Hope all you Dads had a good day ! :)

 

Current Mood : Relaxed

Spent on embroidery designs : $1.50

 

What a nice, relaxing Father's Day. I've made sure Beloved Hubby hasn't done a thing all day. Right now, he's taking a nap !

 

And, as promised, there's Ballerina Belle. I have no idea who made her, she's a 2003 edition, from what I've seen, and a Disney Store exclusive. Only markings on her are ‘Made In China', and her graceful hands are nothing Mattel does. She has fingers ! On both hands ! They're all separate, but soft - there's no way they can poke, they bend at a breath of pressure instead. Very nice ! This doll could wear rings if she wanted to. I cut about an inch off her hair, because the ends were just too tangled, split, and bushy to save. Despite the heavy-duty conditioner, her hair's still a bit dry and flyaway, but it's much nicer than it was. She's wearing the Sweet 16 dress I got that day, too. I love that dress.

 

(snort) I need to line up all my sixth-scale Belle dolls for comparison. Maybe dress ‘em all in Sweet 16 pink dresses. Heck, all the toddler and bigger Belles, too. I got a bunch. And I can call the photo ‘Dorrie's Belles' !

 

In other news, I now own my copy of Alphabet XPress. My trial version runs out Tuesday, but since we had the money stowed in Checking, Beloved told me to go for it. It's my birthday present. A bit early, so I'm happy. I asked the support board if I could give away designs made from it and the included fonts, but while the moderated board posted the message, there's been no answer. I searched the whole board, all the licensing agreements and the Help files before I asked, to no avail. Hard to believe no one's thought to ask whether selling or giving away designs made with it is permissible. Maybe they're talking to their lawyers on Monday first ?

 

Dearest Son was too entranced with the Peter Pan record album to ask much about the huge new doll car in the Lab. Anything that brightly colored is hard to miss ! He's still happy with the pink Caddy he got last week, and with the Lego set we had to mail order - it should be here tomorrow, according to UPS.

 

Oh, and I forgot to mention that the Roadster is missing the ‘convertible' top. But it doesn't bother me at all. Heck, I may make one ! Wouldn't even matter what color it is, it'd either clash or blend, either way is OK !

 

SiCK had a dollar a set sale all weekend, and when 'Happy Hour' rolled around, they went to 50c each. So I snagged three I've been on the fence over - a famous landmarks one, the free-standing lace July 4th one, and the wine set I've wishy-washed my way in and out of buying for two months. And the July 4th one, I really only wanted one design, since I already had the other two in the set I liked. But for 50c, what the heck. 

 

And I was finally able to access that site I joined for a month, the one with all the alphabet sets. I kept getting 'timed out' messages ever since Friday. Even restarting the modem and computer didn't resolve it. So I asked the SiCK board if it worked for them, and learned that yes, it was only me. Restarted everything that plugged in anywhere near the computer, and for some reason, that worked. Snagged five new alphabet sets ! So my need for 'new' has been sated for another weekend, without much expense.  

 

Wonder what I'll get cookin' this week...? 

 

Amazingly outrageous !

 

Current Mood : Stunned

Spent on Doll Amazement : $6.

 

Days like today are why I keep going. To flea markets, yard sales, and the like, even when I have a big $5. and change in my wallet. Sure, it's nice to get out of the house for  a bit, but I've had the most amazing finds, and I hardly go out at all...

 

Screwed up my courage when I saw the Flea Market banners up once more, and took in the bag of culled Barbies to the car set seller. We chatted a while, and I left the bag with her - her name is Brenda - and toured the booths, so she'd have time to see if there was anything she wanted. I know, I'd intended to donate those dolls, but she had a Little Disney Princess Cinderella in a dress I wanted, and if I could trade her for it, it wouldn't cost anything. Besides, I'm sure to garner more Barbies for philanthropy later. But I still feel a bit bad ‘cause I didn't donate them.

 

Went to one of my favorite sellers first- she has trunks of pre-loved dolls for a buck each, with clothes and accessories for 50c. And I could not believe my eyes. She didn't have that last week ! My astonished vision was captured by a near-perfect Jem Rockin' Roadster ! While I'd have preferred the white ‘Glitter and Gold' version, this first-year model was inches away, and looked to be in great shape. I asked, and she handed it to me - wow. All the stickers were intact, as was the steering wheel, clutch, and hood ornament, all stuff that typically is missing or broken on yer average toy vehicle. The chrome-colored parts showed little wear, and all four tires had the big pink hubcaps, and the axels were straight and rolled easily.

 

Confession Corner : I have wanted one of these since Jem debuted on TV. In 1986. But I was ‘too old' for dolls and stuff (snort !), and there were other ways a near-broke 20-year-old could spend $30. back then. Like on groceries. When I got back into dolls, especially around 2002, I haunted eBay for them. And the shipping alone put them out of my reach, much less with the $20. to $50. they often ended on.

 

So I was trembling a bit inside when I asked what she wanted for it. I was trying to think of a way to come up with whatever she asked, recalling bank balances and change-jar funds...'Oh, that ? How about five bucks ?" I nearly fell through the concrete floor. Yes, yes, I'd take it ! Fumbled for my wallet, and had the cash out before she'd opened the bag. Mine. Minemineminemine...mine !

 

And then I found a fantastic Peter Pan record album, complete with storybook, that Dearest Son would love and a ballerina Belle doll, still in her gold-dress tutu. Luckily, the change was enough for these goodies, too. Wow. Belle's hair was a solid three-part wooly dreadlock, but I didn't need another doll, I only wanted the dress, ya know... mmhmmm....

 

Looked around the rest of the sellers' offerings in a daze, then floated back down to a sweaty earth and drifted back to Brenda's Barbie booth. She loved the dolls, what did I want for them ? So I got the Cinderella I wanted, and two other Barbies - one in another Sweet 16 pink dress, another for her cool blouse, and that was all I wanted. The one I wanted last week had sold. Oh, well. Happily, I gathered it all and headed to the car, the Roadster clutched in my arms snugly. Seller didn't have a bag big enough for it, but I didn't care who saw me carrying it. It got several stares.

 

Broke and still slightly stunned, I came straight home. Popped open the trunk on the Roadster and added a 9V battery. I can see I forgot to close it for the photo shoot, darn it. Radio works, but not very well. An antenna would probably help. The hood storage space held a small surprise - the oversized jacket that went to Barbie, when she was Barbie and the Sensations. Since it was slightly oversized on Ken, I wasn't surprised to see it stored with a Jem prop. I'd scoured the seller's doll trunks for Jem misc, but didn't even find a single shoe. Like all the Sensations jackets, the ‘leatherette' sleeves had decomposed badly, and looked leprous. I may have to play with that a bit later.

 

Nibbled on some leftovers for lunch, then got a better look at Ballerina Belle. This was gonna be a challenge. Her hair was beyond wooly and matted, and I tried to convince myself to let the doll go, I just wanted the tutu. But I didn't believe that, and the slightly worried expression this line of dolls has just pushed me over the edge, so I grabbed some conditioner samples, the brush and comb set, and a good pair of scissors and got to work. You'll see her tomorrow - I think I did a good job on her.

 

I'm still amazed when I look over and see it. I've watched the commercial for it on YouTube - otherwise I would have tried to open the hood from the windshield, not the 'Jem' hood ornament' - numerous times, and had fun looking at Jem sites. What a nice day !

We got our Wii back !

 

Current Mood : Happy Friday ! 

 

Beloved Hubby fixed the Wii ! About two, maybe three months ago, we had a power outage, and when everything came back on, the Wii didn't. We both meant to look at it, but it's been one thing after another, as usual, so neither of us did. Since he was home early today, Beloved had me look up a few things on Wii Support, and it turned out that the power supply just had to be reset. It now works perfectly, and I can't wait to start Wii Fit again. I hate that it calls me fat, but heck, it can't really say I'm not. And maybe one day, it won't be able to say that anymore.

 

Plus, the new Ghostbusters game is out, and I wanted to play it. So sometime this summer, once the rush dies down a bit, I'll rent it and give ‘busting ghosts a try. I've been intrigued by it since I learned that my younger self's crush - Harold Ramis - not only wrote it with Dan Akroyd, but starred in it, too. Ya'll can have Venkman, if I get Egon !

 

There's been some updates to the Wii since ours was deemed broken, too. Nintendo added a new gyro to the controller, so it now responds better to wrist motions. It's not on just an X-Y grid anymore. The new Motion Plus device attaches to the old controllers - which I think is great. I would've hated having to buy all new ones.

 

A new game set is due out next month, and it has Beloved intrigued. Wii Sports Resort has fencing, jet skiing, Frisbee, golf, ping pong, bow, parachuting - twelve sports in all. It uses the Motion Plus sensor, and comes with one packaged inside. While researching it, I discovered that Wii Sports recently became the top-selling video game of all time. And yes, we have it. I'm looking forward to playing. As soon as Dearest Son is done. (sigh) It's like a new toy now.

I may be taking this 'lazy days of summer' thing too far this week...

 

Current Mood : Lazy Beyond Belief

 

After last week's library fiasco, I decided to stay home and do our own Art. So we drew, and I printed out some coloring pages. Renewed our DVDs online, but I hope to drop them off Monday or Tuesday. The two books I grabbed while a seriously impatient Dearest Son tugged at me both rank, so they're ready to go back, too.

 

And as is usual for Thursdays in Summer, ain't nothin' going on. Made brownies, though. Goss, it's great to have an oven again. I gotta do dishes, so I'll catch  ya'll later !

Does editing all the heck out of published designs count as 'making your own' yet ?

 

Current Mood : Too sleepy to be as curious as I am.

 

I'm still doing the SiCK website's ‘Free Hunts', even though I now have nearly a thousand points - enough for two and a half free sets - and haven't spent any of ‘em. What can I say, I'm a sucker for free stuff, even though I rarely keep any of the hunt targets or free designs. It's just kind of fun to play this semi-high-tech Memory Matching game.

 

Yesterday, though, I got the patriotic free-standing lace star I liked from one set, and a project from another. It was a bib design - a simple floral two-color heart, with ‘I Love Grandpa' circling it. The words made it too big for Brody... but I already knew what to do with that ! Saved the design, took it to Explorations Sizer, and quickly removed the words. The floral heart was nice and small, and I could even get two in the 4 x 4- inch hoop Brody does.

 

So I had some more fun with it. Sizer can also reassign thread colors, and flip, mirror, and duplicate designs that are small enough. So that one heart soon yielded six different designs, not counting new color combinations. Not bad at all for a freebie. I think I'll even switch the order of colors, and do the 'centers' first, to cover up all those jump threads. That'll be a challenge - never did that before. Not sure how it'll work, either.

 

Then I began to wonder. The ‘name snowflake' had kinda failed in Alphabet XPress because it couldn't do flip or mirror functions. But... What if... I created a small name design in AXPress, and saved it. Then flipped or mirrored it in Sizer, and saved that. Then brought it back up in AXP, and duplicated it, saving as needed ? It'd be a lot of repetition work, but I could probably do a name snowflake that way...

 

Just some other time. For some reason, my insomnia is raging again, and I'm really sleepy. Maybe after a nap...

It's nice when the Lab is so cool...

 

Current Mood : Overheated

 

It's another scorcher, so I noodled around for a while. Wrote up a quick tutorial on how to use alphabets (single designs shaped like letters) as graphics in Alphabet XPress for the SiCK site, which sells alphabets. Not sure if I was really understood or not, but there's a bunch of folks who bought many, many letter sets without having any way to use them, except as one-letter monograms. I put a simple name and border together while writing it, and I've already gotten requests to stitch it out so they can see how well it works.

 

So I eventually got off my can in the Office and on my can in the Lab in front of Brody, and stitched it out. Not too bad. It's on the right side of Brody's cover, so this time, I don't have to wonder what to do with the trial stitch-out.

 

With that done, I meandered back into the Office and played with AXPress again. I'd been looking at ‘name snowflakes' on other sites, and wondered if I could do them m'self. Goss knows I got lots of software now ! Several sites offer to take a name, repeat it several times in a suitably swirly font, and shape it into a snowflake for ya, for a few bucks. I wouldn't mind doing that for our tree, so I gave it the ole college try.

 

And learned that AXP doesn't have the necessary ‘flip' or ‘mirror' function to do that very well. I could make a circular cascade that sort of looked like a flower, but not really a snowflake. Since I'd about gotten tired of the sight of my own name by the time I realized where I was failing, I settled on making a curly, six ‘petal' flower out of a nearly generic swear word. Four letters, starts with ‘s'. I saved it, because the very idea of stitching several of these up, and ‘donating' them anonymously to various public Christmas displays makes me laugh like an idiot.

Oh, plastic green fairy, keep me from getting lockjaw !

 

Current Mood : Still annoyed.

 

Still limping around, but I don't think the puncture is infected or anything. Spent an hour researching tetanus (lockjaw), so now I know if symptoms develop later. But it's hard to even see the 'entry' hole now. Still hurts a little, and feels just a twinge swollen, like someone put a small square of carpeting in my shoe. It's uncomfortable, but not overwhelming pain. Just annoying.

 

Cut Beloved Hubby's hair tonight, something I don't mind doing, but I know I'm not terribly good at. If I don't wanna try, he takes the clippers to it, and gets it shorter than I like. Did OK - I'm far from a beautician, but it looks better this time than last - and looks better cut than long. He was happy with it, so it's all good.

 

It's scorchin' hot, so I've been mostly vegetating. Decided to try embroidering on that thick vinyl remnant I bought a few weeks ago, but it didn't go too well. Without a stabilizer beneath - which would kinda defeat the whole purpose of sewing on clear vinyl in the first place - it rippled and actually bent the vinyl so much, the design was thrown off registry. I may try to iron it flat, but it'll be tricky to get it hot enough to press, but not so hot the vinyl melts. In any case, it was good to experiment. I love embroidering clear vinyl, you can see the bobbin and the whole operation ! And it's not like I can't use clear vinyl in any other craft project - I still wanna experiment with wallets and things !

 

Cute little fairy, too. I wanna put her on a shirt sometime soon. I love choosing colors from the Treasure Chest !  

Roofing nails rank !

 

Current Mood :  Painfully annoyed

Spent on embroidery design set : $8.95

 

Sorry this won't be much of an entry. On the way to return some Redbox DVDs, I stepped on a roofing nail, and it went clear through my shoe and about a quarter-inch deep into my foot. So I'm limping around, and it hurts, and I can't remember when I got my last tetanus shot. On the plus side, Paul Blart : Mall Cop  was pretty good, and while Punisher: War Zone has to be the single most realistically violent movie I've ever seen, for some reason, it ‘fits'. And in that way, it was enjoyable, too. However, Bride Wars got too b*tchy too fast to watch after a half hour, so it doesn't get even my wary approval.

 

And in better news, Beloved Hubby found a new-to-us oven for a great price from some folks who just remodeled, and it works beautifully. We have an oven again ! I can't wait to get back on my feet and make cookies and brownies and cakes ! He made dinner, almost entirely in the oven to test it, and it was so nice...

 

Oh, and I also had some money left from the weekend, so I snagged a half-price embroidery design set before the sale went off. Now that Free-Standing lace is something I can do without too much worry, I'm obsessed with the idea of making gifts with it. So today's purchase got me eight designs that cover Christmas tree ornaments. I can use glass or plastic ornaments, and any thread I choose - and the photos are so lovely. While the air conditioning guy got things started Friday (yaaay !) the AC runs all the time, and it's still kinda sticky. I could use some ‘cool' thoughts, so hopefully, I'll stitch some out soon.

 

Dearest Son has played with his ‘new' Pink Caddy all day long. I got two hugs and a kiss for it. Definitely a good deal for me !

We'll have a party in your Pink Cadillac...

Spent on dolls today ; $6.50

Spent on embroidery and sewing stuff : $1.50

 

While I was almost too lazy to do it, I'm sooo glad I went yard-sailing and to the flea market today ! Yeah, the flea's been going for almost a month straight - I have no idea why, but heck, if the banners are out, I'll go. And on the way home, I  may just stop at a few yard sales...

 

But first, I had a mission. Getting Beloved Hubby breakfast in bed. It's his birthday ! Sneaky guy got up and showered while I was on the quest for Croissanwiches, though. Can't blame him, he has class today, and we kinda slept in after the mess that was Friday night. He wants to design his own shirts still, so embroidering them has been put off ‘til he's home and is interested.

 

And while he was gone, so was I. First stop, Flea Market. The usual sellers were there, and, time permitting, we always chat. A new seller wanted to tell me all about various nutrition and vaccination theories regarding autism while I prowled through her basket of Barbies. I selected two, but really wanted three, one for her clothes - could I swap the dresses ? Sure, she said. So, that's how I finally got a plastic ‘shell' bra for my Tyco Ariel dolls - by stretching it to fit the Pilot Barbie I wanted. I've always loved  her short hair. Also scored a Rocker Ken, since the one I have is a bit damaged. Not bad at all for $4.

 

And, for the record, I can now say I've found all the original dolls Mattel reproduced in the ‘My Favorite Doll' series this year - long as I can count that #1 Barbie repro I found -  and all at yard sales and flea markets. I've seen numerous #1 repros, I own a Bubblecut, have several TNTs, Malibus, and Superstars, all purchased at the flea market. Just today, I saw yet another Rocker Barbie, again, at the Flea Market. So I can pretty much buy the originals for a buck or two, when the repros are about $40. Of course, the repros are brand new, with no chews and with pretty, bright clothes, but you know me, I always like the original, especially when it's 1/20^th the price !

 

With those two dolls and a plastic bra tucked firmly into the Barbie purse, I moved on. Chatted with sellers, and found a lovely Sweet 16 Barbie dress - the pink with white dots one - on an 80s Skipper, her hair still in the partially-melted rubber band factory set. If it weren't for the gapping bust, it would have fit her well. Sleeves and snaps were intact, it just needs a wash and some attention to be pretty again. The Sweet 16 was my favorite doll when I was a kid. I got her and a pretty miniature plastic Barbie (probably a cake decoration) and the long-needed Jem belt from the first Jem doll ! It needs a bit of attention too - the decal on the front is coming off, and the back is pink, not white, so it needs a cleaning as well. About all I need now is her stand and microphone, and I'll have found everything that was MIB, one piece at a time. A buck fiddy got me these gems.

 

I thought I'd just go home, ‘cause I didn't have much money left, but I stopped at two sales on the way home anyway. The first one got me a cute stationery set and a fat quarter of gorgeous whale-print fabric for a buck. The second got me... a big pink convertible ! Those who've read this a while may be thinking, "I've seen that car before - doesn't she already have it ? " and I'd say how clever and smart you are. Yes, I do. Got it from the junk shop for $3. a year or two ago. However, the front hood ornament was broken off, and the dashboard stickers were gone. This one has all the candy - and for just a buck ! Since Dearest Son has always semi-envied Mommy's pink convertible, he can have the old one - I've upgraded !

 

For those who think I should give Dearest the better car - pffft. If you saw what he did to that white Bratz car he got for Christmas, the one he wanted sooo much, you'd know why I'm keeping the good one with no conscience-twinges. At all. He'll enjoy playing with either, and this way, I won't cringe when he draws either Herbie or General Lee markings on it with a Sharpie.

 

I also scored eight brand-new blank handkerchiefs to embroider on for another buck, and gained a short history on pow-wow shawls from the seller. She dances. Magnificent shawls - my Brody could do amazing things with them. One had some appliqué shapes on it, and it was her favorite, an acquaintance made it for her, but... it really wasn't that well done. But I'd have no idea how to do the fringe, so it all evens out. Beautiful pieces, though. I was just surprised that they seemed to all be made of polyester. I'd have figured that, for Native American dances and rituals, they'd use natural fabrics. You know what they say about assumptions...

 

By now, I really was broke, and tired. So I headed for home and a big soda. And that's been the big news of the day. Whee ! I can't wait to see Dearest's face when he sees that other pink car is his now !

Hail, the conquering hero(ine) !

 

Current Mood : Exhilaration ! 

Spent on embroidery supplies :  $15.60

 

Whee ! I have conquered glitter thread - and Ultra Solvy and Free Standing Lace, all at once ! Now, if I can just get Beloved Hubby to tell me what he wants on which shirts, I'll be ready for the weekend !

 

Yeah, his birthday is coming up, but he's already bought what he wanted. So I figured I'd stitch him up a few shirts - I'd already bought four when I did groceries this week, and they were waiting, washed and ready. He has lots of ideas, and Alphabet XPress makes it sooo easy, but he hasn't yet decided what words he wants where. He was home early today, so I got to run up to Hancock Fabrics and splurge on some more of those good metallic thread needles (while they're on markdown) and a spool of metallic thread, on Beloved's insistence. He wants me to work with ‘the good stuff'. Five packs of needles and one spool later, I was home, parked in front of Brody, plotting.

 

In case Beloved decides what he wants soon, I decided to clear space in Brody's memory for his ideas. So I hooped up some fresh UltraSolvy, using up the last part of a section. Oops. That piece was about a half-inch too narrow. It fit in the hoop OK, but I like to have it extend a bit past its edges, so I can grip it for tightening. So I tore two strips of masking tape, and applied it to the long side edges. Perfect ! Now it was wide enough to snug in the hoop well. I'll have to remember that trick !

 

And I loaded up the brand-new glitter thread, the stuff I just bought. It's almost like tinsel. It feels like it, and bends like it. It's one great big strand of tinsel, on a spool. This made me a bit nervous, but we paid $4.55 for it, may as well get over it and me. Ran a bobbin of 40wt grey thread, since with FSL, Brody does better with it in the bobbin than regular 60 or 70wt bobbin thread.

 

I had a bookmark design from SiCK in Brody's memory, so I figured I'd try that, instead of the sewing machine FSL again. Looking at the printout, I decided to get just the ‘base' (first thread) and the edging (less than half of the second thread), and skip the rest. I'd never done that before either, but in for a penny, in for a pound, I always say !

 

I'd read that some metallic threads need space to ‘unwind' before going into the machine, so many embroiderers suggest letting it unspool a bit in a cup or mug, instead of using the spool pin on the machine. So I tried that. Worked pretty well, but for some reason, the thread broke. So I put it on the pin. Eeesh. Not a good idea. It unspoiled too fast and retwisted itself in little glittery noose-like loops. Luckily, I caught the first one before it went into Brody's inner works ! Put it back in the cup, and watched it like a hawk. No more problems. Guess that's one more tool in the embroidery arsenal, and in permanent residence in the Lab !

 

And there it is, still on the hoop, still stitched onto the UltraSolvy. I cut it off the USolvy, and soaked it, and I wish I could get a better photo. It glimmers and shimmers and looks like tiny beading. I'm very happy with how this one turned out. The remaining USolvy has been bagged, for future recycling efforts. I think I can call this technique a bit closer to ‘conquered' now.