Gasp, I do exist!

Hello to my blog followers. I apologize for my absence. I've been so busy with life at home that my doll collection and my sewing have been put on the back burner.
My post today is thanks to a friend and fellow blogger, Amber. She tagged me on her blog, and here are  my questions.

1.  Who is your favorite musician/band and why?

Keith Urban. I don't think there is any song of his that I don't like. His voice is rugged yet smooth, and as he plays the guitar is like he's strumming my heart strings.

2.  What celebrity annoys you the most and why?

Miley Cyrus. The biggest problem I have with her is that her face is plastered on anything and everything marketable. 

3.  What has been your biggest letdown lately?

The weather. It's either too hot or it's raining. I really want to take the kids to the beach, but everytime Jim and I have the same day off it's too hot or raining.

4.  Worse job you have ever had and why?

CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant). While the job is rewarding when you see the smiles of your patients/residents, the majority of the time you're cleaning up stuff from both ends.

6.  Guilty pleasures?  Spill.

Reese's Minatures straight from the bottom drawer of the fridge. Nothing like cold peanut butter inside of cold and and crisp chocolate. 

My new love is the Wonka Exceptionals. the one with the milk chocolate swirled with white chocolate. They hang out in the bottom of the fridge with the rest of my "Chocolate stash". I can only have a couple of pieces at a time, but mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

7.  The last argument you had with someone - what was it about?

My ex-husband a few nights ago. It's the same argument we've had since we divorced 5 years ago.

8.  What would be something you would NEVER do, even if someone paid you a ton of money?

Bunjee jump, sky dive, base jump. Not going to pay money to jump out/off of a perfectly good building or plane.

So, now to get everyone caught up with what's been going on. Since my last post I have sewn something:

This is my buddy Amber (blog: http://portraitofagirlwhoscraps.blogspot.com/). She is posing with her Donna Downey (blog: http://donnadowney.typepad.com/) canvas tote bag. I taught Amber how to make and attach the ruffles plus attach the ball trim. She has some more she wants to do to her bag, including some really cute fabric flowers she taught me how to make. My mother has a bag similar to this and has decked it out in her favorite color: pink. They will be taking their bags with them to the Creating Keepsakes Convention in Charlotte, NC next month. Excited does not even begin to describe them.

Since then, I've been working on a Doll Duds Polo Shirt from Liberty Jane Clothing (site: http://www.libertyjanepatterns.com/). I'm throughly enjoying the new pattern, but haven't completed it just yet. I just need to put on the other sleeve, do the side seams, add the Velcro, and I'll be done. I'm upcycling one of my sister's Walgreen's polo shirts, and it really is turning out to be really cute. Pictures soon, I promise.

To help get me back into the swing of sewing, I am working on a sundress sew-a-long on AG Fans and am doing a sewing swap on AG Playthings. My swap participate likes blues and purples, so I'm extremely excited since I love those colors too. The blue and orange dress from PDR still hasn't been touched. I think once I make the petticoat I'll start working on it again. My "To Sew" list just keep growing and growing...

I have been scrapbooking too. Here are the three pages I did when I went to Mom's house to crop on the 4th of July:

Noah's Family Tree

Christian's Family Tree

Still waiting on some more information.

Dylan's first road trip to NC.

The picture in the top left is actually a pocket for another picture that is similar but the quality isn't as good since I didn't use the flash since they were sleeping.

Jim and I now have custody of my step-son Christian, and I love having another boy in the house. Yeah, I'm still outnumbered, but I'm used to that. Even our cat is a boy! Next month all three boys will be going to school (Christian in 3rd grade, Dylan in 2nd grade, and Noah in Kindergarten), and I'm excited for them. I'm still trying to figure out what to do with my days, but I'm sure I'll find something to do to fill my days.

I will try to update my blog more often. I can't believe it's been 2 months!

Until next time....

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Having a pity party...

I'm in a funk. Not a "haven't showered" funk, but more like "I've been busy and lazy and generally anti-crafty" funk. Two words: It sucks. Two more words: My fault.
I've been busy with work, housework, the kids, and Project Doll Runway (PDR). I was in a sewing funk before PDR, and used PDR as a way to pull myself out of my funk. Well, PDR wasn't going so well, so I guess I got a little discouraged and when it came down to the deadline for the final outfit, I was exhausted (had too much fun at National Scrapbooking Day weekend) and fell asleep (5 hours before the deadline) before I could finish it. It's now been two weeks since I've touched that outfit. All that stands between me and the finish line: 3 puckers and 4 snaps. That's it! What, like 30 minutes at the most, right? Yep, 30 minutes until I can take this outfit and list it for sale. Yes, I have had 30 minutes to make finish the dress, but when I've had the chance to sew I've felt no motivation or craftiness. Here is how the dress looks right now:

Sorry for the not so great quality. I was in a hurry to upload the picture at the time I was sewing, so I used my   Droid (love) for the pic (see my camera in the corner, I love him too). The dress needs a petticoat since the skirt is so full, which will help the skirt stand out and the orange satin underskirt show.
Okay, that picture is just so bad that I had to take my camera and it's dying battery outside for some better pictures before it got dark. It's hard to see just how pretty the fabrics are with the phone's camera in the dark living room, so here are front and back shots of the dress outside with my camera:

See how close it is to being done? I did forget about having to sew the sash, so that may be another 30 minutes (turning it right side out is also a barrel of fun, let me tell you). The sash will be the same burnt orange satin as the underskirt and will have gold bead trim wrapped around it. The original intention was to have it criss cross the bodice, but since I went with a sweetheart neckline, the crisscross would have covered it up, so the idea was modified.
Tomorrow night is Friday Night Crop, and I have the boys' books to work on. Each boy has his own book and inside of each book I have pictures paired up with the background pages already so I have a good starting point when I sit down to crop. Each of the boys all have the same paper (you know how siblings are, and if you are into scrapbooking you know how hard it is to find boyish paper) but each paper design will most likely be used in a different layout (airplanes for Dylan is his newborn pics from the hospital and in Christian's book the same paper is for a picture of him as a newborn laying on Jim's chest, and Noah's sheet of airplane paper is still waiting for the right layout).
Here is what I have worked on with my scrapbooking lately:

A South Carolina shaped chipboard album as a gift (still needs buttons, bling, etc.)

My sign for my vendor booth (Cricut Robotz cartridge). Two sheets of 12x12 cardstock cut in half, alternated, and then stitched together.

A 4 inch tall 3D robot from Cricut Robotz cartridge.

There are a few layouts, but they need some fine tuning and then a picture with my camera and not my phone.

So, yes, I have not dropped off the face of the Earth, I promise. :-)

Vendor Booth and PDR: Final Round

Today I signed up for a Vendor Booth at my local Scrapbooking store, Charleston Scrapbooking. I'm so excited! I'll be there all day Saturday with my inventory, my sewing machine, and I'm even going to have a design contest for a chance to win a free Gomunk Creation. I'll see how well this contest plays out locally, and if all goes well I'll do it again for my online fans.
My outfit for the final round of Project Doll Runway is coming along pretty well, and I'm working on the finishing touches this week and it will be available for sale at my booth on Saturday.
So, my laptop is dying, and I'm off to bed. Lots to do tomorrow and Friday...

PDR Round 3

The challenge: take an awful outfit from AG (Oh, there are so many to chose from), and make it into something better. There is a twist: keep 3 elements of the original outfit.
Well, here's what I came up with...
The original: 1996 First Day Outfit

Go ahead and shudder. What was AG thinking? Yes, I know it was 1996, but it was just as ugly then as it is now.

So, here is how I remade it:

Ta-Da! The three elements I kept: black, turquoise, and stripes.

I made the pants and jacket in denim, since anything denim was the trend in the mid-90's. The original pants where knit and the jacket was fleece. It originally had a horizontal striped tee, but I opted for a silky vertical striped tank.

Here's the album with a few more pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/Gomunk/PdrRound3#

The final round is Formal Season, and is due May 1st. I'm glad of that since I am having nasal surgery tomorrow. Hopefully I'll be back to the computer and the sewing machine in a couple of days.

My Three Sons - Scrapbook pages for each of my boys

It's been a while since I've posted anything scrapbooking related, so it's time to. I got two fo the pages done at last Friday's crop, and the third page I finished last night. My laptop died after I finished it so I am uploading it now before I head to the scrapbook store.

My step-son, Christian, who will be 8 in 3 weeks.

Dylan, who just turned 7 in January.

My youngest, Noah, who just turned 5 two weeks ago.

Thanks for letting me share. Now, I have to get ready to go.
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(sewing stitch or scrapbooking adhesive)

PDR Round 2 is posted!

Here is the link for Round 2: http://projectdollrunway.blogspot.com/2010/03/round-two-entries-history-punk-odd.html

And here are a few of  my favorite pics:

As I discussed this round with my mom we came up with an idea for a renaissance inspired outfit. As we talked about it I envisioned it in a pretty blue or purple and then remembered this gorgeous fabric I had at least 5 yards of. As I worked on the dress I remembered my distaste for silver and white together but the farther along I went the more I became okay with the combination.

PDR Round 1 - Judge's Review's are posted!

"Lindsey's volunteer outfit by gomunk
Link
We like that this look incorporates the story, but wonder how realistic it is. Would she really have a lab coat, or would she just have grabbed an old pair of jeans and tshirt? The outfit is really well made, and the bright red of the pants seems to match Lindsey’s aestethic, but the black scrub top, while cute, seems a bit dull for Lindsey. The hat is a nice, but pretty unnecessary addition. More photos or a bit of an explanation could have changed our minds."




The votes are not done being tallied yet (there is still a little time left to vote if you can and haven't yet), but the judges have posted their reviews on all of their outfits. I take my review as constructive criticism and can see why they've said what they've said. 
It is true a 10 year old probably wouldn't don a lab coat as a volunteer, but I thought it was something Lindsey would enjoy wearing as she helped and it would make her feel more grown up (what 10 year old doesn't like feeling more grown up?).
I'm glad they like the bright red pants for Lindsey's personality. I think she looks great in red and it's not your average pant color and Lindsey is not your average girl.
I didn't think the black scrub top was too dull. I had another print (black paws on red) that I had picked out initially and had planned to pair it with khaki corduroy pants, but the outfit seemed too bland to me. Maybe the black fabric with colorful cat faces may have been a better choice, but I know Lindsey was partial to dogs, so I took a chance and went with dog face print. No regrets.
The hat is something I should have explained. I thought it would be something great for Lindsey to wear while she would be outside tending to or walking animals. Something fun shaped, fun colored (again, I love Lindsey in red), and something useful.
I agree, I should have taken more photos, especially of the back of the lab coat, or pictures outside. I like to think this is a really cute outfit (it's listed on Etsy.com right now in case you are interested in purchasing it), and I also feel it can work well as a Mix-and-Match set.
So, there's my feedback on the judge's feedback. All in all I feel I did pretty good and I am proud of myself for making something unique and original. 


My outfit for Round 2 is sketched, the pattern to be tweaked is cut out, and the fabric has been chosen and dug out of the Great Fabric Stash. Pictures to come once the Round 2 entries are posted on the 28th.
So, back to the sewing desk...

PDR Round 1 is posted!

After squeaking in a couple of hours before the deadline, I finished my outfit for Project Doll Runway, Round 1.

This is the doll Lindsey Bergman. When American Girl released her in 2001, she only had one outfit in her collection. So, I decided since in her story she has a love of all animals I would make an outfit for her to wear while volunteering at an animal clinic/shelter in a future/fanfic story.
Here's a link to Round 1 of the competition: http://projectdollrunway.blogspot.com/2010/03/round-one-entries-goty-outfit.html
and here's my Picasa: http://picasaweb.google.com/Gomunk/PDR2010Round1?authkey=Gv1sRgCMDymu27m66SkgE# and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=155248&id=86033784532&ref=nf albums for more pictures, details, and descriptions.

Now, to work on something for Round 2...

I think I found my way out of my sewing slump...

Okay, this sewing slump sucks. All of these patterns and fabric are just sitting and waiting and my sewing machine is beginning to gather dust.
I haven't been posting as much on my doll collector forums, just lurking and reading what looks interesting. I'm not losing my interest in AG at all (you should have heard me spouting off AG info at a scrapbooking class the other night, project is now pictured in link on previous post), but I just feel that I don't need to comment on everything. You know, only speak when you have something worthwhile to say.
Anyways....back on track...
Lurking around one of the boards the other day and I was pleasantly surprised to see Project Doll Runway is getting ready to start this year. Yep, it's an online Project Runway for AG collectors. I've kept up with it before, but I've always had too much on my sewing desk to try to participate. This year, PDR kicks off at a great time for me, even though I am backed up with special orders I am using PDR as inspiration to get my sewing creativity back on track.
Here's a link if you want to follow along: http://projectdollrunway.blogspot.com/
Nothing much going on now, but here is last year's link if you want a better idea of what to expect: http://projectdollrunway.wordpress.com/

So, after a little consideration I picked my doll. Then I sat down and wrote out different outfits I could make. Next, I dragged out all of my patterns and went through them 3 times picking out items to alter and look for more inspiration. I settled on the outfit I'd like to make, and then today was spent digging though my color sorted fabric stash for the right fabrics. I feel pretty good about my outfit, but am a little nervous since I've never competed in a sewing competition.
Wish me luck! I'll update with pictures as soon as I can.

My other creations....

As I've stated before, my other hobby is paper crafting. I finally snagged pictures of most of my layouts, but only a few of my other items like cards (I usually give them away before I can get a picture of them).
Enjoy:
Click here to access my Paper Creations album on Facebook