So, I've been working on this doll for.. a while now (sigh sigh).  I was just wondering if anyone else was working with La Doll Clay?  I'm not entirely sure how I should protect the clay once she is finished.. I think she would need some sort of thin layer of varnish or something?  Anyways, any tips, criticism are welcome. Oh, and she is about 12" tall (from toe tip to head top), she is kind of tiny and I'm not sure I would recommend doing something this small without more experience (which I totally don't have).  I also made a small rabbit to go along with her.  I have a few more photos of her on my blog, plus some WIP shots and more shots of Lapin on his own:

https://bulbasaureyes.wordpress.com/2013/03/10/diana-the-heir-on-the-moon-and-lapin/

I was just wondering if anyone here did any monster high custom stuff.. I have been looking online since starting mine and wow, I can't believe the amount of people who are interested in this too! 

Any who, if anyone is, or knows about BJDs (since the answers would be the same or similar I think)..
Does anyone know where I can find simple patterns for clothes to fit their bodies?  I am having a heck of a time with their ridiculously arched backs and over all skinny frame.
Why does my paint sometimes pool on top when I'm painting her face instead of washing on all nice? (I used water colours for this). 
Has anyone successfully made new limbs for a Monster High doll, instead of buying the kits?  THe doll I have is missing her arms from the elbow down, and I don't want to buy her new arms, although I'm fine with making her a cool doll sans arms.. I've considered making her out of polymer clay, but I don't know how I would go about the attachment part, since it seems to be a little specific. 
Or any other tips, and pointers, especially if you see that I am making some obvious or stupid mistake.. lol.
Anywho, here is my first attempt at a face-up (I don't have a gloss sealer yet, but it's on my purchase list)

I also have given her a spa treatment, her hair was a crazy matted mess when I found her, but now it is big and beautiful!

I received my package from Psyche today:

She sent me four herb pots and seeds (unfortunately two of them didn't make the trip, and are quite cracked, but those thing happen, I will glue the one but the other one might not be save-able). 

She also sent three smelly sachet things (I suppose those are their proper names?), each one has a different smell.  ^_^


She also sent a fabric snack bag, and a fabric box/ basket (she noted that she did not make this item), plus a neat envelope and postcard.


Thanks for everything Psyche! 

So many great packages!  That Totoro cross stitch is cute.  ^_^
So much details in both the tote bag and that wooden box.

I have two better shots of my package to astrangeone (I hope that is okay? I'll only post the thumb nails just in case.. )

I received a great stamp in the mail from astrangeone yesterday!  
It is a stamp of Bulbasaur and Charmander (my life partner's and I's preferred starter Pokemon respectively).  I think it looks perfect, they both look so happy.



She also sent a mini paper crane, which will be added to my collection that is hanging in my bedroom!  ^_^  Thanks so much!  I have lots of plans for this little stamp.  

First off, Happy birthday Miss Barbara!! 

So I was very lucky to receive both of my packages a mere day apart, and so have lots of pictures to post here!

Yesterday I received my gift from phnxreign99, here is everything together:


She claimed me crochet slippers, but she also sent two dish cloths (Ironically, this isn't something I asked for, but it is something that I really need!  I have one crochet dish cloth, but it is really old and has certainly seen better days.. now I have pretty new ones that match my kitchen (something phnxreign99 didn't know either..)).  I also got some fabric scraps (the striped fabric was used to wrap my slippers, I failed to take photos of this package before I looked at everything.. .derp) and yummy tea (which unfortunately, my partner already saw and "claimed" the pomegranate, but they will have to share still).

The obligatory, awkward, "look ma, they fit!" photo of my feet:

It's hard to tell in the photos, but the yarn used in the slippers is glittery!  They are very comfy, and I have pretty much worn them non-stop since I got them.  Thank you so much phnxreign99! 

Now, onto A2K's gift that she sent me:

It's funny, I was always one of those kids that carefully opened presents, peeling the tape and unfolding the paper.  But, sitting down to open this, with my hot cup of tea and two kitties climbing all over me, I decided that I wanted to have fun and actually rip this gift open.  I have to say, it was a weirdly liberating to tear the paper off in a frenzy, but very fun!  ^_^

A2K claimed me for an Ereader cover, but first here are some extras that she sent:

A fun fabric basket, and a hand-bound book (the book was made by another crafter here, Raevaethejetplane, I hope I spelled that right! From STS (which I think stands for shop the swap? I think that makes sense any who)).

And now the Ereader cover:

 
I love the Amy Butler fabric that she picked, it's very bright and cheery.  The note book fits perfectly into a little slot on the left hand side, and there is a little pocket under that.
Thank you A2K for the great gift!! I know that you are a non-birthday swapper so I will definitely be sending you a thank you in the mail.  ^_^

Oh, and I didn't mention that they both sent lovely cards along (I think they are both visible in the photos).  I need to figure out a nice, easy way to keep cards I get in swaps so that they don't end up in a pile on my work desk. 

I was super nervous about this swap overall, since it's my first time doing a swap where you aren't paired up with a partner.. but this was so much fun!  I can't wait for next year's b-day swap, and I think this will push me to join more swaps in this style.  Looking forward to seeing more packages in this gallery too!

I found this small vintage table cloth the other day, and originally I was planning on cutting it all up, using the print in different ways as accents on new pillows.. but, like I always do, I got it home, looked at it, and decided there was no way I could cut this fabric apart.  Its too pretty.  Soooo I decided to make one big pillow case using it.
Since the fabric is white, I decided to make it a pillow case, and then make a pillow insert for it.  It took about 4 hours for both parts, and cost me only $8.99!  I love my new pillow, and it matches my living room perfectly. ^_^
If anyone is interested, I could do a tutorial, did I mention that I didn't use a sewing machine at all?

Here is a shot of the front and the back of the pillow:

And a few close ups of the fabric:

This is my business card, this is a little old and I actually had to edit it before I had them printed (my website address is wrong... derrrrr).  My format includes the bleed area, and so they cut off just at the edges of the pink lettering (so that "sweater eyes" literally takes up the entire card).

So, me and my partner have lived together for four years.  Unfortunately, I moved into my house with a lot of furniture and stuff that I had accumulated from my previous relationship (since we had lived together for what seemed like the longest year of my life.. ).  Since my "new" (I say "new" because hes really not new now.. he's old now, haha) partner moved in with me with quite literally a suitcase of clothes, we had to make-do with the furniture that I had.  Since then we have added some awesome road-side finds and purchased one or two items.. but why buy new stuff when I can re-make my old, lame stuff? 

So I had a pair of these side table lights.  Previously I had an "Asian" themed bedroom (well, a terrible North American bastardized idea of Asian style, if you know what I mean), and so these kitschy lights kind of fit in.  But now, my bedroom has a way cooler theme of OUTER SPACE, with a colour scheme of dark blue, red, yellow and aqua. 

I'm posting the much prettier picture first..


And now to demonstrate the incredible transformation!


I love how it projects colours on to the walls at night, and during the day is a nice pop of yellow.  ^_^ Let me know what you think!

Okay, so I have been attempting to re-decorate my entire house for the past 8 months (did I mention I have no budget... yay!), so you can be expecting a lot of posts from me in the home sweet home forums for a while.    

Anyways.

One of the first "big" projects that I did was paint my fireplace.  It was seriously ugly before, and it clashed with the entire room, so I painted the brick a dark charcoal, and above a rich red.  To see a before picture you can check my blog here: https://bulbasaureyes.wordpress.com/2011/01/27/redecorating/



So.. fast forward to now.  Originally I was planning on having photo wire strung across (two lines, one mid and one along the top), and hanging posters and what not on them (as in the picture).  But I realized after that the front of the fireplace must be cement (duh), and I can't put any supports in the middle of wire and I really didn't like the saggy look (the posters have since been taken down).  Currently, the fireplace is really barren.. I just don't know what to do with it. The lights that were sitting on the mantle now took the hooks I had put in for the wire, and there is currently only two dinosaurs on the mantle (not a million).    

A big part of the problem is the size and location of the fireplace itself.  I live in a shotgun style home, so its really skinny.  To take those fire place photos, I'm actually standing on my couch.  My house is only 11ft wide, but is 17 feet long (it feels a lot longer than that because it just keeps going into my dining room, and then going into my kitchen.. ).  The fire place is a whopping 9 feet wide AND it juts out of the wall almost two feet.  There is simply no set up in the room that allows the fireplace to be a centre piece, we considered putting the tv above the fireplace but we can't sit far enough away from the fireplace to accommodate how high it would be.  

Any ideas?