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What do you think is hard to find: Specifically regarding crafting materials or hobby peripherals?

Feb 6, 2021

    1. I don't sew much, but when I was actively trying to complete one of my MNM's outfit based on a Japanese CGI character, I had a nightmare of a time finding any two-way-separating metal teeth zippers in sizes smaller than #4. I ideally would have loved a size #2, but I had to settle for a size #3. I know a lot of people don't mind the size of the teeth and pull on a zipper, as long as it is cut to length, but I am a bit picky about proportions of closures on doll clothes. Even if the clothes I make are crappy as all h3ll, I still want the closures to look proportionate. That was about ten years ago, when I was looking for that particular zipper, not many years later it is still practically impossible to find a two-way-separating metal teeth zipper in sizes smaller than #4, and even regular metal teeth separating zippers under size #3 are not easy to find. I know that size #1 exists, because I have seen them on 1:6 biker jackets, I just never seen the actual zippers for sale.

      As a vegan person, I have also trouble finding vegan fabrics that look proportionate and are actually vegan. Like small-scale lace and small-scale prints are also a pain in the gut to find, outside of Asian retailers (I don't like purchasing fabrics from far away, due to shipping costs and potentially larger than expected prints).
       
    2. Have you tried using a spray booth? A well sealed/constructed one would leave your neighbors none the wiser when you use MSC...
       
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    3. I'm gonna look into that! thanks so much for the suggestion! My dad thinks that we may be able to make one, which will make our respective projects so much easier to complete :)
       
    4. This is awesome, everyone! I was really curious to see how the conversation mostly boiled down into findings/clothing related crafting items and sealant related needs.

      I was surprised that no one brought up storage or display in particular! I live in a really small space, and I'm always looking to do double or triple duty with things - so one of the things I've really felt was missing from the conversation is like... a storage/transport option that could double as a display for the dolls or clothing at least at SOME level.

      I've also been thinking about going outside to do photography, and the thought of trying to carry my doll out in a bag seems so precarious. I'm like, dreaming of some photography specific transporter that gives me a place to rest accessories and other photoshoot items while I'm working, so they're not on the dirty ground, while also like... being a tripod holder or something :sweat

      ...The doll-scaled findings thing... with them not being easily available... honestly blows me away though. I thought I was just not searching the right terms! At least I know now that I'm not the only one. I wonder if it's a result of the fact that this is just a less internet-oriented hobby, so if you're lucky enough to have a craft store in your town that caters to it, those businesses tend to be more local? I don't know where I'd even begin to look where I live though.
       
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    5. @maxxxamillion : I just scored a sofa and two chairs at a garage sale that are just a bit too big for my Maskcat doll (I'll just make a few cushions to fill the space...and plan for a few sisters :) ), but prior to that I thought of modifying her box to make a sofa or a bed and store her clothes and wigs inside. A bit like the human Ikea sofas and bed?

      The idea is actually always alive though. I think I'll probably add magnets on the bottom of the box and make some feets to turn her box into a coffee table. A bit like my nightstand, which is just a trunk (that I also found at a garage sale) in which I store books and miscelleanous stuff.

      Basically, make your doll boxes or other boxes into doll furniture and you can store your things in style!
       
      #25 lyaam12, Feb 9, 2021
      Last edited: Feb 9, 2021
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    6. Awesome! I hope it works for both of you! Just don't forget that the smell will still be strong inside of the box, so be sure to take it outside and a bit away from your apartment after you're done spraying, so that the fumes dissipate when you open it. :thumbup
       
    7. Have you tried stainless steel ball bearings? I use those on my larger dolls, and no-hole glass beads (by Martha Stewarts I believe) for the smaller headed BJD, or OT 1:6 figures. I got a bag of 100 stainless steal ball bearings for $9 USD on eBay ten years ago. I believe the ones I got are 1.5mm (in diameter), but I have seen them available in 1mm as well. The glass no-hole beads are a lot smaller than that, I don't know how small, but they oxidize and can leave a stain behind -- if they are metallic, the paint comes off when you remove them from the glued spot. The glass no-hole beads are available at many craft stores in the USA, and on Amazon.


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    8. Good sealants definitely. MSC is really hard to find in the UK, especially for a good price, and there aren't very many alternatives that are as popular/well recommended
       
    9. Thank you SO much for the info! That looks exactly like the kind of thing I’m looking for, I just never thought to search for ball bearings.
       
    10. Here in Germany, we hardly have any real-life fabric stores. As I mostly have to order online, it is often a bit of gamble regarding thickness of the fabric and pattern size.

      Even worse with leather. I only use real leather, so I love to be able to see it before buying something.

      A possible alternative are thrift stores. But if I just can't find what I am looking for, I have to get it online.
       
    11. Honestly, the only reason MSC is so "popular/well recommended" is because so many people are afraid to try anything else. There's a TON of other options that are as good as or better than MSC in many ways (price not being the least of it, because it doesn't matter where you are, it's really expensive compared to every other good option). If you haven't checked out the "All About Sealants" thread in the Customization and Maintenance forum, you might want to take a look. :)
       
    12. I used to use ball-chain for piercings, but those had holes on two sides were they were held by the "chain." It was getting hard to find them at smaller sizes, so I went looking on eBay for "balls" with no holes (that sounds wrong), and found the ball bearings at under 2mm. There are places that have them a bit cheaper than eBay, but the stainless steel ones I got from there are great and haven't oxidized nor left stains in the ten years my dolls have been wearing the. (:
       
      • x 3
    13. That's probably a good point. Even after reading that "all about sealants" thread, I think I had taken the "MSC as the only good canister option" for granted - I think part of it just becomes that when you're doing a project here and there it can feel like a pretty big activation energy/cost to purchase a few different sealants and find out if there's something you like best or that works just as well for the price. And, arguably, it's fair to be afraid to "mess up" your doll's face! So I understand the hesitation to try things that aren't the top recommendation.

      That being said! For anyone that plans to do tasks requiring sealant long term, I really think that getting an airbrush is the way to go. Yes the airbrush was an investment & I had to learn to use the thing (and CLEAN it properly and whenever I use it) - but sealants come out of this baby like a dream.... I use this matte varnish that comes from the mini painting world, and it goes a loooonnnnnggg way per $.

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      It's like $7-10 for a tube, and I haven't even barely skimmed the surface, already having done 4 Faceups myself, plus my husband uses it for sealing his minis.

      If anyone can estimate how many Faceups they "get out of" a can of MSC, I could do a quick math on the number of Faceups that you would need to do to justify the cost for the airbrush :)
       
      • x 1