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It was kinda overwhelming but incredible! A local long-time collector (50+ years) has been downsizing and periodically does a big sale. This was the first one I had been to and I nearly lost my mind! Happily nearly all the ones I wanted were in the AUD$20-30 bracket; I splashed out a little more on Astronaut Barbie ($70) as I've been trying to find her for soooo long, but overall I couldn't believe how reasonable the prices were. And now I feel like the luckiest kid on Christmas!! Will be sure to post the girls (and MC Hammer lol) as I bust them out of their boxes!!

Would this be a pressure issue, or the angle, or a secret third thing? The top edge didn't have this issue.

Generally I'm pretty happy with how it turned out (this is just some scrap paper that I sewed/taped and glued, just to get the feel of the various stages), but would like to try to work out what happened here so that I can avoid it next time!

It's a very, very close cousin of Aesop's Hwyl! A nice option for when I don't want something quite that strong (or long lasting lmao let's be real) but still want to smell like a spicy forest

Mum gave me this cute little plant basket for my birthday but we both agreed he was too cute to put in the garden and be eaten by snails - then she had the bright idea to use him for pocketbacs. Since I like to change them up depending on what fragrance I'm wearing, now I have a handy way to grab one as I go out the door!

We had such a nice morning out for the big 4-4. Had pancakes for brunch and then she said "Shall we go look at Bath & Body Works??"

I had mentioned Sweet Heart Cherry a while back and Mum remembered. She went straight up to the shop assistant and asked if they had anything in that scent - the SA said "I found ONE candle this morning when we were setting up, she's over here!"

SAS is still going strong here in Australia - she got Pistachio Glaze and some hand soap for herself. I feel very lucky!

Pic 2 is after it all gets stirred together so the cheese melts! (Yes the burger is a bit nuked; was my first time trying out my new air fryer, haha)

She came to me well-loved and in random clothes (including the cute boots she’s wearing here); I cleaned her up, tidied her hair, and put her in an OG skater girl outfit I had lying around. I love her!! Going to make her some Girl Of Today fashions so she can be my ‘90s cool girl 🥰

I fell in love with Courtney when I watched her stop motion movie, but she’s VERY rare here in Australia and $$$ when she does appear. In the meanwhile, my TLC JLY 33 (Pic 8 as she came to me) and I had never really bonded… until I had a brainwave!! Behold, Project: Courtney!!

(Pics go back in time through the process!)

I wanted to evoke the spirit of Courtney but make a few changes so that she represents the 1980s style I remember from when I was a kid. That meant giving her a REAL ‘80s perm rather than perfect ringlets.

I used the same plastic rollers I use for wig styling, with perm papers to keep the ends curled; each section was carefully sprayed with water and combed through. The set pattern was pretty random, to maximise her hair, as I knew it wouldn’t be the same length or density as Courtney’s (and I did run out of my preferred size at the back, but wasn’t too fussed) and I didn't want to have any 'bald' spots. Once the rollers were in, it was time to tip boiling water over them, then drip dry in the dish rack (the glamour), then I sat her at the table near my dehumidifier for the night.

Before styling the curls (pic 3 is how they look straight out of the rollers), I boil set the portion of hair I’d reserved for her bangs; I wanted them to have a similar feel to Courtney’s but with a bit more 1980s volume and height. Once that was dry, I held my breath and cut the bangs! Then I back combed them a bit to blend in with the hairline.

Once that was sorted, I used my fingers and a rat-tail comb to separate the curls (each one was split into two), and that was that! Her scrunchie is currently in the mail.

I’m thrilled with how it turned out - just the right amount of “crunch”. I even like that her ‘do is a little shorter than “real” Courtney’s; it reminds me of Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally. I even feel like she looks happier after a year sitting in the corner of my room waiting for the fun to arrive.

Now to sew her some ‘80s duds and then come back for the big reveal!

I’m in southern Australia where it’s finally cold enough to wear BIG scents! (Though to be clear, not all at the same time lmao)

I have about 15 FFMs and rotate them seasonally; that way they last forever, I don’t get sick of them, and I can’t justify buying more 🤣

(photos from the eBay listing)

I have four AG dolls (Kaya, JLY 37, JLY 33, who is currently being turned into Courtney, and the artist formerly known as Chrissa) but have been hankering for one last girl as I want an AG to make silly late-'90s/early-'00s clothes for (think Hackers), but all of my existing girls' personas and styles felt set in stone. I also really like to have a diverse range of dolls (i.e my Barbie collection). So with my birthday on the horizon (haha) I decided to take the plunge and snap up this lovely Corinne! She's on the way now.

Can't wait to turn her into a cyberspace cowgirl!!

You don’t need much Glazed Pumpkin (maybe like a 3:1 ratio of VBN:GP), but a jot of it with VBN = salty sweet goodness!

So last year I bought a TLC Frankendoll—who had Chrissa’s head, her lip colour removed, the bad eyes™️, and Kaya’s wig—as someone was selling her as a Halloween decoration (the nerve!). I recently used the wig she came with to restore my Kaya - so then it was time to return the favour with the wig that Kaya came with!! I decided to see what would happen if I took the braids out and restored the factory curl.

I took three days to undo the braids from the wig (it was what we might call in the drag scene a 250% density fantasy), then a laborious process of brushing, finger curling, and boil dunking the top to remove some of the crimp frizz. I wasn’t planning to keep it on her, and had bought Luciana’s wig online, but now I’m kinda sold! Scroll through to go back in time; the final pic is how she originally looked (though she was dressed in a Wednesday-esque fit originally).

Since we’ve also been having some trouble with her eyes, I’ve decided that she’s a vision impaired girl who’s been inspired by Anthony Ferraro to take up skating. I’m going to make her a cane soon, too. And her name is a mix of Chrissa (a nod to her origins) and Elissa Steamer, who I always used to play on Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 😎