I guess it was inevitable...

Current Mood : A bit weird, really. 

 

Confession time : I didn't embroider yesterday. Not sure why, it was a truly beyond lazy day, but I totally lacked any motivation to get in and stitch. So today, I did two smaller ones - a redwork (like an outline in one color) VW Beetle from the Chinese site and a pair of crossed racing flags. Not sure where those came from. The VW stitched up nicely, but the flags went off registry and needed quite a bit of touch-up with that ultra-fine Sharpie.

 

At least I'm back on track, and I really missed embroidering yesterday. Glad I took the break, though. I'm planning on doing the pirate one this week - but first, I need to find about eight more shirts. Guess I'm going to Dollar Tree tomorrow ! I've also figured out the best way to re-use all those stabilizer scrips and scraps, and get them to stay stable while I'm hooping ‘em. I actually tape ‘em to the shirt, loosely hoop ‘em from the wrong side, then turn the shirt right side out and adjust the hoop so it follows the grain. Since masking tape's holding the pieces down under a single fresh layer of stabilizer, I can move the hoop around ‘til it's right, then snug it together, and remove the tape. Makes me happy to get the most out of my already-used-once dryer sheets, when I can use ‘em ‘til they're gone !

 

I was watching an auction for a Modern Art in good shape, but it closed at $131., well over my limit. Oh, well. That just means I still have my cash for some other little indulgence ! It might take a while to find one, though, since I've barely had time to play with Gene. Took her hair down today, and it is so beautiful. I kept the little side pieces and tied them behind the rest of the fall, and she looks much softer.

 

Speaking of indulgences, we gave in and we'll have cable this time next week. Since it's from our internet provider, we got a bit of a discount, so it's not so much. We already spend about that on DVDs, rentals, and such every month, and we'll get a digital recorder in the deal. I'm looking forward to it, but I've gotten so weaned from television, I'm not sure I'll use it much. We also get digital radio channels, so I'm hoping the comedy and music will also be something nice to have. It'll almost be like having the satellite radio back. 

 

I guess it was inevitable that we'd have TV again. I'm kind of excited, kind of sad. I've gotten so used to the quiet, but I know I'll be addicted to the tube again, since there's about 80 more channels now than there were last time we had it. (sigh) Life changes in odd ways sometimes. 

Just wish I could get Gene to smile, just a little bit...

 

Current Mood : Still amazed, still very lazy.

Current Image Notes : Here's yesterday's haul - dolls, clothes and all ! I head-swapped the beautiful-makeup Jasmine head to my other Jasmine body, then found a replacement body for that Jasmine head. And found her a new home already. Lovely when things work out. 

(laugh) I almost gave my 'new' Jasmine a word balloon, reading 'Rock me, Amadeus !', because that was my first reaction to this Ken's clothes !

 

Well, we didn't go anywhere, but I still didn't get jack done. Brushed out Gene's hair, and found that the pink ribbon is still sewn in. I'm wondering if I remove the ribbon, will the front twists remain ?  Because I like those.

 

Shortly after I took the photo, one of the bead and sequin decorations on Gene's top fell off. Since the back was already missing a similar bead, and a snap-half had to be reattached, there was no time like the present to fix it. I found the sequin and bead, but the bead broke while I was reattaching it. Luckily for me, I have a ton of various crafting supplies from dozens of sale and second-hand sources. A few minutes of digging through the jewelry findings box, and I had similar glass replacements. I had to use a small bit of folded leftover interfacing to sew the snap back in - the lining of Gene's top had torn where the snap went. But it was soon all fixed and back on.

 

When we went shopping together yesterday, Beloved Hubby found a small star-shaped mirror for just a few bucks. I'm thinking of going back for it, and attaching it to Gene's trunk, or possibly the Star Wall.

 

I also perused some of my older doll magazines. When this particular Gene doll came out, in 1999, her issue price was $50. The Hi Fi outfit, dating to '98, was $35., and the 1997 Tango costume was $40. The only reference I could find for the trunk said it was $70. ! Wow. It's also kind of funny to me that the clothes are older than the doll !

 

Reason # 2 I keep going to that same flea market...

Current Mood : Jubilation !

Spent on dolls : $18.

Current Image Notes : Here's the 'Dorrie' from the Star Wars font I've had and the 'Star City' from the vector image - I used Stitch Era Universal to create both - wow. Joined a SEU group, and they told me the various ways I could improve my designs... and i seem to have lost interest. I'm sure it'll be back later, but between today's big find and the August Challenge, I've had my mind on other things ! 

 

OMG ! I still can't believe this morning, and it's almost tomorrow already !

 

Busy, busy day. Dearest Son's best friend's birthday party is today, a day he's normally with his grandparents. Since DFIL pulled a weekend shift today, if Dearest was going, I had to get him, stay at the party,  and take him either home or back to their house. An hour, round trip, both before and after the party. And I already had a full slate of stuff - back-to-school shopping to finish up, a return to TRU to do, and the usual Saturday stuff. Plus a shirt to embroider, to keep up with the August Challenge.

 

But his best friend's a good kid, and I promised to do my best so he could go. So, I hit the ground running this morning. Beloved Hubby was home today - Shop work - and he asked me to snag breakfast. Since I actually slept for about five hours last night (not in a row, but close enough), I figured it was doable. But first, the Flea Market !

 

Yeah, it seems dead silly to go every week. How much can possibly change when most of it is the same sellers, over and over ? Well, there's always new booths, and today, I really benefited. Scored a Prince Ken doll and a beautiful Jasmine face on a wrecked body for a buck each, and picked up a knockoff Wall-e wallet for Dearest.

 

I'm also the proud owner of a brand new ‘Blandness Girl' toy cell-phone. A quick bit of background. Ya'll know I love Chinese knockoffs. The fractured English alone is always good for a few giggles, and the products are often half-decent and dirt cheap. Couple years ago, several of us copyright violation fans found ‘Benign Girl' cell phones and toys. Clearly, they were Barbie knockoffs, even utilizing a Barbie font - and really, if you look fast or don't really understand English, in the right font, ‘Benign' can look like ‘Barbie', especially if there's an authentic Barbie doll sticker on it. I can only assume that someone knocking off today's find saw some of them, looked up ‘Benign' and extrapolated ‘Blandness' from that. According to the package, it's ‘Battery Operated Creative Various Music' and is a ‘Talking phone  / Different languages or melody for your choice / Real telephone sound'. I wanna take a few photos before I open it up and see what different languages lurk within. While it has generic princess graphics on the cardboard backing, the pink and white phone itself has a blonde, short-haired Barbie sticker on the front. The font this time is a Disney one.

 

But, amazing as it is, Blandness Girl is not the source of the repeated OMGs. Saw some doll hair and went to investigate a new seller... who had a lovely Simply Gene redhead doll and some clothes in a Gene trunk. I've been off-and-on interested in Gene since a year or two before Elphie joined us in Chez Insanity. I loved the 40s theme and the lovely clothes - if not the big-ticket prices and the ‘perfect princess angel' theme of her backstory. Clearly Mel Odom, is in love with his creation. I've been known to joke that the reason most of her shoes tie on to her feet is because if they didn't, she'd float out of them. No character as perfect as Gene trods the filthy earth with the rest of us mortals ! I also hated her eyelash to eyebrow blue makeup.

 

Still, this doll was lovely, and darn near perfect. I still had most of my $20. - it couldn't nearly be enough to get her, though. Could it ? So I asked. ‘Ten bucks okay ?' she replied. TEN BUCKS ! I couldn't get my wallet out quick enough. But still, I knew I'd feel guilty for paying so little - the doll was $40. to $50. new. The one dress I saw was at least $40., and the case was another $60. And it was all in great shape, too. So I found a Bettie Page sticker I thought Beloved would like and asked her if I could give her what was in my wallet. I thought I was gonna float out of my shoes as she handed me everything, case and all, and happily took the $16. I had. Wheee ! She'd been given the doll as a gift, but never liked her, and was glad to see her head off to an appreciative home. I just hope the giver never finds out what little I paid !

 

I paid for breakfast with my check card. Once home, I found that the trunk had all the Certificates of Authenticity, except for the case itself. The pink dress was called ‘Tango', and it had the net crinoline and hosiery. Lurking in a drawer was ‘Hi Fi', a lovely casual outfit I'd always wanted to try on Elphie. Gene herself still wore the bra and shorts she'd come in, and her hair remained in the factory set. Her stand was there, too, and while all the little props were AWOL and I had one left shoe to ‘Tango' and one right shoe to ‘Simply', they were different colors of pink, with different ribbons and arrangements, she was darn near perfect, and so was the case. Wow. Hopefully tomorrow, Elphie and Fiyero will get to meet the new girl moving in - today was too busy for much doll play. I still haven't brushed her hair ! But she's wearing ‘Hi Fi' now.

 

Picked up Dearest, and we headed to the party. Surprisingly, he was quite outgoing today, and wanted to skate - party was at the rink, 1pm. So I ended up strapping on some rental skates and leading him a bit. We played a few games, had cake and ice cream, and his friend enjoyed the gift we got him, a DVD of Wall-e. Since it was a joint celebration for his friend and his brother, I was happy they'd both get to enjoy it. In fact, his brother told me that their cousin had the movie, but never let them watch it. So he couldn't wait to tell him they had their own. The cake was delicious, too.

 

As we were getting ready to go, my cell rang. DFIL was off work, could he swing by the rink and pick up Dearest ? Oh, yes ! So that worked out great. It was a fun party, and I'm very glad everyone had a great time and that I got off my butt to get him there. I was gonna get back on my errands when Beloved called - the watercolors were sold out at Hobby Lobby, so I could save my time and a trip there. Since TRU was right by Michael's, where Beloved wanted to go, if I just came home, we could go together, and grab a late lunch/early dinner. Cool !

 

Once we were home again, we had about an hour before we had to pick up Beloved's friend from work - so I crashed on the sofa, waking up just in time to get dressed and grab my purse. Whew ! By the time that was done, and the Redbox movies were returned, it was 9pm. I frittered a bit, and got to embroidering. I save the quick-to-stitch designs for days like today. Came out nice, though. I think I'm gonna do the elaborate ‘Boy Pirate' design I bought from Embroidery Library tomorrow, since I don't think I'm going anywhere.

Sewing, not hunting...

Current Mood : Beyond tired and into snarly.

Current Image Notes : Here's the playline Wonder Woman doll I got last week at the Flea, wearing the Deluxe Quick Curl dress I can never refuse. Diana got a Glitter Hair body to replace her wrecked semi-bendy one, and I think she looks wonderful. Yesterday, you got to see my lovely Christie, bought at the same time. It's amazing what I find for a dollar sometimes...

 

I'm rather pleased with m'self that, for the first time since this whole ‘machine embroidery' obsession began, I've gone a week without needing to back up my designs. Seriously, I thought about what I wrote yesterday and looked it up - I haven't bought or even downloaded anything since my last backup on 07/31. True, there've been a few times when I didn't back up, but I should have, since I'd either purchased several or downloaded dozens free since the last save. But, nope. Nothing new.

 

Of course, that's because I'm too busy stitching out what I have to stay online all day looking. Still keeping up with the ‘embroidery every day' challenge - today one of Dearest Son's older t-shirts got a lovely ray-backed star, and for a freebie I didn't stitch out first, it looks fantastic. I used a nice golden yellow for the rays and a bright red for the star. Looks great on a black shirt - I'll have to use that on one of mine soon.

 

Luckily, I'm getting faster at hooping. Start to finish, today's design only took an hour. It helped that the sewing itself took only ten minutes ! But even with multiple hoop repositioning and angling the stabilizers, it still doesn't take nearly as long as it used to. I'm even reusing scrap bits of stabilizer, which I used to avoid employing, due to the slippage. Now I just tape the edges of the stuff to the back of the shirt, hoop it loosely, position it correctly (the big time sink of the whole endeavor), then remove the tape and snug up the hoop. Does it surprise you that, when I can, I reuse the tape, too ? (embarrassed grin)

 

I was really late starting it today, too. For some reason, my insomnia's raging, and I don't know why. I'm scaling down my soda after lunch, making sure to take my ‘scripts, haven't needed the inhaler in days, there's nothing (new) bothering me, nothing's hanging over my head, and my days are pretty much what I want them to be, but I keep waking up in the night. Seems like I barely get to sleep before I wake up again. Been going like that since Tuesday. Today, I was a real grouch, impatient and snarky and ill-tempered. Kind of like most days, really - but Beloved Hubby noticed. And put me down for a nap and got Dearest ready for his grandparents while I rested. Of course, now it's midnight and I'm wide awake thanks to my two-hour nap, but I'm not so witchy now. Well... maybe I should say my inherent witchiness is at standard levels, not steadily ramping up like they were all afternoon.

Frittering the day away...

 

Current Mood : Lazy

 

Kind of a boring, quiet day. I sort of frittered around most of the day, looked at dolls and stuff online. Got the last of the ‘remote control car' shirts stitched today for Dearest Son - now I just have to decide what to stitch up for him between tomorrow and Aug. 20^th. I'll probably stitch some crossed racing flags on the front of today's shirt, since I put the design on the back. Brody has a simple version built-in. Or I can go for a more complex one, since I have about four different versions stored on the hard drive.

 

It feels quite good to actually use some of the thousands of designs I've amassed. Honestly, I've spent more time stitching than hunting, which is a good thing. When you look, you find, especially when you're hunting for stuff to buy. I don't need to spend any more money on designs, and that's the truth. But what's funny is, I haven't been looking for freebies, either. Just not that interested. And it is a lot more fun to chain m'self to Brody instead of the computer. I don't think I've downloaded anything in days now. Not even a single free design. Wonder how long I can keep that up...? Well, at least until someone, some company, shows me something irresistible. And cheap !

Dolls that can't sit - the ultimate fashion victims !

 

Current Mood : Improved

Spent on dolls : $5.38

 

I got to watch Barbie in A Christmas Carol on YouTube.com this morning. It was actually kind of cute. And surprising, because, while Barbie is Modern Barbie, complete with a Barbie pink Christmas tree in a Mattel-designed bedroom, she's also mean ole Eden. It's a Mattel production, and they hate portraying their golden girl in any sort of bad light. Guess that's why they have two separate voice actresses for Barbie and Eden.

 

As far as the animation... well, there's Pixar CGI, and Dreamworks CGI, and there's ‘toy ad CGI'. This is quite nice toy ad CGI, but it's still a toy ad. So hair doesn't move, physics are out the window, and everyone's a barely-animated two-by-four. And it's the familiar, yearly trod Christmas Carol, just tweaked for a Victorian diva set in a spotless London. The kind of London that, while it's snowing, people still throw open their windows, if they're not already open. I would have bought Christmas Present and Christmas Future dolls, if they'd been available. Christmas Past is pretty much every Malibu or Skipper doll you've ever owned. Especially the giggly ones.

 

Dearest Son back-to-school Shirt #4 got embroidered just before a huge, window-rattling thunderstorm opened up. Lucky ! We only lost power for a second, it came right back up. But I'm glad I had Brody turned off and unplugged. Who knows what those kinds of power surges could do to him ? I posted photos of my stitch-outs using Stitch Era Universal in three places now, and have yet to get any feedback from anyone. So it must be really bad. I rather liked it, and didn't think I did that awful a job...Oh, well. Other people's opinions are not really any of my business, unless I choose to make them so.

 

Took Dearest Son out to Target - and I completely forgot to buy my monthly supply of rice crackers ! Maybe next time. We found his new backpack for school, and looked around a lot. All he needs now are shoes, the reviled Prang watercolors, and maybe a haircut, and he's ready. I found a markdown ‘Camp Rock' guy doll - for $5., I got his outfit and a director's chair. Goss, I love director's chairs. I'd about decided on a Ken ensemble, but this was more for less. True, the pants are rather tight on a Ken, but I can always resew the inseam, and powder his legs. Most Kens don't need to sit down anyway. Heck, the pants don't even allow the ‘Camp Rock' doll to sit, either.

 

This weekend's gonna be busy. Got Dearest's friend's birthday party, two shirts to embroider, the flea market, a run to TRU, a trip to Hobby Lobby, and I have got to start mucking out Dearest's room. May as well enjoy the week, since the weekend's spoken for !

I'm a mean, selfish old witch, and my already narrow philanthopy well is dry right now !

 

Current Mood : Bitter. And nursing it. 

Current Image Notes : The front of Dearest's Wall-e shirt. Ya get the back tomorrow - yaaay. 

 

So tired. For whatever reason, I didn't sleep well last night, so was draggin' all day. Had to pre-register Dearest Son for school, and I promised his friend's grandmother I'd pick them up for that, too - she's legally blind and can't drive. It wasn't until I got there that I realized I'd have to fill out the forms for both Dearest's friend and his sibling, for her - she couldn't read them. By the time I got to Dearest's forms, she'd already turned both hers in and was tapping the table a bit impatiently. (sigh) I also had to take them to a fast food restaurant on the way back to their place (no playdate today, sorry Dearest) even though we were going home for lunch. So I'm in a bit of a witchy mood, sorry. I'm glad I got to help someone today, but it took a quarter tank of gas in a car with no air conditioning in 101 degree weather, so I'm still in a mood.

 

But I got two more of his back-to-school shirts embroidered - one late Monday night, one this afternoon. Three down, two to go. I'm learning that bright colored shirts make for brighter embroidery, too. I'm getting better and faster at hooping them, and that's the point of the August Challenge. Just gotta find the ‘happy'. Tomorrow I do the very cute ‘racing in mud' car design, so that's fun to look forward to.

 

Oh, and check your Target, especially if you like the dress fabric used for the ‘Generations of Dreams' Barbie, but don't want the doll or her price tag. Target.com is showing it out of stock, but maybe it's in your store - an umbrella with the same ‘patchwork' print ! I'm hoping to hit ours this weekend, since I'll be in the area. Barbiecollector.com also shows it as a silk scarf, for $29. At 10" by 60", you could design your own ‘Dreams' Barbie dress !

 

There's also pink silhouette rain boots for $24. on the Target.com site. I'd include links, but they're darn near endless. Those never cut/paste well, and I'm too lazy for TinyUrl.com right now.

 

At least tomorrow, I just have housework and embroidery. No volunteer work. At least, not until Thursday, when I have to drive Beloved Hubby's friend to work again. (sigh) I'm just glad I get to rest a day first !

I love Kitty in Paris !

Current Mood : Okay. 

Spent on fabric remnants : $1.64

 

Finally got the grocery shopping done - on time and under budget. Dearest Son found that the Lego Star Wars set he's been pining for is on markdown at Mal-Wart, and he's hoping even harder now. Can't say I blame him, he gets that sales-hunt gene from me, after all. It's just funny to me that he may have trouble making change, but he understands a $17. price reduction means it takes fewer weeks to ‘save' up for it !

 

I found two great remnants - a purple star print and a tiny ‘vine' one in a sort of mulberry pink. And I had to restrain m'self from buying the very large $5. Hello Kitty coloring book. It was nearly two inches thick ! Mostly wanted it for embroidery design experiments, but I can find plenty online for free, really. I sometimes, though, just like coloring books...

 

School supply lists were finally out. All he needs now are new shoes, a new backpack (last two years' are barely serviceable for trips to his grandparents'), and those blasted Prang watercolors. Last year, I peeked ahead and saw that they didn't need ‘em in third grade, and I was so happy... oh, well. Maybe next year. And it's an excuse to go to Hobby Lobby, there's even a 40% off coupon this week. I just have no idea why the teachers keep requesting Prang when all the ‘regular' stores (Mal-Wart, Target, etc.) never have that brand. I'm still half-convinced it's some sort of ‘whose parent's gonna bust butt to find this obscure thing' test from the teachers...

 

It was kinda late when I finally got to sew. I'd been thinking earlier today (and the universe trembled in fear) that Dearest has no end of blank t-shirts. I'd pulled the larger ones from his closet for embroidery, so they wouldn't be outgrown a week or three after I sewed ‘em, but... I could use the practice. Hooping shirts, especially smaller ones, is a skill that's still a pain for me. So, what if, just for giggles, I embroidered a t-shirt a day for Dearest, from Aug. 01 ‘til school starts on the 20^th ? Since it'd be mostly for practice, it wouldn't matter if he outgrew ‘em quickly, and it's far better than stitching scraps and rags for the experience.

 

And going on from there, why not embroider something every day in August ? If I could keep the " ‘til school starts " challenge, it'd only be a few more days. And by the end of the month, I'd be darn near adept at embroidery on t-shirts. Or cards, or wood, or anything. I'd use some of the thousands of designs I've stored and backed up numerous times, and develop the skill ‘til I could do it with my eyes closed, almost.

 

Only one problem. It's already August 3^rd. Well, if I counted the Wall-e shirt as Saturday's, and the first remote control car shirt as Sunday's, I'd be up to date once I sewed today's. Yes ! So, here's the August Challenge - embroider a t-shirt a day for Dearest Son, starting on Aug 01 and ending Aug 20^th, and then finish out the month with ‘anything goes embroidery', something new stitched out every day. This is gonna be fun ! According to my design printouts, I tend to sew something every three days or so.

 

I know me, though. By the end of August, I'm gonna be dyin' to sew some bags, some clothes, some doll clothes - anything but embroidery for a while !

I'm #1 ! Really, Mattel said so.

 

Current Mood : weary.

Just a quick interruption in the photo of the day - I'm a #1 Barbie ! Yes, there's a silly little seven-question quiz, and you can easily slant it any way you like. I mean, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that if you choose ‘bronzer', ‘bonfire', and ‘dune buggy', you'll probably get the "Malibu" result. This one, though, I actually gave accurate answers for, and got the #1 banner. Cute !

 

Here's the quiz - http://www.barbiecollector.com/collecting/games/personality/ Love to hear what doll you are !

 

Did laundry today, four loads of it. It's all sorted, but not yet put away. All the new and embroidered shirts are washed, ready for what comes next - stitching, stitch shield, photos. Gonna try to sew tomorrow, since Dearest Son's school pre-registration is this week. They go back on the 20^th. I'm torn between a twinge of sad that my solo time with Dearest and the summer's nearly over already, and a big chunk of Glory, Halleluiah !

 

Wrote up the review for Stitch Era Universal for the SiCK site today. Took me over an hour to write it, and I included two photos of actual stitch-outs done with its auto-digitizer, next to the original image. Fifty views. Four responses. (sigh) And the first one is from that person who evidently relishes disagreeing with whatever I post. She voiced her dissatisfaction with the program's online ads subsidy - for about the third time since I stupidly started this whole business. I'm still ignoring her, but oh, how I'd love to let her have it !

 

Got most of the last bits of the weekend's craft and doll haul put away. We've done quite well with our budgeting this weekend - only went out for dinner once, and we didn't go grocery shopping last week. It's good to sometimes use down the supplies, get fresh stock in its place. Grocery shopping tomorrow, though - and I hope they have the school lists out this week.

 

Unfortunately, we never got to Dearest's room muck-out, so I'm gonna hafta do it during the week, maybe for an hour or two a day. I've kept the kitchen up, and with the laundry mostly done, there's a good chunk of the week's work off my shoulders.

 

But I'd much rather sew - and write up the directions for that MP3 bag for the much-neglected craft site ! Maybe on Friday...

Recycling : Nature's way of telling you ya already spent all yer cash.

 

Current Mood : Tired of cleaning new-to-me stuff

Current Image Notes : There's the mp3 bag I made from the radio stitch-out on Dearest's torn khakis and Beloved Hubby's cut-off jeans. Not bad for a freebie ! 

Spent on crafts and craft organizarion : $10.

Spent on dolls : $5.

Spent on bootleg DPrincess junk : $1.

Spent on books : $2.

Forgetting yer troubles on a Saturday : Less than $20.

 

It was cool enough this morning to hit some yard sales - but there weren't many. But I managed to spend $18. between the two I found and the flea market ! $10. got me a three-drawer plastic cabinet, a shoe-sized pull-out plastic drawer, a bag of pencils, six pairs of shape-cut scissors, two bags of cardstock, a pencil sharpener, a mouse pad, five Las Vegas postcards, two frames, and a fairy-tale book.

 

At the flea market, $5. got me a blonde Barbie, a Christie or AA Barbie doll, a Teresa, a wrecked bendy-body Mattel Wonder Woman doll, a Ken, and a Barbie jacket and dress. Another buck got me a bootleg Disney Princess wallet - is it just me, or do bootlegs have a certain charm for anyone else ? - and two more got Dearest Son a 101 Dalmatians book called ‘The Lucky Puppy', Beloved Hubby a novelization of Buck Rogers in the 25^th Century, and me a nice copy of Fast Food Nation. I was pouring sweat by the time I headed for home, though.

 

Once there, I cleaned my new cabinets and moved my tossed-in-a-box craft supplies. Now I can get to - and see - all that junk much easier. The shoe-sized single drawer cabinet is on top of the three-drawer, and can catch any misc. until I find a better use for it. I'd been looking at those plastic cabinets for a while, and this one tends to run about $18. Getting it - and all the other goodies - for $10. seemed like a great deal.

 

Doll-wise, I found the bendy-body Wonder Woman fairly early while digging through the dollar toys seller's boxes, and began looking for a body donor even before I noticed her nearly-gone hands. A Teresa had nearly the same skin tone, and I liked the odd black dress she wore. Black thin nylon, with a fake shirtfront, including a hot-pink and black striped tie. Maybe it belongs to Ken ? Not sure, but it has a pink Genuine Barbie tag. Then I found the suit-dressed Ken and a generic blonde Barbie in the long blue Deluxe Quick Curl dress. Like the pink Sweet 16 one, I can't resist it. A lovely Christie wearing a sort of matching t-shirt and tulle tutu with rosebuds surfaced, and I brought her home, too.

 

After I got the cabinets cleaned, I turned my attention to the dolls. Turns out the Teresa has damaged hands, too. So I checked my few not-yet-donated dolls, and found an even better body donor - a Glitter Hair Barbie with wrecked hair I hadn't fixed yet. Long as I didn't mind ‘Diana' having bent arms, her body would be in great shape. She's missing a star-shaped red earring, though. The dress Diana came to Chez Insanity in was the purple ‘end credits' outfit from the movie-release Jasmine Aladdin doll. As usual, the net sleeves and overskirt are wrecked, but I think I can alter it. Diana cleaned up great, and so did the Christie/AA Barbie doll. Turns out her tutu is from Princess on Ice Belle, but I don't know where her yellow-thread hemmed t-shirt originated. She has a side part that has to remain so, else there's a strip of bare ‘skin' just behind her bangs. She has a slight chip to her lip paint, but otherwise, she's beautiful.

 

So, Christie, Ken, and Diana are staying. Teresa and the blonde Barbie are moving on soon. The doll jacket fits Skipper, and the slinky green-black star dress goes to Hollywood Nails Barbie - I already have one, but this is nearly new, and I've always liked it.