"I thought it would be fun to play some plain old-fashioned party games, like the ones we used to play when I was little.  Like Pin the Tail on the Donkey. You get blindfolded, and try to pin a tail roughly in the right place on this picture....without being able to see it...."

"So, since it's his birthday, Winston can be first..."

"I hope you can't see anything, because you shouldn't be able to..."

"Where's that donkey?? Someone point me in the right direction!"

I've given it a bit more thought, and decided that I didn't like the word 'Sloper'.  Yes, professional sewers would know what it meant, but I'm not catering to professionals. Just the average person. So I've renamed the file 'Just Patterns', because to most people that would be a more recognizable title. The pdfs do have actual patterns with seam allowances, but mostly there's templates, which is how I prefer to use my 'patterns'. By tracing the templates onto the wrong side of the fabric, all the stitching lines are clearly there for me to see, and that makes sewing so much easier. I expect many people would agree. They just need to remember to add the seam allowances.  Anyways, I've gone back and updated the last Blog post announcing the new file...

Winston posing with his cake...

...and with all the elves....

Announcing some new stuff in the Tutorials section!  There's a new Creative Journey about the making of the newest version of Christine and the Phantom. I've even included the templates for Bianca's bodice, and the dressing gown.

I've also started the 'Just Patterns' file. It's at the end of the Creative Journey section. I had originally called it 'Slopers', but I find it's a weird word that only professional seamstresses would recognize, and the intention is to help non-professionals, so I renamed it.

Right now there are just four in there, mostly of the newest outfits that I've made. All for dolls where there's little or nothing available pattern-wise right now.

Releasing these four is an experiment right now. None of them come with instructions, and you will be totally on your own with them. I will not be explaining how to go about using them. However, you might find some sewing tips in some of my other pattern Tutorials that do have illustrated instructions. So if you find the new 'Just Patterns' helpful, drop me a note, so I know they are useful to you, and then I will continue to add more in the future....

Willie and Winston arrived at the North Pole....
​"Surprise!!"

Winston could barely believe his eyes!
​The elves were all dressed up, and they had the biggest cake he had ever seen!!

Everyone gathered round to give him a big hug...

"How did you know it was my birthday??"

"Willie told us. She knows everything!!"

Feeling a bit overwhelmed right now. I had three new dolls arrive in January - Phairby, Vakhmurddarr, and David, my Kid Daisy boy - all blank, without faceups.

I made an outfit for Phairby that I'm not entirely happy with, and really would like to start another.

I put some eyes in David, and put a wig and some clothes on him just for a picture. He came with 12mm eyes, but they totally filled his small eye holes, and even 10mm was still too big in my opinion, so I ended up giving him 8mm eyes. I love his smile.

I've started knitting him a sweater set and it will be lighter colours with a cream edging...

With the lighter sweater and hat, I think he'll need darker hair. I'm thinking curly auburn mohair wig, with freckles. Which means making some more hard wig caps.  Yay!!   Not!!!

I'm loving the new KID elbows. David is my first KID since Iplehouse has changed them.  I always hated the old elbows, and the way the double joint piece stuck way out to make the arms bend. And they weren't very secure either, and kept popping out of place.  Which was a total pain, especially with long sleeves. I know jointed bjd elbows are never  going to be 'attractive', due to the fact the doll's arms are solid resin, but some elbows are definitely better than others. Here's a comparison picture of Peach's elbow with David's.....and his stay in place!

I've been frustrated all week because I've been wanting to start posting Slopers, but haven't able to get my scanner to work. I'd not used it since I got the new computer in November, and it refused to work. Thankfully my IT son, who has remote access to my computer, has been looking at it this week, and installed some new software and I finally got my scanner working this morning. So now I can start scanning! Whenever I actually get around to it...

Jan has come down with a bug, and had to cancel some dental surgery today. But I get to go instead, because one of my molars broke last night. Dental expenses here we come!! And with Jan being sick, we won't be going to any of the birthday parties this weekend, including our grandson's. I just hope my flu shot protects me, or at least makes it (and his) less severe. I'm not looking forward to weeks of being sick.

And all this while I'm trying to shoot a birthday party today. I'm so distracted that I've had to re-shoot every scene twice - or more - due to having forgotten to include something in the details. Good thing I have lots of little white candles!!

On her way to the party, Willie ran into Winston...
​"Where are you going??"

"I'm going to a party at the North Pole.."

'That's funny. I didn't get an invitation..."

"That is weird!  I saw the guest list, and your name was on it.
​Maybe your invitation got stuck in the mail."

"If you don't have anything else to do, you could come with me..."

So they headed off together....

Today, February 7th, is 'Send a Card to a Friend' Day, so Lisa was trying to write some cards....

Then Elin and Nyssa interrupted her....."What are you doing??"

"I'm trying to write some cards to my friends..."

"These look really pretty..."

"Could me and Elin write one to our friends too??"

"Sure, you can each take one..."

"I like this one!"

"And I like this one...

'What should we write??"

"I don't know.."

'Well, you girls think about it, and come back when you know...:

"Now, where was I??"

Willie was all bundled up, travelling through the snowy woods....

She was going to a birthday party....

Yesterday morning was my six-month appointment with the eye specialist, and the eye drops they use mess with my eyesight for the rest of the day, so I couldn't really do anything. In late afternoon, once I could start to see again a little bit, I thought I'd make a few more party hats and some new presents, so I'd have more variety to choose from for an upcoming party.

The party hats are made from a cone of either gift wrap or scrap-booking papers, with strips of fringe cut from coloured tissue paper. I even have some for my really tiny dolls...

For gifts, I either use existing tiny boxes, or make little boxes from cardboard. Then they get wrapped with small print scrap-booking paper, tied with a ribbon, and get a miniature bow hot-glued on top. These are the six new ones I made yesterday....

As to the ribbons....whenever I get a gift with 'curly' ribbon, I take it, split it down the middle to make it narrower, and then curl it with the edge of my scissors. I store all the curled ribbons in a zip-lock bag so it's handy for whenever I need some - like to tie onto balloons for parties. I keep the really long curly ribbons - for suspending clusters of balloons from the dining room chandelier - in a separate bag, so I don't have to search for them every time, but can just pull out the appropriate colours in keeping with a party's colour scheme. I buy the tiny gift bows when I see them (usually at Michaels) and keep them in a separate baggie inside the ribbon bag. 

Before cleaning it all up, everything looked so colourful and festive that I had to take a picture...

Let the party begin!!