Looking for doll no-buy buddies

That's one of my concerns with doing mods as well. About 50/50 with irreparably mucking up the doll. I learnt that pretty early on, though, since I bought a head thinking I'd just do a couple of small mods (reshaping the nose, closing the mouth) and couldn't bring myself to do it.

I feel like I'm going to end up buying the girl that I went to the convention thinking I was going to buy. I've been checking the listing at least once a day just to make sure she's still there, it's been nearly two months since I saw her and I'm still thinking about her.

 

Thanks, though it's hard to feel I'm not wasting money and time. It's work I wish I didn't have to do in the first place, and there are a lot of "what ifs" and red flags that only came up in hindsight and feedback by 3rd parties. There's no lesson to learn either, unless I want to shut myself off the community, since I was obviously picked off by someone who knows a target. Leona has stayed fundamentally incomplete since I got her, which pains me quite a lot cause I love that doll. If I had ordered the set I intended from a dealer and a wig that didn't get bald spots out of the box I would've done so much more with her.
There's also the fact that the things I bought so far aren't the greatest and nothing more than a stopgap, since I have to get a lot more done than I expected within the same budget. I wanted to get outfits from a good tailor but I had to give up and get this stuff which I have strong doubts will even fit. So I anticipate that I'll end up as dissatisfied as before if not more by the end of it. I'm pretty tired from life and health and having the hobby give me nothing but grief and exhaustion is not doing well for me.
I keep trying to tell myself that this is a slow hobby, long waits, take it easy, but part of me wants to take a break and unplug from the community and dolls in general. I feel bad about having my dolls spend all their time in a box. It's the opposite of what I imagined. I was really ready this year to step up how much I enjoyed the hobby and reach some milestones, instead it's going pretty much in the drain.
Sorry for the rant but it is what it is.

 

@lutke I'm glad that Leona herself doesn't have negative memories attached to her, even if her wig and clothes have to be purged. I hope you're able to build new looks for your dolls and also new, happy memories with them! I agree with others that while dolls can end up with lots of positive and negative emotional baggage put on them, they're customizable enough that they can also change and potentially have new emotions and memories attached. And they'll still have that original sculpting and essence that you fell in love with at first.

It's also alright to take a break for a while - sometimes that can be a good "reset button" or clearing the air. There's no shame or failure in that. The dolls are endlessly patient! My 2 oldest dolls were patient for 10 years while I went to sort out my life, when I came back from my hiatus, I still remembered why I loved them and bought them.


@Crissaegrim Maybe you do want the doll after all? Since you say you're checking to "make sure they're still there" ... if not to buy her, then why?
I had this experience with one of my dolls - saw the head on Y!JA and for weeks watched it renew, hoping it'll drop in price (it didn't). Though in my case I did want this discontinued head sculpt, but the price seemed too high. Eventually I asked myself, "Imagine that this doll with this particular faceup got bought out from under you. Would you kick yourself mentally for being stingy?" Yes, I would. The head ended up costing as much as the body I bought for it, but I'm delighted with this doll and regret nothing.


@cobaltconduct Maybe it's my personality, but the "decide once and be done with it" method works really well for me. I find that it's quite freeing: I don't need to repeatedly pull out the thought and go through the whole decision-making rubric all over again, because I already settled it! It reduces the mental burden and frees me to focus on other (no-buy) activities. It also neutralizes FOMO when looking at all these time-limited doll preorders -- I resolve fairly quickly (often on the spot, but over a few days if needed) if I'm going to buy/not buy, the decision is now done, hooray I can carry on with life and not have to deal with it again.
I find this peace of mind is quite pleasant and I don't want to leave it. Now, doll temptations that disturb my peace are rather annoying! I try to kick them to the kerb as fast as possible -- and no-buy decisions nowadays are faster and easier to make. I hope this No-buy decision will also give you peace. ^^

 

I have had to teach myself to do everything in this hobby myself down to the deciding. I will take technical advice on things, you don't use certain products on dolls because of chemical reactions, you don't buy copper from Ea-nāṣir. But you have to decide for yourself where you put up the barriers on things you will and won't take opinions on. I grew up in the general environment that even if they didn't know what I was doing I was doing it wrong and how dare I be better than my sister at it, and there are still relatives who are upset I earned my degree and they rightfully can't tell my #$@! about my chosen field.

Now go listen to Moose Turd Pie by Utah Phillips. *edit-forgot to explain why- It's an amusing way to deal with people who always have to say something or complain. It's also a way to deal with those who don't help with a task but certainly have opinions on it.

 

@aihre Nah no way I'll allow this to drive me away from the hobby, even temporarily. I refuse to take a break because of external circumstances, although part of me wants to when my mood gets swingy. I'll just wait it out until my current order comes in, and then if I'll still be dissatisfied I guess I'll postpone my December doll to accomplish what I intended this year. It would make no sense to get another doll in that scenario after all.
I tend to prioritize dolls simply because the international situation is changing rapidly and the whole tariffs thing is reflecting on Europe as well, so I'd rather get the dolls themselves sorted out ASAP.

 

Major “Wednesday Win” for me…I finally paid off my last remaining long-term layaway left over from last year! This is literally the first time I’ve been without a bjd layaway of any kind since 2006! With my limited budget it was the only way I could afford to collect these dolls. I very carefully collected roughly 3 dolls per year, slowly folding those low monthly payments into my regular household budget, and that’s how I built my (by now quite substantial) collection. But it feels absolutely wonderful to be completely done, and I’m vowing here and now to very happily jump off the layaway train for good. I accomplished my dream.

 

Major Wednesday win for me—I re-ran my budget yesterday, and it’s tight, but it’s doable if I behave. I then almost put 2 Twigling dolls on layaway that would have absolutely borked the budget. They were beautiful, and I had characters for them, and the. I sat back, and said “sometimes, you cannot have the thing you want, just because you want it.” And did not buy the dolls. One of them in particular would have been lovely to have, was a really good price, and I may never see her for that price again. I already have one of her sculpt, and Lilith does not need a twin (even though canon to my story, she has one!)

If I can walk away from good deal twiglings, I can resist anything (probably!)

 

Wednesday wins: I've spent most of this week painting a head, and I've been busy doing a mountain of training and reading for my new job, so my hands have been too busy for idle scrolling and browsing.
Also the 30 minutes or so between paint and coats or MSC drying gives me a good excuse to have a few minutes' break from the screen.
The only disadvantage is with all my painting stuff out, I don't have any work space for any other crafty tasks, but I want to power through and get this head done.
It's nearly finished, apart from the hardest part – the horror effects on the lower portion of the face. All of it's a learning curve as I'm working with new paints and haven't done effects like this before, but lots of tutorials in the Workshop have been helpful, and the only way to improve is by practicing

 

I’ve been focusing on other hobbies, so I’ve kept myself from looking at bjds too much. If I look at bjds, I start to want them, so I’m keeping away.

 

I am being tempted by eyes and photo backdrops on legend doll today xD I started because I remembered i had photo backdrops bookmarked, and I want to be able to take nice pics of my dolls, but don't really have anywhere good to do that, and then while I was there figured I might as well check what they have for eyes, etc. They have some pairs I have bookmarked on etsy actually, for much less than they're listed there, but I haven't purchased form legend doll before so I'll have to read more about their shipping policies and whatnot.

 

I don't like when that happens. But, I believe you do want her to join the doll family.

I laugh with you because I have a similar feeling. And, I know our setbacks are probably different.
The "I don't wish to calculate how much money I spent on whatever that is, over there" can hurt. It's a slow hobby. "Slow doesn't make- ...."
I believe with Leona you're dedicated, and nothing should get in the way of her beauty. Not even a cardboard mattress dress, having no eyes, and a tuft of yarn taped to her head! Ummmmm...did I just volunteer one of my dolls to do a thing? If I HAVE to do it, I'm not using black and pink zebra print duck tape.

Wednesday No Buy
Win:
* Sujan's hardcap - I wasted my time trying to glue down the excess fabric behind her ears. So, I trimmed the cap and I'll attempt it again. This gluing / trimming is mainly to get a fitted shape before creating a hairline. So, I'm not planning on shaping it before this glue and that's why there's no pictures, now.
* I finally had the courage to send "Little Guy" out, for a face-up.
* Additional discounts on doll things?? I put things back in cart, and I'm not going to press the button, yet.
Fails:
* I'll admit it, I couldn't resist that one cute face. And, why did that other doll I want go on sale? I need to resist.
* I can officially go on break, the doll body is here.
The fail hurts. The thing that I was waiting for, before taking a break. Just got in the body for a floating head.
Good News: The head FITS!
Bad News: Everything else about it is OFF.

Spoiler: TLDR: Not perfect, complaints, she needs a style

I did not realize the shade of white resin I choose was roughly what I think Luts white looks like. Now looking back at the only promo photos I could find - the shoot was done under yellow lighting.
The head I had doesn't match, it only came in 3 colors (white, pink, tan).
Head might not be tall enough and the neck might look too big.
The doll body seems a bit taller and larger than Sujan. I wanted her on the shorter end of mini dolls, but she's soooo TALL (neck's a pinch long). I just wanted her on something small, like a Volks body. (But, she's probably 10cm too short for a certain cosplay. I need to check.) The body is more elegant than I was thinking for her, so she may end up looking older than I intended.
Putting clothes on her, she is very close to the shape I wanted for her. If I decide to keep the doll head, I might think about getting a body to mod, for the look I want. But, I also want to try other neck sizes too because the head sat fine on a body with a neck less than 6cm. (I was shocked by that.)

It's too bad that it's visually not working out for me, for now. It's the 1st doll face that I've liked as much as "Little Guy" and that's why I rushed to get her done before I was out of body options.
I don't like touching something so pretty. The white is so pretty that I can't think of dying it, in any near future.
I don't feel like FORCING them to work together and I don't feel like attempting re-homing either them because this isn't that type of situation, I guess. Even if the colors matched, I would still have to repaint her. I need some reflection time.

If you think that her eyes are rolling back into her head, then you are right. The eyes in the photos are not flush, but no troubles with the same sized glass eyes. Yes, the brown glass eyes that are like Cinderella's glass slippers. The browns make her look too old.
I'm trying the green eyes because they're not going to work out for another bjd. (A funny story for another time.)
I would have to stretch out one of my other wigs to fit her, so I am modeling her with a wig that's one size too big. (I've never imagined her with dark hair.) I've been too much for trying to copy the feel of the overly simple face up from the promo pictures; I even want the pastel pink hair. But, to be honest, I did not like her and at the same time there was something about her that reminded me of "Little Guy". Her face annoys me because it almost has a puppy dog quality. I wonder about how much I can exaggerate the sweetness. I don't know if she should be giving people cavities or do I make her into something else. (I'm still thinking over a handful of names for her.)

Should I pose and photograph her?
You are being too harsh on the hybrid. Customizing your dolls is REALLY going to upset you.

Spoiler: Hybrid pays Doll Tax

Yes, white light and weak yellow light pictures, too.

@PoeticSoul No more layaways left?!? Wow! Are you planning to celebrate? Will it change your budget plans or will you still set aside "x" amount of dollars (for a rainy day)?

@castironteapot Congrats on the new job! I think it's a smart idea to use study breaks to add more layers to the dolls. Here's hoping that the horror effects painting goes well, too.

 

I do not want to talk about setbacks and making do right now. I have and was prepared to spend good money on quality items which would solve many problems if only I were physically able to get them from the warehouse to my vehicle by my own means. And while I'm putting something we have in the house to use it's only half working out. But at least I haven't thrown good money after bad by purchasing another stop gap. Sometimes stacked nicely on the floor against a wall out of the walk way is where things have to be for awhile :/

So it's hold on for a little while longer and hope that the delay only means that the solution is working its way to me, it just got stuck in traffic.

 

@tinyflame She looks cute! The match doesn't look too far off to me, but I know from experience that these things can look much further off in person and how frustrating and upsetting it is to not have a hybrid match the way you hoped it would. If you plan on redoing the faceup at some point, you could probably blush the two to match better if you wanted. I'm no help with the neck issue. I'm scared to do mods that involve saws or sanding away resin, and tend to like longer necks for my dolls personally, but I'm sure someone else might have some suggestions to help! In the front view i think it looks good, but in your other pics, I can kind of see what you mean that it might be a little long for her.
Congrats on getting Little Guy sent out for his faceup! I hope it all goes well for you!

Meanwhile, I am still sitting here eyeballing things on Legenddoll asking myself if I really need them (i mean...no. I can make eyes. The few I've tried didn't turn out quite how i wanted but they were the first ones I made, so I shouldn't judge them too much for not being perfect. But also......). I was hoping they might have kips or neck protectors like Alice's does on their site, but I don't see them. They do have some kind of dressform, or display, which is cool, but I can't tell from the images if they're actually pinnable or not, and the measurements don't match for my girl. I don't want to spend the money on one just to then need to do extra work to make it suitable for making clothes for her, when I could just make one for her from scratch. But I keep just looking at things and debating adding them to my cart and not deciding either way :/
I'm also still not sure about going to NYC Dollcon next year. I keep waffling about that. It would be fun, and this time i would have dolls finished that I could bring with me and go to meetups and such! But it's expensive, even if I don't really buy anything from the con, and with all the extra costs for everything else set to increase and the student loan repayment plans court cases probably being pushed through, I'll have to start paying those, and probably for much more than I've budgeted thanks to the greedy jerks in charge, so I feel like I shouldn't. But I don't really go anywhere or do much for myself away from home and work either, and the new location sounds neat. I keep waffling about it :/

 

No celebration for finally being layaway-free other than a little happy dance and a pat on the back for a job well done. As for the money I’ll be saving, I’m going to start setting it aside for now, because of the fluctuating tariff situation. Although my layaways are all paid for, lingering long-term orders still need to arrive at my dealers. Since they’re all from China I want to be properly prepared.

And your girl’s head is absolutely adorable, by the way. I say lean into it…go for the sweet…all the sweet! (Says the person who’s been obsessively making lolita-inspired outfits for my own cute-headed girl all summer…Luts Aru.)

 

@tinyflame She looks adorable to me! You can always try to paint her face lighter instead of the body darker if you want more of a match, although I don't think she looks that off.

I had to do that with my Dika Doll Aron hybrid. I had read Resinsoul was a great match with Dika Doll, turns out what I read was wrong. The Dika Doll 'normal' is way off from Resinsoul's. I used acrylic base, very watered down, and many light coats of the paint to get his face to match the body. It worked pretty good.

IMG_7410 by Rabbid Bunnies, on Flickr

 

That looks great @RabbidBunnies ! I wouldn't have guessed they weren't the same resin color!

 

Let's see here... I guess I'm glad I didn't say in my last update that I set aside the idea of even bothering to get the (limited) upgraded body for a doll as that didn't age well. Found out my friend got it for me for my birthday, as long as I traded the old body for it. (With a firm, if I don't end up liking the new one as much I can trade back) Then another friend got me a head as a present. So now I have another body on my list. thankfully it's an off topic ufdoll so cheaper. She's still going to have to wait awhile though.

Of course I also fell down the hole before all this thinking I at least wanted SOMETHING for my birthday so ordered three blind box dolls. I'm waiting for them to be delivered today, the day after my birthday. That's pretty decent timing though.

As for wins, I started one of those "play games for money" apps and found two games I'm actually enjoying to play so that cuts down on my mindless scrolling. I also wiped my poor kitty girl dollfie dream head to start over again as I was feeling more tempted looking at other face ups. So that means she needs more work to be just right. Since it's going to be awhile for her to get a body I can easily take my time till I'm happy.

 

My no-buy resolution is remaining strong!
An indie artist I like had an eye order available, and as I'd had a bit of extra money come in, I thought about getting a pair, but I stopped myself – I don't have the head I'd want them for yet (currently at 7 months waiting) and the recommended eye size by the dollmaker might not look right for me – I have dolls with eye sizes either side of the default/recommended.
I do want some of this artist's eyes, but I want to be sure they're right for the head, and I won't know until I have it and can test my existing pairs of eyes for fit and iris size.
Impulse buying gremlin defeated!

 

The day I finish using up all my spoons and tickets for the rest of the month because I'm making a solution with my own two hands the manifestation fairy goes "Is this what you want? Did you know it came in this color? Woo-hoo half price!" It will take days to undo what I just did, work the what I want in, and tidy up around it. Doesn't help when the lessons are mixed between be patient one day longer and use what you already have at hand to get the job done.

And I want to make doll eyes, even if it's just the paper insert part. That's one thing i'm very good at doing in my art.

 

I'm back into no buy jail I bought two dolls this year, Violet and Orlando from metis doll, they are quiet pricey and I need to get them ready, find artists(Violent already being worked on), clothes and such. Spending even more on new doll would be unreasonable.

Choosing last doll for the year was pretty hard, because I have to weight the doll against possible preorders that might happen or not(cause almost no one posts a schedule), and the doll that is available can go away too if I wait too long I decided if I like the dolls almost equally I'm not going to wait for a possible preorders, take what's there and not worry about the choices I might not even have in the future.

 

Wednesday check-in:

No further cases of impulse buying gremlins, and good thing too because I've had to spend a significant amount of money on uniforms and paperwork for my new job.

I also went through my doll clothes and decided to sell some items that I wasn't using. Having only gotten back into the hobby the last 3 years, I bought a lot of things to try them out, and not everything ended up suiting my dolls.
Things are selling, which gives me a bit more holiday (doll) money, so it's a win-win.

 

Yesterday I got the last parcel of doll stuff I'm planning to have for the next good while. I'm pretty happy with the stuff I got but I also thought that "wow those really don't feel as urgent any more as they felt when I put the orders in" when unwrapping everything. I guess I gotta try to remember that when going forward with no-buy because I'd much rather unbox something and think "oh wow just what I needed/wanted!" rather than feel a bit meh about it. I also got a little bit enamoured by the new DollPamm goblin girls but quickly realised that instead of ordering a doll, I'd much rather just draw or sculpt something in a fun shape for a couple of days. It's been a while that I'd been interested in a new release of any sort, so it's cool to get excited by something like this for a change! But that doesn't mean I need to own the thing because I have dolls at home I've also been feeling a sort of "xyz would be so nice but only if I started my collection from scratch" which has curbed my imagination getting too wild quite a bit (I simply do not want spend energy on restarting anything).

I've been slacking on getting my sewing and wig projects done this year so it's high time I get to that instead of daydreaming about additional resin. I'll always find something to yearn for but for now, I think I need to make some more things for the present gang to wear instead :3.

 

Those were the preorder I said I was sitting out of a while ago I really love the sleepy head, Emma. The only counters I have is that they're a short 1/4 and quite expensive. My intention with Dollpamm was to get the Neo line, so I can take that as a reminder to save up. I think I'll have the chance next year if it won't happen too early.

As for hauls of new stuff I realized how much I'll still be missing despite the current order being quite substantial good news is that Candell is fully covered, Mina's new wig should be OK and that's all she needed, and at least one of the other wigs will work on the second twin, I hope and I hope the 70cm boys clothes will fit
Leona will have to wait for the next big order from Dollmore but it's likely that I'll make a small order in the middle to sort out what's left for the time being.

 

The DollPamm goblin girls are tempting me too T_T But I have a layaway on an OT 1/4 girl already, and she has a couple different faceplates I'll be able to play with, so I'm not going to cave no matter how cute they are! I'm kind of at the point where any more dolls I might get would be random, since I don't have any other characters I really want to shell, so it's a little easier for me to look away from them than it would be if they'd fit a character I had in mind. Now if I could stop looking at doll accessories that would be great

 

Emma instantly reminded me of Dollstown girls so I can see why you're pulled to her! I really love the green Hilda but the price is, indeed, steep and if I was looking to add a doll, I'd rather spend it on something in Dott's size. I have enough small goblins to service already but I hope that preorder is a success nevertheless because I can't wait to see what people do with them!

 

I think I got the cosmic go ahead to buy the girl I was looking at, as she got a bit of a price reduction so fingers crossed on that.

 

Great job to everyone for sticking with no-buy!

I've been pretty good about doll no-buy lately. It's been months since a new release has tempted me seriously - very thankful about that. More tempting are ongoing interests that stay mostly dormant but keep waking up every so often, and I have to work to put them to bed again. Currently those are - the 1/3 indie head that I've been eyeing since the start of the year, another slim 1/4 to be a friend for my lone 1/4, and a 75cm boy. The third is the easiest to put to bed because I have bulletproof reasons to not get into 75s and I'm deliberately not looking too much the head sculpts The first two are harder because I know which sculpts I want, I have OCs for them already, and they can fit into my crew.

But I don't really need those new dolls (those OCs can stay in my head just fine), so I'm gonna keep kicking the can down the road. I'm still waiting for resin -- 1 body (for the last floating head) and 1 pet doll -- after I get both, I'll think again about new dolls. In the meantime, I have photos to take and sewing to do! I've also gotten back into drawing and playing video games - less hands-on time with my crew, but I'm also not window-shopping for them.

 

I took the plunge and should have my new girl here next week. I love buying second hand and from within the UK, it makes shipping so much less of a nuisance.

This will make the second Dollshe doll I have that I didn't altogether think existed. I have a Dollshe Marco head which I thought was still just a 3D sculpt, did not realise people had actually got him. This one is a Dollshe Natalie Portman, which I also didn't know actually existed (she was made in 2022 and I'm buying second hand so I'm fine under the Dollshe ban).

 

Went to the junk store, came home with off topics so they kind of don't count? The think is they're all from within a few years of each other, I still have one gal who I rerooted and parts of the outfit from another, and it's a time in my life when I'm actively searching for something else so I think my personal manifestation fairy has some sort of processing disorder or they're like "I heard ca 1980! Those are ca 1980!"

So I'm going to try and share the luck for finding maybe not who you think you want but definitely who you need in the local used market. Sorry if I push anyone off the wagon with that.

 

Wednesday No Buy
Win:
* I'm in a rush to finish any doll thing. Sujan's hardcap DID shrink a bit and I'm not sure how. (I thought the drying process would take longer.) I refuse to shape it, for now.
* DollPamm is back (made one of the bodies that I wanted for the floating head that I showed last week). I'm gonna do my best to avoid ordering a doll.
* I'm not sure what to do with the body I got in. I've been back and forth about making edits to it. It's too pretty to edit, but something about it bores me. Something's missing, like with Maria. I have now realized that my problem with doll heads is a valid concern that can easily derail my future "no buy" efforts.
* Dogs, Bunnies, Orcs, Goblin girls, Demon girls, Lobster handed tiny girl, whatever THAT attachment is for a 75cm doll.... Um, ...why do I want all of these? Why does a non-canon romance I wrote for two of my bjds FIT into all of that?? What does this mean, as far as my collecting goals? (.... Okay, okay. So, the joke was that one of my bjds gets their own TV show that was so stupid that it gets canceled. But, her co-star gained such a following that they give him HIS own TV show. And, that TV show is like "Green Acres", so it needed a female lead, too. But, stepping back from it, I realized that this random coupling makes sense and I fear it becoming a thing. So, it's NOT cannon! Did I mention that they're both mutants? Neither bjd has things, so there's no pictures. Did this story take your mind off of buying things? If it did, you need to record that as a Win for BOTH of us.)
* At this point, I'm thinking less about "no buy buddies", but wanting accomplices for a doll heist. Current attitude: I want all of the dolls, so I decided that I wanted to do "the safety dance" instead of sitting in "no buy jail" during hiatus. I already USED my safety dance? Are there any other songs that are good for "Let's stop thinking about dolls, for a moment"?
Fail:
* Temporarily on break from selling anything.

I keep thinking about the dream-like image from the promo of one doll, for one of my floating heads. I'm not sure how to make it possible. I have plenty of time to recreate it, but it still feels really incomplete, in my head. But, that's probably because he's not in hand, yet. There's a few things that I want to make him into, so maybe it's okay I didn't want him to try him as a blue sculpt. It does matter for a few cosplays that I would like him to do.

 

Before any TV show gets cast it's a good idea to have a completed script for at least the pilot episode and strong ideas where the next few episodes are going to go. So whenever you get an idea for a show or a movie for any of your dolls no purchasing of new cast members until you've finished writing and you have the money to produce it. However you can do what you want with the cast you already have at hand.

Seriously, if you do have story ideas you should work on them and becoming a better story teller to keep your mind off purchasing more dolls for now.

 

I am shipper trash, so I will encourage any and all shipping of people's dolls and/or characters even if I know nothing about them xD Even if it's not canon, it can be fun to think about, and a good distraction from other things! Maybe poking at the story more could help you sort out more about your dolls and your collection or goals @tinyflame ?

 

I'm in a weird buying space. The DIY wig I'm working on is fine for a big fluffy hairdo, but not the sleek style I'm aiming for. The purchased wig I got hold the sleek hairdo just fine, but post styling, will only stay on the heads of my smaller dolls. I'm debating whether to just buy another wig, which I'm not keen on, or DIY another, which I have no energy for.

Thoughts?

 

It will soon be costume season at the stores and there will be plenty of wigs to choose from. You got hair to trim for rerooting, whole wefts to use, and wig cap fabric in one place.

 

Well, since the joke was seeing how good or bad the spin-off show was, the leading lady was just telling an information dump that contained two jokes. One of the jokes is that their honeymoon caused chaos and destruction, by accident. He's fears that continuing their romance will cause more harm and has started avoiding his wife. What you think might have happened probably did. But, does acting out a stereotype that people had of him, does that make him a monster?

But, the joke about their honeymoon made me wonder about their romantic interactions prior to their wedding. He's mute [doesn't have a mouth]. So, there will always be a thing about if his gestures have hidden meaning, especially the way that he looks. I think it changes how fast their relationship goes.
She isolates for months in metamorphosis and depression. She attempts to embrace her changes by appearing in public and on her first day out, she meets him. Does he fancy her or is it lust? There's questions like: "Would you date someone with that kind of mug?" and "What happens when you attempt to date such a person?". I'm sure there's some type of pre-existing stereotype in everyone's heads, for the guy. But, the two were once normal people and just happen to meet sometime after the world population starts turning into mutants. (Thanks global warming.)
There might be some type of comedy behind trying to see her through the POV of a guy you probably have a prejudice about.
Could a premise this silly ever take off?

@castironteapot Good job warning off those impulse buys. And, selling things for doll money.
@cobaltconduct @aihre Sewing and crafting? Are you thinking about making some things for the fall and winter?
Lutke Hopefully the haul will turn out well.
@Crissaegrim Fingers crossed that it gets to you safely.

 

Well, here comes a thought experiment- do you make yourself "broke" until your next paycheck if it means you get a full set/batch? Or do you buy like half now and hope you can get the other half later? But this is after you've paid all your bills, you have groceries, and it just means no more spending until your next paycheck?

I'm never flat out digging for change in the couch broke, or at least I haven't been since that one computer related month 20 years ago, but I've certainly spent all my doll/toy money for awhile on things for them.

 

For me it depends on how bad I want the item. By 'broke' I mean all my allowed spending money, not dipping into savings or anything. I definitely went for broke this month on my Volks girl. I only had a little free spending money when I was done with purchasing her.

Normally I wait until it's closer to the next pay before going for broke. That way is something does come up, I don't need to dip into the savings to take care of it. But, if I know more money is coming just around the corner I'll go for it.

Getting a full set of something can be fun, and if you can afford it and are willing to blow your fun money in one sitting, go for it? Yeah, I'm a bad influence. But, seriously, if it's not a normal thing that you do all the time, I don't think it hurts to go crazy every once in awhile.

I went for broke this month, but it will be a long time coming before I do it again.

 

Wednesday check-in (actually Thursday but I guess it's still Wednesday somewhere, right?):

I got my first paycheque from my new job, which covered all the uniform I had to buy with a bit left over for the holiday account.
The work tires me out, so often I talk with friends/read/watch something/play video games in the evening, which cuts down my online browsing, which means less temptation!

The only thing that's tempted me this week was another can of MSC as mine's getting low, but I decided against it for now until I have more daylight hours to work in.

The faceup I was working on is finished, but it took over 2 weeks between my job, sealing times, experimenting with techniques and wet weather.
The poor doll is still bald for now until his wig comes in (I've tried wigs on him but took them off quickly because my dolls tend to suffer from first wig is the only wig curse) and dressed in character-inappropriate athleisure wear. I'm going to have to sew for him at some point, which will mean drafting patterns for double door refrigerator 75cm size.

 

I have to remind myself regularly of the cheap, perfect, fast quandary when it comes to wigs. If I want something cheap(er) and exactly what I want, I'm going to have to make it myself. If I want something perfect and quicker, I'm going to have to spend more money on it. If I want something cheap and fast, it won't be exactly what I want.

And I'm never entirely sure which one I'd rather pick.

New doll will arrive tomorrow, and that makes three dolls who need a faceup so I need to buy some new filters for my respirator, wait for a good weather day and see how much I can get done on them if I can rotate through all three so there's always something to do. I also need some white eyelashes.

 

Dipping in here with a late Wednesday Win of my own. After two years of staring at my amazing (and huge) Mermaid, Dollzone Sawarieda, I finally completed her faceup and artwork. In my defense, that sculpt was so beautiful blank, it felt like a privilege just to be able to enjoy seeing it every day. So I took my time coming up with the inspiration to do the work. I’m satisfied with what I’ve done and I’m thrilled to finally have her completed. Perhaps I’ll get photos and do her doll profile by next wednesday…that would be nice.

 

@Crissaegrim Have some patience and pay for the quality wig you want. 20 years in to BJDs the cheap ones have definitely fallen apart. I went thru several for a couple of my dolls, settled for a good color but unflattering style for one, the moment I went with a better style she came out of her shell. And white eyelashes should show up with costume and Spirit Halloween season. (check former Joanns locations lol)

On the make do side of things I quickly sewed some wefts off a human costume wig together so my centaur's head wouldn't be cold fadd8b43c5c16624398bc6e38ca53cbec7b81755.jpg

 

@DollyKim sadly you gotta watch where you get these things from. I paid £135 for two "artist" made alpaca wigs which got bald spots in a couple months of light use and I am unreasonably delicate with doll stuff. This person brags her wigs are the best ever and everyone else's are rubbish. I've had to buy synthetic replacements cause I just don't have the budget ATM.
I have no idea where to source decent alpaca wigs. At this point I don't even care about price, as long as I'm not getting soft scammed.

 

I feel like wigs are the number one gamble always - even my otherwise very similar Leeke wigs behave very differently with hair loss (but the fibers are a bit different in texture so maybe it's that) and it's always a bit of a gray area how well the sizing actually translates to real life I am very reluctant to spend a lot on them for those reasons, but I also realise that my wigmaking skills and tools have a limit so sometimes buying is a necessity.

In reply to @saraquill - if you know you can successfully DIY what you need, and waiting a bit is an option, it might be good to just put it off until you have energy for the project. But if you feel like buying a wig would save you from trial and error frustration and would let you spend time with the DIY projects you would much rather focus your energy on, it's worth buying something fitting I think. DIY for the sake of saving money doesn't always turn out the cheapest after all, and sometimes other things are more precious commodities.

 

[This weeks, I don't feel like calling these] Wednesday Win-Fails
Wins:
* Haven't [really bought] anything. (A tiny bit of fabric. I wanted a print. Not that I'm doing anything with that; just thinking.)
* I have been putting off deciding which bjd to buy an outfit for, even though I haven't changed my mind about which outfit that I would prefer to buy.
Fails:
* The heat. Mr. Destin's head greened. (I forgot that I left him out after borrowing his face protector. Also "Little Guy"'s face got bleached from my faceup removal process. It's a long story to how this happened.) I had wanted to do a short style for Mr. Destin, so it's going to be a difference. I might not sand his face now to get rid of the pressure mark on his face. What do you think?
* I feel sad when I look at dolls, now. I don't know why. Is it a "lack of fulfillment" or something else? (Maybe I should take pictures in the Fall. Having dolls in boxes for half a year at a time, it's a schedule.)
* I guess the sadness got worse after I thought "Do you have doll stories?" (not that dolls need those). Most of them have an essence. For some reason, I haven't been able to push stories for any of them, for the ones that seem to have some type of story.
* And, guess who showed up? I regret buying that one doll eons ago, I regret not rinsing his unlined clothing before trying them on, I regret viewing him with some anger on my face because even though the outfit looks good and he has a presence and he was a problem to dress (layers).

Spoiler: His face feels off

His face feels off. It feels lifeless.

.
I want to hate him so bad, so that I can sell him. Why is it so hard being a hater? (And, I wish he was taller?? At least 52cm maybe?) Was I looking FOR SOMETHING to be wrong with him? No. I was over him so fast after I ordered him that I wouldn't think he'd appeal to me in any way, now. I am shocked he's far above the level of "she who will not be named". And, I have to give him a chance...I guess. (Is it viable to keep him, salvageable to keep him, etc? Yada, yada, yada. We're NOT going to think about any of that during my month off.) Also, I need to find out why one of his legs is hanging from the hip. I think the string's just loose.

Speaking of dolls with loose stringing, I keep thinking about it, when I think about my leading lady for that weird romance with mutants. Between wanting to fix that and not knowing what her face-up and eyes and wardrobe should be, it takes me out of the mood of writing that, for now. Nerves, I guess.
And, I can't stop thinking of one my bjds being a pirate captain. There WAS a plan to do ONE pirate picture of the guy, then I saw a promo picture of some bjd dressed like a pirate captain. And, now I'm like, THAT FACE could make an excellent pirate captain! (Oh, the things you think about, when bjds have funny faces.) Wait, that OTHER face might make an excellent captain, too. Or possibly pirates in general?? Why do I all of a sudden want ALL of them to be pirates, now?!?


@castironteapot It sounds like the face ups went well. Keep up the crafting.
@PoeticSoul Ah, the privilege of enjoying a blank face and to finally see it painted, after all this time. Wonderful!

 

Wednesday win: Saw a doll on my wishlist on Mandarake. It wasn't the exact resin tone I wanted and I've been living out of a suitcase for an entire year now. I didn't buy it. The perfect one will show up again at the perfect time, which isn't now.

 

I need to climb back on the wagon so bad I got to watch the video about the history of the building of the wagon. With me it's definitely about searching for brain chemicals. I took rewarding myself for paying my bills early a bit too far. Having some self discipline when it comes to my toy money until my next paycheck is a good thing.

So today's course of action is let's play with the toys we already have, make our enclosure a more fulfilling place to live, and set our next general doll project as an updated family photo because it's been awhile and a couple of new family members came in since then. Now to figure out which common objects go in to the height comparison photo to not only help people get an idea what size the dolls are but to also keep other people from claiming the picture as theirs because they can't recreate it.

Seriously, someone on another forum tried to claim one of my off topic dolls as theirs, but they didn't have the CRT tv and custom dollhouse I did in the back. Nor the landlord white wall lol.

 

A friend let me keep one of their mini dolls for a couple weeks so I could restring and do maintenance on him. I put him next to my tall 1/4 to see what the height difference looks like, and they're so compatible. This isn't helping my resolve to No-buy the anpiel's friend. But my local BJD group has MSDs and slim minis aplenty, so I guess I don't need to own a second 1/4? I'll live vicariously and keep on No-buying.

As for the 1/3 indie head I've been eyeing since the start of the year... their sculptor is teasing a new release. I'm ignoring this new release, but since the sculptor is gearing up to take doll orders, I am very tempted to email them and ask if there's additional stock of the older head that I want. If there is, so be it; if there isn't, so be it too. I'm thinking very hard about this one - whether to jump on a window of opportunity, or keep on ignoring it like I have all along.

 

Good (?) news, bad (?) news.

There's a company that sells medical equipment for dolls, up to and including MRI machines, PICC lines, inhalers, feeding tubes, etc. Given many of my dolls have medical issues, my wallet would be crying. However, these toys have ambiguous scale, kind of compatible with 18 inch play dolls, but not really.

Hence my temptation to buy their products is low.

 

@aihre Why not ask if there's an old head left. If the answer is no then that's the end of it. Whenever something can be solved with a simple question or looking up the answer myself I'd rather know. (saved us from going to every hardware store in town the other day looking for something none of them carry by remembering I have the internet in my pocket)

@saraquill Look at the 18 inch doll aisle in Target, I have seen some general stuff for playing doctor or veterinarian and occasionally crutches and wheelchairs. Point being you can tell right away if the scale is compatible to what you want and the prices are reasonable. As for tubing and wires there's the hardware store. For making up casts there is an art product called Rigid Wrap that I've used in doll making which has plaster powder in the bandages, you just have to get them wet to activate it.

 

I am in deep with temptation right now at a bjd con. I'm trying to be strong. Hoping someone else will be weak and buy my doll though, so then I could possibly get a new one... I am restricted to anime types only (I'm feeling my non-anime girls I already own fill what I want and a new one would be redundant.) and have been taking photos to really think if I do get the money/chance to pick one up.

I'm really weighing things though and have been checking things off the possibilities lists so that's been pretty nice. I want to make good choices!

 

@Kynthiamoon It seems to me that you’re taking excellent and diligent care with this, which is remarkable considering you’re physically at a bjd con (where temptation is literally everywhere!) I think the true value and spirit of this thread is in the encouragement it gives each of us to take that extra measure of care and due diligence, and to guard against careless impulse buys we’ll later regret. Whether you actually decide to buy or not, knowing you’ve taken such amazing and analytical care in this issue is what truly matters.

 

This thread has helped. I decided if I manage to sell my doll on this last day, I'm not going to buy anyone. I did cave and got a confirmed style blind box bunny girl, but she's here now to stare judgementally at me for the rest of con.

Also a vendor had a gorgeous postcard of her ddh-30 that I got to remind me that she's who I should just save for instead of going for others. I also sold my head I had modified because she was just frustrating me and I really shouldn't be keeping anything that's frustrating me.

 

I think i didnt buy anything "doll" since november... but now in waiting for 2 more... I'm serial doll buyer it comes & goes.

 

Confirmed style blind box is better than spending and spending and not getting what you want. I have learned to read so many pin holes...

I just got out all my "on topics" and a few friends yesterday. Had to remind myself where a couple of them came from and then when it came time to go back in their boxes a couple of them got mixed up. Yes I finally got a centaur but she's also a bit too tight because she's spent most of her time with me in her case :/

I guess the point is make sure you have the room and time for the dolls you want to bring in. I wouldn't sell anyone I have, but one I'd like a smaller head for, but it really made me think about who I have by putting them all in the same place at the same time.

 

Ack the "my only doll of its size needs a size-appropriate fren" feels have been very strong! I've been very adamant that there will only be 2 SDs and therefore I have to choose wisely but that doesn't stop the daydreaming of course. I know the right doll will be there at the right moment and for the right price but the temptations, man It helps a lot that Dott is hard to live up to, and that I'd like something in-scale with her old-school looks (and huge head) but it's annoying that the solution isn't right there right now all the same. Since the times are very turbulent and all kinds of things keep changing a lot these days, I also feel some anxiety to "complete the collection", I guess (throwback to where getting one 1/3 was "completing the collection" lol - I should really stop speaking in absolutes )

Complicated weightings aside, I've not bought a single doll-related item for the time being, they all seem to have all they need (and if not, it's time to get crafty). I'm still in a strict no-buy but I think I'm willing to make space for one full doll instead of a bunch of knick-knacks in the next 6 months if something aligns very nicely. I've also been slowly thinking of having them on display somehow so the visual number keeps me accountable, but it seems like UV/sun exposure will be a problem everywhere they could go so I'll have to find another long-term doll project for myself.

In any case, well done everyone with your no-buy goals! It's great to have this thread to come to!

 

If I didn't have the twins* I'd have one SD and he'd be perfectly fine being the only one that size. He's still the only 60cm as the twins are noticeably taller and everyone else is a MSD or shorter. The only times someone had to match was I wanted the married couple to be of similar size and their children to be smaller than them.

*My sister and I won prize heads in a photo contest, I hardly ever win anything so they were staying no matter what.

 

I, uh, stepped out of the no-buy room to buy dolls. They'd been on my wishlist for a while. One of them is a pet doll that I fancied since it was premiered last year, it had multiple releases in different colours, but I wasn't so keen on the colours. Now it's released in a colour that I do like. The other one is that 1/3 discontinued head I mentioned upthread. I asked the sculptor if they had stock. Not only did they have stock I could order, they also let me order an accessory that was only available with that doll. I'd given myself a condition that I wouldn't buy this head sculpt (new or secondhand) unless I could also get that accessory with it ... well, I asked and received.

That's all done now, so I'm back in here I don't really want to say "that's it, no more dolls" because we all know how effective that is! But with that 1/3 head and two(!) pet dolls in the works, there's lots to do and I want to give it a rest for now. (I've been saying "for now" since the start of this thread ) I also received the body for my floating head and unfortunately I'm not entirely happy with it, so I have to sort out that doll too.

So my wishlist is now empty, yay. I wondered earlier if I'd always need a doll on my wishlist to help with No-buy - having this 1/3 head on there definitely kept me away from lesser wants. I guess I'll find out whether an empty wishlist is just as good a shield as a long-term wish.

 

I did not even last 2 months on no-buy, quelle surprise In my defence I have to say: a) it was not a new doll like I was afraid it was going to be b) I also sold stuff. There were a couple of things that were nagging me about some of my dolls so I decided to give in to the wigs and hands that were annoying me and got some options - it's also kind of silly to ruminate over bits I don't like in the name of no-buy instead of fixing the problem I guess. I also found some cute baseball caps that I'm really excited to have on those resin heads hahaha

I've sold a couple of my minis over the summer - I'd been slowly realising there were just too many dolls for me to craft for or to properly enjoy and it's been overwhelming me a little (and then I never craft at all and feel bad for not making things). I've already been picking up some knitting and sewing again and it feels much more relaxed, and the hobby has been just a very pleasant comfort for me these days now that I don't stress myself out with it I initially thought selling dolls would just free up funds for another 1/3 but the itch for Dott's Friend (tm) has gone for the moment, too. With some new commitments that have thrown my general routine out of whack, it's nice not having to set up a blank doll right now tbh O_o. Maybe further along, when I've had some time to make and collect more SD-sized items, I'll run this idea through my head again.



@aihre - I'm very excited for your pet dolls to arrive you make your dolls interact so nicely together, I think you'll have some very precious photoshoots with them. I'm sure waiting for the right colour was the right move!

 

Did you break the "no-buy" or did you "responsible buy"? Because there's a difference. And it's always good to look at what you already have and see how much of it you can make do with. I've recently been able to turn skills I already have and supplies at hand in to stuff for some off topics with a bit of elbow grease and it'll carry over to the BJDs.

 

@cobaltconduct Thanks, I'm keen for the pets too! I think these two will enhance the crew. I just gotta make sure they don't multiply
I'm glad you were able to get your doll collection to a place where it won't overwhelm you. I think it's good to find that sweet spot where one has enough variety amongst the dolls, and also enjoy them without getting stressed. I'm finding the challenge there is learning to stay in that state of Enough, and consciously not slide into More. It seems that I haven't reached my limit of doll collecting yet, so I can't really rely on the overwhelmed feeling to keep the More in check. Learning how to say Enough is hard!

.
@DollyKim That's what I have to decide for my latest doll whose body I don't like, whether I can be contented to make do with and overlook the flaws. He's currently out with the rest of my crew, maybe "exposure therapy" will solve my discontent. But whatever I decide, I'm going to take my time about it and not be hasty.

I'm actually a bit salty at the pet doll maker - they're now teasing another of the same pet, in a colour that I like, and it's a new sculpt variation that manages to be even more cute than the original one? Aaaarghhhh you can't possibly show me an even cuter pet, and hot on the heels of that previous one I ordered! No nope not going to cave for this one - I've already moved into the no-buy room. I like this new teaser so much, but I do feel that one pet from this maker is absolutely enough. Gonna have to do the, indeed, responsible-buy thing and let this preorder go