Wednesday, March 13, 2024

What Have I Been Doing Lately?

Not writing, as you can tell. I've had projects lining 2 crafting tables. I've had a friend to help with editing. And cleaning up the clutter around the house. But I don't regret not blogging so much. These projects have been filling my time meaningfully. I feel accomplished when I get another one done. Take this one for instance....

My daughters wanted to have characters from the older Batman movies. The two with Michael Keaton. Then those two from the 90's. They learned about Cat Woman and Poison Ivy. So it didn't take long for the request to make a Poison Ivy dress came about. I have to say that for my first time making something like this with the sewing machine, it came out pretty nice. Now I want to attempt to make another for my own doll...

I've learned to make doll capes too. They wanted their own OOAK Attack on Titan dolls to be dressed like the Scouts. 

Not everything was doll related, however. I did finally create this marble art that hangs under our back porch. The kids had gotten a ton of marbles from a friend. They used the ones that would work with a marble run and the rest ended up in my room somehow. So I got to thinking... How could I use them?? Ta-da! This is what came from such a question. I used a round wooden charcuterie board, painted black. Wire for crafting, I suggest 16-18 gauge if you are making something for outdoors that has to withstand winds. I used old necklace chains from broken necklaces to hang them down.
It came out so well, that one of my sons even asked me to make him a pendant to wear as a necklace in the same style of the wrapped marbles for this project! Then he wanted to give some to friends and wanted some for the upcoming fundraiser. So, I made more. It was fun and has given me the know-how on making other projects! 

I promise more blogging will happen. Just not so frequently while projects are getting done! But I will share some of the better ones with you. 

Friday, March 8, 2024

Reusable Water Balloons?!

Did you play with the water hose as a kid? Chasing siblings or friends? Maybe jumping through the sprinkler system? How about water balloons? Did you love throwing them at others and hoping to get hit in turn? I did! And so, apparently, do at least some of my children. You know what I didn't like? I didn't enjoy having to pick up the balloon pieces afterwards. Tiny bits of busted rubber, a rainbow of colors everywhere! Reminded me of that part in Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters where his very important job was to clean up after the Hero Games were over...Using Balloons Responsibly for the Environment - Fill n' Away UK

 So, what if I told you that there were alternatives? Like... reusable water balloons? No, I'm not talking about sponges filled with water that you throw at each other! I'm talking about a soft silicon-like container with magnets that keep the top half attached to the lower half. And actually do pretty good at keeping the water inside until they hit someone and splash!

It is a very clever concept called Hydrobursts Balloon by Relatable toys. I got this through Influenster. But when I attempted to look them up, I learned they are just too new! So I'm letting you know what we think for when they start hitting the store shelves.

*Disclaimer: I was sent this product for free in exchange for sharing my reviews. I was not otherwise paid or endorsed. All opinions are my own.*

As a mom, I don't want something that is going to make a horrendous mess in my yard. I don't want bits of rubber everywhere that is dangerous for pets or babies. That makes my yard look trashy. I also prefer toys that are economical. We don't have money to buy tons of new balloons just to throw and pop in a couple seconds. 

These are soft, so the hit won't hurt. Even the ridge with built-in magnets isn't that hard. My 7 and 11 year olds both had a blast tossing them at each other. 

I suggest having a water-filled bowl or bucket to keep the fun going. They are easy to refill like that. 

This is going to make the summer so much more fun! And also give us a good reprieve from the Texas heat. Definitely an amazing product that we enjoyed testing out!

Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Temu Times Three

Okay, last post on Temu items for now. My daughters had requested, and the older one even bought, the dolls. I grabbed the miniatures for a project I plan to start. The hat was a bonus for my hat/cat loving little one! Let me know what you think! 

Pink hair doll - My daughter is in love with this doll! After seeing how great it is, I really want to get one for myself. Her eyes are gorgeous. Her hair is so soft! I love how well the joints work. And her face painting is stunning. Great quality! 

Anime doll - Her hair is so soft! Though once you pull her hair down from the two side parts, you can see she has a massive bald spot splitting those from her bulk of hair. It also has a tendency to come out easily when the girls brush it. Her eyes, have amazing details - purple with white stars. She reminds me of an anime girl. The paint job on her face is stunning. Her joints are well done too. 

Cat ears hat - My youngest daughter has been in love with this style hat for a while. So when I saw this one with the ears, I knew I needed to get one for her. She couldn't wait to show it off! The ears are a little far back and a little floppy, making it difficult to see them, but she's in love with it so I'm happy.

Dollhouse test tube set - Amazingly enough, I think they really are glass! Well, all but the stand, corks and stir stick thing. That made me so happy. I love realistic miniatures. This one was for a future project I'm working on. A 1/6 laboratory!

Drink set - these are the kind of things we love to find! Little drinks that are cute and doll sized. Made to be charms, the have the little holes, but are easily used for dolls instead. This particular set is now sold out. But there are lots of other options that were similarly priced.

This lingerie set was a little bit of a miss. The underwear were supposed to be for the Witch doll the girls made, but they were lopsided and didn't fit well onto the doll. The bra and nightgown at least were decent. The one I purchased was sold out. So you might have to find another seller anyhow. Maybe it will be better!

And finally, we come to the miniature doctor tools set. I got this so that I could enhance the Plague Doctor doll I created. 3D printing the tools wasn't working out. And these work great - except for the stethoscope which is slightly small. Unfortunately, this was also sold out. However, I did find other sellers with sets just like it. 

This last item, was actually something I had hoped would be like the Make It Mini capsules. But instead it was a kit for making things with crafting mousse. Instructions were in another language and mostly covered up by a seller sticker. But we managed to guess our way through it.

Friday, February 16, 2024

Temu Take Two - How Well Do the Products Work?

Okay, okay. I totally placed another two orders. One was because I wanted to try other items. The second was because my daughter wanted to buy something. So here I am again. Testing out the quality. I think you might be surprised. I know I was. I paid a little more attention, though still not enough. Want to see what I got? Keep reading, or watching, to see the report.

I ordered some clothing items, mostly. Even though I have been sewing more things since a friend gave me the sewing machine, I can only make simple things so far. Like skirts. Making lots of skirts... And those are also in the sizes that an average 11.5" doll can wear. Making things smaller than that will take me more practice. 

The blue dress with snowflakes was for Skipper or Stacy to wear. While it had the unfinished edge, it is so well made that I haven't been afraid of unraveling. I told the girls to be careful with the sleeves too. It is a little snug on Skipper's torso, but not to the point of pulling it apart.

The wedding dress reminded me something from a live action princess movie. My daughters have been playing their dolls have lots of weddings. But there was never a white dress to use. I thought it was interesting that after purchasing this one, they sent a product instruction manual in PDF form. Have to be careful with the sleeves when sliding hands in. Material is stiff and crinkly, but this makes it hold form well. Veil just rests on the dolls head. My daughters loved it. And I loved that the edges were finished! Sadly, this one may not last long. It is a little too snug on a MtM doll body.

The traditional dress is absolutely adorable! You can tell they cut it from pre-printed patterns as they left some of the black lines on the bottom part of the dress. But my daughters fell in love with it. The flower pattern is cute. And it fit 2 of their dolls' different sizes just fine. 

This full outfit was something I knew my oldest girl would love. Though I had thought to steal the pants... The half shirt isn't something I'm interested in, but it and the red jacket were both well made. The pants were too small for your average 11.5" doll. They were the perfect size for a Skipper doll instead.

Now we come to the umbrella. I only saw that it was for a BJD doll. I keep forgetting that this covers the larger dolls too. Something like the Smart Doll. So my daughters got this as well. They say it works for the "family umbrella". And it can be used with their 18" dolls as well. I was impressed with the details. It functions just like a real sized umbrella!

Okay, here is probably the only thing I got for myself out of this batch... You know those really popular to-go cups these days? They have straws that you might not want dust to get into. So you put these straw caps on. But! They look like tiny cups too. Now, we follow My Froggy Stuff on YouTube. She made her own and they looked amazing. But I don't have the little bits around here that I can make one. Yet! So I decided to get these and modify them. And they work perfectly!

You recently saw the Witch doll we made, right? Well, she wears undies-like clothes. But that meant the girls had to take them from another doll. So I decided to try out the ones on Temu. I forgot to mention them in the first video, but I'm showing you them here instead. 

Getting to the end of this order... I promise! This one is my favorite and I totally want to get another for myself. The girls took this one. This little pink dress is perfect for Chelsea dolls! BUT - it also fits smaller big dolls like the Equestria Girls dolls. So my youngest has been over the moon about it. The details with the roses and lace are so cute! I envision turning a tiny Chelsea into a Belle fan.... 

Finally, we come to the last item! Thank you so much for hanging out this long. This is a DIY kit. While I would love to get the Make it Mini capsules, I just can't afford to do that. About 2 of those would have equaled this entire order! So I'm hoping this set will work instead for some fun that is similar. We shall see. But I will put that in another blog post when we actually test it out. 

What did you think? What product did you find the best? Have you ordered anything from Temu? Let me know in the comments below! I'd love to hear from you!