Website warning...

New Blogger link !

Nearing the end...(sniffle) But not the end, so I'm not that sad, really...

Here's the 'Hit List'...

There's some changes being made...

 

Current Mood : Oddly excited, actually. 

 

 

Dearest Son watched Toy Story 3 on Netflix last night, which led to his rekindled interest in the TS3 Wii game he got for Christmas. I listened with half an ear, since it reuses sound effects until you're ready to puncture something - Woody's 'ha haaaa !' laugh probably won't leave my mind for days to come. So I started thinking to shut the sound off. Most of the toys act like adults. The toys in Bonnie's room especially - they discuss improv and various theories of acting in depth. No matter if they look like toddlers, or look brand-new, nearly every toy who speaks and moves does so in an adult voice and manner.

 

 

In contrast, Big Baby is just that, an infant. It's assumed he's as old as grandfatherly teddy bear Lotso, but he's still a very young toddler at best. If he hasn't matured at all by now, he's not gonna. And it makes viewers uncomfortable. If you mention Big Baby to anyone who's seen the movie, they usually shudder, and make some remark about how dolls are creepy. I don't know what conclusion, if any, can be drawn from all this, but I thought it was interesting that, in the highest grossing films ever about toys, pretty much all of 'em act like adults.

 

 

Well, with that useless musing out of the way, I gotta move on to business. Much as it pains me, I'm gonna have to revert 'Somewhere That's Green' to a free site. Yeah, I know, I don't pay a lot for all I get, but $60./year is still cash I can put elsewhere. I just don't have the complete faith I used to have that things will magically get better next week, next month, etc. Oh, they will, I know that, but I have to trim all I can *now*.

 

 

Right now, the blog here and the 'Somewhere' sites total 155mb. For it to go back to a free site, I gotta get both down to 20mb. Yes, that's for the blog and the website combined. What I'll probably do is change Somewhere to a tutorial-only site, if I can. All the photos and doll images will get shuttled over to Flickr, and most of the blog photos here will slowly be replaced with HTML links to the image locations on Flickr as well. That should be enough to keep the 'Somewhere That's Green' site and the blog archives here, but it won't let me keep writing here.

 

 

For that, I'm picking up a Blogger blog, and I'll start posting there 01 May. I've tried to figure out how to stay and keep it going here, but the blog alone is already over 60mb by itself. Even replacing all the images with links won't let me keep writing here for long - and I like being able to have images in my posts. So I did some homework and found that, unlike Tripod, Blogger allows remote image linking. Tripod won't let me post an image unless it's on one of their photo albums - or gets put into a photo album from my hard drive by posting it on the blog. If the image isn't on my site or my hard drive, I can't use it here.

 

 

With Blogger, I can post the new MH outfit photo Flickr, and a bit of HTML will put it on my blog entry, too. While I'd rather stay with Tripod, it's really time for a change. If you knew the hoops I had to jump through just to post today's entry, you'd understand why I've been looking around for the last few days. I'd stay with the Devil I know, but he's getting expensive. So, with the new month comes new changes - DorrieBelle's Doll Diaries moves to Blogger on 01 May 11. I'll have a link image ready to go !

 

 

I'm still organizing stuff, so I won't get to some down-home, hard-core deleting until Sunday. If there's any articles you really like, any images you favor, I'd encourage you to snag 'em, with a good ole 'control c, control v' today or tomorrow. Most everything will eventually show up on Flickr, but I can't guarantee it, or say exactly when. I have to have all of it done by 10 May, too.

 

 

So, you know what I'll be doing this weekend - transferring a ton of images over to Flickr and getting them organized, and if that's done, I get to start deleting pages on Sunday. It's funny to me that Flickr allows 300mb of image uploads per month, for free. Heck, I can upgrade to unlimited image uploading for less than $25./yr. And Blogger allows remote images. Heck, I could right now move everything on all my sites to Flickr and still not use all my space for a month, for free.

 

 

(sigh) I'm still thinkin' of things. Wanna do the most for the least, and lately, that's become more important than it used to be. Any ideas, tips, suggestions are welcome. I may go try out Blogger today, see how I like it. Would ya'll mind bookmarking another site ? I'd love to move this entire mess over there, but I don't think I can...but watch out if it's possible ! 

 

Current Mood : Crafted out ! 

 

 

Showed Beloved Hubby all the new stuff from that Spanish Toy Fair catalog I linked yesterday - he was impressed. Maybe a bit worried, lol. After seeing it all, he accurately listed the ones I wanted, and darn near got them in the right 'order of importance' too ! He thought I'd want Ghoulia's Physical Deaducation first, then Lagoona's Mad Science. Otherwise, he was spot on. I still have no idea how someone can know me as well as he does, and still love me ! (grin) Just glad he does.

 

 

Wasn't quite sure what to make today, so I pulled up the pattern and directions for that lovely poet's blouse that Tabitha made me. Again, it printed out wrong, but a quick snip-trial on a scrap of paper towel showed it looked like it would work. Sleeves were long enough to be a dress, though. Easy fix.

 

 

Instead, I ended up finishing up half-done things. Went to put away the never-altered red and gold Mulan cheongsam I had on Clawdeen for months, and decided to go ahead and get it done. Cut the top from the skirt right under the gold edge, then took in the skirt pieces at the side seams. Re-sewed a hem at the top, and added a snap. Done ! Clawdeen now has an awesome snug Chinese blouse with a matching split skirt, and they both fit great.

 

 

Several months ago, I used some heavily discounted after-Halloween bright-stripe fabric with nearly hidden skulls on it to cushion a pair of mismatched Barbie sofas. While it helps the furniture and the dolls seated on them look better, the cushions are actually there to help them keep their seats. Due to their uniquely strung bodies, unsupported MH dolls tend to sag backwards or flop over without support - especially when the couch is as low as yer average Mattel one. I made just a seat cushion for the white 'wicker' look Dream Furniture (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UK9loSkXM4k), which was an error. It really needs a back cushion, too, since Holt keeps sagging off the thing unless I prop him up somewhat, he has a very floppy body. He's sitting up nice and straight now, but it took me longer to re-find the fabric than it took to sew the cushion ! One more item off the 'been meaning to' list. It's great to see him properly seated, so that he can better appreciate Frankie's short dress and Clarice's luscious pageghoul hairstyle.

 

 

And I emptied the 'cutaway scrap' bin I keep on the cutting table / clothes dryer. The bin's actually an empty oval decorator Kleenex box I bought to make a sort of Barbie bar. I just couldn't throw it away when we moved, but it had to earn its keep. It's easy to stash the little scraps inside, easy to grab 'em out when I need 'em, and even if I knock it over, the tiny bits stay inside. 

 

 

Then, I started to fill it up again, when I cut out the pieces for that poet's shirt. Beloved came home worn out, and Dearest was busy with a video game, so it was back to KJ for more fun. The shirt stitched up OK, but that neckline looked awfully small...oh. Tabitha's is split up the back, while the original design is intended to slide on over the doll's head. Not happening here, that's fer sure. Mine's a bit off, and the gathered part (everything that's not the yoke and the sleeves) is HUGE, but otherwise, the fit's OK. If you don't mind shirts you can get two dolls into. Still, not a big issue. Need to shorten the sleeves, take some out of the gathered shirt part, and possibly narrow the yoke a bit, but that's all pretty easy. And heck, today's effort is wearable, just really big. You'll get a photo tomorrow.

 

 

Mattel announced - sort of - the 2011 ComicCon exclusive today. It's a Ghoulia ! Some sort of Ghoulia super-hero named Dead Fast. They even have it trademarked. Line art appeared on the official FaceBook page, with a short blurb about the ComicCon exclusive toys being shown on G4's Attack of the Show tonight. I actually found the video, and while you can see her briefly, they're too involved with Swamp Thing and Voltron to actually name her or even pick her up. You can see the G4 show clip here - http://www.g4tv.com/videos/52683/Exclusive-Mattel-Toys-Coming-To-Comic-Con/ - and visit Monster High on FaceBook for the line art. Or just visit Flickr, I'm sure it's been posted and reposted a few hundred times by now.

 

 

Well, it's getting late, and my eyes are a bit strained. I've redone the poet's shirt pattern and scanned it, so maybe I'll get to sew it again tomorrow. Let me know if you want a photo of Clawdeen's slightly altered Mulan Cheongsam. I really need to make a master rotation list, so the same three or four dolls aren't getting all the new clothes...

 

It's all in the timing...but I don't even know if it's good timing or bad right now.

 

Current Mood : Whirlwind-ish - joyful one minute, ticked off the next, hopeful ten minutes later. I'm all over the place ! 

 

 

 

I am the Laundry Master ! Did four loads today, and got it all put away - yup, all of it. Not just today's, but also the two loads I did last week, and a small mountain of clean Beloved Hubby apparel that didn't get hung up from the last big laundry throw-down. My clothes take maybe five minutes to arrange in the closet, but Beloved's have to be turned right side out, and he goes through a lot more than homebody me. So his had piled up and started getting in the way, and I was not gonna let it stay one day longer. Even the socks are paired up and put up. Whew ! Dearest Son wants to put his own laundry away, so he's doing that now - he says he feels like a big guy when he does his own, and ya'll know lazy me too well to think I'd ever keep him from that feeling ! 

 

 

Tabitha's fiancee (for some reason, I thought he was her brother- what a dim bulb I've been lately !)  got the semi-commission I finished last week - another mini-notebook cover (with his name embroidered on the inside cover !) inside a black zipper bag with 'Evil Plant Master' embroidered on the outside, and my usual star-field fabric lining. The photos she posted don't lie - he really liked them. Whew ! It's always kind of a wrench to make gifts, you always end up hoping like anything that they do like and use it - so his happy smile made my week. And it's been a tough one, laundry and dishes not withstanding ! But I made someone happy who wasn't expecting it, and that's a gift I was so happy to receive. Thanks, Tabitha !

 

 

Beloved and I were talking, and it occurred to me that maybe his 'friend' (who really put us in a pickle this week) was just oblivious to what he inadvertently did to us. I mean, one of the things I love about Beloved is that he's so incredibly nice - so it's rare for the jackalopes around him to ever get told they're being jackalopes, at least, not hardly ever by him. Friend may actually not be aware of the true cost of his actions. So, Beloved let Friend know...and he is either so shocked by his actions that he's too ashamed to acknowledge it, or it's true, Friend doesn't give a fraction of a flatworm. Since Friend told Beloved to his face last night that he was going to a convention this weekend, I guess we'll know if he goes. Sometimes it's the best thing, to know exactly who you're dealing with - so you never go through *&#5 like this again.

 

 

Moving on, lest I explode... in a stunning display of either perfect or truly abysmal timing, a Toy Fair 2011 catalog from Mattel surfaced today - and it's in Spanish. Oh, well - the pictures need little translation. I had serious trouble getting the page view enlarged to work, but here's the link if you'd like to see the raw scans - http://issuu.com/toysamexico/docs/mattel-2011-1-125  . The MH stuff begins on page 79. Or you can go to Flickr or darn near any Monster High fan site, since the images have been ganked and posted about three dozen times since. I stole today's from the LiveJournal page - if money was no object, this'd be my first purchase after the Hydration Station, or possibly in place of it. One of Lagoona's little three-eyed frog 'bros' is riding on her shoulder - how adorable ! And I love the lockers !! Of course, I'd also snag Ghoulia's 'Physical Deaducation' set and swap out lab coats and clothes with Lagoona. On the off-chance you don't see these about a hundred times between now and tomorrow, I'll post the 'Ghoulia PD' image tomorrow.

 

 

Seriously, there's a ton to want here. There's a Frankie 'Home Ick' set, a Ghoulia Gloom Beach doll, bunk beds for Clawdeen, 'Dead Tired' pajamas for Cleo, DracuLaura, Frankie, and Ghoulia, two new outfits, and a Fearleading three-pack of Ghoulia, Cleo, and DLaura. Wow. Lotsa Ghoulia coming up, it's gonna be hard to pick and choose ! Goss knows our wallets won't survive the onslaught if we buy it all, but I'm sure Mattel - and I ! - would like it ! May have to arrange some splits and trades when these goodies start hitting the shelves...

 

 

But, it's not something I gotta worry about right now. Tomorrow's Thursday, and the reason I try like cats to get my housework done - or at least, where you can walk through the place - Creative Thursday ! I wanna try the tiny 'MH' logo I digitized, and sew something...maybe for a different doll, maybe one of my alterations, maybe one of the patterns I bought from Tarja a couple months ago. I don't know what I want to try next.

 

 

I'm just glad I want to.

 

It's not that bad...yet.

 

Current Mood : Kinda drowsy from dinner - spaghetti !  

 

 

 

Well, believe this or not - we actually got more bad news late last night. (sigh) But it's nothing we can do anything about, all we can do is remain calm and soldier on. I'm getting really tired of Beloved Hubby getting jerked around though. Especially when this person is supposedly a friend. With friends like that, we'll be out on the street by July...

 

 

Anyway. It wasn't a good day for being creative, the few ideas I tried to futz with fizzled out. Dearest Son was home, hopped up on Easter sugar, and towing a new-to-him bicycle that FIL had curb-shopped for him. He was hyper-excited over it, which I couldn't quite figure out, since it was exactly the same size as the bike he has now. Same shape, same tires, same everything, but his old one's a Huffy, and the 'new' one is a Murray. He has grand plans for both bikes, so we'll see what happens.

 

 

Got the dishes done, and since Beloved had quite a few of his tools with him today, I got that area and the kitchen swept out, then took the rugs outside and beat heck and dirt out of 'em. Therapeutic, and beneficial ! That made the stacks of dishes look worse, so I got those knocked out, and did them again after dinner. Well, if ya can't quite create, ya might as well clean !

 

 

The owner of the Clawd and DracuLaura set posted a ton of new photos on the LiveJournal site...umm. She said she found them in an Asian imports hole-in-the-wall shop, and along with a first-issue Frankie, it was all the MH the place had. I'll probably still get the set for Clawd, but my first impression seems to have been correct - several folks will make cash designing and sewing hats for him. His hair is nearly as sparse as that of a #1 Ken, and just like the early incarnations of Mr. Carson, Clawd's hair is flocked for the most part. No real way of fluffing it up a bit. It seems to be rooted in almost a mohawk between his ears, but there's large areas of blank space in front of them, and it's super-short flocking everywhere else. Some people may find wigmaking a fun and profitable hobby, too... His pet, a gargoyle bulldog, must be fun around the house with Clawdeen's cat Crescent.

 

 

As for DLaura, nothing really new here, besides clothes and props. Her hands are the same as her first issue's, and her facial screening and hair stripes look about the same. The poem on the back of the box is pretty bad, about on par with what a pre-teen would write, with bad rhymes and attempts at upselling the vocabulary. Honestly, I would wait to see if I could score Clawd cheap, but if Ghoulia was any indication, it'd be cheaper for me to just buy the set at retail, and sell off what I don't want. Right now, though, I'm worn. Too worn to care much about Clawd.

 

 

Maybe once I slog through some laundry tomorrow, the other mess magnet at Chez Insanity, I'll feel a bit brighter about things. Here's hoping !

Sometimes I have to keep telling m'self that things always get better - sometimes I get lucky and have friends that say the same thing !

 

Current Mood : Hopeful, but it's harder than usual. 

 

 

Current Image Notes : Dearest Son was playing with the spare Barbies and his collection of Barbie cars when FIL picked him up for a visit Saturday. This is exactly how he left them. Yes, that Ken doll has remained standing, unassisted, since then. He's still standing ! I'm not quite sure how he did it, because Ken is not standing straight, not at all.

 

 

 

Well, today wasn't quite the festering ball of Hades we'd expected, but it was still pretty bad. At least now the sun is shining bright after two days of rain and a week of overcast cloud-cover, and hope is out there still. Could use a few less weeks like this, though. Poor Beloved Hubby is stressed to the bone marrow. And there's next to nothing I can do, save for dishes and laundry. At least the decreasing humidity is helping my breathing ! There's always something positive to look at, but &^%4, it's been hard to see lately.

 

 

And maybe looking at things differently is what I needed - I just hate to think that's what all this crapfest has been for ! Seriously, I've been wound up in when new toys are being released, and which ones. Like it actually matters to 99.9% of this planet. Who cares ! I shouldn't. I have darn near every doll that's been up for sale, and I've been ignoring all the ones what aren't them. I've been sitting around, morose and uninspired for weeks over nothing. Only now, when things are rotten and approaching desperate at a rapid clip do I see all that I've had, all along. Pathetic.

 

 

Well, amend that. It's only pathetic if I let it continue. I've pretty much burned today off coming to that sterling, dirt-simple revelation, but I already have stuff stacked up to get done. Got tired of junk underfoot and crap piled up, so I cleaned off my desk. Darn, but that thing gets cluttered up fast - seems like I'm always cleaning it. Finally got my mousepad ( a square of cat-patterned felt) and my former tote bag Barbie purse washed. While putting away thick winter blankets and dragging out thinner ones, I found my box of purses - well, box of purse. It was a black one I found in a Dumpster several years ago, wedged in a former liquor-store box that's held photo albums for six or seven years now. Once it's dry, I can retire the Barbie one, and I have something for the interim until I buy the fabric I finally decided on for my New Purse Project. Yeah, it's typical for me - once I finally decide what I want, we're too broke to get it ! (grin)

 

 

 We ran out for a few groceries - nothing new in dolls or MH. Was tempted to get another Scream Uniform, since our Mal-Wart was plentifully stocked, but decided against it. Instead, I worked on a tiny half-inch wide, half-inch tall MH logo, like what's on the front of the Fearleader outfits. Not sure if something that small's gonna work, but we'll give it a try soon ! 

Wherein we learn that a good attitude (or what passes for one with me) can only go so far...