Bought first doll, now what?

I usually get everything I need for my doll before it arrives so when it does, I can get it dressed and wigged. I don't do my own custom work so my dolls arrive with face up. I spend a lot of time looking over the body and the different pieces and how they work before I attempt to dress and wig. I may change eyes out also depending on what I wanted for the doll. I guess I am a little boring. At this point I display my doll and I may not do much with him or her for a while. I just have so much going on I guess.

 

Having just got my first doll a few weeks ago, I've been researching faceups and practicing on vinyl/fashion doll heads because I'm terrified of painting on my first and only bjd's gorgeous, flawless resin. But even more obsessively than painting practice, I've been sewing and sewing.. I second what Siara said in post 2, Yo-SD size is a nightmare for an amateur seamstress to get a foothold on good looking results.
I didn't sew anything ahead of time (not successfully, anyway) because I didn't have a good sense of how her actual size would be. The numbers of measurements just didn't convey precisely what to expect...
She's being very patient with me and is currently wearing an overly-oversized sweater of my own crafting. I'll get better, girly, I promise!

I preordered a wig from Leeke's summer event for her, which is due to arrive by the end of September.. Guess it didn't register in my brain how hard it'd be to wait 50-60 days with a brand new bald doll on my hands.
A few times I've popped a Pullip's 9" wig onto her 6.5" head with a pin in it and imagine.. how nice it'll be when she has hair..!

In short, I'm still getting to know her, and truly hope the long wait for her wig and the courage to do her faceup is worth it, that they suit her and she grows into a doll I can show off with a lot of pride. I see a color scheme emerging in the fabrics and accessories I'm collecting to use for her. It's nice, and the first time I have experienced being able to come up with so much as a whisper of personality for a doll.

 

I always have a character in mind before I get the doll. I either order them with clothing or have something ready for them. I ordered my first without clothes and that really sucked coz I couldn't do anything, so I've learned my lesson. I do their faceups, then decide on eyes and wigs - I already have their eye and hair color in mind so all I have to do is to find ones that fit.

 

When I get my first doll I put on the eyes and wig I picked out to check to see if it represents the character I created or had in mind for him/her. Usually I commission faceups, but my last doll came to me blank so I did a faceup, then I take pictures. Lots and lots of pictures. I enjoy editing them and seeing my doll "come to life" so to speak. And then I just sit there and admire them

 

I treat them like the ring of The Lord of the Rings: my precioussssss..... Ad stay a looong time watching her (even for days) before I start the curtom. I just stay petrified: "oh, she ie so gorgeous.." O.O

Hehehehe^^

 

Box opening photos first, as I like to have a reason to prolong the experience - plus arrival threads are my favorite and I like to contribute. Next, take 5 million photos in every possible lighting of every possible angle. Just fiddle, play, and pose. Then, faceup (a billion more photos during and after), try on every wig/eye combo possible (more photos), try all the clothing possibilities (photos), find out if my dog is afraid of the doll (laugh my butt off and possibly more photos), then find the doll's "spot" and sit it there to admire until I decide to start the process all over again. When process is fully completed, jump online to shop for more stuff and have another go at all above steps.

 

I take many (maybe too many) box opening photos, and then put on the wig and eyes to see if what I've planned for them fits them perfectly. Then lots of photography experiments: trying out different angles, wardrobe changes... and the next few days turn into an extended photoshoot session whenever I have the time. Having the newcomer near me whenever I work at my desk just to admire them.

 

I bought clothes and a wig before my first doll arrived, but the clothes were too small and the wig badly needed a trim. I kept him in his box until I got some clothes that fit him.

 

I always start to make clothing by myself for a new doll during waiting time and sometimes also buy a lot of clothing, a wig, a pair of eyes and other stuffs for him/her. So that I can dress a new doll up when he/she arrives.

 

After opening the box and staring at her for hours and putting her in dumb poses and letting my jaw sit on the floor cause wow I finally had my first doll, the next order of business was making her a bracelet. I bought her secondhand and the girl who sold her to me was so kind she made her a corset and skirt so she wouldn't be naked when she arrived! So she sat in that for a while, though I had to take it off to see how her body worked of course xD but yeah then it was... Make bracelet??? This is starting to become kind of a thing with me and getting dolls I've anticipated getting for a long time--it was the first thing I did for my "lifesize" Barbie doll, because I'd wanted one ever since I was a kid and found her in the box in an odds and ends antique store. It's probably going to be the first thing I do for all of my dolls, after making sure they have a wig and eyes on etc. I definitely like to make sure they have those at least before they arrive, and then after all that and bracelet, it's off to making them their first 'welcome home!' outfit. c:

 

my doll is getting packed for delivery, but he might need a girlfriend. I don't want to him to be alone.

 

I'm getting my first doll in a few days. I already have her wig and eyes. I almost decided on her clothes and accessories. I'm really afraid to do the face-up though. This might be a silly question but if you do a face up and then wipe it off several times does it damage or change the appearance (colour) of the head in some way? I'm really looking forward to take some photos of her by the way.

 

I'd like to have my doll out in all his glory, but I have family around who wouldn't really appreciate that haha. Also I'm kind of nervous about yellowing even though I told myself I wouldn't be worried about it. Who knows, though. We'll have to wait and see what happens when it happens!

 

Usually the day I order a doll I'll go clothes/eyes/wig shopping for them too so they'll at least have something for when they arrive. Once they're home I usually spend the day with them, try out poses, take pictures, etc. and then put them back in their box once I'm ready for bed.

 

I don't have a doll yet (still in the research stage...so much research, so many pretties...), but my plan is once I have ordered one, I will start to make a first outfit for her so that she will not be naked when she arrives, and order a wig around then same time so it will be waiting. I'm not very steady at painting, so I think I will order with a faceup and get it changed later if it doesn't suit her character. Then later I will take better measurements and plan more clothing!

 

My first BJD came with some clothes so is not nude, thank goodness. I plan to do her as Elsa from Frozen I think so I have been gathering things and fabrics to do her a winter princess wardrobe eventually.

 

When my doll came I spent a couple days just staring at him afraid to hold him. haha. I had ordered him clothes and a new wig before he came in but some of it hadn't arrived yet when I got him. Luckily he had pants! I didn't really bond with him well until his wig came in. Now we're well bonded and I can't go into the sewing room without making him SOMETHING.