Oh, Toralei !

Current Mood : Happy !

Current Image Notes : I made a funny ! 

An amazing thing has happened. I completed two surveys a couple days ago that’ve already paid out, right to my PayPal. Nice, and I always like the fun funds, but nothing really that special. What’s unusual is that it’s still there. Been there for three days now. It’s easy to spend, I have the usual choice of places to spend it, and six bucks really isn’t much one way or the other. But I haven’t spent it, which is so not like me. Especially when there’s new doll shoes I don’t own on eBay. Wonder how long I can hold out ?

Was all flush when I woke up, happy with how pretty that third white dress looked in the morning light. But then I saw a quote I liked – ‘Don’t let your success go to your head, or your failures go to your heart’ – and decided to move on. Cleaned up my Arena from yesterday’s efforts, and found a scrap of white fabric on the floor. Picked it up to toss it out…but it wasn’t just cutaway from yesterday. It was the ‘tuxedo’ halter top that goes to Sweet 1600 Clawdeen – the one piece that wasn’t still on Dearest Son’s “outgrown” doll. I soon knew why. He’d cut away the collar and tie part for one of his ponies, and tossed this part away. I could salvage the tiny buttons, at least. Maybe the good Velcro ™, too. It was cut beyond my repair abilities.

Or…I could use it to make a new one. Traced the as-is shape, guesstimated where the collar would go, drew new seam and hem allowances, figured out how to work a faux-tie on it using a fork bow. It really was just a simple halter, with a tiny pleat to suggest a front closure along with the three black buttons.  Already know how to make the pleat – two-needle stitch on top, with tension adjusted correctly, will form that tuck easily.

Didn’t get to sew it, though. Dearest’s computer was having some issues this morning, and I didn’t wanna wake Beloved Hubby to handle ‘em, so I did. That got me thinking, I have no idea how to use my webcam. I’ve never so much as turned it on for the year-plus I’ve owned my laptop. Don’t know how to, or where the controls are located. So I hunted for that for a half-hour, ‘til I finally found that it’s run by DirectorZone software, from an HP menu I never used before. Played around with that for a while, with Dearest skittering over to see his face wreathed in spinning stars, a huge crown, or falling snowflakes. Even took a truly ugly photo of myself with the twinkling sprites and e-mailed it to Beloved. I thought it was funnier to watch animated ‘devil’ and ‘angel’ girls fly around Gloom Beach Cleo’s head, though.