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Lucian’s clothes arrive

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Lucian's clothes, courtesy of a June Planning Captain Hook Taeyang doll, arrived today. Overall, it's too big, better suited to fit a Cy Girl [see Frank modeling the jacket below] or a male action figure than a slightly built, slender male figure as Lucian.

Furthermore, much to my disgust and annoyance, all elements are well-made of soft, lined fabric, except for the dang shirt. The blouse is made of a sleazy pink fabric more appropriate for cheap playline Barbies. When I pay a lot for a doll or its outfit, I expect high-quality fabrics, not something that I can find on a $5.00 doll in the department store.

I don't know what I'm going to do with these clothes. I like the jacket; it's well-structured, form-fitting and nicely lined, along with being a deep dark red. But I refuse to offend Lucian's [and my] standards by dressing him in the blouse that I thought would work so well for him. Back to the drawing board…
Continue reading Lucian’s clothes arrive

“Here be dragons.”

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A collection of fanciful beasts on old maps, presented in a slide show by Slate, addresses the famous phrase denoting the edge of the known world: "Hic sunt dracones," or, "Here be dragons":

It’s a common belief that “Here be dragons” was a typical inscription on old maps. In fact, the Latin equivalent, Hic sunt dracones, has been found only once, on the 16th-century Lenox Globe, and the first scholar to study the globe, one B.F. da  Costa, opined in 1879 that it referred not to mythical dragons at all,  but to the “Dagroians”—a bloodthirsty Sumatran tribe described by Marco  Polo. The phrase may have entered the public consciousness via the writer Dorothy Sayers, who used it in one of her Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries.

Jessica comes home early

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Well, apparently Jessica Jamisia, Ellery's third created muse, will be coming home before Ellery, Lucian and Mazzy in the form of a Soom Faery Legend Rose Sprite Princess in rose pink resin, bought on the DOA Marketplace. As you can see on the product page, she comes with a human body and optional rose-shaped wings and pointed-blossom "faery feet." I plan to give her wings, but leave her barefoot with human legs.

Of course, there originally was no particular justification for Jessica Jamisia to be a fairy, but, now that she is, I really should work an explanation into my story. Hmmmm…

Janvier Jett against the brick

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Just some pictures of Janvier Jett against the brick wall of my house. I used some watercolor pencil to enhance the yellow eyeshadow, making it more greenish and blending it with the blue. I think it looks more striking this way. She' s such a happy character! Continue reading Janvier Jett against the brick

Yay, Fringe is back!

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Just saw the latest ep now. While, at first, I derided the show for being a rip-off of the X-Files and making a mess of the Boston area setting, I have now come to really enjoy it. The mythology of the show has slowly built over each successive season, creating a rich tapestry of "fringe" events, shapeshifters, Observers, alternate realities and a whole coherent system that we viewers still have much to learn about. The way in which the show builds tension and engagement with each following episode keeps me entertained, as does the vast collection of mythology that the show seems to have only suggestively scratched the surface of.

Anna Torv as Olivia and her other-world alternate shows nuances of talent playing two versions of the same character, both hardened in different ways. I used to think that Olivia had all the personality of cold tofu, but, as the show has gone on, I have realized that much of her character is repressed, but Torv plays the depths beyond that repression very well, with an American accent even.

Usually, I do not really care for main-character romances in TV shows, but I really like the slowly developing relationship between Anna Torv's Olivia and Joshua Jackson's Peter. I assume there must be a lot of underplayed angst because the characters have been thwarted by so many things — not knowing if the other reciprocated, Peter having sex with Alternate Olivia instead of Real Olivia, Peter's erasure from the main timeline — but the actors do a good job of downplaying their emotions so that their actions speak loudly than any maudlin score.

Speaking of Peter, I am very distressed that he hardly appeared in this ep, only as "the man in the mirror," and I hope that he becomes reintegrated in the cast soon. I really like the way that Olivia, Astrid, Walter and Peter work as a family-like unit and as a Fringe team, and I wish that Peter would be back to sustain that group chemistry.

USPS in the toilet…no mail on Saturdays proposed

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According to VPR, the US Postal Service proposed closing 3,600 post offices across the US, including 14 in Vermont. Meanwhile, Obama backed a plan to cut out Saturday delivery! None of these plans have been approved by Congress, so they remain only ominous threats for now.

These ominous threats lurk on the horizon because the USPS is losing money for several reasons. 1) People are purchasing fewer post office products than they used to. The USPS depends on consumers' money because it funds itself. 2) The USPS recently overfunded its pension plan billions of dollars. 3) Also the economy in general is in the toilet.

I'm not sure how I feel about this. I tend not to care about the USPS because so much of what it brings me is either useless [junk mail] or redundant [bank statements]. I suppose I'm a little agitated now because I'm in a phase of amassing things for Me and My Muses, which means depending on the USPS, and I WANT MY MAIL. But, overall, the USPS to me looks like an institution that needs to make sacrifices because it is not keeping up with the times, unfortunately.

Working on the details in Ellery’s room

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Here are Ellery's desk, end table and bookshelf as I begin to add to them from my store of Rements and other small items. I'm leaving some space on her desk and bookshelf for the small hordes of Homies that should be coming soon…

Out of all of these, my favorite piece is the Rement end table, featuring a working lamp with a shade that has animals all over it!Continue reading Working on the details in Ellery’s room

Improved rolltop desk from Batchix, now with little legs

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I substituted the carpentry scrap boosters for little pieces of dowel to raise up the rolltop Batchix gave me. Now it looks much better!Continue reading Improved rolltop desk from Batchix, now with little legs

Rolltop desk from Batchix, now 1:6, with some dolls on it

Rolltop desk from Batchix, now 1:6, with some dolls on it published on No Comments on Rolltop desk from Batchix, now 1:6, with some dolls on it

I just glued the loose pieces of the rolltop desk together and added some boosters on the bottom, then put a few of Ellery's dolls around the desk to see the effect. Pretty nice!
Continue reading Rolltop desk from Batchix, now 1:6, with some dolls on it

Rolltop desk from Batchix!

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My rolltop desk came in the mail today! This is Ellery's desk. As you can see in the first photo, it needs some help. As you can see in the second photo, with Frank for comparison, it's also a little small, probably closer to 1:8 than 1:6. However, I can make this work. I think that I will add some legs, if I can find any, to boost the height, which will make the scale seem more agreeable. It's a nice little piece, and, for $5.00, I can't complain. It has a lot more character than the plastic Barbie desk that I was planning to use.
Continue reading Rolltop desk from Batchix!

Doll meetup, 09/17/11: Janvier Jett and others

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More pictures from today's doll meetup. From left to right: Janvier Jett, Mousey's Customhouse Ai Ange Gaby in lap, Mousey's Asleep Eidolon Jiao Jr., vermont chick's Kaye Wiggs Layla Fair Elf.Continue reading Doll meetup, 09/17/11: Janvier Jett and others

Doll meetup, 09/17/11: Janvier Jett alone

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vermont chick [Lorraine], Mousey [Suzanne] and I gathered at Tiny Thai in Essex Center today for lunch and doll play! We took our dolls out to the gazebo and the butterfly bench for some photos after eating. Here is Janvier Jett by herself. I thnk that she has beautiful eyes, especially behind her wee orange cat's-eye glasses!

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Today’s word: “wamble”

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Today's word is "wamble," pronounced "wahm bull" or "wham bull." It means "to feel nausea" or "to move unsteadily from side to side." It seems pretty onomatopoetic to me!

I also think there's room for a figurative definition, "to tergiversate," i.e., "President Obama wambles on the issue of same-sex marriage; he used to support it, but now he hedges."

Some of my favorite little things: 1:6 foods and accessories

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Since I have such a collection of Rements and other 1:6 foods and accessories, I decided to highlight some of my favorite pieces, mostly food. Boy, I have a lot of this stuff!

Continue reading Some of my favorite little things: 1:6 foods and accessories

Barbie ornaments with travel cases: perfect 1:36 scale!

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I picked up a Hallmark ornament of Silken Flame Barbie and her travel case to be a doll for Ellery to play with. Today I got the mini doll and the mini case in the mail and checked them out against Jareth and Frank…just the right size to be a doll's doll! The doll can be put in and taken out of the left side of the carrier, and the bottom drawer opens. The clothes on the right, however, are molded into the sculpture of the carrier.

To find similar items on Ebay, search for "barbie traveling case ornament" or similar. Barbie ornaments of dolls without traveling cases are not in correct scale.

Continue reading Barbie ornaments with travel cases: perfect 1:36 scale!

Stuff that went to Goodwill today

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I found some weird 1:6 things in my collection that went to Goodwill today. I took pictures of everything, but I don't want to post them in case I get nostalgic and want them back. I got rid of some music-playing stairs that had a wreath on them, 2 chairs with metal frames, a couch shaped like lips, a wooden Chinese table, a shopping cart, a shampoo bottle shaped like a water cooler, a round end table, a set of three drawers, a folding baker's rack, a washer and dryer combo, an ATM machine, a lamp, a mini fridge and various clothes that no one would ever wear. No, nobody can have any of it because I already dropped it off at Goodwill. I feel better now that I have gotten rid of two boxes of 1:6 stuff.

A doll for Ellery

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Ellery plays with dolls, so, naturally, I need to get her some dolls. I would like the dolls to be around 1:36 scale, that is, 1:6 scale for 1:6 scale people, but I can go with slightly larger or smaller. Anyway, I bought Ellery an awesome little replica of Silken Flame Barbie and her carrying case. It is a Hallmark ornament with two pieces, one the doll, the other the carrying case, which actually has an opening drawer. It's either 1:36 scale or a little smaller. Pictures when I get mine! No, I won't tell you how much I paid for it.

EDIT: I also got her a set of 3 1:36 GI Joe ornaments, including a GI Joe, an ATV and a mummy's sarcophagus. Yay, now she will have truly scaled dolls! No, I won't tell you what I paid for those either.

EDIT 2: I also got her a set of 12 Homies figures, which are 1.75 to 2 inches tall, just right for 1:36 scale. It was only $6.00 for 12!

1:6 toy chest

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Here are most of my 1:6 toys. Can you find the [not all are listed] Barbie [starting from top left and working toward bottom], warrior woman, zombie, American Maid, princess, woman with stole, blond girl, 1:144 dollhouse furniture, doll of Jareth, happy family, angel, baseball glove and baseball, basketball, soccer ball, mushroom mat, ray gun, pink squirt gun, [now moving up the right side] cars, VW bus, school bus, backhoe, stuffed pigs, stuffed bears, stuffed bunnies, puzzle mat, helicopter, duck pull toy, dog, penguin, caterpillar, lunchbox, swan training potty and toy shelf with black-haired girl, bunny, devil girl, horse, bird and art supplies?Continue reading 1:6 toy chest

No Nosferatu clothes for Lucian

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The Nosferatu Taeyang I wanted got damaged in last weekend's flooding, so I can't get it. I have a refund and no clothes for Lucian. Maybe Andrea can help?

EDIT: I got him an outfit from a Taeyang Disney Captain Hook doll, featuring lots of reds and pinks, very flamboyant. Best of all, I just paid for the outfit, no doll!

La Nuit de Mai par Alfred de Musset

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Speaking of muses, here's a poem that I read in my junior year of college about an exchange between the Poet and his Muse. It's called La Nuit de Mai…and the Poet and the Muse definitely have a romantic relationship!Continue reading La Nuit de Mai par Alfred de Musset

1:6 sets or dioramas: schools of thought

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One school of thought wants to make the 1:6 set or diorama realistic down to the smallest details. I've seen people print and bind their own legible books for mini libraries, make their own quilts for mini beds and construct matching storage boxes for mini shelves. These are the people who have at least 4 different backgrounds, 1 for each season, to stick outside their set windows. These are the people whose 1:6 clocks most likely have movable hands to indicate passing time in successive scenes. They build stone walls out of individual Styrofoam bricks, which are then weathered with multiple coats of paint. These are the people who dislike Barbie stuff because it's slightly undersized for 1:6. These are the people who use multiple plastic cats, all painted the same, but in different positions, to stand in for a 1:6 pet in different positions. This school of thought has nothing but my admiration, but it is certainly not me.

My school of thought is defined by a suggestive aesthetic, more akin to that of sets for a play. Things don't have to look meticulously similar to reality; they just have to look close enough to suggest reality. Books are made out of small pieces of foamcore wrapped with paper. There may be one quilt that appears on all different beds and one storage unit that appears in different room sets. People who merely suggest reality probably ignore windows as excessively detailed. They don't care about the hours shown on 1:6 clocks. Their stone walls are made from printed cotton fabric stapled to foamcore. They don't weather anything. Barbie stuff is fine; even the pink can be acceptable. Plastic pets have only 1 position. My aesthetic is defined by ease of creation, parsimony and reuse.

Plaza Mildendo: furniture for 1:6, 1:4 and 1:3

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Plaza Mildendo, a Mexican company, makes all sorts of furniture for many scales of dolls. I'm particularly enamored of their 1:6 coffin, just because I've never seen one before, and this one is done so well. Another piece that I don't have any use or room for…
Continue reading Plaza Mildendo: furniture for 1:6, 1:4 and 1:3

I’m getting a 1:6 desk!

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Batchix is sending me a 1:6 wooden rolltop desk with a working rolltop and different nooks and crannies for papers…just for the price of shipping! Even though I have way too much 1:6 furniture, I couldn't resist this piece. I think it will be Mazzy's vanity in Me and My Muses.

Photo album as 1:6 door

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The House at 1:6 shows off a "latest diorama find," a red door perfect for 1:6. It's actually the cover to a photo album, but who cares about that? I would have paid very good money to have one of these back when I was doing Love Has Fangs, but, now that I'm on a different story, I can't think of a reason to have such a piece hanging around.

Mattel Barbie/Stardoll collaboration dolls feature new headsculpts?

Mattel Barbie/Stardoll collaboration dolls feature new headsculpts? published on 3 Comments on Mattel Barbie/Stardoll collaboration dolls feature new headsculpts?

News from D7ana. Apparently Stardolls, a pixel fashion dolls Web site, and Mattel are collaborating to bring out some dolls based on fashions from the Web site. From this collage created by a fan, it appears that the new Stardolls Barbies may have new headsculpts. Look, for example, at the redheaded doll in lower left. I swear I've never seen that headsculpt before. Trying to find some larger pictures of these dolls…

Here are larger pictures of two of the Stardoll dolls. Even the one on the right looks unfamiliar sculpt-wise. It could just be her paint job, though…Continue reading Mattel Barbie/Stardoll collaboration dolls feature new headsculpts?

Sarah, Janvier Jett and the very small food.

Sarah, Janvier Jett and the very small food. published on No Comments on Sarah, Janvier Jett and the very small food.

Lesson: 1:6 food doesn't work well with 1:3 people.

Also a test of my new light setup on a grey, rainy day. Verdict: I need to soften the light a bit because the whites are blinding!

Sarah [at left]: "So I thought we'd have a welcome party for you…"
Janvier Jett: "Purrrr!"Continue reading Sarah, Janvier Jett and the very small food.

Speaking of jewelry boxes that double as 1:6 furniture…

Speaking of jewelry boxes that double as 1:6 furniture… published on 1 Comment on Speaking of jewelry boxes that double as 1:6 furniture…

Here is a rolltop desk jewelry box with a working rolltop, perfect for 1:6 scale, yours for only $210.00. Ouch!Continue reading Speaking of jewelry boxes that double as 1:6 furniture…

Haul from parents’ house V: Rements

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Finally I brought from my parents' house my collection of Rements. I don't like to say that I have a collection of dolls, but rather an "amassment," because I readily use my dolls. I do, however, admit to having a collection of Rements, more than I could ever possibly use. [Seriously, when am I going to use that birthday cake? However, it was too cool to pass up.] Here they are.Continue reading Haul from parents’ house V: Rements

Haul from parents’ house IV: clothes, accessories and such

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I also brought back from my parents' house a selection of clothes and accessories for Me and My Muses.Continue reading Haul from parents’ house IV: clothes, accessories and such

Haul from parents’ house III: sets

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I brought back from my parents' house selected pieces of furniture from my amassment to build sets. Most of this stuff is for Ellery. Jareth and Jennifer host the pictures.
Continue reading Haul from parents’ house III: sets

Haul from parents’ house II: tapestries

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From my parents' house I also brought two tapestries, bigger than I thought they were, for use in making Lucian's castle set. Frank provides scale [and a really large dildo!].Continue reading Haul from parents’ house II: tapestries

Haul from parents’ house I: dolls

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I went to my parents' house today to unpack and bring back those things from my 1:6 amassment that I will need for starting off Me and My Muses. First off, here are the tertiary characters that I brought home. From left to right, Jo, MacKenzie, Melinda, Avery, Kristen. Everyone's wearing something by an42!Continue reading Haul from parents’ house I: dolls

Impressively detailed 1:6 furniture for your little Nazis

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AP Collectibles is selling a desk and chair, billed as "for Joseph Goebbels," as well as desk accessories, including a working green-shaded lamp! There's also a 1:6 furniture set of a chair and a swastikaed side table, with an awesome 1940s vintage telephone, "for Hermann Goering." Both furniture sets and the accessories come from Dragon in Dream [DID], and they each cost $60.00 on AP's Web site. They are mostly sold out already.

The "for Goebbels" desk and chair set is very tempting, especially because of the working lamp, but I just can't justify spending that type of money on only 2 pieces of furniture [and a Hilter bust :/ ] unless they appear in every single episode of a multi-arc photostory, which they wouldn't.

Because you can't see the awesome detail in AP's dinky little pictures, I've nabbed some pics from Crossroads Diecast to show you.Continue reading Impressively detailed 1:6 furniture for your little Nazis

1:6 stone wall backdrop without spray paint

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So Creazione blog has a tutorial for how to make a stone wall backdrop for 1:6ers without spray painting anything. This will be perfect for Lucian's castle! I just have to find a sheet of appropriately thick Styrofoam!

EDIT: Or I could just be really lazy and find some fabric with a print of a stone wall on it, which I did. I think I'll be lazy. It's cheaper than buying Styrofoam and paint, actually.

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