My Life Has Changed

Wow. It has been over two years since I last posted on this blog. Needless to say, my life has changed in incredible ways in the last two years.

First of all, my name is not Lena. It's actually Elena. I chose a "pseudonym" for internet safety when I was 12 years old, and I guess it stuck. My middle name is actually Grace though.

I am now 17 years old, and look like this:

I have grown up in so many ways since I first joined the American Girl Picasa realm and delved into this blog. In fact, you could say I'm not even the same person anymore.

Life is a journey, and the journey of this blog is definitely over.

American Girl still holds a dear place in my heart, and is definitely a tradition that I will carry on with my own daughters when I grow up. I still make doll clothes for my younger sisters, and enjoy playing dolls with them.

This blog was a huge part of my life, but it isn't anymore. To those who still care, I will leave the blog up as a memento to my childhood. If you are still interested in keeping up with my life, I've started a new blog at:

elenassafehaven.wordpress.com

It is about my life, and what has been going on in the last year or so.

Thank you to all who supported me in my younger years. You changed my life in a way that you will never know.

So from the bottom of my heart, thank you, and God bless you.

Love,
Lena

round 2

As many of you may already know, the round 2 outfits for the fashion design contest are up! This is my entry.

If you would like to vote for my outfit go to the link below and post a comment saying that you "vote for this outfit". Be sure to check out some of the other amazing entries as well!

http://2013dwfashiondesignchallenge.blogspot.com/2013/09/entry-53.html

design contest outfit

As I mentioned in my last post, I've entered an outfit in the Doll Wardrobe's 2012 fashion design contest!

If you would all be so kind as to vote for me, I would be much obliged. Make sure to vote for some of the other amazing contestants as well! You can find my entry at the link below.

http://2013dwfashiondesignchallenge.blogspot.com/2013/07/entry-19.html 

Just leave a comment at the bottom of the post saying that you vote for me. Thank you so much for your help and support!

Have a wonderful week!

blog revamp

Hello friend! I'm glad to see you came back, I was wondering if you might. I was afraid I might have disappointed you yet again.

As you can see, I've revamped my blog. It's now going to be about my adventures in sewing doll clothes. You might sew, and maybe you want to learn from my mistakes. I hope I can do that for you, and perhaps entertain you in the process.

I sew quite frequently, and the last outfit I sewed was the following, for the Doll Wardrobe Fashion Design Contest for summer 2013. It isn't posted on the site yet, but I'll let you know when it is so perhaps you can vote for my outfit. If you like it, that is. There are so many talented seamstresses out there!

 

 I hope to see you back at my blog soon, friend. 

taking a break

I think I need a break.

I hate to say it, I really do. But I feel like I'm letting you all down. My posts are few and far between, and when I do post, they are short and boring. I think of when I first started blogging and everything was new and exciting. Now, I think, I'm in a little bit of a schlump.

Perhaps I am losing interest in my dolls.

Maybe I have a little depression going on from being away from all of my friends in Europe and Indiana.

But maybe I really just need to find my style, and how I need to write and run this blog.

I

I will be going on vacation in July and my best friend from Europe will be vising for 3 weeks until the middle of August. So until then I will be re-vamping my blog: changing up the design, working on my writing style, and perfecting my photography so that this can become something new and fresh that will bring the life back to myself, and more enjoyment to you, my readers.

Until that time, you can follow me on my Flickr, as I will be documenting my summer there.

Adios, au revoir, goodbye.

Love always,
Lena

sewing win

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I had a super awesome blog post written and tried to upload it, but unfortunately it won't upload correctly. So I will try again some other time instead.

Today I made a super awesome dress! If I may say so myself. If you want to see pictures of it, go to my Flickr photostream, HERE.

As a preview, here is something my genius brain thought of! It's a fake magazine cover. I'm thinking about doing one every month, and you guys can print them out, if you want. :)

Enjoy the Flickr pics!

Love, Lena

personal photo challenge

Now that I have a good forum for uploading pictures, I've decided to do a one-a-week photo challenge. I'm going to take at least one good doll photo per week and upload it to Flickr. I don't know how long this will last, but my goal is 8 weeks.

I'll probably put other pictures up as well,but the challenge photos will be labeled by week.

You can see my Flickr photostream here.

new flickr

I decided to make a Flickr photostream, since so many people have them, and it looks like it will be a fun adventure!

You can find my photostream here.

I'll also make a tab for it at the top.

Enjoy the photos!

jessa gives up on humanity

Jessa decided to go back out the the beach and read for a while. It seems like that is her favorite thing to do nowadays.

She grabbed her book and towel and headed out.

When she got outside, Jessa saw Sara, supposedly laying out in the sun. That couldn't be good.

As Jessa came nearer Sara asked, "Emily, is that you coming?"

"Um, no, it's me, Jessa." She replied. "And why are you waiting for Emily?" "Oh, she's -- here she comes!"

Emily came from the house, wearing an apron and carrying a glass of pink lemonade.

"Here you go, Miss Alcott," Emily said, handing Sara the lemonade. "Thanks, Emily."

"Is there anything I can get you, Miss McConnell?" Emily asked Jessa.

"No, of course not, Emily. And you shouldn't let Sara boss you around like that."

 

"Okay." Emily left without another word. She seemed glad to be rid of her servant-ly duties.

 

 

After Emily left, Jessa admonished Sara. "You know, you really shouldn't boss Emily around like that. She's your sister, not your servant!"

 

 

"Uh, Jesus said to have a servant's heart. So Emily has a servant's heart for me!"

 

 

Jessa left exclaiming, "Ugh! I give up on humanity!"

 

 



"Yeah, I don't see what her problem is either."

{Sorry the pictures are so bad, I'm still trying to figure out this sun.}

agc conflict

So as you all know, I am participating in season 9 of the AGC. The theme for round 3 is "adventure". I've taken two photos, but I'm conflicted as to which one to use.

Photo op #1:

Definitely my favorite regarding quality. However, it doesn't convey creativity with the theme, which is what they are looking for.

Photo op #2:

This photo definitely conveys the creativity they are looking for (Um, I built a pyramid out of bricks!), but also lacks the quality that is also looked for in the entry photo.

Which one do you think I should submit? Please vote in the poll to the right by January 31st. I will let you know which one I submit!

Thank you for your help!

{Lena}

new shop + email

Hey guys! I have super-duper-extra-pooper exciting news!

I recently made a website to sell doll clothes on! I've called it "Lacopolis". There won't be any clothes or accessories on it for a while; I still have to set up a bank account, and in turn, a PayPal account. I expect it will be about a month yet. I will be sewing away for it, though, don't worry!

If you are interested in at least checking out my site or maybe bookmarking the link, here's the URL: www.lacopolis.webs.com

I also made an email address that you can contact me at (but please, no spam!): lena.lacopolis@yahoo.com

Thanks all!

{Lena}

lovely new header

Hello, all!

I'm sure you've noticed by now (it's been over a month) that I got my lovely new header!

My friend Fetnat from Europe drew it and sent it to me, and I love it.

She recently made a blog, so if you could please visit it and follow and comment on it, I'm sure we would both appreciate it.

Here is the link to Nat's Daydream:

http://natsdaydream.blogspot.com/

Thank you!

{Lena}

lake beach

Jessa is really enjoying Florida's winter weather. She decided to go down to the lake today and soak in the late afternoon sunshine.

{{No dolls were harmed in the making of this photo shoot.}}

 

{Lena}

special day

12/12/12

This date makes me feel old. Seriously. I mean, I'm going to be dead when another repetitive date rolls around. Pretty crazy, huh?

Enjoy every day that the good Lord gives, because every one is a gift.

 

"I wanna live like there's no tomorrow,

Love like I'm on borrowed time.

It's good to be alive."

~Good to be Alive, Jason Gray

 

 

{Lena}

welcome + f.d.c.

Meet my new girlie, Jessa!

She arrived last night, after dinner. She was quite a steal, actually. I got Jess, a Christmas gown with matching headband, two shirts, a skirt, and shorts for only $60. She didn't come with her meet outfit, but I don't mind so much; I can find it on eBay or something. She's in excellent condition; her hair is like almost-new!

As you can tell, I'm calling her Jessa Akiko McConnell. :) There is a photostory about her arrival and meeting the other girls HERE.

As for the FDC, I would appreciate it if you would vote for me in round two! Just go to The Doll Wardrobe Fashion Design Challenge website. HERE is my entry. Just comment on it to vote or email Nora at nora.deminton@gmail.com and vote for entry #43. If you vote for me, thank you so much!

Have a great week!

Love, Lena

i stink

So basically, I am a loser. Why?

Well, I haven't updated since the middle of October, and I didn't make a Halloween post. Bleh.

In my defense, I had to help organize a trunk-or-treat and I was seriously injured yesterday and could barely move from my spot on the sofa. I'm all better now, though. So no worries!

Basically, it's too late to make a Halloween post for my dolls, but I PROMISE PROMISE PROMISE that I will post about Thanksgiving. PROMISE. So if I don't hold to that promise, you can virtually slap me in the face.

On another note, I finished making an outfit someone comissioned from me! Yay!

Here are some pics:

The lady gave me the flowered material and asked me to make a dress with it for her niece's Marie-Grace doll. I surprised her with the jacket. :)

So, that's all for now! Again, my profuse apologies. :(

Love, Lena

vote for me?

Hey guys!

I forgot to tell you.... I entered The Doll Wardrobe's Fashion Design Challenge!

I know my entry isn't that great but... would you vote for me? Just email Nora Demington at nora.demington@gmail.com and say, "I vote for Entry #1." To see my entry, click HERE. To see the rest of the entries, to to the Doll Wardrobe Fashion Design Challenge website.

I'm not forcing you to vote for me, as I know that there are many entries that are much better than mine. I can assure you that my second round outfit looks much better!

Thanks so much!

Love, Lena

josefina

Well, I had planned a great back-from-AG-Miami post complete with pictures and an opening video, but the video must have been too long and wouldn't load. So, I'll just show you what I got in photographic segments.

First, Josefina's party dress.

I'm sorry the pictures are so.... eugh. But it was really bright and sunny, and I could hardly see the camera screen. I was also experimenting with the aperture setting on my camera.

Hope you enjoyed!

Love, Lena