Have you had a "Yeah I'm doing too much" moment?

Hmmm....well....I had to move my spare bed to the sewing room to have enough space in the doll room. My dad custom built a full size chest of drawers specifically to hold shoebox tubs for the doll clothes. I have two tattoos as symbols for my first two dolls, and another that matches my two current favorite dolls (though that one is actually a band symbol, so doesn't totally count). Almost all of my closest friends are people I met through the hobby. I roleplay my doll characters almost every night. My parents made furniture for the dolls and occasionally pick up little trinkets they think would be good props for them. I once hosted a doll wedding extravaganza and had people come in from four different states for a week long slumber party. My therapist knows about my dolls. My husband knows my doll characters so well that he sometimes suggests activities, movies, shows, songs and bands various ones would like. My dolls' clothes often cost more than my own.

So some people would say I've definitely gone off the deep end. But.....

Going to doll meets and conventions has encouraged me to get out of the house and socialize more. I was heavily bullied as a teen for still playing with toys, and it's been wonderful for my mental health to find other adults who share my interests and give me a place where I fit in. Saving and shopping for dolls has helped me learn to budget better. Sewing for dolls has taught me a lot about sewing techniques and patterning. Doing faceups has increased my art and makeup skills. Wait times have taught me patience and that instant gratification rarely makes me as happy as earning something and the excitement and anticipation of finally getting it. Roleplay has improved my writing skills, taught me a lot about interacting with others, forced me to understand viewpoints aside from my own, and think outside the box. It's also helped me with problem solving and working through stress. Dolls give me time away from the real world to just relax and have fun. They've helped me appreciate artists more and understand that art is worth more than just materials value, and in a way, that I've been greatly undervaluing my own works. Overall, I feel like this hobby has been much more positive than negative for me, and has really helped me find and accept myself.

So.....no, I don't think I'm going too far, not at all!

 

another thing i certainly think was the deep end for me is that I was keeping old shelves and wood planks from broken furniture to use on doll scenes I made some with those but living in an appartment means those space consuming craft projects either finished or in progress is enormous clutter , it also took me some more time to get rid of those because when you get rid an old broken thing in your own time it means you carry them alone to the appropriate garbage and not have the help you might need . Still I have the bug when a plank of the bed breaks to sand it and make it p.e. a doll bar or whatever but then I remember how much space it will get and how much clutter it will cause .... I am a hoarder at heart and this pops into my collection so I have to be vigilant but the deep end is near there I can see it.

 

I'm currently looking to buy a house. One of my home-buying criteria is a spare room or space/study nook that I can turn into a dedicated doll area. Yah - a bedroom for me and a bedroom for the dolls. --What was that? What I originally wanted was a dedicated craft/art room, but now it's for the dolls? Ehm...

 

I feel this very deeply. I want a doll room very badly. I would have it double as a craft room but I know it will mostly be a doll room lol

 

- uh... I am waiting for a miniature violin and I hope it fits my doll... Props, yeah... Although, I must admit, props for smaller dolls are way easier to find :/

 

When I realized I have 4 heads out for face-ups and tend to be in and out of the hobby and when I'm in I do a bunch of stuff and then don't touch my dolls for years. It's a hyperfixation hobby that always comes back around... but when it does come back around I don't remember why I got the things I got.

 

Yess, I relate to this a lot. I have a head and a 1/6th doll I am giving to my friends because after the obsessive need to obtain them last year, I'm not understanding why I have them. And here I am going through the same phase again of obsessively buying once again

 

I jumped on in with no expectations and wanted ALL of the dolls. I have no crafting skills, no budget for clothes and accessories, and still don't have a radar for what I actually like. ....

 

When I was buying a bjd a month . I have successfully curbed my shopping habits in a healthy way. I am much happier cultivating my collection and only buying dolls I really love.

 

In an absolute blessing, I discovered the hobby during my abject "poor period" (teen-early adult life), and thus had to make critical choices on what I saved for and bought. The result was only being able to buy the dolls themselves, with clothing and accessories being an afterthought, so I had very little with just about an outfit for each doll.

However, jumping back into the hobby with adult money meant finally living out the hobby life I only dreamed of before, and fulfilling some life-long hobby goals, so I started splurging on clothing left and right. Of course, I'm still picky with what I want, but my doll wardrobes have none the less become extensive.

I have stopped and thought, "okay I can slow down now probably" lol, but at the same time, I'm 100% living in the moment to make my previous-me's dreams a reality.

 

I have two MSD-sized dolls, and an entire drawer full of clothes for them. As much as I pine for collecting new faces, fear of selecting the "wrong one" has put me off of getting enough dolls to fill all these clothes, but the lower price and amount of work that go into completing an outfit makes it way easier for me to hoard clothes. But at the same time, I want both my dolls to enjoy their outfits for a long time before I switch them up...I had a moment where I went "okay, maybe this is too much", when I found the clothes drawer was so stuffed I had trouble opening it ;w;

 

I been there with you seven years ago my more baby like dolls have a whole room with crib, car seat, stroller, etc. But I realized I think I am doing too much when I brought 7 dolls in less than 3 weeks this month. Help me. ☠️

 

I ordered too many clothes and too many eyes. I've also been ordering shoes and wigs for my pukis, and the collection is getting out of hand.

I think my "too much" moment was when I found myself making a list of a specific Etsy seller's wigs just because I thought I could "complete my collection" and buy all their puki-sized wigs I don't own yet. Regardless of whether or not I had a use for them. It's one thing to collect dolls, but really, it is a bit much to start collecting tiny wigs!!!

 

2011 I saw BJD for the first time. I really wanted Gin (IOS) and Dia (Soom).
2012 I bought Gin and I was happy.
2018 I bought Dia and I was happy.
We lived quietly, calmly and without fanaticism. I had one small "faceup box", the dolls had one set of clothes.
But...
2020 Tsunya moved in with me. (Tsunya is Atsushi Sakurai minimee.)
Since then I can't stop taking pictures of him and I can’t stop buying or making all sorts of things for him. Clothes, accessories, flowers, miniatures with alcohol, Chanel parfum miniatures, angel wings... This summer I repainted the window on my terrace. Because I wanted to do a summer photo shoot with Tsunya there.
After Atsushi died I kiss Tsunya. Every day.
Who thinks this is normal?
If I go crazy it will be his fault:

DSC01083_02 by Dina Dina, on Flickr

 

I understand all you fellow collectors so much! I only have one room to live in. I also realized it was "too much" when one clear day I saw that most of the room was occupied by my dolls, their clothes, their shoes, their wigs, their accessories, props, their furniture and I'm still thinking about the SD diorama. I'm not talking about colored papers and fabrics, because they can be useful for taking pictures. Suddenly I don't feel comfortable in my apartment anymore. Sometimes I think I'd rather get rid of all BJDs and become a hermit in the woods. On the other hand, taking their photos and making things for them brings me fun. But two years of detailed BJD wedding planning convinced me that I was really doing too much. My mother keeps telling me that I have too much BJDs and their stuff. Okay. I have. But i still love them. Most of them...
In eleven years in the hobby, a person accumulates too many things and does not have the will to sort it out and let go of what he no longer needs. I'm thinking I'll make the diorama (my old dream) and shoot something in it, finish the story, and then slim down my collection.
And maybe eventually I will become a well-paid hermit with nothing but my tea bowl. (Sorry for bad English.)

 

Somehow, I hit 10 years in the hobby this May, and I absolutely know how you feel!! I need to go through my eyes, wigs, and clothes for what I no longer use, and part ways with a truly monumental number of floating heads that I have to face it, will not be getting bodies any time soon.

 

When I went to take a doll box out of storage to put the doll it belonged to back in it… only to find another doll inhabiting it that I’d totally forgotten about I didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry

 

Okay, point one is just practical. Big resin dolls are heavy. And point 2 is absolutely adorable.

Yes, I am in way too deep, but I'm loving every moment of it, so... no?

 

I hope your plans are going good. I've just bought mine and was redoing my bedroom, where I'll also have my dolls

I'd been planning to buy a tiny flat, because that's all I can afford without having to go through 30 years of mortgage. I'd been browsing through adverts and any time I was like 'heck, no, I won't be even able to have my dolls in it' I would close the tab. Because, for real, if there's no place for crafting and dollying, then what's the point even?

Anyway, thus far I'd had cheap stands (they'd be invisible anyway on the photos) but I'm thinking of investing in those nice, wooden-bottom stand ones... for the sake of display