I have light and new computer paper dolls ! Yaay Saturday !

Current Mood : Giggly

Didn't get to sew today - instead, Beloved Hubby gave me the option of going with him while he did some work, or staying home. Since I already know he'll be home about half of next week, I decided to go with him, as I needed some time away for a bit.

His job was making three doll beds for a long-term client of his ! Her nieces each have American Girl (or clone) dolls, and none of them have beds yet. So he prototyped a really neat one, and the client happily approved. Sincerely, even the prototype looks really nice, I wasn't surprised she gave the design the nod. I kinda wished I still had the one I used to have - or a brand-new Molly !  It was fairly easy, but took some time and skill, and a woodshop we don't have anymore. Luckily, a friend of his has one, and kindly let us borrow it for an hour.

Said client won't be back in town until Wednesday night, so I asked if he could cut everything and get it all ready, and do the assembly at home. I was being a bit selfish, as the shop was very cold and without a bathroom. But he agreed, so we weren't gone long at all. I used the mileage funds from my appointments for lunch, and we got to stop by Hobby Lobby.

Turns out, you don't need to print off a copy of their coupon, if you have a web-enabled 'smart' phone. You can just go to Hobby Lobby's website, find the coupon, and bring it up on your screen big enough for the cashier to see the Coupon Code, a four-digit number. He or she can then type it into the register for the discount. Yaay !

We'd actually gone to Mal-Wart first, but the only sewing machine light bulb they had was in a useless-to-me 'Maintenance Kit', with an ugly plastic cover, screwdrivers and oil I already have several times over, and a combination Cracker Jack prize magnifying glass / needle threader that was already bent. Eight bucks, too. Forget it ! With my silly digital coupon, I got the bulb I needed for $1.61. Yess ! My meager efforts are once again illuminated !

Came back and snuggled in bed with a movie and Dearest Son, and all three of us fell asleep. If not for my medicine, I'd probably be in there still !

Beloved was joking with me a bit, saying he hadn't heard me wanting any other Monster High stuff since I got Gil. Well, since he brought it up...I'm probably gonna start savin' my pennies for 'Sweet 1600 Clawd' next. Those dolls are rather expensive - about $28. ! - so I hope they don't make sudden apperances around here while we're broke. Dearest has already laid claim to my original Clawd if I get the new one.

Thing is, while I like Clawd's new wrists and clothes, I'm not sure about his hair and face. I already know that, the more they look like their animated versions, the better I like them, and this new dude doesn't look a lot like him. But on the other hand, he doesn't have those bald spots in front of his ears, and with all that hair, new Clawde's ears look more 'right' to me. Arrrgh ! I really hate buying a second doll of a character I already have, and I'm trying to fight the Want, but it's here, all right. Darn it.

I'm curious about the Create A Monster sets, but not as much as I thought. Since the torso piece only matches one doll, it's not as appealing. And I certainly don't need more cats, werewolves, or vampires. Of course, I do want the not-yet-seen Gargoyle and Vampire Boy set - I always want more guys ! But aside from a now-removed TRU listing, I haven't heard or seen a thing about them. (sigh)

But, now that I think of it, Gil more or less appeared out of nowhere, I was truly surprised they made him a doll. While he is short-packed, (probably because traditionally, male dolls don't sell as well) he's the one who tends to sell out first. I've yet to hear anyone completely reject him, although I'm sure there are those of us who just don't like the guys. Still, Gil is amazing.

And...it's confession time. I gave my second Jackson Jekyll doll to Dearest. I never found the right paint to change his skin to Slow Moe grey, and I saw several justifiably abandoned attempts at repainting other MH dolls, and knew I'd do no better. So while I was considering finding Jackson's receipt, Dearest asked if he could have him, since he didn't have any of the guys at all. He's been deboxed and driving around a cherry-red My Scene convertible the last two times I saw him, so I think everyone's happiest this way. But if Mattel doesn't get off their duffs and make me a Slow Moe, I will take matters into my own claws again !

Oh, and today 's image comes from the Ghoulia dress-up game on http://www.dressupgamesite.com/dress/monster%20high . You'll find eight more characters and games on that page, including a 'Simon'-like one that's harder to follow than you might think. Hope you enjoy !

Freebies ! That's about it.

Current Mood : Yawnnnn....

Kind of a 'blah' day today, too - Beloved Hubby had some morning work to finish up, but he was home before lunch. After that, we mostly sat around or napped. Only Dearest Son seems to not have a running sleep deficit, as Beloved crashed about six hours today, off and on. It's currently bedtime, and he's still asleep from his last nap ! Hope he sleeps all night long. I caught a delightful two hours about mid-afternoon, but I'm yawning hard now.

I'm not really surprised he's tired - we both woke up about 2am this morning, and neither of us could get back under. So we got up, split the remaining potato chips, and goofed around a while, chattering and reading. It was one of the few nice things about this whole business of me being sick. I got a little quiet, private time with my Beloved.

Seems it's just fine that we couldn't go Monster High hunting this weekend - many places still don't have any of the new stuff, and for what I want to see, it's TRU or nobody. With funds being snug, I'd rather wait a week and pay a couple bucks less at Target or Mal-Wart. While it's not like a few folks who now bemoan paying $70.+ for Lagoona's Hydration Station now that it's advertised for $40., it still bugs me to see the 'Dawn of the Dance' dolls at M-W for $20. when I know I paid $25. each at TRU. And, yes, I was happy to pay it, since I finally had them, no regrets, but no need to be stupid about it, either. I already know TRU is almost always the most expensive outlet, unless there's a sale.

Toured craft sites for the first time in weeks. Found a good one - for free images ! I like to have lots of good backgrounds for doll photos, but there's only so many scrapbook papers, calendar pages, small posters, and such you can keep and store, especially when they wrinkle so easily, and are soon damaged beyond reuse, from a single fold in the wrong place. Heck, I got pretty good at pulling up a large wallpaper on my computer monitor and taking a doll's photo next to it - no printouts, no storage issues. I also like to have pretty stuff for photos here, when it's been a month since I made anything. Problem is, most image sites, like iStock and Shutterstock charge by the image, or require subscriptions. Turns out, there's several sites that don't charge at all, and you can even donate your own images ! I may just do that, it'd be good for my withering ego. Check out http://morguefile.com/ when you have time - lots of good stuff, for free !

Also, if you sew for American Girl size dolls, you probably already know about Liberty Jane clothes - http://www.libertyjanepatterns.com - but if not, check 'em out. They have *tons* of free patterns available for download. Fashionable, fun stuff, for AG, BFC, Ink., and Karito Kids sizes. They've also just started Ellowyne pattern sizes - she's a 16-inch Tonner spinoff. Not sure how her size correlates to Tyler / Elphie's, but there's a free tank top pattern...worth a shot ! Knits are forgiving, and I'm sure Fiyero won't mind if it's a bit snug on her...

They also sell patterns, but they're only four bucks. Sure, Simplicity on sale is cheaper, but these look really nice. I got the Ellowyne one already, and it's highly detailed and photographed, much easier to follow than McCalls. Might be worth your time, and it's hard to beat 'free'.

Right now, though, it's hard for me to beat 'sleepy'. Hope your Saturday was what you needed ! 

Sorting Some Stuff Out...

Current Mood : Wistful

Here's a laugh for Friday for ya - I can get paid to blog here ! <snort>  It's true - if I sign up for ads, and everybody clicks on 'em, I get a few pennies. Not worth it, in my opinion. People hate clicking ads, and either never do so, or never do so and feel slightly guilty about it. I unsubbed from that one guy's feed - while I occasionally got neat wallpaper and semi-usable graphics, the constant 'Buy Me A Coffee !' button on the e-mail, the one that followed your scrolling on the website, and download site one got on my nerves. I'd rather have your visits instead of coffee - hey, I can make my own coffee, burnt or otherwise ! - so unless Google suddenly orders me to do so, no ads here. And if they do order 'em, don't click on 'em ! It won't bother me any.

Tripod sent me a nice e-mail late last night, referring to my change in service, asking me to take an exit survey and such. Whew. That answered that question - and I won't be billed in a few days, I'm all done. When the survey asked why I was leaving, it was a tossup between 'found better alternatives' and 'no money', so I went with the kinder option. And I also mentioned the 'no remote linking' thing, since it really bothered me.  Would have been a bit more honest, but it was a very short survey.

Taking pictures of all the dolls has me thinking of all of them, usually at once ! It's easy to plot and plan and daydream for the Monster High crew, they're right on my desk. But all the rest aren't in my line of vision, and lately, it's been a 'if it's not right in front of me, and I don't have to deal with it, fix it, figure out how to make x of of y minus q, or cook it, it doesn't exist' kind of month so far. Even Elphie and Fiyero, who are on my desk, aren't in my immediate sweep, which is why I had to go back for their photo.

I found m'self thinking of my sole American Girl clone, a made-for-Target Battat doll I call Debbie. I had a blonde named Jenny, too, both flea market / yard sale finds, but I decided to keep just one. Honestly, I would have donated them both, but I have a ton of dollar-sale patterns for AG dolls that I wanted to use, and evidently AG clothes sell. So I kept Debbie as a model more than anything else, not out of the same sort of 'want' that shimmers around pretty much all my other dolls.

So that sort of puts Debbie in an odd position. I don't really like her that much, and don't see m'self playing with her anytime soon. She's literally a clothing model. (grin) Two or three times now, I've bought MH dolls with the express purpose of making her stay on the sewing desk for perpetual fittings, but I keep falling for them and it never happens. Yet it is happening with Debbie. It seems so weird to me, to have a doll I don't really like - her sleep-eyes are perpetually at half-mast, even when she's fully upright, her hair is very coarse, and her skin tone is an odd, muddy color, and I've never been fond of the vinyl limbs / stuffed body type dolls. Only reason she's still here is because I thought I might one day wanna make clothes to sell for her size, and may need her. And, let's face it, I really enjoyed buying all those patterns.

I thought that, maybe if I gave her a makeover tomorrow, that'd help, but when I'm truly honest with m'self, I know it won't. So I pulled out the doll pattern basket and went through it, organizing as I went. I'd bought 11 patterns for AG-size dolls, and not one of them had ever been opened. (sigh) Spread them out, and decided to keep five. Two had shoes I wanted to keep, and the rest had either techniques I wanted to try, or I thought maybe, with some alterations, the clothes could fit Timey and Dottie. Can always donate the finished items, and patterns can be rescaled or drafted all-new once I learn the techniques. The six I culled mostly repeated the outfits I kept, or don't contain much I want to try now. Two of the six, I have no idea why I bought in the first place.

Before I donate Debbie, I'll see if K, the little girl across the street, wants her - but I'll ask her parents first. Always do. Not sure what to do with the patterns I pulled, though. Since everyone who sews knows about 99c sales, it's not like these are gonna sell on eBay or anywhere. Anyone here sew for AG dolls ?

It's an odd feeling. I'm glad to finally have it resolved, and I know I'm doing the right thing for me, but I am just a bit sad to see her go. Hopefully I won't repeat this in a year, the way I did with those 'My Friend Mandy' dolls. And now, all my patterns fit *inside* the basket ! Ah, well. Truth be told, I regret spending the cash on the patterns more than I'm sad about sending Debbie along. And ya don't get nowhere with regrets - only action can get new wheels turning.