So I guess this is goodbye?

I have to be honest with all of you.

I haven't posted in a long time.

I have changed so much since I started this blog. My whole life has changed.

I have different interests, friends, hobbies...
I'm almost a completely different person.

And because of that, I'm not going to suppress the person I really am for the sake of being the innocent sugar-sweet girl that used to run this blog.

Cause that's not the truth anymore.

If you saw me now, you'd be shocked. You'd be shocked that my walls are now covered in posters of my favourite bands, and a few selfies of me and my friends instead of the cute anime drawings and American Girl pictures that were stuck up there before.

You'd be shocked that I now wear jeans most of the time. (My grade 7/8 self would be scandalized to say the least) and how permanently scarred a part of my brain is because last year some of my best friends were a couple of guys in the grade above me. One of them still is. You get the idea. If you don't, don't ask. I don't want to pollute your innocent mind. Now thanks to them, I see something "wrong" with everything. You know what I'm talking about here.

You'd be shocked that slightly before my last post, was literally the first time I ever swore without thinking about what I was saying and actually knowing that what came out of my mouth was a bad word. (Yes that did actually happen, no I wasn't trying to offend anyone, no I didn't mean to say it, it just slipped out of my mouth because I wasn't being careful)

These days I'm more serious. I think more. I don't talk as much, I don't have as many friends as I used to. I'm not an Irish (or tap) dancer anymore.

My Taylor Swift CD's have yet to be touched this year. They've been shoved over to make room for My Chemical Romance, All Time Low, Andy Black, Sleeping With Sirens and Panic! At The Disco.

I'm not a horrible person, I like to think that I'm as genuinely nice and friendly as I was back then. I'm definitely more of an introvert now and I don't really like being around people, but that's okay. I can be really sweet when I'm around people I feel comfortable with and they haven't given me reason to despise them.

To be honest, in some ways, I was kind of stupid last year. There were some stupid things I did because I wanted to be liked, or I didn't want to be liked, or I just wanted to be dramatic. No, I don't really care to elaborate and would prefer not to ever have to think about that year of cringe known as grade 8 ever again in my life.

I'm probably going to abandon this blog, because it's just not who I am anymore. The things that made the past Jessica who she was, now have nothing to do with me. I'd feel stupid trying to pretend to be her, the tiny innocent little doll-obsessed potato that I used to be.

No, I'm never going to sell my dolls.
Don't even ask that.

Even if I don't play with them or get as much enjoyment out of them as I used to, they still hold a lot of really really great memories, and I couldn't bear to part with that. Until then, they sit on my bed looking pretty or my little sister plays with them. It's okay, they're still well-loved.

But yeah, so I guess this is goodbye for now. Maybe one day I'll start another blog, but not yet. I need some time to get my life in order again before I can commit to something. Thanks for the ride, everyone. I wouldn't have traded my past self for the world, I don't think. Even though looking back I was literally the most cringe-worthy person in existence.
Anyway, it's time to go.
So long and goodnight. (MCR fandom please don't cry I love you guys)

~Jessica xox

Lyric's 18th Century Undergarments

I finished sewing these ages ago, but forgot to take some photos and post them, so here you go!

These are Lyric's 18th century undergarments.
I made her a muslin shift, stays and a simple half petticoat.
I might make her some pocket hoops, stockings and garters later on, but these are what I have right now.

Here is Miss Lyric, posed in front of my sister's dollhouse

Here you can see the seam and boning channels. The "whalebone" is actually thin strips of clear plastic cut to fit. There is a wooden toothpick with the tips trimmed off in the front channel for the busk.

The straps are made of cloth tape which was glued on with craft glue inside the back, then hooks were sewn on the front to attach to the front with crocheted thread loops.

Here you can see how it laces up the back. There are no eyelets, the lacing is sewn through the fabric in between the last two boning channels on each side.

Fun fact: Her stays took me one whole day to sew, and are sewn completely by hand. Her shift is also sewn by hand, but only took me about 15-20 minutes (because the muslin was being a pain. Please don't use muslin for a shift, it doesn't stop fraying and it's a real pest. Use voile or batiste instead, the tighter weave will make it work a lot better.)

This is what her stays look like with the half petticoat and no shift.

And here's the back.

The stays pattern I drafted myself, and my mum helped me to calculate a simple pattern for the shift (made up of squares and rectangles).

If anyone wants the patterns and measurements, let me know and I'll scan them in to post.

I don't know if they will print out the right size though, so I'll put a 1-inch square on the stays pattern because that is the one which is necessary to get the perfect size.

I can also do a tutorial if you need help making them :)

They weren't that hard, just fiddly and time-consuming. Same goes for the shift. Plus the petticoat hem took me an hour or so because it was a proper hem, folded over narrowly twice and held in place by super tiny stitches.

So that's what I ended up making.

Opinions?

I didn't think the stays were completely 18th century accurate, and I wanted to put bows on the straps above the hooks for decoration, as well as some tabs to go out round her hips, but I think they turned out really well still.

What have you been sewing?

~Jessica xo

The Many Strange Things Which Have Happened At Dance Class

So, we all go to dance classes with one purpose, right?
To learn how to dance in a particular style.

But what really happens?

Sit back and let me tell you about all the peculiar things that have happened between dancing.

• Paper fights. It wasn't my fault, trust me. He started it! *Glares at Reuben "What did I do? You started it." "No I didn't, you poked me with your paper first!" "No I didn't!" "Yes you did!" Cues another paper fight.
• Stupid arguments about dance-related issues. Such as, "It was this step after that bit in this dance." "No it wasn't, it was this step!" "Which way do we go now???" "We go this way!" "No, I was sure we went this way cause otherwise it mucks up our partners." "Well, I don't know. Just ask the teacher for goodness sake." Yeah, you get the idea.
• Eating. Because we all know that dancing makes us super hungry and we can't wait to eat something. Plus dancing on a full stomach is perfectly safe, right? Not. But we do it anyway...
• Competitions. Who can get the loudest stamp in the jig? I bet I can!
• General Socialising. Well that's what we're here for, isn't it???
• Homework. Because there is simply no time to do it anywhere else when you're an avid reader, sewer and writer. (Although to be honest, almost no work actually gets done there anyway, due to being interrupted by various friends who want to know why you're on your laptop while waiting to be called up for dance class)
• Exercise with skipping ropes (because there are a few skipping ropes at the dance studio meant for small children to play with) which usually ends in dares of trying to do skip-two-threes, flies and overs whilst using the rope for other people's entertainment.
• People running at other people while holding chairs above their head for no apparent reason just so the person whom they are running towards will scream and jump out of the way.
• Accidentally burning oneself with copper wire and a AA battery--just don't ask. It wasn't me, I'm not stupid enough to try doing it.
• Being chased with a vacuum cleaner. Again, don't ask. 

Do any of these weird things ever happen at your dance class?

Let me know in the comment box, people.

~Jessica xox

A new addition-Warning! Picture heavy post!

Meet the latest addition to my doll collection!

She is a re-named "Naomi" Pullip doll, Lyric Serenade Williams.

A friend of mine was having a clean-out and didn't want her anymore, so she gave her to me!

I was super excited, because I've wanted a Pullip doll for a while now, but never did anything about it.

Her hair was very, very long and super matted closer to the end. My friend and I decided to cut the matted stuff off so at least it's a little tidier until we get her a new wig. Shhhhh...don't tell anyone it's meant to be a surprise!!

This was after we cut her hair. Although here it's back in a ponytail so you can't actually see, but once my mother has evened the ends off and I've found a way to make it sit down, I'll take some pics of her with her lovely hair let loose.

As you can see, she poses very well.

I got excited and did a mini photo-shoot with her xD

Recognise the fabric from her dress???

I think this one's my favourite. New profile picture maybe?

That was on Friday. On Saturday I made her a heap of clothes.

Well, maybe not a heap.

She still needs more.

I'm currently working on some 18th century underwear to go under a rococo Lolita dress for her.

But anyway, at least she has something decent and she's not running around half-naked now.

Then I did a proper photo shoot with her.

Excuse the horrible mess of her hair, it didn't want to cooperate with me :/

Lyric still wears her original wig that she came with, and I've heard many horror stories about the Pullip stock wigs and how terrible some of them are, and it's obviously getting replaced soon.

It has settled down a little since I did this photo shoot though.

Recognise the dress fabric yet?

I'm gonna post a pattern for the bodice soon as well, so keep an eye out!

A really kooky angle in this one.

She looks so sweet in this photo :)

Shows her whole body....

Did I mention she can blink?

Her eyes are controlled via two buttons and a lever at the back of her head. Each button makes an eye close, or if ;you push it up slightly it makes it open. The lever makes them move from side to side or she can stare straight ahead.

She has pretty glittery blue eyeshadow :)

Because of her eye mechanism, she can even wink!

Did I mention that the poor dear has no hands (for now)?

My friend kinda accidentally lost them, so I'm keeping my eye out for a new body.

If anyone knows where we can get one, please let me know!

So I took her hair out.

As you can see it's a bit uneven (Rhiannon and I are certainly not the best hairdressers xD)

And it won't sit down properly.

Although it's a bit better now, after leaving it down for a couple of days.

I love this photo as well, this one is on of my favourite poses for her :)

Now Lyric is showing off how articulated she is

"Look at me everybody!!!"

Don't fall over Lyric.

Now I don't have any photos of her naked...yet...

So I will explain her body to you.

Lyric has what is known as the "type 4" Pullip body.

Personally, I think it is the nicest one, it has a pleasing shape and good functionality.

She is jointed with ball joints at the

Shoulders

Elbows

Knees

Wrists (if she actually had any xD)

Also jointed

Just under her bust

Hips

Ankles

Mid upper-arms

But these are other types of joints. The ones on her arms are able to spin around so she can rotate her arms, if that makes any sense whatsoever.

Okay stuff it, I'm just going to find a picture:

Source

Does that make a little more sense now???

Okay, good. Pretty much any given friend of mine will tell you that I suck at describing and explaining how things work and all that. It's easier for me to show you a picture....

Now you can't really see the joints in her upper-arms, but they're still there, trust me.

In the hand that's on her hip.

Yeah, that little thing.

Look almost exactly in the middle of her upper arm.

You see it?

That little tiny joint?

Sorry if you don't, it's pretty hard to notice.

Also on the type 4 body, there are some joints that can come apart.

Her knees can come apart, if you pull on her legs. The whole leg up to the knee comes off.

Same with her hands (that's how they got lost).

And her elbows.

With the other joints it isn't so necessary, but with her hands it's certainly a good idea because you can get those tight sleeves on easier without stressing about breaking her delicate little fingers.

Although don't forget where you put them.

Just don't.

You can't buy replacement hands.

You have to buy a whole new body (although they're not too expensive compared with the original price of the doll).

Just for old time's sake I'm going to insert a stock photo of dear Lyric.

Source

Pretty cute, huh?

I wonder how she got her crazy hair.

It looks pretty tame in the photo.

And before you ask, no, I do not have her original clothes as they were also lost.

But perhaps they might turn up.

You never know.

Well, reader, thank you so much for staying with me through this very long and ramble-y post. I hope you somewhat enjoyed it and all the pictures didn't take too long to load.

After getting my first one, I am now addicted to Pullip dolls and think I might collect them instead of AG.

Here are some reasons (don't worry, this won't take long)

• They can fit in a drawer, or on a shelf. I can get a whole heap of them if I want to, and don't need extra space for them.
• I think Ruthie is enough for me for now. I want another AG, but I already have so many dolls (did I mention I have kept the majority of special toys from my childhood as well?) and not a lot of place to store them.
• I love dolls that have so many joints like this and can pose so nicely. Lyric will be even better once I've fixed her a bit :)

Okay, maybe they were all stupid reasons, but I've still made up my mind.

I'm going to collect Pullip dolls.

Once I have fixed Miss Lyric, I will be saving up for a Sailor Venus Pullip.

Why that is is a whole different story.

If you want me to tell you, I can.

But I'll save that for a different post.

Do any of you have Pullips?

Goodbye for now

~Jessica xo

Unexpected Stock-up at Spotlight

The other day we went to Spotlight because my sister wanted to get some supplies for needle felting.
I came along as well, not planning on buying anything though.
I was wrong.

There was a sale on fabric that was already marked down a heap from its original price, so I bought a whole bunch of stuff (compared to the fact that I normally get enough to make 1-2 doll dresses each time I go if I have money)

I'm currently working on some items to hopefully get my etsy shop opened in September, so I needed some nice light fabrics for some pretty spring dresses :)
Here's what I got:

This is everything :)

This pretty rayon print was one of my favourites, it's really soft to touch and hangs beautifully.

Vintage apple chiffon. 

I want to have a go at making a dress with Liberty Jane's "Woomera Dress" pattern and this is the fabric it suggests. It is yet to be seen how it will turn out ;p

Aqua print drill.

As soon as I saw this one, I thought "shorts!". So I got it to make shorts xD

Printed Japanese Lawn.

I don't know what I liked about this, but it was just so pretty I couldn't leave it there.

I'd like to get more of it sometime to make myself a Lolita skirt, if there's still some left at the shop :)

Printed quilting cotton.

Quilting cottons are such beautiful quality, they last well and hang nicely. I'm a huge fan of blue and green, so this was perfect.

Flowers and stripes printed cotton poplin.

I saw this one and immediately thought "Lolita skirt!" :)

So since I don't have one yet, I'm going to make a basic full gathered Lolita skirt with this. I actually have a pintucked shirt that is about the same colour as the lighter pink stripes, and could work for Lolita with a couple of small adjustments, so now I'll have a pretty skirt to wear with it.

Zodiac printed quilting cotton.

Now this is for Miss Ruthie.

She wants a steampunk/gothic Lolita dress.

I'd planned to make her one.

Then I saw this fabric.

Perfect xD

So that is everything I got at spotlight. A few of the fabrics shown here have already been turned into small items of clothing, as I've been very busy sewing lately.
Those which I haven't used yet, you'll most definitely see in upcoming posts.
Another upcoming post will be a preview of things I've made to sell in my etsy shop.
But not yet.
You have to be patient while I keep sewing xD

See you later!
~Jessica xox

Writing Prompts

Hey there lovely people,
So I got really bored in Math class today, and decided to come up with some writing prompts to help myself and other people out there when they don't know what to write about!
If you'd like to re-post these on your own blog or elsewhere, feel free to do so, but I'd appreciate if you'd at least give me credit and link back to this post.

Writing Prompts:

• Write an analysis for a fictional character.
• Write a description of a real-life person.
• Write one page to accompany a photograph.
• Re-write your favourite fairy tale, but give it a twist.
• Brainstorm memories.
• Write an alternate ending chapter to your favourite book.
• Write a character analysis from a drawing or photograph.
• Write about an ordinary day, but from the POV of your pet.

If you'd like some more, just let me know because I'd be more than happy to come up with a longer list for you guys (or different kinds of prompts, like an image, sentence or scenario instead)

Hope these helped you a little bit.

Enjoy your writing and have a glorious day!

~Jessica xox

Rustic Rose-agps

Last week I took Ruthie outside in a new dress that I made her for a vintage-y kind of photo-shoot. I made the photos into a video for my YouTube channel, but Mum won't let me make any videos public yet, so you'll have to be content with a few of the photos until she lets me post the video.

Make sure to comment and tell me which one is your favourite!

Also, I'm saving up for a new AG doll right now. 

I'm pretty sure I'll get #61, after a lot of thinking. 

I thought #55 looks too much like Ruthie to be unique, and I wanted a doll with wavy-ish hair. 

Plus #61 is absolutely gorgeous, and I've wanted her since her proto-type came out on eBay last year!

See you all in my next post!

~Jessica

xoxo