Spreading out your attention

I currently have 18 dolls in my gang, so naturally some of them get much more attention than others. Sometimes I feel like I'm neglecting some of them, but they're dolls, so they don't mind. They can wait for me to have time or inclination to work on them. I've sold the ones that were being ignored because they did not make me happy.

Its ok if they have to take turns getting attention, and its ok to have favorites!

 

The first (ish) doll I got was my only one at the time so naturally she got all the attention. However after I bought two other dolls I no longer had any interest in her I thought that maybe if I interacted with her more, like gave her a new faceup and such I’d like her again. That didn’t work so I ended up selling her. I still have those two other dolls and my attention is spread equally between both! I have a third on the way and I know she’ll fit in just fine!
I think the overall problem I had was that I wasn’t anticipating a doll family, and I got that first doll out of curiosity and impulsiveness. Also talk about a rushed character. Now my dolls are fully planned out and I’m not inpulsivly buying random things for them like I was with my first doll. They’re so different yet their characters are cohesive and complimentary. I think that’s why I was able to spread out my attention evenly between them. I know that my third baby in the making will be treated just the same!

 

I feel like that a lot too. I feel like since I spent so much money on them then I should do something with them every day.

 

I completely understand! I definitely have favorites in my collection, and feel bad if I go too long without taking a certain doll out. I logically know that they are just dolls but some part of me still feels guilty if I think a doll is being neglected. Maybe I shouldn’t have watched Toy Story as a kid

I have sold a doll because I noticed I didn’t like him nearly as much as my other dolls. When I sold him I was so happy that someone else would hopefully enjoy him more than I did, even though I sold him for way less than I paid.

 

I cycle.
There are days I love one doll more than my others n lavish them with attention. And then after a lil while, I'll switch to another, and then back again. I do have a big favorite though, I'm not even ashamed of it. They all make me happy, so playing favs doesn't actually bother me. I just switch to whatever doll I feel most at the moment.

 

I only have one doll for over a year now and while I've thought of getting a few others that have caught my attention, I like him far too much right now. A few years ago I used to have a few dolls (before my interest waned and I sold all of them). Back then the newest addition was the favourite until the next one came along. I tended to lose interest entirely in the earliest ones to make much sense having them around and eventually sold them. My interest had a short lifespan and looking back, that was just what sustained the hobby for me - fleeting interest in the attractiveness of a sculpt that doesn't last quite long enough to be fully satisfactory or to feel as if I had created valuable memories with it. Otherwise known, I guess, as impulse buying. It seems my current doll is going to be the one for a very long time and I'm happy with that.

 

I have so many other things going on in my life that I have to prioritize. Sometimes my dolls get no attention, and then when I have time I can get to them. I find that they only bring me joy when I have other things taken care of first, so sometimes just getting to work on them or even just look at them is a special treat. I agree with a lot of others... get rid of the ones that don’t “spark joy.” However, don’t be too hasty in your decisions. You don’t want to sell or give away too quickly and have regrets!

 

Ahhh - but I spent so much MORE money on my house, so I feel I should be doing something with that every day (as in 'keep it clean'). And that often means there's no time to spend on my dolls. Or if I spend some time with one doll, the other 50-some go neglected.
For me it's enough that seeing them on my shelf when I walk in gives me joy. And planning outfits while cleaning is fun, too, even though it may be weeks before I have time to actually draw/design that outfit - let alone sew it.