Current Mood : Light frustration, gently starched.

Had some fun today reading craft websites. Lots of ideas there ! One crafty lady was very proud of all her recycling efforts. ‘Tis a noble thing, to make something, reuse materials at hand rather than go buy more stuff. And she had some great ideas. But... most of her stuff was kinda weird. I mean, yes, it's great that you can coil magazine pages up tightly, glue them to a magnet, and have a new fridge magnet... but the magnet was a magnet before. All she did was glue something to it. If it was particularly artsy, or arranged ironically, or made by the six-year-old, or something, I could understand, but all I saw was coiled up make-up ads glued to an otherwise functional magnet, and I had to wonder why anyone else would want a set. Same with the framed plastic bottle caps she and her kids painted. Nice idea, but how much framed art of bottle caps, toilet paper rolls, and magazine strips does any home need ?

One site had some great ideas for notepads. Folding and gluing fabric around a square of cardboard to hold in paper - pretty nice. Using paint chip strips from paint displays as covers, in a sort of ‘matchbox' design - also crafty, but you have to go get paint chip cards, they don't just appear in your house as a by-product of grocery and other purchases. I don't really think it counts as recycling when you went to get the stuff on purpose, you just didn't have to pay for it ‘cause it's a promo. Beloved Hubby has whole ‘color books' of the things, but they never make it into the house. He forgets to reclaim them from the folks who hire him ! And then a new set comes out from the paint company, and if he can turn the old ones in, the new ones are cheaper...

Not to mention that paper is pretty much dirt cheap in the States. I get at least two reams' worth during the school year - flyers from church festivals, reminders of school events, notifications, you name it. It's cheap, unless it's scrapbook paper, then it gets ridiculous fast. I just can't see devoting two hours to making a notepad held together with one staple when I can buy a pack of four wire or thread-bound ones at Dollar Tree. Much as I love to cheap out and make stuff, even I will buy the occasional notebook.

Anyway. I get this a lot with crafty sites. After about 20 minutes of ‘cute monsters', bizarre recycling, and free patterns for 30 tote bags and three outfits (nothing over a US Medium, though), I get a bit antsy. I can't expect someone else to meet my craft needs, after all. But I do get tired of seeing the same stuff over and over, and again starting to think I'm some sort of freak who should run around naked and hairy - I'm fat, so I should be furry like an ape, right ? - because fabric evidently refuses to form itself into my shape. Luckily for me, fabric just looooves tote bags !

Guess I'm in a mood again. I really should avoid Hancock Fabrics when I'm like this. Few weeks ago when I went, I scooped up a buncha freebie leaflets from Kwik Sew. Oh, they have fantastic patterns, and they favor simple sewing... but they're always about $16., never on sale, and within six leaflets, I found three plus-size patterns. One for pajamas, two for coats. There were actually more clothes pictured for dogs than me.

Aaah, I need to go dunk my head and get over m'self. Who cares about another crop of cute monsters and tiny t-shirts ? I shouldn't. As my last little foray into the ER proved, I'm actually in fairly decent shape, health-wise, when I can breathe, so it's time to move on.

But I swear, one more ‘let's iron-melt Mal-Wart sacks onto perfectly good fabric so we can make yet another tote bag' website, and I'm gonna get every sack I can and just roll around in ‘em. I'm gonna make a point to throw them out when that's done ! Sheesh, folks, enough's enough. Not everything has to be reused to a grey pulp. You can flush on occasion already !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:37 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Fat & Happy & Well-rested

Kind of a continuation of yesterday. Beloved Hubby and I really slept in today, didn't even stir until after 8am. Considering I'm normally up at 5am, this is mega-sleeping ! Especially after Friday's nearly day-long doze.

We went out for an errand and lunch, though. Cruised by two yard sales, but there wasn't anything of interest. I swear, I really do already have everything. It kind of cuts the excitement and thrill of the hunt, that's for sure. 

McD's has gone to a Hot Wheels / Barbie Happy Meal for the next six weeks or so. Barbie's theme seems to be ‘clothing clichés around the world'. I mean, the New York look is oversized funky, the Shanghai has cherry blossoms, the London has a plaid so boring, her shirt actually says "London".  (yawn) Don't think I'll be bustin' my butt trying to get any of these, honestly. I'll be seeing ‘em in next season's yard sales soon enough !

http://www.happymeal.com/en_US/standalone.html?s=GirlIntro&swfH=450&swfW=772&bs=GirlToys&swf=/en_US/swf3/sections/toys/girlintro/intropreloader.swf&bgc=%23000000&ID=#GirlIntro   Website, if you want it !

Otherwise, kind of a boring day. And I loved it !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:36 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Mild annoyance (from tripping over stuff in piles)

After spending a good chunk of today trying to find places to put stuff, I decided against going out to yard sales for more. Plus both Beloved Hubby and I have tummyaches, so it was just as well that I stayed in. We slept in after getting Dearest Son ready for school, read some, played on the Wii some, watched old Law and Order episodes on DVD. We only have the fifth season, though. Wish we'd bought the rest, you can't find ‘em now !

Got the last of the images up while Beloved dozed. Like before, it was a struggle and an eternity for the first ten or twelve, but after that, they only took seconds. Long as I kept at it. Once I stopped for more than five or ten minutes, it was back to Square One. Hard to believe sometimes that I pay for this...

Not much else going on - we really did stay home all day today. DFIL picked up Dearest after school, all we had to do was get him ready. And there's always ‘just one more' toy or DVD he needs before he can go. Leaves us plenty of opportunity for bye-bye kisses !

Normally by now, I have a list with directions of all the yard sales I wanna hit on Saturday. But I'm just not into it today. Got to visit Community Thrift, but I didn't find anything. Well, I found a set of Barbie-licensed clone Fashion Plates, but I already have that set, complete with box. So I'll let someone else make that find. Problem is, without the box or prior ‘Fashion Plates' experience, the tray and plates don't make a lot of sense !

I also found a Disney Princess counting book, complete with CD, but again, decided to let someone else make the find. Only thing unique about it was that, for a preschooler's volume, Jasmine was really, um... out there. You know the poses where she has a scarf wrapped around her, and her eyes half-closed ? For some reason, they used those. The other characters were as wide-eyed and widely used as ever. I'd seen each ‘artwork' previously at least a dozen times before.

I did find a Little Golden Book from 1974, at GoodWill. Barbie's first LGB, if I'm not mistaken. Story inside is terrible. Artwork is awful. But you know me, if it has that much-loved Friend Ship airplane on it, I gotta have it. I'm just glad it didn't cost much, but I wish I'd paid what it was worth. Coulda saved about 48c that way...

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:36 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Relief !

Whoo. Done. All the images are up, and for the first hour and a half, I got maybe ten done. The remaining 30 went at lightning speed and took about an hour, total. I have no idea why Tripod's like that. If you can fight it for an hour, you're awarded impressive upload and download speed. But for that first hour, it's a fight and a drag the whole way.

But it's done, and hopefully, I won't get more than a week or so behind again ! Sorry for the worry - and I know the entries don't sound like I was very ill. But I tend to write more optimistically than things often warrant. Yeah, I did go to all those yard sales, but most of what is up doesn't mention the intense inhaler-sucking in the car in between darn near each of ‘em. Or the wake-up, get-Dearest-ready, go-back-to-sleep-for-five-hours rhythm my days have had for the last two months. Asthma means never having to say you slept too much.

Anyway. I'm getting better - darn near normal some days ! - and I'm gonna take advantage of it and quit whining already. Had a parent-teacher-coordinator meeting today, and it's good to know that Dearest's schoolwork isn't all that bad, but we're having to upgrade our game on some aspects.

When I began the new Jem doll's benzoyl peroxide (zit cream) treatments, I ceased Charmin' Chatty's. Gave her a good cleaning and we regarded each other for a while. The mark on her cheek had faded somewhat, but would probably always remain. But that didn't bother me. Facts were, I really never bonded with her - or she with me - and pure space constraints made me question keeping her here. In the end, I've decided to let her go, so she can be happy. I'll probably donate her, so someone can have that wonderful ‘score' feeling, unless someone here would like her. Drop me a message, and we'll take it from there - I'll be glad to send photos and such. Make no mistake, she's not pristine and was probably lonely in an attic for years. If you can accept that, and you've wanted a Charmin' for a while, then consider adding her to your home.

The brown feathery yarn works OK in the Knit Hits machine, but I discovered that I really have to watch any and all yarns in that thing. Even a simple three-ply acrylic could drop a stitch undetected, so the specialty stuff really needed monitoring. I hope to find some yarn needles soon, maybe at Hobby Lobby. I was hoping to find one in the machine's box, but nope. Crochet hook was, though... maybe I'll learn to use that for the finishing thread instead.

Oh, all right, I admit it... I did kinda like Winx. Just wish the characters' wardrobe selections had been, well, different. Otherwise, it was cute and fun, and I wish it'd continued.

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:36 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Emerging

Spent on crafts : $1.08

Wow. And I thought posting all those text entries yesterday was a PITA. Going back and adding photos is like wrestling with a statue. You hurt, you're frustrated, and you end up not knowing who really won ! Guess I should have done images and text at the same time, but I was about to give up yesterday - adding photos may have encouraged me to wreck the computer ! It's taken me an hour to add four photos. Sheesh. I'm gonna get the rest of August's up, then take a break before I hurt something...

As you may have guessed, we got the computer back up yesterday. We bagged the UPS and just got a super-heavy-duty surge protector. Otherwise, I'd still be down. With a few of the bucks we had left, we got Dearest Son a copy of the now-on-markdown Cars : Mater National Championships for the Wii. Pretty much a sequel to the first Cars game. He and Beloved Hubby really enjoyed it. Much more fun than the first one, from what I could tell. The first Cars  really was too dicey, even on the easiest setting, for Dearest - you had to be on the exact right pixel most of the time for anything to work. Mater seems to be a bit more forgiving.

Got to visit Dollar Tree today - the cats have shredded their second shower curtain, the little furry *&^5ings - and snagged a couple of goodies. Tinkerbell fans should hit it soon. LOTS of Tink stuff ! Lotsa DPrincess stuff too. Puzzles, megaphones, knock-off gymnastics ribbon wands, playing cards, color-in posters, Christmas gift wrap, small plastic figurines, stationery, all kinds of stuff. I got one of the ribbon wands as a cat toy. Used to have the original toy, the Ribbon Dancer, and used it as therapy when I broke my arm in college. This one is much, much cheaper, but DC and Jack love it.

I also snagged a small skein of brown yarn that's quite bushy. Almost hairy ! I was wondering if novelty yarns would work in the knitting machine, so here was a way to find out without spending novelty yarn prices. I'm hoping to make a ‘fur' jacket.

There were hundreds of copies of Winx magazine hanging from pegs, but just the first issue. You may remember Winx, it was a cartoon about fairy school and the rather.... um, tightly and slightly dressed teenage girls who attended. In four-inch heels. Kinda silly to me, but so was Sailor Moon when you really looked at it. Anyway, this was yer typical kids' magazine - a comic story, glitzy columns about hair and nails and friends, with several doll, game, and video ads. Only reason I bought it was because the included pencil bag was kinda neat. It wasn't until later I thought that some of the poses were kinda... Playboy bunny-ish. Oh, well.

At least I got through the first week of September's images. It's like I have to fight it for an hour or so, then it's as easy as sipping soup. Go figure. Now, if I can just find two or four hours tomorrow to get the rest of the photos up...

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:29 PM CDT

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 Well, I'm  back, sort of. Guess it goes without saying that I've been horribly sick for a while. I kept up with writing, but I haven't had the energy to fight Tripod to post it all. Plus, my car, the sweet, always-a-joy Molly is down right now, and as of Saturday, so is my computer... that holds all those other entries. I'm on a borrowed laptop for the time being. All the computer needs is another UPS, all Molly needs is oil and a tune-up, but even minor things have to wait for fundage.

I'll post what I can, and catch up ASAP. Just wanted to let ya'll know I'm not dead (yet !) and it's been a busy month or so since last I updated this thing. In the meanwhile, allow me to give you something to ponder...

http://cgi.ebay.com/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350104103661

This is an auction for a 'Fashion Fever' Barbie "Hits 2 Go" music cartridge, that presumably goes with other proprietary players Mattel sells. The first track is the teen anthem, The First Cut Is The Deepest. A tune I'm sure everyone wants their eight year old to know by heart...

Posted by dorriebelle at 9:12 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:29 PM CDT

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Current Mood : quiet

Current Image Notes : This is my current desktop. I just love it. Read about it on Fark, but I can't afford even a print. So, like when I was a kid, I save a copy of it instead. Computer just makes it easier to see ! If Duran Duran ever does trance or Star Wars music, here's the cover art, ready to go !

If the world seemed quieter this morning, it was because I woke up with no voice today. Some time and cold applesauce soon soothed my poor throat, but it really reminded me that I haven't been taking care of my voice in quite some time. Goss, how I used to... ah, youthful vanity.

Kind of a boring day. With all the ‘finds' cleared from Molly's trunk box, I wasn't sure what to do while waiting for Dearest Son's bus. I hate to just sit around. So I swept the neglected porch and sidewalk. Much better ! I swear, last week, when Beloved Hubby got a package, I was rather embarrassed that the mail carrier saw our neglected doorway.

My new cell phone arrived a few days ago, and I'm absolutely paranoid about it. I can't even toss laundry into the hamper without checking where it is. It really is nice. I love the brushed aluminum housing and the perfect green color...

Picked up the items Beloved requested for Molly's oil change. He told me he'd get the tune-up stuff. Whoo-hoo ! I may have her back this weekend !!

Other than that, not a lot going on. Grocery shopping tomorrow, and I hope to score some cool yarn. I'm really having fun with my Knit Magic !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:28 PM CDT

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Current Mood : awe. And ow.

Current Image Notes : Not mine, but I love this image...

That or my cold's getting worse. All I wanna do is sleep ! It helps that my computer UPS is DOA. It kept going off last night, for no reason, and its shrill alarm at 3am is not something anyone wanted more of. It does that every so often, about every month or so. Then as now, we shut it off and went back to sleep. Only today, it won't click back on. Just keeps clicking back off. I guess we shouldn't be surprised, it was a barely functioning PITA three years ago.

So now we're down to Beloved Hubby's laptop until we can shuck another $130. for another UPS. I'm about ready to bag it and just get a really good - and much cheaper - surge suppressor instead. That we can do later this week - right now, we're diesel-broke. The parts came in and Beloved's truck is fixed ! Alleluia !!

With that done, he finally had time to look at Molly. At first, nothing appeared wrong. She's just horribly loud... Oh ! Well. One of her spark plug wires popped out - with the plug still attached ! Reattached, she's her usually only slightly noisy self. But Beloved wants to change her oil and give her a tune-up before she goes back to being mine again. Here's hoping for next week ! It's nice that I'll have the small truck as a vehicle this week, but I miss my Molly-chan !

Got to play with the Barbie Knit Hits machine. It makes the same funky tube dresses I remember. And I can easily dress donated dolls now ! Haven't quite mastered ‘panels' on it, my first attempt was pretty awful. Skipped stitches and threads that didn't catch... it looked like I'd been torturing a volleyball net ! Clearly more practice (and yarn) is necessary.

Aaarh. Ahem. My throat's getting sore. And I'm still coughing up gunk. I think I'll catch an early night's sleep, since the guys around here already are...

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:28 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Beyond stunned

Spent on sewing : $7.50

Another big yard sale weekend ‘round here. A sale on nearly every block ! However, with two major scores already, and a steadily worsening cold, was I really gonna go out to look for more ?

Well, yeah. A little. I wanted to hit one sale I'd seen while Beloved and I were out running early errands, and I still wanted to be out for a bit, since I'd been cooped up all week. So, off I went.

And I lucked into something so amazing, I'm still not sure how to look on it. The first sale got me a cute tote box, but was otherwise uninteresting. I got lost following signs to one sale when I found another, down a one-way dirt road.

So down I go, thinking I'd poke around a bit and then split. But then I saw something. A wire dress form - and it was already clearly big enough for my size ! I circled it twice - you don't see these very often. It's basically coated wire that bends, forming a shape over the owner's, so it could fit nearly anyone. And it rested on a telescoping pole stand.

Now, I know regular ‘dial style' dress forms are expensive. Double the price if your size is above US12, and add about $60. to ship. This one wasn't like that - it wasn't covered over with current colored fabric...but it could fit me.

I remembered the $8. in my wallet and the random change in the truck. Yikes. Well, I had some cash in Checking, so I asked. Amazingly, she just wanted it gone. $7.50.

MINE ! "Catherine" was carefully loaded into the truck's passenger seat and borne home. Wow. I got the biggest dress form in the collection yet - and for less than the one I got at Hancock Fabrics !

Beloved, working at the Shop, was similarly stunned. We gave it a quick air-compressor dusting, then unsnapped it apart and started fitting it to me. Yes ! It took a bit of stretching, but it does fit, and now I have a dress form all my own. I never thought I would - I mean, it's pretty rare for me to sew clothes that don't have to allow for pull strings or gimmick levers. So I kinda wanted one for some time, but it never got beyond just lookin'. Especially when shipping alone was more than I could ever spend !

But, wow, there she is. Catherine - the name of the seller, too - rests in my closet, since there's no room in the Lab and no real display area in our bedroom. I still get a thrill just looking at her.

Oh, and I bought a Jasmine LDP online today. Mostly for her lovely purple harem costume. Yeah, I'm a bit disappointed in m'self, but I gave it much thought and didn't overspend my long-ago limit. Shipping and all came to less than $17. total. And it's done. I have all the LDP stuff I want, save for what I make.

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:28 PM CDT

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Current Mood : nostalgic surprise

Spent on dolls and crafts today : $2.

Beloved Hubby arranged work for his Shop this morning, so I could keep my promise to read to Dearest's class today. How sweet !

However, I took slight advantage of it and hit a yard sale on the way home. What can I say - I just can't resist !

Not much there, really - but I still scored a real find. A small hand-cranked knitting machine, just like the ‘Knit Magic' I had as a kid ! Except the box for this one was covered in a certain shade of pink, with dolls all around. This was ‘Barbie's Knit Hits', and it's clear purple with lime green accents, but otherwise nearly identical to my original yellow and orange one. Had one not too long ago, about 2001, but I donated it when we moved. I'd always rather liked it, and while I've seen ‘em at Hobby Lobby, it just wasn't $20. worth of nostalgia, ya know ?

But here was one for $2. It spun easily, and what the heck. No directions, but I remembered enough from years of pink and red tube dresses to use it. And yes, back in the 70s, I thought pink and red looked great together. Well, remember, I'm using a yellow and orange machine...

This one had a Mattel logo lever with a P on one side and a T on the other. That was new. Engaging the P seemed to stop it from completing the circuit. Hmm. Less than a minute later, I had saved a PDF file of the directions to this exact machine to my Patterns folder. Goss, I love the internet !

Seems the P stands for ‘panels', as this version makes flat pieces, not just tubes. Interesting...

Too bad I didn't have much time to play. I cut and bundled the last of the new cut pieces from Molly's trunk just as Dearest Son arrived home. Beloved was home about ten minutes later. It wasn't long before Dearest left for his grandparents', and Beloved wanted to shop a bit. After a lovely dinner out, I got the latest Doll Reader, mostly for the lovely photos of the latest Tonner Oz witches. Wow. Elphie's ‘Witchcraft' gown is gorgeous, but waaay beyond my meager means. I like having a great photo of it, though. Just wish they'd used the big photo on that, instead of another big-azz fluffy blue ballgown on Glinda. (growlmutter)

I'm still not sure what to make of the ballerina witches. Yup, there's ballet-themed dolls of Elphie, Glinda, and Dorothy. Dorothy, frankly, looks kinda silly in a gingham tutu with sparkly red toe shoes. Glinda, naturally, has a flowing romantic pink tutu that drapes to the floor. Elphie's is short, slightly bristling, and black. She strongly resembles Princess Krahe. I wonder if someone over at Tonner is a Princess Tutu fan...

There's also a cute dress pattern for a 10-inch doll in this issue. I may increase it for the LDPs. Gotta scan it first, though.

And this issue further proves my theory that no general doll magazine can go an entire issue without devoting at least one page to Shirley Temple and her dolls. I know interest in her is always high, but speaking as someone free of the enchantment, it gets pretty tiresome to always find an article about her and her dolls in every. Single. Issue. Of . Every. Single. Doll. Magazine.

Hoping to find playtime with the Knit Hits device tomorrow. It's lucky for me that it came with some yarn, even though it's an amazingly garish Christmas skein. What little yarn I had around here got used up in fabric bundling and kitten play !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:27 PM CDT

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