D.I.Y. and Distractions

I start all these different projects with the best intentions but I either end up sidetracked with a new idea or I end up being so disorganised it just never ends!

This time I ran out of hair mid-way through rerooting my Sindy and had to order another packet from the US of A as I'd initially bought the last packet of this colour in the UK. Fingers crossed I will finish her soon! I have been really enjoying using the knot method to root her and it seems I am finding it a lot easier to root nylon on a smaller scale. I have a Blythe nylon reroot on the go that I started months ago and just haven't got the heart to go near. My poor Very Vicky has been bald for months! I think I need to start again really. The plugs were too thin and it seems to have developed a yellow tinge to it (it's Blizzard, a matte white)! I'm wondering if it's down to the way I have been storing it or if there is something I accidentally transferred on to it. The hair still in the original packages is fine.

My MSC arrived recently and so it's time to get started on my Bild Lilli custom at long last! I haven't decided how close I want to make her to Bild Lilli or if it will be more of a loosely inspired custom. Considering how long ago I mentioned I wanted to do this, you'd think I'd have more of an idea but given how easily distracted I evidently am, it's probably not so surprising. 

I console myself with the fact that it's not just me who does this... I hope!

♥ Vicky

Dear Diary: From Parkin With Love

Dear Diary, 

I have decided to make use of my extraordinary powers of deduction and natural sleuthing skills by starting my very own private detective agency. No doubt I'll be swamped with letters begging for my services any day now. 

I would have preferred a slightly smaller camera but what can you do when you've got a stingy boss lady controlling your spending, "You can borrow mine" doesn't always cut it.

I'm off to offer MI-5 services whilst I wait for the big cases to start rolling in. I'm sure they'll snap me up straight away, I have seen every episode of Spooks after all.

Stay Sexy,

Parkin

xox

Teeny Tiny Tuesday: Natalie's French Treats

This set is another from Natalie's French Treats and is perhaps my favourite from that series. I was lucky enough to find it in a blindbox otherwise I'm not sure it would have turned up on my radar. I'm telling you now, I would have totally missed out! 

I love the variety of desserts that are included in this set and I have a soft spot for the crème brûlée in its tiny ramekin. The inclusion of the mini chocolate Eiffel tower is brilliant and makes the set complete in my opinion. It's only just now that I have realised that I seem to be most drawn to the tiniest pieces of the sets I have. I'm sure many other Re-Ment collectors feel the same!

The tableware is especially good in this set also. I think there may have been a knife with this set but if so I must have misplaced it unfortunately. Anyway, what I really wanted to show you in this picture is the plates. How cute are they?! The graphics are simple and stylish, the colours are lovely and there is just the right amount of decoration for that luxurious Parisian café feel. I have never actually been to Paris, I should mention but it plays up to everything I imagine it to be! Well, the café's at least :)

♥ Vicky

Blue Steel

Flossie: The key to being a successful model is mastering the very pose I am now demonstrating. The staring into the middle distance is extremely important, never forget that.

Sukie: Um, yeah, I think I'm going to go play outside now and maybe get some ice-cream... bye.

Devil Robots Tofu

I have a couple of very small collections alongside my Blythe dolls, such as my Pecanpals and thought I would share a little more today. I am a fan of tofu and so it stands to reason that I am a equally a fan of the Devil Robots tofu characters! It definitely doesn't hurt that they are extremely cute. 

There are quite a few little tofu guys sat on the bookshelf in my flat but I only have one of the medium sized bubble blowing fellas. I love the simple line art on them but they are still some of the most easily recognisable characters in the world of urban vinyl. These two like to spend a lot of time together and have been on stacking terms since they met. 

Everyone should have a little bit of tofu in their lives now and again :)

♥ Vicky

Dear Diary by Parkin: Who Will Comfort Parkin?

Dear Diary,

I have been so bored lately. It keeps raining and I'm sure it's supposed to be Summer. Well, I suppose the rain means it is British Summertime... or Autumn or Winter or Spring. Who even knows anymore. I really wanted to get out with my super-cool new kite but instead I have been wearing my comfiest clothes and reading storybooks. One of the really fun things about being this size is trying to immerse myself in the book as literally as possible. Good times. Well, most of the time anyway...

Who Will Comfort Toffle? by Tove Jansson is one of the scariest books I have ever read! Diary, please don't tell anyone. I have successfully crafted an image of myself with nerves of steel and a fearless can-do attitude so if this came out I don't know what I'd do. Well, I do actually... very bad things!

It's all about a little Toffle called Toffle who is little and lonely and leaves his house because he is scared and cold and can't find anyone to be his friend because he is very shy. There are big strange creatures called Whompses and Fillyjonks and Grokes. There are creatures that look like bats. They are the scariest. I like to hold my pull ring near when I am frightened so I can close my eyes quick sharp. Toffle isn't scared anymore because he found a letter in a bottle and discovered that there is a Miffle who needs someone to comfort her. I haven't got to the end yet because I am too frightened to turn the page in case there are bigger bat things or maybe even ghosts but I hope he finds the Miffle. That would be nice.

What I want to know is, who will comfort me when I go to bed tonight if I'm still frightened?

Stay sexy,

Parkin

xox

Giveaway Winner!

I'm excited to announce my 100th post giveaway winner! Thank you to those who entered, I wish I had a prize for you all!

Anyway, here goes...

The hat will be its way to you and Momo shortly after I get in touch with you through your twitter!

Thanks again to all the entrants and I hope to do further giveaways in the future :)

♥ Vicky

Teeny Tiny Tuesday: It's Elementary My Dear Watson!

As soon as I first saw this set I resolved that it would be mine! I am a fan of Chromeo and it was just too much to think my dolls could become P-Thugg. It didn't take me too long to track down the set given that I entered into a rabid Re-Ment frenzy upon seeing it and I was just as delighted when I received it. Now I realise that what I had mistaken for a synthesizer with vocoder is actually a Melodica. It it completely different! I haven't given up on the Chromeo dream though.

We definitely had triangles and castanets at my primary school but nothing as cool as this. That would have made school concerts much more interesting! I was also pleased with the music booklet. I forget to take a picture of the inside (I know, right!) but instead of blank pages there is actual sheet music. Not only that but the synthesizer case clicks shut nicely too. It's the little things that make me love Re-Ment so much!

♥ Vicky

p.s. I almost forgot! The set is from the Elementary School series made by Re-Ment. Enjoy! 

Mint Thingy in the Rose Garden

Last week I went for a lovely walk to and around the rose garden in Greenwich park. It smelled lovely and there were lots of beautiful blooms. Mint Thingy came along for the ride and posed for his picture whilst gazing wistfully into the distance. 

Here's to more summer days in the park!

♥ Vicky

Shrink Ray'd!

I really need to keep a closer eye on my shrink ray these days. Every man and his dog is trying to get their hands on it! I've just had a hell of a job trying to get a hold on Larkin after she shrank herself so she could fly in the air with one of Parkin's kites. I couldn't be too mad once I saw the look of sheer delight on her face and I'm wondering whether I might try it myself. Shhh!

It's got to be brilliant to feel as free as a bird! Have a lovely weekend everyone!

♥ Vicky

Dear Diary by Parkin: Scrapbook Time

Dear Diary,

I won best in show at Blythely Common Kite Festival with one of my homemade kites! I wasn't surprised because my kite was quite clearly better than all the others, although there was a cute WonderFrog with a nice Sled Kite. I went with the classic Diamond and it was an excellent choice. I had a beautiful ribbon tail with three big bows on. The crowd went wild for my kite wielding skills. It was a great day.

Diary, I know you didn't think it could get better than that but it did! I was featured on the front cover of Kites Weekly! It's only my favourite bloomin' kite magazine! Definitely one for the scrapbook! I'm going to stop exclaiming now and check that Larkin hasn't got into my Kite room again. Although, I must admit it's nice to share something so special to me with her. We are twins after all! OK. That's it for exclamations now.

Stay Sexy,

Parkin

xox

100th Post Hat Giveaway!

EDIT: 20/07/2011 The giveaway is now closed! Thank you for your support :) The winner will be announced later today.

I wanted to do something special for my 100th post and what could be better than my first giveaway!

So here it is, a lovely, if I do say so myself, crocheted hat for your Odeco. It is handmade by myself in a lovely, soft variegated blue cotton with a green cotton leaf and fabric flowers.

These hats will be available in my upcoming etsy shop from the end of July so your Odeco will be able to wear hers in advance depending upon where you live. The giveaway is open to all Odeco lovers regardless of where you live in the world.

The giveaway will be open until 12pm UK time on Tuesday the 19th of July. All you need to do is leave a comment below with your first name and the name of your favourite Odeco doll. Please do not comment more than once. You may post a second comment if you tweet about this giveaway, as a thank you for your kindness. Please leave a way for me to contact you if you win by leaving your twitter handle for example or email address. Blog addresses are also fine if you have a contact me section on your blog.

After the closing date I will count the entries and input them to random.org. Your numbers will be allocated in the order that the comments were left. So for example, if you commented first your number is one. If you commented second your number is 2 and so on.

Good luck!

♥ Vicky 

Please note: Only the hat is available in the giveaway. Nothing else shown in the pictures is included.

Teeny Tiny Tuesday: Silver Dish Rack

I promised I would show you the silver Re-Ment dish rack this week after showing you the pink one last week, so here it is! 

The sponge is my absolute favourite piece in this set (from 'Is Dinner Ready?') and the main reason I bought this if I'm honest. I also love the tea towels because they are such a classic pattern. I'm not entirely sure but it seems like there are two dish soaps and a hand wash. I'm not sure why there would be two lots of washing up liquid but maybe they are for different things? The scourer freaks me out a bit if I'm honest and I have thought about throwing it in the bin but I like to have complete sets where possible. It kind of looks like a small furry animal!

The rack itself is a lot smaller than the pink Storage Beauty version and the plates cannot stand up in the slots. They seem slightly out of proportion to the rack to my eyes. The patterns on the four plates included are very sweet though. 

I have put a 50 pence piece in the comparison image to show scale overall. It's pretty clear that the silver dish rack is a better size for the Re-Ment kitchens available but the pink set edges it for me because it is so colourful.

What is your favourite dish rack set?

Tomorrow will be the grand occasion of my 100th post and I'll be running a special giveaway so be sure to check back for details!

♥ Vicky

Relaxing On A Sunday

This is what Sundays are for, right?

Dear Diary by Parkin: Kite D.I.Y.

 

Hello Parkin fans! 

This weeks Dear Diary is going to be a little different. As you may know, (should know more like!) I am a fan of kites and have been amassing a vast and exciting collection. As fun as it is to spend time on my favourite kite forum and receive special kite-based packages in the post, sometimes you just want to get your hands dirty. This, apparently, is what compels Vicky to take my friends to pieces or to stab hair into their head over and over but quite frankly I don't think there is ever an excuse for that. Anyway, as I was saying, sometimes you just want to get involved in your favourite hobby and today I have decided to show you my super-secret special kite making technique. It's easy I promise. Even Big Ol' Bossypants can do it!

Today's Outfit By Clem

I have been let loose with my very own post! It's my first - yay! I don't usually get to do much around here besides looking pretty but hey, it works for me. So, today I am wearing a T-shirt by TTYA, a lovely cardi by The Future and sweet little shorts by Moshi Moshi. My shoes are supposed to be for Obitsu but seeing as they fit me so well and there's not a single Obitsu living here, I guess they are mine! Hope to see you all again soon!

Kiss kiss,

Clem

Teeny Tiny Tuesday: Pink Dish Rack

 

This week it's the turn of the pink dish rack from the Storage Beauty series to get Teeny Tiny Tuesday'd. There is also a silver dish rack which is much smaller and I will be showing that next Tuesday. 

This set is so charming if pretty big! I love all the cute patterns and fun colours which decorate the pieces. My favourite is the fruity tea towel. I love that Re-Ment adds cute illustrations in some sets, such as the matryoshka kettle cover and the little oven glove found in the Kawaii Kitchen series. I'm not sure what is going on with design on the mugs though! I think it's some fish swimming near some seaweed which is, you know, fine but I would have loved the fruit design to be continued elsewhere just because it's so cute. 

It's great that the dishes are able to stand up to dry individually and there is plenty of room for the cutlery too. This dish rack would be perfect if you were creating your own custom kitchen but unfortunately it would be far to big for any of the Re-Ment made ones. The silver one I will show you next week is a lot better for that purpose and I will include comparison pics too!

♥ Vicky

More About Larkin

 

I thought it might be nice to share a few fun facts about Larkin. Even though she is Parkin's 'twin' they are very different as I'm sure you can imagine!

•  Larkin still doesn't quite understand what that string coming out of the back of her head is for despite (or perhaps because of!) Parkin's lengthy explanation last Thursday.
• She is fascinated by Parkin's kite collection. Larkin knows she is not supposed to touch any of them without permission but that hasn't prevented Parkin from finding her asleep under a mountain of kites three times last week! 
• Larkin's favourite film is the The Wizard of Oz. She wishes that she had a brain just like Scarecrow. Larkin knows that she has a heart because she loves life so much and that she is brave because she dares to play with Parkin's kites even though she knows it is naughty.

Hair for Sindy

Here is the hair I have chosen for my Sindy reroot! As mentioned previously I had thought I would choose a natural hair colour for her but then decided on a fantasy colour after holding her next to some of my Blythe dolls. The Blythe that swayed me was Amaryllis!

I can't wait to get started! I chose Key Lime nylon from My Little Customs because I didn't want it quite as neon as Amaryllis's hair and it seemed a slightly darker shade. Once I've finished the reroot I'm going to try my first boil perm, which is another reason for choosing nylon as it takes a curl easier. I just hope she turns out as I have her pictured in my head! I'm working on a special outfit that will hopefully complement her new hair-do. I can't wait to unveil her finished new look, provided it turns out as I hope. Fingers crossed!