design studio

for the past couple weeks i've been engrossed in a hobby. i go through these spurts of creativity & project-making where i feel like i need to do something beyond the scope of the usual hum-drum workaday business and make something. i showed you some of those things in october when i did my first crafty post and here's my second one.

i try not to talk about weight loss. mostly because i rarely experience it & i'm a little jealous, but then i remember that it's due to my own inactivity and bad food choices, so i can't be jealous. i can only be chubby and live with it, or do something to make a change. i'm not currently willing to make any big changes, but one thing i can try to improve upon is my inclination to snack at night. once brooke is in bed, all i want to do is eat, especially if i'm on the couch. but i LOVE my couch. i swear, it's the most comfortable thing i've ever draped myself across and my soul takes a deep, cleansing sigh of relief when i plunk down in that one special corner. the trouble arrives when my body hits that spot on the couch & then it starts calling for potato chips. and cheese. and cadbury eggs. so i've been trying to do things to keep my hands and brain busy when i'm on the couch in order to prevent the food inhalation.

here's what i've been doing.

 i've been hand-sewing outfits for my daughter's zhu zhu pets. she doesn't really care about clothes for animals, so i've started making clothes for her friend's toys too.

i've been using little scraps of material and a bit of elastic to adorn these little critters. the girls each got a matching, fringed leopard mini skirt.

the wedding set came out cute. i even used a piece i cut off the wrap from my wedding dress to make the bridal veil.

we've got the party girls with their fluffy dresses. i've been using old, outgrown clothes that i've cut up, scraps my mom gave me and remnants that i found at fabric stores.

brooke said she needed some boy outfits, so i bought a couple bandanas that i used to fashion into a couple of the boys outfits here.

the little one on the left is actually made out of an old pair of poorly constructed dog ears that i bought for brooke before i realized that i could make way better ears myself. it looks like a buckskin jacket to me. the one on the right is actually made out of a ribbon that came wrapped around a blanket that i recieved for christmas a couple years ago. with the added rick rack, it kind of looks like a cocktail dress.

these 2 things are my least favorites, but the girls really like them. i let them pick fabrics & styles that they want for their outfits. whatever.

these 2 are my current favorites. i love the little diamond button on the pink bubble skirt.

that's all for now. anyone (of my regular readers who live in the u.s.) have little kids who love some zhu zhu pets want a cute outfit or two? i'm willing to make & send them since it gives me something to do & they're so cute!