Free time, and some Pullip pics

I've been quite busy with work these past few weeks that I haven't had much extra time to do anything besides chores, errands, and eating out (harhar). In fact, I'm only taking a break from work now because my brain is falling asleep. And come to think of it, I need a snack.

In other news, I've reinstalled The Sims 3 on my laptop and added a few expansion packs. Howdy, old friend! I've been playing Sims since the first ever version was released (a very long time ago) and it has always been an effective way for me to loose track of the hours. Ok so I shouldn't be wondering where all the rest of my free time went. But but but... having a pet horse in-game is sooo much fuuun!

So while my Sim was earning a motherload of Simoleons busking in the streets of Sunset Valley, nothing much happened for me IRL. Er, I mean I have been busy with work. Really! Ok, I'll just post a few pics of Indigo, my Pullip Tiphona. I've had her for some time but haven't posted any pics so far.

Here she is in her box. You can see my junk lying around in the background.

While Henri had horrible stock shoes, Tiphona has pretty decent ones. Her bag is cute too.

Here's a closer shot... she's so darn pretty! Hm, why don't I make a Sim that looks like a Pullip? That's an idea...

Hey Girl!

My sisters and I love watching New Girl because it's darn funny.Plus Zooey Deschanel wears the cutest clothes. There was a green and blue outfit that I particularly liked in one of the episodes so I made it for my Pullip.

More pics here and here

Wigs

I spent a good few hours last week trying a few wigs on Candice. I went for the gray one for everyday wear.

This week's loot

A few packages arrived the other day, mostly of beading supplies. I really really need to get started on my beading projects now. The doll wigs I ordered from CanCan also arrived. But I don't want to attack the task of changing Candice's wig with my thumb still not fully functional. Or maybe I will because I can't wait that long.

{supplies and a couple of doll wigs thrown in the mix}

Making doll dresses

This past week, I worked on a couple of doll dresses. Well, they're so much better than my first attempt. Mainly because I was serious this time. :D I had my orange tracing chalk handy, to add to the seriousness of the whole activity. Many of the women in my family sew. My grandma's sisters are accomplished seamstresses, my mom sewed a lot too. And now my sister is making her career in sewing. I remember as a kid watching my grannies and mom sew, they used the orange chalk to trace. (But not my sister -  she uses fancy sewing stuff) So I just had to buy my own because I mean business!

I made a short dress for Sabrina using this floral fabric and a few strips of color-coordinated ribbons.

I was quite happy with this dress, though there's still a lot of room for improvement. As you can see here, the skirt's seam is actually at the front of the dress :D Luckily the shirring makes it less obvious.

This is the beginnings of a maxi tube top dress for Candice. Cutting the fabric was pretty straightforward. I just cut a rectangular piece of fabric to her measurements. What proved to be absolutely tricky when making this dress was getting the tiny garter through the equally tiny casing I sewed on the top part of the dress. After about 4 tries and throwing a bit of a fit, I finally got that darn elastic through.

 

Okay, so time for finished products. Here's Sabrina in her dress.

And here's Candice. I just hand-stitched the ribbon to the hem. The fabric is pretty sheer so it's peekaboo undies for now. Hehe. I still have to buy fabric for the lining.

Dal Darony

I named her Sabrina, after the last company I worked for (Sabre) -  I used some money from my last paycheck to buy her. At first I thought she was a cow, then found out she's actually dressed up as a dalmatian. Dal - dalmatian. Clever. She wasn't a serious choice at first. Because, come on, the outfit is a bit silly. But then I saw pictures of her without her dalmatian gear, and I was sold. Her faceup is so pretty and her simple hairstyle is just adorable.

See? Luuurve her! Maybe it would be nice to replace her eye chips though... thinking about it...

A lootful day

I opened a lot of boxes today - it was almost like Christmas. I was ecstatic when I found the Mini Lalaloopsy Tales on the shelves of Toy Kingdom the other day. I've been wanting them since last year and I didn't think they were going to get here that fast. Of course I had to buy me some! But there was no Alice lala, so she's still on my got-to-have list. So, I got Curls N' Locks, Coral Sea Shells and Snowy Fairest which are the cutest of the bunch. I'm still deciding if I should buy the others for the sake of having them. Err.. hm, maybe.

As you can see on the picture above, I bought some more Rement Disney vintage tableware (still no Chip and Dale salt and paper shakers) and a Disney Birthday Cake. I should really stop buying that stuff. REALLY. But the main event, of course, was my Dal Darony which arrived this morning. Hooray for the wonderful people at the post office! I might be one of a very few handful of people singing praises for the Philippine postal service, but the people at our town's post office are just the best. Quick and prompt service. Only one thing to remember when shipping to the Philippines - never use expedited courier services lest you be taxed heavily by customs. The people at customs probably think your package isn't worth taxing if you're not in a hurry to get it. I haven't had a lost package yet using slower services (like USPS priority international), so it works for me. But that's only for toys, snack swaps, craft stuff and jewelry making supplies. But for big, pricey electronic gadgets, I'd skip buying online altogether.

My first attempt at Pullip fashion

I'm working on my long dormant sewing skills.

Yesterday I was attempting to make a dress for Candice using a Blythe dress pattern and fabric from my sister's scrap pile. The fit was fine, it was my sewing that wasn't. It's not so obvious from this picture how horror movie and asylum-ish this dress is.

After that I picked up a few beads and a ball of crochet thread and made a quick necklace.

The finished product looks like seaweeds. 

Oh well. Try again tomorrow...

Mary Poppins wants her clothes back

Okay, so not posting too much about toys on this blog is not going to happen because look what arrived the other day - my Pullip Henri! Kuya Taniel, bringer of goodies (aka the mailman), handed me my package claim slip and I was out the door and driving to the post office in a snap. But ripping the box open had to wait because I still had to make a trip to the grocery store to buy ingredients for a magical green health juice type experiment. Very anticlimactic.

Back at home, I spent some moments staring at her while still in her box. She's just so precious, I was debating whether to unbox her or not.

I love her old world style even though she looks like she rummaged through Mary Poppins's closet. But I wish she could have left the shoes alone because they are hi-de-ous!

Cat eyes

What really drew me to her, though, is her face-up. Pretty, right?

* Henri is from the Dollte-Porte collection released last May 2011.

2012

2012 is here! I'm excited! May this be a good year for everyone. I hope all plans will get executed smoothly. And I'm excited about a new addition to my girls - she's arriving this January. In the meantime, here are some Lalas enjoying the New Year fireworks.

Christmas!!!

Minis on my messy desk

My desk is a mess - all the time. Now it has a few more inhabitants: Mini Lalaloopsies! I can't help it, they're just too cute! And they put my Sylvanian Families furniture to good use too. I tell you, Sylvanian Families + Mini Lalaloopsies = addiction to rival my nail polish purchasing sickness. Not a good idea. Not good at all.

{Spot Splatter Splash, Marina Anchors, Tippy Tumblelina, Pillow Featherbed}

I have a couple more of these little ones waiting in my closet, ready for Christmas morning. The dining room chairs won't be enough for them soon.

{having some pizza}

Meet Nina

I loved sewing outfits for my Barbie dolls when I was a kid. And for the longest time during my adult life I've wanted a doll that I can dress up. I thought of getting a Blythe doll a few years back, but they're so crazy expensive so I shelved the idea. But that nagging need resurfaced when I saw a few Blythe dolls some weeks ago at a local toy store. I came close to deciding to buy one when I saw a Lalaloopsy TV ad just in time. They were just so cute and perfect! A few days after, I got myself one.

So, I'm pleased to introduce Marina Anchors. Wally christened her "Nina", as "Marina" proved to be too complicated for him to say. She's one of my top picks among all the Lalaloopsy girls, mainly because of her blue hair and blunt bangs...

... and slightly because her nautical theme reminds me of Flapjack... I absolutely LOOOVE that weird cartoon - from the artwork to the off-kilter sense of humor.

She comes with her own tag, complete with personal info..

... and a pet whale which I aptly called Bubbie.

{named after Flapjack's Bubbie}