Cu-Poche Gryffindor Roombox

I got a Cu-Poche Anne some months ago and decided that she needed to have a room of her own. I've been VERY inspired by MyFroggyStuff's videos on YouTube, and ended up making this room and everything in it nearly entirely from scratch. :)

Melina is a First Year who got sorted into Gryffindor, but her family were all expecting her to be a Slytherin like the rest of them. Fortunately, her mum's a very understanding woman, and though she'd already knitted her a Slytherin scarf and cushion cover, she also made Melina a Gryffindor scarf and afghan. For her own part, Melina had a bit of a hard time reconciling expectations with reality. As a result, she started the House Unity Club at Hogwarts, and though it hasn't got a lot of members yet, their ranks are growing! When Melina's mum (a very crafty witch!) learned about her daughter's club, she braided a silver and maroon rug for her room, representative of -- OK, I don't really have to explain it, LOL!

Melina is a fan of the Holyhead Harpies, and a member of the S.P.E.W. club. Later on, I'll give more detailed pics and info!

BJD Sewing and Sushi Mania!

I've been doing a lot of sewing lately.  Hand sewing used to drive me batty, but now (especially since mastering the backstitch), I find it really calming.  Kiki got a sweater made from 2 different socks.  Dollar Tree often has great socks to use for sewing. I made the arms nice and long to be super cosy.  LOVE how it came out! :D  I'm also working on a milk carton plushie for her.  It needs stripes and a face still, but I'm really happy with the design.

 

And then I went on a sushi binge.  Cushions for all sizes!  I think I like the orange better than the pink, but I'm really happy with all of them.

 

 And, finally, a fun planner charm or bag charm.  He's a friendly guy. ^_^  I made it with a clip on top for easy attachment.  Super happy with this guy, too. :)

Cushions, Cushions, Cushions!!

I felt the need to make some cushions of various textures.  These work great for MSD, YoSD and Playscale.   Complementary colours tie them all together.  They're SUPER squishy, too! :)

Mori Hats, Hair Clips, and Alpaca Bag :)

I've been caught up in my final edit.  Writing my cover letter next, then off to a publisher it goes!

In the meantime, I made some goodies for my store. :)

 

Another view of the Alpaca Bag, complete with dangly bag charm. ^_^

And I made a fun doughnut cushion, too!. ^_^

BJD Bag and Paper Pleasures

I love, Love, LOVE all the Alpacasso stuff that's out there!  The other day, I felt (hahahaha) inspired to make this kawaii little bag for my shop.  It's hand sewn from blue, white, pink and black felt, with a teensy embroidered nose and mouth, and has a tiny hook and loop closure.  The strap is white plastic chain, and there's a lobster clasp for easy on-and-off. :)  I couldn't stop myself from adding a super cute bag charm of tiny cubes and stars.  More pics in my Etsy lising.

 I'm definitely going to have to make some to keep.

In other news, I got this super cool book at B&N.

 It's in Dutch and English (though there's not much writing) and is crammed with yummy papers, envelopes (to cut and fold), cards, stickers, buntings, and even a pop-up dollhouse and paper dolls.  I decided to send out some Snail Mail using my new trove of paper goodies, and my first piece went out to Mollusc's Godmother today.  I can't wait 'til she gets it. :D

Almost ready to send out my book to the publisher.  For reals.

And as a final note, I learned today that one of my favourite (out of 2) professors at UW-Madison passed away in March.  Requiescat in pace, Professor Baughman.  So long, and thanks for all the fish.

New Goodies for SnootyCow!

I've been having so much fun knitting, sewing and crocheting tiny things for the shop.  Also, I was really excited to get my first commission about a month ago.  Unfortunately, after I spent about 20 hours making the blankets, the woman who ordered them had an emergency and couldn't pay.  She was supposed to be able to complete the transaction by the end of the Feb, but hasn't done so yet.  I guess I could prompt her, but honestly, I don't want to be that pushy, because I understand that sometimes stuff just happens, and although I spent a lot of time making the blankets, I can still try to sell them in my shop if she just can't buy them.  I think what I'll do is ask her if she wants me to break it up so she can buy one at a time as funds allow, and take it from there.  All I can think is what if it were me?  I'd be so embarrassed that I couldn't pay, you know?  In the grand scheme of things, not making the sale is certainly something I can shrug off.  I sure wish I could get more sales, though, and more great feedback.  (EDIT - Just heard back from her!  She still wants the order!! :D  Hooray!)

Anyway, here are some of the things I've made and listed recently:

A lacy hooded scarf for MSD sized BJD

A set of knit and crocheted cushions
The big one works nicely for a floor pillow. :)

 

Another set of cushions, this time sewn from cherry blossom fabrics. Again, the large one makes a great floor pillow:

 

Some sweet slippers for Spring to fit MSD dollies.  The centre photo shows them on both Durango and Pippa so you can see how they fit both a manly foot and a more dainty one. ^_^ 

I've also been practicing with Shrink Plastic, because I would eventually like to roll out a line of kawaii happy snail items, and some snail flair, too.  Playing around with the plastic, I found that it gets much smaller than I'd anticipated.  Kiki scored a fun new necklace!

My only complaint is that the stuff I'm using has a rough finish when it's done.  I can solve that by doming with Diamond Glaze or Triple Thick, but I think next time I'll purchase a different brand.  The clear stuff I got comes out nicely so far, but I've only made one project with it.  There's definitely a learning curve to the shrink plastic, as well as decisions to be made.  What do you want to use to colour the images?  Pencil?  Marker?  I just got some markers from Dick Blick that I'm loving!  That's what I used for Kiki's snail necklace.  They're just the store brand, and are basically a generic Copic from what I can tell.  I got a great deal since we went to Blick on their 20% off day, and the markers were buy 4 get 1 free in addition to the sale price!  

Once you choose your colouring medium, you need to decide how to shrink your project.  Oven?  Heat gun?  Lately I've been using the heat gun for more control, but it does tend to blow the project away if you're not careful.  I've been using wooden chopsticks to help with that, but ideally, I think a little metal mesh screen would be handy.  I think I have something in our Chemistry equipment that I can use.

That's probably more than enough for now.  This evening I get to go pick up Mollusc in Detroit for SPRING BREAK!!!!!  Hurrah!!! :D  Happy March, everyone! :)

Knitting Sweet Nothings

I'm having a lot of fun doing knitting for people both small and large.  I'm making these mitts from a Ravelry pattern for my friend Claudia in Germany.  I have a lovely Crystal Palace yarn in a blue gradient that I'm using for these.  It's a really fun pattern so far.

I got some good pics of the Strawberry Sundae Afghan for MSD-sized BJDs.  I just adore this yarn!  It has shades of Chocolate, Strawberries, Vanilla and Cream, and it's soft and easy to care for.  On top of that, this stitch is super smooshy and wonderful!  I'm seriously considering making a Big People-sized one for myself with bulky yarn.  Pippa really enjoyed modeling for this one:

I made a little tufted mattress for her (complete with buttons!)  as well as a top sheet, pillow and pillowcase so that I can use them for photoshoots for blankets and afghans.  Oh yeah, and so that she'll have a bed.  Of course.

I've been listening (quite a lot!) to Marianas Trench's new album, Astoria.  It's everything I've come to expect from them.  I think each time they release a new album, they outdo themselves a little more.   Forget Me Not is just heartbreaking, but oh so good, and there isn't a single song on the album that I want to skip or rush through.

I must dash - I have an Epistle to write, Etsy stuff to post, and, yeah, maybe I'll even finish my rewrite. :-P

Sweet Lolita and a Free Pattern

I am a closet admirer of Lolita fashions.  They aren't something I could ever get away with wearing, but I would love a world where you could see fabulous dresses like that as a matter of course.  Fortunately, my BJDs *can* get away with it, and I'm having fun making sweet little things for them.  I just put some new hair clips and a scarf in my shop.  Here's what the clips look like:

There are a few more shown in my shop, but you get the idea.


And here's the scarf: 

 

 I'd never tried the "cross stitch" before, but I adore how it looks, and I'm in love with this yarn, too.  Here's how you can make your own:

Needles: #2 (2.75mm)
Yarn: Bernat Softee Baby Little Bo Peep (or any #3 / DK yarn)

CO 7 stitches
Row 1: Slip the first stitch Kwise, *Knit into the BACK of the 2nd stitch on L needle.  Without dropping the stitch from the needle, Knit into the BACK of the 1st stitch on L needle and let both drop from L needle.*  Repeat steps between *s to end.
Row 2: Slip the 1st stitch Pwise.  *Wyif Purl into the 2nd stitch on L needle on the side NEAREST you.  Without transferring stitch, Purl into the 1st stitch on L needle on side NEAREST you, then let both drop from L needle.* Repeat steps between *s to end.

Repeat rows 1 and 2 until your scarf reaches the desired length.  Add fringe to both ends! :)

In case my description is tricky to understand, here's a good video.

It's in the Bag!

Now that it's back to school time, I thought some kawaii bags were in order, so I made a bunch of cute star bags for 1/4 and 1/6 size BJDs.  I got some adorable plastic chain to use for the straps, though some of them will also have really cool anodized aluminum chain.  I used sterling silver jump rings to attach the straps to the bags.  These were super fun to make! 

Wow, I really need to decide on a name for my sweet girl.  

I spent most of yesterday tearing apart the BILLY bookcases in the living room and rearranging everything.  Dags helped me disassemble and reassemble one that MuNKi and I had put together partly upside-down years ago. :-/  Although you could only tell by looking at it from the stairs or loft, it's good to finally have it fixed, LOL!

And now that it's Fall-ish, I've restarted the Harry Potter series AGAIN.  Love, love, LOVE that world!  

I'm still fixing up a shelf for the doll's home.  It's really coming along nicely!  And my use of The Secret for bringing in cash has bagged me another birthday party gig at the dojang.  Huzzah!  Now to sell some star bags! ^_^

Pin-Up Girls

I was tired of only finding oversized (for my taste) hair clips for BJDs, so I made some adorable little hairclips with sweets on them.  So far, I've only listed the biscuits, but I really love how they turned out.  The clips are only 2 cm long, and with the added embellishments, they still come in under 2.5 cm!  They're lightweight, too, so they don't weigh down the dolls' hair.  I'm really tickled with them!  The others have little cakes, doughnuts, popsicles and waffles.  I'm hoping to get some pics and get them listed tomorrow.  The biscuit clips (pictured) come in Candyfloss, Chocolate, Lemon, Grape, and Mint.  Pippa and her friend really like them. :)  Yeah, the little one badly needs a name.  I just love her to bits.  I haven't settled on her eye colour though.  She came with violet, but I may switch them out.  In fact, she may get Pippa's, and Pippa might get green. Or brown.  Or. . . ^_^

In other news, it's time for finalizing loans for Mollusc for the remainder of her tuition.  Gulp!  And we need to get a wee laptop for Gordo to use for note-taking, and make sure that he and Kacey have everything they need for school.  Orientation is THIS FRIDAY! O_O

I recently listened to the Ruby Red trilogy (by Kerstin Geir) and now I'm listening to Book 2 of the Dust Lands Trilogy.

We're also watching Fullmetal Alchemist.  I've read up through book 22, but I'd better finish before we catch up on the vids!

The One With All the Shameless Plugs

July was a month of creating and rewriting.  Though I missed the June mark on my self-imposed writing deadline, I did finally finish up the rewrite in July.  After some reader comments, there are a few things for me to consider, but I'm actually very happy with the book as it stands. :)

I've just returned from Wisconsin, where we visited our families for a glorious week.  It was there that I procured my copy of Bellatopia, the newest CD from The Getaway Drivers.  It.  Is.  Awesome!  I think it's my favourite album so far.  Bob and Sheila were over the moon to learn that it had been accepted by Pandora in under 24 hours, as the process can take up to 2 weeks, and many bands are turned down outright.

 


I also finished up a BJD afghan I've been working on for my Etsy store.  Here it is with my new Doll-Love Yoyo.  She came right before we left on our trip, and she still needs a name, but she is ADORABLE!  She's a great poser, too!

 

I made her a sweater (which you can sort of see here) and some bloomers as well, which I'll have to take some nice pics of later.  I LOVE the sweater pattern so much!  I'll definitely be making more!

And last, but by no means least, when we came home and sorted through all the mail, Mollusc found that she'd gotten a very nice intro letter from her college's new department head for Entertainment Arts, Tim Flattery.  Pretty cool, eh?

To Cap it All Off

The morning after my birthday, I woke up to find that I'd made my first Etsy Sale!!!  The order was for a pair of over-the-knee fairy key socks for 1/4 scale BJDs.  I popped a couple of freebies in the envelope and mailed that sucker off!  Postage has gone up since I last checked, and it cost more than I'd anticipated to mail my wee package, but I still made a small profit.  As soon as I got home, I bumped up the shipping on everything to meet the new rates.  I'm not a huge fan of the new rates, but I do appreciate the free tracking.

I've been having some creative fun in the last couple of days.  First off, I made myself a summery bag from some Flower Fairies fabric I'd been saving:

 This is the Elva Bag pattern from Bags, The Modern Classics.  I ended up tweaking the flap because it was too short -- maybe my 1/2" seam allowance was too large; I'll confess to not actually bothering to read that part.  Or maybe the flap is just too short for my taste.  Anyway, I love how it turned out in spite of the fact that I didn't have enough of any 1 (or even 2) kinds of interfacing, and then completely forgot to use the interfacing I'd cut for the side/bottom piece.  I ended up making a bottom stabilizer and LOVE how that works, because the bag is more collapsible than if I'd remembered the stabilizer, LOL!

I simply cut a piece of cardboard to fit, and covered it with the green fabric.  Win!


 Next, I crocheted a couple of summery BJD beanies for my shop.  Of course, now Pippa is asking for one of her own.

Now I really need to come up with a name for Pippa's little sister, who is on her way from China even as we speak.  Oh, and I should probably make her some clothes.  I don't know much about her yet, having not met her, but I'm pretty sure she's not a nudist.

Tiny Knitting Time!

I know that I once said that this wasn't going to become a knitting blog, and it hasn't, OK?  Just so that's out of the way. . . ^_^

I do enjoy knitting, and I enjoy tiny things as well, so I've been knitting, well, tiny things.  I've just put some slippers up in my shop that are knitted especially for ball-jointed dolls.  MSDs (1/4 scale) to be exact.  I use really tiny needles and baby yarn, but I find it relaxing nonetheless.  Here are some pics of Pippa modeling them:

 

I didn't mention Pippa before??  I got her from The Junky Spot, and she is LOVELY! She's a Mystic Kids Lillian 1/4 scale BJD (her type is also known as a slim MSD.)  She was quite a bit less pricey than Dreaming Doll's Airi, AND she was on sale.  How could I say no to that face?

I'm still working on the wardrobe. She helped me make some socks for my shop the other day, too, but she wouldn't let me list them until she had an identical pair of her own. :)

She did mention that she'd like a friend someday.  Oh boy.

A Dalliance with Dolls

There is this REALLY slippery slope you may have heard of.  It's called hoarding collecting.  I have 3 Sasha dolls from my youth, and they are still alive and well.  Two were bought with hard-earned baby-sitting money when I was about 15 (and feeling REALLY self-conscious about buying dolls!)  The third was one my mom bought, and later gave to me when she was paring down to move into a smaller place.  Here's one of them sporting a dress I knitted from this Ravelry Pattern:

After buying them, I left the precarious slopes of doll-collecting (but not doll-enjoying, LOL) and managed to stay away for a few decades until last month when I bought Päivi to be a model for some of my Etsy creations.

She does a fabulous job of showing off my wares, and I just love her! (She's actually a J-Doll, called Esplanadi Katu , and I bought here there at Pullip Style, which is an awesome site!)  I then discovered that there's this whole WORLD of collectors out there, and that many of the really serious ones are into ball-jointed dolls, or BJDs.  BJDS are VERY well-articulated, well-crafted dolls, usually made from resin and internally strung.  Most have hair and eyes that can be easily changed.  I find it astounding how many different looks people can get out of the same sculpt.  And these dolls are MEANT to be used - dressed, re-wigged, re-painted, you name it.  Unlike most collector dolls, they are NOT meant to stay in a box. They are more about art and expression, which I think is fabulous.

 If you want 1/6 scale (roughly 20-30 cm range), there are plenty of child-like sculpts, but for a teen or adult in that scale, you'll most likely have to build your own from an Obitsu body or the like.  For those more mature sculpts, the more readily available dolls are in 1/4 and 1/3 scale.  They are A.  Maze.  Ing.  At about 40-45cm for the 1/4 scale, they would be a lot easier to sew for, too.  I really mulled this over, because I didn't want to take the plunge precipitously, you know?  Even though I did a driving gig at MuNKi's company which paid rather nicely (here's where I casually drop in how much fun it was to drive military convoy simulators through mountain desert settings while under fire) I just didn't know if I could truly justify such an expenditure.  Except at least half of my kids want to work in video-game design - possibly 3/4 of them.  And they could really benefit from access to a FABULOUS model, who is MUCH better articulated than Mr. Twisty. Right?

So I'm starting with a more modestly priced doll, but when I've made enough on Etsy and craft show sales, I plan to buy my "grail" doll from Dreaming Doll in Korea.  They very graciously gave me permission to use her photo here.  Isn't she gorgeous?  The Prawn is in love with her, too.  More lovely pictures if you click the pic, so feast your eyes, and dream with me. :)