Tulips Vs. Roses

 Jingle Flowers “Comme Des Garcons” Barbie dolls came out in Dec. 2009, the price was $385  in the NYC CDG store  (£225 in Europe?)  Amazingly, they sold out pretty fast,  someone wanted to buy and asked me to call the store in NYC, I did and was told  the dolls were already sold out,  I was happy that it saved  me a  subway ride in a cold winter day as I did not care for these dolls.  lol

there are 3 of them in the collection: Steffie, Lea & Diva from Barbie basic collection 001, all  wear an ill-fitting dress that has large armholes, the giant rose prints is called “Jingle flowers”,   I think  the store was selling Handbags that had  the same prints.

 I am not  the one who would spend more than $400 (after tax)  on a doll like this, she is just a Barbie Basic doll,  should be no more than $19.  I have never heard “Comme Des Garcons” before this doll, so the brand is  worth nothing to me –lol,  sorry to say, if everyone is like me, many big-name designers will have to go out of business, as I just dont care for the big names, its the conent that counts.   

so, I have this piece of fabric that I could not find any use of it,  after seeing this CDG doll again today, I came up with this:

Tulip vs Rose. 

See my Steffie’s Lady GaGa shoes? lol –they were  from Fashionista Pack.  It would be great if its black or Red or Orange, we need dramatic colors, not pale old gold…

 

Designed by Helen

All these pictures were not taken by me,  but  the products were designed by me  years ago for the 2 companies I have worked for.  they were popular in Museum shops, little boutiques, trendy gift shops…  you may still see them somewhere… in the shops or  old magazines..

Soap was my first love,  here are  a few pictures:

Soap-in-soap  (tranparent glycerine soap features  soap flower or words)

 

Soap on Bamboo

 

Fabric-covered butterfly & Dragonfly notebooks

 

Matching soap set:

 

Cherry Blossom journals

 

Matching Soap  Set:

 

Hand-bound Note books inspired by old Chinese Posters:

Matching soap packs:

 

My Parasol Designs are well loved by wedding/party  planners,  brides, bridemaids…

 

Butterflies (the pattern was inspired by a piece of batik  fabric I have)

 

also designed wrapping paper to match:

Double happiness Parasols:

Dragonfly Messenger bags:

Matching Scarves:

still love my butterfly tote:

so these were a few things  I did before I collected dolls.  I also  designed tons of Fancy Greeting Cards, they were sold at smithsonian museum (soho) gift shop for $16/each,  but I couldnt find a Single picure of them!

my “landing Anniversary”

More than a decade ago today (March. 8th), I landed at  JFK Airport….  NYC  is the city I’ve stayed for the longest … I wondered if I will be staying here forever, or I will start drifting again….

“Mood” T-shirts

I had a post about my Barbie’s fun t-shirts:   http://dollsaga.wordpress.com/2008/08/10/barbies-fashion-statement/

I have not made Barbie t-shirts recently, but if I feel depressed, I make T-shirts for myself.   I call them my “Mood” t-shirts.  I have made more than 1 dozen t-shirts for the past 2 weeks, the styles depend on what mood I am in.   on this Sunday I wore a red t-shirt with large roses for our “Winter Romance  Barbie Day”.

here is a new one I made yesterday evening ,  it was an extra  large sized t-shirt,  I took it apart and re-made a small one out of it, which perfectly fits me.  you may wonder why I didnt buy jersey fabric but buy large sized t-shirt instead –as a local store  sold these quality (high thread count ) t-shirts for $2.00 each  before it ran out of business, much  cheaper but better quality than the jersey fabric in the current market.  its sad,  more and more stores are going out of business, “space for rent” sign is everywhere.  

after finish the sewing work,  I painted some Monster High  Skulls on it, it feels like these skulls help me to scream when I need to yell out  loud…   I will be wearing it for our doll club’s “Monster High Maddness” Event on next Monday.  just  being silly … 

the beaded large pink bow took quite some time to make.   the smaller ones  were painted in pink.  it would be better if its a black t-shirt with white skulls. but grey fits my mood just  fine…

 

 

 

 

Princess in Red

Red is so uplifting…  perfect for Valentine’s Day:

Notice the bodice of this Dress? it fits perfectly, this time I am smarter than Mattel’s patern maker, the simplified pattern saves the Sewers lots of work and it fits so much better:

pink it up to brighten your day

Dont you just love Fabric Paint? easy to use, no mess only vibrant colors!

within 20 minutes, I turned this pink umbrella into an “one-of-a-kind” creation! you certainly need it to lift up your spirits in the raining days:

anyone use “Bill me Later”?

I keep getting this annoying message,
but i dont want to sign up with Bill me Later… $10 isnt enough for all the trouble I need to go through.

$10 BACK You’ll get a credit on your Bill Me Later statement.
	ENJOY 6 MONTHS TO PAY No Payments and No Interest if paid in full by August 2012. Interest will be charged to your account from the purchase date if the purchase balance is not paid in full by August 2012.
First Bill Me Later purchase only. No minimum purchase required. Offer expires 01/31/2012. Subject to credit approval. Learn More

my watercolor

I found a set of painting brushes a friend gave me 15 years ago–perhaps one of the oldest items in my place.  my things usually dont last that long.   I decided to use them  last night… so here comes my ”watercolor Barbie & ken” – the original image was from a  set of Barbie & Ken Vintage Trading cards I won from eBay,   my “Barbie & Ken”   didnt turn out very well,   Ken’s face looks awful,   he does not look like the original ken on the vintage trading card! Regardless, I just deicded to frame it & put it into the gift swap bag,  lol!    (did I say our Barbie Day was postponed to Feb. 19th? and the theme changed from “winter holidays”  to “winter Romance”)   so this should perfectly fit the theme regardless of my bad painting skills…. lol 

how negative can a person be?

a few days ago I read on  an eBay forum,   where sellers were talking about a buyer who left sellers more than 1,500 negative feedbacks, the highest record she made  was 15 negative feedbacks per day on Nov. 28th, 2011. 

 her feedbacks were all read as the same “Bad, need a refund” –she meant the items she received were “bad”, and she demanded refunds,   eBay gave her refunds.   then, she put up these “bad” items on eBay for sale. soon sellers found out, they decided to fight this scammer.  when I read this story, I posted it on eBay’s Facebook Page to wish she would catch a wise eBay employee’s  attention.

It really makes me sad that eBay allows scammers like this to make money out of scams.  1500 negative feedbacks, how many free items she has received, can she get more negative?

Today,  eBay suspended her account and removed ALL the negative feedbacks she has left for others.

but I am sure this person will come back before you know it. I really wish some sellers out there will file “ Mail Fraud” cases against her, she has committed a crime and deserves prison time.

Time for Christmas…

the stores are deep in mood for Christmas. I am not in hurry,  my xmas shopping has not started, but I made some cards this afternoon…

Here I offer you 2 e-cards: