Playing with dolls: what did you do with your doll today that made you happy? <3

Today I brought a doll out with me for the first time in a long while.

It was hot out so I didn’t leave Gremory, a Rosette Doll Fir out in the car while I had an appointment. Didn’t have her out of the bag during that though lol

I’d brought her with me because I was going to a small fabric store afterwards and I wanted to see the fabric against her. At the fabric store I did have her out, and it didn’t feel too weird since it was probably obvious what I was doing.

After that I went to my mom’s office, again, bringing the doll in with me but leaving her in the bag. One of her staff really likes dolls though and was interested in seeing her, so she was out again for a little bit.

This felt like a nice step towards getting back into this hobby.

It was also nice to find some fabric for Gremory and some of my other dolls. She in particular is lacking in clothes because her body is such an abnormal size for an MSD, it’s the long skinny “Pure” body.

Also picked up some graph paper so I can try to make some patterns.

 

Yesterday I made matcha lattes and jelly parfaits for my dolls. My next project is to create a scrapbook album for wedding photos.

 

Currently deep in faceup painting mode ... I've been working on a floating head, and today I painted the lashes and eyebrows -- the hardest part. It turned out well, I'm very pleased with how the faceup is coming along!

Previously I'd been using Tamiya acrylic paints, they worked for a while but I started struggling to control paint flow, especially when using very fine brushes. This time I switched over to Kuretake watercolours, and man, all those struggles went away. I'm getting more reliable paint consistency, no more worries about clumping or flow issues with my fine brushes, and I feel more in control of my paint strokes. It's also nice to wipe away any mistakes with water! I'm glad I learned how to paint faceups using acrylics (the learning curve was steep but good), but I'll happily jump over to watercolours.

I like to batch my doll painting and now have a bunch of heads and hands/feet on the to-do list, so I'll be at it for a while. I'm enjoying it - more painting practice!

 

I've noticed after many months that I'm starting to have room in my head to think positively about my dolls again. After a lot of this daydreaming I ordered two wigs from DDE this week and yesterday I got some girls out to try them on. Wig results are often not how I expect but this outcome turned out well I think. :3 I felt very happy seeing Omega in the new style I got for someone else (but considered I might prefer for her) and a blank doll who will eventually be whole has hair now too! I left Omega out on the dresser overnight and of course it makes me happy seeing her there. I have moved into a new place this month and definitely still getting settled... Not sure where or if any dolls can sit out most of the time or not, but it does feel good at least thinking about them more, like I used to. Thinking about sewing, buying my little fabrics from work even though I have billions of handmade clothes already... (Which smell bad from my father's house. I feel lighter thinking, hey maybe I'll just start everything over and make clothes fresh) my dolls continue to be like me in this way I suppose. Everything has changed but *I'm* still here!

 

I organized my SD girls wardrobe. I had recently sewn a lot of clothes for them and cleaned out a Disney Princess Wardrobe case that had bought at a thrift store. The girls clothes all fit neatly into this large doll wardrobe case and now all the boys can just have the drawers to themselves.

 

Today I decided to buy (for $2.50) a simple vintage handmade doll dress from the antique mall where I work because I was feeling pretty darn confident it was a standard sd size and I'd gone back to handle it over and over, I was in love with it. I've dressed my Volks girl (Flora) in it now and it really suits her! She's so beautiful in that bright crimson fabric!

 

Today I just took a moment to really look at him. Something about his face seemed different, like he had a more natural expression than usual. I think it's because I turned him to a slightly different angle the other day but maybe he's up to some mischief.

 

I finished repainting Gael today. His original faceup was one of my best work, it's become who he is... but it got worn and chipped over time. I was reluctant to repaint him because I was afraid I wouldn't do him justice and would "lose" his character in a new faceup. But it was getting too damaged! I'm glad I blogged a very detailed faceup journal for him with all the colours I used, so I could paint him like the original.

Still have to spray sealant and do some glossing so Gael isn't back together yet, but I'm really pleased with this second faceup, I think it's an improvement on the original. I think it's still him I feel a lot more confident now repainting my dolls.

Spoiler: old/new faceup comparison

Left is his old faceup when I first painted it. Right is the new one

 

I have been busy repairing a used BJD that I got. I think I'm like his 5th owner? Poor doll has seen some things. I washed him clean. He had terrible rust like stains all over his arms, legs, and body, I'm not even sure how that happened. He also had black clothing stains, but that's an easier fix. He had a broken finger, his head magnets were in backward, and he had yellowed to the color of butter.

It took three washings for the water to be clean. I did get 95% of the stains off of him. There is a stubborn spot on his upper arm where some red stuff soaked into the resin, and light traces of the red slashes that was on his face. I sanded it a little and it's barely noticeable. I spent most of yesterday cleaning him, but he looks great now. I tried to preserve part of his original company faceup, but that was a fail.

I've been fixing him up today, faceup, and some body blush, helped cover a few remaining light stains. He is dressed now and waiting for a wig I ordered for him. The wig should be here within a week. He is wearing a left over borrowed wig for the time being.

When I bought him I thought he was an Only Doll YiFeng, but it turns out he's an Only Doll MoYan. Either way he is adorable. Somehow, his COA managed to travel with him on all of his past adventures.

I am happy with how he is turning out and I think he was originally a white doll, because the break parts are very light. I reduced some of his yellow with a baking soda scrub and light sanding. I also did a light lavender blush on him. This took down the butter yellow quite a bit. I don't mind yellowed dolls anyway, so this is fine with me. I think he's cute.

 

Today I finally spent some time with some of my newer dolls that came in this year. I haven't had time to actually play with them, so it was nice trying on clothes and wigs. It also made me realize I might need to invest in more clothes, as I don't have enough of a variety to choose from. The sun was also out today, so I took some decent photos.

 

I finally took the time to reorganize and dedicate an entire drawer just for all the extra hands and feet I have. It feels so good to have them all in one place and organized so I'm not searching for that one set of hands I can never find in any of the 3-4 boxes I used to use. Those little white gauzy gift pouches are a god-send, just saying.

 

Lately I've changed the way I set up wigs and I'm very happy with it. I'm switching to velcro in the lower back of the head, and putty where the wig's upper edge would be. The velcro hooks the wig in the back and putty keeps the hairline in place and flush against the head. With silicone caps I've always had problems with the cap itself shifting and dragging the wig along; or the wig pulling back from either the top of the bottom, which moved the hairline or billowed the back of the head. This is on wigs which were perfect size-wise. Now all problems are solved. I've done this on Nadia and Candell and I really love it. Mina and Leona have hardcaps that took the head's shape and now fit like a glove so no issue there. I'll do this on all my stretch cap wigs.

 

I’ve been messing with my guys wig all day and I’m finally happy with how it looks
I just need to put in some hairspray tomorrow

 

New first today: I redressed one of my dolls in a new outfit and saw it came with a freebie jewellery set. At first I thought it was for humans, but realised it was doll sized earrings. They fit really well and I'm going to see if I can find some more somewhere.

 

I had a doll stuck on a photoshoot setup for over a week because I had very little time to take pics -- busy life, and winter days are short with not enough time to take pics in daylight. But today I finally got all the pics I wanted. The photoshoot dragged on for so long I was running out of steam and it was in danger of being abandoned, so I'm really happy that it's done now.

I've also been on an art bender lately -- don't want to play with dolls, just wanna draw their characters all day all the time, and the inspiration has been coming thick and fast. Well, if the hyperfocus train is running, I'm gonna ride it and bash out as much art as I can. Playing with dolls is gonna have to wait until the art train reaches the end of the line.

 

tried a swimsuit on Juliet, might take her to the pool for photos later

 

Sat fiddling around dressing one of them up and trying to come up with an idea for a faceup. Been so long here that I've gotten excited to paint one of my dolls, feels nice. Even got plans to take the little one out with me to go shoot some pictures in a nearby forrest when I've finally painted the little face.

 

I recently had a doll meetup at my place, and then changed outfits for several dolls, so my gang ended up all over the home. Today I rounded them all up, got a few ready for photoshoots, and put the rest back in front of the bookshelf. This bookshelf has become the "green room"/waiting room where the "unoccupied" dolls get to hang out and chat...

Spoiler: pic

 

I love Oshidori's outfit in this one @aihre

 

I worked on a wool wig for my new deertaur fawn and now I am very itchy.

 

Did some faceups today. One looks so bad I'm going to redo it tomorrow if I can, but I'm just glad I got to spend some time with my dolls. I also painted doll nails for the first time and my hands were so shaky, haha. They're so tiny!

 

I finally finished a shirt that had been buttonless-but-otherwise-ready since last fall (I really dislike sewing on buttons) and finished a batch of eyes I'd meaning to get to for over a year. Hoping to keep this going and maybe do some hand blushing later this week~

 

Got one of my neglected guys down from the shelf to test with a new girl that came in on Friday, and I (1) rediscovered how much I love the guy and (2) found a solution to the minor problem of the girl’s incorrect height. She’s supposed to be 68cm, as I’d ordered, and she’s come a bit under. My long-standing guy probably won’t let me send her back, though, if it came to that. She’s in his lap. And he has a “just try it” look… as does she, to be honest. So, welcome home Zuri! Not your intended name or partner, but you’ve come together like puzzle pieces!

 

Finally the weather was nice enough for me to sit outside in full protective gear and do some much needed dremel work on one of my dolls. So happy that step is done, although I have a couple hours of hand finishing to do with it, it's a big step forward to getting the character done! (FtM mods) The next step I can do inside with wet sanding and a mask in my bathroom so I don't have to pray for a day below 80 degrees F.

 

I got started on a photoshoot that involves a lot of doll posing. The story has been in my head for a long time and I'm keen to do it, but I've had some performance anxiety - one of those "is it gonna turn out the way I imagined it, or will I be horribly disappointed in myself?" worries. I've started it now and the pics have turned out promising. I love my dolls, they pose well and look great There's a long way to go, I hope I can keep up the energy and focus all the way.

 

I completed the fourth outfit for my newest doll, Euphemera (Luts Senior Delf Aru.) I found her right here in the DoA marketplace, and because I’d sold an old Kid Delf Aru many, many years ago and missed her adorable face all this time, I jumped at the chance to bring this larger version home. Ever since, it’s been a summer of creativity for this doll! I’ve hybridized her onto a body I already owned, blushed her head for a perfect match, given her a sweet and colorful faceup, and been sewing up a storm for her wardrobe. What a wonderful way to spend the summer!

 

I hung out with some friends today, and brought along my DDS because one of my friends was interested in seeing one irl. I just had her sit on the couch next to me the whole time and everyone seemed to like her pretty well lol

 

I finished the bulk of this photoshoot today. It took over a week to get through (though I wasn't shooting every day) and it is the most demanding set of doll posing I'd ever done. Partway through I got stuck on the choreography, I could feel myself running out of steam (and time because of IRL commitments), and had no idea how to finish the whole thing before my focus and energy collapsed. But I got a brainwave partway through and bashed out the remaining story today. I learned a lot from this including some wiring tricks that I'd wanted to try out for some time, and now got forced into it out of necessity.

Still have 1-2 poses left to take tomorrow but the story is practically in the can. It was gruelling and I'm so relieved it's done and I can now take my time editing the pics. The pics look better than I thought they would. I love my dolls: I asked a lot from them and they rose to the occasion.

Spoiler: one nice pic

 

My new boy has been naked, and while I certainly had planned on buying him clothes at Resin Rose, I didn't want to have to parade him around in the buff before finding said clothes, so I've been crocheting him a pair of shortalls for modesty's sake (possibly not his style, but it'll be something, anyway) and this evening I tried the waistband on him and worked out how many more little bitty squares I'd need. Just handled his body a little while making him something.

If the shortalls feel too feminine for his style, or the colors don't suit him, then they can go into the General Doll wardrobe later, but I'll know his sizing if I do decide to remake it in other colors for him. I'm having so much fun doing it that I want to make them for all the dolls, it's so easy to alter it for different body types/sizes.

 

I don't have much energy or time, but every day now I try to work on the latest BJD photo story.

 

Technically a couple days ago now, but I went to a nearby arboretum with Suha and got some pics! She balanced surprisingly well (and then of course fell face-first into gravel with a basic standing pose... thankfully the worst was a few scratches on her faceup easily hidden under her wig) and I had a lot of fun finding spots to take pics.

Here's one of them:

(link)

 

im getting back into crochet, so made a hat. will be looking into silkier material to make a dress

 

today i finally dug out the project body i've been meaning to get back to work on for literally years and finished getting all the previous dye and spray paint stains off of her! it was one of my doll goals for this year to start that project back up and i am super happy that at least i did something to work on it again
also i got to about 75% on a wig i've been long overdue to make!

 

For me, I've replaced/ reglued a few old/ squashed lashes on a couple of heads and conditioned some wigs. Also finally went through the eye stash to find proper eyes for my newer dolls. It was very relaxing!

 

Finally got to sewing for my newest doll! I had felt so inspired to start on it a month ago already but then the damn heatwave started and I had to wait for it to pass for my brain to function enough again.

 

I'll only recommend what I've used, which is the Kuretake set of 36 watercolours -- this is what I have and it's been great for faceups. I haven't used other brands of watercolours (in pans or not) and don't know how they perform, so I can't say anything about those.

 

I prepared for tomorrow's painting frenzy. I sprayed a whole bunch of hands and my newest head with msc, and I wiped Minka, Saga and Pihla's faceups, so they can get new paint sooner rather than later. And more mods in the case of Pihla, she just can't catch a break.

 

Today I only had enough time in evening to go in my hobby room, pick up one of my dolls and just admire how cute she is!

 

I took Miku to a fantasy convention.

We didn't get noticed as much as we did at an anime convention, but there were some good photo opportunities. Also her choice of outfit was perfect.

 

I put the house of 9 (plus 1 visitor) into pairs/couples and posed them around my home. They're all looking happy and companionable. That's cheered me up.

 

I decided that whether or not I'm up to doing faceups, it's easy enough to at least get everything sealed and prepped so there's one less hurdle in my way. Sealed 2 heads last night and am doing like 3 more today. Might even start blushing on some! Need to remind myself I don't have to do everything all at once in a single session. It's ok to work on faceups over time. And there is joy in the process.

 

I took my Iplehouse SID Eva to the local romantasy book club tonight. She had her own tiny book, a miniature Romance For Dummies book. I unfortunately didn't think to take any pictures of her at the book club holding her book.

 

Just holding him in a cute pose in my hand while he had on a new lacy crochet hat I made him Makes me sad he had to be neglected in his box for a few years there </3

 

Today, I added temp piercings to Angel (Dollshe SA Husky), Percival (Dollshe Grown Saint) and Lucy (Elfdoll Smiling Soah). For Lucy, I touched up her brows, eyeliner, and eye lashes, as well as enhancing the MSC blob that I've been trying to turn into a realistic-looking scar. If the piercings hold up to play, I'll add more to these three and the rest of my crew.

I hadn't previously noticed the forehead spots on Percival. It isn't surface dirt so it must have been dirt that I sealed when I was working on his faceup I guess it's an age spot???

 

I've been changing everyone's outfits in the past week and enjoying looking at their new looks a lot. They're just chilling around while I'm studying which is in truth quite distracting but also very enjoyable company

 

Set up and took my monthly group photo today and it was so nice to do. None of the dolls fought with me and were well behaved the whole time so I just enjoyed brushing wigs and making sure each was clean and in good condition before the photo. I always leave them set up for a day or so to just enjoy them as a little group. This group had no maintenance needs which was lovely as well. No work, only fun.

 

I took a couple of my dolls out of storage, sat them on my desk, and posed them. They are just as cute and sweet as the day they came home. They still pose wonderfully, too.

As an extra bonus, they finally told me their names: Iris and Sage.

They are certainly going to get spoiled, to make up for the time they unfairly spent in storage.

 

Today I'm thinking about a new photo story.

 

I sewed a whole outfit in a single day! I also made the socks and shoes not in the picture. It was crazy fun to just obsess over my new doll all day long and spoil him a little. Here is a picture of Sinjin wearing the clothes I made.

100_3971 by Rabbid Bunnies, on Flickr

 

I gave my Picot Prince Makoto a new Kitsune-inspired look with a new faceup, restyled wig, and blushed fox ears. I really love the way all this enhanced his character, taking his Mori boy style to the next level.

 

With boys off to their University, I had some time yesterday to finish blushing the Jiu Er Mao body and even string it back together! About time, it's been 10 months since I worked on it last.
Now, still blushing left to do on all the extra hands, and then, if I feel brave, starting Cha Cha's face up....

 

That's just a wonderful, fantastic outfit! I adore the fabric combinations, and the lines and oversized vest and that hat and bag SO MUCH! Amazingly good outift!

 

@tanjalalie Thank you so much!! It was really fun to make.

Today is going to be a photo shoot day. Lots and lots of pictures of my dolls!

 

Last night I gave one of my girls a dress fitting. This one went smoother than the last time.
After that, I had a mini photoshoot with two of my other girls.

 

Looking forward to seeing some!!!

 

Started cutting a wig for my doll so he doesn't look so desolate.

 

I'm working on a ball gown for one of my dolls.
She will probably never ever use it outside of a photo shoot or two, but it is my firm belief that everyone should be entitled to at least one proper fairy tale princess ball gown in their wardrobe. Anyone who want one, anyway.
And so I try to live by that for my dolls.

And it's a lot of fun to make.

 

Iris received a new pair of eyes (pun unintended) since the last time I posted here. I made them myself. Considering the cheap materials I used, the results were much better than expected! Now I just need to make a pair of eyes in a color that really suits her~

I also made Iris a simple circle skirt. She’s been in need of proper leg coverage for a while. I feel like I didn’t do a very good job on it, though. Especially compared to how well her sister, Sage’s, own skirt turned out.