Do-not-a-darn-thing Sunday !

Current Mood : Hungry again, darn that rye bread !

Current Image Notes : Here's the knit stand-thingie, with the just-folded tulle and netting, complete with oxygen hose. The grey circle is the lid to a recycled jar fulla still-on-cards vintage buttons I keep meaning to put on Etsy or something. Why is it that you can find craft totes with the most delightful fabric - but you can never find the fabric itself ? I fell in love with this 'cartoon-like cats with sewing notions' print, and have never seen it anywhere else. 

Truly took today off, and barely did a thing. Decided my next project is gonna be a no-sleeve version of the NG Creations dress I keep altering - when I'm on a roll, I just don't stop ! If the non-sleeves work, I'll sew it again in a knit fabric, since I have a special project in mind for it. Wish me luck !

Mapping out my latest round of tortures to that already beleaguered pattern is about all I did. Went to look at a cheap apartment with Beloved Hubby, but even cheap as it is, we can't do it right now - deposits and such. But we will soon ! So it's good to keep our eyes open. Bought a few groceries, including a splurge for me, a tasty loaf of rye bread I can barely keep my hands off of when I'm not hungry. Problem is, food that'd last us weeks is gone in days here - last month we spent a month of rent's worth of cash on food, and yes, all of it has been consumed. (sigh)

Oh, and I did one other thing - I finally got all the tulle folded and organized in that folding knitting tote/stand-thingie. It had been in various color wads in there, like shimmery meatloaves or river rocks. Tulle and netting are not the easiest 'fabrics' to fold and organize - and most of mine came lumped like that, from yard sales and such. But I got it done, and now it's arranged by color where I can see it. Since the stand does double-duty to hold my oxygen hose away from my chair-wheels, it's nice that it looks prettier now. Still have no idea what I'll do with tulle, but it's ready whenever I need it !

And people wonder why I watch those 'Hoarding' shows. I may not have as much as I used to, but I like to see it all - and I've already proven that I will expand to fit any space allotted to me !

I also got the other loose pattern pieces stored in a document protector inside a pocket folder. They'd been fluttering around the arena for a while, and I was tired of picking them up over and over. Same for a courtesy survey - got tired of moving it out of the way, so I did it and it's awaiting mail pick-up tomorrow. And since I had no idea where to stash some other bits lurking around, I labelled various plastic drawers and boxes with Sharpie on masking tape I had sitting around. Now I know which box is Stationery, and which is Patterns - go, me !

Sewing up yesterday's dress used the last of my black thread, so I have an ongoing campaign to go to Hancock Fabrics next weekend. I know I haven't used much of my fabric stash since the move, but sometimes, ya just like to go to where there's tons of the stuff, and sort of mentally roll around in it. You know what I'm saying. Hancock Fabrics gets to be a temple of sorts, and I haven't been to one since before Halloween '11 ! Long past time for me to get some textile appreciation in, and get inspired all over again.

I'll tell you two secrets, then I gotta go - one, the two totes of fabric I 'ditched' when we moved ? They're in Starlight's trunk ! They got packed instead of put out at the yard sale. So really, all I need is thread from Hancock's...but still. Two, I'm kind of hoping my next two or three efforts go well, but I don't like the finished items. That way, I can dress a couple spare Monster High dolls in 'em and get 'em traded or whatevs. Everything I've made lately I've liked, and the semi-abandoned, damaged DracuLaura needed that 'hospital gown' dress. So I keep using the same pattern, altered a bit, in hopes that I get tired of having ten to fifteen of the 'same' dress, and decide to ditch a few.

And ya'll wonder why I never sell anything I make. Between 'I wanna keep it !' and 'Man on fire, I do NOT want anyone to see how bad I fudged the back closure on this one !', it's a wonder I even still want to sell/trade the dolls !

Tomorrow : A third secret ! 

Organization...or Enjoying Your Hoard

Current Mood : Better...at least it's not 'better getta bucket' ! 

Still in a rather weird place, health-wise. I'm not really sick, but I'm not anywhere near the top of my game either. So I'm riding it out. Watched a buncha movies, ate a lot of rice, read all but one library book, and that one'll be done tomorrow night at the latest, if I feel the same way then.

Since I wasn't moving around much, I figured I may as well do some sorting. I've been meaning to do something about the underbed box o' Monster High delights for a while, no time like the present. And I needed a distraction. The underbed box was stuffed full - too full ! - of darn near everything. DracuLaura's coffin bed, Lagoona's Hydration Station, a box of props, a Sailor Moon softside lunchbag of shoes, and *all* the clothes. And we all know that anytime anything is packed that tight, ya can't find anything. Clearly, something needed to be done.

I played with several ideas, while I played with the clothes and props, and got the ComicCon MH totebag down, sorted through all the random bits it contained. Hmm...How was I gonna do this...? In the end, I decided to keep the bed and hydration station, along with the box of props. all the stands, and all the paper bits (diaries, leaflets, booklets, etc.) in the underbed box. All the clothes and the lunchbag of shoes went into the MH totebag, and lemme tell ya, it's getting close to full already ! Still to come : sewing a Velcro (tm) closure on it, soon.

I stored the damaged DLaura in the underbed box, too, after slipping her into the 'hospital gown' dress. It was bad enough I was semi-abandoning her, I didn't need to leave her naked, too. The green of it made me think of one of the first things I ever made for the ghouls, a floral blouse and denim skirt edged in green thread to match. The hem on that blouse was so horrible, I'd covered it with green ribbon, which amazingly looks like a design choice instead of a cover-up. Since Abbey still needed something new to wear, I found that and put it on her, with some matching green sandals. It wasn't until later that I realized that she was wearing strappy sandals with what looked like a cold-weather outfit, but I adapted the story to mention they were her first experience with such a shoe type, and she didn't quite see the fashion faux pas, so darn it, she was gonna wear what she really, really liked ! I can rationalize anything.

So, aside from the day - possibly this weekend - when I dump everything out of the tote bag to sew a closure, everything's put away for now. And I gotta confess this : even when I had all of Barbie's clothes arranged in the cubby set Beloved Hubby made me, I still really loved to dump it all on the floor and sort through the wealth of clothes until something - or some doll ! - spoke to me. So I think the totebag is gonna work out just fine. Plus, with the way it was, I wasn't using any of it at all, so the totebag is an improvement. 

Your 2011 Fearleading Squad !

Current Mood : Eager

Had a wild hair today, since I felt a little better, to get all my 'moving on' Monster High dolls together, and reposition and redress most of the 'staying' ones. It's kinda sad that I'm keeping 20 - and that still leaves a bunch to relocate ! My keepers 20 includes fitting models DLaura and Ghoulia, and has open spots for whenever I find Abbey Bominable, Gil, or a Create A Monster. That's a good number of dolls for me, 20 or so, lots of variety without being a tidal wave. When I have too many dolls, it's easier for me to ignore them and buy more than it is for me to dress and play with them. Ask the Barbies.

So far, though, at least with the MH line, it's been too easy for me to buy dolls for their coveted shoes, clothes, or hands. Need to knock that off, and create more, buy less. I'm gonna redress the ones seeking new homes, offer them to the LiveJournal group as trades first, then commit the rest to eBay. I want at least one more locker, and some props...and the ghouls are always hungry for shoes !

My 'keep' criteria was fun to work with. I wanted all my original dolls, of course, so there were six girls and four guys, right there. And the duplicate character girls had to be significantly different to warrant keeping - my three Frankie Steins each have unique hairstyles I like, like my two Cleos. It's funny that I also kept three of the one I'm least interested in, Clawdeen, because I simply can't resist those hands !

So, the final tally by character is, one each of the four guys (Deuce, Jackson, Holt, Clawd), three Frankie, Clawdeen, and Ghoulias, and two Lagoona, Cleo, and DracuLaura dolls. Heavens help me if Mattel comes out with Headmistress and Slow Moe dolls - I want those so much, I'll be back up near 30 in no time !

Anyway, I soon got everyone placed, and decided to put my original dolls in the new Fearleader outfits. And when it got down to it, I just couldn't rip out DracuLaura's sleeves, they somehow just looked 'right' on her. So I decided to give each of the other ghouls something unique to her. Clawdeen got the 'glove' hands from the Dawn of the Dance version and the headband and earrings from her soccer uniform, Cleo kept some of her wrappings and got gold bracelets, Frankie got the 'stitches' uniform. I was not about to wreck the new one picking the decal off again !

My pair of clothes fitting dolls have been placed in a never-filled cubby in the Sewing / Computing Arena, and they seem to be mostly happy. I'm sure Ghoulia's mood will improve when I pick up some plastic glue and fix her arm. It's funny that I had this empty space in my loaded-up desk for this long, it's as if it was waiting for them.

Oh, I almost forgot to tell ya'll about Kmart.com. After exhausting all possible places that might sell an Abbey at less than gouger's prices, I suddenly remembered, I hadn't checked the K-Mart website. And - gasp ! - they actually showed 'Add To Cart' by the Abbey doll description ! I couldn't believe it, for just $17. ! I eagerly headed to check out when...cue the 'Fail' noise...the site chose then to tell me they were out of stock, and to check my local store. Um, there's not a KMart for 60 miles here, and you coulda told me you didn't have any before the 'enter your payment' screen. Most of the other MH dolls were out of stock, too, and they handled that by not having an 'Add To Cart' button. Hummph. K-Mart can go swing, as far as I'm concerned.

Perhaps it was that which led me back to eBay, where I found Ghoulia's Comic Club outfit for just a couple bucks over retail, and a Buy It Now. So I hit it, and now I can scratch that off the list. Hopefully Gil and Abbey won't be too far behind !

Want, WANT, WAAAANNTTT !

Current Mood : Food-logy

As seen on eBay - at ridiculous prices - it's Gillington 'Gil' Weber ! Current bid is $51. plus shipping with a day to go if you can believe it. I can't wait to get my claws on this doll ! Just not enough to pay that much, although I've wanted one since he first swam into the webisodes. According to not-as-bad-as-eBay Angelic Dreamz.com, they'll get their first shipment from Mattel tomorrow ! Here's hoping they'll hit store shelves soon afterward. I missed the chance to pay $28. for a $12. to $15. doll with AD, so they've waitlisted other buyers, but expected to be back in stock around mid-November. I think I'll continue to wait for retail availability.

Heck, we still don't have the Ghoulia outfit I want on shelves yet. Not that I've had much of a chance to look, but I always do ! Scouting around on eBay for that, all the MH 'Club' fashion sellers are either in California or on the east coast. I'll find it eventually... I just hate feeling like a schmuck for paying $20. when I should have waited for it to be everywhere for $12., ya know ?

Anyway...while the jury is still out about Gil's 'look', I find that I like him. The earlier brief prototype photo that surfaced showed him with some fierce eyebrows that seem to be softened here. Yeah, with his fin, he sort of looks like Deuce, but that's part of the overall aesthetic of MH, so I'm glad he fits in without being drastically different. After all, no matter how big or shaped his head is, it still has to fit the same 'MH Male' body ! Although he's had some upgrades from Deuce, the Hyde boys, and Clawde - jointed wrists and some chest 'scales' instead of hair ! So incredibly awesome. Well. Guess now I have to start the campaign to get a Slow-Moe doll on shelves...

Otherwise, things are going well - it's the first day we haven't had to have a yard sale or move anything. It's finally done ! Well, it's not all off the back porch yet, but everything's out of our old place and we turned the keys in. Since Beloved Hubby was off work early, we went out for lunch with just us three, and Dearest Son thoroughly fell in love with Golden Corral's lunch buffet. They had a chocolate fountain and everything ! Too bad I ate so much pot roast, rice, and stuffing that I had no room for more than a single dipped strawberry for dessert.

We also got some running-around done. Replaced a tire on the Diesel, faxed some paperwork due tomorrow, dropped off some other papers, picked up milk and OJ, that sort of stuff. I wanted to add a bit of shopping, but I started to fall asleep after such a heavy lunch, and Beloved was tired from all his work and efforts, too, so we just headed home for a pre-dinner nap. My sewing arena is now all set up, it's now the sewing / computer arena, I'll have to get a photo of it for ya. It's an amazing use of limited space, Beloved did a fantastic job of getting it all together.

I think it's amazing how everything has come together. And I'm so glad you're here ! 

New dolls coming !

Operetta, left

Mattel finally released images of 'Operetta', a character long-mentioned in the diaries but never seen or really described before, on Facebook today. There she is. Her bio there reads : "Caught sight of my ghoul, Operetta, haunting the halls lately ? She's kind of hard to miss with her rockabilly style and hotrod red hair. Her dad is the Phantom of the Opera, so you know she's inherited some mad musical chops. Just be careful if you hear her sing live. There's something about her voice that really drives monsters crazy ! At sixteen, she's already a bit of a perfectionist and she absolutely hates being told what to do. Oh, and keep an eye out for Memphis "Daddy O" Longlegs (he's her pet spider). He's unlike anything you've ever seen in this unlife." No further word on the doll or the date of her release yet, but hey, at least we got an image finally ! Not sure if I like her yet or not, she seems to be taking some of Ghoulia's vibe !

Not much going on at Chez Insanity, though - finished the last of the Whitman's Sample Barbie Alterations box when I put a fastener on the back of a long-finished pair of Deuce Gorgon shorts I forgot about. Before that, I tried on a pair of animal print and silver micro-dot doll leggings on Clawdeen, and they both fit and look good as ankle-length leggings with just a tweak in the waist. Something I thought I'd never find time to do is all done. Still, it's kind of sad to see a Whitman's box emptied twice !

This week, I plan on going through all the fabric I own. When I first began sewing,  I made the classic mistake of buying tons of fabric without any planned use for most of it. Yeah, I'd buy this fat quarter on sale thinking, 'Ooojh, awesome dress for Ghoulia !', but also end up with huge grab bags and endless yardages from yard sales that were soo cheap, I bought 'em without thinking. Got rid of a ton about two years ago, looks like I need to do the same again.

I mean, heck, now I know. Sewing for me is not something I do that often, so I don't need six different heathery shades of pink fabric that I got even for free from Aunt S. I make doll clothes, mostly for myself. So why don't I just keep that which I like the best, to inspire me, and find new homes - and maybe some cash - for the rest ? Believe this or not, I'm gonna try to get it down to the dollhouse (I still love that thing ! ) and two tight-packed milk crates. Thinking of coming up with a standard size of poster-board, cutting a bunch the same size, folding each piece of choice fabric around them, and standing 'em up in the crate 'til it's full. Should make it easier to see what I have and get the most in those crates !

Not looking forward to going through it all, though... 

Sofa-rest isn't *too* bad...

Current Mood : Increasingly hopeful...

If there's one thing that really ranks about being on sofa-rest with endless Netflix, it's that sitting there reminds me of all the stuff I could be doing. I stock up in the morning with books, old magazines, and projects, but invariably get bored anyway. Dearest Son was so sweet - I found the old 'beige brick' first-generation Game Boy ($1. yard sale find about three years ago) and figured I'd get some batteries for it, since playing Tetris is still better than just sittin'. Went to get said batteries (I'd stored it empty, since it's rarely used) and we were out. Oh, well. I moved it to get to a book, and noticed it was heavy. Dearest had installed the AAs he'd found for me ! Isn't he sweet ?

He and Oliver-kitten are adjusting. It helps when days like today are so glorious, the air conditioning is off and the doors are open all day long. There was so much activity outside that I haven't seen all summer - basketball games and bikes in the street, dog walks that went on for blocks, random fireworks, and yardwork before cookouts - it was a great day for it all ! Oliver's mostly outdoors these days, and Dearest is OK with it since he comes home to eat, just like DC-kitty. I'm still kind of stand-offish around Oliver, though.

Beloved Hubby is amazing. When our vows mentioned 'sickness and health', I know he wasn't anticipating this ! But he takes care of me without so much as a sigh. As a result, I'm so careful about the two new antibiotic meds, I'm keeping a log of when each get taken - if I take them too close together, I end up hovering the bathroom sink, contemplating my previous meal. And my left leg looks almost normal already ! Of course, it's not the horribly affected one, but any improvement is a celebration in my book !

One thing I can do is some hand-sewing. I hate hand-sewing, because I just plain rank at it. But it's like any skill, do it enough and you get better, and eventually you get good. So I may as well use my down time and get stuff done. Starting with some fun stuff.  The LiveJournal reporters noted that there's now a Monster High trunk (for doll clothes and such) and a showcase, with six backdrops to display up to three dolls with. Ya'll may remember I had enough doll clothes and props to merit a special box for them back in October last year, but I had to go for what was out there, and got a colorful skull storage box (that's so full, I've already had to relocate the stands and brushes). I'd like to have a look at the licensed stuff, but when I can get a much bigger box for $7., and the pretty themed one is $15., well...I can make my cash go pretty far when I'm not payin' for trademarks !

Anyway...I got my big ole skull box and went through it once more. You know how, when something's new, you hold on to everything, 'cause you don't have much yet ? Yeah, I had several things I'd made last year that were just plain awful, but I kept 'em 'cause I didn't have anything else. Well, the box is overflowing again, time to thin it out already ! Even salvaged some fabric and a couple strips of soft Velcro (tm), which sounds unbearably cheap, but was more to fill up time than save money.

I also took the red 'lighting bolt' decoration off the silver vest that came with Frankie's outfit in the 'Day at the Maul' set. Turns out, it works as a doll's ring, it's just a bit loose. So I also redid the 'jewelry/belt/hair accessory' box, and that's easier to access. Yaaay !

I have a whole Whitman's Sampler box of Barbie clothes I've put aside for eventual adaptation to MH-size, but some were floating around loose. Relegated three Bratz clothes pieces to donations - I don't know why I was deluding myself that those fit. Found a pink faux-wrap blouse and decided to improve the fit on it by moving the back Velcro, and got to work. Not sure if it's Barbie or Olsen Twins wear, but either way, in about 45 minutes, it fit Ghoulia much better ! Paired with the lavender LIV glasses kindly provided by Smidge-chan and the ruffled pink skirt from the 'Maul' clothes package, it looks pretty good on 'Dead Tired' Ghoulia !

So expect to see more hand-sewn repairs and tailoring ! As usual, the stitching on Ghoulia's blouse is awful, but I've only just started - I have at least a week on ye olde sofa to go !

Sliding into sleepytown...

Current Mood : Drained & sleepy

Glad I decided to let things slide today - 'cause we didn't find any new Monster High merch, and if I'd been all keyed up to seek and buy, I would have been disappointed. Heck, I didn't even find anything at the thrift store, but we found two pair of work pants for Beloved Hubby and shorts and a shirt for Dearest Son. I took things slow and easy, and leaned on a shopping cart when necessary, which helped. For a shopping trip, we really didn't buy much. Some fruit for me, a few snacks, not much. Even Hobby Lobby failed to turn up much interesting. Wish I could fit into a couple of those steampunk costumes Simplicity's got patterns out for Halloween this year, though ! 

Still, by the time we hit Target, I was nearly a liquid. So I had to opt for the motorized carts and ignore the stares. I still hate those things, but it was that or go home, so in the end, I did what I wanted, and I did it my way. No whining ! I'm grateful they were there, so that I could at least tour a bit. 

Of course, I could whine about their MH selection. About all they had were 10+ original Frankie Steins, seven or eight original 'Dawn of the Dance' Cleos, five or six Cleo & Deuce original sets, and a scattering of Gloom Beach singles. Only new item was the $53. GB group, which I simply can't justify. Especially since my Ghoulia already has a swimsuit (albeit a Bratz one, it fits her well). Beloved offered me anything I wanted, but there simply wasn't anything. Sometimes it's best to just fold yer money up and put it back in yer wallet. 

But on the way out of the store, you sometimes find something you weren't looking for. Yup, today's image. I snagged a Storage Ottoman, 15 inches square, in that exact color, for $15. Even Beloved likes it. I can keep doll projects in progress - even dolls on stands, intact ! - in there, and it's much more stable for various sofa-side items than the little table we're using now. That poor little stand. It gets knocked over at least three times a week. But now, I can think of another use for the stand - more later - and get much more use out of the Ottoman, long as I don't sit on it ! The lid makes a neat lap desk in a pinch. While the green microfiber isn't a color match for our beleaguered sofa, it's a texture one, so it looks like it belongs. Beloved's talking about going back for the blue one, since they didn't have a lot in color choice, but they're definitely worth the cash !

Once home, we prowled on leftovers and I pretty much passed out. The peppermint patty Beloved got for me had melted in my pocket, but after an hour in the fridge, it was very tasty ! My taste is still off, which is so annoying. Foods still smell right, and so very delicious, but when I bite in...(sigh) Hate that I forgot to pick up some vitamins, maybe the problem is that (duh !) I'm not eating right these days...

Tomorrow - we look at fun and fashionable lab coats for 2012 ! See you there !

Will we ever have enough ?

Current Mood : Satisfied

Current Image Notes : Where all organization begins at Chez Insanity, a Dollar Tree plastic shoe box, with lid. 

Decided to redo the Monster High storage box before deboxing 'locker' Lagoona, which, in hindsight, is kinda stupid. Gonna hafta shuffle it all again when her photo shoots are over, but hey. At least I did something. 

As you can imagine, there's boxes within boxes when I organize stuff. Within the rainbow of skulls box I bought just after Halloween, there's a Sailor Moon lunch bag (MH shoes) and a small accessory case (jewelry, belts, and purses). There is another box, loaded with issue props, pets, leaflets, brushes and stands, but I had to reorganize it today. The new load of goodies pushed the brochures, brushes, and stands right outta there. Luckily, I had a recently emptied plastic 'shoe box' from Dollar Tree nearby, lid and all. So I dumped all the papers, stands, and brushes in there, and it actually looks good over by the display of original doll boxes, so that's where it is. Everything else remains where it was - props are still in the box, pets still congregate at the top of DracuLaura's coffin-bed. I like it best when I can get to what I want easily. All the clothes, whether received as excellent gifts, made by my simple hands, or purchased from Mattel, are tucked in the box, around the smaller boxes. It's getting full, believe it or not. Soon, it'll just have to hold clothes ! Imagine how bad it'd be if I hadn't taken off sewing for these past couple months.  

Beloved asked if we could maybe do some TRU shopping next weekend - he'd be less tired, and we'd be in a better financial place, too. That's fine with me, I haven't deboxed Lagoona yet, and the only doll I still want is the 'hang loose' hand Lagoona, who's still pretty rare. And when there's a feeling of  'laissez faire' combined with 'flat out exhaustion' perfuming our hallways, I got no problem waiting a little. Besides, I have enough in PayPal to locate and eBay buy a fourth locker, which should pretty much fill my 'excitement' cup for a week or two. 

100th Entry ! Sorry it took all month...

Current Mood : Nostalgic, a little. 

You know I over-did it when I'm back to 'work on one day, photos the next', because I can't do both without keeling over. It reminds me of just after Dearest Son was born. Suddenly the 'super easy' breadmaker was a breathless, long, taxing ordeal, and I did not like that at all ! But when holding your breath to take a photo - in hopes of keeping the camera still - leaves you gasping for two minutes between shots, you're kind of in deep. 

Somewhere in the middle of everything, while staring mutely at darn near every doll I own - I was stuck in the living room for a while, and I'd placed a TV tray with most of the new Monster High dolls on it in front of my big doll bookcase, for blog photography - I came to a small conclusion. And it's another 'back when', so strap in or bag it 'til I update tomorrow's entry, I wouldn't blame ya for abandoning ship, it gets boring. Anyway...

While I never really liked Spectra, for reasons that go beyond that stupid mess with the fan website, and I haven't seen Abbey Bominable to this day, I've decided against getting either. It's silly, but way back when (I tried to warn you !), I had six 'Barbie' dolls. Princess Leia, a 1991-with-bangs Belle, Sailor Jupiter, Shinobu, a green-eyed Whitney, and a generic blonde with cut-short hair I sort of pitied. All of them fit inside a stuffed toy Bennie cab (from Who Framed Roger Rabbit ?, by Applause) I'd picked up at a yard sale for a dollar. I could change the display, it was fun and cute, and if I wanted new clothes for everyone - this is a decade before I sewed - it'd cost me less than $10. at either Dollar Tree or TRU. Provided I stuck to the less expensive offerings, of course ! All their clothes fit in a small jewelry box, with the top shelf serving well as shoe and jewelry storage. 

'New' dolls would come and go, and it wasn't long before more Disney dolls - bought for pennies - and Barbies I could identify began to stay. This new doll on Mal-Wart's shelves was *gorgeous*...but so was this old one at the bottom of a gnarly basket at the Capital City Flea Market, who just needed some attention and a bath. I was still only up to ten or so when Dearest was born, but that doesn't tell the whole story. I had at least twice that in still-sealed boxes, holdovers from the Big Barbie Boom when everyone was told to invest in collectables, plus the plain and simple fact that I'd worked for TRU and Disney Store by then. Stupidly, I let strangers tell me how to spend money I didn't really have, so I never even had the fun of opening and playing with the dolls. I didn't like them, and right now, have no idea where they even are. I *gave* quite a few away, which is kinda counter-productive to the original idea, even I gotta admit...

Still, once Dearest was here, and Life seemed happy and settled (ha ! Never trust that 'settled' feeling !), I felt the need to amass huge quantities of dolls. Not every doll that took my fancy - and there were plenty of non-Barbie dolls I'd love to have back then as now ! - but I thought I was doin' m'self and the family a favor by limiting it to sixth-scale dolls and accessories. Before long, and with the encouragement of yard sales, online doll groups, and my own inner hungers, I'd amassed over 200 - all Barbie-size, and with enough clothes to go around twice...but I did have this elaborate explanation about why there were only 37 wedding gowns that was kinda ridiculous. 

Before long, I couldn't keep up with which doll had which name, or was in what family, so I decided to start a website, to help me keep up with my little soap opera -that I was rapidly running out of time to enjoy. Eventually things came to a head when I had time to a) keep the doll town drama going, b) keep the website updated, c) sew, or d) pack up all that stuff, since we were moving to a much smaller place, with no cellar to play in. 

One massive yard sale later, we were back down to 50 dolls and a relieved Beloved Hubby, but I still had most of the props and clothes. And it wasn't gonna be long before an incredible doll named Elphie came along...arrrgh.

Well, that reins me in a bit, which is fortunate. Simply stated, I already have too many dolls for my mind and imagination to support. Elphie and Fiyero barely get dusted these days, and I still want to sew for Timey Tell and the Little Disney Princesses. As the Monster High class stands, there's six girls and four (or three, depending on how you count Jackson and Holt) guys - thank Everything there's only one standard Male and Female body to sew for ! Yeah, adding in just Abbey wouldn't be taxing at all, but as it is, I have the right amount to sew and plot for. Maybe when my health goes back (prayhopeyearn), I'll consider this new girl, since I already think she's awesome. But now, I just don't have the mindspace. 

I finally realized that, especially now, I have some limits. That's not a bad thing, really. That means I have a challenge any time I want one - to get past those limits ! - or a factor I can be more appreciative of, when I find a huge, uber-cheap stash. Knowing your limits can keep a doll hoarder like me from making even more money and mind-space mistakes ! 

With all that said, don't be surprised if I suddenly go on a doll-thinning spree shortly after the seasons change. For one, that happens nearly every year, and secondly, I'm much overdue. If it doesn't engage me, then it's just taking up mental room, and that's even more limited than Chez Insanity's living room !

There's never an escape from...storage problems ! And sometimes sharks.

Current Mood : Relaxed.

Current Image Notes : With apologies to Richard Dreyfuss, Stephen Spielberg, and everyone else who loves Jaws. 

In  a small effort to tidy things up, but not move around a lot - still wheezing - my housework tends to be highly contained these days. For this stay-at-home weekend, I decided to hack through the ole in-box, which has pretty much gone unchecked since a few days before my birthday. Ah, if e-mail Spam was chocolate, the world would be happier.

I found that I'd forgotten I'm a member of Embroidery Library's 'Birthday Club', and got my usual two offers - $10. off any embroidery designs, or half off any sets, my choice. So I had a merry hour choosing four designs from the Wishlist I also forgot I had, and snagged five freebies at the same time - nine designs for free ! Now if I can just get off my stuck-in-neutral butt and get in there and sew / embroider something...

While trying to sleep last night - yes, insomnia's back, but at least the nightmares are staying away - I also tidied up bedside, gathering all the loose doll stuff into an old hot-pink nylon Sailor Moon soft-side lunch tote that was also cluttering up the space. That poor lunch tote. It didn't wash up very well, so paint is flaked off in long strips, and the eye-searing hot pink just isn't 'me' anymore. But I'm gonna use it for Monster High doll shoe storage, since the smaller bags I'm using are overflowing. It'll also keep the Sailor Moon bag in use, and let me know whether or not to look for a similar MH-themed kit during the back-to-school sales. Or just save the six bucks and make one. There's several out this year, but I haven't really seen a design or print that I like yet.

I also had to squeeze in about six more sets of stands, a handful of props, a few diaries, and more 'how to use your new toy' leaflets in the plastic shoebox I use for them. Glad I don't want much more, that box is packed ! Found the Bratz 'sofa' in the bottom, and pulled it out... you'll be seeing it soon. It looks great with Ghoulia's pajamas !

Turns out, the Sailor Moon bag not only fits great in the box, but holds everybody's shoes, even the guys' skateboards, eliminating two smaller makeup-bag size containers. That box is getting pretty full, though. Once I start sewing again, it won't be long before the 'stands and stuff' box either has to come out, or I'll need a bigger MH container.