Craft Store Haul

This actual shopping trip dates from a while back. I wanted to take care of some other things on the blog first, and then real life went sideways for a while, but I still want to share my fun finds! A lot of these items are for spring events that have passed, but they're all re-usable, so that's no big deal.  I bought all these things at Pat Catan's, which only has stores in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Pat Catan's was bought by Michael's craft store a while back, but still maintains its own stores and identity.

This is probably the least successful purchase that I made, from a size perspective, anyway. The basket is very nice, and I knew it was going to be big for the 1/6 set, but I was hoping it would pass for a storage basket, the kind you have in your living room that you store blankets in or whatever. However, the basket is just too big for that. I'm sure I'll find some kind of use for it.

On the floor is a "magazine" that came with a Barbie fashion set. Basket is definitely too big to store 1/6 size magazines.

Next are some St. Patrick's Day/Irish themed pendants. They're too big for Barbie and friends to wear on a necklace, but I could make them work as decoration, either on clothes or in a diorama scene. I wanted to grab these mostly because they're seasonal.

Next is a jar of items which may not be exciting to most of you, but I think they might be useful for me, mostly for my Ever After High stories and dioramas. I bought a jar of twigs! Yes, I can just get some from outside of my house, but these don't come with any worries about bugs, and I believe they're treated so that they don't start coming apart, like I think most twigs from outdoors would already be doing.

Also in the not-so-exciting category are these small red and green doilies. I bought these because they were cheap, I think I will probably be able to make some use of them, and I thought I might as well grab them because these colors are seasonal.

At some point I showed you some blue and white lanterns that I bought.

On this trip, I bought pink and white lanterns, and a yellow birdhouse. All are good sizes for 1/6.

Unless you sew for your dolls, this pack won't mean much. It is a set of nylon plastic-y bars to press bias strips, ostensibly for quilting. Supposedly, a hook on one end will help you turn the strips right side out, which was the more interesting part to me, as it can be a difficult task, especially the smaller the strip. I do want to try more quilting, but I can also see bias strips being used on 1/6 dresses with straps, or even to make a Celtic design on an outfit. I might not have bought this set, however, except that it was on clearance.

I picked up some St. Patrick's Day scrapbook paper, since I knew that would disappear as soon as the holiday was over. It's not suitable for wallpaper, but I figured I could use it for decoration.

I did cut some shamrock shapes out to use as decoration for my St. Patrick's Day diorama.

You can also see green shamrock lights. Some of the most fun things I bought on my shopping trip were several strings of small lights, a good size for doll dioramas. Again, these are seasonal. I bought the green shamrocks, red hearts, multi-color flowers, and purple butterflies. Sounds like a box of Lucky Charms cereal. XD I want to pick up some red, white and blue lights soon for use in a July 4th diorama. I'm sure mini lights with those colors will be available right now.

Although these crowns are maybe a little small for 1/6, I had to buy them! I think they were only a dollar each, or less, so I bought four, two silver and two gold. Next time I go back, I might buy one or two more if they still have them. I'm sure I can find uses for them. If they were attached to something else (maybe a veil?), they might even look not too out of proportion, as a small crown to wear on the head, with some tiny jewels added. I think it suits the petite girl best as far as size. They would be cute as little princess headwear for Stacie size too.

Lastly, I bought a scrapbook paper book that I loved so much, that I paid full price for it! :O Or at least full price minus my Pat Catan's discount. It is a book of fairy tale style sheets, and although not all of them will work as wallpaper, I think they would all make beautiful backdrops for fairy tale dioramas, and of course the Ever After High crew will be perfect for this. So that's going to be an ongoing project for a while, creating dioramas one or two at a time and putting them up here. I won't put up any pictures now, as I want every new diorama to be a surprise! :) I'm looking forward to it, but of course I wanted to get this stuff up first. It's way overdue as it is.

These items are not doll-related at all, but I've talked about decorating Eastern European style Easter eggs with BlackKitty, so I wanted to show her this endcap display. I didn't pick up any of these things, because I'd already blown my budget on doll stuff, and because we didn't really have any room to decorate eggs for Easter this year anyway. I've seen these items at Pat Catan's for at least one previous Easter, so I'm hoping they'll have these items again next Easter. At some point I really would like to try the craft.

Do you have favorite items to buy at the craft store? How often do you get sucked in buying cool stuff you happen to find?

Chapter Six: Meeting with a Stranger

"So what do we do now?" Sig asked Addi. They were eating their supper in a quiet corner of the dining room in a small inn in Normandie. They had already booked rooms for the night.

That afternoon, they had met with the current steward of the fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast. It had been pleasant, if not particularly fruitful. Mademoiselle de Marche was a daughter of the Duke of Normandie, and was a descendant of Beauty and the Beast. Mademoiselle was about Addi and Sig's age, and was presently residing with her family at her father's country chateau.

Addi waited until the barmaid had set down their plates and walked away before replying to Sig's question. "Well, you've figured out what my own deductions are in regards to these apparent invasions into the realm of fairy tales, into our world."

Sig slowly nodded his head. He hadn't been able to completely hide his startled movement of revelation, after a comment the Mademoiselle de Marche made that afternoon. The young noblewoman seemed very intelligent, and also both forthright, and extremely proud of her family and all of its history, including the more hidden side.

"I did hear about a possible break-in at Roseraie," she'd said in a matter-of-fact manner. "But it's nonsense to think of anything at Roseraie that would be worth stealing, from a magical sense. My great-great-grandfather was under a curse cast by a witch with a knowledge of spellwork. Any witch could get hold of such a spell today if she found the right books, I imagine. But that has nothing to with anything at Roseraie. My poor double-great grandfather was only sent there so his curse would not embarrass the royal family."

"Of course you understand, however, that having just looked into a suspicious occurrence in the Bois de Bruyere, we felt it was too much of a coincidence not to investigate here," Addi replied smoothly.

"It's certainly odd timing, but then there's nothing of value at the ruins of Sleeping Beauty's castle either, is there? Even back then, the Marchen knew the danger of leaving famous magical artifacts around, even if the magic was spent. Nobody believes in magic any more, but evil magic workers still exist. It's our knowledge of that evil that matters now, people who hold the keys, not things."

Sig heard those words again in his mind, looking at Addi across the supper table. He spoke slowly, concentrating on finding the right words to express his as yet vague deductions.

"We Marchen keep our existence and knowledge within a very small community. Anyone who wanted to use magic for evil would benefit from discovering those who have held on to the old stories."

"Exactly. Any plans made by an evil fairy or witch would be hampered by the few groups who still know about fairies, witches and magic." Addi shivered. "I think someone is trying to flush out Marchen to eliminate them."

"So what do we do now," Sig said again. "Lie low here and wait for another suspicious incident? Explore Roseraie? Try to get back home?"

Addi subtly nudged Sig with her knee. "There's a young man in the doorway over there who seems to be looking for someone," she said, her face showing no expression. "I think he might... yes, he's headed towards us."

Addi's hand reached for the small dagger hidden beneath her tunic. Sig shifted ever so slightly so that he could access the long knife in his boot.

The young man was dressed plainly, but carried himself regally, and spoke with careful politeness. Surprisingly, he addressed them in the high dialect of their own region. "Might I have the privilege of joining you?"

Sig nodded curt approval, but still kept his hand under the table on his knife.

His voice low, the stranger said, "My name is Phillippe-Emmanuel Oiseau. I know who you are, because I am one of your number as well. However, I also occasionally work with a smaller group called the League of the Fey. The purpose of the League is support, and acquisition of knowledge. However, they also keep an eye on everyone of their own kind, even those like your new friend of a few days back, who have chosen not to use their gifts. This led them to learn of your investigations here in Gaul, and it was decided that it would be best to take you into their confidence, especially as the leaders of the League here are sure there will be more strange movements in the future."

"And how can we trust you?" asked Addi, giving every indication that she did not. "We have been directed to our new friends, as you put it, through some of my own kin. You, on the other hand, have appeared out of nowhere."

The stranger shrugged. "Very true. However, if you would care to undertake another short journey, I could arrange a small meeting not only with myself but someone you might be able to trust, a member of your own clan."

"And is this member of my clan involved with this other League?" Addi asked angrily. Ulfer were not supposed to be formally allied with anyone, even Marchen, outside of their own clans.

"The young lady has helped the League from time to time, but her relationship with them is very informal."

"And when and where would this meeting take place, if we decide to take you up on your offer?" Sig was very quiet and stiff.

"There is a popular open-air eatery called the Cafe de Chaussure Argente in the village of Chenonceaux, where I reside. My friend and I will be taking tea there tomorrow afternoon, and we would be delighted to have you join us. It should be an easy journey by carriage, and there is a lovely inn nearby if you cared to spend the evening." Phillippe-Emmanuel rose from his seat and bowed. "Au revoir."

Sig tried to speak casually, to hide the upset of this sudden meeting from a dining room of strangers. "I suppose my question has been answered, Sister of Mine. That is, if you agree we should take the trip."

"I at least want to know who this betrayer of my kin is," Addi snapped.

Sig sighed deeply. "I knew you'd see it like that. Addi, dear, listen to me," he added as Addi started to speak. "Don't let pride and anger cloud your judgement. We'll need our wits about us tomorrow. I know, I know," he added quietly, interrupting her again. "Your clan is everything to you, keeping your own secrets safe is your highest loyalty. I admire that, I really do, and I realize how important it is. Perhaps this member of your kin is helping to keep her small clan safe in her own way. There might be someone out there right now after all of us. Remember that."

Addi looked down at the table and toyed glumly with her spoon. She wanted to keep her own kin at home safe, and heading straight back there tomorrow might jeopardize that; she'd realized that already. She knew Sig was right; they'd have to be at their most alert and clear-minded, ready to find out new information or face possible danger.

Sig covered her hand with his. "Let's finish our supper and get some sleep. My bed looked really comfortable, and we could both use a good night's rest. Try not to snore so loudly tonight," he finished with a wink.

Addi smacked his arm, but smiled.

Pullip Alice du Jardin Eye Mechanism

Since I'm adding six more pictures to show how Alice's eyes look in different positions, plus the mechanism in the back, I decided to just make a new post out of it. The original post is here.

Looking left

Looking straight ahead

Looking right

Lots of Pullip collectors like to repaint the eyelids with patterns like dots or stripes or even fancier designs. I'm not sure that's my style. Also, you can leave one eyelid open and one shut, to make her look like she is winking.

Lastly, here is what the changing mechanism on the back looks like. The lever in the middle moves the eyes back and forth. The rods on either side are what open and close her eyelids. I still had a bit of a problem getting her left eyelid back open. The rods pop in easily; I have a hard time getting them to pop back out. It doesn't help that I don't want to mess up her hair too much, and you really have to sweep it back just to access the rods. In this picture you can also see how her wig is rooted.

I think her changing eye looks will be fun for pictures. I've heard the movable eyes in Tonner's Patience doll are fun, except when they get too out of control and go cross-eyed or wall-eyed. Do you think you would like a doll with movable eyes, if you don't have one?

Also, Mr. BTEG glued Alice's shoe back together for me with Aleene's Tacky Glue.