Little Things That Make You Happy?

The little notes in the packages are one of my favourite things. I keep all mine!
- Getting the 'red card' through the door to say you've missed a parcel, then running to the Sorting Office
(I can never wait until I get home and usually start opening them on my way back!)
- When someone tells you how beautiful your dolls are (It's like getting a good report card from your child haha)
- Thinking of names for incoming dolls and working out their fashion styles
- Getting the perfect post for a photo!
- Getting the Face Up artist update photos

 

- When you finally find that little thing you were looking for in the right size. Even if it's something as simple as a black belt or underwear.
- The way resin warms up when you hold your doll or it sits on your lap.
- Finding used items at a great price and experimenting with new wigs and clothes you wouldn't have bought otherwise.
- Checking doll sites for new dolls and items just for the fun of it.
- Watching videos of people getting their first bjd.
- Seeing other people's dolls IRL.

 

When you’ve just restyled a wig and it looks soooo good

When random strangers complement your dolls

 

1. The smell of resin as you open your doll's box for the first time
2. How just putting in their eyes can transform them into a complete being.
3. Picking them up and just examining their details all over again.
4. Changing or playing with their clothes. I really wish I had more clothes for my babbies.
5. Just surfing the sites and seeing dolls and accessories on offer.

 

Painting dolls.
When the artist send you the photos of a commissioned product and they look exactly like what you've got in mind (or even better).
Watching other doll owners' photos.
Changing clothes (both fun and exhausted lol).
Visiting my shopping basket from time to time.

 

I feel like for me, my dolls are like my "imaginary friends" in a way, except more real because I could see them! They make me so happy just by looking at them!!!! Here are a list of specific moments in the hobby that makes me happy:
1. Coming up with incredibly complex background stories for each of my boys, and just let my imagination run wild in general.
2. Talking to them and pretending that they are answering back (sometimes we just talk about little things in my daily life, sometimes we talk about their lives)
3. Taking all the time in the world dressing them in different outfits, and perhaps even taking photographs.
4. THAT GREAT FEELING WHEN YOU OPEN THE BOX AND SEE YOUR BEAUTIFUL DOLL FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME!!!

 

• When outfits have so many minute details and the different fabric textures or colors work so well together.
• Discovering a new must-have sculpt that is too gorgeous.
• Unboxing a new doll and seeing it in person for the first time.
• The face-up process of giving the doll some character.
• The moment when the doll finally looks perfect after getting a face-up, wig, eyes, and outfit..
• The versatility of a blank head sculpt.

 

When I dress my dolls I feel happiness.

 

• Coming home to a new arrival after a long day in work.
• Admiring my dolls in their display cabinet when I'm stressed out, unable to sleep or too ill to do much else with them.
• Having new wigs arrive that look exactly like their promo pictures.
• Pottering around the garden taking pictures of my dolls on the days I don't have to be anywhere else.
• Finishing a full body blush and face up - the feeling of satisfaction as you piece them back together is wonderful!

 

-little extras I get in second hand purchases or when I get commissioned face-ups back.
-the smell of fresh, new resin.
-clothing commissions that fit beautifully, even though the body has non-standard measurements.
-that satisfying feeling of when I find an item that fits that doll like it was made with the image I had in mind.
-the sheer variety in dolls. Not just how different the same sculpt can look between different owners, but the differences between companies.

 

Just looking at my dolls makes me happy. They surround me with beauty.
Making tiny adjustments to a pose as I'm passing by
Experimenting with clothes, mixing up pieces into unusual outfits.
Buying furniture & little things for them.
Setting up displays.
Creating stories for them.
Finding just the right name.

 

• little Dorothy feet (@akaisha0 on Instagram: “Little Dorothy feet give me life. BambiCrony milk choco resin is without a doubt my favorite resin color of any company ever I really wish…”)
• yelling at my friend for liking the "new resin" smell, because it just smells like paint thinner and I hate it but we have fun debates about it.
• the duality of reactions dolls get
• learning about your doll once everything comes together

 

Just that "your so cute/pretty/fabulous" moment when you sit looking at your doll family
The excitement of the email that says your parcel is posted then following it via tracking
Finding the right outfit for each doll or more suitable eyes
Just looking at others dolls even those I wouldn't have in my collection myself
The beauty of each doll when an artist has done a face up/body blushing etc
Being part of a community on DOA so I can talk or read about dolls

 

- When I find the perfect wig and I'm finally happy
- When Australia Post manages to use their tracking system
- When Australia Post manages to deliver something that their tracking system says is still stuck in customs
- When I manage to sew something that I don't hate AND it suits one of my dolls perfectly

 

When I find just the right outfit for my doll and I put it on her and she smiles (well, not really), that makes me happy.

When I take a photo of her and it's not blurry and I don't cut off her head, that makes me happy.

When I have a play date with a friend and our dolls are "having a nice time," that makes me happy.

 

The serendipitous sudden “recognition” of a long-sought character when you stumble across a doll in the marketplace.

That warm, fuzzy feeling of pride in a job well done as you walk through your home, surrounded by your collection that you’ve work so hard on.

Getting the eyebrows “just right” during a face-up.

Moving a doll from their display in order to work on something, and being painfully aware that their departure has left a big hole and nothing will be right until they’re replaced once more. That’s when you know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that it’s the perfect spot for them and that they truly belong there.

Realizing that your collection is finally complete, and the long years of actively hunting resin is finally at an end. (Whew!)

Looking around and realizing that you’ve brought all your imaginary friends from decades ago to life in your collection, proving that it’s never too late to have a wonderful childhood!

 

What a lovely idea!

Some things I love are:
-handwritten notes from sellers!
-hanging out with the dolls
-how different you can make the same sculpt look without modding
-how a small change, like different sized eyes or a wig in the perfect color, can make all the difference
-the community and DoA
-the cuteness

 

That new resin smell

That resin smell when I open my doll cabinet, in general (different from new resin smell but still nice)

Opening a package of new resin eyes and seeing the light reflect off them

Opening your front door only to see a doll package when tracking last said it wasn't supposed to arrive until tomorrow

 

I love:

• seeing all the different dolls from various companies out there and being in awe of the sheer artistry involved
• seeing collaborations I've always hoped for and some that I didn't even know I wanted until a teaser is shown
• seeing how the BJD technology and quality (resin, joints, face-ups, eyes, wigs, clothes, shoes, accessories, etc) has improved over the years and continues to improve as the years go by
• seeing BJDs in general starting to be more mainstream than it was before
• converting friends and their significant others into the hobby so we can have dolly tea parties together
• finding perfectly scaled BJD sized things randomly in the world
• being the first owner of a doll straight from the original company
• how well dressed and coordinated they are compared to myself
• how this hobby is shared with my husband and has created a lot of precious memories for us

 

-Completing a doll, finally being 100% happy with their look
-Asking a seamstress if they do custom orders and they say yes
-When the seamstress making your custom order tells you that it’s your turn on their list
-When your custom order is done
-When you’re prepared to wait three months and your doll ships in three weeks!
-When tan resin doesn’t cost extra
-Sitting in the doll room when I’m feeling down or stressed, it’s nice any time but it really makes me feel better when my mood is bad