The Costumer in Yellow @spatsandcravats - Tumblr Blog

@spatsandcravats - General crafting + bullshit blog (see: Spats Crafts for my crafts specifically)

@thedandydollmaker - Haunted dolls and haunted doll accessories Ball jointed doll making and doll related things

I can also be found elsewhere on the web:

The Dandy Dollmaker @ neocities

Petty Vanity (BG3 fandoll project) @ neocities

Amateur Bard blog (violin + costuming)

#hello doing some housekeeping #spats crafts #bards are physically incapable of shutting up

(Of course the hapless Dollmaker accidentally summons a daimon wrong; he achieved perfect marks in first year Latin, then it all went downhill from there)

#misadventures in oc husbandry

:( Oh. Now that I have the Lad (and my snails) I can't do illegal MSCing in the basement anymore and I have to keep an eye on the fucking humidity again

Hm. Might need to do a sideblog for stealing pictures from museums armor posting

spatsandcravats

(lowkey want to hire someone to be Hime's hype man so I get motivated again to finish him)

spatsandcravats

I'm my own Hime hype man: he's my favorite doll*! He's got a new body and an updated face! His character is an eldritch daimon accidentally trapped in a doll by a twit of a dollmaker! He's so pretty and I need to finish tinkering with him so I can give him a faceup and take pictures and sew him beautiful outfits!!!

(*that I've made. He and Mito are my co-favorites)

myboyfriendpetebuttigieg

I apologize to everyone whose grammar I ever corrected before I learned not to be a tool.

rakshar

your forgiven.

myboyfriendpetebuttigieg

You’re… really sweet to do that. Thanks.

:,) I decided to wear canvas shoes so of course it's started storming and now my feet are wet and I'm going to bite someone

Oh! I forgot to report the absolutely lovely experience I had at a red light yesterday:

There was a painter's van stopped a couple of cars up in the next lane with the windows rolled down. And an absolutely massive orange dog stuck his head out the window. While I was ooh-ing and aah-ing over him, a second, grey and white dog (who probably was also a large dog, but looked rather petite in comparison) stuck his head out the window as well. Wonderful. 10/10 would hire that painting company

victusinveritas

black-crested-jaybird

I always think of the description I saw years ago: Self-imposed deadlines don't help me, because I know the person who set them, and they're full of shit.

makingtrouble

Give yourself the treat before you start. I'm serious. And ideally during the task and afterwards too.

Executive dysfunction comes from a lack of available dopamine. Common advice is wrong. You need to provide your own dopamine before you can start. Otherwise you're trying to run your car on empty.

"But what if I still don't do it" well you already weren't getting it done anyway. Now you have a little treat. Try again later.

You deserve kindness and care even when you aren't being productive.

(Also read How to Keep House While Drowning by KC Davis)

twwings

I give my students a LOT of techniques for starting writing when it feels overwhelming or daunting, but one of them is exactly this: dopamine load BEFOREHAND. It may sound weird to people on tumblr dot com, but a lot of people seriously struggle with executive dysfunction when it comes to writing literally anything, to the extent that it can cause such symptoms as panic, depression, and AI chatbot use.

I usually suggest this technique as a "Reverse Pomodoro." In the original Pomodoro, you work for 25 minutes and then take a break for 5 minutes (the times vary, but that's the essential ratio). People with executive dysfunction often find this insurmountable, and they get even more frustrated, and then the task seems even more difficult. So instead, flip those times.

FIRST, spend 25 minutes doing something energizing and engaging that you like to do. Not scrolling social media passively, not watching tv, not napping. Try something like colouring, doing yoga, running/walking around the block, talking about your favourite tv show with someone in real time, playing with the dog or cat, making and eating a lovely sandwich, hula hooping, something active. Having a little treat absolutely falls in this category!

(on the subject of little treats: refusing yourself food until you do work is for fucking Puritans and you can be kinder to yourself)

Then, after 25 minutes (or however long it takes to eat the sandwich or finish the yoga routine, it doesn't have to be exact), spend 5 minutes writing (or doing whatever you're struggling to start). Most people can coax themselves into doing something they find difficult for five minutes, if they have already filled up the joy/energy/engagement bucket. You can put a timer on for the 5 minutes if you want, or if you find that annoying, just work for as long as you like.

The other key is: don't push yourself to keep going when you're frustrated or tired—that will just reinforce the negative belief that you already have, which tells you that this task is painful to do, and needs to be avoided. If you've commonly had to force yourself to do this kind of task, that's likely part of why you think of it as painful and have trouble starting it now. Also, you should just, at a basic level, try not to put yourself in pain for the sake of productivity. So just do it till the good feelings run out. Then start hula hooping or colouring again for another 25 minutes. When the tank's refilled, try another 5 minutes of work, if you can. Adjust times to taste.

Not every technique works for everyone, but I've seen this one work for many students who are genuinely and seriously disabled by executive dysfunction. And many people find themselves getting more and more excited and engaged in the "difficult" task—because the good feelings from the hula hooping carry over, and because they're suddenly able to do the task without feeling pain, and feel accomplishment without feeling pain.

(lowkey want to hire someone to be Hime's hype man so I get motivated again to finish him)

spatsandcravats

ough I am too lazy atm to get my proper camera and my phone camera sucks too much, but I finished the gathering on my first sleeve on my new voile shirt and it's So Pretty

spatsandcravats

Gathering is such a pain in the ass but it looks so pretty when it's done~

spatsandcravats

Every time I finish another element, I'm like "omg it's so nice!!!"

I still need to finish the bottom of the neck slit, but alas. I've learned that the Coats and Clark hand quilting thread is amazing for this purpose... but I only have it in ivory. :/ I guess I could go to Wally World to see if they have it in white but also ugh.