The most wonderful Christmas gift ever...

 

Current Mood : Beyond thrilled ! 

Current Image Notes : Guess what's new in the Lab ? 

 

So, today I was thinking (and the very Earth trembled). When do I have the most fun in the Lab ? When I'm tearing it up to do something new in there ! And with my new ‘use it or lose it' goals, I can have it torn up for weeks ! I also realized that I haven't sewn all year because Brody is on the sole surface set up for sewing. The cutting/pattern table is all wrong to sew on - wrong height, wrong depth, no leg space - and all other flat surfaces are in use for other things and aren't good for sewing either. Technically, I can sew on a TV-tray table, but those wobble around a lot. What're we gonna do about that ?

 

Seriously. I don't want ‘KJ', my regular sewing machine, set up on the dining room table. It's not permanent, too far away from most of my supplies, and not where I want to sew. We're not gonna mention how it'd be covered over with mail, clothes, and misc. in less than a week. What I need is another desk or table in the Lab. Nothing major, just something stable - doesn't need drawers or anything. So I proposed a deal to Beloved Hubby. If I could find one cheap second-hand or he could make one, I'd donate and ditch the two milk crate ‘towers' of fabric in order to create space for it. He agreed, and quickly sketched out a simple desk-like table with two open cubbyholes for thread and often-used notions, much like my current school-surplus table. Just with the spaces on the opposite side. Awesome. I want to sew again, not just embroider, and this would be great !

 

A small confession. Brody is a combination sewing-embroidery machine. But I hate changing tension, feet, and supplies on him when they're just right for one function, but not quite right for the other. I have two machines I'm comfortable with, and greedy me wants to use them both.

 

I began brainstorming of ways to redo my sewing spaces. I breathed a sigh of relief. With a second table, I could move the often-annoying small plastic cabinet on my sole sewing desk over to the new one, I thought. It only holds iron-on patches and sew-on appliqués, and often gets in the way, so having it somewhere else...then I smacked m'self on the forehead. Um, if the cabinet's in the way, nobody says I have to keep it, and keep it right in that spot forever ! I can transfer all the patches to a bag or box, and move it to the notions cabinet ! Duh ! Why did I not realize this years ago ?! Aarrgh !

 

Also in that vein of thought, I decided to ditch the plastic ‘rug saver' circle-thing under my sewing chair. We bought one, intending to buy another later, so both our computer chairs would be able to move easily on our carpeted floors, years (possibly approaching a decade) ago. Shortly after, we moved to a place with tile floors and then down to one computer, so it ended up in the garage. When we settled in here, I put it under my chair at the sewing desk - where it's been a PITA ever since. The casters keep getting caught in the edges, I can't move very much, there's a crack in it that endangers toes and chair at random moments... time to dump what doesn't work. If it didn't have that crack, I'd try to donate it, but I know it's trash. I'm only holding on to it because seven or eight years ago - possibly more - it was sorta expensive. Feh.

 

I was mentally reorganizing things when I took a peek on Craigslist.org, just to see what cheep desks and tables were out there. Well, you know what happened next. I found the desk of my dreams for $50. It wasn't far away, and was absolutely HUGE - I could get both machines on it with room to spare, and it had a cubby-filled hutch !

 

If I got this monster, the Lab would darn near be a complete do-over. The two-shelf cabinet would have to go, as would my old desk. I found that I wasn't quite so attached to them as I thought I was. And it was doubtful that this corner-oriented beastie would go under the window, something I always insisted on before. Wanted the view while I sewed. But that wasn't as important as it used to be either.

 

Three hours later, we were on our way home, desk in the truck. It had suffered from a bad paint job, but by the time we get all my stuff on it, you won't be able to see the bad spots. The white center section is in my Lab, and the faux-woodgrain tables are now in our bedroom. The Lab is torn up ! I got milk crates of fabric stacked up high in our bedroom, the cutting table's in the middle of the floor, and my old desk is right where it's been for the last few years, but it'll be out tomorrow. To where, I have no idea.

 

It's really late, and I got a fabric-filled dollhouse to move off our bed... but I can't wait for tomorrow ! This is gonna be so much fun !

Meet my new Hottie !

 

Current Mood : Happy and a bit silly

Spent on a new doll today :  $12.35

 

Today went much better amongst the animals of Chez Insanity. There's a small pass-through ‘window' in the hallway that leads to the kitchen, and a door at the end of the hall that separates living room from bedrooms and my Lab. DC can easily jump through the pass-through and be in the kitchen without either dog knowing it. That's what he did today, he jumped through and got within four feet of Brisco and Friday before streaking off again. Later today, he zipped through the kitchen, across Beloved Hubby's Studio and to the back door, wanting out, before the dogs noticed. So he's slowly getting used to the dogs, and the dogs aren't chasing or worrying him, either. They're also becoming house-trained, and both are doing pretty well at that. Hope is flowering.

 

And, since Dearest Son is still with his grandparents -he'll be home Monday morning - we took advantage of it and did some holiday shopping. Even early on Sunday, TRU was packed. It didn't help that they had big toys stacked in the ‘racetrack', and carts routinely bumped them into pedestrians' shins. In retail, the ‘racetrack' is the main circle through the store that hits as many departments as possible, and is usually the widest walkway. We lucked out and found most of what we meant to get with minimal fuss, and decided on what to advise his grandparents' to snag. We like to leave them a few ‘oh, wow, I got it !' goodies to give when we can.

 

It's not as easy as it sounds. When Dearest was into Thomas the Tank Engine, I sent them a list of all the trains we'd bought for Christmas and during the year. He opened our gifts first that morning. Later, when he opened theirs, she got most of the same trains. No problem, we could just exchange them, right ? Nope. She'd torn them all out of their packages and thrown the boxes out  - something Dearest had done at home, too. Year before last, I told them we'd bought the big toy he wanted, the one he was so excited about, and even showed it to DFIL. They came over Christmas Eve with....yup, the exact same toy. Oh, was I fried.

 

Last year, I went shopping with DFIL, so I knew exactly what they got, and everything was fine. Hmm. I may offer to do that this week, too...

 

And heck, I was at TRU. You know I looked at dolls. It was almost heartening to see how empty the Barbie shelves were. Showed Beloved that the doll he got for me at $25. was $60. on their shelves, and she didn't even have the necklace. Our TRU really didn't have much, but they had plenty of the new improved Dream Townhouse and the Pink Glamour Camper. Got a good look at the Barbie Basics, and they're nice, but to me, not worth the hype. I actually prefer Claire to the Teresa-faced BB. Although that Steffie-faced one had my eye... maybe later.

 

The doll who really captured me was a Fashionista. Yup, there's my Hottie - Fashionista Ken ! I'd only seen him on In The Pink and in promo photos on eBay, so I was really happy to see him for just $11.44 on the shelves. He's now fully deboxed and relaxing on my desk, with his hat on straight and his eyes riveted to Beloved's episode of Law & Order. The hat, by the way, is soft vinyl, but it really does have a straw-hat sheen. He has a bit of a baby face that's quite endearing, but his well-sculpted arms and chest are all man ! He also has a ‘shifting torso' body, so he can lean and even pivot. While I'd have loved bending wrists, I'm pretty happy with him as-is. And I love his shirt design ! I'm seeing those same curves and trailing lines in a lot of embroidery designs lately, too.

 

Speaking of designs, you've got to see this - new for 2010 ->

http://www.sneakerfreaker.com/feature/adidas-starwars-lookbook/15/

 

Crates and hopes...

 

Current Mood : Much better -thanks, ya'll !

 

Well, nearly anything looks better after a good night's sleep, and since we were up late on our ‘puppy run', I needed the rest. DC-kitty spent all night under our bed, but came out this morning, still upset and scared of what was in the living room. After his breakfast, we tucked the dogs into another room, and he made a run for the front door and outside.

 

Few hours later, he wanted back in, so again, ‘Brisco' (Beloved Hubby's border collie mix) and ‘Friday' (Dearest Son's Australian Cattle Dog mix puppy) were led to his Studio, and DC ran off.  I found him and carried him inside, earning a clawed up arm in the process. He stayed in all day, but at least was on top of the bed, instead of under it.

 

So this afternoon, we leashed up Brisco and took him to PetCo. Friday stayed home and slept - he's painfully thin, and is sleeping a lot. Selected appropriate sized crates and a few other necessities we didn't pick up last night. Brisco did very well on the leash, and behaved when addressed. I actually enjoyed walking him, and he's very affectionate.

 

Gave both dogs baths with flea and tick shampoo, and found that they both love the ‘chocolate chip cookie' treats we brought home. It was so cute, the cookies were in a holiday-themed bag, and they smell just like regular people-food cookies. Friday loves his crate, it's a special hidey-hole for him. Brisco is less enthused, but will walk in when told to do so.

 

They both love wandering the yard, but even with the fence all around, they won't stray far from us. Dear FIL picked up Dearest Son today, and loved meeting both the new additions to the family. DC will come around, I believe. It'll just have to be at his pace.

 

Thanks for the encouragement, ya'll. I was pretty upset last night, but now I believe it'll work out.

 

In other news, everyone's going to Aunt's house for Christmas dinner. She's been very lonely since Uncle passed last month, so I'm gonna make a side dish and sew up some matching fleece hat and embroidered scarf sets for everyone. A rose design for Aunt, kitty for DMIL, Betty Boop for DFIL, and appliqué initials for Uncle and DBIL. I should have enough fleece already, and if I make a set every day, I'll be done in time. No-cost small gifts - you know I love ‘em !

 

During the height of my Clean House obsession, I read the mystyle.com discussion boards for the show. One homeowner was really the fan anti-favorite, mostly because she didn't seem to appreciate what the cast did, even shouting on-camera she regretted giving up her stuff for their design work. Veterans of the show may already know, I'm talking about Tony Dragon, and her episode repeats Christmas Day, late afternoon. I've seen some clips, so I'm really looking forward to seeing the whole thing.

 

Well, Beloved Hubby's let me choose dinner, so Chinese should be here soon. Hope your Saturday was great ! I didn't go near the flea market - too busy with other stuff !

Well, Beloved and Dearest got their holiday 'big gifts' tonight...

 

Current Mood : Bitter and a bit ticked...

 

Beloved Hubby brought out a huge stack of books last night when I reminded him we were going on a Hastings trading trip - so I decided to take a quick peek at my shelves. And ditched six sewing books I haven't touched since I got ‘em from various yard sales for a buck or less. Three books on tailoring designer clothes, one on tailoring blouses, a duplicate copy of More Fabric Savvy (I couldn't resist, even though I already had  it - those 25c books always snag me) , and one on reupholstery. Hastings took ‘em all, and most of Beloved's, and about half the rest of the books that'd been lounging around, and all but two DVD's - and we got nearly $80. in store credit ! We bagged the remainders - about two Mal-Wart sacks full - and set out to spend some of it.

 

Over an hour later, Dearest picked out the Battle Force Five Wii game to rent, and a Wall-E coloring book. I went ahead and got a used copy of The Story of Barbie, 1994 edition, by Kitturah B. Westenhouser. That took less than $20. off our gift card, so we may do a bit of holiday shopping with the rest.

 

The bags of leftover books vanished for several hours - I thought someone might have ‘borrowed' them - but Hastings called when they turned up later. Now I just have to find some time to go over and get them.

 

Then... well... Beloved Hubby and Dearest Son have campaigned long and hard for a dog. Especially over the holidays. I can see all the benefits, but I worry about our cat, DC. Well, they found a no-kill shelter about an hour's drive away. Long story short (sigh) we now have two dogs, and DC is beyond stressed. The larger of the two dogs chased DC, and he reacted like any cat - he leapt about six feet straight in the air, literally rebounded off a wall, tore h#ll out of the curtains, scratched, spit, and hid under our bed while Beloved tried to grab Big Dog long enough to let DC get away. Kitty hasn't come out yet, and the over-shy puppy isn't willingly coming out from under my desk, and I've cleaned up three piles of poop and two puddles. I am NOT enthusiastic about these dogs.

 

I don't think either of them have been in a house, no matter what the shelter guy said, and they both have fleas. Not sure when Beloved's gonna have time to train them, but he's in charge of that. But I swear on all that is holy on this planet, if these mutts have cost me my cat, Beloved's gonna be on a heckuva lot more ‘poop patrol' than he thinks !

 

Who knew I'd be happy with pink tulle for Christmas ?

 

Current Mood : Busy and cheerful

 

Today was ‘half the errands' day, since tomorrow is ‘the rest of ‘em' day. I got the box of Barbie cards I promised to Gailya mailed, returned library books from Dearest Son's school (cringe - we've had them for months !), bought the white pillowcase sets for my commissions to Joanne, and returned the beige ones I bought last night to Mal-Wart. Did a bit of grocery shopping late last night, and figured I'd go ahead and get the ‘cases. Too bad M-W only had colors, but I thought ‘vanilla' would be fine. In daylight, they were just too dark, so they went back, and I got two Target sets identical to the ones I used for Joanne's sets. Surprisingly, the Target sets were each a buck cheaper !

 

And I know what Beloved Hubby got me for Christmas - beyond the computer upgrade. It's in my closet, I'm not letting me have it until the 25^th. I think I can wait a week to debox the Generations of Dreams Barbie. We found one at Mal-Wart with the bonus necklace, still just $25., so... I'm claiming the dress, necklace, and probably the shoes, but I'll put the doll up for shipping grabs, I just don't like her. Looks too much like one of those Sybarites to me. Apologies to anyone who adores them, for you to love them, it must be a fantastic doll. To me, unfortunately, she looks too much like a man in drag. While I support cross-dressing, I don't really like the current fashion-forward aesthetic. There's plenty of beautiful women on the planet, I don't wanna feel ugly next to beautiful men, too.

 

Well, the person who said she wanted the American Girl-size Jeep stood me up. Left a message, don't expect to hear from her again, so it gets offered to the other person who asked. (sigh) This is why I tend to donate things instead of selling ‘em.

 

Got a bit bored, and I noticed that the little pleat under the ‘wings' button on Claire's "Flight Attendant" outfit was permanent, part of the way the wings were sewn on - unless I picked it off and re-sewed it by hand m'self. So I did it, and did it again, because the first time, I sewed an entirely different pleat under there. Learned to hold the stretchy fabric flat with one hand while I stitched with the other. No pleat, and because I gave the stitches some slack, the button wings hang better, too.

 

Flea market's here tomorrow. I'm gonna try not to go, since there's plenty of projects and fun stuff waiting to be done already. Wish me luck at staying away !

We interrupt the Christmas card series to bring you... Claire !

 

Current Mood : (yawn) Very sleepy

 

Spent on dolls : $10.80

 

Current Image Notes : I kinda said, “What the heck” and swapped heads between Claire (formerly my ITP ‘Talk of the Town’ win) and Miss Sassy (Fashionista). Not a perfect match, but close enough for me ! Oh, and the Flight Attendant outfit looks great with Sassy’s belt and boots !

 

Laundry day ! And since I haven’t done it in two weeks, it’s a real job. But I’ve had some time in between loads… to watch a few dozen episodes of Clean House. No matter how many I ditch, the DVR keeps about 20 episodes all the time. Whew.

 

 

When ya watch a binge-load of ‘em all at once – mostly to get rid of ‘em – it’s easy to see a few things. One, the CH crew deals with the homeowners much the same way I deal with Dearest Son. If he won’t take care of his own clutter and mess, I will. But my way includes a box of trash bags. On the show, since the homeowners can’t or won’t take care of their crap, the hosts zero in on a beloved ‘toy’ or possession to give up, as a sort of penance. Even if it won’t bring a dollar in the yard sale portion, I now see it as a form of ‘ya didn’t take care of your crap, so I have to – and it’s gonna cost ya’. Which is more or less what I do with Dearest. After this summer’s clean-out, he’s kept things up pretty well.

 

 

I was kinda getting tired of seeing these folks whine ‘I don’t know where to staaaart !’ or drag their heels about Granddad’s Antebellum Enema Collection until they get a 46” flat-screen TV. If they can’t clean their own space, well, they kinda have sacrifices coming. And they know darn good and well how to start, most just don’t want to, would rather assign blame, or go buy more stuff. That’s what scares me straight, since it’s so much easier and fun to bargain-hunt than it is to deal with what’s already inside. Pick up the piece closest to you, and finally assign it, clean it, store it, trash it – that’s much harder… too bad it’s the only way to start once you’ve got a pile of a house. I’m learning, slowly but surely, to not bring anything else in here in the first place.

 

 

I kinda won and lost my own battle today. On hearing that ‘My Favorite Doll’ sets – Malibu, Bubblecut, and SuperStar – were marked down to $10. over at walmart.com, I gave in and got the SuperStar I’ve been wanting. Successfully beat back the impulse to snag another Malibu ( I have one of those, still boxed) or a Bubblecut (already have a vintage blonde doll) – mostly because I didn’t have a lot of funds anyway. I got the one of the three I really liked, and that’s enough.

 

 

It’s funny, because I was just at walmart.com yesterday, and saw that the very same three dolls for $20. each, and said ‘no’, albeit with regrets. Ten bucks was much harder to refuse, especially when I wanted SuperStar so much. To add to the fun, I saved 97c by requesting ‘Ship to Store’ – but since it’s a local sale, I had to pony up 80c for tax !

 

Doll and Dorrie maintenance...

 

Current Mood : Happiest when busy

 

Today started off briskly - thanks to the daily Craft blog, I found a great craft. Miniature record albums, complete with sleeve and record ! The creator, Paul Overton, designed ‘em for use as gift tags, but ya'll know how us doll people are... I instantly saw it as a great doll prop !

 

As-is, they're a bit big, but would work for, say Crissy or American Girl-size dolls. But once you have one printed out - or good printer software - you can scale ‘em any size you want. Mr. Overton thoughtfully provided not only ready-to-use artwork in the PDF download, but also templates to create your own with. Link beneath has a video and photos, and a download link, so ya may wanna check ‘em out !

 

http://www.dudecraft.com/2009/12/how-to-mini-lp-record-gift-tags.html

 

I also did something new, something I've always avoided. Found directions for making fleece house-slippers, very easy. Only problem is, no printable pattern. Just a drawing on grids. I hate reproducing patterns that way. But Beloved Hubby needs some warm snugglies for his feet, and he hates hard-soled house slippers. So I gave it a go. It wasn't that hard, mostly because the designer included actual measurements beyond ‘each square is two inches'. Hoping to find my fleece and give it a quick trial this week.

 

I then moved to cleaning off my perpetually wrecked desk. I swear, it was completely clean when Beloved Hubby worked on my computer the other day ! Found a box for the dolls I'm not keeping, then moved on to the ones I am. Sanded down the peeling ‘skin' on Costume Ball Ken's left hand. A bit of lotion helped make the uneven edges less visible. Once he was resting, I turned my attention to the new-to-me clothes, snipping loose threads and checking wear marks, spot treating a few areas.

 

Then I dragged down my doll washing machine. Basically, it's a small all-transparent take-out soup container with a tight lid from the local Chinese place. It's reserved just for doll clothes maintenance. Easier on the small garments than tossing ‘em in the regular washer, but still gets the dirt and dust out. A drop of dish detergent, some warm water, and some fun shaking is all I need besides the ‘washer'. Like a real one, I do an agitation cycle with soapy water, then a clear water rinse. Since wringing ‘em out can damage fragile miniature fabrics, I roll the rinsed clothes up tight in a towel a couple times, then hang ‘em or drape ‘em in the Lab to dry. If dirt still shows up in the ‘rinse' cycle, I repeat a wash one. That's why I use the see-through soup container instead of a butter tub.

 

While the clothes are hanging out, I can often fix minor problems. Like getting that tiny tie to lie flat, or pinch-press a collar down. Usually everything's dry the next day. Which is good - laundry looks rather tacky draped over the Castle walls for long periods of time.

 

And, once in the Lab, I decided to see to a few things. Told Tiffany Taylor that she'd be living with a certain Mouse, soon as I found a good box for the trip. Dressed the nude Ken and two other dolls runnin' around nekkid, and put some stray doll clothes away. Remembered to put Brody's cover back on, and stored a bit of desk detritus. Then it was time to get the badly neglected dishes done - ugh ! - so I wished everyone a nice afternoon and got to it. I swear, I fell completely out of my routine when I had tummy trouble last week, and it's taken me the rest of the week to shake my stupor and get back to it. Then again, it's not like the dishes won't wait for me...

Thought gifts

 

Current Mood : Contemplative.

 

Kind of an interesting day, mentally. I responded to a message on ITP, but not correctly, and in turning down an interesting playset made a small but significant discovery. Still, I'm an idiot.

 

So, here's what I did wrong on ITP. There was a survey about the Barbie Basics - those ‘little black dress' dolls. It was actually about the waaaay overpriced accessory shoe and belt kits, not about the dolls. Well, I didn't see ‘accessory' and went on one of my "why is this doll twenny dollas when you can get a similarly articulated doll for five bucks ?" tirades. Idiot. I still doubt it costs Mattel significantly more to produce a Model Muse body than it does to mold a belly-button one, so why is one five times more ?

 

Because the BB dolls are pretty much sold for adult collectors. Regardless of how much or how little it costs Mattel to produce it, if it's intended for collectors, it's price jumps up. Like plastic beads - put a ‘Pearly Plastic Beads' header on the plastic baggie, they're 99c. Put a ‘Bridal Pearlite Elegance' header on it, and the same exact faux baubles are $2.99. If you're lucky, they have the same amount/weight of beads inside, but usually Pearlite Elegance gets you fewer white plastic beads for much more money.

 

I can't help but see the same thing here. Put a Mackie head with long blonde hair on a belly-button body doll, dress it in a swimsuit, $5. Put the same head with less hair in a polyester tube dress over a similarly nearly non-articulated body, and put it all in a mostly-black box, it's now $25. And next to it are Fashionistas, which are a lot more articulated, for less than $15. ! It's not the hairdos - the BBs all have very simple styles - it's not the clothes, it's not the body. It's simply marketing. And I hate that the tag is the only real difference - it's like the seller thinks you're an idiot. At least they don't expect you to pay more because they made fewer of ‘em. Well, at least not this time.

 

Moving on... another Pinker posted a neat Sears ‘talk show' furniture set that really had my attention. Very reasonably priced, too. But in the end, I said no. Just like I said no to wasting more time on Modern Art. Simple truth is, I have more than I'll ever use, and I know it. Dolls, furniture, doll clothes, everything. So I may just challenge myself to not buy any new doll stuff at all in 2010. No new fabric, either. I can't enjoy what I have, what I say I truly love, what has survived a cross-country ditch-everything move and several clean-outs since, if I keep buying more stuff.

 

In some ways, having so much stuff is a form of bondage to the stuff. Ya gotta store it and dust it and maintain it. And there's always something new to want, to hunt, to crave, to buy...and add to the pile. It's easier to buy than use. I've heard it before, but in my often make-do no-money life, I didn't think it applied to me. Now I see how it does. So I'm really considering making a huge challenge to myself for 2010. Might be the grand-daddy of all challenges. Sometimes I swear I buy stuff just for the small thrill of getting something new, or even new-to-me, and I'll figure out later what to do with it. I'm aware of doing it while I'm doing it, but I still do it anyway. It's not about the psych of spending money - it's about how I spend other resources that are a lot more precious. If I can knock off that ridiculous habit, I could do some really amazing things with the time I'm not spending shopping and worrying about being up on the next big ‘everyone's buying it' on message boards and such.

 

Imagine that. If I'm not spending all afternoon fixing a yard-sale doll outfit, I might actually sew something with the fabric I'm tripping over. If I start sewing again, I might actually get good enough at it to sell some creations - or make my own blasted Modern Art.

 

Oh, I already know there'll be times I'll fail - but I've resisted buying stuff at the Flea for weeks, stuff ordinarily I'd have bought without a thought, and tripped over a few dozen times already. I think my sales resistance is getting better. What if I actually stayed home on Saturday and tried some of the few hundred experiments I've thought up, instead of looking for yard sales to dig through ? What if I created instead of bought ? What if I re-trained my mind to think ‘my time = time to sew' instead of ‘my time = time to go shopping' ?

 

(grin) I think I need to read The Midas Plague again...

Barbie Christmas Cards - Day 1

 

Current Mood : Lazy

 

Not much of a day, really. I barely even got dressed, and that only because Beloved Hubby had a guest over for some tattoo work. I even took a nap !

 

Got tired of the papers-everywhere folder that holds bits and pieces for eventual use as scrap paper, and sorted it, taking all the loose sheets and cutting ‘em up for the holder. Gave most of the printer-acceptable paper to Beloved Hubby to start fires - that cleared up a lot of those old handouts from Dearest Son's school days. I don't miss sorting through a ream of paper advertising fundraisers and businesses every couple of months !

 

And I've decided to stop looking for #1625, Modern Art. While it's my favorite vintage Barbie dress, and it's never been a repro, and my attempts to sew one have been an ongoing colossal failure, continuing to hope and hunt for it on eBay is now deemed an Official Waste of Time. When even faded, damaged ones close at $78., it's time to move on. There is simply no way I'm ever gonna pay $200. for a doll dress - especially for one that isn't even in a box. And that's for it in decent shape - there's been some offered for over $400. Forget it. Maybe my next run at it will work. It's mostly the overlay that's jamming me up - that and the collar.

 

We totally forgot to buy some red Fusion paint this weekend, so no painting got done. It's on the grocery list, so we should at least have it this week. On the plus side, there's finally furniture in the Dollhouse - the new stuff I bought Wednesday. Had to put it somewhere ! And it rather looks nice, so...

 

Well, it's not much of an entry, but my day was kind of quiet, too. Biggest excitement of the day is when a small picture frame tumbled off my computer ‘tower' and landed in my soda !

I actually had *fun* shopping today !

 

Current Mood : Content

Spent on dolls : $3.

Spent on doll-based stationery :  $5.61

 

Got to hit the Flea Market today, and I found an amazing deal at Kohl's. And I pretty much have photos for next week ! So it was a fun morning, and a quiet afternoon.

 

At the Flea, one of my favorite dealers was in - she was packing when I came in last week. I poked through her trunk of dolls and picked out three, mostly for their clothes. I got an older wide-eyed SuperStar for her yellow-top and turquoise pants jumpsuit - the hot pink tie belt just made it so 80s ! The more modern open-smile blonde had on a pretty pink bodysuit with a white pearly, glittery design on the front. The ribbon straps were decorated with matching torn tulle, but that's easy to fix. Yet another blonde made it to Chez Insanity - 1990's Costume Ball Ken in Dream Glow Ken's all-in-one shirt, vest, and pants. He even had shoes ! I could hardly wait to clean them up.

 

But first... while going through mail last night, Beloved Hubby nearly tossed one of those ‘$10. off any purchase at all' cards I occasionally get from Kohl's. I usually get one in Spring, so a holiday one was a great find. Only one problem - it expires today. No problem - long as it didn't expire the day before, I could use it. So I did. Their toy section was beyond wiped out, so my next stop was the boyswear department. Dearest Son really needs pajamas, and I'd not found any at all at either Mal-Wart or Target. If it was a design he'd like, it wasn't in his size. If it was in his size, it was for some video game or cartoon he hated.

 

I soon found a similar situation at Kohl's. I first looked at characters and found little. Evidently, after a kid grows out of 8-10, he either sleeps in his school clothes, or his underwear. So I looked strictly at size. Found one set in a 12 - a bit big for him, but workable...and it was Clone Wars ! Bonus. Only one problem. It was a set of two. Yes, two different Clone patterns, same size, same style PJs. Hmf. I found the tag. $38. Yikes. Well, there was a half-off sale, which brought it down to $19., minus the card, $9. Still kinda up there, since I found generic pajamas for less at Mal-wart with no gift card.

 

Still, I kept ‘em in my claws while I looked around a bit more. I was thinking about that Barbie pink shoe Hallmark ornament - Kohl's carries about half their ornaments - when I noted a price scanner in that department. Swiped the pajamas tag - $15.20 ! Guess there was another sale going on, yaaay ! Minus the card, five bucks, heck yeah !

 

The manager had every register going, and even though I was about ten people back in line, I was in the line for less than five minutes. I had to thank the manager - he was directing register traffic - for the great experience. He was glad to hear it, and suggested I let Corporate know by completing the survey mentioned on my receipt. Done and done ! Best shopping experience I've had all holiday, and not just because of the great score. Beloved thought they looked great, and decided they'd get wrapped for a Christmas gift. I was pretty proud of me.

 

Next stop - library book drop-off. Finally found the last two, and actually turned them in two days before they were due. Yesss ! After that, Walgreen's. My curiosity was piqued when a poster on In The Pink mentioned the Barbie holiday cards she'd found there. I wanted to see ‘em - so off we went. It took a lot of shuffling, but I found them. Shoot, they were the only ones in a black box. If I'd have known that, I would've had ‘em in hand much faster. I had to dig through Disney Mickey and Pooh sets, Dr. Seuss sets, Peanuts sets, and tons of non-licensed ones, but I found ‘em ! You'll see a card a day for the next six days, starting tomorrow.

 

Goss knows, I got plenty of ‘em. They came 24 to a box, and there was a buy-one-get-one-free sale, and yep, the first one was full price. So I now have 48 Barbie Christmas cards. Oh, well. I'm sure I'll use ‘em up, one year or another ! I also found a packet of Barbie stickers much like the ones I sometimes see at Dollar Tree - 104 for $1.19. Once home, I found that there were eight small sheets of stickers. Four each of two designs. Still, they're cute, and I'll use them - there's even a dress form sticker ! I'll scan those, too. Shoot, my blog images are taken care of for over a week now ! Oh, and they have water-transfer tattoos there, too. So once I get off my round rump and try that experiment, I know where to find more.

 

Once home, I got to work on the new-to-me dolls. I doubt I'll keep the girls, but I do want them to look their best, so I started brushing hair. The older late-80s-early-90s one had that cotton candy textured hair, and quite a bit of it pulled out. But she soon looked very pretty. Still haven't ID'd her one piece outfit, but it's sure cute ! The ribbon bow tangled in her hair turned out to be three long, thin ribbons sewn to an elastic loop. I thought maybe it was a ‘Rockers' costume accessory, but I still haven't found anything like it. No tags, either.

 

My other, newer blonde girl has suffered from a bad hair trim right in the very front of her hairline. I may give her a headband. Since half the tulle ‘sleeves' were missing, I cut off the rest -she now has a pink bodysuit or swimsuit with a sparkly white design that'll probably have a pretty skirt paired with it soon. They both still need baths. Costume Ball Ken has some slight peeling around his fingers and biceps, and his costume needs a wash, bad ! But he's in good shape, and has that pivot-neck that I like. So he'll probably stay - I always need guys at Chez Insanity.

 

And Beloved and I have goofed the rest of the day away. Yup. A near-perfect Saturday !