I don't even need an eye mask...zzzzzzz.....

 

Current Mood : <Yaaaaawwwnnn> 

 

 

And there's the newest bit of MH furniture, Lagoona's Hydration Station. Descriptions say it first appeared on a Smyths's toy store website. Smyths is a UK store, so the price was listed as forty pounds. Rumor has it that the US price will be forty bucks, which is much kinder than the $65.+ with current exchange rates. I love it, so here's hoping ! If you look closely, you can see that she's wearing the official Mattel eye mask, and I believe that pet fish Neptuna is wearing his ( hers ?) on the top bubble shelf on your right in that first opened door image on the left. Since I'd much rather have this than the 'seahorse mohawk' Dawn of the Dance Lagoona, there's been a slight change to the 'want' list !

 

 

It's still pretty small. This, and the DotD Ghoulia and Deuce, mostly for their clothes, and however Clawd is released. Shoot. That list doesn't sound short at all, actually. Ah, well, we'll see. I don't even promise stuff to m'self these days ! Another fan noted it'd make a great Star Trek transporter device. Shoot, now I wanna see if Princess Leia will fit in there...

 

 

Beloved Hubby had a good day at Airsoft, but he's dirt tired. So tired that we ordered pizza for dinner, something we haven't done in weeks. He also had a chance to chat with FIL, and I guess they've made up, since Dearest Son is going for a one-day visit sometime tomorrow. As you can expect, I never hold FIL to any particular time frame anymore.

 

 

So, it looks like I may have some time to sew. I'm just not sure what to sew. More Puchi Collective alterations ? That cool dress pattern Tabitha sent me ? More eye masks ? Or something totally new - poor Lil' Miss Makeup is still in her original dress after all this time. Might be fun to sew something a bit bigger for a change - and goss knows I haven't sewn anybody else anything since the MH dolls invaded ! So many possibilities...

 

 

About the only thing I did was sort out the long-neglected thread boxes while watching UHF, an old favorite. Finally got everything arranged the way I'd always meant to, with color families together in one box, and a different one for thread spools that had bobbins wound and ready to go. At last, now I can find stuff. When I'm ready for some of those possibilities - it's not only me that'll be ready to go !

 

 

Just not a lot going on right now. Everyone's sleepy, so I think we'll have an early night of it. Hope your Saturday was a bit more scintillating - ours is snoozy ! 

Ready for a sleepy weekend...

 

Current Mood : Shrugging. Whatever. 

 

 

Happy Friday ! I'm relieved because yesterday's project is in the mail, and should reach the new owner a day before deadline. Whew ! While I was there, I picked up the Priority boxes I'll need to mail off my eBay auctions - one has already reached my 'pie in the sky' only hoped-for Buy It Now impossible dream goal, and it doesn't end 'til Tuesday !  Of the other two, one has a bid, and the other has three watchers, so here's hoping. It's silly, but my little world is riding much easier on its axis now that I have the shipping containers for them, ready to go.

 

 

Beloved Hubby says the cash I make off them is all mine, but no. General Household Funds need...well, funding, so it's fine with me if it goes to a bill or pizza. Frankly, Mattel is still doing the 'sometime this summer' thing on the shipping dates of new Monster High dolls, and there's darn little I want, so I don't think it wise to sit on cash when there's stuff we need. Of what we 'know' (and that knowledge is highly questionable) is coming out eventually, I only want new male dolls. When you already have three Frankies, Cleos, and Clawdeens, plus two DLauras and Ghoulias, and the one sole Lagoona, it's really hard to justify getting more of the same, ya know ?

 

 

Sure, I'd love all three of the new 'Dawn of the Dance' dolls, but I'd end up selling the nudes. And now that illustrations show the 'School's Out' Frankie's shoes, I'm not quite as interested as I was. I liked them when they looked like plain ole pumps, but now that I see the 'bolt' detail, it kinda narrows their use. Sorry, Mattel, but I need stuff that's not so character-specific - I hate being limited. So now, there's nothing on the 'School's Out' line I want anymore. And even 'DotD' is up for debate. Kinda hate spending $20. or more for a doll outfit, although I understand that's considered cheap in some circles. I still more or less operate in mass-produced Barbie orbits, truth to tell. 

 

 

Well, there's the 'small project' I've been working off and on over the last week. Told ya'll about it Tuesday, so now you can shrug and say, 'Is that all there is ?' and I'll say 'Yeah, that's it, it took a lot more time and effort than it should have', and we can all murmur 'Whatever' and move along. It's a simple eye-mask that I still haven't perfected - I have the worst time with symmetry in my sewing...and with anything, really. I can never get two halves of anything to match up right. And the Sharpie-drawn eyes are kinda scary, but you should see the set on the other side- yikes. They frighten me, and I drew 'em ! This is the fifth trial, and I'm about to scrap the whole thing. Maybe just one more trial...

 

 

Maybe I'll figure out how to embroider the mask's decorations, or leave off the eyes or anything on 'em at all, and just make 'em out of snuggly fabric. Reason you're getting 'em anyway, even though the laughable pattern isn't perfected is because Mattel already has. Perfected an eye-mask for the MH girls, I mean. Tomorrow, I'll post a photo of the just-surfaced 'Lagoona's Hydration Station' - it is awesome. I want ! And yes, it comes with a Lagoona doll - so much for me wanting the 'DotD' Lagoona now ! - who has a cute blue eyemask. Even her pet fish Neptuna has one. Ah, well. At least I got scooped by Mattel !

 

 

Lagoona's wearing the gorgeous poet's blouse I got from Tabitha's trade a couple weeks ago, paired with a second pair of her luscious brown Velour slacks. It's amazing how good the Scream Uniform shoes look with it ! Not only are these my favorite shoes in the whole MH line, they are definitely 'right foot' and 'left foot' oriented, and a doll can stand unassisted in them for days. I hope Mattel makes more great shoes soon ! My last two efforts have ranked !

 

Easter eggs and red codpieces, revisited.

 

 

Current Mood : Nostalgic

 

 

Spent part of the morning I really should have been sewing watching old music videos. Man, I miss the 80s sometimes. When a guy could walk around in black tights with a red rubber codpiece and not only be considered a trend setting desire object but also front a band that had a string of decade-defining top-40 hits. I admit it, I have a weakness for Cameo. Shouldn't be a surprise that the year end 'senior songs' in high school listed my name next to their song, 'She's Strange'. It had just started getting airplay in our podunk town when we graduated. I shudder to think what I might have been listed with if it hadn't hit as a single. Geek chic did not exist in 1984.

 

 

Fact is, I'm kind of in a weird mood today. Finished up the project I was working on, right on time - then I couldn't find the address I needed to mail it to. D'oh ! Had to ask for it again like an idiot, and by the time that was settled, I couldn't get to the post office before it closed. Beloved Hubby says he'll take it by first thing in the morning. But I still feel like an idiot. All I can do right now is hope it arrives in time. I took photos, though, just in case. Hope they like it.

 

 

I didn't have time for any doll sewing, and was kind of tired of sewing by the time the project was done. It wasn't that I didn't like doing it, it was fun and I needed some practice on a couple of the skills - it's been a while since I sewed a zipper. My problem, like with movies and pop culture, is that my interest wanes sharply. By the time I'm nearly done with a project, I'm quite ready to be finished ! That's why so many of my doll clothes descriptions mention how long they took to complete.  An hour, hour and a half a day is about right for me. Two hours is my max. Any longer than that, and I tend to break it down - cut everything out and study the directions one day, sew the next. If I try to accomplish too much and feel rushed, it's clearly not gonna be my best work. I knew how long everything would take today, since I've done it all before, but we have a weather system that's tightening my airways, and that always makes me jittery. It began yesterday, and I was hoping today would be lighter, not worse, but my hopes don't always happen ! Or we'd get thrown out of the state for winning too many lotteries...

 

 

On the FIL front, well, we're giving him some space. Which is a nice way of putting that we're giving us some space, so nobody blows up ! Like usual, when I'm furious and the tight ball of energy has nowhere to go that won't hurt anyone, I type five or six pages of sheer frustration, then date and close the Word document. It's out and away from me so I don't have to dwell on it, I've had my say in at least one place, and I can choose to revisit it or not. And nobody gets hurt. Dearest Son has nothing to repeat whenever we choose to let him visit next, and I can remain calm - well, calmer than I would have been otherwise. It's not perfect, and sometimes writing it down reinforces or even amplifies the negative emotions, but for now, it's worked better than pillow-beating and primal screaming. Those tire me out too much !

 

 

Oh, and later replies to the 'Rip off or Homage ?' thread on the discussion board echoed what ya'll thought. One or two copies for personal use only doesn't hurt, but personal profit or denying profit to the legal owner(s) is right out. Nice to know that, at least in Crafts, common sense prevails !

 

 

I'm also happy Easter is rapidly approaching. Really tired of egg-based crafts. Today I saw instructions and photos for five different versions of egg door wreaths, and three egg-style buntings. (heavy sigh) Makes me want to hard-boil several, without any dyes, crush the shells so completely they can't be used for any of the six tutorials I've seen for cascarones (confetti-filled eggshells) and make a huge mess out of devouring the things. Revenge-based dining is so fashionable, you know. I should write up a tutorial on it...

 

Copyrights and the fun that comes with being broke...

 

Current Mood : Stupid.

 

 

 

Well, another site I used to visit bit the list dust today. Am I the only one ever who gets tired of being called stupid because I have a different opinion ? On that discussion board, in response to the blurry 'buy these dolls, too' photo on the Clawd/Draculaura box :

 

 

"ABBEY IS AWESOME! Oh wow!
I'm SO impressed by what I can see, and I'm glad that people will stop being stupid thinking that Spectra is a fake!"

 

 

(sigh) This keeps up, I'll have hours and hours in which to sew, since I'll be avoiding every site that ever heard of these *&^5ing dolls. And just think of all the cash I'll save by being too upset, angry, and 'stupid' to buy anything new ! (snark)

 

 

Moving right along... I swear, it's a bigger thrill when you're selling on eBay than when you're buying - especially when your stuff actually has bids ! For some reason, eBay gave me 50 free 'auction insertions' to use between yesterday and the first of the month, so listing my three yesterday was 75c cheaper than it was before. Yaaay ! And one has bids already, which is so exciting ! Is it wrong to hope that it sells high ? (greedy grin)

 

 

And this'll make you laugh - but first, one of my usual long-winded backgrounds. Not too long ago, the only way to get *legal* licensed Disney embroidery designs was to buy a licensed Brother Disney embroidery machine - or spend nearly the same amount on one of the few licensed cards and a card reader. Back before USB made transferring designs awesome and easy, you'd have to use a card and card reader device to move designs between computer and machine. It's one of the reasons embroidery sewing machines used to be sooo expensive, since they pretty much had to be sold with the sewing machine. And woe betide you if the thing suddenly seized and either stopped working for no apparent reason or dumped everything that was on the card. Happened frequently, from what I read - that system is still in use. I sure can't blame anybody for not trading up when they've already invested big bucks in what they got, and it still (mostly) works. Cards ranged from $40. (blank) to $99. with designs, and the readers were about $250. more. Very proprietary systems, not like you could just get another blank SmartMedia or SD card at Best Buy - these were big and only worked with one system.

 

 

Anyway, for the most part, the $400. Brother-exclusive Disney machines had the designs built in, so it was actually the most reliable form, sad as that is. Unfortunately, in order to pay the licensing and remain affordable, the Disney machines were quite stripped and often flawed, and since have poor reputations - for every one that's a dream like my Brody, there's one that never worked and two that had varying degrees of problems. This helped the knockoff, rip-off design sites flourish, and encouraged doing yer own thing with newly available, cheap digitizing software... which includes yours truly, who will on occasion, rip off a design solely for her own selfish use.

 

 

That all changed - well, maybe not all, lol ! - today with an email from Brother. They're starting their own design sales site called (perhaps unoriginally) iBroidery, with the usual selection of cute freebies and single-piece prices. Intriguingly, the email promised Pixar designs... and guess what ? Remember the Finding Nemo  'Dory' design I jacked for the Princess Dorrie dress last year ? Guess which exact one is for sale at iBroidery for $6.99 ? I could probably get away with sending them a photo of it, saying it was from their site...of course, they'd have proof I didn't buy it there, and mine doesn't have a ' (c) Disney Pixar' logo running along one edge. Still, I did pretty good with it when I compare them. If I had a spare seven bucks, I'd buy it and stitch 'em out side by side, just out of curiosity.

 

 

 Frankly, some of their designs, Disney or not, aren't very good. Some of the Disneys, especially the 'Twisted Princess' ones, I can't even read or make out what it's supposed to be. Kinda ranks, 'cause I love the 'Wicked Princess' patch/sign that's up for sale, but if I can't tell what it is before I buy it, goss only knows what it'll look like when Brody's done with it. I mean, Brody does his usual great-job best, of course, but generally stuff offered for sale looks its absolute best *before* you buy it.... It's also funny because it's a generic gothic design, with Olde English lettering. Easy to create with no licensing at all on your own.

 

 

I admit, I was feeling a bit down and decided to revisit an old site I used to haunt - for embroidery. Nothin' to do with MH, if you can believe it. I wanted to know others' opinions on that very question. Namely, if you're a fan of a company or product, and like its logo enough to take the time and effort to digitize it just for your personal use - you refuse to sell or give away the design, or sell anything made with that corporate-owned logo - is it any worse than making your own declaration of fandom t-shirt to wear to the concert, or painting your own version of the movie poster for your living room ? You're not making any money or glory off the trademark. Honestly, you're giving the company free advertising, and you've bought their products - usually a couple hundred dollars' worth, and that logo was all over the boxes. The company is not, in any way, suffering financial or status loss as a result of your appreciation. As long as you keep it for your own personal use, is it a deep dark dungeon d@mnation violation ?

 

 

Several people think it is. One said that if it was her logo she caught me using (honestly, I didn't know she had one !), 'there'd be h#ll to pay !'. Others advised reading up on copyright law (wise, I really need to study 'fair use' laws), and writing the company for permission. I'd be afraid to put m'self on the radar ! It was foolish of me to ask for opinions when I already know mine, but it's made me think...I need to be more careful about showing photos of my stuff ! Still, I think 'fair use' would allow it - I just don't wanna end up in court to prove it.

 

 

BTW, the 'Hello Kitty' stuff was either purchased (the sticker on my sewing machine, KJ) or gifted (the obi belt ribbon, from Tabitha). Last thing I want is for Sanrio to get up my kimono ! 

Jedi and wizards in unexpected places...

 

Current Mood : Mmmm, tacos...

 

 

It's kind of hard to see in the photo, but while I was smart enough to change the needle to a ballpoint, I was too lazy to change the thread from DLaura's hot pink dot dress the day before. So the stitching on Clawdeen's T-shirt is hot pink. It goes well with Gloom Beach Clawdeen's shoes, I think. Like the fake hem ? It was too short to actually hem, but since it was already well Fray-checked, I just put in a line of stitching and declared it done. Her skirt is a really old one, original DLaura once modeled it as a very short dress. It's straight elastic - found it in a lot some time ago. Too short for Barbie, darn near too short for the ghouls, but it does make a cute skirt ! You'll get to see original Clawdeen tomorrow, modeling her new obi with the pink kimono I didn't like on Ghoulia. Looks much better on Clawdeen, by the by.

 

 

Today was a bit rough. Beloved Hubby and FIL are in the middle of a squabble, and FIL said something that...well, he really shouldn't have. He said something similar to me, years ago, and then as now, he got the last word by tossing the rude statement over his shoulder as he sped out of our driveway. I'm trying not to let it bother me, but... when he said it to me, years back, it's been the one thing I've never forgiven him for. And he just did it again, to Beloved - which is even worse.

 

 

And, add to it that, when Dearest Son came home, he was upset that we sold Bonnie-truck. Um, we did that weeks ago, why was he upset about it now ? Because FIL had to state his opinion about it while Dearest was at their house. (sigh) So, while I tried to stay out of the brewing feud between Beloved and his father, darn if he didn't drag me into it anyway - 'cause guess who normally deals with an upset Dearest ? Arrrgh. Ask me, I'd say FIL is upset about Bonnie being gone now because his vehicle is having problems, and Bonnie isn't here for him to borrow for another indefinite period. Wheee. Aren't I having such fun ?

 

 

Got some stuff done that I've put off for years. Waaaay back, about the time the blog started, I bought a couple things, one of which I knew sold pretty high on eBay, for darn near pennies. They got involved in moves twice over, and I need the space, so I listed 'em all for sale today. I'm totally shocked. While two haven't had so much as a view that wasn't me, one has already snagged six bids - and it's darn close to what I was gonna list it under Buy It Now for ! Whoof. Normally, when I sell stuff on eBay, I have a BIN and an auction, to give buyers a choice. The BIN price is about what similar products in similar shape have closed for, and the auction normally begins at something less than ten bucks. I was gonna list the popular item for around $50. BIN, although the ones that have sold for that weren't as complete as mine. But then, I figured I'd just let it run, and if it closed at more or less, that'd be fine, since I really didn't pay that much for it. Not gonna lie, I'd love the cash, but I need the space regardless.

 

 

Didn't get to much sewing time - listing those pieces took several hours, for photography, editing, writing, and all. I'm really proud of me for getting all that done ! So I played with the Little Disney Princess dolls after lunch for a bit - changed their clothes, brushed their hair, redid their seating arrangements, stored the shuffled-around clothes. It was more fun than I thought it'd be, although I do the same thing all the time with the MH crew. It's easier to play with them, they're right on my desk, and every few days, I've sewn something new for them. So I'm thinking of taking some time every week for a specific subset of dolls. This week, it was the LDPs. Next week, it might be a shelf of Barbies, or Timey and Hi, Dottie, or MSB Gracie, or even my Battat AG clone, Debbie. I've barely touched any of them since we moved, and they all need some play time. So do I. It'll keep me from sliding back into 'collector' mode.

 

 

I did have a few minutes to work on a small project, though. First two prototypes have ranked, though. I'm gonna have to completely re-think it, or figure a better way to sew it. I'm gonna be evil and not tell you what it is until I get a decent one. And then, you'll go 'So that's all it was ?' and I'll say, 'Yeah, but it took a lot of time', and everyone will end up shrugging and saying, 'Whatever.'. I'm kind of looking forward to it !

 

 

As for Harry Potter... sorry for upsetting the fans. It's just one of my personality flaws, when something's talked up to the heavens, I turn off. Heck, the only reason I liked Star Wars back in 1977 was because I hadn't heard a thing about it. But the more omnipresent and hyped up something is, the less interested I become. Then, when the furor dies and the fandom isn't trying to make a religion out of it, I'll usually give it a shot. So, probably in another year or two, when a couple of my friends quit talking about it every day, I'll probably borrow the first book. There's a good chance I'll like it. But one of the few things I'd heard was 'He's a natural Quiddich player', 'He's a born wizard and never gets spells wrong', stuff like that. Hence my reaction. I'll be glad to learn that Harry's not a paragon, that he's human.

 

 

But just the other day, I saw some guy and his friends coming out of a Dollar General store - he wore a t-shirt proclaiming that he was a pseudo-rank Jedi from OurState, Big City...and I darn near threw up. Something about his shirt and his posture - and the lit-up $200. collector-level light saber - seemed to expect applause or something. I'm all for enjoying your stuff, especially out in public when it can be seen, but something about the whole scene just hit me wrong. And I once wore a Sailor Moon shirt at DisneyWorld ! It was surreal - or maybe I ate a bad taco. 

DLaura's got spots !

 

Current Mood : Slowly relaxing... 

 

 

I'm having some serious trouble engaging my rear into gear. With Dearest Son at his grandparents' all day, I mostly sat around and puttered. While I stayed off the Netflix and Monster High fansites, didn't nap, and I got some minor 'been meaning to do' housework done, I can't really tell ya where the day went. I got another PineCone survey, which is great - they pretty much pay for my website fees.

 

 

The 'Who Wore It Best ?' image has snagged nearly a hundred voters so far - it was at 96 last time I checked. When it gets to a hundred, I'll say we're done, but Cleo is clearly the forerunner. I'm still amazed it got as much traffic as it did. Goes to show that Tabitha's dresses are traffic-stoppers !

 

 

Adjusted and scanned the pattern I used for today's dress, the already altered A-Line from Puchi Collective, and wrote them a short thank you note for it. Hope they don't mind that I used it for an entirely different doll ! Also snagged their t-shirt pattern, which also printed out at the wrong size. The 'guiding line' was nowhere near 6 1/4 inches - more like five and change. But a quick cutout on a paper towel scrap showed it'd work, although those sleeves looked tiny ! I added a quarter-inch to the length, figured I'd wait on a finished sample before I changed anything else. Besides, adding length is easy to do and undo. Still, while the length looked good, the diameter was quite narrow - definitely have to take the hands off for these sleeves !

 

 

But, ya know, I didn't want to have to say that is all I did with a whole entire day. So I grabbed Dearest's old, outgrown blue shirt - or rather, what's left of it, it's made three pair of MH guy pants, a pair of shorts, part of a ghoul shirt that didn't work, and a headband - and cut out the newly-altered t-shirt pattern. Fray-checked it, and sewed it up. Took about an hour, and that included picking out and re-sewing the neckline. I'm slowly getting better with those - and this was a knit ! While I've sewn knits before, of course, it's rarely been this tiny, but I did it. You'll get that photo tomorrow. It fits, but yeah, those sleeves are tight, the neckline is higher than I wanted, and it's a bit short. So I altered it again, scanned the changes, and hope to sew it up again soon. Maybe even tonight. Beloved Hubby says he's working late on a new job, and I never know when Dearest is coming back home.

 

 

For now, though, I'm gonna relax a bit. Changed Lagoona's gold skirt for the second pair of brown slacks Tabitha sent, and she looks so comfy. I have *got* to try that shirt, it's awesome ! 

Dorrie got owl !

 

Current Mood : I feel like I'm back on the right path...so, darn happy ! 

 

 

Had another of my 'Silly Little Memory-Epiphanies That Don't Mean Squat To Anyone Else' today. Wanted to wish Tabitha a happy birthday today - yaaay ! - so I found a cute graphic on MonsterHigh.com and set about removing some elements and tweaking others. Had to ditch a partial 'Click Here' button, which is always fun...but these days, it's barely a challenge. Fifteen minutes later, I had what I wanted - it took me longer to figure out how to post it to her than it did to alter the image !

 

 

I was a little smug - I'm actually getting good at crafting what I want from graphic images that aren't quite right. Then I remembered some wake-of-Star Wars movie I saw as a kid. One character was shown to manipulate light like a toy - bouncing wave forms and color spheres from his hands on a whim. Since it's not really explained or explored, I figured any of the film's characters could do that, like the only kid at recess with a yo-yo - any kid could have one, but in those scenes, only he did. Turns out, it's a plot point that singles that guy out, he's the One, the Hope of All Mankind, yatta yatta. Or something. I really don't remember much about it. Except for that wave-form thing...

 

 

I always wanted to do that. Something unexplained that no one else around me could. I examined ads for rings that promised to magnetically manipulate things at my command via a hidden switch - I knew it was fake, but I wanted to be special, even if it was a weird sort of special. Turns out, I now actually do alter light and colors to suit my needs, it's just on a computer, and anyone can do it. But, like any talent, no one is born with it. It only comes from time and craft and need and desire.

 

 

Funny, when you realize you've had something you've always wanted, all along...

 

 

Turns out, the movie was the classic 'so bad, it approaches good' Starcrash. And the 'you learn, you're not born knowing anything except maybe how to breathe' theory is why I don't read stuff like Harry Potter. I hate the 'born expert' stuff. It just annoys everyone else who has to work like a dog to have the skills this person is blessed with, and negates the struggle and sacrifice. It's been my experience that the ones who had to work to get what they want made the struggle worth it - the ones who had it handed to them got so entitled, they expected everything else on a platter as well - and other people were just there to give them everything. I'm sure you can guess who I'd rather hang out and talk with !

 

 

Got some hand-sewing and machine sewing done today, but I mostly spent the afternoon playing with my dolls. I needed that. But, as day's end approaches, I finally found a use for those skull-and-crossbones shoe decorations I bought back in September - turns out, they make perfect belt buckles for the MH guys ! They're just a bit too long for the ghouls. DracuLaura has a new dress with an altered-to-fit Moxie Teenz belt, and I'm happy. It's too dark to get a decent photo, though, so I'll post it tomorrow. Hope you enjoy my 'new, improved' Sir Hoots A Lot instead ! He's also from the Doll Divine site, although I had to touch him up a bit in PaintShopPro. 

 

 

And that you'll join me in wishing Tabitha a late birthday ! Be glad to wish you one, just tell me when it is, and I'll scratch it on the desk calendar, anytime. 

Today, I told the hive to buzz off !

 

Current Mood : Much better !  

 

 

Realized something kind of important today. Somewhere, in between obtaining all the 'basic' (i.e., the dolls with diaries) line and kvetching over whether or not to buy all three dolls in the 'Dawn of the Dance' series (mostly for their shoes and accessories), and joining anything that featured a badly redrawn version of the logo, I became a Monster High collector. Doesn't sound like a bad thing, really - hundreds of people probably also collect these specific dolls, and millions more have their own specialty niche dolls that they'd gladly bend time and space (and their credit ratings) to own. At least these weren't a couple hundred bucks each ! 'Cause, let's face it, if ball-jointed dolls weren't so expensive and involved, I'd probably love them, too.

 

But here's the deal - I'm not a collector. When I think of the word 'collector', I see someone who has a closet full of unboxed dolls, stacked up like cordwood, the ones on the bottom having to get rotated to see the light of day once a year. Of course, there's more on display, and more on pre-order, and yer average collector haunts message boards straining for scraps of more information, so he/she will know what's coming up next, in order to put in a request for the 'right' doll(s) during the following week. Nothing wrong with that, if you have the money and support from your family. Although I have all the support in the world from Beloved Hubby and Dearest Son, we are very limited resources family. Even in my Barbie days, I got a lot more out of yard sales than I did from collector message boards - and the Tonner / 16-inch collectors who haunted those specific boards were such snobs, I darn near completely disassociated from dolls entirely, just because the attitudes were so bad and so uniform...and they quickly became judgmental and smothering. I ended up being a reverse snob, which may actually be worse...but eventually I relaxed and created a comfortable spot for m'self. Goss knows I never found it in any of the communities.

 

But I'm growing dissatisfied with MH, and starting to feel the same way I did back when Prego let me know how worthless I was as a collector. It's not entirely the same, but...Between the uber-fans, the attitudes, the squabbling, the near-total radio silence from Mattel, and the ridiculousness of grown adults acting this way over new - not even vintage or in any way limited - toys, I would gladly put every last one of these dolls on eBay and be done with them, just to be free of the fandom. Which ranks, because I've met some truly awesome people who also love MH, and I don't mean to toss them in with the jerkwads, but right now, because I'm a blasted collector, it's all blending together. I'm dizzy and lost, and my decisions and actions reflect that. But part of me is screaming that this isn't me, not anymore. 

 

I really don't want this. I want my incredible friends and time with them, and I want my dolls, but the crap that seems to come with fandom is wearing me down to the point where I just want to be free of it all. There's only one way I can have what I want again - stop being a collector, and take back what I lost. Resume being a hobbyist, not a collector. When I didn't care what was next, I cared about what I already had, and how I could enjoy them next. When Target and Toys R Us didn't figure in daily life. When I daydreamed in fun, silly 'doll cartoons' I made from photos, that I wanted to share. When I created, instead of just consumed.

 

It was then that it hit me. If I didn't sew, I'd be done with Monster High. Heck, I'd probably be done with dolls completely. I mentioned before Christmas '10 that I wanted to step off the scary-go-round, I was tired of hunting and stalking and spending...but somehow, I got back on just as the speed increased. I don't think it's enough for me to merely say I'm not doing this anymore, since the next blurry photo will drag me back in. I may have to unsubscribe from everything but Flickr. (wry laugh) I think I'll start with MonsterHighDolls.com, since the place is a sewer to me lately. There's nice people there, too, but the rude, loud lunatics are running the asylum, and the only way to not to become Inmate of the Month is to get the heck out.

 

Who cares what's coming out next ? It doesn't matter 'til it appears on shelves at Mal-Wart. It's nice to see images and daydream, but collectors obsess, and sure as snow in Colorado, I've been obsessing. Sure, I'd love to have some of the new stuff. But the true, pure line I'm always searching for isn't found at a checkout stand. It's in my mind, when it's inspired. It's easy to buy stuff, impossible to buy inspiration, creativity, skill. It's past time for me to find that spark of fun and originality again. Heck, maybe even selling my sewn creations will help someone else enjoy what they already have, and find their comfy happy place, too.

 

Stranger things can happen...

 

And, guess what ? I did it ! I'm no longer a member on MonsterHighDolls.com. Erased my posts, my photos, everything. It's like I was never there - if I could only recover the time I wasted, I'd be in Nirvana, but I'll take what I got. There's an optional blank to tell admin why ya left, and you know me, I so rarely get the last word, I dig my claws in when I get the chance. I'd have written a manifesto, so it's good they limited my space, but I think I used the whole thing when I said, "Tired of rude inmates running the asylum. Too old for their attitudes, too bored for more crap."  Perhaps a bit arch for me, but I meant every character. It won't matter to them, but I feel much better ! It's like a cloud lifted up and burned away.

 

Tonight...we sew !

(sigh) Hating the hive today...

 

Current Mood : Meh 

 

Current Image Notes : Not feelin' it either. Photo tomorrow, I promise ! 

 

 

Monster High fandom is stirred up again. I swear, it's like a hive sometimes, people love to pick up a stick and poke at it, just to hear the wild, easily angered screams of the residents inside. Someone or other posted a photo of the Clawde Wolf and DracuLaura set out of package, and a very blurry 'buy these dolls, too' ad on the box. Both pictures were not well-thought-out, or even in focus, but they were enough to stir the hive. Photo's author said 'So they do exist. It's true. I have them.', and continued to say he/she would answer any questions, or ask for more images, and they'd make it happen - then disappeared. Starting to sound familiar ?

 

 

I'm still not sure about the meaning behind, 'So they do exist.'. Um...what did you think you were paying for ? Would you have been perfectly fine to get a box of air or used inflatable beach toys ? Weird opening statement is all.

 

 

Surprisingly, this wasn't on Monster High Dolls.com, although they've carried it over there. One such post, charmingly titled, 'Eat THIS Nay-sayers!!', preserves the dignity and respect one always finds at that particular site. But we'll get to that in a moment.

 

 

Speculation is rife. Many believe this is the buyer for that solo eBay set, and whoever he/she is, they bought the set to tease others with it. Sadly, I've seen this in the Barbie world, so it's believable to me that someone'd possibly drop a couple hundred just to say 'nyaaa, nyaaah, look what I got you don't !', sad that it is. But again, I don't know, and don't really care. It's just an example of how easy it is to get some of these folks all worked up. Could simply be that the buyer found it at Target and there's hundreds of reasons not to be online 24-7. I just haven't found any of them yet for me, personally.

 

 

The second photo was of the other dolls, and it showed Abbey Bominable and Spectra Vondergeist - not Von Hauntington - with a much more rounded face and nicer clothes. But otherwise identical to the VH doll photographed back in February. Evidently, SvH was a prototype, not meant to be seen. Shown next to them Frankie and Clawdeen, wearing clothes from the well-documented 'School's Out' line. Anyway, that's why the always elegant denizens of MHD.com are gloating and crowing, even though they got it wrong, too. They're just not gonna admit that part. And since, even after seeing potentially more official photos, I still don't want either doll, I'm done.

 

 

Besides, this tidbit is much more intriguing. Mattel COO Bryan Stockton discussed expanding the Monster High line during a phonecall today with market analysts. The call was documented by The Associated Press, and it mostly discussed how Mattel made a profit for stockholders in the previous quarter, despite oil-based raw materials pricing going up, labor costs rising, and the lawsuit with Bratz taking a toll. He mentioned two new books - possibly the just-released Ghoul Next Door and the one following, based on Clawdeen - an hour-long special, and the release of four new characters as dolls.

 

 

Four ? Hrmf. I knew of three - Clawd Wolf, Spectra Vondergeist, and Abbey Bominable. So, who's the fourth character ?  I got a list of who I'd love to have as a doll, but there's zero information on a fourth doll anywhere. Feel free to speculate - politely, please ! Personally, I'm hoping for Slow-Moe or Gil Webber, but leave it to Mattel, and it'll be another bright purple girl-doll ! They gotta go with what sells, after all...and truth be told, if I really want it, it's up to me to create it ! 

Well, it was *sorta* creative...

 

Current Mood : Sleepy but always happy !

 

Current Image Notes : Like I need another Ghoulia...but I want Mattel to make this doll !!!!1!!! 

 

 

Ya'll are gonna laugh at me. Beloved Hubby left his cell phone charging on my desk when he left for work. I saw it five minutes after, and my first thought was, "Oh, shoot, I'd better call him before he gets too far away !". Then reality chimed in, and I realized that all I could do was think, 'You left your cell at home, Honey !' at him. He was in the driveway three minutes after that, and I was there, phone in hand. I swear, you can hear that big Diesel of his purr three blocks away.

 

 

It was less a 'Creative Thursday' than a 'Do Whatever Thursday' than I thought it'd be. I did silly things, like hunt down today's image in a kids' online game, remove the 'Click Here' sign, and sharpen/color/resize it. Doesn't sound like much, I know, but it still takes time.

 

 

I also looked up some websites Tabitha sent me - I've never sewn leather of any type before, and didn't know jack all about how to do so. One site was exemplary -Legendary Tutorials, on the Dolls-n-Daggers site. If you love Valkyries, you owe it to yourself to visit Dolls-n-Daggers. Here's a link right to the tutorials, with everything from sewing to weapons-crafting - http://www.dolls-n-daggers.com/Dolls/Forum/index.php . I could spend all of another day reading and touring around there, and probably will, on Beloved's next Airsoft game Sunday !

 

 

Tooling around there took a good chunk of today, that's fer sure ! Even ended up on a linked site for Blythe dolls, with lots of free patterns. If you like Blythe - gosh, I sound like a Paid Advertisement today ! - you probably already know about the Puchi Collective. If you're new and curious, they're worth your free time, too - http://www.puchicollective.com/ .

 

 

And this is gonna sound weird, especially when I just said yesterday I wanna start selling my semi-decent creations...but when I'm on a freebie online pattern hunt, I tend to look for simple, easy things that can be done in an hour. I know, most of the stuff I make tends to be a bit more complicated - even my kimonos are kinda involved, and still require some fussing to finish - but it's sort of like animation. While the cels are pretty, colorful, often expensive, and what everyone thinks of when they hear 'animation', the true art is in the original pencil drawing - and that's normally thrown away ! Really, first, there's a pencil drawing from the key character artist. The cels are copied from that, with in-between art filled in between extremes from the artist. The pencil is the art, the cel is the tedium sent overseas, frankly.

 

 

I feel the same way about doll sewing. Yes, the big ruffled, beaded gowns are the money-makers and attention-grabbers. Heck, I don't think Bob Mackie can even imagine anything that isn't dripping in Swarovski bugle beads and doesn't have a stuffed animal stapled to one shoulder anymore. But anyone who's been sewing a while knows that a lotta bad stitching can be camouflaged in ruffles, rhinestones, and ruching. The simplest, least-adorned outfit is usually the best sewn, best made one. The pure line, either from a pencil or a sewing needle, is often the truest expression of the art - like Ghoulia's 'Owl Master' outfit yesterday. Striking in its nearly austere lines, it makes you look closer. It's gorgeous, but not in a pretty pink princess way. It doesn't detract from the doll, it enhances...on the right doll. I don't think Frankie or DLaura would look as good in it as Ghoulia does.

 

 

So. What all that means is, I downloaded a Blythe pattern for a super-simple A-line dress, but it printed at the wrong size. The 4 1/2-inch measurement bar printed at about 3 7/8" instead. Decided to go for it anyway, and got a paper towel. Beloved's had a spindle of them rolling around the Diesel for a while, and it was starting to unspool and create a mess. So he gave (i.e., dumped ) it back to the kitchen. I hardly ever use paper towels, preferring rags I can pitch into the washer, or napkins left from our weekly fast-food binges, but they do have their uses. For doll sewing, they can give you cheap 'fabric' to test and play with before you use even the cheapest cotton scrap stuff. And if your brand of towels has a print, you can angle the pattern to perhaps pick some of that up, adding a pretty element to a disposable trial. I've heard they can even be loosely sewn, but I use folds, tape, and sometimes a stapler to 'sew' them instead. 

 

 

The taped-up, folded-down paper towel version looked like it'd fit, if I didn't mind it being rather short. No biggie. It's fully lined, which means no PITA hemming, or topstitching if I didn't want it. True, those sleeveless shoulders were a pain to turn right-side-out, but that's why I have cheap surgical clamps - they really help. It came out a bit loose, and barely covers GB Clawdeen's backside, but it cinches nicely with a belt, and a bit shorter would make a clean tunic, and a bit longer would give me a nice, simple dress. Start to finish, about an hour, and that includes ironing time. You'll get that photo tomorrow, but don't be disappointed. It's simple and clean, nothing fancy at all. But I really like it anyway.

 

 

Oh, and speaking of Tabitha's works... The 'Who Wore It Best ?' image I posted on Mattel's FaceBook page for Monster High yesterday has had over 70 responses ! Wow. I figured it'd slow down a lot once it slid off the front page, but it's still going. And while the Clawdeen fans have rallied, it's still mostly Cleo votes. They're still voting over on Flickr, too. It may be Monday before I get 'em all tallied !

 

 

But I think we know who won already.