Doll plans for 2025

A mixture of work on current dolls and acquire new dolls - well, acquire a body, for one of my two current floating heads - I just can't decide which head to prioritise... Since either way it'll likely be a high expense stressy paint chip/risk a losing a headcap for a more accurate match colour-match type of deal. Both are candidates for a doll I've been trying to reshell on and off since I decided the initial attempt to shell the character wasn't quite right, and either would work, but with rather different vibes for the doll/character. So my usual indecision.

Otherwise - work on the current collection. There's my usual candidates for, its now been long enough since I last face-upped them, that my fear of doing the face-up less well this time around is now outweighed by my annoyance at how out of place these dolls look with the rest of my group skill/style-wise. (Mostly the elder Dollshes in my group are affected by this - the Saint twins in particular are very overdue a repaint, as is my Bernard... the more 'human' Van, and for all that I'm largely still satisfied with the face-up my Orijean's face-up is old enough that I probably should if I'm painting the other oldies. Ack basically most of the Dollshes are overdue for various reasons. The bad taste of being one of many that man caught out in his long con primary amongst them.)

Then I've got three-ish perpetual WIPs that could always do with finishing. There's my heavily modded android doll based around a Fantasy Doll body that though he's basically done I'm always finessing. An adorable but flawed (and sold as such) cyclops that needs rather delicate joint rebuilding to be strung (the casting company screwed up for the poor artist who sculpted them, and they recieved a load of bubbly c-grade, being generous, casts which they then sold as fixer-uppers - I underestimated the job/overestimated my skills/the quality of the resin). Then the nearly from scratch build doll that was acquired years ago as a set of hollow tubes and joints that weren't anything resembling a humanoid that's been stuck at, this sculpting decision will be permanent, thus I'm not sure what way to commit, step. Irritatingly this one's gone from a literal stick figure to passably humanoid but face decisions have it permanently in the 'to do' area.

 

My goals are:

1: Get back in to the hobby!!!
I really miss being in the hobby and being able to display and talk about my dolls so this year my goal is to become active again in the hobby and really enjoy it!

2: Get face ups/body brushing for my boys. My poor babies have been without colour and in their boxes for a few years, so it’s time for their characters to finally finish coming alive (at least in face up and body brushing)

3: Buy two new dolls - I have my eye on a RingDoll that will fit perfectly in my little circus/fantasy group for my story and I keep promising to buy my ResinSoul boy a friend.

4: Learn how to sew, make wigs and craft! Time to stop being so scared to make mistakes and learn!!!

5: Have fun!!

 

Hmm, I have a few plans this year. Nothing as big as last year, because most of last year's list did not get completed...
1. Get YoSD Ayu and/or Yua from Volks.
1a. Get hands, clothes, and shoes for the Yos. Probably new wigs and eyes as well.
2. Get lots of PS Fair SDM hands...
3. Figure out a look for my SDM-F-30. New wig maybe?
4. Doll stands. Many of them.
5. Get a DD 2.0 body. Whether or not this will come with a head is undecided...
6. Hope for more online FCS from Volks USA...
7. A couple new wigs for my DD girls. Probably Cotindoll.
8. Doll profiles for everyone... complete profiles.
9. Maybe an SDGr girl (not Mācha or Yumepi) if there's a release I like.
10. Order an SD-F-100 and SD-F-117 FCS via proxy. Elves needed in this household.

 

Here's what I wish for this year:
- more work on current dolls (faceup+blush, tattoos, modifications, jewelry, minor repairs - almost everyone needs something...)
- finish the layway for Neil's body (and dye it?)
- start really planning my dioramas for SDs (meh... maybe next year...)
- not to stress if things don't turn out as expected because it doesn't help anything (while faceups first of all)
- try to make a mohair wig for Tash (combined technique)
- move towards better photo compositions, better DOF, better post-production
- shoot and write the second part of Rei's story (one day...)
- be satisfied if at least half of this list is successful
- buy jointed hands for Rei (???)

 

I love posts like this! It's validating for me to see a lot of my goals reflected in other people's lists. It helps me be a little more understanding with myself to read that so many of us struggle with "no new dolls," for example. So I have four broad goals in 2025:

1. Make a dedicated crafting space, and keep it clean. This is so I can do face-ups and make wigs, and also so I can make the space to learn to sew. My favorite way to interact with my collection is to redress them, and if I learn to sew, I could have a lot more outfits
2. Attend a local doll meet!
3. Work on some display solutions so I can enjoy more of my collection.
4. Acquisitions Goal: Buy LESS than NINE resin BJD dolls, new bodies, or new heads. Prioritize buying the one that I've been wanting for almost 2 years, and bodies to complete the floating heads I have. And I would like to stop buying so many similar heads/bodies, some more variety would be nice. (But even then, part of me is going, are you sure? Haha)​

 

I’m determined to make dolls I’m really passionate about this year! I have 2 partially customized from a book series I love (Holly Black’s folk of the air and modern faerie tales series) with 1 other I’d love to acquire and complete. I also have several original characters I would love to shell and customize.
My most ambitious project is a Minotaur doll. I have a body on layaway, and plans to 3D sculpt a cow head (Greek steppe cattle, specifically), as well as a replica of a Minoan bull head sculpture I really love. Ancient Greece is one of my biggest interests, and I’d love to make period appropriate clothes and accessories, as well as furniture or instruments. We’ll see how much I really get done lol.
I think I need to take it slower and focus on 1-2 projects at a time, rather than diving head first into a bunch. I just can’t help it!
My obsession with avatar has also been rekindled, and it’s taking everything in me to not get a doll to customize as a na’vi. One thing at a time!! Lolol
So- to organize my thoughts:

• Focus on projects; Finish book series dolls, fully customize Minotaur doll, and shell some OCs- maybe 2-3
• Try my hand at 3D sculpting; If that doesn’t go to plan, I’ll likely commission someone
• Details details details; miniatures, dioramas, clothing, etc. I want everyone to feel fully fleshed out. I want to work on craftsmanship with wigs and eyes.
  
• Don’t leap head first into every project that excites me.
• Remain active and interested! I sway in and out of the hobby, and always really miss it when I’m not actively participating. I want to make an effort to stay active in whatever way I can, and I think focusing on small details will keep me there.
• Paint more dolls! Faceups are my favorite thing to do in the hobby, hands down. I might try to do some commissions; we’ll see! I should also curate some nicer supplies.
• For big projects I want to start, I like the idea of customizing a small doll (like a monster high) to 1.) get it out of my system, and 2.) see how I feel about the project before moving to resin. I have plans to do this with my na’vi dolls- I’ll customize some cheap dolls, see if I like the visuals, and see if that sparks me to get resin dolls for them, or if little versions are enough!
  

 

1. Make it to the June doll convention so I can take a million pics
2. Redo face ups for meet which also means a new wig to make it I take more than one.
3. Find clothes that fit each character at meet
4. Socks socks socks
5. Get rid of the feminine clothes that didn't work on tomboys to boys.
6. Find a new pastel alien girl?

 

I actually fell out of working on my dolls for quite a long time now (maybe four years or so) and I've already started sewing some new outfits for my dolls and bought some new shoes for them. Now that I've done that I've felt a lot more relieved and accomplished, like I did something nice for my kids or something haha. For the rest of this year I'd love to make a few more outfits I had ideas for, and also take way more pictures or maybe take my dolls out somewhere and do a photoshoot for once. That'd be fun.

 

I dont want to make a thread but for the people who adding sewing more to their 2025 to do list, apparently many Joanns are closing across the country. That is so sad, aint no way im supporting hobby lobby.

 

This year I'll be getting my first 1/4 scale dolls and my first resin doll (DZ Snow) so I really want to get more in photography for her!

 

I get a lot of my material from Walmart. It doesn't have as much variety as Joanne's, and I am lucky that the Joanne's near me is not one of the stores closing. But Walmart is a great place to get fabrics like cotton, and jersey, and poly blends.

 

I'm mostly working on my doll display area and doll maintenance this year. They're getting all new shelving units and I'm finally buying some doll stands for them. I've also been working on restringing, redressing, brushing wigs, discovering some wigs have lost their elastic stretchiness...

If I actually thought I'd get around to it, I'd say I'd be working on a couple of mods and redoing a couple of face ups this year as well, but we'll see if there's time for that after everything else.

 

My plan for 2025 is to not buy any more dolls. It's the same as last year; no new dolls in 2024, when I bought 5 dolls and a body. Also similar to previous years, since I have too many dolls.
This year, I'm also not going to look at new dolls. Hope it works.

 

I'm not planning on buying dolls - don't know how tariffs will play out, so I'm going to wait and see how this will affect prices. That said I'm waiting on a couple that I bought last year. I've already picked up some DIY furniture, so I have glueing, painting, and sewing in my future. I'll continue sewing and hopefully get into a little more design for doll clothes and see how far I can go with that. I'd love to make something good enough that I'd feel comfortable selling eventually.

 

Alright, let’s rock and roll out some doll plans:

To face up:
-Jinx (soon breccia)
-Deceit (peaksoods poison red boy)
-Pandora (redo?)
-The miracle maker (redo current face doesn’t suit)
-Tassian needs a redo they look a little silly
-Sin (if I keep her as Dollshe Erica)
-Molly (once mods are finished)
-Fierna (once she’s dyed)
-Azerin (once she’s dyed)
-Anastasia (possible redo so that she looks meaner)
-oriel (if dyed/bodied)

In Need Of Dye
-Fierna (once body arrives and is modded)
-Azerin (once head arrives and body is modded)
-Oriel (if body gets ordered any time soon)

Mod list:
-finish Acyra project
-finish Pardalis project
-Fierna’s chest enhancement (once body arrives)
-Azerin’s chest resculpt (I tried to resist but the default sculpting is just not detailed!)
-smooth and colour match Syn’s boobs
-repair mod on Molly when?
-more wing mods than I want to shake a stick at.
-horns for all your hellspawn, whether you’re sculpting them or buying them horns. I am choosing not to make a joke about the 9 hells being horny here.

Clothing???
-make at least one dress for Lavinia
-find something sufficiently military for Mephistopheles so he isn’t naked
-make crochet chain mail for all the lords of hell (and their relevant children)
-The shrike armour project needs to at least be started instead of just buying fabric and calling that progress.
-learn to sew so you can make exact outfits from the books you’re writing (wrath’s intro outfit, some of Val’s performing clothes)
-both Sonnet and Addi have a strong need for a narratively significant leather jacket that I do not currently own. Also Anastasia’s cross-jacket needs to get made

Buying:
-any fairyland msd feathered wings that befall me (esp in black and white)
-possibly a couple sets of FL’s demon f65 wings for Nira/Acyra
-possibly resinsoul feathered wings as well bc they are nice
-Eden’s body via Telesthesia
-Dispater (Ringdoll alpha, possibly)
-Bodies for Acanthus, Kora and Deceit, from Resinsoul
-oriel’s body, either from resinsoul or DFH?
-Death’s body, if an appropriate body comes up for sale anywhere. I don’t know what it should look like, but I’ll probably come up with something once Sin is on her new body, and that’s all resolved.
-a body for Tass, after Wrath swiped their last body so quickly (jeez)
-appropriate wigs for pandora and the miracle maker
-probably not all this this year, but I gotta put it somewhere to see what comes home when!

 

I haven't been able to do much doll related for a few years in a row, had to store everyone for a while then when I finally had space to bring them out I money got tight. My number one goal is to just properly get back into the hobby!

• Upgraded doll display. I'd like to get a shelf in my craft room dedicated to my dolls so I can give them some breathing room and set up more attractive displays. It's getting crowded in the little nook I currently keep them in, and the space is too short to display almost anyone standing.
  
• A body for my floating head.
  
• I want to get face ups for my remaining dolls who don't have them, my partner has been trying their hand at face-ups so I'm assigning them this goal.
  
• Several still don't have their own dedicated clothes to wear, so I plan to do quite a bit of sewing throughout the year. The goal is one full outfit each! I have I think three or four left to do
  
• Buy wigs and shoes for those who need them. I didn't used to care about shoes but it's recently started bothering me as I've finished more outfits.
  
• I should probably tackle some restringing, I've got one or two who need it VERY badly.
  
• Finally, I want to keep a closer eye on doll releases this year. I missed a few releases I REALLY liked over the last few years that I'm still watching for on the secondhand market (looking at you Dream Valley Apocalypse Horseman). I'm planning to be picky about who I bring home though. No more floating heads without planned bodies!

No crazy lofty goals, but I think it's a good start for getting back into things, and I think they're all achievable.

 

I've had some time to think about what my main goals for 2025 are, and in general these are mine:
- Work on face ups for my current and incoming dolls, one doll needs to be redone.
- I really slacked on sewing and now I realized I really need more outfits. So this year I want to sew my doll some clothes, at least one complete outfit.
- I really want to make at least one wig I'm happy with, will definitely require more attempts.
- I have a doll I really want to rebody, not sure how hard this is going to be but it would be nice to get this one crossed off this year.

And I think that pretty much sums it up!

 

- Take more photos of all of my dolls! I have a new lens coming in that should be a good dolly portrait lens, and I just got some lights Gotta start working on some props and backgrounds.
- Take good photos of all of the stuff I want to sell and actually list it
- Sew Leonie's character outfit
- Get a change of clothes and new shoes for Angie. Also a rain coat, if I can find one.
- MAYBE get another doll? I don't really feel a strong need for one, but I may be tempted by another iMda tan girl. I might just also get an RC airplane instead. Fun hobby and a great prop for my girls.

 

Have now decided we don't need any more dolls. But I also said that last year.

My first Dollfie Dream will be 5 years old in October.

What I'd really like to do this year is to make a diaorama for photo opportunities. We're also going to get out more and attend some conventions. We're hopefully going to Dolly Day in September, and it would be great to take somebody (probably Miku) to an anime convention.

Also Aqua's definitely going to into rehab.

 

Welp. It's near the end of March and we're a quarter of the way through 2025, so I thought it would be good to have a look at the initial list I made, and see how things are going.

Spoiler because it's kinda long lol...

Spoiler

Move along:
I've been putting off finishing the inventory of what I have in my Doom Piles. It's just so much work, omg.

Continue being mindful of doll purchases:
I think I did okay with this. I didn't order any dolls in January, but I did order a lot of doll things. I'm at peace with the purchases, as they fall into the category of 'upgrades' -- eyes, wigs, clothing -- for dolls that I wanted these things for. I ordered two dolls from Luts in February, but I had the purchase under consideration for almost 2 months before committing. I didn't want to regret not getting them, as Luts has discontinued that particular doll line (Baby Delf). I almost faltered with Fairyland's re-release of some older Minifee heads in their Sarang event, but I think the heads will be available for a while after the event, so I could purchase a tan Eliya at some other point in time. I have plenty of ideas for her, but I'm more focused on a few dolls that have been home for years.

Continue crafting for my dolls:
I did a lot in Q1, and I'm pretty proud of myself! I updated several of my self-drafted patterns for better fit, printing resolution, line work, fonts, etc. I also drafted some new patterns. I sewed quite a few things for my big Iplehouse girls, a few items for Luts Baby Delf, and I'm currently working simultaneously on updating my patterns for my Iple JID girls and a pattern for a top for my SartoriaJ girl.

Reorganize doll cabinet:
Not a whole lot of action has happened here, other than identifying issues and beginning planning on solutions. Such as a new solution for storing and protecting extra hands and feet; I discovered a broken finger with my current storage. The current storage also should probably be moved elsewhere to facilitate the rearrangement of the cabinet shelves. I also realized that I might have to design and make my own doll stands because I absolutely cannot find anything that I like that will fit my Iple chonks. I'm currently in the design phase of this, and once I source some hardware I can start prototyping.

Reorganize fabric closet:
I did an initial organize and quick purge of my stash in January, but not really much else. I did successfully keep the closet tidy-ish since then by putting away items when I was done with them. And I also identified that I can free up some space that's being taken up by a box of crochet thread by adding some wall-mounted storage to the wall next to the closet. That's been added to my 'To Do' list, and will come after other organizational items that I deem more important (upgrades for my new desk).

Catalog collection:
I have not touched this, other than adding some stray CoAs that I found into the container that I've been keeping those, manuals, and other paperwork in. Maybe I'll manage to do something soon!

Maintenance:
I managed to hot glue suede a couple of dolls, but I still have several to go! A few need some tightening or maybe a full restring. I also worked on a couple of stain prevention solutions: long boot 'socks' for my big Iplehouse girls, and a wig cap liner for my dolls with head sizes from 8-10". I had a gross encounter with the inner lining of a tall boot peeling off and sticking to one of my doll's legs, so it was definitely time to get with it and protect legs/feet from staining. The liner I made is meant to be hand stitched to the inside of black or dark-colored wig caps. I have several dolls that have wigs with black caps, and a few have had some staining over the years on their heads and the backs of their ears. Hoping these solutions work out!

Upgrades:
Quite a bit has happened in this category! I received a new wig that was perfect for one of my dolls that was due for a new one; and reworked an existing wig with some patching, trimming, and styling for another. I sent a few dolls off for faceups, so my Faceup Queue is clear. I also ordered eye options for several dolls, some worked out, and some didn't. So additional attempts are being made as time goes on for the ones that didn't work out. I also made new fur wigs for my Iplehouse Storm, Evan, and Akando, but they still need styling.

All in all, I believe I'm doing well with my goals/plans. There are some things I should probably give more attention, like moving things along or cataloging my collection. But I think the important thing is that I'm having fun and enjoying my dolls.

A cool thing I'm also learning to do is to let go of perfection, especially when it comes to sewing. It's been really freeing to simplify some of my patterns to make them easier to assemble. In some cases, doing this also makes the finished item easier to get onto a doll.