Current Mood :  VERY happy !

Current Image Notes : While this looks like a bizarre doll hostage stand-off, it's actually just the best way to get a boil-perm pageboy. You can't see the rubber band holding her hair under the curve of the white fabric tube, but it's there !

I spun around Princess Dorrie all day. So much to do, and I was pretty nervous. I mean, the last time I took a curling iron to a doll's hair, it was Shinobu's, and I darn near melted a section, even though I'd tested a wrecked doll's hair first then, too. Aurora's curl held beautifully, so why was I dawdling ?

Eventually, I could wait no more. I darn near wrung my hands in impatience and no little worry as the iron heated. Watched her hair like a hawk watches a potential dinner, just in case. And, about a half hour later, Her Highness was done at my makeshift beauty shop (the bathroom counter, over by the magazine box). I am happy. Happy with her, happy with my skill, happy that I did it. A bit chagrined that I futzed around so much, I didn't have time to sew, but at least I did the hard part already !

Honestly, though, I haven't decided what clothes I want to make for her yet. I know I want a cute dress - not in costume satin, though ! - but unlike all the other Princesses, Dorrie doesn't have an animated costume designer to draw ideas from, just me. So I've been idling through my patterns, looking at books from costume to catalogs, and kind of staring into space. It's been easy, since I've been coughing and short of breath all day.

(sigh) I'd meant to knock Dorrie out early, do some housework, and spend the afternoon taking Barbie pictures for a nice lady on In The Pink, but it just didn't happen. I mostly studied books and took care of Dearest Son - he had a great time at his grandparents', but he was glad to be home. I was glad to have a reason to stay home, as I still had $10. in my purse. Left alone to my own devices, I'd have probably gone shopping again !

Of course, there's three Mal-Wart sacks of stuff I bought this week and last that I haven't put away yet...but Princess Dorrie looks awfully pretty on that bench I got yesterday !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:41 PM CDT

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 Current Mood : VERY happy !

Current Image Notes : Here's your first look at Princess Dorrie ! She didn't have bangs before, but she does now ! Next - the pageboy boil perm !!

With Dearest Son enjoying an extended stay at his grandparents', I had all day to do whatever I wanted ! So I hit the yard sales, Target, and Sam's really early. Did very well with my $10. at various sales - it got me three nearly-new blouses, an R2D5 action figure, eight kids' books, Swingin' Chicks of the ‘ 60s (for Beloved Hubby), an origami book for dollar bills, a working kids' typewriter, two large bags of Fiberfil, a star-shaped cake pan, a framed reproduction French 1900s cat-ad poster (also for Beloved), three different pair of shape-cutting scissors still packaged, a keychain kaleidoscope, a paua shell necklace, a large doll bench, and a bashed-box My Fair Lady Barbie ! In that cool lace ‘Ascot Dress' !

I'm still amazed at the Barbie. She was only $2., and is in pretty good shape, except that a bit of dirt got into the box, and on her nose ! I'm not sure what to do with her yet - keep her, or offer her as a prize on In The Pink ? I've won two prizes there, so I haven't been participating in any other contests, but I want to give back, ya know ?

Target satisfied my need for rice crackers, and I found a treat for Dearest at the Dollar Spot - a spiral-bound Teacher's Planning Book ! It was rather simple for a professional teacher, in my opinion, but perfect for when Dearest plays teacher. I always like to have good props when I play, from when I was a kid up to today, so I don't imagine it's any different for him.

Gosh, I must've spent hours creating props out of cardboard and tape, Kleenex and bottle caps, yarn and plastic bits - any little scrap that came my way became something else. Shoeboxes were doll beds or phone booths, or sometimes even spaceships, same went for some shoes, discarded flooring became an endless ballroom floor sprinkled with lick-and-stick stars. I vividly remember making a doll swing out of yarn and a Pringles' can lid - my paper-wigged Ballerina Barbie standing in for Princess Leia until she arrived and never left  - tying it to a chalkboard easel designed for a much younger child, but it made a great A-frame Barbie house with just a blanket flung over the top. I claimed any spray-paint and hairspray paint can lid I could grab (doll seating) and sometimes even the empty cans - with the labels removed and a paper cone covering the nozzle, they were great castle towers. About the only things I didn't remake were office supplies, as I could play with those as-is, no matter how battered and reused that manila folder was !

I'm sure that, while my parents appreciated my thrifty play, my trash-hoarding was quite annoying. Then again, I also remember a weird multi-leveled metal-and-plastic showcase in my room that used to be a sales display, so I wasn't the only one recycling. Too big a square for a bookcase, too big for much else, I loved that thing. Even the holes where the ad placards were seated were of some use. Just wished that the plastic panels were any color but that sickly near skintone pink. Today, I'd spray-paint it, and put in some Plexiglas panels for that ‘glass ceiling' effect.

Also scored some star-shaped scrapbooking brads from that Dollar Spot that'll probably show up on doll clothes - backed by some iron-on interfacing to protect the doll - soon. Maybe even on Dorrie ! Gee, I'm not obsessed or anything...

Sam's had a tasting of some absolutely fantastic egg rolls, so a box of those made it into the cart, with the stuff Dearest and Beloved Hubby asked me to pick up. I couldn't wait to get home and have a whole one !

I'd barely gotten it all tugged inside and (mostly) distributed when Beloved came home. We went on a whirlwind spending spree - printer ink (using a $20. rewards card and a 10% off certificate, it was pretty cheap!) and dinner, and a couple ‘buy two used movies, get one for a penny' goodies over at Hastings. Wheee ! We now have the perfect companion film for that copy of Stand By Me I got from Mal-Wart's $5. bin last week - The Sandlot !

While Beloved watched another movie, I got Princess Dorrie ready for her boil perm and haircut. Basically, I just rolled a white cotton rag into a tube, fastened it around her head with a rubber band, then used another rubber band to hold her hair under, and all the way around, the tube. Depending on where the tube is located, almost instant pageboy of any length - just add a safe pour of boiling water and let set for a while. I'd have liked for her to have longer hair, but she has almost no neck, so it's about chin level. Once it'd dried for a couple hours, I cut along the newly formed bend in her hair, and trimmed it accordingly. It still needs to be touched up a bit at the ends, but I'm about 90% happy with her.

Took another doll - a spare Aurora - for curling iron tests. I wanted to use a curling brush to touch up Dorrie's hair tomorrow, but we only have a rather old curling iron. And I hate to buy a $15. styling tool just for doll projects. So while the curling iron heated up, I brushed out a nice patch of Aurora's hair, and gave it several tries. The iron didn't even get hot enough to make a difference on the ‘low' setting. On ‘high', it curled my hair in 15 seconds, but it took a solid minute to curl hers. She's currently resting, and we'll see if the curl lasts the night. If so, Dorrie gets to meet a curling iron tomorrow morning ! And you'll get pictures !

And I get to sew tomorrow ! Dorrie's first new dress ! I'm really excited. FIL told me that BIL ‘really, really loved' everything I did, he was there when BIL opened the box I'd packed the robes and cloak in. It's nice to hear, but rather telling that I have yet to hear from BIL at all, not even an e-mail, and he leaves at 3am tomorrow. Oh, well. I'm just glad to be done with the whole mess.

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:41 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Super Lucky (especially if this one goes through on the first three or four tries !) 

Current Image Notes : Here's our two guys, cuddling in my new sewing chair that is, arguably, not only the best place to sleep, but is the best scratching post ever !!!

Hit the one yard sale in town today - and $4. got me 56 spools of thread, a vintage 70s sewing box, two stacking thread racks, a copy of Fabric Savvy ( I already have More Fabric Savvy), a yard of yellow background floral fabric, two notebooks, a huge bag of snap and hook/eye fasteners, a rag rug braiding set, a sewing machine needle threader, some stationery, an action-figure scale medical Jeep, and a tiny blue plastic castle (the latter two for Dearest Son, of course ! Well, I may play with the castle for some photos first...).

Another yard sailer there detailed all her past and current surgeries to me, and complained that being a teacher meant she had to buy sooo much out of her own pocket. I commiserated and sympathized, until she said that at the first of August, she had to paint her classroom. What ? Now I know City of employs painters just for the schools, so I was taken aback. But heck, we have gallons of paint lying around - did she want some ?

Oh, no, no, no. By ‘paint', she meant ‘decorate'. Bulletin boards and stuff. Huh ? Maybe she needs another operation or two ... I have no idea why strangers tell me all this stuff. People I know don't tell me squat half the time so I don't worry, but I got totally random folks offering me rather intimate life details for no reason. I got to hear the surgery checklist again as she related it to the seller when she went to pay for her $18. worth of stuff.  Bizarre.

On the way to the sale, I passed by a couple guys opening shop in a vacant lot. Office chairs - and if the sign was correct, $10. each. It's hard to discern quality at 40mph, so I stopped on my way back. My legs had stuck to the kitchen chair when I was machine-sewing the last of BIL's robe yesterday, and once before, so I was ready for a better chair. Found a great one - tilt and rock and lift, with great wheels and nearly-new upholstery, and gladly shelled my $10. They even loaded it into Molly's backseat for me. I went for one without arms, because I found that works better for me at the sewing table. At the computer, I want arms to lounge on !

Hit Community Thrift, but didn't find anything. Made them an offer on the Cinderella doll they've had since March, but they really thought they'd find someone to buy the lot at $9. ‘S OK. I'm sure I'll find more as the yard sale season continues. Besides, it's not like I had time to work on her right now anyway.

Came home and finished the robes and that POS cloak. Took about an hour and a half. Since BIL lives with Gramma, I called her to ask if I could visit for a bit when I dropped them off. One thing I love about Gramma - Beloved Hubby's maternal grandmother - she's always ready for a visit. After a quick ramen lunch, I was enjoying a nice early afternoon chat. And the sensation of finally being DONE !

After that, it was grocery time. I'm glad I waited - FIL picked up Dearest Son yesterday, for an extended visit, so I could shop solo. Dearest's quite a good and patient shopper, and when I tell him this time, we're just looking, he hardly ever even asks. *I'm * the one who wants to get him another toy - I'm the one bustin' the grocery budget, not him ! And who did I meet there but BIL ! Told him I'd just dropped everything off, and I hoped he liked it. If he saw anything that needed to be fixed, he was welcome to call me and I'd laugh at him and not fix it. Yeah, I was a bit passive-aggressive by this time. But he laughed and said he completely understood and appreciated all I did. So, far as I'm concerned, that part of my life is over ! Words can't express how happy that makes me.

Came home and basically did nothing for a while but gloat over my new possessions. Beloved Hubby likes my chair, and was glad I'd found such a good price for it. The olive-green plastic sewing box didn't thrill him as much as it wowed me, but gosh, every person I knew who sewed when I was a kid had these boxes, usually in easy-to-chip yellow and green, with that wavy zig-zag texture. There must've been twenty sizes of ‘em. Some had lift-out trays, some were pattern totes, some were just for thread. 

I feel a little closer to being a ‘real' sewist now that I have one. Funny how that works sometimes.

Then I got a bit bored after dinner and decided to sort through all that new thread. There were actually nine more spools of thread, but they were yarn-like, the stuff you'd use for crewel or other crafts. There were also eight bobbins, loaded with thread. Unfortunately, those aren't the bobbin size my machine takes, but I can still use ‘em - they work just as well as a spool for the top thread ! Once I had it all placed and organized, I decided to do some cheap-serging. Needed to test out the new chair, and get it to the right height anyway.

Emptied seven spools and two bobbins. I mostly used the small spools that didn't have much thread on ‘em, and some I loaded straight into bobbins for my machine. I also discovered that thread was more precious back in the days of wooden spools. One spool had three different colors hand wound onto it...and only one thread length was more than five yards. These days, that short a strand really wouldn't be worth bothering with. Another spool had all one color, but it was several short lengths, and I couldn't tell until I tried to use it and it kept running out, and I had to keep threading the machine with the next length. It's sad that I threw a handful of it away, but it just wasn't worth hanging on to - or rewinding - three yards of navy blue. I hate hand-sewing, and avoid it whenever possible. And I ran into my first spool of thread too delicate to use. It broke while I was winding the long tail back onto the spool. And kept on breaking. Poor thing.

My box of empty thread spools is getting full. Aside from kitten toys, I'm not sure what else to do with ‘em. Any ideas - or does anyone want some ?

PS - 'Brothers' was also posted to In The Pink.

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:40 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Was happy, until I had to deal with constant Tripod screw-ups !

Tinkerbell is here ! The exchange was smooth and easy, and everyone's happy. The one I had a bid on closed today, $10. more than my high bid, plus another $10. in shipping - but I paid less and already have my Tink in my hot little hands. Yatta !

Today was Laundry Day at Chez Insanity, mostly so I could get BIL's blasted robes ready. Just think, it's almost over. I keep thinking that. It's almost over, it's almost over...I've adjusted the sleeves and gotten the button loops sewn on. About all I have left is some minor alterations to the cloak he sprung on me - it's been in our garage for over a year, hence the laundry - and hand-sewing the buttons. I'll do that tomorrow.

Saw these ads today - you've probably already seen ‘em, but we don't have TV here, so... I thought, for a heartless huge conglomco, Mattel does some sweet advertising. Vintage Barbie dolls, too !

http://youtube.com/watch?v=wpabulxYjuw - Mattel ‘Have Fun' ad

http://youtube.com/watch?v=0oXwEwZtPME&feature=related - longer version

And just for your viewing pleasure, something weird, but oddly uplifting, from Japan. May I present to you, the Green Leaves ->

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=At-pfAFUldE

May be unsafe for work (men in their tightie whities), but very cheerful ! Long as you have one leaf on - and that leaf is ‘Hope' - everything is all right. Yatta !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:40 PM CDT

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Current Mood : What, the first or the fifth time I tried to get this entered ? (we're currently on Try #6) 

Back to the old grind. Had to run some errands again today, so I took Dearest Son to Dollar Tree. He found some small trophies in the Party section, and has them displayed with the one Beloved Hubby and I got him, as racing awards. He also selected a second ceramic-with-fuzz cat, but I'm not sure why.

I got a little silly and bought the Disney Princess pencils I've been wanting, now that they're in stock for back-to-school shopping. I had one for the longest time, Dearest came home from school with it, for some reason, and I loved looking at it. Last time we went to DTree, I bought DP mechanical pencils, but these are six of your basic wood ones with matching ‘Enchanted Tales' graphics. They also had Cars and Tinkerbell packs, but Dearest wasn't interested, and I felt silly enough getting the girly princess pencils. But if Tink's are still there next week...

You may laugh at me for this, but while I was there, I bought a comb and brush set for the dolls. Green handles, of course. I actually tore the large all-purpose house brush, trying to pull it through Belle/Dorrie's hair. So now they have their own, and I won't be tearing up the Lab and living room looking for the family hairbrushes on school days. It didn't improve her hair, but at least I won't have to stop and fix the big brush every second stroke. It still works fine on human hair.

And, with that, the ‘Dorriefication' of Belle began. I'll probably do a web page on it, so I took pictures. With her wild and wooly hair as well-groomed as I could get it, I decided to thin it a bit by making her some bangs. Arranged some front locks the way I liked, then gathered the rest into a ponytail in back, and anchored down the bangs-to-be with another rubber band. Arranged them again, and put on some water to boil. Poured it over her hair, and she's currently drying. I won't cut it until I see what I got.

But I'll have to cut it to get the pageboy style for the rest of her hair. Might actually get to that this week ! Once her hair gets cut, even just the bangs, I'm gonna quit calling her Belle. From her first haircut on, she's gonna be Dorrie !

And getting my first custom Princess started makes me wanna finish BIL's mess up, so I can get back to working on her ! So I did all the dishes and cleaned most of the kitchen today. Tomorrow, I'll do some laundry while working on the BIL stuff. I'm hoping it won't take long.

Not sure what dress I'll make for her. Probably a simple day dress to begin with. Problem is finding dark green fabric with stars on it ! I'm sure I have some, though... let's face it, if it exists, I probably have it at this point !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:40 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Getting it all done...whew ! 

Today was basically ‘get off your butt' day - I finally got the ‘Alpha Chi' paint off the two oversize bowl-mugs I bought a couple weeks (months ?) ago at a yard sale. I also went through my pattern cabinet and got it straightened out a bit.

Ran a few errands, hit the Community Thrift. Found a great bag of scrap fabric that I just couldn't resist - I saw starry fabric, and I'm a slave to it. Also found an unusual soft-side lunchbox. Yes, more Disney Princess junk (BIL refers to it as my personal ‘dark side' - hopelessly attracted to it, even though it's not really ‘me', he says), but instead of the usual triumvirate of Cinderella, Aurora, and Belle, this bag had Jasmine, Aurora, and Snow White. It's rare to see this arrangement, and it was a good size and was in good shape, so for 79c, it came home with me. The Cinderella shoe zipper pull was kind of odd, too, since Cindy wasn't on this one. Was pretty, though.

Inside, someone'd gone crazy with a Sharpie - at one point, this lunch bag must've been a gift, and if all the names are an indication, it was a present from half her family ! I may write something encouraging on the inside of Dearest Son's next lunchbag. He usually rips heck out of the plastic inside mid-year anyway. This one's still intact, if written on.

A few new Cabbage Patch Kids decorated the toy section shelves, but nothing else was new. They have quite a CPK collection now. When I was noodling around with that CPK pattern for Timey and Dottie, I kinda wanted to find one, so I could compare measurements. Now I don't need one, and the second-hand venues are overflowing with ‘em. Makes me wonder how many dozens of AmericanGirl doll clones will hit the thrifts in a few years. I'd write, ‘How many actual AG dolls will hit the thrifts ?', but from what I've heard out of parents who shelled $80. for them, those dolls are getting packed away for Kaiytylynne's daughter someday, not tossed out. Of course, a good number of the ‘real thing' turn up on eBay, but the sellers want new-doll prices for half-bald, usually nude ones. Isn't that always the way ? Even on Craigslist, I saw a decent-shape Samantha AG, and the seller wanted $50., plus $50. for the bed, $60. for the clothes...

There are times it's truly wonderful to enjoy dolls that can be purchased for as little as 25c...

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Tuesday, 8 July 2008 6:10 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Just floating

Current Image Notes : This is the Ariel diary I got a few weeks ago from Target's Dollar Spot. I removed the lock, keys, and hinges easily.  The inside pages are lined, with a 'happy Ariel' graphic on the right page corners. 

Today, I just took it easy. Watched fireworks last night as dinner finished up, and it was great. Dearest Son came home from his grandparents' this morning and we chased each other all over the house with those streamer poppers. It was funnier to lie in wait, until the victim had relaxed in front of a computer, book, or Tv...then, POP ! Strands of thin crepe paper everywhere.

We had two packs of ‘em, for plenty of pranks. It was funny, though. Sixteen of ‘em in festive July 4^th headers were $2. at the front of Mal-Wart's holiday display. Two aisles down, in the party section, packages of 12 were $1.27. So, yeah, we had plenty.

Emptied two more thread spools with all the cheap-serging. I was tired of seeing black everywhere - black threads, black lint, black bits of fabric. Best way to get that crap out of my machine was to sew lots and lots of candy colors ! And yes, there's still more material in the box. Did two loads of laundry, and one was all fabric. It was so pretty on the line, soft prints and gentle pastels, wafting in the late-afternoon breeze. Next week, I hope to get the brighter colors washed. Then the darks ! I certainly have plenty of fabric !

You'd think that, with all the material and new dolls, I'd have hopped right on a project. But about all I did was repair a pillow that got torn in a family pillow fight last month - sewed a new ticking for it, and shredded the old one for rags. Mostly did that because I got tired of tripping over it on the floor. Not sure what's with my inertia, but I puttered around the Lab all day, just the same. Then, I took a nap.

Ah, well. With everything going on last week - MIL is doing much better, her kidneys were damaged when she was ill a few months ago, and we're hoping it's not permanent - maybe it's best I take a bit of a break. Besides, two kittens are attacking my ankles, and it's hard to say ‘no' to some play !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:38 PM CDT

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Current Mood : I'd be more contemplative if I weren't so happy ! 

Ding dong, the d*mn thing's done ! Whoo. Got going on Robe #2 about 9am and was finished, hems and all, about noon. Now, the last thing I said to BIL, last Friday, in the letter, and yet again when I talked to him Wednesday, was for him to call me today when he was ready to get this thing fitted, because I was running out of time to work on it.

Guess who didn't call ? (sigh) Or show up ? Godiva only goes so far, dude...

But anyway, I got into trouble without his butt. Earlier this week - forgot to blog it - I placed a bid on a lovely Tinkerbell doll. Yup, one of the DPrincess ones. Today, I was tooling through Craigslist.org again, and I found one there ! In great shape, and in my budget ! The owner will be in town Tuesday, for a medical appointment, and we'll meet and exchange then. Whoo-hoo ! Lucky me ! I really wasn't sure about Playmates re-releasing Tink (I'd only asked about Mulan), so it's great that I have one coming, and don't have to rely on Playmates for her. Just for Mulan now !

Only one problem. I'm still ‘currently in the lead' for the one on eBay. I kinda figure I'll get outbid, I usually do, and there's several days still to go, but it's a gamble. I don't really need two, and money's getting a bit snug. So it's a risk, but I hope it all pays off.

Upshot is, I'm staying home this weekend. No yard sales. I've already received quite a bit for my birthday - brand-new stereo, yummy candy, dolls, fancy drawer pulls - and I've barely even opened most of it ! Nope, it's a good idea to stay home and enjoy the holiday.

I like to think of those who've gone before. Not just the patriots and the soldiers, but friends and folks you only know via handles on web sites. I love all of you, ya know.

Burgers on the grill tonight, with bacon-wrapped corn and potatoes. A feast !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:38 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Approaching Robe Relief ! So, pretty happy.

Well, today I got off my butt and on my sewing machine. Got the fabric cut out, cheap serged, and the basic construction of Robe #2 together. I'm saving the rest of the work - the capelet, the neck facing I botched on #1, the hems, etc. - for tomorrow.

It's been really nice to have that new stereo. Got to listen to all my favorite songs on the MP3 without headphones, which is great. Reminded Beloved Hubby how much I loved it and his idea. He grinned.

I learned with the first robe that the only place big and open enough for a layout/cutting was Beloved's office. I also learned that his floor is full of tiny Lego, bits of dry cat food, dust-small sharp pebbles, and other bits that hurt my knees. So I gave it a full sweep, then a vacuum. The fabric BIL picked out attracts dirt and cat hair like magic ! Very glad that won't be my problem soon ! I swear, the next time I need crap fabric, I'm gonna turn BIL loose at Hancock's again. He's uncanny !

Cutting left little bits of fabric everywhere, so I cleaned up and broke out the vacuum again. Beloved was quite happy at the sight of his office floor. ‘Leave it better than you found it' - weren't we all taught that ?

This material didn't get along well with my machine, but it got sewed, and I was soon beyond caring. While it wrinkled easily enough, it also didn't want to hold a press for long, which seemed odd. I did everything but melt the fabric, but it still opened right back up as soon as I took the iron off it. So I just tucked it and sewed it. Why waste hours ironing a fabric that won't press ?

Did a couple loads of laundry - my housework's slipping behind, between my birthday and these blasted robes - but that's about all I got done today. It's enough. Beloved grilled steaks on a new-to-us grill that a client gave him. It needed a serious cleaning, but the propane tank was pristine and still full. Client's hubby died seven years ago, and the grill hadn't been touched since. She wanted it to be enjoyed. Which we already have.

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:37 PM CDT

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