Happy Halloween

What a Treat

Halloween is here with trick-or-treating tonight.
So I’ll tell you the story of a man named Dwight.

Dwight’s fondest wish was to give out some treats
that would be the best most brilliant on his street.

He would fill his bowl with all sorts of goodies galore
that would leave the children begging for more.

He went in search for them, the best he could find.
With the sweetest and sugary-est, surely he’d shine.

And with his bowl full of crunchies, he set his place near the door,
Set ready to welcome the trick-or-treating hoard.

First came one ghost, then a princess and such.
Seeing the bowl, they made such a fuss.

Until a vampire shouted from up the way
which made the children scurry away.

Apparently Mrs. Johnson from up the street
was giving out apples and Oh! what a treat!

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Birthday Again

Well another year has gone by, tomorrow is my birthday.  That yearly event always brings with it a yearly problem.  What do I give my twin sister for our birthday?

This year it’s handkerchiefs.  I do enjoy making them and it’s one of the few things that I can make that she actually likes.  Despite being twins we have very little in common.  Anyway, these are just plain square handkerchiefs made from a small print cotton fabric.  They are intended to actually be used which is why it probably isn’t a problem that I used a one way print.  I not sure but it kind of looks funny to have the flowers on a printed handkerchief facing up.  Hope my sister doesn’t think so too.
Here’s the updated list:

• Bags
• Bracelets
• Barrettes
• Doll pajamas
• Doll makeover
• Wristbands
• Red skirt
• Ears
• Costume
• Handkerchiefs

Ten down and out.  And just in time for the holidays. 

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Posted to Do

Lately I have gotten in to the habit of whipping out my camera whenever I see an interesting flyer/banner/poster for events and stuff.  It’s quicker and easier than writing the info down and a lot more interesting.  I decided to show off some of the ones I found this week for those of you in the area who need something to do this weekend.

This is a flyer for Lotus Flower studio, they seem to have a lot yoga classes and other sorts of fitness classes.  For classes, you can pay $75 for a month and take an unlimited number of classes for that month.  Seems like a good deal.  Plus for “drop-ins” on individual classes, it’s only $12 or $10 with a canned food donation.  They are located in downtown Mesa, AZ on the North West corner of Main St. & Robson.  Their website is at FloatingLotusStudio.com.

This is a separate flyer I saw at the same studio.  It’s for Zumba classes, I guess it’s a new thing for them.  The classes are $5 each and are held from 8:00pm – 9:00pm Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and from 10:00am – 11:00am Saturday.

I just happen to look up and see this banner.  The Mesa Arts Center is having their Dia De Los Muertos festival again this year.  It’s this Saturday and Sunday and as always it’s free.  See more about it at their website at MesaArtsCenter.com.

Of course I noticed this banner.  It’s for my church’s Community Trunk-o-Treat.  Saturday the 29th from 6-8pm several of our members will be parking their hopefully well-decorated cars in the lot and passing out candy.  Prizes go to the best decorated cars.  There will also be games, food, craft activities, a costume contest, and a haunted house later in the evening.  It’s on the South East corner of Center & 1st Ave. in Mesa and I hope to see you all there.

This one I saw on campus.  It’s an event sponsored by Karma Salon, Swap 4 a Cause.  You bring old clothes to swap and it benefits Breast Cancer and local women’s shelters.  It will be held on Saturday and Sunday next to the salon which is at 929 N. Val Vista Drive in Gilbert, AZ. and the admission is $10.

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All Ears

Less than a week until Halloween, so I made animal ears.  Now why in the world would I want to make these when I already have a costume?

First, they are so darn cute, especially the cat ears.  I didn’t put much effort in the bunny ears because I was just trying them out, they’re just scraps of white and pink felt glued on with a glue gun.  With the cat ears, I added some black lace to dress them up and a matching little black bow.  Super cute now.

Second, they are for backup.  It usually happens every year.  Some “accident” occurs leaving someone’s costume un-wearable, or my niece decides in the last minute that she wants to be something else for Halloween, or somebody insists that they aren’t going to dress up and then changes their mind.  For the most part, I’m prepared.

Here’s the updated list:

• Bags
• Bracelets
• Barrettes
• Doll pajamas
• Doll makeover
• Wristbands
• Red skirt
• Ears
• Costume
• Handkerchiefs

Nine down, just one more to go.  The next one will definitely be up by Friday, for a very good reason.

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Old and New Dolls

In case it isn’t totally obvious from the numerous posts on dolls and doll clothes, I love dolls and sort of collect them.  I recently added two new “friends” to my collection that I have yet to mention until now.

I was very excited about this one.  It’s an American Girl doll, Kirsten to be exact.  I found her at Goodwill last week for only 3 dollars.  Score!  I mean they are sold for like 100 dollars new, I don’t know about you but I prefer 3 dollars to 100.  Plus since I was little I kind of wanted one, but yeah, really expensive for a play doll.  I can sort of see the point of the price though, her hair is a wig instead of rooted hair like on most dolls and it’s really nice.  Her body feels surprisingly heavy and is very pose-able.  There are signs that she has been played with, (smudges on the limbs, stain on her dress which is hand wash only) but she still looks really good.   Basically she’s the kind of doll you could give to a small child without fear of her breaking it in a week.  She just needs a little cleaning and a new pair of shoes. 

This one I had been looking forward to for a while.  She’s a Monster High doll.  Draculaura from the Dead Sleep line, hence the pajamas.  Basically she’s a cute vampire who likes pink.  I got her from Wal-Mart.com for about 10 dollars, Wal-Mart does have some of the best prices on these dolls especially compared to eBay.  These dolls are incredibly detailed from their interestingly designed heads down to their lovely fingers and toes.  Plus they are the most pose-able fashion dolls I have ever seen.  She can bend and turn in her knees, rotate her wrists, flex her arms, etc.  They have very fine joints, this is also part of the problem with these dolls.  The joints are also sort of delicate, not so much that they break if you so much as look at them, but they may not be suitable for younger children.  The age on the box says 6 and up and I think that might be too low, but then again it probably depends on the child.  Actually another problem is with how some people view this, I have seen reviews on Monster high dolls where people claim that the dolls are cheap, low-quality, and even over-priced due to the fact that their kids broke them so quickly.  Being fragile and being cheap are two different things.  I’ve seen porcelain dolls in stores labeled as being for children, if one of these got broken by a child who played with it would it be considered a “cheap” doll?  I guess it’s really a matter of whether or not you child knows how to take care of their dolls and behaves accordingly.  A child who throws toys should not have a porcelain doll, and a child who’s Barbie dolls are missing parts and have frazzled hair should not get a Monster High doll.  Maybe try one of those pricey American Girl dolls.  But maybe I’m overthinking all of this, what do you think?

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Fairy?

Not sure if I mentioned this before, but I found this doll at a Goodwill that was closing last summer.  She was interesting and only about 99 cents so I took a chance on her.  She kind of looked like she was suppose to be some sort of fairy doll, but I’m not sure which.  It says “Disney” on her back and head.  Anyway, she definitely needed some work, but that’s part of the fun of getting old dolls.



Before, her hair was matted and tangled with frazzled bits.  She was a little dirty with a bad hip.  And of course she had no clothes, do thrift stores purposely sell fashion dolls without their clothes or do people really donate them all like this?



After, I cleaned her up and trimmed and styled her hair.  I made her this lovely dress though it came out differently than I planned.  No worries, I like it better this way.  It’s trimmed with ribbon that has embroidered blue flowers on it.



Going along with the blue theme, I added some small blue flowers to her hair.  Now she looks like a pretty elf or something along those lines.
Here’s the updated list:

• Bags
• Bracelets
• Barrettes
• Doll pajamas
• Doll makeover
• Wristbands
• Red skirt
• Ears
• Costume
• Handkerchiefs

Eight down, just two more to go.  The next project should be up by Wednesday or Thursday.

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