corset_kitten

I’m thinking 1:6 scale dioramas and what I’m going to do!

dioramas, Eh, what?, Something to share 6 Responses »

Jan 022012

I suppose in the time between now and the (eventual) move it makes sense to try to barrel through and make some serious progress on my planned / in progress dioramas.

I’ve been giving them a lot of thought but it hasn’t translated into a whole lot of action. There are a few reasons for this… The main one being that space is still limited and I really have some pretty grand ideas in mind—which while commendable (hey, I do have high standards, what can I say?) aren’t practical when it comes to making a transatlantic move.

So It’s left me thinking about 1) what to do, 2) how to do it and 3) why am I bothering?

1) What I’m going to do: Along with giving things some more thought (and working out the details for the photostories themselves) I’m going to push on-ward and try to get the living room and kitchen done. I’m also going to throw together a basic diorama to use for generic scenes on “the set” of the tv series the actresses work on.

2) I know I’m going to be pretty harsh when it comes to breaking down the dioramas to move. It doesn’t mean I’m not going to do them, only that I’m going to avoid investing too much effort in this batch. I’m simplifying them.

I’ll be putting most of my effort into the details –like furniture and props– etc rather than worrying sooo much about the set ups. Because I do (worry about the logistics of how an apartment is set up! No one will ever see the whole thing but I get very nit-picky about details like fire escapes, landings and front door locations). Plus that makes it less expensive and right now less expensive is a very, very good thing. Once we’ve relocated and are settled then I can really dig into making them as good as I want.

3) I’m doing this because I have to. If I just fritter away my time and don’t have something worthwhile to show for it I’d be pretty bummed. And it’s criminal to waste your time when you never know how much you really have left. Not to be morbid, but I might be dead next week. Or tomorrow. You just never know.

It might not make sense and I’m probably babbling but this is what’s on my mind.

Top 10 toys of 2011:aka the reasons I love 1:6 scale! pics

1:6 Props & Miscellany, 1:6 scale Dolls & Action Figures, Eh, what?, Top 10 Lists 4 Responses »

Dec 312011

Yesterday was a write-off due to migraine. But today…

Here is the list of my Top 10 Toys of 2011!

Counting down to my favorites–beginning with #10

#10 Ishani rebodied on a Hot Toys Female True Type body

Description of Toy/Toyline: Ishani’s got a Fashion Royalty Isha head that I repainted, but I’d been struggling to find a body that was going to match her skintone and give her a better range of motion than the default FR body. Will was kind enough to send me the True Type body to see if it would work (he’s a great guy!). I did some operating on the HT body to make it workable with the FR head.

So why did she make my list? Ishani (rebodied) made the list because she’s now got a much more posable body with an increased range of motion. That is a very good thing!

Downside to it: (aka why it isn’t the #1 toy on the list!): Well the truth is that I have a few issues with the Hot toys body. While it is IMO a vast improvement over the Fashion Royalty default body, I can’t say that I love it. For one thing, nothing I have fits it with the exception of some Ken clothes! I had foolishly thought that the clothes I made for my Takara CG female action figures would fit. I was wrong. So Ishani has moved up into the ranks of “needy” dolls. Meaning I need to sew a mini wardrobe for her before I can start using her in photostories and shoots. The other thing that makes it rank low for me is that the torso is vinyl and is prone to staining, and it’s kind of a pain to wrestle into and out of clothing.

Here is the original post dealing with Ishani: http://corsetkitten.com/blog/archives/4540

#9 Tristan

Description of Toy/Toyline: Tristan is a Neo Goh Guy body & head made by volks. I re-rooted him with a mix of restoredoll hair and NDR hair.

So why did he make my list? Strangely enough Tristan has made the list because I think he’s my best “guy” custom this year. I don’t do so well when it comes to painting guy faces and his is one that I didn’t get the immediate urge to wipe off! Also I have a serious shortage of guys and Tristan helps lessen it a bit.

Downside to it: (aka why it isn’t the #1 toy on the list!): He’s still pretty girly and there are some flaws with his face-up. My rooting skills are only so-so and it shows.

Here is the original post dealing with Tristan: http://corsetkitten.com/blog/archives/4575

#8 Art Nouveau vase in 1:6

Description of Toy/Toyline: Who made it is a mystery although it does have “Germany” stamped on the backside of it. It’s made of metal–possibly tin or lead/or an alloy. It’s a hefty little vase for its size–which makes me think it could be lead. It was an ebay find that was listed under 1/12 dollhouse stuff. It may be 1/12 but I find that it works perfectly well for 1:6. It’s 1 3/4 inches tall (about 43.5mm)

So why did it make my list?: Come on! It’s art nouveau and 1:6? What could be better? You’re bound to see it making various “background” appearances. I love the cattail design! (see it in the background pic of Tirrem?)

Downside to it: (aka why it isn’t the #1 toy on the list!): Frankly it’s in pretty poor condition (although not so bad when you assume it’s probably more than 15 years old, right?). When I move and have a proper workshop I may try to determine what it’s made out of and what the chances of me applying enamel to it. Depending on what I find out I might try to sculpt and cast something similar that I can then enamel. It’s certainly a nice excuse to get into metal enameling!

#7 Nerissa’s & Mallory’s Quilts

Description of Toy/Toyline: Err..I am the toyline, I guess? They were all made out of 100% cotton fabric, sewn and quilted by myself.

So why did they make my list? Two reasons: 1) They are needed pieces to complete other dorm room set ups and 2) They’re just nifty. I learned a lot in the process of making them and I like it when i manage to do that.

Downside to it: (aka why they aren’t #1 toy on the list!): There were a lot of mistakes I made on both of them, especially Mallory’s quilt. Because of those mistakes they really aren’t up to the quality I expected of myself.

Here are the original posts dealing with the quilts: http://corsetkitten.com/blog/archives/4826 (nerissa’s) and http://corsetkitten.com/blog/archives/4843 (mallory’s)

#6 Ezio : Hot Toys head

Description of Toy/Toyline: Ezio is the head from one of Hot Toys action figure releases. I’m not too clear on what he is except that he’s a video game character. He was a great gift from Will when things were going spectacularly crap (and even if the head had been a flaming piece of crap I’d have appreciated it for the intention behind it). His sculpt makes him look like a moody bastard.

So why did he make my list? As I mentioned earlier there’s a chronic shortage of the male species in my 1:6 collection. Ezio (I keep wanting to refer to him as Enzio LOL) is slated to be a rival of Cass’s and a sometime lover. He might come to a bad end I don’t know yet. I do know he’ll be getting a new name.

Downside to it: (aka why it isn’t the #1 toy on the list!): The head is nicely sculpted but the coloring was way off to use on one of my regular HT true type bodies (did I mention he looks like a linebacker with those shoulders?) so I had to give him one of my 2 Hot Toys True Type Asian bodies. It was a much, much better match (although that now means that Gill’s only got one body–but he’d be ok with that since it means one less rival for Viv’s attention).

#5 Volks Excellent Base Bodies

Description of Toy/Toyline: Volks 27cm/1:6 scale dollfie bodies. These are old bodies made pre-2005. These 2 bodies in particular are gifts from the IFDC convention. For more information about the bodies (volks) check out The Volks Perfect File.

So why did they make my list?

They made the list for 2 reasons — 1) they’re more bodies for me to make customs out of, and 2) they have the bust types that I have been trying to get for a long, long time. The busts on them are smaller than the Volks EB-J and have a more natural look to them (you can’t tell from these photos, sorry!)

Downside to it: (aka why it isn’t the #1 toy on the list!): These are the old version of Volks excellent base bodies. That means that they have big gaps around their hip/thigh area (where the joint-age is). They’re shiny (which means I will have to sandmatte them) and chances are that if they are going to one of my more beloved figures that they’re going to need thigh/torso surgery. But that’s down to my personal preference. Of course the biggest downside to these excellent body volks is that volks has discontinued their production! Which means I scoop them up whenever I find them (and can afford to. These were my xmas gift for this year).

#4 My 1:6 dorm beds

Description of Toy/Toyline: Set of 2 flat-pack able 1:6 beds that I made for my dorm room sets. Pretty Basic and meant to be a stop-gap until I get back home and can make proper ones.

So why did they make my list? Like the quilts they were needed for the Dorm room sets. The best thing about them is that they’re flat-packable so I won’t have a hard time packing them up.

Downside to it: (aka why it isn’t the #1 toy on the list!): The biggest gripe I have with them is that I made the bottom out of wood…I wanted to make them with metal and springs but didn’t have the $$ at the time to buy the supplies I needed so I went with the wood. They work as they are, but they’re not exactly how I want them so they’ll get re-vamped in the future. Also, my application of varnish wasn’t so even and I’d consider sanding them down (eh, maybe) in the future.
Here is the original post dealing with the beds: http://corsetkitten.com/blog/archives/4565

#3 Chair & table from Carmen

Description of Toy/Toyline: A lovely arm chair & table set from Carmen. From the get-go she knew that I really loved the colors used in the armchair and it was among my faves. We periodically swap and make stuff for each other and these were just perfect! (there were also some 1:6 sheep pillows for Raven but I didn’t pull them out in time for this post)

So why did they make my list? Durr! They’re great stuff! I love the fact that they’re nicely made and I didn’t have to make it myself, or beg Mark to make it for me!

Downside to it: (aka why it isn’t the #1 toy on the list!): There isn’t really a downside to the pieces–only the fact that I had a few other things that edged them out of 1st place!

#2 1:6 Dresser & Desks

Description of Toy/Toyline: Custom made Desks & Dressers made by Mark of MHModelmaking .Yes that’s his blog but it’s mostly about airplanes–I’m trying to convince him he needs to start a 1:6 blog for making stuff! He doesn’t think anyone would read it or comment…IF you folks who read this blog would be interested in him writing about 1:6 stuff please leave a comment on his most recent post on his blog!

He made them all out of wood and spent a lot of time on them (they were my Valentines Day gift for 2011–they do indeed last longer than a box of tasty, delicious chocolate!)

So why did they make my list? I’d think it’d be pretty obvious that the build quality, the detailing and the overall usefulness made them hit really high in the rankings. All the drawers open and close, and the desk can be reconfigured 2 different ways. I might complain about how hard it is to get Mark to see how much I neeeeed something –but once he decides to do it he does a freakin fantastic job. I mean amazing. The guy could be building 1:1 furniture with the care and precision that he puts in. I just wish I could clone him!

Downside to it: (aka why it isn’t the #1 toy on the list!): Hmm, if I told you that I might have to kill you! No, seriously, the only reason they’re not #1 is that I fell in love with 2 of the customs I did this year. They beat everything. Anyway, here is the original post dealing with the dorm room: http://corsetkitten.com/blog/archives/4262
and you can check out the website for more info about the process: http://www.corsetkitten.com/dioramas/

And the #1 slot for 2011 goes to…… Astrid & Nerissa

Description of Toy/Toyline: Both Astrid and Nerissa are custom volks dollfies. Astrid is an Old Type C head on a hybrid Neo-Excellent J body. Nerissa is a pale Neo volks head on a volks pale excellent A body. She was rooted with restoredoll Black Orchid saran.

So why did they make my list? They made it to number one on the list because there’s something about the way they’re painted that just speaks to me. I get a lot of joy out of posing them and planning storylines for them. They’re usually located somewhere in my desk-workspace.

Downside to it: (yes even at #1 there’s a downside!): I think I could have painted both of them better/more cleanly. I don’t however want to wipe their faces and try again since I might lose that little spark that makes them so special!
Here is the original post dealing with Astrid: http://corsetkitten.com/blog/archives/3971
Here is the original post dealing with Nerissa: http://corsetkitten.com/blog/archives/4677

There you have it. My Top 10 for 2011.Comments anyone?

It’s that time of year again: Top 10 toys of 2011!

Eh, what?, Top 10 Lists 1 Response »

Dec 272011

Once more we start approaching a new year which means it’s time to take stock over the last year’s acquisitions & creations…….and see which ones really were special!

Since this year has been especially tight financially this year’s list won’t be about many things that I bought, but mostly about things that I made or was given, or traded for. Hope folks won’t be too disappointed in that. Also, this year I’m going to do it all in one single post (it’s easier that way).

Look for the post on the 30th!!

Merry Christmas & Holidays! Meet Mr. Tirrem Mesu!

1:6 scale Dolls & Action Figures, Customs & Re-stylings, Something to share 6 Responses »

Dec 252011

Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Winter Solstice (*a bit late*), Yule, etc. I hope that the winter is good to everyone and that the new year will be filled with good times and great friends!

Our gift giving this year was very laid back. I gave Mark a set of Technical Pens (hard not to keep them for myself), a new keyboard (he’s very rough on his….think of the Samsonite Gorilla commercial and you’ve got a good idea) and last was a customized volks dollfie for him. I’ve noted for the last couple of years how Mark is always happy to comment on my dolls and figures but that the one he always seems to include (and kind of covet) most is Merrit.

Of course, there was no way I was going to make him a Merrit (like the Highlander, there can be only one!) but I did want him to have a figure that he’d be able to really invest his time and energy into….I’ve given him various action figures and dolls in the past and they’ve all been swallowed up into some storage box somewhere. So I was understandably worried that I’d make him this one and it’d also go MIA. I knew he’d want a Merrit–which meant a volkd eb-N body & head….which 1:6 volks N bodies are pretty rare on the ground these days!

Which meant that I had to ask Mark what he wanted…. If I was going to do it I wanted to do it right. I wanted it to be something that would appeal and that he’d want to have around.

He thought about it.

Mark: I want a Merrit!

Me: No. That’s not an option! You have to have someone else! Someone different!

Mark: Hmmm.

Me: Hmm?

Mark: I want an Anti-Merrit! I’ll have a Tirrem. That’s Merrit spelled backwards! Tirrem Mesu!

Me: Err…like the dessert?

Mark: Yes, but spelled differently!

An Anti-Merrit? Like an Anti-christ? Hmm. This was a hard one for me to take onboard. I mean, Merrit is the coolest character. I love him even though I’m always working on new ideas and things to cause him trouble!

So I picked Mark’s brain about how he at least wanted Tirrem, the Anti-Merrit to look. I figured Mark will have to develop his personality & backstory. So far he’s told me that Tirrem is from Massachusetts or New Jersey and is rich and is pretty crap at Mechanical stuff (Mark told me this morning that Tirrem has a number of motorcycles and a Jeep and keeps mechanics well employed)

Ok, so what was Tirrem supposed to look like then? (I vetoed the blue hair & mohawk). We sat down and looked at what the options were for hair, and Mark decided he wanted some bright orange hair. I don’t know if that was because orange is the complimentary color to Blue (which Merrit has) or what. Got the hair and Mark decided that he wanted Tirrem to have hair like Sideshow Bob from The Simpsons.

So….Here’s Tirrem! (I was not allowed to give him the Quirky eyebrows I was inclined to since Mark said he wanted “regular” and not to make Tirrem “squinty”.) LOL

I did my best but the hair isn’t really as sideshow bob-ish as I’d have liked.

Mark also said that Tirrem only wears Black and Orange. So I had to make him a black long sleeve T shirt (and a sweater too), as well as a pair of black jeans with orange stitching.

Of course there were a few rules that came with Tirrem. They were:

1) Tirrem has to be kept on display at all times (out of Electra’s reach). He can’t be stored in a box somewhere.

2) Mark must take one new photo of Tirrem each week and either post it on his (alomst empty flickr account) or on his Blog.

Mark agreed to those terms so that’s that! Merry xmas !

Surprise! A Friday Monologue for You!!!

1:6 scale Dolls & Action Figures, Friday Monologues, QC: character info, Quinlan Chronicles, Something to share 11 Responses »

Dec 092011

Since I’m feeling pretty down about the holiday I thought I’d take my mind off of it by subjecting y’all to another Friday Monologue! It’s been a while since I put one up so now seems like a good time to help get me off the bus to holiday blues land!

(as usual click the image for the story)

I don’t promise that it’s good, I don’t promise that it’s entertaining….only that it is what it is! Enjoy (I hope!)

Alison gets her groove back! plus a few pics–warning doll boobs

1:6 scale Dolls & Action Figures, Customs & Re-stylings, QC: character info 4 Responses »

Dec 012011

The last two weeks have kind of ended up being a write-off. We were getting insulation put in and between the multiple times the people came to survey the attic/the landlord/and the actual installation of the insulation I got almost nada done. (since all my stuff was piled high & boxed to allow access into the attic).

So back to talking about Alison…Do you know who she is? If not check out her basic profile here: Alison.

In the process of everything going on I took her out of the box and did some thinking. You probably don’t realize that Alison is actually one of my favorites. I don’t know why for certain, but I think it is because of her personality.

She’s actually pretty nice and she isn’t bitter or particularly vindictive (and maybe she should be considering some of the storylines and plots that I have in mind for her). But despite me liking her personality I’ve got to admit that there are a few reasons she doesn’t get much in the way of screen-time. Or attention in general.

To begin with me and her head have a not-so-great history. She started out as a bit part named Nyssa:

As you can see she didn’t have much going for her. Awful facepaint, long frizzy hair and a beauty F body (that made her neck look weird). I really just couldn’t get on with the head and eventually tried repainting it.

So then she became this rather perplexed looking person….who eventually got her face wiped yet again. to become Alison.

She’s certainly my favorite but her face paint is messy and her eyes are crooked. I like the fact that she has a more mature look to her face. But…her face paint is messy (although that alone won’t stop me from using a doll). Anyway, I had her out on my desk and I started thinking that a good part of the reason why I don’t use her often is that I just don’t like the body that she was on. I had her on a volks EB-D (which I call the Basketball Boob body)

I don’t know why, but I just couldn’t get on with it (I suppose the fact that I have out of all my many volks dollfies only 2 with the EB-D body it should tell me something, huh?). So I decided that I’d stick someone else on the Basketball boob body and let Alison have an EB-E body (bigger boobs yes, but they show that they’re subject to gravity–which will get the boobs everytime!) So here’s a quick pic of Alison sporting her new body!

I think I’ll be more inclined to play with her now, and make her some clothes–and maybe even consider working some more on her cafe! She just seems more “ta dah” and with it to me with the new body….So look for some more photos of her soon, and who knows, maybe I’ll do a mini story with her soon?

Gearing up for “The most wonderful time of the year” uh huh?

Eh, what?, Making Stuff, quilting, Sewing in 1:6 15 Responses »

Nov 162011

Obviously you folks will have noticed that there’s been abit of quiet on the blog again. that’s because I’m busting my hump to get some 1:6 x-mas (or winter solstice) presents ready to go out in the mail for this weekend (or Monday at the latest). So with all the hard graft (that’s a phrase I’ve picked up living here) I’m making progress on other things as well. No, I’m not talking about the mazes of bureaucratic incompetents who are dealing with our bank accounts (oh, HSBC UK you totally suck!)

So, I’m sewing away–doing my best to make a few goodies for those special people (you guys know who you are!) and get other things done as well. I’d love to share photos on here of what I’ve made (because some of it’s turned out really well) but if I do they’ll see their presents and …well..that just wouldn’t be good right? So hopefully come xmas time they’ll post on their blogs & flickr accounts the goodies I’m making now! *I hope anyway*

While I’m at it I figured I’d post a pic of how things are starting to come together with the insanity quilt. It’s just a quick shot (I threw them on top of a tile) so you can see where I’m going with them so far.

Would you believe that there are 231 hexagons in that shot?

I know they’re not much to look at at the moment but I’m making some progress. I am glad that I only decided to do a dorm size (twin) quilt with them though and not the original 1:6 queen size I’d planned.

I’m also working on getting those photos done for new etsy listings. I’ve just about sorted out the light bulb situation here (oh don’t even ask) so that’ll be back on track soon. The broken printer–not-so-much-so but I’m still trying to source a replacement that we can afford at the moment. We’ll see what happens.

Ok back to the worktable! See you all later!

Experimental Patchwork in 1:6 so very bright!

1:6 Props & Miscellany, dioramas, Making Stuff, photostory stuff, quilting, Sewing in 1:6, Something to share, What do YOU think? 13 Responses »

Nov 022011

I started this quilt in the middle of the great internet blackout of 2011 mostly as a way to try to keep sane and not constantly be thinking bout talking to my friends online. I’ll say here and now that the photos for this post suck. I switched over all our bulbs to the energy efficient ones and I haven’t been able to get them quite right yet. Even with the custom wb & post processing.

It is pretty bright. Nothing wrong with vibrant colors — but wow, huh?

The patches all started out as individual squares. And no, before you start thinking I’m an absolute masochist–there was a reason for this: I had already had a number of them cut (to the wrong size for my Insanity quilt) and this seemed like the perfect way to use them and not end up wasting the fabric. I didn’t know if it was going to work but I gave it a try and I’m pretty pleased with the overall look. Next time I’ll try to do it as a Nine Patch rather than just random placements.

This quilt marks a lot of firsts for me.

It was the first patchwork I completed. The other one I’d started got tossed in the bin as a needless exercise in frustration),
The first time I made my own bias binding (not as hard as I thought it was)
The first whole doll blanket that I bothered to quilt by hand. Although I have to admit that it was a pain, and it is part of the reason why Nerissa’s Quilt is only lightly quilted.
I used a combination of tying & hand stitching to quilt the quilt.

So I sewed all the patches together, quilted it, washed it and now comes the really hard part–deciding which character gets it! After sticking them on it I came to 3 conclusions. Shayna could have it (but since I’m working on the insanity quilt for her it doesn’t seem right she should have two. Does it??Nope.) So….either Mallory or Parker will get it.

Maybe you folks can help me decide? Who do you think owns this quilt? I’ve snapped a few pics of each with the patchwork quilt so you can help me decide! There’s a poll at the end of this post–please vote!

Sooo..what do you think??

What else am I working on? ramblings enclosed

dioramas, Eh, what?, fashion royalty, Making Stuff, moving 2 Responses »

Oct 312011

You know, the thing with working on things, and having all these projects boiling away in my head is that I don’t always remember to tell you guys–you know–what exactly I’m doing! Or how things are or have changed in the process (well of cooking in my brain anyway) So, aside from updating the blog with pics of the things I made this last month, I ought to tell you that I am once more working on the dioramas for the FR girls. I know it’s been a while since I posted much about them, and y’all probably through I’ve tossed them in a box somewhere!

If you recall, my original plan for their sets was to make them a complete apartment.

What with putting the house on the market, packing things up, moving into the rental & stuff it all got shoved onto the back burner with me realizing I can’t do any of it until I move home (and then probably some months after that). But…..I really didn’t like that idea much. So I figured a bit of a compromise would be good. I’d make their living-room & kitchen and the rest would wait. After all, the important stuff in both those rooms are the furniture and props. Not the walls etc.

PLUS—— What’s to say that the Actresses couldn’t move? I mean, the show could become more popular and they get to move to a bigger, nicer apartment. Right? or maybe move up to the penthouse instead of the basement??

I figured I’ll commit to making their living-room & kitchen. I was originally going to use my retro-kitchen for them but I decided that that belongs to the Daniels (Merrit & Jane) and I wouldn’t feel right using it for people in the same universe. I probably sound like a nut for saying that, but you know, like, whatever!

So that’s something that I want to work on for hte month of November. I want to really crunch and try to get at least the living-room complete. I already know what I’m doing for funiture in there so that’s fairly easy–hardest part is figuring out if I can get away using my standard room-base or do I need to make a new one (It’s kind of looking that way for the kitchen).

Ok, I’ll update later (tonight, maybe.) with sewing related stuff!

Nerissa’s 1:6 Quilt

1:6 Props & Miscellany, 1:6 scale Dolls & Action Figures, Customs & Re-stylings, dioramas, Making Stuff, Sewing in 1:6 16 Responses »

Oct 282011

Do you remember Nerissa at all? She’s one of the heads I painted back in August. She’s surprised me by becoming one of my favorite dolls. So when it came time to think about what kind of blanket she’d get for her dorm room I wanted to give her something that was a little bit special and somehow reflected a bit of her personality too.
This is what I came out with.

Yes, it IS considered a quilt (albeit not a patchwork). It’s a wholecloth quilt which means that the top consists of one whole piece of fabric. I did hand quilt it with some nice variegated thread in pinks.

She got a fitted sheet, a pillow & a pillowcase. (needs a flat sheet still)

There you have it. I’m gonna ask you all to forgive my pics. I’m still working out the new set up here and the lighting.

So…What was I doing the last 26 days sans Internet?

1:6 Props & Miscellany, Eh, what?, Making Stuff, Something to share 11 Responses »

Oct 272011

First, I want to admit that being without the internet made me be more productive with my time. Although I tried I didn’t come away with something for every day. I’ve been struggling with the new space/work area and the new place in general. It’s ok, but it’s taking a lot of adjustment from me, the cats & mark. For me, my workroom/living-room is what is giving me the most agita. Living out of boxes, boxes piled on boxes and well, trying to get any one particular box = exercise in frustration.

The room’s temporarily set up. I set it up initially based on where the sun was going to be most of the day (I didn’t want it getting in my re-ment boxes, or on my dolls). But now, I’m finding that if I want to do anything in the room I really need to re-think where my table is going (I had to give mark one of my work tables so he’d have something to put his computer on, so I’m sort of at a loss). In spite of all that I DID GET STUFF DONE!!! I’ll give you the basics here but soon I’ll do individual posts about some of these things.

Continued working on the Insanity Quilt. I’ve begun sewing the hexagons into “flower” shapes. Finally decided that I want to do them in sets of 3 (so 3 red, 3 purple, 3 blue etc) for when I finally construct the thing.
Painted 6 paintings (on 1:6 scale canvases that I stretched and primed) for etsy.
Made 4 new bonsai trees (also for etsy).
Began the great sort out of doll clothes in an attempt to assign them to specific characters. (I thought that by doing that it might be easier to dress them quickly & make it easier to shoot spur of the moment stories).
Made a 1:6 random patchwork quilt for one of the girls’ dorm rooms (not sure who it belongs to yet). It might belong to Parker. Maybe.
Made the comforter for Nerissa’s dorm room.
Made the comforter for Nik’s dorm room.
Wrote a bit of Giselle’s backstory & worked on Kendall’s too.
Worked on developing my ideas and concepts for Marissa (FP Kyori) & Kendall (Perk Collette).
Had a birthday (it sucked. what more can I say?)
Modified Kendall & Eugenia so they can sit upright.
Moved boxes around into some kind of organized chaos–so that I can try to start shooting some photos of the stuff I did do! LOL
Sourced a replacement worktable for me (since mark needed my other one).
Baked an apple cobbler *mmmmm cobbler….*
Worked on the Quinlan-Chronicles Website–still have to upload the updates & changes though.

So it wasn’t a total loss being without the internet. But I’m happy to be online again!

Wow! I’m Back! I think….

Eh, what?, moving 7 Responses »

Oct 262011

Thank you Super-Uber-Suctakular ISP for finally pulling your thumb out and getting it hooked up! Seriously. They turned 7-10 business days = 26 days!! How crap is that? And please don’t get me started on the total lack of customer service skills. Well, whatever!

I’m relieved to be able to get online since my attempts to pop on at the library came to naught although now I have 800+ emails to sort through. ::O So…if you’re someone who’s emailed me lately (as in the last 26 days) be patient and I’ll get to it. Or email me again!(I might have a delete-happy index finger…) I promise. If my head doesn’t explode from all the internet-y goodness).

Anyway I think I’m back (I’m really skeptical of the ISP’s service and I really expect more trouble). I’ll update in a day or so with what’s been going on here!

A temporary break….But not really much of a break for me!

Eh, what? 4 Responses »

Sep 302011

We’re moving and of course that means our internet is going to be out! *boo* But that’s good because it means other things are finally going according to plan. Our internet will be up-and-running in the next week or two (yes, it could take 14 business days! How crap is that??) So if you’re trying to touch base with me please be patient, ok?

Of course I’ll do my best to check-in and try to get online via other wi fi spots.

I hope you all are having fun and doing 1:6 stuff!

Clothes, clothes, clothes! Who gets what?

1:6 scale Dolls & Action Figures, fashion royalty, Making Stuff, photostory stuff, Sewing in 1:6, What do YOU think? 6 Responses »

Sep 262011

What with all the sewing of the last few weeks I realized that I need to assign pieces of clothing to specific characters.

That’s not reaaaaaaally a problem for the volks/obitsu dolls since they can wear the mattel/ barbie clothing with no trouble. But the trouble makers are of course– my fashion royalty dolls. Yes, those lovely, fashionable dolls! Although the fashion royalty girls can wear a lot of the barbie stuff (and their default clothing) but in general I always find myself struggling when it comes to finding them pants/ slacks since they can’t wear many of the babs bottoms due to their incredibly loooooong legs. So I made them a few skirts, pants and now I need to start the great clothing assignment of 2011!

The tough thing for me about doing this sort-out is…. who should get what pieces? Which outfits look better on…. well you get the idea, right?

So what I’m hoping to do later this week (probably this weekend) is to start shooting some photos of the clothing on some of the dolls—basically asking you to be the tie-breaker and help me decide who gets the clothing!

Are you guys up for that?

Just to prove I’m doing something! photos

Making Stuff, Sewing in 1:6 18 Responses »

Sep 182011

Yes, I’m still alive! The stress of our situation is really getting to me. It’s a complicated situation (ugh) which I can do nothing about (which makes it worse for me). Buuuuuuuuuut I have been sewing. And I snapped some pics this morning to show you what I’ve done in the last 2 weeks.

Sorry that they aren’t pretty pics — I’ll try to shoot some of the clothes on the dolls soon! You can probably tell these are primarily meant for the students since it’s all casual wear.

Ok I fibbed! There’s one pair of slacks for Shay (and a camisole top for her too). I wanted to make more jeans but I didn’t have any more fabric — so maybe some other time? There is a definite shortage of jeans…

Yes, duplicate skirts. I’m thinking that some of the girls might do the occasional dress-alike thing.

Dresses… The blue ones were test-pieces. I’d never tried making a pseudo-babydoll type dress before. Not overly thrilled with them except for the black one. (the orange-y sheath goes under that).

And of course I managed to leave out a few items, but all in all (not including the things I made for Etsy) I made 90+ pieces of _usable_ clothing! That’s quite an addition to my characters’ wardrobes and I’m pleased—-although I do feel like it all looks sort of the same.

I’m not MIA …really!

Eh, what?, Making Stuff, Sewing in 1:6 2 Responses »

Sep 082011

Ok, I know, you’re all thinking “Well, there haven’t been any posts lately. What’s going on over there? Is she doing ANYTHING?”

The last 2 weeks have been big, long exercises in stress & anxiety and I decided that the best way to deal with that was to do some sewing. For myself.

I don’t usually bother to sew anything for my dolls–the majority of stuff I make tend to go on to other people’s dolls. I get the rejects & QC fails–But the great thing about sewing (sometimes) is that it requires me to focus & concentrate. Which makes it harder for me to be all stressed about what’s been going on.

So, this weekend I’m going to sew on the hooks, eyes & snaps, and then I’ll photograph the stuff I’ve made. Which will be kind of cool since I plan on doing a few “Who wears it Better” shots since I can’t decide who really looks better in some of the pieces.

And of course, Happy Birthday Bob. I still love you and miss you.

Fabrics: up for grabs!

For Sale, moving, Something to share 2 Responses »

Aug 282011

Ok, so I took some time over the weekend to photograph the first round of fabrics to go.

Not sure if anyone’s interested in them, they’re going as lots (obviously) since I just want them out of the house (since it’s all about clearing out & divesting myself of “things”).