tainlbu

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I've been sitting on this pattern and tutorial for a while now! so time to finally share it with you! I was lamenting that the jellycat pip and sugar mice were long retired and difficult to get your hands on unless you are willing to pay much more than they retailed for each mouse, so i decided to try and eyeball a pattern and make some myself! they're not exact as i only used constructed visual references but they're close! please note that this pattern set is intended for personal use only. Rough tutorial under the cut!

This pattern is for printing onto A4 but you can check your scale with the measurements I've provided or just play around with how big or small you want to try and make them! i didn't really get any wip photos of pip mouse but it's method is largely the same with the nose being the major change, which i will detail in text in the instructions below.

for sugar mouse i would recommend using polar fleece as it will act the right way for the ears to do their squishy marshmallow looking thing. but minky should also work or other similar fabrics! for pip mouse if you can find a similar curly looking fabric with a thin backing that'll be ideal but fleece will also work well, you just wont get the furry texture, you want a fabric with a little bit of stretch to it. i however would not recommend fabrics like felt or non stretch cotton for these guys as it's likely to not take shape the same as there's no give to the fabric.

once you have printed out the pattern and cut the pieces in your fabric, you'll want to sew the ears up and turn them inside out, then put them aside for later. just leave them as is for now but here you can see i was playing around with pinching the turned through ear into shape.

Then moving on, sew the back pieces together along the spine and front of face. you then want pull the bottom open ends apart gently and place the open sides flat up against the base piece so that they're aligned, it can be good to pin this in place so it doesn't shift.

then, get your tail rope, and tie a knot at either end, placing the base of it inbetween the seam at the butt so that it'll sit in the right place, then sew the seam up directly with the tail in place, make sure you sew through the rope to secure it and make sure it doesnt shift. Sew around the bases seam leaving a hole in one side so that you can then turn your mouse through.

once turned through you will want to stuff your mouse with polyfill quite a bit so it takes shape! i like to put weighted beans in mine for extra effect, you can use dried rice or wheat too, just sew a little circle pouch a bit smaller that the mouses base with scrap fabric and fill and seal! then insert into the turning hole while you stuff. once stuffing is done you can sew the hole up with a ladder stitch. the weight from the beads will allow your mouse to sit up quite well.

next you will want to get those ears you put aside, take each corner and bring the ends together in the middle. then sew them gently together at the ends with one or two stitches in about the same spot. you want them to look 3d so dont sew the ends to the back of the ear, just end to end so they meet in the center.

Then pin the ears in place on the head

then you need to ladder stitch the ears in place while they're pinned so they dont shift around, go all the way around the outside edge of each.

now you're almost done! next they just need a face! sugar mouse only needs embroidery by way of a french knot for both the eyes and nose (you can find good video tutorials on how to sew a french knot online), pip mouse will also need a french knot for the eyes but has a separate process for it's nose. (for the pip mouses nose you will need to leave the marked nose hole open and then stitch the nose fabric to the square nose backing in line with the dotted direction on the pattern, (it should look kind of baggy when it's unstuffed) sew it up completley with no hole, then cut a tiny slit in the backing and add polyfill there before closing with a basic stitch, then you ladder stitch the nose directly to the marked nose hole)

in order to hide the embroidery anchor knots i find the best way is to start by going down through the middle of the ears and then coming back up where you want the eye to be, and then going back down and up through the ear for the finishing knot, as it creates a very easy cover for them and looks nice and clean!

then you have yourself a little buddy!

haha they're great to squish! if you use this pattern i'd love to see your results!

[tainlbu]

Silly security gang

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Yosemite Dec 2023

[tainlbu]

In the spirit of encouraging people to comment on fanfics while also making it easier to do so, I feel obliged to share a browser extension for ao3 that has quite literally revolutionized the comment game for me.

I present to you: the floating ao3 comment box!

From what I've seen, a big problem for many people is that once you reach the comments at the bottom of a fic, your memory of it miraculously disappears. Anything you wanted to say is stuck ten paragraphs ago, and you barely remember what you thought while reading. This fixes that!

I'll give a little explanation on the features and how it works, but if you want to skip all that, here's the link.

The extension is visible as a small blue box in the upper left corner.

(Side note: The green colouring is not from the extension, that's me.)

If you click on it, you open a comment box window at the bottom of your screen but not at the bottom of the fic. I opened my own fic for demonstrative purposes.

The website also gives explanations on how exactly it functions, but I'll summarize regardless.

insert selection -> if you highlight a sentence in the fic it will be added in italics to the comment box

add to comment box -> once you're done writing your comment, you click this button and the entire thing will automatically copied to the ao3 comment box

delete -> self explanatory

on mulitchapter fics, you will be given the option to either add the comment to just the current chapter or the entire fic

The best part? You can simply close the window the same way you opened it and your progress will automatically be saved. So you can open it, comment on a paragraph, and then close it and keep reading without having the box in your face.

Comments are what keep writers going, and as both a writer and a reader, I think it's such an easy way of showing support and enthusiasm.

[tainlbu]

“I think I understand a whole lot better than you do”

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you know what i mean

[tainlbu]

when u like a character for their potential to be interesting and complex more than how they’re actually written

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AND HERE COMES CECIL PALMER WITH THE STEEL CHAIR

[tainlbu]

hello my hand is gonna fall off

tap for better quality!

[tainlbu]

A moment of light during the siege

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Just saw where someone asked someone else where they come up with their surnames, so I thought I'd write up a little thing for my own creative process. I mean, no one asked me but someone might be curious, right? Right!

So, when I make legacy sims, I don't use the in-game randomizer. I use Behind The Name's Random Renamer.

It is located HERE.

As you can see from the above example, you can select a gender for whatever name you want, how many middle names you want, and how many names you want. Then, you can either add in your own surname (i.e. when you have an heir being born so you have the surname already, but no idea what you want to name them), OR mark random. I got Bobbi's name from this randomizer.

After the necessary stuff at the top you have the things that are less necessary - generating a life story, avoiding rare, and avoiding diminutives. These are all very handy dandy little tools.

Finally, we have where you can either allow for ANY category, or select specific ones. For Bobbi, I selected English, Spanish, and Portuguese, since Selvadorada is based on a mix of Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries, but her Mom is more of Windenburgish descent than Selvadoradian. Because I made these selections, only names from those languages were chosen for both the first name and the surname.

It's really handy! Sometimes, I want something more specific - for Mireya, Tomás, and Martim I googled some very Portuguese names and chose from a list - but for when I only have a vague idea of what I want, it's very useful.

And that's the end of my "how I name my sims" explanation.

[tainlbu]

cecil’s radio booth

[tainlbu]

Imagine all the night guards in a TikTok mansion

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Being cottagecore  in an urban area 06

Part01

Part02

Part 03

Part 04

Part 05

Part 06

Activities

At first glance there is not much typical activities to do in a city when it come to cottagecore. Here a few, inspired by my moodboard on the subject:

- Go to a square :

Think Kensington garden, Jardin du Luxembourg or Central park. Even if this garden is not yours, you can still sit on a bench and take advantage of nature.

- To the library:

 Try the archives, and also poetry, fairy tales, folklore  and sociology sections.

-To a coffee shop, Starbucks style

Have an hot beverage and read (yep, don’t forget to bring a book).  

- To a flea market and second hand shops

It’s interesting as it is there that you can find vintage furniture, clothes or trinkets.

-To nature themed stores

I think by “Nature et découvertes” , or the “Nature company”.

 Wherever you are, search for stores that sell crystals, incense, plants in pots, hiking and camping supplies, books of personal development, esoteric  and recipes, wooden toys, teas, oil diffusers, jewelry, astronomy and gardening supplies. 

And possibly, with an herbal tea free distributor, despite it disappeared with the pandemic.

-To decoration stores.

Here, there are “Casa” or “Maisons du monde”. But where ever you are, try shops that sell stylish furniture and trinkets.

-To garden centers

Here they are called Botanic, Gamm vert and Villaverde. Search for stores that sell plants, seeds, gardening and cleaning tools, biologic grocery and cosmetics, and have a pet store too.

Note: Ironically, it’s the biggest cities and metropolises that have such facilities. Middle sized cities, not so much. Metropolises are top when it comes to cottagecore activities, and the smallest villages have the perfect cottage vibes and proximity of nature. In-between sized cities, tough, tend to have the disadvantages without the benefits.

My ko fi

[tainlbu]

𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 . 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐢𝐭

[tainlbu]

Tag yourself I’m the “Overdressed and Underappreciated”. Artist : http://www.mattadrian.com/ 

[tainlbu]

“Blossom smiling for the camera.”

Photos/caption by Lauren Boutz