I'm back

OK, I know it's been a while since my last post, but... But I'm planning to add them more frequently now ;).

Recently one of my so called hobbies got my full attention. Dolls! ^^ Why? The reason is very, very simple. Shopping ;). Have you heard of the "Fashionistas" line of Barbies? Before I bought any of them, I had made a quick research over the internet. Yeah, I know, the Mattel's policies are quite strange - to start a new line of dolls with four (that's wright! 4!) blue-eyed blondes, one African American and one brown hair is something... well, let;s just say strange. I so much miss the 90s, when you could find few ethnic (or at least different hair colour) dolls in every their line. But, anyway I bought one of them. And then the second, and the third. And, yeap, that's wright, fourth. Why? Bugger the hair colour. Their bodies are great! So, soooooo many possibilities of posing, presenting clothes on them, putting them in dioramas, etc. What is also nice is that they have different head moulds. The AA ona has 2001 AA-mould, the brown-hair one has a 2003 mould, and the two blondes which I have, have the 1998 mould, which I always thought is cute. I don't know for the other blondes, but I quess they have the 1998 mould as well. As for their hair... I also miss the 90s dolls' hair, so thick and long. The Fashionistas girls have them quite short and very thin, the curls are going to uncurl very quickly and as far as the blondes are considered it's not that bad, but hte brown-hair one's hair is a tragedy. Not only short and thin but also every single hair has a different lenght. OK, I know, the modern, fashionable haircut and so on, one might say. But this makes it impossible to style her hair in any differetn way (without actully cutting them VERY short). Their clothes are OK, accessories also, althought I don't really know what happened with the jewellery which the company makes for their dolls. Back in the 90s (again!) dolls' necklaces etc were really nice, with good quality and design. Now? The Fashionistas necklaces remind me of the fake and semi-barbie jewellery for dolls, which that time was coming to Poland from the East. No quality, no design. It's a little bit better with their bags and shoes, though.
OK, so which of them did I actully buy? "Glam", "Girly", "Artsy" (the AA) and "Sassy" (the brown-hair).
Of course, I'm going to repaint them ;). And perhaps also reroot, if I only dare (haven't done this before). I'm planning at least to dye the blondes' hair.

But. But most of all, I bought them to sew for them ^^, because of their great posing abilities.
All the clothes I made myself and all are totally hand-made (I haven't even got a sewing machine ^^). So, here comes what I've done so far (inspired by "The Witcher's Saga" by Andrzej Sapkowski): Model: Glam (temporary, she will go with the name Yennefer as soon as she gets black hair and a new makeup)
Dress: loosely based on Yennefer's outfit in "The Last Wish" story.
It consists of:
white underdress (white georgette) with long skirt and splited, weavy sleeves,
black sleeveless blouse (black satin),
a black corset (black leather).
What's still to be done: shoes (of black leather), small bag, coat or a cape (black wool).
And here is back view:


And sitting (isn't her posing great? ^^):


And a close-up of front and back of the corset:


And here is the other one:


Model: Girly (she's goint to be Assire var Anahid or Filippa Eilhart some day, I haven't decided which one yet ^^).
Dress: outfit based on Assire's green dress.
It consists of:
long underdress (dark green, thin wool), inspired by a medieval "cotte simple" pattern, with long narrow sleeves
long coat (light green-turqoise thicker wool) with short sleeves, close-fitting upper part and a wide lower part.
bag (of both kinds of wool)
What's still to be done: shoes, belt (currently she's wearing Arty's belt ^^)

And here, presenting her bag:


And showing more of her underdress:


And back:

Vacation plans

Hurrray!
We have officially vacations here already :). Technically not exactly, `cause I still have to go to school every day this week to fill up all the papers, reports, summaries etc. But yet it already IS vacation. ^^
So it`s high time to draw some vacation plans. This year it looks to be much more relaxing and refreshing than ever. Only August will be a working month for me, since I`ll give lectures for the theachers-and-coaches-to-be for a week, then I will atend another lectures myself (about the voice improving methods) that my school was so kind to sponsor for all of us. And then comes the last week of August which again we all spend in school on planning the new school year, all the schedules and so on. So my vacation practically is July and the last week of June. But yet it is an improvement. For the last eight years I was forced to work really hard all the vacation months between my studies just to earn for the bills. Now I`m really happy and really lucky to have the school work, it has freed me from the constant burden of debts, bills, worries, and previous odd job which I hated. My Dad, a teacher himself, used to say: "There are two advantages of being a teacher. One is July and the second is August." I agree^^. However, for me there`s much more in it.
So, that was August. And July? July is going to be... Crafting month! ^^ Yeah, finally I`ll have enough time to finish all the UFOs (UnFinished Objects) and start so many more that come to my mind :). I`m going to do a lot of knitting, a lot of jewellery, some sewing and some stitching. Oh, and I`ve got a few dolls to bring them back to life ;). But...
To start any of that, I need space. In my mind, in my social relations and - material but yet the most important - in my home, especially the bedroom which is my craft-room in the same time. That is why before I go back to any of my beloved activities, I need to clean my bedroom and the rest of the cottage. And so, I hereby anounce the coming week to be the cleaning week ^^. Not too creative yet necesarry and very helping.

Today I`m officially done with the school marks, so I spent some time relaxing and having fun. Which means (at least for me ^^) diving into my big beads-and-wires` box.

And that`s the result for now (till eevening there`s going to be more, I guess.

1. "Drops of Rainbow"

Swarovski crystals (4mm and 6mm), sterling silver, tiny glass beads (1-2mm)



2. "Celtica"
Glass, metal beads, silver-plated elements.


3. "Queen of Hearts"
Glass heart-shaped beads, sterling silver.



4. "Violet point"
Natural amethyst (faceted), sterling silver, metal circles.



No amber today? Well, maybe later ;).

Hope You like them.

School year deadline

For the last week I hardly know my name and I hardly have time even to have a cup of coffee not to mention any crafting. Why is that so? The answer is simple - the end of school year is coming. What does this mean? Vacation!!! - one might say. Yeah, sure. But before we go on vacation, there`s the marks giving process, that ends tomorrow. Yes, tomorrow is the deadline and all the grades must be there in the system by tomorrow`s night. So what? So, of course, about 40% of the kids came to me on Monday and about 55% (yes, just about 5% didn`t have any problems with being happy with their marks) came to me on Friday, asking: "Ma`am (we`re very formal at school) I want to have an A, what should I do?". So I open the system, I open the class-book and what do I see? A row of Ds, firm and long as a row of soldiers. And the kid had all the semester to do something about it...
So, what`s the epilogue? I end up reading, checking and grading some 300 tests, delayed homeworks, extra projects and so on. And the funniest thing is, it`s actually none of my business or interests to improve their marks. It`s their task to study and work and learn and get good marks which their parents love (sometimes I tend to think, the parents don`t care completely about what their child actually knows or learns, they seem to care only about the marks). It is they, who should think earlier what to do and how to improve. I should care only how to help them and how to teach them in the prescriben time and not how to make their marks better for them in the last two days remaining till deadline. And I should do as most of the teachers do. Let them improve tests and bring the delayed homeworks and extra stuff only untill end of May and keep June just for myself and for putting the final marks. And keep the final marks unnegotiable in June.
I don`t do that. Mostly because I feel pity for my students. Because I like them and I want to give them a chance. And I know that for some of them it`s the final mark of my class in their school-carriera, which means the mark I put may decide if they can get admitted to a very good high school or just a poor one or none at all. So I do care. Am I insane? Yes, that is possible.

So, today no pics, sorry. Goin` back to the stack of test on my desk.

Beginning

Well, the basic introduction is there on the right, I guess.

After years of hiding, I`ve finally decided to show some of my stuff (and perhaps a few thoughts as well ^^). The crafts I enjoy are generally: jewellery-making (I love and adore amber, but that`s not all), stitching, knitting and similar handicrafts (I hate crocheting though), sewing and doll-restoration. I used to paint a little bit as well, but for some time this gift is gone I`m afraid. I also write stories and tales, but that comes in my native language and will not be availible here, since I`ve decided to run this blog in English (need some practice, you know ^^). If anyone is interested in that part, I`ll put the story-blogs I`m part of in the links, I think.

Oh, and the landscape you can see up is... is... is... No, unfortunatelly it`s not a view from my window in my attic. But it is a lake shore in my summer plot where I`m planning to return and build a proper house (which means completly own and self-contained, tarditional, little cottage ^^) and settle some day...

So, let`s see some stuff ^^.

First of all, two samples of my cross-stitch, cotton on linen canvas. Based on patterns by DMC.

And now my greatest love, which is amber ^^.

The `Freya Necklace`, made of amber in various colours (white, green, lemon, honey) and linen:

The `Freya Earrings`, made of amber and sterling silver:

I hope you like them ;).
Next time I`m going to show more ^^ and of other materials because I work not only with amber (all the other availible beads and so on).

Bless.