'Cabinet Babies' or Playthings?

I'd say both. I like to look at them but I also like to hold them.

 

Mostly visual. I like changing clothes every now and then, and I'll touch or hold them for a little sometimes. Once the doll looks the way I want I'm happiest just admiring. No sense in messing it up to me.

 

My dolls sit on a shelf looking pretty. They're like a sculpture or a painting and I like to look at them but have no urge to carry them around or something. Occasionally I sew new clothes for them and then they go back to the shelf with a different pretty outfit and sometimes (rarely) I do a photoshoot.

 

I hold my dolls all the time. They are not something that only sits on the shelf.

 

A little bit of both, really. Sure, I like looking at them, but I like to hold and play with them too. I never really saw the point of getting a doll with all that jointing if you're not going to at least play with it.

 

It depends on the individual doll for me... Some of the crew I'm pretty hands-on with, and I tinker with them fairly often, but there are others in the collection who are more... ornamental, I guess you could say. I often go months without touching those.

 

I handle mine all the time, when I have the time. They get photographed and sewn for a lot, and some of the tinies will just get played with and posed. Copernica gets downright snuggled.

 

Mine stays tucked away until I want to do a photoshoot, really. I used to be a lot more into having him out and about with me, but I'm kind of new in town and don't know any doll people, so I haven't had a chance to do much other than dressing and pictures. I can't wait to go to a meet with him, though

 

I play with mine, as in, I pose them, make things for them, handle them all the time when sewing and crafting for them. Why spend that kind of money for something that just sits on a shelf? I know that some people get the most joy out of looking at them, but I'm not that kind of person. It's why I've got cats rather than smaller animals or fish, just looking at something doesn't do the trick for me. I prefer the interaction.

 

A bit of both - depending on the doll. Drax is strung v. tightly so makes a great photoshoot doll (Even though my skills with a camera are lousy) - but he lives in his box most days to keep out of sunglight (He's my 1st bjd ...Myy Precious!). Elrana looks pretty and tends to be a "cabinet" doll, but again gets the "back in your box!" treatment! Aiko and Garan both live out in my flat, and get played with near daily...

Garan has pretty loose stringing (And yet somehow manages to stand up... Unlike Elrana who's strung pretty snugly and never managed that feat) which I think contributes to this - he's just fun to pose!

 

A little OT but you'd be surprised at how much interaction you get from a fish, all my betta's interacted with me when they were around...And by that I mean swimming up to the front of the tank to see me and follow my finger one even used to swim up to my finger and bump his little head against it for a treat.

On topic yeah my dolls are not for display...I decided not to freak out over yellowing because it happens either way.

 

I think my partner and I have a happy mix of both. We'll pull one of the dolls down to "hang out" with us while we watch tv or mess around online, but we're also very conscious about keeping them safe. We don't take them outside unless it's for a photoshoot. We put them back in a safe, dark room if we're leaving the house. We don't just leave them lying around where their face up or clothes can get damaged. But I do love holding my dolls from time to time. My MSDs especially- they're so easy to carry around!

 

I think my dolls will be dress up dolls, and possibly photo shoot dolls. I don't have any desire to roleplay or storytell with them outside the confines of how they will be made to look. Most of my characters are from books and I want to do the dolls up in the manner I see the character.

 

^^^ this exactly.

 

A bit of both. They sit, and some get played with. I need to get some dressed for an upcoming meet.

 

Even a fish or a lizard or whatever has more interaction than a doll. A doll is an inanimate object and can't interact with you in any way. I don't understand this.

 

I'm sorry, I can't really express what I mean, English is not my native language. :-/ I wasn't comparing dolls to animals, but my weird brain claimed to see similarities in "dolls on a shelf vs. dolls in my hands" to "pet in a cage vs. pet on the sofa with me".

 

Playthings! Why get something so expensive if you can't enjoy them in more than one way ;__;

 

Like a motorcycle, painting, designer gown, diamond necklace, IPod, HDTV, etc... for instance? lol

My dolls are pieces of art, they are there to look beautiful they are like a painting or a sculpture and they enhance their surroundings and make me smile when I look at them. I feel no urge to tote them around as if they were living babies or have tea parties with them, or talk to them like a crazy person. Why would I ever want to do those things? I get a lot of enjoyment from my dolls, I would not get any enjoyment out of "playing" with them, why should I have to act like that to somehow be a 'legit' owner?

 

Your doll, you can do what you want, but they're not delicate little spun-glass fairies filled with whimsy and pixie dust. They're not going to shatter or mildew if you touch them :/ Not that everyone does that, and if your doll is an art peice for display, cool beans. But I don't understand the paranoia of white gloves, breathing masks when you pose them and keeping them in dark corners.