Another day, another home page photo...
Mood:  blue
Now Playing: that dadratted stupid barking dog next door that nobody cares about, I wouldn't care either, but the mutt won't shut it.

 

Sorry. Ordinarily, I'd be really happy about the dress and overskirt I sewed today. Took about three hours, but it turned out very nice - it's 'Miss Checkered Flag' on the Home page - and I'm proud of it, but other things compete for attention in my mind.

 

I'm really enjoying sewing every day. It's been a real blast going through all the patterns I've not touched since I scanned 'em, and picking out something new to make. Going through the fabric stash until something bellows out at me, "Hey, it's my turn ! Make me into something new !" hasn't been near as psychotic as it sounds. Knowing I have most of the skills I need to create darn near whatever I want - and I already have a pattern, fabric, and notions for it, ready to go - is an incredible buzzzzzz.

 

But Beloved Hubby's working waaaay too hard, and Dearest Son is having some growing-up problems. Issues I thought were nearly solved are back, worse than before, and I'm fresh out of ideas. Hubby thinks it's Son's usual 'one step back before a quantum leap forward' pattern, but I'm losing hope. Sometimes I think I'm sewing while home burns, but I don't know what else to do. I'd be even more of a nutcase if I didn't create every day.  So it's new images and new creations, and I don't really think one bit of it matters, even to me, but I have to keep going.

 

I just have to believe I'm going forward...and that's been harder than usual lately.

 

Hope your weekend was nicer. :) 

There's (not yet) a new photo on the home page...
Mood:  celebratory
Now Playing: MST3K Season 0 - 'SST: Death Flight'

 

...Beloved Hubby has the camera, and the photo I took with our old one really looks bad. So I'll get the newest up later tonight ! Yup, I made a new outfit, for Michio. More later.

 

The flea market was a total washout. No interesting books, no good junk. Found two Hot Wheels toy VW Beetle cars for Dearest Son, and that was about it. One booth had collector Barbies, but they were rather expensive. Another had ratty-haired blonde 90s dolls in dirty, torn clothes - and she wanted $4. each. If I bought five, she'd let me have 'em for $15. Umm...no.

 

I did, however, score at Dollar General ! Remember the Hello Kitty high-top keychain sneakers I bought for Beautiful Crissy ?  DGen had knockoffs, just plain red, pink, and black high-tops, for a buck each. Also found a pair of those glitter-dot sneakers in blue for the same price. They all fit Crissy, the Disney Princesses, and Mia - and the high-tops fit Interactive Belle, but they're very tight. I get all happy when I find four pair of shoes to fit five of my dolls for only $8. !

 

I've already removed the keychains - it's easy - and took the tissue out of the toes. I'm really happy about 'em. My dolls now have plenty of sneakers !

 

'Michio' is Inaba and Shinobu's son. As you probably remember, they're from a favorite anime series of mine, Urusei Yatsura. They met in an alley, because Destiny Production Management Bureau member Inaba passed out while working. Yup, he creates destinies. When Shinobu tried to return his key, she inadvertenly saw her destiny. Married to her childhood sweetheart, their child was named Kokeru - literally 'mistake' in Japanese. 

 

That destiny was destroyed, and I gave them another. They married and had their own son, Michio, which means 'man on the correct path'. Long way to go for a feeble joke, but I've gone further before ! He's formerly a Mattel Tommy doll, and now I know why I rarely sew that size. My eyes still hurt ! Like most boys, Michio loves to dress like his Daddy, so I made him a long-sleeved white shirt and pull-on tweedy knit slacks. I'm looking forward to having a home-page photo up later tonight.

 

I'm getting lots of practice with knits. I still have bobbles and issues sometimes, but I've come a long way from avoiding them like I used to ! But those Kelly and Tommy size patterns are a real challenge. It'll be a bit before I sew those again ! Tiny darn hems... 

New photo on the...wait a minute...
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: MST3K VHS - "First Spaceship On Venus"

 

Forgive me for being soooo late on this one - Beloved Hubby's working locally, so I get to spend more time with him. Tonight, I helped out a bit, and we went out for a fantastic buffet dinner and a bit of shopping. I didn't buy anything, but there's a flea market at the fairgrounds tomorrow...

 

Anyway, on the home page is the latest bit of sewing. Inaba got an outfit ! It's ironic that it took me this long to sew for the guys, because when I first started sewing, it was mostly for the guys ! Mattel doesn't make much for Ken, and half of it I don't like when they do make it. I probably have 30 pairs of nylon shorts in varying shades of blue. And twenty tuxedos. That's fine if your guys are beach bum millionaires, but it doesn't leave much else for them.

 

And with the Fashion Fever stuff not fitting the standard dolls, I'm nervous about buying the Ken FF stuff. It's not just a buck or two, either. So I really need to hop to it and make what I've been meaning to since 2000.

 

Combed through my pattern stash - I need to reinstall  Real Clothes! (mental note) - and decided on a homemade pattern I got in a lot of loose papers. Literally, I won 'a box of patterns' and got about half a ream of various patterns, some photocopied from doll magazines, some copies of commercial ones, some that are clearly a 'kitchen table' enterprise, but I like those. They often get more thoroughly tested and worked on than some of the professional ones. 

 

And it's a darn shame I can't tell who made this set. It's really nice, and it worked up quickly and easily. Finally got to use the scrap I bought that particular 'bag of rags' for - I knew it'd make great male doll pants.  There's plenty of it, too. Maybe I'll try a jacket sometime soon. The white scrap used to be a t-shirt, so now it's a turtleneck !

 

Well, it's already a late entry, so I gotta wrap it up. I'm thinking of sewing for Michio next ! That'll be a real challenge ! 

New photo on the Home page ! (that sounds familiar...)
Mood:  on fire
Now Playing: central heat, an incredibly happy sound in 16 degree weather

 

 

Forgot to mention this yesterday, and I thought you’d get a kick out of it. Before I started sewing on the 14^th, I couldn’t find the fabric I wanted. Or at least a scrap of something to experiment with. The new material from the junk-shop grab-bag and the 50c ‘bag of rags’ were piled on top of fabric crates that hosted the small pieces. So I literally had to clean and store the new fabric before I could sew. That took longer – two hours – than Janice’s dress did.

 

Luckily, I had a zippered bedding bag – it held the quilted bedspread and pillow shams Aunt Sue gave us last month – and I loaded all the scraps in it. Used a newly-empty plastic basket to hold some loose chiffon pieces, and got all the felt together. Some fun folding and cramming got the  new pieces wedged in the storage cubes, and now I could find everything new and old. Gosh, I have got to stop buying all these great fabric ‘finds’. I can’t afford any more storage !

 

Now then. Back to today. Of course, Shinobu got a new outfit – a short skirt in the material I used for Janice’s dress and a red t-shirt from some knit rag fabric. The floral print was quilted when I got it, but I picked it apart and did something with the backing, can’t remember what, though. Yet another ‘scrap bag’ find from a long-ago yard sale. The skirt fastens in the front, and I used a row of scrapbooking brads as faux closures. It really has two hidden snaps.

 

The t-shirt looks more like a short-sleeved sweater, because the knit was rather thick. A few months ago, I found several dozen ‘bags of rags’ at the neighboring town’s Mart, marked down to 50c. One had been ripped open, so I got to look. Most of the pieces looked to be ‘cutaway’ from professional sewing. Brand-new fabric. So I snagged one. I must have 20 pieces of the red I used, and about the same in eight other colors and patterns. It’s all in the ‘scrap’ bag, so I’ll probably use it more often.

 

Both patterns came from the ‘Barbie Dress Style’ book. I’m really enjoying that one. True, it would be nice to know if this pattern needs a knit or a woven or a chiffon, but I can usually tell from the photo that goes with it. I just wish it had more Ken clothes than a chauffer costume, a ski outfit, and a tuxedo. I’d kind of like to make Inaba something next…

 

Anyway, Shinobu’s photo is on the Home page if  you’d like to see what I’m prattling about. Sewing every day has kept me off the computer, but it’s also taken a bite out of my housekeeping ! I need to work on smaller projects. But Shinobu’s outfit went together so well – it’s messing around with brads and such that took so much time !

 

Beloved Hubby wired my new lightbox tonight. I can't wait to use it tomorrow ! The shirt pattern I used for Shinobu got lengthened by a quarter inch. I wanna add another quarter, since I don't like belly shirts. Now I can use the box ! Wheeee ! Thanks, Honey ! 

 

New photo on the Home page !
Mood:  happy

 

I hope you had a sweet Valentine's Day, full of love and kind wishes. Dearest Son got so many cards and candies at school  that he's passed out on the sofa, two hours before bedtime, from a sugar crash. Since he awoke to a Valentine 'Dale Earnhart Jr. #8' box of chocolate cars,from us, I shouldn't be surprised. I ate his packet of Bottle Caps, though - I can never find those, and I remember 'em from my childhood. 

 

Beloved Hubby and I celebrated yesterday, and I'm still enjoying everything. Used the new inkjet to print another pattern from the Japanese 'Barbie Dress Style' book, and sewed it up. "Horse Riding Barbie", now known as Janice, is 'looking for love' in a backless halter dress that gathers into a tight collar, in a bright floral on black print. She was found at a flea market wearing Anastasia's Paris evening gown, and is modelling on the home page.

 

She's holding a leftover Valentine card sticker from Son's Cars set. Amazingly, he didn't bring home anyone else's from Cars, and only half the kids did their own cards. It took us three evenings - about 2.5 hours total - but he did his own. Picked who got which card, and did all the writing. He had a great party, but I didn't go to this one. He needs some memories without me in 'em. 

 

I can't wait to get the lightbox working.  It is so amazingly cool. It's 14" x 18", huge ! Hubby says he'll work on it this weekend, and it won't take ten minutes. I'm trying soooo hard not to nag - but I was trained by the best ! 

 

Want some irony in your diet today ? After all the kvetching I did about current Mattel clothes not fitting the '1966 TNT' body, guess what ? I only have four dolls with that body. Shinobu, Maria, Midge, and Christie. All the rest either have the belly button body, or the Teen Skipper one - or aren't Barbie dolls at all. Good thing I like loose-fitting clothes, huh ? Knowing that, I may just go get that one Fashion Fever dress, after all.

 

Not a lot else going on, so I'm gonna pick out something to sew tomorrow.  After all, Shinobu needs something new, too !

 

Hope your tomorrow is sweet and happily surprising !  

What an INCREDIBLE day !
Mood:  happy
Now Playing: "Cars" DVD, still Dearest Son's favorite.

 

I've had an amazing one ! Aside from some dim bulb butting in line when I went for Beloved Hubby's lunch, it's been a great day ! Fluffbunny knew I was next, too, which makes it even worse. I hope her lunch was soooo tasty, she has to go back there tomorrow, and someone decides they're more important  and cuts her out.

 

Anyway. I got a new ink cartridge today -yaaaay !- so I should start sewing soon. While shopping, I found a Fashion Fever dress I liked, on one of those mannequin figures. It'd been returned, and was on markdown for $3. So I got it.

 

Just wish the skirt was a little bit longer. Shoes came with it, too, and I really like them. The shirt is quite tight, and the skirt's rather loose. Christie has a standard 1966 body, so I can only imagine what the Fashion Fever doll bodies are like. They had some new ones out, but nothing that really calls to me. The mannequin within works OK with regular-size Barbie clothes. Wheeee !

 

I also found a great fabric remnant. Black with multicolor sewing tools and notions. On markdown, too. It's kind of large for Elphie, but I may make her a dress from it anyway.

 

Beloved Hubby's working at a former medical office suite, and we got to have lunch together. I even played with one of those light boxes that was mounted to the wall. You've seen 'em on TV and in movies - a doctor or dentist used 'em to display x-rays. This was just like it, with a metal clip to hang the film, and a dial switch on the top. It even worked. Few hours later, Hubby called - the new owners didn't want the lightbox. Should he salvage it for me ?

 

OH, YEAH ! He brought it home, and all that has to be done is add an exterior plug - it originally plugged right into the wall. Hubby will do that for me in the next day or three. Then I'll have my own lightbox ! They're great for tracing and altering patterns. I usually hope for a sunny day and use the window. Soon, I'll have one I can use anywhere. Last time I looked at one, it was $30. for one the size of a piece of paper. This one is at least twice as big, and all we need is an extention cord to make it work - darn near free !  

 

He also came home with dinner - chicken from my favorite restaurant. So you can imagine how great a day it's been ! I got everything I wanted - even one of those books on Best Buy fashions. Ordered it today, and got Pam's dress in the mail.

 

So it's been a busy, happy day. And no one has to rush out for any overpriced Valentines stuff. Extra happy ! Even got to see the Playline Mattel offerings - including new Cars stuff - and that was fun, even though I was happier about Cars than Barbie ! Here's the link, you can see it all from here, so go and enjoy -

 http://www.asmzine.com/toyfair07/

 

Running and Toy Fair '07
Mood:  rushed
Now Playing: XM 80s - "One Night In Bangkok", Murray Head

 

Since I"m gonna be running around like the proverbial headless chicken, I wanted to do today's early. Dearest Son, after having nearly a week off sick, didn't transition back to school very well this morning, and I get to take him back out of school in an hour for an appointment. It was tempting to keep him home another day - he also has therapy today - but he needed his structure back.

 

Found some Toy Fair '07 pictures of the Barbie line - eeeehh. Nothing I desperately want, although some stuff looks interesting. Have no idea what the sudden fascination with Cher is about, or why there's about six different repro sets this year, but that's why I'm not a CEO. The Pivotal Body looks like Mattel just now clued into the ball-jointed doll interest, disregarding that Japan's had these body styles for decades. Plus, several of those look like hyper-Gene dolls. Right down to the "40s Hollywood" style.

 

It's probably due to the person who took the photos, but it's all collector, limited edition stuff, with dealer exclusive and Silkstone all over the place. I'm sorry, but the major doll dealer here is the Mart, and there are no doll shops. If I have to go online and mail order, the doll has to be really exceptional. Nothing here is, to me. "Hello Kitty" is cute, but again, nothing more unusual than, say, "Barbie Loves SpongeBob". It's more of a 'how much of this brand can we possibly load onto this doll ?' than a 'Hey, this is so tiny and cute - let's use it !'. 

 

Here's the site - go have a look ->

http://picasaweb.google.com/BarbieZania/ToyFair2007

 

I'd look for Tonner Toy Fair images, but there won't be much new that wasn't posted in their 2007 online catalog - just the same stuff in different lighting. I'm about over my temporary infatuation with the brunette Elphie. Kind of like when I thought about getting the other two Midge hair colors. In the end, I decided to keep mine special. Same with Elphaba.

 

I should be able to score an ink cartridge this week ! Can't wait. If there's time tonight, I'll sew a bit. I've really missed it. But for now, it's nearly time to pick up Son, so I gotta cut it short. Hope your day was great - and that you have some time for you  today ! 

Photos and Valentine's Day prep work.
Mood:  a-ok

 

Been experimenting more with the matboard and the camera. Now I wish I'd bought a second package of board - I'd have loved some burgundy and brights. Too bad there wasn't another 40% off coupon in the paper today. I may look next week anyway. Long as I like the one I see on top, the rest is gravy ! To think, this is scrap board - what they cut out of a mat for framing. I think that makes me love it more. 

 

You can see the really pale green matboard on Elphie's photo album page.  A nice lady named Pam made me these gorgeous 'Ken and Barbie' silhouette pillows, of green velvet trimmed in black beads. They're fantastic. I'd love to have a set for me !  So I took a photo to thank her, with Elphie and Fiyero, and posted it to my site, too.

 

I'm hoping to sew a bit this afternoon. Tomorrow's a busy day. I have to get the dress I made Pam in the mail, and Dearest Son has school and appointments. We started Son's Valentine's Day cards - writing his name 25 times, and writing all his classmates' names is a lengthy process. So we're breaking it up by doing a few pieces a day. Of course, he was more interested in how many of the Cars cards he got to keep. For fun, I applied one of the included tattoos to him - he chose Tow Mater - and it looks so cute on him. 

 

Right now, though, I could just take the longest nap. It's one of those miserable cold, grey all day Sundays, perfect for snoozing. So if I'm gonna sew, I gotta get on it ! Not gonna be any time tomorrow, that's for certain. 

I think I finally figured it out !
Mood:  celebratory
Now Playing: "Herbie: Fully Loaded" - for the second time today...

 

OK, I got a gorgeous new digital camera for Christmas two months back. I mean, it's a beautiful camera, outside and in. But my photos still looked messy, boring, and not at all engaging. Our old camera was a fixed focus one, but it enabled me to get nice and close to the dolls...and that was all I thought would matter.

 

Today, Dearest Son's grandparents came over for a visit, mostly to give me a chance to get out for a while, and they could have some granny and granddad time. How sweet ! Beloved Hubby came home for lunch at nearly the same time, so we munched on frozen pizzas boosted with extra cheese first. Son ate most of his, and it was wonderful to see his appetite roaring back. 

 

We visited for a bit, and I realized they'd be here for hours if I didn't split soon. Had to return something to the Mart, and while I was there, I looked at dolls and fabric. Not much new. I'd like the skates that come with the My Scene Roller Girls, but not enough to pay $12.50 for them.

 

Had to pick up soda, so I cut through Linens...and I saw a hook. A grey fabric stuffed hook. And a rather familiar-looking set of eyes. Oh, they've gotta be kidding ! Here, in our Mart, in the kids' bedding section, was the internet-only Tow Mater pajama carrier ! It's basically a stuffed toy version of Mater, about sixteen inches long, with a zipper through his 'underbody' to store nightwear. I'd wanted him for Dearest Son's Christmas, but it was internet-only, and also sold out. But here he was !

 

Only $10., too. Boy, won't Son be surprised, I thought. There was also a Sally, which I never saw on the Mart website, and I got her sold to the bank teller. She saw Mater in my cart and asked. While Tow and Sally were the only ones, and they only had one of each, she wanted Sally, bad.  A quick hop over, and she had Sally firmly in her grip. Beloved Hubby wondered if Sally was for a fortunate child...or for the teller ! :) 

 

From there, I hopped over to Hobby Lobby. Man, was that place a mess. Took me five minutes just to find a parking space in the Back 40. I still got in before that one woman I had to drive around - she was still waiting for a more choice parking spot, but the current inhabitants were taking their sweet Saturday time.

 

I planned on using my newspaper 40% off coupon on the packet of tiny pastel buttons - now I only need the bright 'flirty' set - but I took my time and wandered around. I figured it was crowded, because it was the day before the coupon expired, but the cashier said he'd only seen two of 'em all day, counting mine. And here's where it gets good. While there, I wanted to look at their foamcore, poster board, science-project tryptichs, and matboard. This HL is also a frame shop, so they have lots of matboard available.  

 

Lovely colors of foamcore, but not many textures, which is what I was really looking for. Plus it was still mostly glossy, something I'm already having trouble with in photos. Darn flash bounce ! Posterboard wasn't anything I couldn't find at Dollars Tree or General, and the tryptichs were expensive. Matboard, however, was 50% off, and a $6. sheet could cover Room With A View twice over. Just wish it came in colors like marble or brick - or even better, looked like marble and brick !

 

Eventually, I found some bundles of matboard - a grab-bag of sorts - and with the discount, I'd have lots to work with for just $2. True, the pieces were all 9" x 11", but if some colors repeated, it'd be more than enough of a background for the sixth-scale and the Tonner dolls. Heck, even the Crissy dolls could pose with two stacked one on the other !

 

I even had a piece of foamcore that was a bit dinged, but  it could be used to securet the matboard, with push-pins. Could use ribbon or trim to hide the two-pieces-stacked seam, or just position it right behind the doll's head. It was non-reflective, so maybe that would help with the flash problems I've been having.

 

Picked through the bundles - they're all white on the back, but I couldn't tell what colors I'd be getting - so I chose one with a nice medium blue showing. Once home, I found that I'd gained 18 uniform-sized pieces, two each in black, lilac, robin's-egg blue, medium blue, and forest green. Also singles in Williamsburg blue, sky blue, eggplant, navy, pastel green, Christmas green, forest green, and an unusual - but probably Barbie-friendly - shade of fuschia.   

 

To say I was very happy with this $2. purchase is understating it a bit.  I barely looked at my buttons ! I grabbed Midge and posed her up against the medium blue that caught my eye from the beginning, and took a few shots. Then, I remembered that Hubby once said I was getting a bit close for our upgraded flash. So I backed up and used the zoom lens to get what I wanted. 

 

And whaddya know, it works ! I left plenty of cropping space, but between giving the photo some flash space, and the new matboard absorbing some of it, the photos came out a lot better ! It's like the flash bounced off the white foamcore towards Midge's face, but the matboard absorbed enough to keep from removing her eyebrows and eye color in glare. Wow. THIS is my Midge ! Pretty, direct, and playful. Half her photos used to come out with her eyes buggy-looking and her nose barely visible. True, I should have combed her hair, but I was eager to experiment. Also true is that it's nearly dark in the living room - Son's asleep on the sofa - but I used to avoid evening photos when I could. The flash always made the doll look terrible. Doesn't look like that's a problem now ! :)

 

Of the thirty photos I took, nearly all were good. Much better than usual ! I found that I liked the whiteboard showing, and kept it in the top for several crops, but it made the photo unbalanced, with all that 'dead air' above her head. The only thing that got holes in it was the foamcore - I balanced the matboard on pushpin stems.  Some of the matboard is dinged on the edges, and one has a tiny dark spot, but for $2., it's very usable stuff.  

 

I just regret that the sale ended today. I'd love more colors, like burgundy and cream. Guess I'll keep my eyes open for another 40% off coupon !

 

And listen harder next time Hubby gives me photo tips !  

Wired and tired.
Mood:  down
Now Playing: "The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh'" - ancient VHS, and I *hate* WtP...

 

The new medicine seems to be helping. Dearest Son kept it down all night and again today, and his fever hasn't come back since last night. I can say it now, I was *&%^ing scared last night.

 

So it's funny today that he's bouncy and happy, and I'm about to pass out writing this. Never did sew yesterday. Or today. I'm sorry this is so short, but really nothing's happening besides Sick House. I posted the pink Ballerina Barbie photo on another doll forum - I guess I really do need the community. Being home for nearly a week has me kind of titchy.