So Happy
Now Playing: "Star Wars Lego : The Complete Saga" for the Wii. Really.
 

Current Mood : So Happy

 

I'll confess it right here, right now. I was so worried about screwing up this great, soft, stretchy beautifully green knit fabric that Carol gave me, I gave myself a blasted migraine. Had to lie down for two hours to outsleep it. There may have been other factors - dropping hormone levels, new medicine, that Fuzzy Navel I had before bedtime last night - but I think it was mostly worry. Oh, and I also freakin' loathe elastic thread. But you'll hear more about that later.

 

Anyway, all Star Wars jokes aside, I really really wanted the sweatshirt jacket to go well. And it was all cut out, Fray-checked, and ready to go. But I couldn't start. After my migraine-chasing nap, though, I couldn't come up with any excuses. Especially since I'd spent two hours yesterday cleaning the kitchen and living room. It was time. Past time.

 

All in all, the only things I did differently from this and the usual project is that I simply relaxed, took my time, reloaded the music onto my MP3 player, and armed myself with lots and lots of cheap stabilizer. I may not have mentioned it before, but I use old dryer fabric softener sheets and cutaway interfacing. You can use tissue paper, too.

 

Stabilizer, at first, doesn't make much sense. You're adding something to the knit fabric seams that you don't need - and that isn't mentioned anywhere in the directions ? Then you have to cut away as much as possible, so it won't show ? Why ? Well, knit fabric stretches. A lot. Without a stabilizer behind it, simply running it through the machine will stretch it. A lot. And if you tug or push it, it'll really warp out of shape, catch in the feed dogs, skip stitches. In short, a real bad sewing experience, usually involving words that have to be fumigated before letting ‘em in the house. Stabilizer won't keep it from stretching, but it gives it less of an opportunity. And it's a good way to use up scrap interfacing and dryer sheets. If you don't use either, visit a Laundromat - tons of those things floating around - or hit a fabric shop. You can buy stabilizer made for just this reason, but why pay more than 79c a yard that brand-new interfacing costs ?

 

Also, I sang, took breaks, and frequently matched up pieces in progress, to make sure nothing'd really warped out of shape. And it came out beautifully, better than I thought I could do. Yeah, it's just an approximation of a sweatsuit jacket. A full-size one for a plus-size person like me is less than $15. But I wanted this fabric to make something that I really wanted for my dolls and loved in my own closet. Sort of my ‘thank you' to Carol, for believing in me back then.

 

About the only thing I'd change is the waist elastic. Pattern called for five and a half inches, but I'd have used less. Maybe five, or four and a half inches. On the plus side, this baggy jacket could probably fit Leia, or even Jem, so I'm overall happy. Still have to put snap fasteners in - hence the pins - but otherwise it's done.

 

Broke down and used that &^%$ing elastic thread in the sleeve cuffs, just like the directions told me to. What a useless product ! Had to use a huge needle so the eye was big enough for the elastic to go through, then it didn't tighten much more than regular ole elastic would have. And it took twice as long, because I had to hand-sew it. Next time, I'll either use regular elastic strips or use the sleeve hem as a casing, feed this &^%$ing elastic through there.

 

All told, this project took about two and a half hours. Three once I put in snaps. It may not look like much, but the sewing is great, all the seams match perfectly, even the clipped curves got Fray-Checked, and the hood can accommodate the usual ton ‘o Barbie hair. The ‘denim' skirt, a dime find in last week's yard sale spree, is actually kind of big on Obi-Blonde Cinderella here. I hope to make the matching pants tomorrow, from the same green fabric. That'll use about 75% of it. Pattern calls for a ribbon stripe down the outside legs and more &^%$ing elastic thread at the cuffs, but I'll probably skip them. Want the pants to be more versatile, since the fabric is so nice.  

 

For possibly the first time, I'm completely happy and satisfied and flat-out overjoyed with something I made. I think I did better than Mattel ! Sure, you'd normally never catch a glamour girl like Barbie in a baggy sweat-jacket - or at least, not without it being all rhinestone'd and glammed up - but my dolls needed one ! And I made something I really love.

 

Wow. I'm starting to wonder who I helped, because I'm having such an amazing week !

Rotary cutters and fun folks and stuff from Canada
Now Playing: "Star Wars Lego : The Complete Saga" for the Wii.
 Current Mood : In love and eager to sew !

 

I got View 3 (the blue sweatsuit) all cut out and Fray-Checked, from some soft, stretchy (I read the directions this time !) knit that Carol, of Perestroika.ca fame, gave me, so many years ago. I hope I do well with it, it's great fabric. Carol, if you ever visit, I think of you fondly. We were part of the same online doll group before it went replonza. And Perestroika patterns are fantastic - I really need to reinstall my two. And ask for Vol. 3 for Christmas !

 

Didn't sew it because Beloved Hubby swept by and took me out for lunch ! Had the best roasted chicken breast of my life, with tasty fries and artistically arranged peach slices. Yum. But the best part was simply riding home with him on some backroads, discussing stuff we'd read or heard on NPR recently, looking at leaves and just having some together alone time.

 

It's kind of funny that I just remembered the third volume of Carol's Barbie-size pattern sets. With me finding and not wanting the Robert doll, I thought I was out of things to want ! Turns out it's not so. Last weekend, I went to Hancock Fabrics and found a set of Olfa rotary blades - my original's OK, even after two years, but it'll need replacing soon - but what got my attention was the free charm attached. Designed to go in the hanging hole, there were scissor charms, needle and thimble charms, and my favorite, sewing machine charms. Only problem is, it was a 7-blade pack, and kind of expensive.

 

All good things to those who wait ! Got the new Hancock's flyer, and Sunday, all notions are 50% off ! So I'll get 7 new blades and my little silver sewing machine for less than $20. And lemme tell ya, my Olfa rotary is great. I started out with a Mal-Wart Fiskars, and it did OK, and was certainly cheap enough. But the blades went dull fast, and one day, I pressed too hard with a dull blade and broke it. No repairs. So I used a coupon at Hobby Lobby and got the Olfa for about two bucks more than I paid for the Fiskars.

 

You can see the rotary I use, and the blade charm-pack here :

http://www.marathonthreadscanada.com/olfa.html

 

I have never had a moment's problem with the Olfa. Cuts smooth and accurately, it's a tool I can depend on, long as I'm paying attention ! Get a Fiskars or Clover if you're watching your pennies, they're good experience. There's a definite learning curve when it comes to using a 45mm rotary to cut fabric destined for 29cm doll clothes. But when you're ready to step up to a serious, quality rotary cutter, go straight for the yellow Olfa packaging. My blade is still good, even after two years, and it's the one that came with the rotary. The Fiskars needed replacing after six months, tops.

 

I've also not been impressed with the Fiskars-branded cutting mat, either. It's chewed and chunked, probably mostly due to my own inexperience. But DMIL found an Olfa-brand mat for me, and wow ! I'm still using the Fiskars, it's bad but not horrible, but the Olfa didn't pit, or lose chunks of itself. Those little pits make it very difficult to get a straight, even cutting line.  Sooner or later, I'll get tired of angling my fabric around the pits, and I'll toss the thing, use the Olfa. Dearest Son has already begun to eye the Fiskars mat, it's great for his toy cars ! Pits and all.

 

Once home, I got the last of the cheap-serging done, and while the new-to-me fabric washed, I oiled and cleaned the sewing machine. Even took the bobbin race apart, cleaned some carbon, and got that oiled. Adjusted the bobbin tension, too, it's been slipping a bit, but it's really only noticeable when I zig-zag/cheap-serge. So she's running nice and smoothly now. Hung the green, red, and Christmas-themed fabric on the line, and I'm sure I made some folks pickin' up their kids from day care cringe, seeing the holiday reminder wafting in the wind.

 

After I get View 3 sewn, I'll probably go for View 2 - the dressy blouse and pants. One day, I wanna make a Barbie tuxedo. Not for Ken, but for the girls. One day... I probably won't do the red or purple dress from this pattern, they're blocky and - get this ! - too easy. And I don't like to sew ruffly wedding gowns. For a pattern I didn't even want, I'm getting a lot out of it !

 

We're still having fun with Star Wars Lego for the Wii - Beloved wanted to play tonight, so we got McRibs for dinner. What a nice day I've had ! Hope yours was sweet, too !

All that's wonderful in a day...
Now Playing: "Star Wars Lego : The Complete Saga" for the Wii.

Current Mood : Feeeelin' wonderful (with a slight headache) 

Spent on dolls/sewing supplies today : $8.83

 

No cutting or sewing today - all the errands that didn't get done yesterday had to get done today. Plus, I had to pick up my prescripts and the Star Wars LEGO Complete Saga for the Wii that Beloved Hubby preordered for me last month or so. And recycle all the stuff I crammed in my car last night.

 

Amazingly, there was $72. worth of copper and aluminum in there ! Soda cans made up most of the aluminum, but the copper came from the cargo trailer Beloved got off Craigslist. Wow. We were sketching things a bit thin, so that helped a lot. And I no longer have to take our cans to those awful machines for pocket change. I always felt those things ripped us off ! The guys at the recycling depot were so nice, too. Our cans might still be pocket change, but even $3. a month is $36. at year's end. And with my impulsive, wild doll spending, we need it all !

 

With that chunk of happy in my face and wallet, I headed off to TRU. I'd heard that someone in Ca. had found the elusive Robert doll from Enchanted - the one I'd been looking for since September - in their local store, for just $11. And I was only a mile or two away, so...

 

Get this. They actually had it. It was $15.99, and I'd get a free Disney coupon calendar, ooooh, but...I didn't like him. Seriously. This is why I always insist on seeing dolls in the harsh light of retail - it cuts down on the regrets. And the spending. The prototype looked friendly and unique. The real one was unique, all right. He looked like Christian Slater or Dennis Leary doing their take on The Joker (Batman). Facial wrinkles were much deeper than showed in the proto photos, and the eyes were small and squinted. I lined up six of those bustards - our TRU  had about 40 of ‘em - and they were all that way. Hair was heavily starched, so I have no doubts that once free of the spray, it'd be a real mess.

 

Also - and I really should know better by now - the thick wool blend overcoat shown in the proto photos was paper-thin transparent cheap nylon in the box. Suit was also nothing special. Sure, it's better than what I can sew right now, but not sixteen bux worth of better ! I carried him around for a while, with ‘but, you finally have him !' and ‘too bad he ranks !' warring in my mind.

 

I finally settled it thusly : if he was $5. in a swimsuit, would I want him to pair up with one of the dolls I already own ? Answer : No. I don't think any of ‘the girls' would want him, he's actually kind of creepy. He went back on a shelf with his identical brothers, and I headed out the door, idly wondering what the calendar looked like. You were right, Erika - he's not worth it. And I still owe you a letter ! Bad me ! Bad !

 

Beloved came home for lunch, and we split the cash. Wheee ! Feels good to be bringing some in ! Put gas in the car and got my scripts, picked up the game, and hit the thrift store across the shopping center. Score ! Lots of Barbie stuff this week - about 30 dolls and 20 $2. baggies of clothes. Selected two, one of mostly male doll clothes and another for the sparkly white pumps, the odd clothes included will probably get donated, I just wanted the shoes. Scored a Bratz Boyz outfit for the shoes, too. We'll see if the cool shirt and ‘leather' jacket will fit anyone around here.

 

Which brings us to the odd thing in the photo. It's a Barbie version of ‘Flip and Fold Fashions' a Tomy toy, the same folks who brought us Fashion Plates in the early 80s. I think I wore mine out (and yes, of course, I have a set now. Not the same set, but definitely a Fashion Plates set. I'm so spoiled !) ! However, this nearly identical Barbie one is from Tara Toys. It's like the Barbie one was branded with an approved Babs face, then mirrored. The legs and feet are darn near identical, just reversed in position, and the arms and hands are repositioned. But the two toys are far more alike than different. If you look up ‘Flip and Fold Fashions' then ‘Barbie Fabric Fashion Plates' on eBay, the comparison's easy. I'd post side-by-sides m'self, but I don't wanna rip off someone else's images. I can't find any evidence that they two companies - Tara and Tomy - are connected, either. It may be just one of those odd things.

 

It's pretty fun to play with. I have most of the fabric that came with it originally, but none of the shoes and accessories. I wonder if I found a regular ‘Flip and Fold', if they'd fit. Hmm. I could always color in shoes with a Sharpie if I wanted to. Anyway, if you find a look you like, it locks into place, and an easel back will enable ya to display it like a photo.

 

But here's why I bought it. The doll-shape within is about eight inches tall. A bit shy of Barbie stature, but it still has potential. I can use this thing - whatever its real name is - to gauge if fabric will look as good as I hope once sewn. It defaults to a pants shape, but simply repositioning the fabric can make it a slim or fluffy skirt. I can also experiment with trims and lace on it. For 99c, it was a no-brainer !

 

Week or three ago, I found some lovely sun and stars flannel. It came in a greenish blue and a bright pink. Got a half yard of the blue. Today, there was a quarter-yard remnant of the pink for...a quarter ! I may do the lapels of some pajamas in one color, the rest of the PJs in the other. Cute !

 

Well, Star Wars Lego has given me a massive headache, and it's time for Dearest Son to put down his wii-saber and do homework. What a great day this was ! Hope yours was wonderful, too !

Fall afternoon...with wind.
Now Playing: traffic and lawn mower sounds

 

Current Mood : Wondering 

Is anyone else having a hard time believing it's November already ? Seems like just yesterday I was waiting for the '07 Toy Fair images, back in February.

 

Well, one thing hasn't changed. I neglected the housework - again ! - and sewed ! Since I had half of Simplicity 6097, View 4 printed when I ran View 7, I went ahead and sewed it. I now have all but one part of View 3 printed (sweatsuit, with hood), so that's probably next. This material, also from the weekend-before's yard sales, is thicker than the usual cottons, and you know the rule - > heavier/busier the fabric, simpler the design has to be. And this one is *really* simple. No darts, no tucks, just front, back, sleeves. As you can see, I still need help stitching necklines, although the invisible presser foot on the sewing machine helps. Bonus - ‘Erin' modeling is a Happy Family Midge. She could probably wear this dress with the pregnant belly, too !

 

Other than that, not much going on today. Lightning Molly, my car, was having some minor issues, and Beloved Hubby asked that I stay home until he got home to check them out. He's home, she's fine, but it means I didn't get to do the grocery shopping - and check for any new doll developments. Well, that's what tomorrow's for !

 

When there's time. I gotta do the groceries, recycling, and other minor errands tomorrow. So if there's some unused time tonight, I may just cut out View 3. It's been a while since I made female doll pants !

May I introduce the recently restored Charlene ?
Now Playing: "Tremors 3" - DVD rental. Cute, if a bit gory.

 

Current Mood : Relaxed and pleased.

 

You *always* get the new stuff here first ! So here's ‘Charlene', fresh from a hair transplant and dressed in the latest of my efforts, the plaid dress I sewed Friday. She's seated in the plush blue ‘moon chair' that came with the Kennedy ‘Un-Fur-Gettable' doll Beloved Hubby bought me Friday, too. I'm still thinking of going back for the purple chair that goes to Chelsea... Same photo, a bit larger, will be on the Home page later tonight. But I like posting it here first.

 

Charlene was missing three hair plugs in front, and it showed badly. Perhaps it was the blank, never-rooted spot just behind the empty ones, but she really needed the hair there. It's funny, because the late 80s dolls I'm used to have so much hair, even empty front plugs wouldn't have mattered much. Just like real hair transplants, I cut a few from the very back and bottom of her head and rerooted ‘em in front. Those locks are shorter than the rest - I will say that Mattel did great hair styling back in the day, it was all even and wavy, even after a flea-market found play doll's possibly 29^th birthday -  but it doesn't show much. Hard to believe, that SuperStar dolls debuted in 1978, nearly 30 years ago.

 

I both loved and hated the SuperStar dolls. Perpetually blonde with a rather vapid smile, she was both glamour and trash to me. I was supposedly growing out of Barbie when she came out, so I never got the one I wanted for Christmas, etc., and I'm sure that added to my psychological conflict. The fact that Mattel rarely used any other mold for nearly 20 years made it seem boring and too-often-seen. Now there's about 30 molds, it's hard to tell ‘Teresa, 1996' from ‘Racquel, 2007' sometimes, and I've come to appreciate the beauty of the SuperStar. I just needed time and distance.

 

Charlene seems unusual to me, now. Her bottom eyelashes are the same blue as her eyes, not black. And she actually has a flirty but friendly look on her face. I may someday replace her earrings, but for the most part, I remove those. They get hair tangled around ‘em, and it's often a snarled mess by the time I find the doll in a ‘donate' box or jumbled in a flea market trunk. I'd thought to reroot the blank spot with the blue fake hair I bought for the Casey head, or any of the black/red/brown colors I have left from other reroot projects, but it seemed too...dramatic, maybe. Get this, I actually wanted her to be blonde. Any of the ‘real hair color' streaks made her look like a refugee from a skunk costume factory, and the blue didn't seem right either. She simply looked best blonde.

 

Under her first picture dress - she was wearing a snug green Christmas gown - she had a pair of vinyl shorts from the first RollerBlade Barbie. The one with the 'flashing' skates that ignited someone's gasoline-soaked underwear back in '91 or '92, thus making themselves a laughingstock. They were badly deteriorated, and flaking. Took me about 20 minutes to get that stuff off her, and I trashed the shorts without a second thought of saving anything off 'em. Ugh.

 

Rest of the day was spent napping and looking idly through doll books. I'm considering doing another online photo album with all my dolls modeling those classic ‘Best Buy' fashions. Sort of a personal supplement to the Sarah Sink Eames Barbie Fashions books.  

 

Wanna quick irony ? I still haven't used the full 20meg that was my ‘free' space with Tripod ! I'm at something like 19.3. It's funny, I was so worried for so long about using all my web space. And I haven't yet !

Settling down after a good day's prowlin'.
Now Playing: "Hoodwinked !" - DVD rental, not that bad, but *everything* has to be about the kid...
 

Current Mood : Happy and daydreamy 

Spent on dolls and sewing today : $3.73

 

Kind of a quiet day - went to Hancock Fabrics to get elastic thread. One day, I'll learn to read the pattern directions and supplies needed before I start sewing ! While I'm gonna leave yesterday's sleeves alone, I plan on sewing it again, with the sleeves according to directions. Got the thread and two spools of glow-in-the-dark thread ! I saw that stuff *years* ago, at $4. a spool. Neat, but not something I'm likely to use, and rather expensive. Well, evidently, it'd been around so long, the tags at the spool ends had fallen off, and two of ‘em ended up in the clearance basket for 50c each ! Whee ! I even ‘tested' it, and yup, they glowed a faint green in my cupped hands. Also found a reel of jewelry elastic for 50c. I actually got out of a fabric store without buying an inch of material !

 

Hit a few yard sales, too. Found some sewing feet and cams for the Singer 603 series, but the feet didn't fit my machine. It's a low-shank, and most Singers are high, but I wanted to try. Plus the vintage box was cool. Found a new package of elastic thread (sigh) for a dime, and some decorative elastic for a quarter. Found a pink minidress in an Asian-themed flower print, and a cute denim skirt, plus a pair of decorated panties for a Disney Princess-type doll. And the cutest little stuffed Wampa, from a Star Wars -themed kids' meal from Burger King. Elphie's bed will soon be buried in cute, cuddly, dangerous stuffed animals. Scored two books for Beloved, too.

 

Shortly after that, Dearest Son was home from his grandparents', and we had a nice dinner and settled down to movies and hobbies. Hope your Saturday was nice, too !

 

Ps to Michelle - sent a note to Catherine, but she's not green-lighting any new memberships until next year. I appreciate the referral anyway !

"Get Off Yer Butt" Friday
Now Playing: "Night of the Comet" - DVD rental. Gotta love the 80s !

 Current Mood : Busy and Happy

Spent on dolls today : $8.56

 

Well, I finally sewed something ! Got nearly done with it when I read the directions ‘use elastic thread to gather sleeves'. Blast it. I'd much rather just gather with thread, like ya do with skirts and such. Plus, I don't have elastic thread. I could possibly string a piece from regular elastic, but it seemed like such a silly thing to do. Gather the sleeves with elastic, I mean.

 

And when I tried it on the sewing doll, the sleeves looked kinda good on their own. Sort of 80s. So, while I'll probably sew it with elastic thread another time, I'm gonna leave it alone this time. Still have to put in the back facings and closures, and one sleeve looks longer than the other, so I may have some minor corrections ahead. But I rather like it like this.

 

The pattern's one I bought in a lot a month or two ago - I wanted the Darci/Jem pattern, but the cheapest way to get it wasn't by itself. It was buying it in a lot of three patterns. No kidding. By itself, it was $5. plus $3. shipping. The lot of three was $3. and $2. to ship. Pattern used was Simplicity 6097, not the one I wanted, but a nice one just the same. Sample dress on the envelope was plaid, too. So I used some from the baglot I got at last week's yard sales.

 

I think it'll end up on the SuperStar Barbie I got from the flea market - same weekend, I think, that I got the fabric. She needs a slight reroot - there's about three empty hair plugs in the front center of her head, and a bald, never-rooted spot just behind the vacant plugs. She has a non-working mechanism switch, and her neck is so loose, it may as well be broken. So I pushed her head down on her neck a bit. She sort of resembles Charlene Tilton that way, at least to me, and she seems to like the comparison. So this is Charlene Hyatt, a nod to the fact that, while I haven't completely made up with the blonde-is-perfect mindset, I've at least come to a sort of tired detente with it.

 

Which came in handy tonight. Beloved Hubby and I went shopping, and I ended up with a Kennedy ‘My Scene' doll. I mostly wanted her chair and phone. The insert shows a Nolee doll in the line, but the packaging otherwise just shows Kennedy (actually Barbie - is this like when they gave all the wild fashions to Francie, back in the day, so when the style went belly-up, they could jettison her and save Barbie ?), Chelsea, and Madison. Ripped the fake fur off the box and the phone. I rather like that phone. And I can make other cushions for the chair - it's attached with Velcro ^TM.

 

Curious ? Dollar General has all three dolls for $8. each. Kinda pricey for a chair and phone, but Beloved really wanted to get me a doll, and she was the only one who had my interest at all. Her clothes will probably be donated, they're all on the slutty side. Even her knee-length shorts are designed to hang low, under her waist. And the jacket's nice, but too short and wouldn't even fasten around the doll - so much for warmth ! Or maybe I'll use ‘em on smaller dolls, so they don't look so tight and tiny.

 

I'm considering getting the Chelsea doll, again for the chair, phone, and this time, her outfit. It's kind of cute, if still revealing. But I'm also considering buying my first new Bratz, for the ice skates. Mal-Wart has them for about $8. too, and ever since I found out that Lila Gamboldt (Lanard's ‘Catwalk Kitties') can wear Bratz peg-feet shoes, I've been looking at them, really, for the first time. And yes, $8. for the doll, an outfit, and a pair of skates is still cheaper than $10 for two outfits I can't use and a pair of shoes without a doll.

 

It's like it's come full circle. In the late 70s, early 80s, it was often easier and almost cheaper to get a whole new doll in a flashy, theme-headlining outfit rather than find and buy Barbie clothes. Now, it's actually cheaper to get a Bratz doll than it is to get Bratz doll clothes. Hmf.

Don'tcha hate autumn colds ?
Now Playing: Wii something, the guys are playin'.
 

Current Mood : Headachy and slightly ill

Spent on dolls Tuesday : $1.08 

 

Yup - I forgot that I bought another lip gloss shaped like a round ice cream container at Dollar Tree a few days ago. It was still in the bag, so I was lucky I found it before I recycled the bag for trash. I use about two Mal-Wart type sacks for garbage a day, which holds down our bigger bag expenses to about $2. a year. Gotta save where we can, with all my wild doll spending ! And I need to get photos of them for the site.

 

You'd think that, after a week of party planning, I'd lunge to the sewing machine in a fervor, desperate to sew anything. Well, sort of. I got the studio cleaned up, and more stuff put away. Decided to put in a divider for the lace, ribbon, and trim box, as I can't ever find anything in there anymore. Cut a stepped-on piece of foamcore until it fit, and got it all sorted. Why is it that, when everything's loose in the box, it's not nearly full. Put in a quarter-inch piece of board, and I could barely close the thing.

 

Used up the last of the wood-spool thread, cheap-serging the new fabric from the yard sale bag. Now when I need to cheap-serge, I'll just have to go with what I either have plenty of or doubt I'll ever use otherwise. It took me about three years, but I used up all the wood-spool thread. I'll miss those things. Hopefully, I won't be cheap-serging anything, it's not like I need new fabric for anything, ever !

 

Then Beloved Hubby came home early, so I'll have to do the rest of the serging later. We're gonna have an early dinner, and turn in early. I caught Dearest Son's cold, and it's kicking my round rump ! All I really wanna do is sleep !

 

Oh, Michelle - thanks for recommending Dizzy's Place, it sounded like fun. But I couldn't register. No matter which of the eight names or two e-mail addresses I entered, it said 'this user name has been disallowed' every time I tried. The FAQ advised that I contact the owner/admin, but without a login, I couldn't, and I didn't want to go through Christine's website for that.

 

So either the registration is buggy, they don't like my ISP, or maybe something I've said here or on another board (coughPregohack) has garnered me the shunning I probably deserve. Oh, well. A girl gets used to it after 41 years. Don't let it worry ya, though - I'll keep spewing my crap here, at least my only censor is somewhat disengaged !

Happy Halloween !
Now Playing: "One More Time" - Daft Punk, on the MP3 player. Yeah, you know I kept that one on !
 Current Mood : Still Sleepy. Very Happy.

 

It's all over but the candy-induced tummyaches ! Dearest Son loved his costume so much, he asked to sleep in it tonight. His class had a great party, and while very few parents participated, we had lots of fun. I made treat bags and had glow bracelets, plus the music (more later) and lighting effects. I used this image for the door as a sort of joke, with an image from Worth 1000. No kidding, I looked up ‘haunted disco' (something I didn't come up with until this afternoon !) and there it was. Made myself a matching ‘Staff' badge. I was the DJ, of course !

 

Another Mom, Mrs. C, brought in a ghost windsock project, and led the class in making it, which they loved. Two other parents came, and I'd say two others contributed. So the table wasn't laden with food like it normally is, we still had plenty to go around and leftovers.

 

But I was so frustrated with the music. Napster wouldn't let me download music into a playlist, then download the playlist to the MP3 player. Nor would it download into a playlist already on the player. Since some of my music's not kid-friendly, I ended up wiping all my stuff on it and putting on just the party music. It's not a big deal, I can always reload my music later. It's just a PITA that I had to do it that way.

 

As expected, no doll time tonight. Studio's a mess. I purloined ribbon for the treat bags and fabric for the tablecloth from there, and didn't put anything away yet. Beloved Hubby got McRibs for dinner for us, and I fell asleep on the sofa for two hours. Well, that ‘Tanks' game is nod-inducing to me !

 

BTW, Mrs. C has decreed we start planning for the Winter party in two weeks. (sigh)

Calm before the party
Now Playing: Wii Sports - Beloved and Dearest are bowling 'training'

 

Current Mood : tired but eager

Guest Image : Hamtaro by Dearest Son 

Spent on dolls today : $1.62

 

The other mothers have come through in fine style, so I think Dearest Son's class will have a great party tomorrow. I've bought enough drinks for a small army, so at least no one will go thirsty ! Still and all, I'll be glad when this one's over - although my co-Homeroom Parent is already working on the Christmas Party ! She is sooo organized and creative !

 

I also managed to find something for me. Dollar Tree is nearly wiped out of anything that even remotely looks Halloween - they were putting out any candy they had in the former ‘fall holiday' aisles, and it was goin' fast - but I got what the party needed. And I found a luscious royal blue play hair package amid the three or four they had left. I may well return the Windex-blue hair I bought earlier. This'll work for the bald patch on the SuperStar Barbie and the wrecked hair Casey, as it goes with both dolls' eyes. With any luck, I can start that tonight !

 

Nothin' at the thrift store, but the Mal-Wart had a six-inch wide length of baby blue/beige/white/soft yellow striped fleece that was just too tempting. The scale is just perfect. 50c ? MINE ! I plan to fringe it for an Elphie blanket first, then do it some more for other dolls until the yardage is gone. I figure, if I measure where I want the fringe, then add masking tape or a straight line of stitches to the edges, I can cut to the mark, remove the tape if needed, and it's done. Heck, I can do that while I'm waiting for Dearest's bus Thursday.

 

Did the last of the laundry, it's still drying on the clothesline. Our power bill dropped $20. since I started doing that, so score ! Ran all the errands, since there'll be no time tomorrow, and rushed through lunch. I'll be sooo happy once the party is over, but it's actually been kind of fun.

 

Just not the fun I want every week, though.