Exasperation!

This life as a designer can really be exasperating. You think you have your design done, you've made it dozens of times and it all goes together with a minium of fuss. You've drawn the illustration and have written the instructions. It IS the very best you can do.

And just before you're ready to take it to the printer -- you see one little mistake! Then you think, "Maybe there are more." And on and on and on.

In my patterns -- Clementine, Amelia Earheart and Cyndi Lopper -- I show my clients a neat little elastic trick. This comes in very handy when handling elastic piecs that are 1" - 2". Hope this will help someone out:

Miss Bee’s Elastic Trick
This is one of my favorite sewing tricks. It is an easy way to handle any elastic installation, not just in doll making.

* For this application, take your 12 inches of 1/8” elastic and thread it into a yarn needle.

* On the other end, approximately ½ inch from the end, make a mark with a pencil or Sharpie marker. From that mark,

* Measure however long a piece of elastic you need. Place another mark.

* Take the needle and slide it into the sleeve casing, and gently tug it until the black mark – closest to the end of the elastic – is almost even with the sleeve edge. Tack it down, running the stitch into and through the sleeve and elastic.

Amelia Earheart? Or the Cutest Stocking Stuffer Ever!

Finally finished Miss Amelia Earheart and have her sitting patiently in her PDF file until the weekend. I think she would be just about the cutest thing tucked into the top of a Chrismtas stocking, don't you? If you are intersted in purchasing this sweet little lady, I'll be putting her up on my website: www.missbeesdesigns.com this weekend.

Oh My Darling Clementine!

So this is the latest reindeer doll for Miss Bees Designs. The littlest reindeer if you will. I have most of the pattern written and illustrations drawn. I'm working on getting a better picture. She is pretty easy to make. But I just love her face. Check out the rest of the family at MissBeesDesigns.com

Christmas Stocking Stuffer Ideas

In conjunction with the article I just submitted to Ezine Articles, I'm giving you readers some of my tried and true ideas and where you can get them. Don't forget -- it's only 52 days until Christmas!

1) Office Supply Store (tip: we get a $10 gift card from Office Max every month. It's $10 off a purchase of $10 or more! $10 x 12 months a year is $120 worth of stocking stuffers FOR FREE every year).

• little memo notebooks
• markers
• erasers
• pencils - regular or colored or BOTH
• note cards
• binder clips
• paper clips
• pens
• push pins
• rulers
• scrap booking supplies
• crayons
• post its

2) The Drug Store

• candy
• nuts
• film
• single use camera
• magazine
• book
• little toys
• coloring book
• cologne/after shave
• bath beads
• bubbles
• lotion
• beauty soaps
• bath scrubbies
• puzzles
• comb
• brush
• razor
• barrette
• socks

3) Craft store

• beads
• floss
• sewing notions
• fabric
• paint sets
• stamps
• stickers
• patterns
• ribbon
• scissors
• buttons
• knitting needles
• crochet hook
• yarn

4) Real Hardware Store

• hammer
• screw driver
• pliers
• paint brushes
• sanding sponges
• batteries
• nails
• screws
• gadgets
• paint stirrers (they're free)
• washer

5) Flea Market:

• card games
• deck of cards
• car games
• harmonica
• little stuffed animal
• emergency blanket
• first aid kit

6) Kitchen Store

• wooden spoons
• wooden spurtels
• candy thermometer
• turkey baster
• hot pads
• tongs
• Chinese strainer
• baskets (for burger baskets)
• wax singles to go in baskets
• fancy toothpicks
• dough scraper
• potato masher
• measuring spoons
• pasta measurer
• corn cob holders
• corkscrew
• timer
• fish spatula
• tea ball
• whisk
• big wooden matches
• fancy icecube trees
• microplane
• pepper mill and pepper corns
• kitchen scissors

7) Grocery Store

• candy
• nuts
• gadgets
• Chinese noodles
• little packs of rice
• coffee
• tea
• beer
• fruits
• little bags of snacks
• little bags of cookies

8) Book Stores:

• books
• magazines
• book lites
• book mark
• little stuffed animals
• CDs
• DVDs
• journal
• games

9) Hobby Stores

10) Cracker Barrel: this is one of my favorite places. Great old-timey candies, ornaments, those little wooden puzzles.