Playing with dolls: what did you do with your doll today that made you happy? <3

Did some faceups today. One looks so bad I'm going to redo it tomorrow if I can, but I'm just glad I got to spend some time with my dolls. I also painted doll nails for the first time and my hands were so shaky, haha. They're so tiny!

 

I finally finished a shirt that had been buttonless-but-otherwise-ready since last fall (I really dislike sewing on buttons) and finished a batch of eyes I'd meaning to get to for over a year. Hoping to keep this going and maybe do some hand blushing later this week~

 

Got one of my neglected guys down from the shelf to test with a new girl that came in on Friday, and I (1) rediscovered how much I love the guy and (2) found a solution to the minor problem of the girl’s incorrect height. She’s supposed to be 68cm, as I’d ordered, and she’s come a bit under. My long-standing guy probably won’t let me send her back, though, if it came to that. She’s in his lap. And he has a “just try it” look… as does she, to be honest. So, welcome home Zuri! Not your intended name or partner, but you’ve come together like puzzle pieces!

 

Finally the weather was nice enough for me to sit outside in full protective gear and do some much needed dremel work on one of my dolls. So happy that step is done, although I have a couple hours of hand finishing to do with it, it's a big step forward to getting the character done! (FtM mods) The next step I can do inside with wet sanding and a mask in my bathroom so I don't have to pray for a day below 80 degrees F.

 

I got started on a photoshoot that involves a lot of doll posing. The story has been in my head for a long time and I'm keen to do it, but I've had some performance anxiety - one of those "is it gonna turn out the way I imagined it, or will I be horribly disappointed in myself?" worries. I've started it now and the pics have turned out promising. I love my dolls, they pose well and look great There's a long way to go, I hope I can keep up the energy and focus all the way.

 

I completed the fourth outfit for my newest doll, Euphemera (Luts Senior Delf Aru.) I found her right here in the DoA marketplace, and because I’d sold an old Kid Delf Aru many, many years ago and missed her adorable face all this time, I jumped at the chance to bring this larger version home. Ever since, it’s been a summer of creativity for this doll! I’ve hybridized her onto a body I already owned, blushed her head for a perfect match, given her a sweet and colorful faceup, and been sewing up a storm for her wardrobe. What a wonderful way to spend the summer!

 

I hung out with some friends today, and brought along my DDS because one of my friends was interested in seeing one irl. I just had her sit on the couch next to me the whole time and everyone seemed to like her pretty well lol

 

I finished the bulk of this photoshoot today. It took over a week to get through (though I wasn't shooting every day) and it is the most demanding set of doll posing I'd ever done. Partway through I got stuck on the choreography, I could feel myself running out of steam (and time because of IRL commitments), and had no idea how to finish the whole thing before my focus and energy collapsed. But I got a brainwave partway through and bashed out the remaining story today. I learned a lot from this including some wiring tricks that I'd wanted to try out for some time, and now got forced into it out of necessity.

Still have 1-2 poses left to take tomorrow but the story is practically in the can. It was gruelling and I'm so relieved it's done and I can now take my time editing the pics. The pics look better than I thought they would. I love my dolls: I asked a lot from them and they rose to the occasion.

Spoiler: one nice pic

 

My new boy has been naked, and while I certainly had planned on buying him clothes at Resin Rose, I didn't want to have to parade him around in the buff before finding said clothes, so I've been crocheting him a pair of shortalls for modesty's sake (possibly not his style, but it'll be something, anyway) and this evening I tried the waistband on him and worked out how many more little bitty squares I'd need. Just handled his body a little while making him something.

If the shortalls feel too feminine for his style, or the colors don't suit him, then they can go into the General Doll wardrobe later, but I'll know his sizing if I do decide to remake it in other colors for him. I'm having so much fun doing it that I want to make them for all the dolls, it's so easy to alter it for different body types/sizes.

 

I don't have much energy or time, but every day now I try to work on the latest BJD photo story.

 

Technically a couple days ago now, but I went to a nearby arboretum with Suha and got some pics! She balanced surprisingly well (and then of course fell face-first into gravel with a basic standing pose... thankfully the worst was a few scratches on her faceup easily hidden under her wig) and I had a lot of fun finding spots to take pics.

Here's one of them:

(link)

 

im getting back into crochet, so made a hat. will be looking into silkier material to make a dress

 

today i finally dug out the project body i've been meaning to get back to work on for literally years and finished getting all the previous dye and spray paint stains off of her! it was one of my doll goals for this year to start that project back up and i am super happy that at least i did something to work on it again
also i got to about 75% on a wig i've been long overdue to make!

 

For me, I've replaced/ reglued a few old/ squashed lashes on a couple of heads and conditioned some wigs. Also finally went through the eye stash to find proper eyes for my newer dolls. It was very relaxing!

 

Finally got to sewing for my newest doll! I had felt so inspired to start on it a month ago already but then the damn heatwave started and I had to wait for it to pass for my brain to function enough again.

 

I'll only recommend what I've used, which is the Kuretake set of 36 watercolours -- this is what I have and it's been great for faceups. I haven't used other brands of watercolours (in pans or not) and don't know how they perform, so I can't say anything about those.

 

I prepared for tomorrow's painting frenzy. I sprayed a whole bunch of hands and my newest head with msc, and I wiped Minka, Saga and Pihla's faceups, so they can get new paint sooner rather than later. And more mods in the case of Pihla, she just can't catch a break.

 

Today I only had enough time in evening to go in my hobby room, pick up one of my dolls and just admire how cute she is!