So, I thought it was time I got to my first experiences with needle felting. I admit, I am kind of bummed with how things turned out, but I know that eventually my work will get to a level I like. While I do like what I’ve created, I didn’t like that they didn’t turn out how the picture on the kits said they should. I have always had a problem following patterns to create something the way someone else says it should look. So I think from now on my felting adventures will be more from my creative eye and less from somebody else’s. I may still get a kit every now and again, but I want to try seeing what I can come up with on my own. Once again, I blame Maqaroon for giving me the needle felting bug. I really love her channel and videos. She inspires me in my future goals in where I’d like to take my hobbies.
So after getting bit with the needle felting bug I jumped onto Amazon and found some kits for relatively cheap to play with. The first kit I picked out was Dimensions Needlecraft Feltworks Complete Beginner Kit. This kit has everything to get you started needle crafting. Well, almost everything. I say this because, when I opened the kit to make it, I tried using the needle that they include in the kit and found it almost impossible to use. I stabbed at the wool lightly, hard, and somewhere in between but it wouldn’t felt together. I then took a needle from a needle felting supply kit I bought from a Chinese seller on Amazon, and it worked instantly. So if you do buy a kit, you may want to have some other trustworthy needles to actually put it together with or risk sitting there a long time stabbing at the wool hoping it will felt, see the needles below I got from the kit. They are very small and don’t have a lot of “barbs” on the end.
Once I got the right needle, the felting part went relatively smooth. I read the directions, put on my needle felting thimbles, and started. After a few minutes of stabbing, I got into the flow of things. However, being new at needle felting, I wasn’t sure how much pressure to put on the needle and how to angle it, even after reading the instructions, still found myself having to stab at weird angles to get the look I was going for. So I wasn’t too shocked when about a forth of the way through I felt a snap, heard a metallic click, and noticed my needle was no longer pointy. I looked at my project and noticed the blunt end of the needle poking out from the wool. I carefully pulled it out, replaced the needle, and took it much gentler with the stabbing. So from what I understand, when you needle felt, go directly up and down so you go strictly in and out. This means no stabbing from funky angles, at least not when you are a beginner. And don’t be to aggressive with your needles or they will snap. You can see my blunted needle and the underside of my work below. That pointy bit on the right part of the picture is the other half of my needle.
Once I thought I was done, I simply pulled the project up from the mat. Do this carefully and slow. I don’t know why the whole process of pulling the wool out from the foam mat gave me shivers. To me it was the equivalent of finding a plant growing from the rug, it was just unnatural to me. LOL! So I tried to pull up as quickly and as slowly as I could go. LOL! I took a quick video of me pulling up to show you what I mean.
As you can see, I like to watch, or rather listen, to things while I craft. That day I was catching up some on the Shaytards. I am still behind on videos with them. I need to have another crafty day and soon. Also, you could see that after I pulled the project up there were a lot of gaps I didn’t see while working on it. All I did was put it back on the mat and work on it some more. What you didn’t get to see was when I started working on the center of the flower I started putting the black in the wrong place, placed it where the white dots are instead of the surrounding area, and had to pull them out, pull the fibers free as best as I could, and then put them where they were suppose to go. Needle felting can be very forgiving on your mistakes.
So, what do you do with your appliqué after you are done? Well you can either cut close around it and attach it things like clothing or bags, you can frame it, or you can get another felt item like a little purse or bag and needle felt it onto that. The possibilities are endless, just use your crafty imagination. What am I going to do with mine? I think I may frame it to remind me of my first attempt at needle felting.
So what do I think about needle felting? I like it. I want to try it some more, try different felting fibers, try different needles, try different mats, and just see what I prefer to create with. As with any new craft I start, I went the cheap route in case I didn’t like the craft. I got a cheap supplies set that ended up working way better than the stuff that came with the kits; take a look at the first picture above, I got 5 kits to make, and I got some thimbles/ finger guards to get me started; take a look at the second picture above. Can I just say I LOVE the thimbles I bought. They are silicone and have saved my fingers many times already. I got some leather ones in the cheap supply set I bought, but they are a tight fit for me and I’d rather be comfortable, and part of me believes they won’t protect me as well as the silicone ones will. However I will give them a try again, after I get better at needle felting, and will report back to you on how well they are. Also, the mat that I got in the cheap set, although it worked better than the mats I got in some of the sets I got, it is still super cheap and after a few uses it becomes useless. So I want to invest in a better mat that will last me longer than the “packaging foam” mat I got in the kit. Seriously, if you are in a bind for a mat, the one I have is just like the foam you’d find in boxes that hold electronics. So if you have some laying around, BAM!, there you go, instant mat.
And that’s about it for my first try at needle felting. I enjoyed the motion of felting and no sooner I finished this I decided to jump into my next project right away, a felted bunny. Now that was a whole new adventure. Felting flat and felting round, though very similar, takes forming a new tactic on doing. You’ll see that blog post really soon. :-) And on that note, I will talk to you lovelies later. Until next time. Take care. Bye for now. :-)
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| Picture By Just Claire |
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| Our World Our Art |
So if you’ve been busy crafting for or playing with your dolls, you may have missed out on the crafty sensation called My Froggy Stuff. I first learned about My Froggy Stuff through YouTube. The channel is run by a mom who loves to create awesome doll crafts for her children. My Froggy Stuff is centered more around doll crafts and the doll story she does with her children called “The Darbie Show”. She also has a blog you can follow that has additional tutorials. If you have Facebook or Twitter, she’s got you covered there too. But perhaps you don’t have a crafty bone in your body, which really wouldn’t matter because she has simple steps in all her tutorials that she walks you through the whole way, but just in case you don’t do the craft thing she has you covered also. She will on occasion pop up some of her creations in her Etsy shop, no crafting needed. 
I often read how people wish they had known of My Froggy Stuff when they were a kid, and I’m one of those people as well. I’m often wondering how she came up with her creations by just looking at some beads, and coffee stirrer, and come fabric. For those of you “old” enough to get this, she’s like the MacGyver of doll crafts. LOL! For those of you who aren’t old enough to know what I am talking about, let me Google that for you. 
My Froggy Stuff is just evidence of how the internet can be used to share thoughts and ideas and helping educate people on things they may not have known about. I’ve gained so much knowledge from her videos about things I can try for my own photostories and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next. If you haven’t checked out My Froggy Stuff yet, you have been missing out. Go now and enjoy it, you can thank me later.
In other news, I am finally catching up on things so I can finally get back to blogging more. Checking emails today so you should hear from me this weekend if you sent me one. Also I need to finally go through my comments. I checked on one the other day and it was spam and now I am curious how much lovely spam I have. Yay for spammy spam! Woot! Oh and now my computer is acting normal. Odd right? It still gets warmish where it didn’t before and vibrates too, but not as bad as the other day. I don’t know what they did, I still feel they put it back together wrong, but its not dying on me so I will just go with the flow for now. And on that note I’m off. Talk to you lovely folks soon. Be good until then. Bye for now.
Suddenly feeling the urge to make colors pencils and notebooks for her dolls thanks to My Froggy Stuff,
Michelle
So I think I may have found a solution to my matte spray glossiness. Still in the middle of my face-up, but once I am done I will see how my idea works and if it does work I’ll let you in on my secret. It would be nice if I did solve this issue. Fingers crossed tight. 
Loves ya,
Mouse
So I am working on a face-up of a doll started back in during Dizzy’s Place days. It’s a My Scene Chelsea and well, it’s going ok-ish except for one problem, the matte spray I am using is more satin than matte. 
The spray I am using is the Krylon Matte Finish spray. It dries quickly, outside you don’t smell the odor when you spray, and it has it’s own built in way of keeping the nozzle clean. You can start working on it again after about 10 minutes of drying and depending on if you followed the directions there is minimal to zero tackiness. It’s awesome except for the fact that it makes it look like the doll is sweating like crazy.
Also I am working on rerooting a Liv doll wig. I cut out the hair, which had to be the easiest hair to remove. Since it’s done with the loop rooting method, all you have to do is loosen up and pull out a root or two from the part or thatch and then cut the hair short as possible the you can pull out each row easily from the inside of the wig to remove the little bits. I flipped the cap inside out and just scratched the little hairs off with my nail. Was done in no time. So now I have a cap ready to go. I also decided to prep my hair by cutting it into the length I wanted. I’ve had this pink Volks hair I won off of Ebay for years now and decided it was time to use it. It was so hard to make that first cut but once I did the rest went smoothly and now I have 4 bunches of hair ready to be rooted. Can’t wait to get started on that tomorrow too. It feels nice to be crafting with dolls again. I missed it. I’ll have pictures tomorrow for you to see of my current status. Until then be good. 
Loves ya,
Mouse
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Hey guys, so while surfing the web in the wee hours of the morning, I decided to look at the Monster High community on Livejournal and one of the recent post in the community was from a member sharing how she customizes her dolls. She used to customize Pullips and used this technique and when she switched to MH dolls she just decided to use the same technique and it worked. I honestly can’t wait to try it out.
Hey guys! I know, blogging has still been sparse as of late, but I am still taking care of my health. Goodness I can’t remember how much I have updated you guys here since I haven’t been focusing on blogging as of late. I believe I told you that I have an underactive thyroid right? Well since starting the pills, knock on wood, I’m already feeling a tiny bit better. I was feeling exhausted and ready to go to bed ALL day long. Now I don’t feel that so much. Yesterday I got on my exercise bike to try doing one mile, but when I looked up after reading for a while I saw I was almost at 5 miles so I did 5 miles and called it day. Going to shoot for a mile to five miles each day and see how I feel. Since going off the Prilosec I THINK I am noticing more stomach upset. I THINK. I’m not really sure if there is actually a difference. But besides a little panic here and there I’m doing fine with it. The windedness is easing up some. I still think it is greatly attached to my stomach issues, but probably also my thyroid issue as well. Hoping that will clear up soon too. The only down side is trying to remember to take all my pills and when to take them.
So I’ve been trying to think of a way to kick start my year, and it hit me that I should try to strive to do monthly projects. Just something to help get the creative juices flowing. So I’ve come up with several projects I’d like to attempt. I know they won’t all be done this month, but I have them ready to go for future months. Here are some of the projects I want to work on.
Hey guys, I don’t really have much of a blog for you today. I’ve been busy sleeping, making horrible smelling gluten-free cupcakes and frosting from the package, and making a new shop logo I am actually happy with for once. Now I just need to update some things in my policies, take some pictures, upload descriptions, and I’m in business baby! I hope to have more details on that very soon. But I do have two things for you lovely peeps. First an awesomely done stop motion doll video with my fave cover of Raidohead’s “Creep”. Have a look.
Creep (Radiohead) - Scala & Kolacny Brothers from Alex Heller on Vimeo.
One lonely doll's desperate attempt to be accepted.
Next up is a poll. If you want to just skip the lengthy babble that follows and just vote in the poll, feel free to. It’s pretty self explanatory. All others interested in what I have to say please continue to read. 
Now my reason for wanting to use Artfire is because listing is free. I’d kind of like to make some money before trying out Etsy. But if the traffic isn’t there then I won’t make money anyway. However, on Etsy to keep being seen you have to constantly relist or just list every day an item or two. I could do the daily listing but I don’t want to do the relisting. That is just to expensive for me in the end. I’m willing to put a few bucks investment into Etsy to try it out. I know my products will stay listed for 4 months and that’s plenty of time to promote and have deals to sell. I just worry if I don’t make any money on what I am trying to sell that my shop will flop, but I guess that’s the risk you take when you attempt this kind of thing. I honestly thought I had everything figured out, but after certain things I’ve read about both places I’m still up in the air. *sigh*
When I think of Etsy and Artfire I see Artfire as being Myspace and Etsy as being Facebook. For those of you who don’t understand, Artfire allows you to make your own shop up and use colors and backgrounds and you can even have a music player with your own music playing on your shop page. You can have pictures of your dog, cat, Aunt Mae in your shop as well on your bio. Now this is just all gaudy to me. Really gaudy and not professional at all, kind of like Myspace that let’s you put up any backgrounds, music, pictures, etc. that you want…one of the reasons I closed mine. Now Etsy on the other hand is all business all the way. Same uniformed look for the most part, allowing you some customization in the forum of a profile picture and banner. Very similar to Facebook. I like the organized look of it and the cleanness of it. I truthfully like everything about Etsy, except a few things.
Your items aren’t listed in search engines, you have to do it yourself from what I read. Now here’s the thing, I don’t tend to use search engines to shop for handmade. I tend to go to Etsy and sometimes Artfire directly and search for items that way. So does SEO really matter in this count? Do a lot of people search through Google for a handmade Blythe dress or fingerless gloves? The way people talk it seems so, but I just don’t feel that’s the case. Artfire does list items in search engines, even for basic accounts, but of course pro accounts get more acknowledgement. Etsy doesn’t do that at all, so it makes me wonder if that would affect my sales.
Another thing that bothers me about Etsy is lack of customer support. I’ve heard it can take days to weeks for you to hear back from Etsy when you have a problem. I don’t like that. I want help when a problem arises, not when it’s convenient to Etsy. I mean you are giving them a cut of your sales so they should be very forthcoming with the help. I’ve even heard cases where you won’t get a response at all. Ummm…how is this good business?
Another thing about Etsy is they are seriously lacking in the sellers tools that Artfire and other sites already have. That doesn’t work for me. I like the things that Artfire has to offer for sellers, but of course that is if you become pro. At this point both sites are even for me on that case, and I did think about becoming pro, but I just don’t like their attitude that if you are basic you are not considered one of the team really, and more of just a moocher. Which makes me like Etsy more on that count again because no matter what, if you sell or buy on there you can participate on everything the site has to offer. It makes for a nicer community to me. So I am on the fence about which to go to. I know I should just do both, which I was thinking do Artfire first and then slowly move to Etsy and then decide. But then again I could just bit the bullet and jump into Etsy feet first and just really promote and work up my shop there. So that is where you come in lovely readers. If you have gotten this far, thankies for reading or just jumping ahead to take my poll.
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I like the poll. It’s kind of cute. I may try more interesting polls in the future. But back on topic now. Taking any and all suggestions or stories of experience if you’d like to share. Thankies in advance and I will talk to you all soon. Having a bad tummy day so I want to lay down and ride it out. *sigh* I need to get out of this house and have some fun, maybe that will get me out of my funk. Bye for now peeps, and have a great start to a wonderful week!
Loves ya,
Mouse
Hey guys and gals, I am still in the process of checking my email, and one of the emails I get is from Etsy. Well in the one email I just opened it had a link to a very unique item of jewelry.
Looks like fancy bangles right? Look again. They are teacups. Teacups that have been formed into bangles/bracelets. Abigail MaryRose Clark of Stay Gold MaryRose on Etsy forms your regular teacup into a wearable form of art. You can either purchase one she has already made or send in your teacup to her and she will make it into a bracelet. It’s kind of cool, but also kind of odd. I know I could never own one of them. I’d break it in a heartbeat. I’m one of those buffalos in a china store kind of gals. I do wonder what kind of woman is delicate enough and has the kind of life that they can wear something so fine around their wrist. This isn’t trying to insult anyone, just really curious. I couldn’t do. That sucker would break in no time. Unless something is put on it to make it strong, but it doesn’t look like it. Hummm. Click on the picture if you’d like to be taken to the sale page. Well I just wanted to share that with you. Back to my email. It worked itself up from 26 to 246. It’s gonna take a while. :-)
Loves ya,
Mouse
Hey guys, sorry I bailed on you all yesterday and didn’t do anything I said I would. But I have a good excuse…I think. LOL!
It’s kind of funny. No sooner I send off the post telling you guys “I’m cured!!!” did I start to feel symptoms of a reaction coming on. I waited it out and by early morning I was in full on reaction mode. :-( Seems that I might have an allergy to corn as well as wheat. I had one of my “reactions” the night before last and the feeling stuck with me all day. I felt horrible and tried to figure out what caused me to feel sick. I didn’t eat much at all, and the things I did eat I had had before. Now I did drink some Sobe water and in the past it has made me as sick as a dog. I thought that maybe that was all in my head but perhaps that is what made me sick. There is not gluten in the water, but one of them was sweetened by artificial sweeteners. Those always make me feel bad. The other one had sugar. So I guess I will only drink the ones with sugar from now on.
But I’m not 100% sure it was the water that made me sick. I had some soup as well that my mom and I made. It was just plain veggies from the can and plain unseasoned chicken and some peeled and cut carrots and potatoes. No salt or anything added. It was really good. But as I ate it I kept wondering about the corn. I want to experiment and try eating corn one morning to see if I have a reaction, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it today since I feel decent today and I haven’t had many of these days in a long time. Felt kind of sick this morning but I think that is due to drinking Sprite last night, which is gluten-free, but it caused acid. I still have the horrible acid problem and so I have to try to remember to either watch what I eat or take something when I do. I knew the Sprite would cause acid but I am trying to cut back on the Tums I take and since I figured I could just go to sleep I did and thought nothing of it. But this morning I felt pain and pressure in the chest area and it caused some anxiety so I really regret not popping some Tums before bed. But it’s passed now so all is good.
But with me feeling a little better each day it makes me want to craft more and I have been working on sewing again. It’s a little tedious this time because I have decided to cut out all the pieces for several dresses. Which means I have to cut about three pieces per dress then fray check them all and then sew them together. I am ready to start the sewing together part today. I think I need to change my needle. No, I know I need to change my needle on my machine. It’s still the same needle it came with. I know! I know! I should have changed that puppy a long time ago, but it still worked fine so I didn’t bother. I am a little nervous about doing it which is silly. I took the machine apart to oil it but a simple unscrew a bolt and replace the pointy thing then screw the bolt tight again scares me. LOL! I’ll do it after I finish these dresses. I think my stitches are a tiny bit looser due to the needle, but it could be my knobs need adjusting.
So yeah, I’m off to sew some and then hopefully will have energy to post some blog posts I’ve had waiting for a few days, do comment responses, and email responses. Speaking of my blog, I’ve been working on a testing blog and tinkering with layouts and whatnot since I don’t like how my current one is so cramped. I have adjusted things and will unveil a new one day layout on Halloween that will be replaced by a new one on Thanksgiving. The Halloween one is ready to roll, I now need to work on the one for Thanksgiving. I have an idea for it, but once again I need to test it first. Oh and for those you on my crosspost blog on Livejournal, the new layout will only be put on my Blogger blog. Messing with the Livejournal layout is honestly no fun. Sorry guys, but feel free to come over to my Blogger blog to see the layout on Halloween.
Humm, what else, what else? Well, I need to hit a store soon. I need to see if i can find some Thanksgiving fabric for a project I have in mind. Just not sure where to look. I guess anywhere really. I hope that I can find some in scale fabric. Although since the fabric will be for Blythe dolls it wouldn’t matter really if the scale were a little big but in scale fabric would be cuter. I’ll have to start looking around. Ok, I need to stop blabbering and go get working on sewing. I’ve been meaning to since I woke up this morning around 8. I just felt bad this morning and spent it in bed. But it’s almost 4 in the afternoon now so I need to hop to it. No previews yet of what I am making since I will be starting the sewing process and will want to show the finished work, but you guys will be the first to know when I am done. Ok, I’m off. Bye for now guys.
Loves ya,
Mouse
Hey guys. So last night I jumped in shocked when I realized it had been a few days since I checked my email. Now, the reason I was in shock was not because I wanted to read the email, but because my email was thisclose to being a full capacity. Well when I checked my email, yep, full capacity. My mom’s email got bounced from me. LOL! It’s any wonder who else got bounced. It was then I decided I need to get organized and decluttered. I mean, come on, I had over 1000 emails in my inbox. I have cut it down to 62 emails I want to actually read, and some of these are back from May! So if you sent me an email and I haven’t gotten back to you, I’m super duper sorry and I will be going through those and responding.
See, this is why I have not opened my shop yet because I can’t go into it being cluttered and disorganized. That picture up above, yeah I feel sometimes it fits me perfectly. Things everywhere, plants dying, that pair of panties I can’t find…yeah I put them in a safe place I just can’t remember where that is exactly. *sigh* I am the kind of person that likes to be organized and likes to have a place for everything, but with lack of storage that just isn’t happening right now, so I have to make do with what I have.
But at least I’m attempting something. My goal is to be fully organized by the end of the year. I need another to-do list so bad. I will work on one and post it here. Hopefully it will keep me accountable. I want to knock some of these things I’ve been trying to avoid because I don’t want to deal with it. I’ve left some things so long that it will take DAYS to sort out. I HATE that. So I just keep pushing it back and hope the elephant standing in the room or sitting on my desktop doesn’t jump out at me at the most inopportune time and expect me to give it attention, because usually that doesn’t happen and then I get down about not giving it the attention it needs. Anyone else have this? I’m sure you do, I think we all do. Just wish I could stop letting things get lax and stay on top of things. I want to form the habit of it truthfully. I know it’s possible. I’m not giving up.
So to-do list coming soon along with some other stuff. Gonna go watch Lawrence Welk if he’s on and try to do some sewing or at least pulling out some nice fabrics to use. I want to use up the yard of Halloween fabric and pop those things into my shop. I don’t want the season to pass and me not having done anything with the fabric. I’ve cut myself off from buying any fabric until I use up the bulk of what I have which makes me a little sad. I want new stuff but I didn’t use the old stuff yet. :-)
Hey, speaking of which! Question! Does anyone have any crafty ideas for a yards worth of furry fabric? One is really thick long fur and one is thinner shorter fur. Each peace is about a yard each and I want to do something fun with them. I was thinking of making pillow monsters our of them, but I wanted to know about some other ideas that I may like better.
Ok, I’m off now. Gonna go free my poor fabric and pull out some items for dresses. Bye for now and enjoy the rest of your Saturday! :-) Oh, and if you are curious about what it says on the computer screen in the image above, a piss-up, from what I read, is a drinking session and an insult that is said is a person who isn't organized couldn't be trusted to organize a piss-up in a brewery. Funny? I think yes. :-D
Loves ya,
Mouse
So I was trying to think of items to put into my shop, and thought about interior design for dolls. I may not be able to make furniture like some of our lovely doll community members, but ready made stuff that I can paint and doctor up are possible thoughts, but I wanted to be more hands on with the complete look. Then I thought, about trying to make some braided rugs and this is the first one that I created.
It’s on the smallish side due to my skein of yarn being at it’s end. I love the colors in this rug. I feel this would be considered more of an accent rug than anything.
Now the next rug is a much fuller size one. Here it is during the creative process in some water.
I like these colors too. The flash and water make them seem a little brighter than they actually are. Here’s another picture of it of it slightly closer to the original colors.
I’m super duper sorry I don’t have a better picture of the rug yet. I need to iron it still and then put it in a picture with props and a doll to show the actual size of it. This would make a great area rug.
But as I said, this rug takes a good amount of time and so I’d have to price it higher to make up for the time I put into it. It can take hours to knit up alone. Then the extra steps to get it round and together. I mean commissions I could consider, but then maybe I should just make a tutorial for it. Just don’t know. I guess I could try making one to sell and see if they would sell. I know people would pay for more unique items for their dioramas. I need to work on getting a better picture of both rugs so you can see it better. I’ll work on that this week for you all. But yeah, that what I was working on lately. I have some other ideas bopping around my head as well that I hope to try in the near future. More to come. Bye for now, off to bed. :-)
Loves ya,
Mouse
Hey all, I’m back, and I want to start off this post with the most awesome wedding entrance ever. LOL! Some people know how to have fun. LOL!
Ok, now on to the rest of the post. :-) So I told you a couple of days ago I was working on pattern drafting. Well one of the things I drafted was a blouse. I kind of wanted a basic go-to bodice shape so this blouse is it
I wish I didn’t use the fabric I used because it’s hard to see the detail on it, but I wanted to use fabric I wasn’t going to use much for anything. Here is my Liv doll Carly sitting on my mini water fountain. Yep, she’s bottomless, and she’s a doll, let’s move on. :-)
Ok, so this next one is slightly blurry.
You can see the overall shape of the blouse/bodice. Not liking the sleeves, I plan to cut those off I think. Still debating. The neckline turned out nice. I was going for a square neckline. Not sure why really? I just didn’t want to go for the same ol’ round neckline. Oh, and yes I’m aware that I should not have sewn in white, but I placed the threads in the wrong locations not thinking and well…yeah. But I figured it’s practice so it didn’t matter. Ughhh, I hate those sleeves.
Here is the back. It’s closed with a thin piece of hook and loop tape. The back doesn’t look THAT bad. I will admit it still needs some work, but not overly bad. I had to expand the pattern some because the fabric did end up being a bit short, so I had to pull tight to get it closed, and as you can see it didn’t close completely.
So, overall, not to bad. I am wondering if I should shorten it for a small bodice? I think so. And perhaps I can avoid having to put darts into it. Well might still need them on the side. Hummm. Tomorrow I want to spend a good amount of time sewing up another mock-up.
Here you can see I was using a thimble of green thread for this, but I didn’t think and ended up sewing the colors on the wrong sides. This thimble is full of sample thread so that is why I didn’t just use a big spool of the stuff, don’t have one. But now I want to start collecting a ton of pretty colors, but wow thread is expensive. And it’s so hard to pick the right ones. Black and white I can do just fine but other colors I’m at a loss. But I will have to try picking out some. I wonder if clear thread would work? Like nylon thread? Until I figure out a good mix of colors to good. Any suggestions?
And now, just for fun, here is a picture of something else I sewed.
This is the empire dress I sewed for my Blythe dolls. Of course it doesn’t close in back, but it’s a close. I just wanted to get a picture of the one good dress I sewed since the other one is tucked away for a year. This one was the best out of the two. I was so happy when I finally got the pattern right, thanks to some helpful tutorials online about the pattern. I’m going to try to make several of these this weekend. Hopefully tons of pics to come.
Well I will close for now. I have another post coming about something else I have been working on that I thought I could post in my shop but I think it would be to time consuming to make. It takes several hours to several days to make one and while I love it, I don’t think they would sell well due to the price I’d have to put on them. I was considering taking commissions on them instead if someone wanted one. I was also considering making a free tutorial on how to make them instead and just offer up on my blog or website. I’ll tell you more in the next post. Bye for now.
Loves ya,
Mouse
Thought I’d pop on to let you all know what I’ve been up to. Here’s a hint.
Humm, doesn’t look like much really, does it? Humm…another hint?
Humm, hearts, dots, and stars…getting warmer perhaps? Ok, one more hint.
Wait, ok a doll, some No-Sew, and that fabric looks to be cut into a shape of some sort. Hummm.
Ok, so yesterday was one of my “bad” days and I was on “alert” all day for the big bad “P.A.” to show it’s ugly self. Well last night I decided to get my mind off of things by trying my hand at drafting a pattern with fabric. I cut the fabric out today and so far so good. I want to make some front darts for the shirt I am making and wanted to look at Corset Kitten’s dart tutorial before I drew my dart placement. I think I am going to do to front darts that end right under the breasts. Not sure if I will want more or not. Will have to look at some shirts first before I make up my mind. But the picture above is basically where I left things. I plan to work more on it tomorrow. I think tonight I will make my dart marks, pick out the thread I plan to use and put my machine on the desk so I am ready to go in the morning.
So remember a couple of days ago when I said I was working on finger knitting? Well I finished the scarf I was working on, took a picture, and then never posted it because I wanted to fill the card first. I have a small card that gets about 20 full size pictures and my camera runs off of batteries so I like to be frugal and transfer the pictures when the card is full. Next camera I get is having a rechargeable battery with charging dock for sure. Ok, on to how the scarf turned out.
Really not that bad for a first successful attempt. Now there are some things I learned about finger knitting. First, be sure to keep the tension throughout the work. Second, have a general idea of how long you want the work to get and keep checking. This knitting goes quickly and gets long on you fast. And lastly, realize that when you start it’s hard to stop in the middle. Meaning, if you have to hit the little girl’s or little boy’s room you either have to hold it or do what I do, make it work! It was so not easy, and I do suggest that you go before you start and maybe not drink a lot before starting. But this turned out ok. I think I would like to use much thicker yarn next time or double up on yarn. Fabric in background is my bed sheet. I was lounging in bed doing this. LOL!
So yeah, that is all I’ve been up to dollwise. No, I tell a lie. I am working on some of Figurvore’s challenges. Actually I want to attempt them all. One of the things I am working on is a doll story for one of my main characters. Most of it’s done but I have a few things to work on and then upload it to my website where I will be working on some other stuff on my site like finally fixing some of the links that refuse to work. I’m also working on a pattern for pants for the Harley Davidson Ken. Did you know he’s got a slightly bigger caboose compared to the Fashionista Ken body? It’s just a hair bigger, but you can see it when you try F Ken’s clothing on HD Ken’s body. Very interesting. I’m not sure if these pants will be skinny or loose. I have the pattern ready to go just deciding on fabric right now. I might use stretch denim or this fabric that is cotton I believe but looks just like denim with a slight wash. We’ll see.
So that’s about it. I know, I still have to catch up on comments and emails, such a freaking slacker!!! My email is at 96% capacity last time I checked, so it’s honestly not you, it’s me!!! Ahhh!!! I’m trying here people! I swear! LOL! Well I’m off. I’ve been really sleepy as of late, I think the change in seasons, and it makes me just want to lay down most of the time, which sucks when all I want to be doing is crafting. Well that’s my plan for tomorrow. It’s going to be a slightly sad day tomorrow and I want to have something fun to work on. Ok, I know it’s silly, but the soap opera I watched with my mom as a kid and have been watching everyday since I was a teen is ending tomorrow and it makes me sad. I know I’ll move on, but it’s sad to think that my “friends” won’t be there for me at 2pm Mon-Fri. I barely watch tv but this show I loved. I am trying to get into The Young and the Restless since one of my fave actresses is going to that show from As the World Turns, but I just can’t get into it. It’s an hour long and she won’t be the same character so I am thinking I need to just let it go. It just means I have another hour to myself for crafting. I still like The Bold and the Beautiful, but I think because it’s so over the top and it’s only 30 minutes long. Just long enough to be entertained but not so long that you get bored. ;-) Ok, I’m off now. Need to go set up my stuff for tomorrow and then lay down some. Bye for now. :-)
Loves ya,
Mouse
So I am laying here trying to catch up on missed episodes of Big Brother, don’t judge me, and well after two hour long eps. I just can’t deal with just laying here. I never watch tv unless I am crafting while doing it. So I was trying to think of what I could do while laying down. Knitting with needles stresses out the arms, but I thought about finger knitting. I’d tried it before but it didn’t work for some reason. But I saw I had some delicate yarn that like to snap on my needles and I decided to try it again while watching Big Brother.
So this is what I am doing right now. It's relaxing and I hope to have a scarf done in about an hour. I'll keep you updated. Ok, back to BB. Bye for now.
Loves ya,
Mouse
Ok, so since the stores are so nicely telling us the end of the year is fast approaching…can you believe that…the fabric stores have been forming a love hate relationship with me. Why? Holiday fabrics of course. And with Halloween coming up soon, I am on the hunt for some Halloween fabric, deals would be better, but I am willing to get some in scale fabric at full price and just get a 1/4th yard instead of full yard.
So I am haunting the Joann site, when did it just become Joann and instead of Joann Fabrics, and I found some nice Halloween themed ones. Here are my picks for doll sewing. Click here to be taken to the sale page on the Joann website if you are interested in purchasing any of the fabric. Oh and nope, don’t work for the place, just covet their fabric. :-)
Ok, so I originally had 39 pieces picked out that I liked and I managed to cut those down to just 10 with one extra. That was not an easy task. So be sure to go to the sales page to see all the other nice Halloween fabrics they have for sale. Here are the 10 I picked that I would love to make Blythe dresses with.
So of course we have pumpkins. What is Halloween without them?
This fabric I really like with the trick-or-treaters and candy. I think this would make a whimsical dress for Blythe.
Spiders that are cute and fabric that is pretty. What’s not the love.
This one I really found interesting when I thought of it as a dress. You’d have to really look at the dress to catch everything, maybe pull back some folds of skirt to get the full picture. I like the idea of having to look at the dress to take it all in.
Boo…what else can I say? It fits and it’s cute.
A colorful Boo. Same reason as above.
Candy! What is Halloween without some treats with our tricks. I think this fabric is very pretty with it’s vintage feel.
I am currently loving spotted fabric, especially if the spots are colorful.
Classic dots in a Halloween theme.
Same as above only reversed. I could see some great mixing and matching with these two.
And something just because. This is way to off scale for a Blythe dress but I would love this for myself. Not sure what I’d make with it, but do you see the little witch mouse there? So cute!!! I may actually hunt this fabric down and get a yard of it, but only after I figure out what to make with it. I kind of want to make myself something with it, but I don’t know what. Very cute. The dog and cat are cute also but the mouse obviously caught my eyes first. :-)
I know some of these fabrics seem out of scale for Blythe, but I am thinking with her big head that the scale would kind of balance out and look ok. And when I think of Blythe I mostly think of her as being cute and young so oversized on cute and young isn’t all that odd really so it still kind of works. Seeing these fabrics really to make me realize I need to hit the fabric stores and soon to try to get a deal. Maybe just get a yard of one fabric and use a coupon to get something off of it. Will have to see. Found a 50% off coupon for AC Moore. Might head there and look at their fat quarters. Maybe they will have something Halloweenish. I’ll update you if I find anything. That’s all for now. I’m off to bed now since it’s 4:44am and I have to get up in a few hours. Bye for now.
Loves ya,
Mouse
