Mistakes Made In The Hobby

I'll be honest, my first booboo was buying my first doll, and then being educated that it wasn't actually a BJD. I was very disappointed that she was excluded, but loved and kept her anyway. Another booboo I've made twice now is getting nasty stains on my dolls by making them clothes out of dark fabric. Those are the only two I can think of. Things with my dolls haven't always been perfect, but they've totally been fun!

 

The most stupid thing I have ever done is that I researched on acetone problem before I remove the faceup. I only had a pink coloured acetone and I knew it is gonna cause a problem, but I was really impatient and used the acetone that I shouldn't. I never use any type of acetone after that.

 

oh I've made soo many mistakes with my first doll. I stringed him too hard the hook on his foot came off. Dropping him so the headcap got damaged and now i have to use an elastic to keep it in place. Using a needle to get some remaining faceup off, trying to carelessly erase a faceup on a tan doll and a bunch of other things-

 

Does loving the hell out of your first doll count as a mistake?

And my loving the hell out i mean, having her around with me all day long in the sunniest room in the house while I make her stuff all of the first summer I own her. You know what happened of course, she is a much yellower shade than her newer companions which makes hand sharing suck.

 

Wellll..... I have a tendency to overspend by purchasing small, lesser quality items when I should just invest in something that is a bit more expensive but a better quality.

I've been kicking myself for it again today when I received the eyes I ordered just a few weeks ago... And only now that I saw them I remembered that the doll I was getting them for is better suited for 10mm eyes than 12mm(and I even ordered 14mm ones, because "I guess it doesn't make that big of a difference"). Now I have 30$ worth of useless eyes, when I could have just gotten one pair of 25$ eyes that were sure to fit her.
I feel so stupid, and the eyes are so pretty too...

I should really think before I spend! And finalize my doll designs before getting too much new stuff >

 

Wearing regular nail polish while working on anything, but especially while cleaning a faceup. I kept leaving streaks, and isopropyl softened up the polish. The streaks came off, but it was annoying.

Gel/shellac only now.

I've also had a drop that resulted in a cracked head cap tongue. I'm sure I'll do more damage as time goes on because well, that's life.

 

Saying, "Well, if I put my doll on a credit card, I'll have it paid off in so and so months, so it'll be just like a layaway, but not!"

>_>

 

1. I once bought a doll for way more its worth, and then traded that doll for another doll worth way less
2. When one of my favourite dolls at the time was gonna get discontinued, I couldn't figure out how layaway payment worked (even though I aksed the company for help) So I could never get him ;_;

 

1 - used a glossy sealant the first time I blushed hands and feet ...
2 . Leaving a doll next to a window.
3 . Buying random clothes that I didn't even like ( idk why LOL )

 

I once bought Gloss MSC instead of Flat >x> and I opened a big hole when I was supposed to open a little eye in a Unoa sleeping faceplate...

 

I left my doll sitting near a window...

 

My mistakes;

1. Using a Crobidoll wig (with black lining), on my Soom MD Chrom, my grail doll, with no wig cap. And I left in on for two years. Needless to say, he has a gradient head now. I am hoping perhaps I can remove this when I have his face up re-done.

2. Leaving this same Soom MD Chrom in my room with the window open...for an extended period of time. He is now yellow. When I pull his shirt up, it is a hilarious difference in color. I will not make this mistake again, with any other doll. I have black drapes covering my window now to prevent sunlight from entering.

3. Settling for a doll because it was "cheaper". The character I wanted my boy to be would have been best suited in a Iplehouse Chase, but he was "too much" for me. So I went with a DZ Chen instead. The difference in cost was only $300, and I have regretted this decision ever since. Now I always have my eyes set on the doll I love, regardless of cost, because I know it is right.

 

Not really comparing doll sizes...I've got an MSD and I think I might prefer an SD

 

My biggest mistake in the hobby was with my Rosette Vela. When I received her (among other issues she had), her faceplate was loose. I realized it was because one of the magnets had dislodged from the head. Easy fix right? Until I realized that I glued it in BACKWARDS I spent hours trying to get it back out. Eventually I had to dig out the other magnet (with a visible gouge, but since it's on the inside you can't see it anyway) and flip it. I have kind of a hot temper, so I was in quite a rage during all of that, and it's a miracle I didn't end up breaking her faceplate in the process.

When I received my SOOM Little Mermaid Rico, she came with magnets I had to install...and you better believe I made absolute certain those magnets were put in correctly. I now use a Sharpie to mark a dot on the side that is supposed to be glued.

 

Just for future ref... In case it ever happens again, putting the faceplate/head in the freezer helps. The glue becomes brittle and breaks easily then.

 

That was one of the things I tried, it didn't work.

 

This was on an OT doll (specifically, a Pullip) but:

Saving the eyebrows for last.

I'd sprayed Testors, thought it was dry, used masking tape to hold a homemade eyebrow stencil on--and the masking tape ended up pulling up the old layer of Testors. She still has a weird-looking area in her forehead. It seems that every time I want to fix her faceup and have time to do it, it's just too humid (darn you Florida)!

 

1. I was trying to photograph a doll sitting on a 3rd floor balcony railing on a windy day. I was SO lucky the doll didn't fall off, but boy her wig tried to be a kite. Took me forever to get all the leafy bits out of it.

2, My doll came with a loose magnet and I accidentally glued it in backwards...several hours later finally got it out using acetone and a cat's whisker. No cats were harmed in the process. I collect discarded cats whiskers in my jewelry box. Now I know why.

3. I bought a wonderful oak armoire just the right size for my sd13s, and was trying to get a picture of my doll admiring his clothing hanging inside of it. I thought I had him firmly standing. He was on nice thick carpet. I thought he would be safe. He fell and broke off his thumb. I will never leave a doll standing without a sturdy stand again. A little superglue fixed the problem.

4. I was in the process of moving so I had my new doll sent to my sister's house, she is almost always home, and I never am. I was so crazy busy with moving I forgot to track the package. At first I was bugging her all the time as to whether or not it had arrived, she got a little peeved at me and told me to mellow out, so I backed off a bit, so when I finally thought to ask her again if it had arrived, she said it had been there a week! I could have gotten my grail a whole week earlier!

5. I decided to dye a mohair wig a nice dark brown ...and followed the instructions on the Rit Dye package carefully. In a pot on the stove. It shrank an expensive wig from a size nine to perhaps a six. Never follow the directions!

 

Forgetting to remove my nail polish before cleaning doll parts. Remembering it in time, thinking "I'll leave it. I will wear gloves anyway". And then forgetting to put on the gloves.

The stain wiped right off again, so no harm done, but I felt pretty stupid.

 

-Not realizing that when I was getting Antal a body it was pink and he was more yellow for the head... Thankfully Shadow could match the head to the body (he needed a new face up anyway).

-Getting cloths impulsively because I wanted a big wardrobe and not considering my crew's taste. (Boy has that bit me in the bud.)

-Being off on sizing for eyes/wigs/clothes. -.-