Happy 250 - 4th of July Photo Shoot

 

Heeeellllllooooo friends! How are you doing this fine July evening? We all know what time it is, it's the fifty-millionth annual "Katie is posting her once-a-month post at the absolute last second!" what a lovely tradition we have here XD Okay in my defense though, this month my dad had surgery, so I was very busy and actually had an excuse. BUT! I did get some pictures that I'm so SO insanely happy with before the sun went down and fireworks lit up the Fourth of July sky, so if you don't mind them being extra late, I'd love to share them with y'all! Yes? everyone still here? Epic sauce!! Let's go ahead and hop in! :D

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Miss Molly Jean, because you already know the drill, there was no chance she wasn't coming lol!!

So fun fact, I actually made Molly's jean jacket! And I know I make a lot of the doll clothes on here but this one is special, mostly because I made it so she could match me and the jean jacket I decorated for myself! I even did the twist braids I usually do in my hair in Molly's and added her signature red ribbons to both of our ponytails! A little bit of her style and a small bit of mine :)

I couldn't really get a good picture of it as it went all the way around her sleeve cuff, but our sleeves both said, "God bless the USA" <3 (Also we're not gonna talk about the sleeves being too long and folded up LOLLL!! The whole jacket came out too big, that's what I get for using an old Gotz pattern I should have known better XD)

Annnnnd for my favorite part! I honestly love how this came out and I'm so hyped to show other AG fans who will get the reference!! 

Here's mine as well!! I made all of these decorations removable/temporary with the plan to remove it all after the Fourth, but I'm honestly so happy with how it came out that I don't really want to XD

Also! One of my friends got me a button maker recently! It's so cool and was so incredibly kind of her! The only problem is that I STINK at using it LOLLLL XD I have no clue what's wrong with me, but I struggled so SO hard.

I did somehow manage to get buttons made for Molly, Felicity, and I before leaving though, so honestly I'll take it and hopefully with some practice I can get this whole button making thing figured out lol XD

Felicity <3

Man I've got the coolest post for y'all starring Felicity from last year that I was going to post this month and it just did not happen -_- It's gonna be so fun y'all I promise, probably one of my favorite

shoots I've ever done.

Felicity *technically* doesn't have a Fourth of July outfit (I'll have to fix that at some point lol), but this outfit always gave me such hard-core Independence Day vibes honestly! Does it have the same feel to y'all or not really?

Okay I know I didn't have to bring the colonial dolls but I brought the colonial dolls LOLLLL!!!

I love taking pictures of the dolls playing with dolls <3

This is William, I got him in a Goodwill bag a few years back to go with my other colonial doll...

Sarah, who was a gift from my sister back when she lived near Williamsburg Virginia while I was a kid. This doll means a lot to me, and I used to play with her with one of our Halloween decorations each year when my mom would put it out LOL!! I used to pretend they lived in Sleepy Hallow from the Legend of Sleepy Hallow and that they had to fight another ghost I think? But that's a whole story for a different day and a different holiday... 

I kind of really love how their outfit colors complement each other now that I'm really looking at these pictures, the darker and deeper tones play off Molly's brighter lively colors in a way that I'm really happy with, and I also like how their dolls reflect that as well! That's kinda fun, I didn't even notice it before now XD

Y'ALL I CAN'T TELL YOU ALL HOW MANY TIMES I HAD TO JUMP OUT OF THE WAY OF CARS LOL!!! Was it a good idea to take pics in the middle of a parking lot while people were all arriving for fireworks? No. Was it my job, my duty as a doll photographer to take that risk for the sake of the shoot? ABSOLUTELY!! (Please don't do this I don't encourage this behavior and if you get hurt I can't afford to get sued *-*)

I had WAY too much fun having this flag in the background. They just put it up recently and that thing is massive! So insanely beautiful though, and the breeze was catching it so perfectly :D

Have you guys ever taken photos in a parking lot or paved street before? It's sort of dangerous but something about the vibe is just so cool to me.

Also, do the cars ruin the vibe? I kinda like them but I'm not sure if they're too big and make the pictures feel off lol 'XD

Shout out to that dude in the background, I hope he got to have a hot dog with relish or something...

I LOVE this one so much!! Probably one of my favorites of the shoot :D

Bringing Felicity felt so fitting for the 250th anniversary of our country, since her stories take place around that time. Then Molly being in her modern clothes just feels so cool as a connection to the official start of the USA to present time. Idk does that make any sense? I had a cool idea in my head when I planned this post I promise lol XD

I'm so dang happy with how those buttons came out, I almost cried multiple times while trying and failing to make them XD Also fun fact, Felicity was actually wearing that necklace when I received her for Christmas years ago, my mom found it at a thrift store I believe and put in on her before wrapping her up and she's just been kinda wearing it since. 

I really REALLY love this pic as well :)

Happy (Late) Independence Day to all who celebrate <3

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Well, there you have it, friends! This shoot was seriously so much fun, probably one of my favorite ones thus far this year! (Villain Takeover is coming though so... that may change lol ;) ) I don't talk about it too much, and I don't know if it will come as a shock or anything, but 4th of July is honestly one of my most favorite holidays. I feel like that's probably super weird lol, but I'll literally be out here crying listening to the national anthem or any patriotic song, idk... I'm just really grateful to be here. I'm grateful for everyone who's served our country and for the people even within my own family who believed our country was worth fighting for. I'm so grateful for the people all those years ago who felt religious freedom was worth risking everything for even when the odds were completely against them and those 250 years ago who stood up for what they believed in no matter what. Early American/Colonial American history has always held a special place in my heart and the amount of bravery and courage that the early Americans held has always inspired me so much. We have a lot of rough spots in our history (as you will whenever humans are involved lol), and there are a lot of things that have happened in our history and even things going on today that I don't agree with, but I think sometimes we can let all the stuff that's wrong in our world blind us from the stuff that is right. I will always hope for us to continue moving towards a future that is for the good of all and reflects the values this country fought so hard to have, but I hope I never miss the opportunity to use the freedom I have now to bless the people around me and make a difference in the ways I have been given the opportunity to do so. I often think of this particular Bible verse around this time of year, it says...

"You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love."

(Galatians 5:13)

Now obviously that verse isn't specifically for Americans, and I hope all of this doesn't come across as me thinking/saying Americans are so much better than everyone else or anything along those lines (Because that is absolutely NOT what I think or how I see the world at all lol), but on a day when freedom is celebrated, I think a lot about how much opportunity we have to use freedom (no matter the form or extent) to be kind and make a difference, even if it's just for the people around us, and that is just such a cool blessing to have. I hope no matter where you live or what life is like where you're from, when everything around us just feels so wrong and like it's all spinning out of control, that we never forget we always have the freedom to do something kind, and to reflect God's light into the lives of everyone around us. You have the freedom to change the world, even if it's just one person's world, and that's a pretty cool thing to have the opportunity to do <3

Anyway, it's no longer July anymore LOL! whoopsie 'XD Would doing a small update with the wrap-up mess up the flow of the post? Probably, but I'm gonna do it anyway though because I like talking to y'all lol. This has been a super eventful month for me, obviously there's the not so fun part of my dad having surgery (but recovering fairly well so praise the Lord) and some other rough stuff, but my health has made a pretty drastic change recently which has been the biggest answered prayer!! God is seriously so good y'all, even just the difference between when I was prepping and shooting for this post and I was so tired and sick I was barely able to get the jackets done to now getting ready to start dancing and driving again!! It's been so crazy but I'm so incredibly thankful!! I also will no longer be going through medical tests and am for the most part done with doctors for now!! I am overjoyed (and may or may not have bought a doll to celebrate shhhhhh it's my miracle from God and I get to choose how we celebrate lol XD) and I've been feeling worlds better!! I have so much more energy and it's almost stressing me out because I haven't had energy in so long that I don't really know what to do with myself now that I do?? Is that weird? Idk y'all I just keep taking walks LOLLLL XDDD 

OH!! I also have some super fun news!! I started an Instagram for All Doll'd up! I've been meaning to do this for years at this point but I kept psyching myself out of it then finally just took the leap lol! Everyone has been so incredibly kind thus far, I'm so excited to be joining the community over there and I hope that everyone over there enjoys joining our community here as well! If you'd like to follow us over there and see post notifications, one-off pictures that may not make it to the blog, or even watch me awkwardly opening my I-don't-have-to-get-weird-tests-run-on-me-anymore celebration doll (who may or may not be one of my dream dolls that I never thought I'd have lol, my face is also in that video yikes jumpscare *-*), you can find our account right HERE! And if you're here from Instagram, then welcome to the blog!! We're so happy you stopped by and hope you stick around :D 

Okay, I really need to stop it now, it's 2:00 AM and I'm going to my friend's house tomorrow, we're going to do a fancy photo shoot and I'm really not someone who likes being in pictures but I'm kinda excited about this! I also have some other cool news to share but I'll hold off until the next post when it hopefully becomes official :) I'm planning to do a photo shoot of the new doll soon, and I'm hoping this newfound health and energy can be channeled into lots of posts but we'll see how things go lol XD I hope you all enjoyed this super late photo shoot!! Thanks for always bearing with me and my disorganized posting schedule lol, definitely let me know in the comments how your 4th of July was, and if you don't celebrate, I'd love to hear how your summer is going!! You guys are so awesome and I hope you never forget it, I love you all and hope you have an amazing day! <3 

-Katie :)