Dolly-related Frustrations of 2026 (and wins!)

Oh no! I'm not familiar with the issue of extreme cold ruining sewing, what's happening? I hope you will be ok!

Our winter had been extremely warm here in Kansas, very beautiful and I wished for it to stay warm through my birthday in mid January and it did, but we're in the real winter now. It's been bitter the last week or so but I'm looking forward to spring coming again.

I guess I am wary of my beginning of the year being a very doll-hungry time. I keep wanting to buy more dolls, which I could write a whole essay on why that's not necessarily helpful. Life is complicated and I will be reasonable and patient with myself.

I got a wonderful new doll already this year who couldn't be more perfect. I even found the perfect wig for her which is discontinued and I never located in this color before! I'm also having some luck selling off things that I ought to, so all in all I'm feeling pretty lucky at the beginning of 2026 and hoping to continue taking care of myself and being open to new possibilities.

 

I've been using the cold weather and being stuck at home to clean out and organize, and I'm already feeling much better! Soon, I'm going to redo my doll room, patch up some holes where shelves hung, repaint and paint some pictures of my dolls for decor. I've done some faceups, too. I do my own faceups, and I...kind of don't care what the weather is like, I've sprayed in rain and snow before, and it's mostly been fine. Zoukeimura Finishing spray is very good in humidity, and MSC is more finicky but not too bad. Worst case, it's on my own dolls and not a big deal if I have to redo them. I'd rather have to redo than have my doll blank, I'm impatient! I've also been sewing, and getting better at it. And working on a doll wedding photoshoot! All wins! All the snow and ice makes for fun pics too, so I may do that before it all melts. I loooove cold weather, snow, ice and darkness and can't stand heat and summer, so this is my time of year! I swear I belong in the artic circle and not Kentucky...

My biggest frustration so far was buying a dresser on Amazon to hold fabric for doll clothes and sit a couple of dolls on top for display...the dresser works perfectly and was easy to assemble but....it smells SO toxic that after a day in the house, I had to drag it to the garage to air out. The smell seeped into the fabrics I had put in it, so now I have to wash ALL of that fabric and throw out some supplies that can't handle washing. I can't get the smell out, and since I put it together and have no packaging, I can't return it, so have lost $150, still have no storage and no idea what to do with this thing. I am very much NOT an Amazon fan, but had a gift card and free prime for a month, so I took the risk. I regret every bit of it.

 

I know the feeling. Usually AZ has such nice weather year-round that you can spray/seal whenever. I miss it a lot. I used to spray/seal on the back porch and bring it in almost year round. But since moving to Central California I've had to deal with a lot of fog and humidity. >.> It's very wet/cold and so I can't do anything when the mood strikes me.

My biggest issue has been that.. I'm jsut not feeling motivated with my dolls right now. And I really want to be. And now I've done something to my back which has hindered me doing... anything Just overall for the longest month of the year I've made very little gains on ym doll goals for this year.

 

my biggest doll frustration so far this year is...not having any time whatsoever to do anything with my dolls. i had been hoping to do a LOT of creative stuff this year and am off to a slow start, as in i haven't touched a single project yet whether doll-related, drawing/painting, or human sewing. at least it's for a reason i'm happy about: i have a new puppy, and he is unspeakably adorable and i love him a lot. but between regular daily life responsibilities, acclimating new little guy and elderly girl dog to one another (going well-- they are bonding!), housetraining the new puppy and the extra cleanup that can entail, and giving him the attention and playtime he needs with his extremely zesty puppy energy levels...what even are creative hobbies
at least this stage doesn't last forever and my dolls and art materials will still be there when mister new baby is a bit more settled in-- and he is definitely worth the temporary interruption to my free time, he's a great little dude

 

My current biggest dolly frustration is that they’re slave-drivers, I swear! This month they have me plum worn out. I was already hip deep into a large sewing project for the month when I spotted a place that would make an excellent doll display in my home…which entailed a lot of planning, construction, and decorating. No sooner had I finished that when hubby dragged home a tall, narrow, wooden cabinet he’d found on the side of the road and said, “Hey, can you do anything with this for your dolls?” So again…more planning, construction, and decorating. So I’m currently tired and creatively burned out.

On the plus side, boy, have I ever made a huge dent in my 2026 doll goals already! Go me!

 

Oh, yeah, the cold...

I always like to do a large photoshoot in January. I'm in Florida, so it starts warming up by the end of January, usually. This year is freezing for me temperatures 35°F / 0°C Which is terrible. This is a wet tropical environment. Our homes aren't built for cold weather. My room is the Sun-Room with no extra insulation, and too many trees out back to actually warm it up.

I do have a faux wood burning stove in my room, but the problem is that it is behind where I set up my canvases and dioramas. I have to turn it off while taking pictures for safety reasons. The temperature in my non insulated room begins to drop rapidly, so I am freezing under layers of blankets while taking my pictures.

My win is, that I am taking the pictures, and spending time with my dolls. I enjoy these long photo sessions with my dolls as I work on their story, it inspires me to write more and plan future pictures with them. I was feeling a little bummed because the weather wasn't warming up early this year, and I really like taking my dolls pictures.

Now, I am happy but cold.

 

My biggest doll frustration is that I can't afford to buy any more resin babies, and all but the RealPuki are in storage in another state.

 

Mmmm I don't think I made any doll plans yet for 2026 but one frustration is ordering the wrong colored bust stand for a head. So when the head comes back from getting it's face up, I'll see if I can still make it work or if I am going to have to ask to trade with someone on here. (I don't think the company will take it back since they filled the order correctly, it was I who misordered.)

 

My frustration is that I’m itching to do faceups but I don’t think MSC will adhere correctly in 20*f weather I should be working on sewing or knitting projects, but I have little to no motivation to do any dolly projects. I have been enjoying just changing the clothes they already have and like just hanging out with them. And taking snow pictures in the yard is fun! I’m looking forward to feeling refreshed when Spring comes!

 

I bought a bonbon galaxy lychee body that should arrive soon, and have been searching for a head to fit her. I found one (an amadiz 44cm) I fell in love with but it's not proportional to the body! So now if I want this head I have to find ANOTHER body to fit it.

But, in the midst of those adventures I stumbled upon RamCube's Cat Story series, and have been thinking I could make a head like that for my bonbon body. I love their cat heads but they are all 1/3 size and those are just too big for my space.

So some "failures" that have turned into further adventures haha. I feel like the old man in the story where whenever a so-called pitfall or windfall lands upon him he says "we'll see..."

 

My frustration is winter depression making it really hard for me to want to do anything. Winters are not exactly good where I live, but they haven’t been this cold and miserable in many years. Like negative temperatures for 2 weeks straight now. It’s hard because the result is I just end up sitting on screens, and that doesn’t help anything at all except to make me feel bad. I have so many dolls that need things!!!

Despite that, I have been successful in making a couple of doll things this month. So celebrate the wins.

 

I was just having fun redressing my dolls when I got frozen shoulder in my dominant arm!! Now I can't even one-handed open a doll box my shoulder is in pain all the time and a long course of physical therapy is the only way back to full mobility.

BUT, this month is my final layaway payment on AE DingDang which I have had a character based doll planned since I saw her. SO, this year I will get my Mildred Hubble! She's the main character from a British children's book series called The Worst Witch. I was also able to splurge on the new BonBon Galaxy Citron girl body and head.

 

Frustrations: Still haven't found shoes I like for my Momonita. Thankfully, she has shoes now, but I'm like so-so on them. They're well made, but they look a little baby-dollish and not in a could be a fashion statement way. She also needs a wig still! She's off for a faceup right now, so I keep forgetting she just has the meh wig I made for her before I sent her off.

Wins: Going to Japan for a wedding in March, so I'll be able to shop for art supplies *and* doll stuff while I'm there. I'm also hoping to find lots of goodies at NYC Doll Convention the very next month!

 

Win: I found every doll on my wishlist!

Frustration: I need to work on culling my bjd and ot doll collection but I hate listing items for sale. It’s not a hoarding situation but I have a few too many dolls stored that need to find new homes.