific goal we are going to dedicate the profits from our Fall Line to this special project. In 2009 Jason (Cinnamon's husband, Libby's dad, and co-founder of Liberty Jane) had the honor of visiting the Needs Care Center, meeting Esther and the staff, and the children. This is a special place, and we are honored to be able to support them.

Would you like to participate in this exciting project?

First, you can bid on one of the auctions at our EBay Store.

Or just buy some patterns at Liberty Jane Patterns, that will help!

Or, simply visit Kids For The Kingdom now: (the paypal donate button is on the bottom of the front page) http://www.kidsforthekingdom.org/K4K/Welcome.html. In your paypal note simply include the word "Zambia Sewing Project". That's all you need to do.

And as a special incentive, if you give a gift, (of any amount), we'll give you a free coupon for 2 free patterns from Liberty Jane Patterns. Visit the Kids For The Kingdom website today and join with us on this exciting project.

*(Note, Please allow some time for us to coordinate with Kids 4 The Kingdom, verify you gave, and send you the coupon. Your coupon will arrive via email. And don't forget to place a memo saying "Zambia Sewing" in the paypal checkout process. That's our only way of identifying your participation in this special project).

Together we can make a huge difference in the lives of these amazing ladies. We can do it. We don't have to throw our hands up in the air and ignore the issue. There are 53 million orphans in Africa due to all causes, and that's overwhelming. But 40 Zambian seamstresses are waiting to make a difference for 475 kids. They have the ability, and motivation, and just need the training and tools. Let's help them make this a reality.

Jason & Cinnamon Miles

& The Liberty Jane Team!

Free Patterns For Newsletter Subscribers...

2010-10-21T20:15:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

This week we've had a challenge with our download service, bummer! It has prevented some of you from getting your courses for the Design Academy, and/or free patterns when you signed up for our Newsletter, (the Strappy Tank Top and Polo Shirt).

We're really sorry, we hate making a bad first impression and we're bummed some of you might have been frustrated by this first negative experience.

So, we've fixed this problem, (which is cool).

If you signed up for the newsletter but didn't get the free patterns, let us know, and we'll send you the links. Simply send me an email directly at cinnamon@libertyjaneclothing.com

Thanks everyone for your continuing support of Liberty Jane Clothing!

Cinnamon

AG Falloween Design Contest Announcement by Liberty Jane

2010-10-03T09:05:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Our Fall Contest is Open!!!

FALL 2010 Contest Rules And Details

2010-10-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

FALL 2010 DESIGN CONTEST DETAILS:

Hi everyone, here are the official rules and guidelines for our FALLOWEEN 2010 Design Contest. If you have any questions, just post them as a response to this blog post.

Here we go:

No purchase necessary. A purchase will not increase your chances of winning.

Many will enter, only a few will win.

Void where prohibited.

Contest Dates: The Contest starts 10/3/10 and Ends 10/31/10 at Midnight (Pacific).

Announcement Of Winners: The winning designs will be announced on Youtube on or before November 14, 2010.

How To Enter: You can enter in 2 ways.

One: Via Youtube thru the Liberty Jane Clothing Channel.
Two: Via Facebook at the Liberty Jane Clothing Fanpage.

To enter simply create a video of your design, and respond to the Contest in one of the two ways. You can enter as many unique and original designs as you'd like, but make sure each video entry only has 1 design. So if you want to enter 2 designs, make 2 videos entries.

By entering the contest, you are promising that the Design is your original idea, it can be inspired by another outfit, or similar, but it has to have some unique elements that you have added.

By entering the contest, you are promising that you haven't already entered your design in one of our previous design contests. In other words, don't recycle designs that you already entered previously (that didn't win).

By entering the contest, you are acknowledging that Liberty Jane Clothing creates unique designs for retail purposes in an ongoing way, and our future design work isn't restricted to exclude anything similar to what you've submitted. In other words, you can't get mad at us if our future designs, (or names of outfits), are similar to an outfit you submit. We do not run these contests to get design ideas. Any similarity between our future work, and your contest entries will be coincidental.

Judging Criteria: This is a skills based contest. Entries will be judged on the following criteria:

1) Overall Presentation - including the outfit, (and the video itself).
2) Scale and proportion of your design - Your design needs to look like it fits an 18 inch doll.
3) Color and symmetry - Design elements and color choices need to be contemporary.
4) Originality - some small element needs to be unique and interesting.

Prizes:

The Grand Prize Winning designer gets their outfit made for them for free.

2nd place will receive 3 free patterns from Liberty Jane patterns.

3rd place will recieve a pair of shoes from liberty jane patterns.

Notification: Winning designers will be notified via email from Liberty Jane Clothing before the formal announcement video is completed, generally a few days before, but it could be last minute, we make no promises, and don't assume anything. After communicating with the winning designers, we will post a video showing the winning designs.

Delivery Of Prizes: Winning designers will need to provide a street address to Liberty Jane Clothing, so we can mail the prize. It does not need to be a home address, it can be a work address for example. Shipping will be paid by Liberty Jane Clothing. There is no expense if you are the winner - it's all really free.

Updates and Ongoing Announcements: Any announcements or updates will be posted as comments on the Liberty Jane Clothing Youtube Channel.

If you have questions, simply post them as a response to this blog post.
The Liberty Jane Team

Winning design LJC 2010 Summer Contest

2010-09-20T17:31:00.000-07:00

What a great design contest we had this past summer! There were so many amazing entries! Thanks to everyone who participated. The winner of the contest was Ali @ Girl of the Year Studios, Congrats! We saw this design and instantly loved it, simple yet stunning. It was fun to shop for the fabric and put the outfit together. I used the Trendy T Pattern, the Tank Top Pattern, and the Mini Skirt Pattern with just slight variations on the necklines. Just an FYI, in case you want to try to make an outfit like this for your American Girl Doll!

Mod Doll Mag for American Girl Dolls

2010-08-23T15:58:00.000-07:00

Here's a fun craft project that we saw on KITTZYKK's youtube channel and it inspired Libby to make one of her own! It's a super cute mini magazine for your American Girl doll. Just click the link to see the Stardoll Magazine.

Libby's mini mag is called Mod Doll. To make this magazine, just click the images below. They will open on a white page, then right click the image and select print. The instructions to cut them out and glue the pages together back to back and then staple together, are on the pages. You can watch our YouTube video to see Libby talking about it. The images below should print as a full size 8.5 by 11 piece of paper. Libby wants to make more issues, but we need your feedback to be sure that it works properly. You should be able to read all the content, if you can't, please let us know!

Sarah Here! Now mobile and blogging!

2010-08-20T00:16:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone Sarah here and I am posting to you all from my iPhone! I finally figured out how to post from my phone so that when I'm on the run I can still post short blogs on here! :) (which means you'll be hearing from me more often lol)

Ok let's get you guys an update! As many of you know I am currently fixing up Liberty Janes Josefina doll for them. I got her in the mail last week along with some AWESOME Liberty Jane clothes and a GORGEOUS pm Molly :)

Well I am happy to report that miss Josefina is looking BEAUTIFUL!!! she is currently undergoing some intense dye transfer stain removal which is why she is taking so long to finish :) I'm not sure how to post pictures from my phone but you will be seeing the finished product soon!

And now for some American Girl news! The American Girl store at the Oak Park mall in Kansas is officially opening Saturday September 4th! I am super excited! Have any of you been to a grand opening before? If so what was it like? Did you have fun? Is anyone reading this going to the grand opening of the new store? If so I'll be there!!!! :) well that's all for now!

<3 Sarah

One Day Giveaway and New Logo T's for American Girl Dolls

2010-08-11T09:26:00.000-07:00

We've got our Wednesday ONE DAY GIVEAWAY going on now on FaceBook and you can win one of these super cute Liberty Jane Clothing logo T's!

Also, just a reminder that there are just a few days left to enter in our 2010 Summer Design Contest . There are currently 575 entries on You Tube and lots on FB. The deadline for entering is 8-15 at midnight pacific.

How to Make Iron-ons for your American Girl Doll

2010-08-09T09:06:00.000-07:00

Here's a short video showing you how to make your own iron-on's for WHITE T-SHIRT's. You can buy Iron-on Transfer Paper online or at any office supply store. Have fun! Be creative, the possibilities are endless! Share your projects with us on Facebook.

Sarah Here! More beautiful dolls in Liberty Jane Fashion!

2010-08-06T20:20:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Sarah here :) I have some new pictures to show you all of more dolls in Liberty Jane fashions! This picture is JLY #39 Alice and she is wearing the Copy cat tank with the gathered sleeve top underneath the black flounce skirt. Her owner is Gabrielle. Great job Gabrielle! You did a great job pairing the tank and skirt but putting the shirt over it so it didn't look like too much black and clash. Keep up the great work! The photography is great too! :)

The next photo is of JLY #25. She is wearing a tank top that her owner Laura made using the Liberty Jane tank top pattern. She paired it with the skirt from the Sweet Melody outfit from American Girl. Great job Laura! I especially like the shoes from Emily's meet outfit that you paired with the outfit :)

Keep up the great work ladies! Your dolls look beautiful :) If YOU have a picture of your doll in Liberty Jane clothing send your pictures to asksarahswd@hotmail.com for a chance to have them featured by me on the Liberty Jane Clothing Blog!

<3 Sarah

Sarah Here! My Liberty Jane Package arrived!

2010-08-05T17:39:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!! My package from Liberty Jane arrived today! I was waiting on their Josefina doll that I am fixing up plus an outfit in exchange plus some extra's!! I got the Getty Villa Stroll outfit and it is gorgeous!!! Here are some pictures of it!

I also got some shoes and other cute stuff as well! (Here's a few more pics)

Everything is sooooooooo awesome! I am blown away by how amazing and detailed the outfit is. It is so cute and is probably NEVER coming off of Skylar again! (unless one of my other dolls steals it for more photo shoots) ;) Well I'm off to go take more pictures!

<3 Sarah

Sarah Here! A few Awesome Liberty Jane Clothing pictures from readers!

2010-07-30T18:01:00.000-07:00

Hey chickies! (and you few fellas out there) How are you all doing this Friday? I'm doing great because my birthday is in about a month!! Today I have some awesome pictures to show you all of Candace's dolls in her Liberty Jane Clothing designs! Candace emailed me and told me that she has been sewing the Liberty Jane and Doll Duds patterns for months now and she has made some pretty awesome stuff for them so far! But she says her most accomplished outfit she has made so far is her girl scouts outfit she made using a combination of the Liberty Jane T-shirt pattern, the jeans pattern, the polo shirt pattern, and the mini skirt pattern! Check out her pics!

And her is her online album of more pictures (plus some AMAZING pictures of her dolls in Liberty Jane clothing she has purchased from LJ :)
http://picasaweb.google.com/nevadagrl435 She even creates her own patterns based on other patterns she has seen or used before. How awesome is that?!?! Keep up the great work Candace!

Do you have any awesome pictures of YOUR dolls in clothing you have made for them using the Liberty Jane patterns? If you do send them to me at asksarahswd@hotmail.com for a chance to have them featured on this blog in one of my posts! Have a great weekend everyone!

<3 Sarah

Sarah here! Follow up with American Girl's InnerstarU plus some Ask Sarah questions answered!

2010-07-28T19:28:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Its Sarah here :) I just got done reading everyone's comments about InnerstarU. And you all have some great opinions and points. It seems the focus has been taken away from the Historicals which are the dolls that almost everyone I talk to that is older remembers from way back when. And when I tell them that Sam and Kirsten are retired and they might be retiring Molly this year they are so upset!

Anyways enough of that complaining stuff! I have some Ask Sarah questions to answer!! Our first one comes from a girl named Sarah. She wants to get another doll for her birthday but she is not sure which one she wants. So far she has Kit, Samantha, JLY 23, Kirsten, Molly, Mia, Chrissa, JLY Light skin, blues eyes, brown hair with bangs, and JLY 39. She wants either Lanie or JLY 25 (my Hayden doll). She wants #25 because she has wanted her for a long time and she thinks she is really pretty...and she wants Lanie because of her curly hair and she doesnt have a doll with super curly hair yet. My advice is that she should get Lanie because #25 will be around for a long time, and Lanie is GORGEOUS! Definitely one of my favorite GOTY dolls and I have high standards ;) What do you all think? Comment if you have an opinion so she can read others besides just mine :)

The next question if from Cami who is 15 years old. She has Kirsten and Samantha and she wants either Julie, Rebecca, or JLY #38. I think you should get Julie...obviously haha she is ony of my favorites and I LOVE playing with her hair. And if you like playing with hair then you need one better than Kirsten and Sam to do the hair on. Because Julie doesn't have bangs it makes her hair way more versatile and you are able to do WAY more hairstyles with her versus the girls with bangs. Any other opinions? Comment below if so :)

Ok last one for now! The last question for today is from Elise. Elise decided to straighten her Ruthies hair. Then she decided she wanted the curls back so she used the boiling water method and left the curlers in to dry for a month while she was gone...then they were SUPER curly (been there done that lol) so she decided to straighten it again and now its even worse and more frizzy...so sorry about your luck Elise! There is nothing more frustrating than messing up a dolls hair (in my experimental days I did this quite a few times) Try to do a downy dunk on her, try steaming her hair with a plastic clothes steamer, Turro brand is my favorite and you can find them on ebay. If all else fails you might be happier if you go ahead and send her in for a new head :( Unfortunately once the dolls hair becomes that curly there is not much you can do to help it (I learned this the hard way with my Grandma's doll) Well good luck and let us know how things work out for you!!

Ok girlies keep being awesome! And remember you can email questions or pictures of your doll in Liberty Jane clothing to me for a chance to have your question answered or your picture posted on the Liberty Jane Clothing blog by me!!

<3 Sarah

Fabric Idea from Old Navy, $2 Camis, it doesn't get any easier than this!

2010-07-28T12:42:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

Let's talk fabric! If you're having a hard time finding trendy fabric at the fabric store, why not consider this... Old Navy, from tomorrow through Saturday, (July 29 to 31). They're selling their Camis for just $2. If you're wondering how to get nice fabric for making doll clothes, look no further!

Matching Daughter and Doll Outfits! In fact, you could buy a small Cami for your daughter, ($2), and then buy a large Cami (another $2), of the same color and chop it up and use my free Spaghetti Strap Tank pattern to make her AG Doll a matching top!

Just Make A Lot Of Doll Clothes! A large Old Navy Cami can probably make 4 AG sized tops using my Cami pattern, (if you carefully cut it up). This is great material, and of course you can use it with the Trendy T-Shirt pattern, the Trendy Tank pattern, Leggings, or the California Cami pattern.

Here is a link to the Coupon.

And thanks Erica at eeendeavors.com!

Enjoy!

Cinnamon

American Girl's InnerstarU and Ask Sarah!

2010-07-24T13:18:00.001-07:00

Hey lovely readers! Sarah here :) And I just wanted to blog about the new InnerstarU that American Girl has introduced. And I would like to hear your thoughts on it as well. In my opinion...I like the idea of AG wanting young girls to be more involved with their dolls...and I understand that technology is at the fingertips of girls so I am happy to see them making an attempt to keep girls interested in American Girl by making them somewhat technology based now...

But on the other hand I feel as though we should be encouraging the 8 to 12 year old age group of girls to get out side and play, be active, and use their imagination by playing with their dolls...not so much sitting their doll in their lap while they play games with the avatar version of their doll...I don't dislike it by any means...I just wouldn't have picked it if it were up to me.

That being said I would love to hear what you all think about it. Do you like it for those of you who have tried it? If you feel the same way as I do do you have any other thoughts? And if you wanna put your age range in the comment that would be cool just to see the opinions and how they vary based on the ages of everyone. But you DEFINITELY don't have to especially if you are young. Remember that safety online is always the most important thing :)

Ok a little bit more! (If you don't know me I like to talk a lot so when translated into a blog I end up typing even more) ;) Liberty Jane Clothing and I have set up a place where YOU can send your questions you have for me! But before I tell you the address please read what the questions should be about...

Subjects that are O.K. to ask Sarah...
1) Anything related to Liberty Jane clothing
2) Anything related to other American Girl clothing
3) How I would rate a certain AG brand outfit (provided that I own the outfit)
4) Advice related to the care and keeping of your dolls
5) You can ask which doll I recommend getting only if you provide a short story of the dolls you already have, a list of the dolls you are considering, and why you want the ones your considering :)

Subjects that are not O.K. to ask Sarah...
1) Questions related to me and only me
2) When I will make another video
3) What video I am making next...etc. :)

Ok thats about it!! Here is the email address you can send them to...
AskSarahSWD@hotmail.com! You can also send pictures of your dolls in Liberty Jane clothing to me as well for a chance to have them featured on this blog!

Well thats all for now! Kudos to those of you who actually read all my rambling ;)

Sarah

Patterns anyone?

2010-07-23T20:48:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Sarah here :) I just wanted to take a second to thank Cinnamon for posting the video of the show I did on Iantique.com :) I hope everyone who has seen them enjoyed them as much as I did making them :) My boss is really funny lol.

Anyways on to today's topic! I am curious to know how many of you have downloaded the awesome patterns that Liberty Jane has available? Do you like them if you have? And if you havent...what are you waiting for?!?! Lol jk but they are really awesome and super easy to follow and understand. My favorite pattern of the ones I have so far are the destroyed jeans. What are your favorites? I also like the pleated skirt, the mini skirt, the t-shirt, and making the jeans into shorts :)

Well I wanted to post some pictures of my girls in the stuff I have made out of the patterns but my internet is not letting me at the moment :( So if you all would like to send me some pictures of your dolls in the Liberty Jane patterns I'll be sure to post them in an upcoming post :) You can send a few of your favorite pictures of your dolls in LJC to asksarahSWD@hotmail.com

***EDIT!! If you read this last night or earlier today my email is changed!! Instead of the domain being @libertyjaneclothing.com it is @hotmail.com. Please keep in mind that the email is for business only so please treat it that way :) Thanks!!!

Well thats all for now! Please comment and let me know what YOUR favorite pattern is!

Sarah

Sarah's First Post!

2010-07-19T18:58:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone its Sarah here! Lets get the blogging under way! I just want to say again how thrilled and honored I am to be a part of the Liberty Jane team :)

First off I want to start by doing a shout out to an awesome blogger who knows how to mix and match her Liberty Jane pieces and create a great style for her AG doll!
http://rosesareread12.blogspot.com/2010/05/rebeccas-first-photo-shoot.html
That is the link to the *Roses are Read* blog. And I'm probably not the first to say how adorable Rebecca looks in the outfit her owner put her in. She paired the LJ tank top with a super cute mini jean skirt, the jacket from Rebecca's school outfit, and the black boots from Samantha's collection. She did a great job mixing and matching what do you all think? I might have to get myself one of those tank tops for my Rebecca (Rory)!

A little exciting news before I go! Tomorrow (Tuesday July 20th) I will be hosting a live video chat on http://www.iantique.com/live/
It will be at 3pm Central and I'll be doing one Wednesday July 21st at 12pm Central. Tuesday it will be all about American Girl dolls and the history of them, a little about me, and other questions anyone might have. And Wednesday it will be me doing a tutorial on fixing up a Kaya doll. I'll be restringing her, fixing her hair, and cleaning her skin so check it out if you have time! And if you miss it you can click on the link and check it out after because it will be recorded! :)

Well thats all for now!! Until next time Liberty Jane fans!!

<3 Sarah

Variations to Outback Libby Faraway Downs Pattern

2010-07-18T16:07:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, I am going to be working on publishing this pattern in the next week or two. Here is a question - I'll be making a few more examples for the guidebook, so what colors and or variations would you like to see? Sleeveless maybe?Black? Comment and let me know what you think. I'll include what I can.

Cinnamon

Shine On Now, Sarah, and a one-day give away

2010-07-07T21:13:00.000-07:00

Exciting News - Sarah aka Stephenswodadancer joins the Liberty Jane Team

2010-07-07T14:57:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone,

Wow, do we have big news!

We are really thrilled to announce that Sarah aka Youtube's Stephenswodadancer is joining the Liberty Jane team as the Director of Social Media.

If you're not familiar with Sarah, then you've been missing out. Sarah is Youtube's most prominent American Girl aficionado. She's an avid AG doll collector, as well as a true expert on the dolls, accessories, and related issues. She's well known for her fun videos, and her loyal and dedicated fans.

Sarah will be both blogging, (on libertyjanepatterns.com and libertyjaneclothing.blogspot.com), and making fun videos that entertain, engage, and educate.

We are really honored to have her join the team, and we're sure that together we are going to make things both fun and educational for girls and collectors alike.

Cinnamon

One Day Give Away, July 6th 2010

2010-07-06T18:06:00.000-07:00

20% off $20, One Week Sale @libertyjanepatterns...

2010-06-27T12:12:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

The 4th of July is a big deal for us at Liberty Jane, because we're all about American Girls, and Americana! So we're going to put on our own version of a Fireworks Show, (in our shopping cart), at www.libertyjanepatterns.com.

Here's the deal: From June 27th thru July 4th, we're offering:

20% off any order of $20 or more

Note: This only applies to www.libertyjanepatterns.com, not libertyjaneclothing.com.The discount will be applied automatically so there is no discount code required. Please allow 7-10 days shipping time on boot and shoe orders as the extra volume might require a bit more time.

This is a great opportunity to get the boots and shoes you've been wanting!

Enjoy your 4th of July Holiday week,

Cinnamon

Tee Shirts Variation...

2010-06-21T19:27:00.000-07:00

Lots of people are asking about the outfit we used to model the Trendy Tee Shirt Variations Pack Pattern...Fun right?!

The top is made from the Tee Shirt Pattern (of course!). The shorts are made from our Cutt-Off Shorts Pattern, then distressed using our usual technique.

The belt is custom made...The little Silver Flats are available on our site too.

It's really not very hard to make!

Enjoy,

Cinnamon

Memorial Day Free Gift - A New AG Doll Clothes Pattern...

2010-05-29T13:13:00.000-07:00

Yeah for Doll Duds, her fun new FREE 18 inch doll clothes pattern is really cute. Download it now. Enjoy!!

Youtube/Facebook Design Contest time...

2010-05-26T06:23:00.000-07:00

Hi LJC Blog Readers...we thought we'd give you some insider info and ask for your advice! After a nice break from Youtube video making, we're gearing up to launch the summer design contest. We are settling on the dates, and prizes, and will probably try to have the video shot and posted within the next week. There won't be any theme, we never do themes, (do we?), but people seem concerned about that.

Anyway, the contest should be a fun summer time activity for a lot of girls and we're really excited to see how it goes. We will probably do a Youtube and a Facebook version again. That seemed to work well.

We've pondered the idea of doing an over 18/adults category, and we're thinking the best way to do it is probably to run it all inside of one of the boards, (AGPT or AGFans). If you're reading this and you're a mod, and like the idea, send us an email at cinnamon@libertyjaneclothing.com.

Finally, we are trying to figure out what type of prize to do. The most popular contest (in terms of responses) was when we gave away Lanie last winter. Should we do that again as part of the grand prize? Lanie plus your outfit? If we do, we probably will have smaller/lesser 2nd and 3rd place prizes.

Let us know what you think about all this stuff - leave a comment if you have some ideas!

Cinnamon

Micah Caitlin and Heritage Doll Fashions to begin publishing on Liberty Jane Patterns

2010-05-14T16:21:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

We are thrilled to announce that designer Micah Caitlin has joined us in our mission to offer exceptional patterns for 18 inch dolls on http://www.libertyjanepatterns.com/.

This new partnership is incredibly exciting for us, since it means that customers are going to be given more options and styles to chose from.

Micah is the creator of the Heritage Doll Fashions brand, and the author of the Heritage Clothesline blog. She is well known for her amazing doll clothes designs, and absolutely exceptional photography.

Her first pattern will be available later today on http://www.libertyjanepatterns.com/. It's a cute Wrap Top dress and we'd love to have you give it a try!

Here is a little about Micah, in her words:

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Hi everyone, here's a little bit about me...

Ever since I can remember, I have loved American Girl dolls. Before I had my own, I would flip through the catalogs again and again and plan out my future collection. On my 8th birthday, I received Samantha and it took off from there!

Another thing I distinctly remember, was watching my older sister sew. It was always fascinating for me to see what she would create and I wanted to do the same thing. When I was twelve, a good friend of my mother’s noticed that I was interested in sewing and every Thursday afternoon for years we got together and I learned how to sew. I credit so much of what I do today to those lessons.

Sewing for American Girl dolls has been the perfect combination of many of my interests. It has allowed me to grow creatively in so many ways. I am always looking into new ways to expand my skills and I am very excited to be part of this new venture from Liberty Jane!

Thank you for reading this, buying my patterns, and supporting my new brand - Heritage Doll Fashions!

Micah

New How-To Videos for our patterns...

2010-05-13T13:59:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

I'm excited to announce that we are going to launch a new service this week. I hope you'll like it, but truthfully, it's sort of an experiment, so we need your input and feedback. Like with the launch of our patterns business, it might take some time to get it running smoothly, but we are confident that it can add real value and fun to your sewing experience.

We will begin doing How-To videos for each of our patterns. We had planned to charge for these videos until today, and just decided it's much easier to just make them available for free - via Youtube - so the first video will be on youtube today and features the Harajuku Station Skirt.

We will also have the videos available on the www.libertyjanepattern.com site, so you can buy the pattern, then watch the videos all in one convenient location.

Thanks again for supporting Liberty Jane Clothing!

Cinnamon Miles

Outback Libby: Faraway Downs

2010-05-02T17:21:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

I thought I'd share a little more information on our new International Collection piece - Outback Libby - Faraway Downs. This outfit is inspired by a fun dress I saw in Love Culture:

The material is a textered cotton, with fun little buttons, cute white socks, and hiking style boots. The title for the dress and related details are inspired by Nicole Kidman, (doesn't Mia look like her?), from Australia. Faraway Downs is her Cattle Ranch in the film.

10 Year Old Designer

2010-05-02T13:15:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone, this is fun to watch. Could you be the next star designer?

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Latest International Collection Outfit: Malibu Libby Posh N Paws

2010-04-26T17:46:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, I thought I'd share a little bit more about our latest Spring Line Outfit - Posh N Paws. It's up for sale right now in our Ebay Store. If you haven't seen it yet, here are some pictures.

This outfit was fun to design. The puppy purse was inspired by girls like Paris Hilton or Elle Woods, (Reese Witherspoon), from Legally Blonde. The top was similar to one I did in 2008, (picture below). The shoes are fun Black & White Check Converse.

I love the top because it breaks a rule. A lot of AG doll clothing covers the dolls top completely, I guess because the fabric doesn't look like skin? So making something that looks good and breaks that tradition was fun.

Here are the pics:

Summer 2008 top

Posh N Paws:

2 Insider secrets - Next Pattern preview - Next Spring Line Outfit preview...

2010-04-15T09:25:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

I thought I'd share a little bit about what I'm working on for my next projects...

First, the next 2010 Spring Line "International Collection" outfit is a return to Tokyo, with a Lolita inspired Harajuku outfit. It will launch on our ebay store either tonight or tomorrow.

So how do you make a Harajuku Lolita outfit for an 18 inch American Girl doll? (well, it's a little complicated, but basically)... I was wondering to myself, what could I use as inspiration to create a Victorian era, (Or Georgian era), outfit? What could inspire me with a waaay retro feel, that I could make trendy, (because you know I have to make it trendy). Then it dawned on me...Felicity's Pretty Clothes Pattern! The original Pleasant Company pattern guidebook, (which we have a link to in our pattern store), is a 60+ page, difficult to navigate, book. I'm pulling out a couple things as inspiration, and remaking them substantially, so they are completely my own, and well, we'll see how it comes out.

It's a Felicity inspired Harajuku Lolita outfit...I'm still working on the name, let me know if you have any suggestions.

Second Sneak Peek...My next pattern guidebook will be for the cute Jean Cut-Off's, as seen in the Getty Villa Stroll outfit. It will probably be released by the weekend.

Ready For A Free American Girl Doll Clothes Pattern? Spaghetti Tank!

2010-04-10T19:07:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

Our Spaghetti Strap Tank Top Pattern Guidebook has only been available as a bonus in the Summer In Paris Top Guidebook. (But the cover art is not included). So if you already bought the Summer In Paris Guidebook, you've gotten this free bonus.

Want it for free? ...

But if you haven't purchases Summer In Paris, or if you want it as a stand-alone pattern Guidebook with the cover art, you can get it by joining our mailing list. The "Join Our Mailing List" box is on our homepage, and our blog (on the right hand side).

Here are the details of how we are giving it away... Sometime between April 11th and 17th we will send out our newsletter which includes instruction for downloading the Guidebook. We will keep this 'info' in our newsletter for the next few months, so in case you miss one newsletter, you'll still get the download instructions.

Reading This After April? No worries, Just sign-up for our mailing list, and you'll receive a 'welcome email' from us. It will include the instructions for downloading the Spaghetti Strap Tank Guidebook.

Changes To Our Pattern Site...

2010-04-09T12:12:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, for the next 12 hours we will be doing serious changes to our pattern site. We apologize for any inconvenience. We will be back at 100% soon.

Thanks for your support of Liberty Jane Clothing!

Exciting News: Doll Duds Patterns Now available at libertyjanepatterns.com

2010-04-05T16:24:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

We have exciting news to share!! We are thrilled to announce that Caroline Otto has joined us in our mission to offer exceptional patterns for 18 inch dolls. She will begin publishing her patterns with us on http://www.libertyjanepatterns.com/. Caroline is the creator of the Dollduds brand. If you're not familiar with her work, prepare to be impressed. She has wowed her fans with her original designs and classic styles. The first few patterns being published will feature designs she created for the 2009 Project Doll Runway contest, which she won. Her first pattern will go on sale today at http://www.libertyjanepatterns.com/ You need to buy it!

Here is a little about Caroline, in her words:

What an honor! I have been a huge Liberty Jane fan as long as I have loved American Girl. I discovered both nearly two years ago when I bought a Bitty Twin for my niece. I planned on selling the other twin until the dolls arrived and I saw them in person. I fell head-over-heels and I've never looked back.

This new hobby took on a whole new dimension when I discovered the superb designs available from the handful of elite entrepreneurial seamstresses online, which, of course, includes Liberty Jane. Greatly inspired, I started designing and sewing for my own collection, which now included an 18 inch AG doll. Instant obsession! My husband and two middle-school-aged boys were wonderfully supportive (another happy surprise) and my friends kept telling me I was really good at this. I kept going and what a joy it has been!

I have loved sewing clothing since I was child. Moving to a smaller scale has been a delight, although I return to regular sized fashions when I volunteer in the costume department at a local university. Photography is another great love of mine and I really enjoy technical (procedural) writing. So creating patterns is the perfect job for me.

My favorite thing about AG dolls is the creativity they bring out in those who love them. Liberty Jane has hugely amplified this for many of us through Cinnamon's outstanding designs, the wonderful contests, and the coolest patterns ever! The AG world would not be complete without Liberty Jane Clothing.

Thank you Liberty Jane!
Time to get back to work on pattern #2! This is so fun. I hope my patterns will be as fun to use as they have been to make. Enjoy, and keep creating!

Sincerely,

Caroline

A Fun Baseball Tee Pattern Guidebook!!

2010-03-31T17:16:00.000-07:00

http://www.libertyjanepatterns.com/2010/03/american-girl-doll-clothes-baseball-tee.html

Malibu Libby - Getty Villa Stroll - Liberty Jane outfit for American Girl Dolls

2010-03-26T06:42:00.001-07:00

Another fun Spring Line outfit!!

Harajuku Station Outfit for American Girl Dolls

2010-03-19T16:50:00.001-07:00

The first outfit in our 2010 Spring Line - The International Collection. Tokyo Libby - Harajuku is the street fashion of Tokyo's Harajuku station area. A Japanese twist on American Punk Rock, the style features dress up and fun girlie styles. Here's Liberty Jane's translation of this fun style into the 18 inch doll market.

New Pattern For Your American Girl Doll, the Cropped Jacket...

2010-03-07T13:31:00.000-08:00

Cropped Jacket Pattern...

Hi everyone,

In case you're not tracking our new patterns on http://www.libertyjanepatterns.com/, we wanted to make sure you saw this one. You can also make it without the grommets!!

http://www.libertyjanepatterns.com/2010/03/cropped-jacket-guidebook.html

LJ Gives Back

2010-03-04T22:23:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

We just updated http://www.libertyjaneclothing.com/ with a new section called LJ Gives Back. It's a set of slideshows featuring the charities we support as a company. We hope you enjoy seeing the pics. Check it out!

sneak peak at the Grommet Jacket Pattern Cover Art

2010-02-27T20:48:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone, we are finalizing the Grommet Jacket Pattern Guidebook. Here is a sneak peak at the cover art.

Summer In Paris Pattern Guidebook Details...

2010-02-06T19:45:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

We just published our Summer In Paris Top Guidebook. And as a free gift we've included the Strappy Tank Top Pattern too. This fun bonus walks you through making a spaghetti strap tank for your AG doll. When combined, these two patterns let you recreate the Summer In Paris outfit look, and when you add the pleated skirt pattern, the outfit is complete.

Enjoy!

Buy This...

And get this for free...

Another pic from the winning design...

2010-01-27T07:17:00.000-08:00

Winning Design for 2010 New Years Contest

2010-01-27T07:12:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone, we've just finished the design contest outfit and video. We think it came out really well.

This contest wasn't without controversy, that's for sure. We realized when we chose this design that we were going to get a lot of criticism because it wasn't drawn as well as some of the other entries. But we've always tried to stress to people this isn't a coloring contest.

The combination of fishnet stockings and tan boots is pretty original for an AG doll design. That was what caught our eye when we saw this entry, and it was fun to see it turn out nicely.

Thanks again for entering, if you did, and supporting our work. We appreciate you!

Cinnamon

2010 Celebrity Inspiration Poll

2010-01-26T06:14:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone, help us decide who our Celebrity Inspiration should be for 2010!!

Thanks!

The 411 on our 2010 Liberty Jane Jeans Guidebook...

2010-01-24T08:04:00.000-08:00

Yes! We've updated and improved our Liberty Jane Jeans Guidebook. Since it was our first guidebook, we've learned a lot since we first published it. Originally we released it to 20 people as a test group, and collected their feedback. We knew the pattern was really good, (since we've used it for a long time), but we didn't know how they'd react to the instructions, layout, etc. Bottomline, they liked it a lot, but there were a few things that could be clarified and improved. Here are the major changes...

The back pocket layout was the most frustrating thing in their opinion. They wanted more direction on the exact placement of the pockets, so they wouldn't place them improperly. So, the new pattern has a nice solution. It looks great and gives you a guide to place the pockets perfectly.

A lot of people have also asked about the distressing techniques we use. So we've included a bonus section on "Distressing Secrets". This makes it sound cooler than it is, it's just a description of the product we use, and the method - with a lot of warnings!

Finally, you'll notice that the cover art on the new Jeans Guidebook is a lot different than the original version. We spent a lot of time developing a cover art style that we thought looked visually interesting, allowed for a lot of information sharing, and caught your attention. Of course we found our examples in, as you can tell, magazine covers.

So there you have it, the inside scoop on the 2010 Liberty Jane Jeans Pattern Guidebook.

Enjoy!

Cinnamon

American Girl Doll Skinny Jeans...

2010-01-13T22:09:00.000-08:00

Our latest pattern for American Girl Dolls is out and it's fun to see people enjoying it. The challenge with Skinny Jeans (obviously) is getting the skinny leg look while still getting the dolls feet through the legs. We've spent countless hours getting this pattern to work right. The Skinny Jeans have been featured in our Austin Blues, Green Peace, and Code Red outfits.

We hope you enjoy these fun jeans! Of course you can buy the pattern for just $3.99

Our Plans For 2010

2010-01-09T11:00:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!

We've been thinking about our plan for 2010. Here is what we are thinking,

First, this is art to us. It's girlhood. It's childhood fantasy and imagination. It's the ability to create, design, and dream. To play make believe with your favorite keepsake in her favorite outfit.

We don't consider this just a doll clothes business where we are trying to 'move product'. We'll leave that to others. I'm not sure people who try to copy us understand the degree to which we are mesmerized by these topics, (the ones in the first paragraph), and how they animate our work. It seems the more popular we get, the more people try to copy our style, but I'm not sure they can copy this aspect of who we are and how we work.

So in 2010 we want to focus on our driving convictions...

Originality...

We believe that in life, as in business, the joy of making something original provides something intangible to your soul. It animates you in ways money cannot. AG's phrase, follow YOUR inner star, is actually a pretty good slogan on this topic. In 2010 we will strive to design and create with renewed originality. Our contests will strive to foster creativity, design, and original thinking. We want to teach girls how to design and create.

Moving forward we are going to be more careful than ever to clarify and differentiate between inspiration (good), replication (bad), and translation (good). We don't like it when people copy our designs, or our business model. So we want to make sure we don't copy other people's work either.

For our Celebrity Inspired outfits, we are striving to translate today's hits into the 18 inch doll medium. We are inspired by Hannah Montana's wardrobe, Hayley William's Hair, and other teen celebrities looks. We think that's okay because what we are making doesn't exist in the 18 inch marketplace.

For our unique Spring and Fall Lines, we are frequently inspired by Abercrombie, Justice, or Delia's. But we don't ever want to just replicate mindlessly.

We would hate for any of those celebrity artists (or designers) to say we simply replicated their work. We don't want to cut and paste our way through life. We believe what you create, (both in clothing design and in the growth and style of our business model), says something about who we are as people. We would LOVE for Hayley Williams, or Hannah Montana's wardrobe person to see our work and say, "OMG - that's cool". We'd HATE it if they said, "Wow, those guys totally copied us".

Intensity Of Design...

In 2010 we aspire to design intensely. World Class Design. To create works of art. It might just be a tank top, but we will try to make it a masterpiece. We love how Apple as a company has an intense design culture. We want that same culture at Liberty Jane Clothing.

We will continue to focus on bringing new and interesting designs to the 18 inch markeplace. Things you can't get anywhere else, (until someone copies us). We've rejected the idea of simply selling common (mass produced) doll clothes in competition with American Girl, or others. The American Girl ecosystem is amazing, and we are amazed by the passion and love people have for the dolls. We want to add to it.

Giving people the chance to own something rare and beautiful...

Some girls grow up and have just 1 item, or toy, or memory that defines their childhood. We are working to create something 'rare' and highly treasured. The kind of childhood keepsake that you still have when you're 30, or 40, or 50. Maybe it's just sitting in a box in your garage, but it's a symbol of your childhood. This is what we aspire to have our brand become. A maker of treasured keepsakes.

In our minds, when we finish an outfit, we are sending artwork to the lucky buyer.

But we don't believe we have to always charge a high price to achieve 'keepsake' status, which is why we're so excited about our pattern business. And why just selling our outfits at auction for high prices felt incomplete to us. When we publish a pattern, we are publishing a guide for making art. A guide to making a keepsake that has taken us hundreds of hours to refine, and now looks amazing, and is simple for you to make. We are publishing a little lesson on creating beauty.

We are honored that you support our work and hope we get a chance to add meaning to your life in 2010.

Cinnamon and The Liberty Jane Team

Pictures Of The AG Girl Of The Year Lanie Holland

2010-01-06T19:45:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

Here are some nice pictures of Lanie Holland, American Girl's 2010 Girl Of The Year...

Trying to come up with a tagline for Liberty Jane Clothing

2010-01-05T22:38:00.000-08:00

So were trying to come up with a tagline. We want to add a bit more 'americana' into our 'brand'. How do we do it?

Tagline: (from Wikipedia) A tagline is a variant of a branding slogan typically used in marketing materials and advertising. The idea behind the concept is to create a memorable phrase that will sum up the tone and premise of a brand or product (like a film), or to reinforce the audience's memory of a product.

Can "American Made" be a Tagline? That's so generic, but it says a lot about who we are vis a vis American Girl. Tell us what you think...

Yes, This Outfit Is Inspired By Hayley Williams!

2010-01-02T23:07:00.000-08:00

Our Fall Outfit - Code Red has been a huge hit. Yes! It's inspired by Hayley Williams from Paramore. She rocks!

Ps. Dear Hayley, if you ever want a "Hayley Williams American Girl Doll" just let us know. We LOVE your work and would love to put together a custom doll/outfit for you! This fun outfit was inspired by your awesome hair.

libbys outfit video

2010-01-02T10:25:00.001-08:00

Libby's decided she needs to do her own videos in Youtube in addition to the official Liberty Jane videos, so we've set up a playlist just for her. Here is her first video...

New Years 2010 Design Contest Details & Rules...

2009-12-13T09:01:00.000-08:00

New Years 2010 DESIGN CONTEST DETAILS:

Hi everyone, here are the official rules and guidelines for our New Years 2010 Design Contest. If you have any questions, just post them as a response to this blog post.

Here we go:

No purchase necessary. A purchase will not increase your chances of winning.

Many will enter, only a few will win.

Void where prohibited.

Contest Dates: The Fall Design Contest starts 12/13/09 and Ends 1/10/10 at Midnight (Pacific).

How To Enter: This contest is powered by Youtube thru the Liberty Jane Clothing Channel. Create a video of your design, and respond to the Contest video via Youtube. You can enter as many unique and original designs as you'd like, but make sure each video entry only has 1 design. So if you want to enter 2 designs, make 2 videos entries.

By entering the contest, you are promising that the Design is your original idea, it can be inspired by another outfit, or similar, but it has to have some unique elements that you have added.

By entering the contest, you are promising that you haven't already entered your design in one of our previous design contests. In other words, don't recycle designs that you already entered previously (that didn't win).

By entering the contest, you are acknowledging that Liberty Jane Clothing creates unique designs for retail purposes in an ongoing way, and our future design work isn't restricted to exclude anything similar to what you've submitted. In other words, you can't get mad at us if our future designs, (or names of outfits), are similar to an outfit you submit. We do not run these contests to get design ideas. Any similarity between our future work, and your contest entries will be coincidental.

Judging Criteria: This is a skills based contest. Entries will be judged on the following criteria:

1) Overall Presentation - including the outfit, (and the video itself).
2) Scale & proportion - Your design needs to look like it fits an 18 inch doll.
3) Color and symmetry - Design elements & color choices need to be contemporary.
4) Originality - some small element needs to be unique & interesting.

Prizes:

The Grand Prize Winning designer gets their outfit made for them for free. Plus the 2010 Girl Of The Year Doll.

2nd thru 10th place prizes will be announced on video December 13th, in the contest video.

Notification: Winning designers will be notified via email from Liberty Jane Clothing within 1 week of the contest end-date. After communicating with them, we will post a video showing the winning designs.

Delivery Of Prizes: Winning designers will need to provide a street address to Liberty Jane Clothing, so we can mail the prize. It does not need to be a home address, it can be a work address for example. Shipping will be paid by Liberty Jane Clothing. There is no expense if you are the winner - it's all really free.

Updates & Ongoing Announcements: Any announcements or updates will be posted as comments on the Liberty Jane Clothing Youtube Channel.

If you have questions, simply post them as a response to this blog post or via our comments section on The Liberty Jane Clothing Youtube Channel.

The Liberty Jane Team

Liberty Jane Newsletters Archive

2009-12-12T06:51:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone, here are the back issues of our newsletters. We'll try to keep this updated, but to receive them directly, sign up to receive our newsletter via email!

Cinnamon

- - - - - - -

Newsletter #1, (December 12th, 2009)

Newsletter #2, (December 22nd, 2009)

Newsletter #3, (January 11th, 2010)

Newsletter #4, (January 31, 2010)

Newsletter #5, (February 6th, 2010)

Newsletter #6

Newsletter #7

Newsletter #8

Newsletter #9

Newsletter #10

Newsletter #11

Remember, I don't update this very often, so sign up for my newsletter to ensure you get the next one in a timely way :)

Thanks again,

Cinnamon

Get The Look Pattern Guidebook for American Girl Dolls

2009-11-28T12:58:00.001-08:00

Liberty Jane Trendy T-Shirts Video

2009-11-22T23:07:00.001-08:00

Youtube - Winter Contest Challenge - Can You Do It?

2009-11-17T18:28:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

Here is an contest update we just posted on our Youtube Channel Profile.

We decided that if we have 1,500 Youtube subscribers on our Youtube Channel by December 10th, 2009, (at midnight Pacific), then we will have a winter 09 Design contest and the grand prize will be a 2010 Girl Of The Year Doll, (by American Girl of course), in her meet outfit, (that‘s the one she comes in), (and YES, we are serious!!) and of course the winner will also have their outfit made for them for free. (This is a grand prize worth over $100).

But we only have 749 Youtube subscribers right now, so if you want to see this happen, then you have to help us by talking to your friends and getting them to subscribe to us by December 10th, 2009 (at midnight Pacific) - If each of you just get 1 friend to subscribe, then the contest would be ON! If you cheat and make multiple accounts, we’ll cancel the contest, and if we don't have 1,500 by the 10th, then we won't do a winter contest. It's Up To You!

But wait, there’s more… If we get 3,000 subscribers by December 10th, then the grand prize is the doll and the outfit made for free, and the top 5 finalists will also get their outfit made for them for free. We are not joking, we are not messing around, we are SUPER Excited to see if you, our amazing subscribers, can pull this off!

It’s all up to you! Good luck!

Midnight Countdown - Holiday 09 - Liberty Jane Clothing

2009-11-12T12:34:00.001-08:00

Here's the third outfit in The Liberty Jane Clothing Holiday 09 Collection. Modeling "Midnight Countdown" is Chrissa, 2009 American Girl Doll of the Year. We gave her a slight makeover with some cute stuff we found at Claires. What do you think?

Mini Skirt Guidebook Now Available

2009-11-01T21:09:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone,

This is it - our easiest Pattern Guidebook yet. It's perfect for a beginner. Your friends will think you're an Abercrombie designer when you show them the amazing skirt you can make.

Buy it now at:

http://www.libertyjanepatterns.com/2009/11/liberty-jane-mini-skirt-guidebook.html

Help Us Name This Outfit - by Liberty Jane Clothing

2009-10-30T15:37:00.001-07:00

We Need Your Help!!

An open letter to our pattern purchasers and testers...

2009-10-27T08:14:00.000-07:00

Here is a letter I sent to our pattern purchasers, and testers this morning. I thought you might like to see it too...

- - - - - - - - - - -

Hi everyone,

It's been a month since we launched our pattern business, wow!

I wanted to take a minute and thank each of you for either testing our Jeans Pattern Guidebook, or buying it, or buying our new Pleated Skirt Pattern Guidebook. You've helped our little pattern business get off to a really great start. Thank you!

If you've followed our Liberty Jane Clothing work, you know we started this business almost 2 years ago on Ebay, and we were surprised by the energy and enthusiasm for our work. We were shocked at the prices our outfits were going for at auction. We never actually planned to be 'the expensive brand' of AG Doll Clothes, and yet, that's what the auction system turned us into, so obviously we went with it, and it's been an amazingly wonderful spot to be put into. But the Youtube Girls regularly remind us that our outfits are too expensive (from their view).

So starting http://www.libertyjanepatterns.com/ was a very deliberate decision to try and make our designs available to a lot more people. We'll still make the limited edition outfits, but we also want to publish a large collection of patterns so that if you want trendy 18 inch doll clothes - you think of Liberty Jane regardless of whether you're going to buy them or make them yourself.

We hope you'll continue to support our work by purchasing new Guidebooks as they come out, and telling your friends about it. If you have a blog, or websites and want to discuss advertising options, send us a note. We'd love your help driving traffic to our site - and we can pay you in free clothes or patterns.

Have a wonderful Fall Season,

Cinnamon Miles
Founder
Liberty Jane Clothing

our "Amazing $4 Christmas Gift Ad"

2009-10-27T07:43:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

You might see our new Christmas time ad for LibertyJanePatterns.com popping up around Google if you're searching for American Girl Doll Clothes, or Patterns.

Can you imagine making your daughter's Christmas gift for just a couple bucks - and having her be THRILLED? I think it's possible! If your daughter loves American Girl Dolls, and is asking for new doll clothes for Christmas, why not spend a few nights making her a nice collection? If you start with good patterns, and choose the material carefully, and take your time, you can do it! Our Jeans Guidebook, and Pleated Skirt Guidebook should get you well on your way! And we'll be putting out more soon, so you'll have a broader selection soon.

Our "Amazing $4 Christmas Gift" Google Ad: