Current Mood : Indolent

Current Image : Soon-to-be Kira, in the shoes (good), panties (not good) and prototype harem blouse (not right) I made. (sigh) Back to the drawing board ! 

Finally got off my butt and re-measured the soon-to-be-Kira Aurora doll for Doll Shop Deluxe. Printed out a new version of the ‘harem' costume for Jasmine, but I haven't sewn it yet. Man, some of my measurements were waaaay off. If I remember right, nothing I made those dolls initially fit, and some of the patterns created were... warped or something, it was like some of the numbers were so off, they affected other measurements, so the resulting pattern printed like a Mobius strip, defying dimensional reasoning. I just knew I measured everything correctly, so I tweaked random numbers until things mostly fit. All because of a cruddy tape measure. I'm surprised what I sewed, ill-fitting as it was, turned out as well as it did. Here's hoping the new printouts sew up better !

I have to confess here how lazy I've been. I have a really expensive software pattern generator. I have more fabric than yer average Mal-Wart. Especially these days, as many of ‘em are closing their fabric sections. I probably have enough thread to sew the continents back together, and enough needles and pins for an acupuncturist's mobile office. So, what have I been doing with this largesse ? Have I been expanding my skills, and improving my self esteem ? Seeking new solutions to old problems ? Designing something new and original and delightful ?

Oh, heck naw. I've been on eBay, trying to find Jasmine's costume, so I can buy it instead of make one. Only reason I'm still gonna make one is because the ones I've found have been too expensive. (sigh) I'm so lazy...

While I had Kira-Aurora around, I played a bit with the shoes. I'd just put them on her for fittings before, so her feet weren't really seated in them well. Amazingly, she can stand unassisted in them ! She is, in the picture ! That makes me happy - that my shoes are well-made enough that they don't interfere with the doll's stance. She's as good as barefoot ! I also checked for staining. None yet, but the next pair of black shoes I make, I'm gonna use a white lining, not the same black fabric inside and out !

Joined craftster.com yesterday - it's a nice group. Someone had a question about My Size Barbies, so you know I had to weigh in ! Tons of craft patterns and ideas over there - thanks for the heads-up, Michelle ! Hope I see you there sometime.

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 5:37 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Cricket-distracted

Did some recycling today. Beloved Hubby brought leftover sushi home in a pretty container last week - although it was yer standard Styrofoam tray with a clear plastic snap-on lid, the Styrofoam was black, with a pattern of red fans over a gold ‘basket weave' design. Very elegant ! And much too lovely to toss, in my opinion. So once Beloved chowed down, I got the pieces washed up. Now they smell like citrus antibacterial dish soap, not fish and ginger.

While quite lovely, they were also quite shallow, both tray and lid. But that's OK - my pattern cabinet has several narrow, shallow divided drawers ! Both pieces fit great, and now organize various pens, pencils, and other pattern marking devices, along with doll hair implements, like clear elastics, hairbrushes, and tiny snap clips. Those especially look pretty in the ‘Asian' tray !

While sorting out stuff in the pattern cabinet, I found several of my old ‘hole punchers'. But you know me, these cut out stars, moons, and rabbit silhouettes. At one point I had five or six of ‘em, including a cat shape. Bought ‘em decades ago, before scrapbooking popularized them so much, you can now find ‘em in Dollar Tree stores. Back in the day, these bad boys were like $10. each, but again, you know me, I got mine on sale from a stationery store going belly-up. While on vacation. Anyway. Few weeks ago, I bought a small box of Valentine's Day decorations, including red foil stickers of hearts and cupids, at a yard sale, dirt cheap. Lotsa fun craft ideas in there.

One sheet of stickers hadn't been touched, the other...had been denuded of stickers. Not one remained. But it was far from useless. I took the big star hole-punch and proceeded to make red foil star stickers ! Y'see, there was plenty of red foil still on the backing, and the hole punch made it easy to use it all ! Heck, now I may have to look at those punches at Dollar Tree next time I go...

Of course, you could do the same thing with a pair of scissors, and get shapes that no one ever made a punch for, but it felt good to use these old tools ! And it's now much easier to tell my tape dispenser from Dearest Son's once-identical one. Mine has red stars, a red moon, and a red rabbit ! Now, if I could just find my AWOL cat-shaped one...

It was another goof-off day. I got the Happy Meal toys cleaned up - well, mostly. I wiped them and the ‘Shannen Scooter' down with disinfecting cloths. For some reason, Mal-Wart had ‘em marked down, two 35-sheet Lysol Wipes containers, for a dollar. So I got eight packs. Dearest's teachers always ask for ‘em, so I stocked up. While this de-virused the toys, it didn't take much dirt off. So the toys either need soap and old toothbrush action, or the grime's there to stay. One of the Mulans, for some reason, has a Klingon forehead that is both rippled and dirty. Weird.

The little scooter cleaned up OK, and will fit the LDPs pretty well, if they're not wearing thick-soled shoes. If the steering handle was only about a half inch taller... hmm, I may have to see if I can fix that.

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:53 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Bewildered

Current Image : Ariel's in her 'new' dress - a 99c eBay find - next to the 'infant carrier' I got from a yard sale for 25c. Ariel herself came from GoodWill for $1. I just love my second-hand finds !

I don't know what was wrong with me yesterday. Shortly after I wrote yesterday's entry, I was so sick, I thought Beloved would have to take me to the ER. Jack, our black kitten, scratched me kinda hard after dinner - he was trying a long jump and missed, so he used my leg as a recovery zone - and three episodes of Spaced, and my chest was getting a bit tight, and it was late...plus, my tummy felt like I'd gorged myself at Thanksgiving, but the sub I had wasn't that filling. I figured I just had some gas - sorry for the TMI !- and a lie-down would soon either have me asleep or feeling better. Just in case, I took a hit on my asthma inhaler and a half-dose of that noxious pink goo that works on various digestion aliments, and tried to relax.

Half an hour later, I was roiling in pain. My stomach was heaving, my back was radiating stabbing pain, I was roasting hot, and I was nauseous. I couldn't find a place or position that was anywhere near comfortable, and every movement was torment. It was like every organ lower than my lungs had detached, and they were all using my bladder as a bean-bag chair, so I was constantly, unnecessarily, running to the bathroom.

Losing dinner helped, at least the pain went from widescreen HDTV plasma to portable UHF black-and-white when it was over, and while I still hurt and still ran to the bathroom, I could actually sleep a bit. About 2am, I gambled on eating a couple of the crackers Beloved set out for me, and washing them and two ibuprofen down with the ginger ale he'd run across the street to obtain. I didn't wake up again until 7am. And, while my gut was still muttering, it wasn't an insane caged beast like it'd been just a few hours prior. I still have no idea what caused it all. I just know I'm gonna avoid those prime rib subs from now on !

So today, I rested and recovered. I'm about back to normal, and just as lazy. Jack wouldn't leave me all night, and every time I woke up, he was watching me. Poor Beloved slept on the small loveseat in our bedroom, so he'd be close if I needed him, but my agony had me sprawled over most of the bed. He had to work this morning, but I made sure he got a nice long nap when he came home.

Dearest was home about 9am, and he played with the Robin Hood figure I got him. If his tail had been a bit smaller, ole Robin probably would have piloted that X-wing Dearest got Tuesday. Oh, I forgot to mention - I got Baby Ariel's original dress yesterday. Not the LDP, the smaller 12-inch infant one also made by Playmates. I think her name was ‘My Baby Princess Ariel'. I found mine nude at Goodwill, her hair still in the factory set, her vinyl still harboring a faint scent of baby powder. I only made her one outfit, so I was glad to find this one. Very simple design. Easy to copy... (evil chortle)

If there's anything that teaches you to appreciate health, it's being massively sick ! tomorrow, I'm finishing laundry and I'm gonna sew something ! Hmpft.

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:53 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Happy Exhaustion !

Really busy day - although I was all over the place today, I really didn't find much. The ‘big huge' sale turned out to be fairly small, but I got a few things - shirts for Dearest Son, a few small toys, including a 5-inch Baby Sleeping Beauty. Those things are still on Mal-Wart shelves, but I got this one for a dime. That's also what I paid for an Ariel children's wig. Depending on how bad the tangles are, I may use it to reroot my LDP Ariel.

From there, I hit Target. They also have not only the new Tinkerbell LDP, but also the Snow White one. Yikes. No accessories, no jointed wrists, and rubbery clog shoes. You know, I thought their simple same-satin slippers were cheap until I saw their new shoes. Yikes. Snow's outfit had been stripped down to the bare essentials, too. Thinking back now, I can't remember if she had tights or not. No. No, she didn't. Well, with all the strippedness, she was only $14., but I think I'm seeing the end of the LDP line, and I'm glad I bought the girls I bought when I bought them !

Since she's now starting to make an appearance on eBay - well, you can hardly blame speculators, this under $20. doll out four years ago routinely fetches $40. and up still-in-box now ! - I stole some images for today's side-by-side comparison. Far as I can tell, the costumes are identical on both Tinks, right down to the shoes and undies. It's mostly the facial paint and wrists that are different. Evidently, Playmates has gotten rid of the poseable wrists on all of their LDP dolls. And while the deep, almost hypnotic eyes on the new Tink are lovely, she'd kind of look out of place with the rest of my other LDPs. And her bright lip color make her look more sophisticated and older. Well. Kinda annoying when you're glad you're not mad at yourself ! So, unless you're completing a set, you Tink fans may wanna check her out. Price is certainly right !

Oh, and the ‘fluttering wings' feature on the original Tink ? There's a sort of pinch-spring in the back of her dress that makes the wings flap. But only while you're pinching it open and closed. Hmpft. Not impressive. I notice that the box on the new one doesn't mention anything fluttering...

Snagged Dearest Son's Prang watercolor set from Hobby Lobby. I still don't get why area teachers insist on Prang by name in the supply lists every year. They're $5., only one place around here carries ‘em, and I honestly wonder what the big difference is to yer average pre-K, K, First and Second grader. No kidding, I've had to buy this set every year, and looking down the rest of the list, seems like I've got two more years with them. Told Beloved Hubby that I think it's some sort of odd test. When most kids show up with the Crayola and Rose Art watercolor sets that Mal-Wart and Target have, and this kid has the Prang, they kinda know who's willing to make the effort, ya know ?

I also bought another cardboard triptych, while they were on half-price. I had many high plans for the one I bought last year, but the kittens more or less wrecked it. Ironically, I later had to move it out of the way to recycle all the cardboard boxes from the groceries that had built up in Molly-car's backseat.

A few minutes later, I was walking out of Community Thrift, empty-handed. Yes, they still had the American Girl bathtub and doll set, but the tub was narrower than I remembered, so it was too small for the LDPs, but too out of scale big for Elphie. Looking at the doll a bit closer revealed that she wasn't an AG, and was damaged on both hands. I'm sure she'll be gone next time I visit.

Then it was off to the flea market. Buying the triptych eliminated the need for the Happy Family ‘Grandma's Kitchen' set I was thinking of buying from that one seller, and she otherwise didn't have anything I wanted. Saw one of those really long-legged "Hi Glam" dolls, just a buck, but she was just too freaky for me. Her face was pretty, and she was very delicate-looking...but her legs were longer than a Barbie leg stacked on top of a Skipper leg. I wonder if the ‘Leggy' doll made back in my childhood days had the same long gams. It hardly seems possible ! I let someone else find her, but I propped her up to make it easier.  She was in company with several Barbie princesses, which made her clothes look funkier, but her legs look weirder.

 Found a new dealer with boxes of old Happy Meal toys - they gave me a Mal-Wart sack and said I could stuff it full for a buck. I claimed a Razor-type scooter from Mattel/Tyco's "Super Scooter Shannen", a remote controlled doll set from 2001 or so. The Mattel/Tyco name is confusing. I've seen some in a box labeled Tyco, others listing Shannen from Mattel press releases. Mattel bought Tyco in 1997, but continued to use Tyco RC as a separate brand name. Kind of like how most folks think Fisher-Price is independent. Nope, Mattel owns them, too. I guess if it got out how much of the toy market they own, it'd stir up anti-Mattel sentiment. So they don't make a huge fuss about it, even though the information is easy to find.

The rest of the bag was all silly, small Happy Meal toys. I kinda like it when my dolls have dolls, so I've been on the lookout for toys for LDP Mulan, Alice, Jasmine, and Pocahontas. Figured I'd find some in those dusty boxes ! Scored  a Robin Hood figure for Dearest, a blue-dress Sleeping Beauty, two Janes and a Tarzan, two Esmereldas, two Mulans, a Flit, a John Smith, and a Powhatan (no Pocahontas, though !), two different Anastasias and her dog, a Hercules, a Chel (Road to El Dorado), an Abu (no Jasmine, though), a Madame Alexander ‘Sailor Girl', and three HM Snow Whites, two all-plastic, one with crappy hair.

It seems greedy to buy multiples, but most were dirty, and it was rather hot in the barnlike building that usually hosts the Flea. I figured that having a few to choose from, if removing dirt took off paint, or Snow #1 was damaged, would be OK. Could always donate any spares, too. PDorrie has already claimed Sailor Girl...

Found a couple cheap CDs, and another set of Elphie sized miniatures - a set of soda cups, a hamburger, and useless fries. The soda cups have been in several of Elphie's photos, and I wanted a few more, but Hobby Lobby quit carrying ‘em. So I was happy to find this set, and for just 25c !

After all that, I was tired and hungry, so I headed for home. And basically sat around until Beloved came home. We hit a bookstore for a volume he wanted, and got the whole series of Spaced, a favorite BBC show we caught on YouTube. A stop and Subway, and our evening was set !

But it's nearly bedtime for me. Busy day after all ! Tomorrow's gonna be much lazier...which is good, I still have cleaning to finish !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:53 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Stormy

Current Image Notes : Here's the chair I got today ! 

Busy day today. Storms were on radar, expected to break this afternoon... but I had three loads of laundry to do ! So I had it all washed, line-dried, and dryer-fluffed by 12:30. It helps that, even when thunderstorms are expected, it's still 90 degrees at 8am ! I'm hoping tomorrow is sunnier, ‘cause I still got two more loads waiting !

Found a yard sale not far away, so Dearest Son and I went. He found a miniature replica of Beloved Hubby's diesel Ford truck, and a VHS copy of Air Bud. I hope I can keep him away from the Air Buddies sequels - smart-aleck puppies are just not my speed ! I found a VHS of Cinderella II , which I've never seen, and a largish doll chair, in dark wood and green upholstery. New, it was probably $20. or more. But I paid $7.50 for all our goodies ! Doesn't PDorrie look so cute in it ?

Shortly after lunch, DMIL picked up Dearest for the ‘weekend' at his grandparents, and he was happily chattering about his new X-Wing spaceship and the toy Ford. I still had groceries and school supplies to snag, so I did that, and hit Community Thrift. I may be going back there tomorrow... I just don't know...

While I was there today, I found an American Girl doll's bathtub - had AG on it and everything. Taped inside it was a doll, and numerous plastic bubbles. After much thought, I put it back, as I'd just bought the chair, and big props take up much space. I thought it might fit the LDPs, but wouldn't you know it, someone bought the Cinderella that was there for so long ! Now I'm wondering if the doll inside is an AG, and why that should matter. Do I just want it if it's fabulously cheap, or because it was a pretty doll, and I can use the bathtub with the LDP dolls ? (I took measurements, and once home, figured that it'd work after all) I'm really not sure. So I may stop by tomorrow. Sometimes I think I'm just nuts... I mean, do I even want an AG doll, or do I just want a really great deal ?

Anyway. Found some pretty hair dye for $3. that I hope will transform a spare LDP Cinderella into a lovely Molly. If there's one thing I learned from the MSB girls, it's that white-blonde doll hair really alters the dye color. It'll be a while before the project gets off the ground - but I'll be sure to take pictures !

Beloved Hubby came home and darn near went right to sleep. So I put the laundry away, made m'self a nice fried-egg -and-ham sandwich, and sewed up a prototype ‘Jasmine's Harem Blouse' from the Doll Shop Deluxe pattern I printed up. Um, no. I have to completely remeasure everything. The blouse is too tight in the back, billows in the front, and is shorter than I wanted. At least the armholes were good. I can take in a tuck or two in the front, and it'll fit, but those side seams are waaaay off from where they should be. I'll have to take a photo of the ‘Kira' doll wearing it and the panties I made earlier - neither fit very well, but somehow, she looks cute wearing them !

So now, I'm tired - it's probably that milk with dinner ! - and tomorrow's a busy day. More laundry, a good fund-raiser yard sale, the Flea Market's back in town, and I may end up at Community Thrift. Oh, and I have just one more school supply to buy, and there's only one place that carries ‘em. All the way across town, of course !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:52 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Industrious

Not a lot happening today. Fixed the Dorinda doll's jeans, took a tacky sewn-on design off an otherwise neat pink and silver Barbie tunic, and repaired a slight hole in the knit, and sewed up the ripped multicolored ‘Marcia Brady' dress that came on the Bubblecut Barbie I bought last month. The dress is such a riot of color that, in the photos, Bubblecut is wearing it torn, but ya can't tell. My stitches are painfully obvious to me, but from three feet away, again, it's such a wild print that the repair is hard to discern. It looks much like another dart. Bubbles is wearing the pink and silver tunic in today's photo, posing in the box liner to the Island Princess playset. I think she looks great !

Speaking of the Flea Market where Bubbles was purchased - I really have to get her a better name ! - it's back again this weekend. I may go Friday, just to get out of the house. In the meanwhile, though, I'm gonna wash the pink and white dress that came on last month's yard sale Cinderella doll - I have two ‘Cinderelly's Surprise' dolls and dresses now ! - and once it's dry, I'm gonna dye it green. Already have green dye, and I'm curious how it'll come out. If it ‘s completely wrecked, I'm still not out much. If it works, I just need to make a simple slip for the doll to wear with it, so the dye doesn't stain her. And I've opened up a whole new field of what to do when I have two or three of the same doll outfit. I have three blue Cinderella LDP dresses that are identical...

I'm also hoping, next time I'm out, to find hair dye for my Little Princess Molly (Sailor Moon) doll project, and brown Fusion for the chest and maybe vanity from the Island Princess  playset. When I mentioned doing a dye job on one of the Disney dolls' hair, I neglected to mention that, yes, I am using regular old hair dye. Rit dye will eventually leach into the vinyl of her head, so I can't use that stuff. Hair dye - especially a good brand with lots of color - will work, without dyeing the head. I've used Clairol on the MSB girls, and learned a lot from the experience !

Now, a word of caution before I jump in with all the gory details. This is just how I did it, based on other folks' directions. They didn't take responsibility if I wrecked my doll, so I'm gonna pass along that fine tradition of ducking it, too. Don't do this until you've experimented - or do it anyway, it's your doll and your risk. This is me, dodging responsibility. Ok, then.

Basically, I pick a time when nobody's home but me. The doll's hair gets washed well, and allowed to dry a day or two in advance. Any styling product or even dust in her hair will affect how well the dye takes. Her hair gets combed until there are no snarls and the smallest comb can go through easily. Her face and head get shielded with masking tape along the hairline and plastic wrap taped to that, and secured. Then, she gets suspended upside down from the shower curtain bar in the bathroom, with rags beneath. Her hair gets brushed one more time, to hang straight down, and it's dye time !

Boy, does that stuff stink ! Mix the dye according to package directions, grab an old comb and the rubber gloves, and we begin ! I often start with a good all-over application, then get down to slowly combing it in, making sure to get all the hair. Believe it or not, the MSBs each used a whole bottle of the stuff, with just a bit left to dye a regular Barbie. Once the dye is used up, and the hair is well saturated, the hard part begins. Waiting 4 or more hours for the dye to soak in. It seems like it takes forever ! I often check it, just to make sure I haven't melted it or anything.

When time is up, haul the doll down, and give her hair a good rinse. Lots of dye will come out, but there should be plenty left in ! I usually secure a towel around her head, under her hair, with a clothespin, and comb her hair out again, and let it dry overnight. I've skipped and used the included conditioner, and it didn't seem to matter, really. They both have soft, pretty hair.

Now, that's just how I did it for them. For all I knew, the hair would dry up and fall out ! So, like me, if you decide to try this, you're on your own, kid ! I figured, if the hair went completely to h#ll, I'd just reroot new stuff. I really wasn't risking much. And it turned out fine. But there's lots of different fibers used for doll hair, so proceed with caution and I completely absolve myself of responsibility !

One thing's for sure - that blonde hair alters the color. If you want, say, a medium brunette doll instead, you'd best choose a dark brown dye. Both Gracie and Casey's hair is lighter than I intended, but still very pretty. And now, I'm considering doing it all again, if I can find a good color. Wish me luck in that !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:52 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Tired - but happy. New doll !

Today I HAD to get Dearest Son registered for school, so that was primary on the agenda. Not registered = they put ya in whatever school the Edu. Dept thinks might be fun. And getting a bus assignment is a nightmare. No way. Not gonna happen. This is his third school in the system, and we've only moved once ! After that, a quick trip to the recyclers, then, we're off to TRU ! Ever since he saw the new Star Wars Lego ads, he's been wanting to go. So, even though I was just there, I allowed myself to be persuaded to go again anyway. ‘Cause, you know, I just hate going to toy stores.

Once he was registered, and I'd claimed a few bucks for soda cans, we were there. After an endless sweep of Lego shelves, Dearest found a small Batman set he liked. Unfortunately, most of the SW sets were in the $30. to $50. range, well out of everyone's budget.

I somehow found myself in the doll section - imagine that ! - and since the ‘20% off all Markdowns' sales had been extended another week, took a second look at the Cheetah Girls. Evidently, they'd found a few more in the back, but some I saw last week had sold. And at $5.48, I was more than willing to check ‘em out one more time. I mean, shoot, that's a reasonable price, even if you were just lookin' to score clothes for other dolls. Most of the Fashion Fever outfits over at TRU are $6. - and if you're lucky, that's two shirts, a pair of Capri pants, and a pair of shoes. And if you're very, very lucky, the outfit will fit one of your 1966-bodied dolls.

‘Dorinda', a streaked blonde Cheetah with purple clothing elements, wasn't there last week. I studied her carefully. Nice green eyes, and there were two complete outfits in the box. Two sets of shoes, too, including a pretty pair of silver sandals. And I kinda liked the blouse/dress on the doll... what the heck.

Then Dearest euchred me. He wanted to look at the Star Wars toys again, so we did. Just not the ones displayed at the store's entrance. The toys over in the reserved-for-Star Wars  section were completely different, and had little to do with the upcoming Clone Wars TV series. There, his eyes fell on an adorable ‘Galactic Heroes' X-Wing, with TRU-exclusive Biggs, beside Luke, Leia, and R2D2. He was in love - and heck, he'd earned the tickets, I just planned on smaller purchases today. It was just sooo cute, though ! So I gave in, and we both left with toys. He did, however, have to put the Lego set back. I couldn't buy it all !

I really should write up the Dorinda doll as a review. She was nicer than expected ! Her clothes fit a '66 body - I'm using the missing-pinkie spare vintage body as a gauge - but the shoes are a bit snug. Dorinda's feet don't have the curving shape Barbie's do, they're actually smaller, and angle down sharply. The jeans on the doll have a small split in one inner-leg seam - guess I didn't look the doll over as closely as I thought ! - but the rest really is good. Her purple and cheetah-print blouse/dress fit the Barbie body better than it fit hers, but I didn't care for the beige ribbon under the neckline, so I very carefully removed it. For once, I altered something and didn't tear or put a hole in anything ! Jeans had a lot of detail stitching and a bit of glitter, and looked great. They were tight, but also fit, as did the glitter-free, but otherwise matching, denim jacket.

Her second outfit was a black dress with attached black Capri pants, paired with a wide soft ‘leatherette' black belt. The belt boasted shiny purple contrast stitching. This could be worn under the purple satin ‘Cheetah Girl' baseball-style jacket. Since the dress/leggings is stretchy knit, it'd fit just about any sixth-scale girl, and without the belt - it's separate - it looks like something a professional dancer would wear to jazz class or rehearsals. Sexy, but not revealing.

Dorinda also came with - are there any words more exciting than ‘comes with' ? - a gold-tone headset, a black cuff bracelet, a purple ‘bead' bracelet, a paddle-like starburst purple hairbrush, star-shaped purple earrings, and a ‘Growl Power' card than gives website access to the Cheetah Girls via the manufacturer's site, playalongtoys.com. Her shoes - a pair of silver wedgie sandals and a pair of strappy purple pumps - fit the soft vinyl Barbie feet just fine, the rigid straight-leg Barbie feet, not so much. While it's not a bonus for most folks, I also count the hollow black body-shape clothing insert as an included goodie - I can hang it up with the other dress forms ! 

Dorinda herself is OK - painted-on pink panties are just skirting the line between underwear and thong, legs click a solid three times, her hands are kinda paddle like, but still aren't bad, the bend to her elbows is natural, and her hair is good, if frizzy. I think it's supposed to be like that. It was a bit sparse in the back when I freed her from the box, but a quick brush-out fixed that. The pulled-back style is achieved through a couple rubber bands, but I don't think it'd change much if the bands were removed. No hairspray at all. She has pretty green eyes and a good - if a bit stiff-lookin'- smile, and I love her normal-looking nose. She rather reminds me of the "Miley" doll in the Hannah Montana line. Not surprisingly, PlayAlong makes both the Cheetas and the Hannahs.

I think she'd be more attractive if her lips stood out a bit more. The cotton-candy pink color she has blends in with her peachy complexion. I kinda wish they'd left off on the light pink ‘frost' eye shadow, too. At least half the ‘Fashion Fever' dolls have the same thing, so I know it's trendy and adds light to the eyes, but that doesn't mean I'm a fan of it. Let's face it, I did ‘frost' eye shadow when I was young enough to think it looked fabulous, but it was the ugliest shade of robin's egg blue you've ever seen ! I haven't been a fan of shimmery-type makeup in any color ever since. So I may do some... experiments with ‘Do' here... (maniacal laugh)

About the only bad thing I have to say about Dorinda is that there's doll hair peeking out in the front, where her head meets her neck. I always hated that when I was a kid. I didn't realize it was fixable, so I'd drive myself crazy trying to pull those tiny bits of hair out. It never occurred to me that there was any other way, as I'd never dreamt of beheading a doll when I was a child. Today, I just pop the head off, or angle it upwards, and tuck the hair back in - but it speaks of lousy quality control to me.

Anyway, new doll. Yaaaay ! Dearest is registered for school - YAAAAAY ! Believe it or not, I actually had a nightmare about forgetting that, and his first day in second grade being a disaster...

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:52 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Quiet

Current Image Notes : Here's an image of the animated Kira, just for kicks. Amazingly,  images from Don Bluth's animated Xanadu sequence are much easier to find online !

Beloved Hubby is home today - he's not feeling too well, either. So we let him rest, and I did grocery and bill runs. Glad that's all over with. Today and tomorrow are registration days for school, so I can't let tomorrow go by like today did, without getting that done.

Not sure where today went. I didn't do much housework, and putting groceries away didn't take that long. Idly poked around and found a new free Barbie pattern that looks nice -  http://tinyurl.com/5ageur. It's a blog - images of the dress are allll the way at the bottom, so keep scrolling. Lotsa photos, and the pattern's linked, as a PDF file.  Haven't sewn it yet m'self, but it seems fairly easy, and ya can't beat the price ! There's also tutorials and patterns for pencil pouches, make-up bags, and sewing machine thread-catchers. All free !

From there, I decided to clean up my bookmarks. Ended up over at cutupandkeep.net, a kind of neo-hippie/hipster site with crafts made from junk and bits and pieces. While most of the stuff displayed is too young for me, I almost always get an idea or two I can recast for my elder stateswoman age. This link'll take you right to the ‘Dolls' section, with pictures of projects completed and tutorials for others. Their ‘doll sweater from socks' may be easier to follow, and it has set-in sleeves instead of my bizarre version. Worth checking out, in any case.

Anyway, here's the "Dolls" section - http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/category/toys/plushies_and_friends/dolls

I poked around the ‘All' tab, to see more. It's on the upper left side of the page. Tonight, I mastered ‘Nautical Paper Stars', so there's little shaped stars all over the desk. Hint : If you try that tutorial, click the pictures to enlarge them, and do what's shown instead of what's described. To me, some of the directions are a bit off. I thought ‘the bottom' meant the edge we just folded, not the open-edge right side, so it took me a few minutes. I only got it right when I rigorously compared my effort to her photos. And I could only see most of the detail when I clicked on ‘em.

The lab'd gotten cluttered over the weekend, with the new playset and last week's goodies still somewhat scattered around. And the DPrincess dolls had fallen over on each other. So I got all that straightened out, and did a bit of housework. So I had a pretty nice day, even if I don't know where it went !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:52 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Playful

Feeling a bit better today. So I mostly sat around and read and hung out ! Seriously, I didn't do crap today. Well, I deboxed the Island Princess ‘Getting Ready with Tallulah'  playset. It's nice !

While I've had it on the ‘kinda want it' list since it came out last year, it just seemed like a lot. Even the doll-free set was $20., and I didn't want the monkey, wasn't interested much in the vanity, and most of the tiny props I already had somewhere. The trunk was intriguing (especially if I paint it) and the tea service was cute (repaint !), and the screen definitely had potential, but... I had no idea if the screen scene would be removable without damaging the framework.

So I was interested when the new movie - something about a crystal castle - was announced and the previous movie's remaining toys started their inevitable crawl towards Clearance. The doll-included playset got marked down from $30. to $20. on the website, and store exploration showed the non-doll one was now $15. instead of $20. Still, I waited... Then, as I kinda knew it would, there was a markdown sale. They gotta make space for the new holiday toys, after all...and 20% off is a decent discount.

At $12., I figured I could take the risk. Even if I really didn't like that weird-lookin' monkey. And I had no clue who Tallulah was. And exactly who was getting ready for what ? One day, I'll have to rent the movie, just to see what the playset was on about.

Anyway, the screen is exactly what I hoped for. Even better, in fact. The cardboard scenes pop out easily, and the included hooks and shelves - two of each - can be positioned as I like, or left off entirely. In the box, it's hard to tell. The tea set comes with tiny gold spoons, which are just adorable. The chair and stool are quite nice, and once painted, the vanity might well become a desk. Depends on whether or not the mirror section comes off. Two of the brighter pink props - a crown and a hat - only fit the monkey, so it was easy to donate all three pieces. The trunk really is nice, and the floral design on the ‘brass plate' part was a decal, easily removed. It has latch details and hinges, and the drawers ‘lock' so stuff doesn't fall out of the drawers when it's closed. Nice touch !

I hope to redo the screen, at least with computer paper, later this week, for photos. Scan the cardboard insert for future customizations. I also wanna save the cardboard packaging insert, it's quite pretty, with a castle on a cliff, and an ocean view.

If you're on the fence about this set, let me assure you, it's worth $12., especially if you've been looking for a nice screen. This one even has detachable feet, for better stability !

As usual, I ask myself, ‘What if you find this cheap at a yard sale now ? Ya already bought it !', but the answer comes back, "Then I'll paint one and have a variety ! This'll look great in green !"

You know it's time to wave bye-bye when you're being a smart-butt to your inner smart-butt !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:51 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Kinda ill

Current Image Notes :

Believe it or not, these are the only decent images of "Kira's" main costume I can find online, after at least an hour's search. And only one got resized smaller ! I'm gonna hafta watch Xanadu a few dozen times to get the LDP costume right. It helps, though, that she wears about six different ‘shepherdess' dresses throughout the film... and that they're very, very simple outfits.

The recent Broadway 'revival' has about put me off this project. The few bits I found on YouTube, where the stars appeared on various talk shows, were horrible. I'm a huge fan of cheese, no one can deny that, but my arteries and brain can't process the logs they were passing off ! 

Not feeling too good today. I mostly lazed around, sewed a pair of panties for the DPrincess dolls - boy, were those tiny ! They fit OK, but to me, those were ‘bikinis', not hip-huggers ! Modified them back to waist-high regular. Last thing my dolls need to be wearing is thongs !

Kinda missed my yard-sale haunts, even though I had such a good time Thursday. I still haven't even opened the Island Princess playset. Do you ever do that - buy something, but delay opening it ? I think mine's a holdover from when I was a kid, I rarely opened new stuff right away, especially if it was from a big holiday. I'd slowly ration it all out, so the fun would last longer. When I got older, especially as money was pretty tight, I'd occasionally buy something and take it back later - I either needed the money or decided against another ‘frivolous' purchase. It's lead to the fact that I rarely buy anything new these days, and when I do, it's after weeks of study, planning, and thought.

I just don't wanna be one of those people on the boards. Who have one post of dolls and misc. for sale due to personal issues...but later post images of the $$$ newest exclusive he/she just bought. It was worst on the spaghetti sauce page - seems like the more expensive the dolls, the worse it got - but I'm seeing it now more frequently. Sure, I buy the wrong stuff sometimes, and I'll cling to it even knowing I don't really want it anymore, far longer than I should. But when I flub a buy, it's normally under $10., because I really quiz myself on doll purchases for more than that.

Now, everyone's entitled to do whatever they want with whatever money they have, it's none of my business. But when folks are lookin' for sympathy and envy on the same day, I kinda have to back off slowly. It's a lot harder to regret buying a Fashion Fever doll - not a huge investment, and worse case, you paid $10. for a trendy doll outfit, max. But a $200. exclusive-but-I-hate-it doll is kinda harder to just eat the losses on. Especially when everyone else who just loooooved the prototype photos hates theirs, too.

Well, enough on that. If I felt better, I'd crack into the playset, but I'm just not into it. Showed Beloved Hubby my latest sewing successes while they were still on the Aurora doll who'll become Xanadu's Kira. Beloved said that, if I can sew up boots, he can make me little wheels with axels on a small platform (that part's called a plate on an ice or roller skate) in his Shop, paint ‘em whatever color I want, and then glue the boot and plate together. Isn't he sweet ? He was suitably impressed with Beast - but I think he was glad when Beast moved into the Lab instead of staying in the living room. Imagine not expecting to see something that large on the sofa late one night !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:51 PM CDT

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