Doll plans for 2025

So time for review? Doesn't look too bad.

Right now I have 2 dolls total, without faceups or body blush, plan to do those myself.
Done

Make their wigs.
Done. And some wigs store bought.

They have some clothes and shoes but need more, I have fabric and some baby clothes that I will repurpose for casual everyday wear.
Yes, they have a wardrobe. And making more. Also they have plenty of jewellery: bracelets, necklaces, earrings.

I started an ambitious project making a Versailles style dress for the lady and thinking of a matching outfit for the gentleman.

Got distracted by a medieval outfits project and that is mostly finished. Adam has chainmail, coif, tunic, sword. Still needs breeches and footwear. Eve has a dress, still needs headdress. That is the slowest because of the little beads involved.

And I have a head without a body, will need one.
Now I have 2 heads without a body.

Haven’t decided which body I want for him.
Have decided. The same as I have already, makes life easier.

To accomplish all this I need to finish setting up my workshop. That means I have to put a few things into the attic. To do that I need light in the attic. Etc. one thing pulls up the next. Right now the place is slowly getting in shape, I have 2 desks in there, one for computer, one for sewing machine, a wardrobe, a little cupboard style room is filled with different tools. Some shelves for materials. Looking good. I hope I can start working in there before New Year.
Up and running!

 

Well Im not surprised things went the way they did. Im always in and out of the hobby but alas I managed to do a few things this time before switching into other hobbies throughout the year.

• He is still in the box. I did however get him eyes and an outfit.

• Did good on this! I was alot more mindful of how I want my collection to be, so I resisted many temptations. (Also cause I took a break but a win is a win)

• I dont remember how many heads there were but I have sold some and gotten bodies for the rest except for 2. Its the least amount of eggs Ive ever owned.

• Yeah no faceups, or wigs. But I got a few outfits and ALL MY DOLLS HAVE EYES.

- I have sold and traded some dolls to really get to the core of what I like and want. Im struggling with my SDs as its not a size I like but the sculpts I own are my grails so Im not confident in letting them go.

Hopefully next year will be the year for faceups and wigs but that remains to be seen

 

Ah, it's been exactly one year! so let's check in on how 2025 went... At the end of last year I truly felt despondent but was vaguely hopeful.

I answered "sell some dolls" and "take a break, which I technically did do both. I didn't try very much to sell but I did sell something! And I took a break because I was depressed and had no time or energy for anything with my previous job. But luckily I finally burned out and quit in September and then I got to accomplish some of the things I'd hoped for!

I did take occasional portraits, even outdoors. I didn't even have a sewing machine when I posted last year but I bought one soon after and eventually got used to it. The last couple month I learned to love sewing again and felt inspired.
I did actually buy things this year, kind of to my surprise, but that was good because it made me happier when I was struggling and didn't cause any financial harm. I bought a handful of wigs, eyes, and a new doll at the end. That's nice because it would be crazy if this, my 15th year in the hobby was the first one where I didn't buy a new doll. Lol (maybe next year).
I succeeded at the most important thing possible which is that I didn't do anything majorly regrettable like force myself to list dolls for sale and sell off ones that I'd be heartbroken about now.
I'm so very grateful the year is ending with a positive note for me.

I'm hoping for the best for 2026, for all of us.

 

End-ish of year review

Sell: I... got her out and took pictures of her? Need to keep going on that

Sculpt: I have the base for the book hoard stand. I did make him some new wings but I want to do it again and do it better. Cullen's head is almost done. The horse and the head did not happen.

Sewing: I finally got a mockup and pattern that I'm happy with for the damn robe/coat/thing so that can go ahead as soon as I buy the fabric (It's beautiful but it's £30 a metre and that hurts my thrifty heart). I have made progress on dresses, embroidery and wig making.

S...acquire: I actually did get a new girl. After passing her over at a convention, dithering over her for a solid few months and an unexpected trip to the US for her, she's home and she rather shook up my existing dolls so now poor Jarrad who up until now has just been mannequin and guinea pig is now an actual character.

 

It's been a year since I made my post and so let's see how I did!

Keep up with changing dioramas
That didn't last very long and it was a little ambitious of me. I did end up making a new permanent diorama though!

New Dolls
I ended up with almost 10 new dolls this year... But I did sell/am selling at least 5 dolls in my collection so it could've been worse. I was able to get the Cygne though and she's been Serenity the whole time!

Projects
The Ciel project is canceled because I sold the whole thing. I couldn't get used to the shape of her mouth, it bothered me on both heads. The Realfee project is on the backburner because I'm just hoping that Fairyland will rerelease Realfee legs as my luck in searching has been non-existent.

Clothing & Accessories
The Anna and Elsa project has been scrapped, but I did end up commissioning two wigs and an outfit for my D&D character which was much more important. I also found a pre-made dress for Princess Serenity that's absolutely gorgeous and that's what my Cygne is wearing now. For my Realfee, I managed to find shoes that fit at NYC Doll Con and did manage to find a Mushroom outfit for my Beast Girl. However, I didn't really purge all that much. I repurposed though which I think is better.

Faceups
I've gotten almost all of my heads done! I redid the faceup on my Mei/Xi and it looks really nice! Sadly though, she's on the chopping block to be sold because I do not like the choice Resinsoul made for those thigh joints (The Rainbow body is their best MSD body in case anyone was wondering). I did some faceups myself which turned out pretty decent, including the Beast Girl, and sent some out as well and they all came back beautiful!

Miscellaneous
I did do some photography this year which is better than previous years. I got a membership to my local arboretum and I've gone there a few times for pictures. For my workroom, I've readjusted quite a bit, but it's still not 100% to where I want it. And finally, doll stands. I got a grand total of ZERO doll stands despite needing so many.

All in all, not too shabby. I still got my commissioned outfit/wigs and though my number of dolls increased initially, the ending balance isn't that bad when you compare to what I've sold.

 

In review...
1. Acquired both Ayu and Yua. Also got hands, clothes, and eyes- still need wigs and shoes for them.
2. I didn't get as many as I should have, but I did get new hands for all of my PS Fair and PS White SDMs. Glad to finally rid everyone of default SDM hands.
3. She did get a new look that suits her much better. Still debating a different eye color.
4. I've gotten 7 in total this year, but I still need more of them for everyone to be standing up.
5. Not yet...
6. Unfortunately, I skipped all of the online FCS periods this year; they fell at bad times for me.
7. A "couple"... all but one of my vinyl girls got new Cotindoll wigs. Whoops! New resin eyes too.
8. Ehhhhh.... putting that one off yet another year it seems.
9. Well, I have a lucky out- "if there's a release I like" and there wasn't an SDGr girl I wanted this year haha.
10. Priorities changed, collection goals changed... Maybe someday. But no elves were welcomed this year.

 

EOY check-in!

• I did buy Violet back in the summer, but other than that, no other new purposes. There's been a couple robot-y dolls but none that meet my picky tastes. Ah well... maybe next year.
• Done! She's gone to a new home.
• Sent some goodies with the doll I sold, but otherwise haven't been downsizing, really. I need to take a moment and sort through what I've got. I keep finding shoes I forgot I have!
• I have sewn one (1) pair of bloomers, oops. It wasn't as bad as my brain kept insisting making pants would be, I think because they're not very detailed pants. So the dolls might be stuck with leggings/bloomers I make and anything more detailed will have to be purchased.
• She's got underpants! Had that done by midyear I think.
• Been up and down here. I think when I've been in a doll mood, I've specifically been drawn to the DearSDs this year. I feel kind of bad for focusing on them, but the beauty of dolls is that they don't all need to be the focus all of the time.
• Another one I had done by midyear.
• Heh, this one has been a tug of war between adding and removing from the stash! I think I've done well with focusing my doll sewing on scraps and stash fabrics, but I keep wanting to quilt things and thus adding quilting fabric to the stash. Knitting's also been slow going, especially for doll stuff. I just haven't had the mental energy to pattern doll clothes on the fly.

Overall, doing all right, but slow moving on some things.

 

i resisted making an end of year post for the last couple of days because i kept thinking "but there's a whole other month left in 2025, who knows how much more i will get done!" realistically though i am not going to add anything post-worthy to my hobby accomplishments in the last 25 days of the year, between Christmas and housetraining a super rambunctious new puppy. so...end of year post it is!

to recap, my big goals for this year were:

+ to buy two bodies to finish off my floating heads. had this done by April!

+ i had a half-finished doll that i was hoping to complete (Impldoll Crystal x Supia hybrid)
her eyes are done, her wig is so close to done it feels silly that it isn't done, her faceup is still half-painted and she still needs clothes. i didn't complete her, but i did make progress.

+ i also had a hybrid girl that was in pieces and needed some modding and colormatching in order to be fully assembled. neckmod done, face mods almost done, just needs a little finish sanding. colormatching is a WIP because i'm still tinkering with the airbrush trying to get it working right. also bought the fiber for her wig. so again she is not a finished item but i did make progress.

+ i also ended up needing to dye one of the bodies i bought in order to make it match the head it was intended for-- completed that project and have that doll all assembled!

+ i've completed several of the doll sewing projects i wanted to do this year-- though i have many, many more still on my "things i'd like to make" wishlist. i also completed my fourth crocheted doll sweater-- a sewing-adjacent skill i wanted to keep working on learning.

+ i wanted to get out an old super beat up project body that i started trying to restore ages ago and work on that again-- did get it out and started chipping away at the body mods again; even revived the project thread for it!

+ my original plan was to sculpt my own head for both that project body and a Resinsoul body i bought in 2023, and i actually have worked on the head sculpting for the RS doll this year-- but the biggest reason i was planning on making my own heads is because both dolls are intended to be specific characters and i had never been able to find heads that looked right for either. i've been dabbling and practicing with sculpting doll faces for several years now, and i am kind of coming to the conclusion that i find it a frustrating endeavor. i am leaning towards scrapping the sculpting part of the plan and purchasing the heads instead...
did this. bought a head used from the DoA marketplace for the old Idol project body, ordered a head from Miracledoll for the RS body that i haven't received yet.

- and i was going to buy a replacement set of hands for my doll who has broken fingers, but out of everything on the list this is one thing i have not touched.

overall i at least made some kind of progress on my goals, so i'm definitely happy with my 2025 hobby wrap up!

 

Gosh, this has not been a very doll-filled year for me from lack of interest to an acute lack of time (I accidentally got into uni)
I have redone 2 faceups (Minka and Saga) started a mod project (poor Pihla) and started the spare hand blushing project- that's about it. I think I did sew a shirt or two in spring, but no major wardrobe improvements.
I bought some eyes, shoes and a wig, and won a doll from a raffle at a doll convention! (Little Monica Little Roselyn, I think, she's just been sitting in her box because I kind of forgot about her...)
I hope I'll have some time to play with my dolls during the holidays, I have been missing them a bunch!

 

Okay, second update, I bought 2 more dolls in December The second-hand holiday sales got me. But that's still under 9 so I'll count it as a win. And I started a little (very lumpy...) sewing project, so yay double win!

 

I was hoping to do the final check in closer to the end of the year but I already posted my 2026 goals so:

Spoiler: OG 2025 plans

Spoiler: Mid-year check-in

Spoiler: 3/4 year check in

- Not buying new dolls IS going great because there has not been an accident since may! I did, however sell 2 minis because the horde was getting too overwhelming and have no regrets.

- I sold one of the dolls I was planning to use for the Angelic Layer cosplay so the project has been put to bed for now. I think I enjoy small casual sewing and crafting a bit more at the moment, too, so I will just ride that wave.

- Wigs have been on the back burner for a while, but I also just made one recently so I'm slowly getting back into it. Maybe I will still finish another in 2025!

- Doll breaks have been happening here and there, especially with having less time having started some form of studies again. It is not quite the break I had in mind, but the breathers have served their purpose and helped me to refine/downsize my collection and be better with my no-buy goals.

Just a few months to go! Shouldn't be too hard to keep up but you'll never know

• In total I bought 2 full dolls and a body and face/hand parts that make up 1 doll in total, pretty much. That is a fail for my plan of not buying any dolls this year. I got to sample the sweet taste of 1/3 and ended up buying another of the size in Nov, so yeah, the no-buy *was* hard to keep up with in the autumn season.
  • I sold 3 minis and one 1/4 body, which makes the dolly maths tally up to uhhhhh zero-ish I guess. I don't think the dolly finances come down to 0 with all sales and purchases (also accessories), but I'm happy with the number I have in my possession now, and they are all clothed/eyed/wigged/shoed reasonably.
  • I did still (re)hybrid a doll after saying I would not, but other than that, no more musical bodies have been played this year.
• I bought so much wig hair and ended up only making 3-4 wigs I think. I'd never really bought wigs before much, but I was so intimidated about crafting them of 1/3 size I ended up purchasing some (and then most of them did not fit, and then I swore to only craft them in the future, and then I bought some more of course). I did not really meet my mental wig goal, but nobody's hair situation is bothering me so it's all ok I guess.
• Angelic Layer cosplay did not happen, but NGE cosplay did instead. I've learned that it is just better to go with the plan you are willing to fulfill immediately, because once it gets stuck in the idea phase, it will not materialise. I shifted my mindset towards making clothes for my collection a bit, too, and no longer stress myself out with it, which is a good position to be in.
• I have no idea why I wanted a website for my dolls in the first place, knowing full well I will not have the motivation to keep up with it... I deleted it at some point earlier in the year, after realising that it's mostly just stressful for me, rather than a fun thing to do.
• I took breaks here and there, some of them also helped me look at my dolls with fresh eyes and prune out the ones that were not bringing me as much joy as they could have. I think the big takeaway this year is that there is a "too many" for my little brain to keep up with.

Will 2026 be my no-buy year? Stay tuned to find out

 

Final update for 2025! Let's see how I did.

Original Goals:

Definite Plans

• Photograph and craft/sew more for all my dolls now that the crew has expanded!
• Possibly blush her current hands.
• Still need to look for more optional hands though.
• Attend more doll meets!
• Make a dedicated doll space!
• Get a new doll bag because the one I have is from 2008 lol (Failed but plan on a new come January!)

Maybe Plans

• I have a future plan of having four different F-01 SD girls in different skin tones. And each doll will be modeled after a different season. Midori is my Spring girl. I would love to start moving towards purchasing the next doll in the series! (And I did! Got all 4 girls in the series now)
• I would like to start working on my Winter doll, Miyuki. I'll need to get a WS four sister's head, a pair of brown eyes, and starter white blonde wig and outfit.
• Faceups for the girls! It'll take a good bit of saving to get there. (One down and many to go but considered unfinished for now)

Out of 9 plans (why couldn't I have picked 10??) I managed to complete 7! Not too shabby considering the only two goals left unfinished was a new doll bag (I could have gotten one but just chose not to); faceups for my default and blank heads but that might take another year to finish because of saving and waiting.

I've enjoyed seeing others progress in their goals this year! Reading about the different progress, accomplishments, and even admissions of when the goals go unmet. Thanks to whoever started this thread as it helps keeping us accountable! Especially those of us in a no-low buy mode or overhauling our collections. Hope everyone had a good 2025 and looking forward to what 2026 has in store!

 

We're not even going to talk about all the things I said I was going to do, that I didn't do

Hey, but I didn't sell the doll that I said I wanted to sell, and he might actually be one of my favourites now. So, that's nice?

I think I will be a good deal less ambitious next year hah.

 

I guess it's time for a Q4 check-in and some end-of-year thoughts! Where did the year go???

Links to my other posts in this thread, in case anyone is interested:

• Initial Post
• Q1 Check-in
• Q2 Check-in
• Q3 Check-in

Spoiler: Q4 Check-in

Move along:
No progress.

Mindful of purchases:
I think I did okay. In November I realized I hadn't ordered any wig options for my incoming doll, and also ended up purchasing some shoes as some wish list items had come back into stock -- I needed to make the order worth it, lol. And as for December, I was able to evade the usual holiday sales that I partake in each year.

Crafting:
Pleased with my progress. I drafted a few new patterns for my big girls and made several pieces (13!) for mixing and matching. I have also sorted through my UFO Box and made some decisions -- finish the intended project, repurpose it immediately, or let it go. I think I will spend the rest of 2025 working on those UFOs before I move on to any new projects. I am also working on further setting up my garage to be a workspace to work on bigger and/or messier projects (props!) in the coming year, and working on some crochet here and there.

Reorganize doll cabinet:
No progress this quarter.

Reorganize fabric closet:
No progress, other than keeping things tidy.

Catalog collection:
No progress. It's something I'd love to have, but I just haven't been able to get myself to sit down and do it.

Maintenance:
No maintenance performed in this last quarter as of this point. I have two weeks of vacation at the end of December, so maybe I might be able to work on taking a file to the badly drilled elastic channel in my Iplehouse Akando's thigh. If not, maybe 2026 will be his year, lol.

Upgrades:
In October, I received a pair of eyes for my Iplehouse Aria but decided I didn't like them for her. I tried them in my SartoriaJ Naomi, and I think the Eye Quest for her is finally over after TWO (2) years! I think this goal is complete for all of the dolls I currently own.

End-of-Year Thoughts:
Overall, I think I did pretty well with accomplishing my goals. I didn't let myself get overwhelmed with anything, and let go of some projects to help out with that. I enjoyed and connected with my collection; it's had a positive impact on my mental and overall health. I lost a lot of my free time earlier this year, but learned that I can actually get things done if I actually do something in what little time I have. I tried working on a single project across several days such as sewing just a seam or two each day (all I really have time for). It was difficult at first, because once I get fixated on a project I can easily shift into a Super Ultra Laser Hyperfocus Mode and have a hard time stopping for breaks to eat, drink, or sleep.

But I managed to do it, and learned how to relax with working on projects. It made things more enjoyable. My Super Ultra Laser Hyperfocus Mode would always stress me out with trying to get something done, lol. I think this was my biggest takeaway from this year. I will absolutely continue to do this in the future.

Something that was also fun for me was keeping a personal log of what I did in relation to my goals, checking in with this thread on a quarterly basis with a summary, and having a look at what others were doing in relation to their goals. It helped keep the momentum going at least a little bit.

I'll be off to the 2026 goals thread. My goals will pretty much be the same, because they've served me well over the past 2 years as ways to enjoy my collection plus my other hobbies.

 

- I got a stand for my 70cm doll and 75cm. No stands yet for the smaller dolls.
- Commissioned a face up for my 70cm doll, but there was a minor mistake. So, he'll have to be wiped, in the future. I would like to work with artist, though.
- My Face-ups are bad, but I'll just keep ONE of them for now (out of 15 face up attempts).
- buying clothes, wigs, eyes, bane of my existence. I keep getting things wrong!
- there was no doll buying money! Had to sell some dolls. Still not sure about my collection thus far.
- Not much doll enjoyment had. I worried about too much about the dolls this year, to enjoy anything.