Mom/Stay at home mom collectors

I do sew but I haven't had the time to invest into it. I made some sloper patterns for tiny dolls when I had the time but lately, no such luck! I do craft because it's easier to manage with time budgeting! I decorated a mini CD tower from Michael's for my RealPuki Roro. I'd show it to you but my firewall at work won't let me go on Flickr.

 

I am a stay at home mom with 2 kids a 10 yo daughter and a 19 month old son I started collecting about 5ish years ago I was working part time and got a loan and got 3 dolls right off lol. I am terrible about making up my mind. I then got 3 more after the loan was payed off also all from my own jobs. After that I got 3 animal ones and havent done anything with them lol. I havent gotten anyone new in the last few years cause of being preggers and then having my son. I havent worked now in 3 years been hard to work after moving, my husbands in the military and we move alot and his hours are terrible and child care is really expensive so no new dolls would love to have some new ones but thinking of selling other ones that dont come out of the boxes lol. I have my favs setting in my living room and my son stares at them all the time but dosent touch them yet lol. My daughter loves my dolls and she helps me change there clothes and all that keep them clean. She talks all the time about getting one but knows our money is tight cause of the new baby and that I cant get a job

Love sewing and really any kind of crafting have all kinds of stuff used to make and sell doll clothes and jewerly when we lived by D.C. but the doll community is not as big in El Paso as it was there I really miss the D.C. meet ups and trying to get more into the online community lol been difficult cause of the boy lol but working on it. So really cool theres other moms that love dolls too lol.

Heres a question I am asked all the time as a mom what kind of dolls do you like the most? like the really girly dolls or the different to (evil) dolls.?
I am really across the board I love some of the newer demon type dolls but still have a few girly girls and I just love the pukis!!!!

 

I work part time and have 2 "kids", 15 and 13. They do not care too much about my dolls (maybe because they both are boys)

 

I have a few Demonic type dolls and not so many girls. I'm just super picky about girl sculpts, and I possibly have fashion doll burnout. I need to get an SD girl soon. I'm sewing for a swap and not having a model in the right size range is a PITA.

I want to get a puki too, I so love pong-pong but I want so many other dolls too so he keeps getting pushed down the list. I'll probably be getting an SD girl next or maybe a 70cm boy.

 

I'm a SAHM too! I have 2 boys, 4 and 2....and I started collecting a year ago, Blythe dolls....just recently got into BJDs.
I have to say....they have really filled the "I wish I had a daughter" gap...even if that sounds weird......I love dressing them and photographing them and they have made me realize how happy I am with my two boys.
My kids actually love them too, they love looking at them, and they like to hold them.....but then they give them back :-)

I sew too....although I have not yet mastered the art of sewing for little bodies, hopefully one day

 

I love tinies the most and I bend towards the girly girls the most and fantasy fairies type. I do like having a few big dolls to dress in modern, fabulous clothes I am too cheap to buy for myself. I am not into the dark type dolls or the ones with tons of tattoos or lots of piercings. They are just not my thing.

 

I'm a SAHM and my little one is nearly 1 year old. I started collecting ABJDs in 2002.

I have sold a doll or two to buy some luxury items for my baby, but I've also bought some new dolls in 2011. ^_^;;

For me the biggest change has been loss of time for my dolls. Just checking and reading DoA is a treat, trying to get doll pictures is a rare occurrence.

 

I'm a mom and a student, and I allmost breaked my heart when I had to get back to school this autumn. I had to put studies on hold for few years because having two (pleasant) surprise babies. xD My son turned 2 last july, my lil'girl turns one in a month. I got my first doll just this summer, and yup, saving money is hard with lil'ones.

My biggest problem is, that If I happen to leave my doll for even a tiny moment in their sight, they want it, NOW. I just tried get a pic from my dolls new make up, and this is what happened. ^^; She jut hugged him, nothing terrible happened.

I would love to have opportunity to save more money and do more with my doll, but this is life. And I really love those lil'ones, so why not sacrifiice a lilttle for them? :3

 

That photo is adorable Tiirikka!!! Your little girl is (excuse the pun...) a doll! And your resin child is so cute too . Its so funny that you posted that picture today, yesterday I was taking photos of my big girl while Ali (my daughter) took a nap. When she woke up I was doing other things and completely forgot that Vesuvia was still sitting on the couch. I walked into the room to see Ali sitting there stroking Vesuvia's hair and looking really close in her face. And then as if my heart couldn't melt anymore, Ali said "She's so pretty, just like you momma". It made my night! Lol! Thankfully Ali know that these dolls are not hers, and other then holding their hand, or rubbing their wig, she is very gentle and respectful.

 

A thread for mums is a fab idea. I starting collecting in about 2005, which is before I had children, but I still am an avid collector. I have 2 boys and 4 years and 4 months, and the oldest one is ever so good around my dolls- not sure how the little one is going to be lol!

 

I'm what my 10 year old daughter calls a "house mommy". We fell in love with our first BJD at a doll show and scooped her up on the spot. The doll family has grown...um..considerably since then. As much as I love them I'd sell them in heartbeat if our family needed it, though.

Sometimes people are kind of appalled when they find out I've given BJDs to my daughter but I would never have done it if she wasn't mature enough to handle them. Our whole family has a ball with them - hubby goes to doll meets, makes furniture and props and even set up a dolly poker party once!

 

I think that when you have kids raised around doll collectors, they are better at handling them than the ordinary child. My girls have been around my dolls since infancy and they know the rules, to be careful and have clean hands, and to always ask before handling anyone's doll ever. I trust my girls around my dolls and to hold them and keep them safe while I am doing something.

 

Exactly! I always worry about other kids though. I' okay with Abbey's best friend playing dolls with us but that's it. Our dolls have free run of the house and they get all over the place. Anybody else ever scramble to hide the BJD stuff before a playdate???

 

Raises hand!

My daughter is now 14, but I started doll collecting with her when she had just turned 7 and wanted her first American Girl doll. Many, many dolls later and lots, and lots, of dollars later, here we are. I've always stayed home with her and we homeschool.

I've found that the older they get, the more they cost, although I wouldn't trade my daughter for anything in the world. She is heavily into ballet and it costs us almost $1000 per month. Basically, ballet has made my dolly funds non-existent. I also tend to feel guilty if I do spend anything on a doll when my family has things they need more and they come first.

When I first got into BJDs, our financial situation, and the economy, was different. I have quite an extensive collection, but any new ones will basically have to wait for a while. It can be tough, but I had a seasoned collector tell me one time, it is only for a short period of time and then your kids are gone so enjoy them now. The dolls will always be there and when you have to wait to purchase them later on, you can probably get them for a better price since they are older.

One thing that my DH does, is try to save up for anniversary, birthday, and/or Christmas and he lets me chose a doll. If we don't have the money at the time, we put it on a credit card with low interest and then work to pay it off quickly. Sometimes companies will have layaway and we try to take advantage of it, but sometimes the monthly payments feel like it isn't really a layaway at all!

I sew as well. My DH bought me, as a gift, an embroidery machine and I used it to make AG clothing for DD and to sell to her ballet friends who wanted costumes to match their parts in the ballets they were in. I enjoyed it, but now I don't really have the time. Hopefully, I will get a chance to do so again. I see so many beautiful things for BJDs and think, "I can create that", but finding the time.....that is they key.

 

I am lucky enough to be able to work from home part time. I took a huge pay cut to be able to do so, but it's been worth it to watch my son grow up. He's almost twelve now: I quit working full time when he was five. Before then, working was an absolute necessity as hubby was finishing grad school, so I missed out on a lot of things. I knew from childhood that I wanted to be at home with the kid(s), so this was a bit of a disappointment. But on the other hand, my doctor assured me I would never be able to get pregnant, so I'll accept gladly what I've been given!

Like many others in this thread, me staying home means that financially we cannot do everything we'd like, and after the family's needs are met there is not often money left over for dolls. But that's okay-- I have enough (except for that one I am coveting). And my husband has been so supportive, giving me dolls as gifts, etc.

I've always loved dolls, but it's only been about three years that I've been into BJDs, and only two and a half collecting them.

 

I'm brand new to the stay at home mom aspect. I worked up until just recently and like gracie I have a teenager who has her own interest that costs money (basketball!). I have given up dolls and doll things before in order to fund her basketball needs. I am not sure how long I will be able to stay at home without going crazy and at least look for something part time. When we moved, I was unemployed last year for 4 months and thought I was going to make myself nuts. I've worked since I was 15 years old.

We started out with American Girl in 2003 and I got my first bjd in 2009. My daughter started with bjds just this year.

I have a couple new dolls ordered that will take us to Christmastime, one for my daughter as a surprise, so I am going to need to get acclimated to the idea that dolly funds aren't going to be rolling in next year as frequently as they used to.

 

I have a doll room so whenever kids are coming over, I have to close the door.

 

My daughter has decided she wants a BJD now. It's very sweet really how she stares at mine. I'm hopping the Moxie Teen my mom sent her for her birthday will tide her over for a few more years, and if she still wants one when she's a bit older, maybe I can help her pick out and save for one that's not too expensive. She's already giving me fashion tips for my boy, declaring that I "need to knit him a hat with holes for his horns." I think she may be right about that.

 

Mine does the same thing. She lets me know if she doesn't like a wig or an eye color or an outfit I've thrown together.