When did you first feel you had "bonded" with your doll?

Well, I fell in love with Cesavier the moment I saw the Hid photographs on the Dollzone website. I'd check that website every single day whilst I was waiting for him to arrive. When I opened the box I was squealing like a small child on stimulants, but when I saw his face everything went all silent because I was in awe of how perfect the scultping was. He lived up to my expectations and more, and holding him was just as I imagined it to be when I first saw pictures of BJDs. Nowadays he's a bit yellowed and scruffy, but I love him all the more, because he's been there with me through five years of my life now and seen every moment of joy and every heart ache.

Seraphine was less of an instant bond. When I opened her box I was once more transfixed by the artistry, and she had a lovely face. I definitley knew I'd purchased the right doll and everything about her visually was perfect, but when I picked her up she was kicky like she didn't like being held and just general awkward to put in any clothing that wasn't a dress. When I picked her up I'd just look at her, adjust her hair and put her down again, whereas with Ces I've felt comfortable with hugging him and carrying him about and sitting him on my knee since the offset.

I think it has a lot to do with character. Ces' character is very laid back in my mind; friendly, loving, and calm. Seraphine is more skittish with a devious streak of intelligence but a defensive kind of uncertainty about her. It seemed to me that after a while of just letting her sit with Ces I could hold her for longer without feeling a bit awkward.

I think the first time I bonded with her properly is when I was upset about something and I got both her and Ces and made them sit with me. When I picked them both up to hug me Ces' arms flopped into their usual cuddly position and Seraphine's didn't bend or snap away like normal. It may just be that her stringing loosened off, but to this day she still kicks her legs whenever I try to put pants on her.

 

the photos, then set in stone when i got her and couldn't stop wanting to hold her

 

It takes me a long while to bond with my dolls. My first BJD I got in February, and I liked her okay. I wasn't too attached and she didn't inspire me to get into the hobby, at least not at that point. I let her sit for 6 months before I pulled her out again. I tried to make it work, since I spent a lot of money on her and felt guilty for having he sit in the box in the closet. So I took her out and posed her a bit, started doing photoshoots, and then decided I needed more clothes and wigs to work with. I shopped around for stuff for her, and did more photoshoots. A couple months of doing this, and I felt like I knew her. I got her look just right, and I knew what to name her at last. She developed a personality and a bit of a backstory, which I hadn't expected. I had finally bonded with her.

My second doll I loved as soon as I pulled her out of the box, but it took a month or two before her personality and style developed.

My third doll just came a couple days ago. I don't have any strong feelings yet, but I have been sitting with her while I watch TV or use the computer and that helps.

 

Vanhi ( a Bobobie Pandora) Is a bit of a nightmare. Her body is a bit too big for her head and she is floppy. >.< I will need to re-string and suede her if I want her to do anything on the body she is on. When I was unwrapping her I could feel my heart sinking. I will likely be buying her a new body altogether... I also still have to buy her wig and her eyes. AND re-do her face up

That being said... I am in love. She is my first girl and despite all the problems ( i can't complain really because i really didn't spend a lot) I can't help but adore her. I think I bonded with her before I even got her home because of all the plans I had made for her design and the fact that she is my first.

 

Hoshi I got attached to the moment i found her pictures! I visited the page several times a day until at the beginning of november my boyfriend bought her for me (using my ebay account but his money. Yay for ebay app lol). After that I didn't visit the page as often because it made me impatient for her to arrive. Instead i raided ebay for patterns and craft stores for fabric. When she arrived I squealed like my daughter when she finds a new toy and just HAD to dress her up in a few outfits i had for her. I was doubly excited because she came with a full outfit when i was told she would arrive nude!

 

Probably when the character's name in my head just appears when I see that perfect sculpt. My girl I'm now trying to get money for I fell in love the instant I saw it and the name Noah appeared. For me that's when the bond is created when that name appears and a storyline happens. Noah is a girl who gets trapped in cyberspace and has to maneuver through different servers and battle other trapped people in order to get back to reality.

 

Usually I bond with my dolls the moment I open the box and see them face to face. Something just clicks

 

Mine was when I finally held her when my friend was selling a BJD. I felt like she will be mine forever. It's like when you give birth to your own child and you hold them for the very first time. That's what it felt like to me.

 

I didn't fully bond with Ruby until I figured out how to pose her naturally (tight stringing + new doll owner = T. rex arms o-o). I don't stress about the little flaws in her sculpt anymore; she seems almost alive.

 

I bonded with my Juri the moment I saw her face! Same with Yugiri & Soony! I feel there are a few others, but I won't really know till they're home I guess... I have a couple that I haven't bonded with I'm hoping one day maybe...

 

When I finished the modding and made face up

 

It was almost a year after I had my first doll. But a lot of personal stuff was going on with that, so I didn't get to bond right away. Into the new year, I bonded real quickly. I think finally having a complete doll really did the trick.

My second doll started with a floating head, so it's difficult to bond until his body is here. Though his head is all complete, and I love looking at his pretty face! Again, I think it's just the fact that he's not complete. Once he's all together, I know I will be happy. He already has clothes on the way.

In both cases, I fell in love with the sculpts, then when I talked about face-ups to some artists, they really helped get my vision done right and proper. The pattern seems to be sculpts, wig and eyes, then a face-up. After that I am pretty much happy.

 

I just received my first BJD (a Bobobie Mei) a few days ago. Unfortunately for me, this is a very busy time (trying to sell the house, midterm exams, family drama, college, you name it, I'm having to put up with it right now) so... Penelope, as she has been named ^_^ , has only been out of her box once for a very brief photo-shoot (I used my phone heh heh...) She is currently without a face-up (I didn't like the factory one so I will be doing her face-up myself once my can of MSC comes in.) So I am finding it hard to bond with my faceless Penelope. However, now that she is back in her box and all I have are a few blurry pictures of her on my phone, I cant wait to get her out and do her face-up. ^_^ I get all jumpy happy when I think about how adorable she's going to look with her face all done up purty x3

 

I developed a character for my first doll pretty quickly (she was a present, and the giver wanted to surprise me, so she wasn't a shelled character), but we were a little distant until I got her some clothes. As soon as that happened, I was able to start sewing for her and working on her character. She's still bald, but I think we'll only get closer once she has her wig.

 

Omg, the first moment I opened the box!
I have never had a BJD before and was really worried that when I got it, I wouldn't be -so- in love with it. I also was really hoping for my random eyes to be blue. When I opened the box however, my heart just jumped all over it (light brown eyes and all!), so it was super satisfying.

I am not sure I would want to keep a doll that I didn't bond with immediately. I feel like if that bond didn't happen initially, it's just not going to happen.

 

My doll Cecil went through various different makeovers before I was happy with him. It just took an outfit change, wig change, change of name and a collar and boots and now I love him. ^^

 

Roxy (Kid Delf Aru, WS) was an impulse from FF and D, I'll admit.

I was waiting for my Kid Delf Bory to ship from Luts and just wanted something, anything to fill the void so I took the chance on him. Needless to say, I wasn't super impressed with the promo pictures or the doll in person when he arrived. It took me a good week to even settle on a wig and eyes. Nothing looked good since he is WS and so cutesy compared to what I actually wanted. (Some kind of darker, older teen boy.)

He's definitely too cute to pull off the goth look so I had to put the notion aside and let it go, that Roxy was not going to be that boy no matter how hard I tried. Rather than risk hating him or not bonding at all, I just decided to look for brighter clothes.. or at the very least, something that could work as a unisex outfit. So, I bought a pink/white baseball jersey shirt from Etsy and a rainbow colored hat and I must say it's kind of hard to imagine not having him here. It just suits him and the sculpt a lot better since, IMO, he is on the feminine side and a bit younger looking than my Bory.

He's got such a sweet face and I think trying to force him to be something he isn't would have made me hate him a lot more than I did.

So, I guess at that moment when I found something that worked with him entirely was that moment I went from hating him to loving him.

 

After I opened the box and put in her first eye...
it swiveled around and looked up at me- she became alive for me- it was awesome!

 

For me most of the bonding happens even before I click add to cart. By the time I decide to buy a doll I have probably obsessed over the sculpt and feel like I own it already. I actually find myself always talking about "my xyz doll" like I already own it, when I don't even have the money to get it any time soon >.< I really feel like its mine even though its no where, active imagination I guess.

The second wave of bonding comes when I get them home, then I ether get SUPER bonded or stay just as bonded as I was.
Its strange, this weekend I got my grail doll head and another head I bought but I felt bad because I have become super bonded with the other one, and barely paid any attention to the doll that was supposed to be my favorite.

 

usually when i first get them out of their box, but i had one doll which i did not bond with him until he had his wig and such. so maybe a month or so? since he was not what i had imagined yet so i was even thinking of selling him but now i love him.