Let's share the cake, shall we?

Happy Valentine's Day to all my blog readers! Actually we call it "a friend's day" in Finland so I went with that theme. Gris and Gert are each other's best friends despite occasional drama especially when it comes to sharing food. Well, that's sisterly love for you I guess? The miniatures are from Re-ment.

Remember to eat lots of chocolate today <3

p.s. I updated my Etsy store a little bit with two new hats, going with an earthy brownish theme this time. I'm trying to seriously reduce my yarn stack, my yarn box is seriously overflowing...and yet I bought some new yarns from Tallinn again. Can't help an addiction, I guess xP

Roses for the tiny dragon

I recently finished yet another craft project: a new dress for my little Lami, Apsu.

The pattern was simple, but this still took a while because of all the embroidery. The symbol is called "the dragon's eye" - I picked it because it was easy to create and Apsu's character is a half-dragon. I used this tutorial to decorate the bodice, it's one of my favourites.

Apsu's new Mehiart eyes, pink like her aunt's! (Meital) She has some scale pattern around her eyes too. I should glue some eyelashes on...

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And a shot "behind the scenes" :D We have a small apartment so there simply is no room for a permanent doll studio - so I use a foldable reflector, stool and some boards I looted from a previous job. They go nicely behind our bookshelf when not in use. A good tripod is also very useful! This setup is easy to build where there is most daylight available and to store afterwards. I wouldn't mind having a permanent setup but it's not possible right now. Maybe in the future when we have a bigger home?

Twinkle twinkle with new things

I decided to improve little Tuike's looks and make her more like my own <3 So she got new urethane eyes from MehiArt and wig from Dollwig - both highly recommended! Especially Dollwig is a goldmine for those searching for small wigs. Size 4-5 (Pocketfairy size) is very hard to come by, but she has a nice selection and is super nice. My wig arrived with a free teddy bear and the most adorable package I've seen a while. The wig itself is very nice, silky and super smooth.

And Mehiart's eyes are of course always so pretty and sparkly. I currently own three pairs and want more *_*

Idris reborn! (Bluefairy vs. Soom special parts.)

It was a good day to photograph a sort of new doll. Well, I've owned all her parts for a long while, but didn't use this combination before.

One of my most "popular" dolls has been Idris, my hooved pastel-themed fantasy girl. She used to be Soom's Kivi on Adamelli body, but something has been amiss. I must admit that Soom's MSDs just...don't click with me like they should. They are cute, but their face sculpts lack that something that I like my dolls to have. Their bodies are okay, but nothing spectacular and the hands are not nice. However I really like Idris' style and theme, so I haven't been able to let go.

On the other hand I own a really pretty Minoruworld's special Bluefairy Olive. Lovely girl, nothing wrong with her looks, I just didn't come up with a good story or style or anything. Okay, she looks cute in anything, fantastic. But who she really is? I need to know if I want to bond with a doll, if she's to inspire me to create.

A doll with a style but a dull form, a doll with a pretty form but dull style. See where this is going?





Some restringing and styling and lo and behold, a whole new Idris! And isn't she just the cutest little pony ever. She seems shy and reserved, gentle but childish at times, just how I've figured her character to be.



She also got new urethanes from MehiArt. I accidentally bought three pairs from her, whoops. It's not the best photo but they have little flowers in them <3 And they're so bright and sparkly!



Here'a a close up of her knees. The resin match is...well, let's say it isn't and I have no energy to consider any blushing options. But the match is otherwise surprisingly okay. I think Soom used Angelregion's MSD body as a base for their Little Gems, and Angelregion and Bluefairy share the same basic bodies. Bluefairy of course doesn't have the locking mechanism that Littlegem does, but she's able to stand and sit which is enough for me. Of course you'll have to string your doll really well and maybe get some sueding, and she won't be very steady. I wouldn't leave her standing without support as she's very likely to topple over.

Despite small problems she turned out very cute and inspiring doll <3 I have so many ideas what I could do with her.

January's Etsy update

I finally finished the hats I did on my winter holiday, decorated 'em and listed 'em on Etsy:



You can find my Etsy HERE.

I must say I had the perfect timing as we finally got snow here in the southern Finland as well. Ah, how pretty everything looks now ;3;

Rose butterfly

I know I shouldn't play favourites but...



...can't help it, Liduse it is. She's odd (Notdoll had a very personal style which is not everyone's cup of tea), doesn't pose very well, has strange little feet and hands, but some dolls just have magic. I like pretty dolls too like Bluefairies, but sometimes odd and strong is also very beautiful. If Notdoll's body wasn't such a BEEP to restring and change heads, I wouldn't mind having another ND head to play with, maybe Belladonna?

I should write about her character too, except that's she mostly just watches. She's a pink nightmere butterfly (come on, who said pink cannot be scary?) who talks in riddles and strange words. Sometimes she nails it, sometimes she talks just gibberish and nonsense. She has low-level psychic abilities but as she's nothing humanlike, she doesn't really understand what she sees. Well, she understands nothing of what is true and what is false, she just talks and sings with her sweet birdlike voice. For some reason Hecate, her mistress, pities her. Maybe it's because she'll never be able to feel those things she whispers about?

F.A.Q

Also known as "all the things people have ever asked of me of BJDs":

What exactly are these dolls?

Modern (Asian) ball-jointed dolls, cast in resin, strung with elastic. Wikipedia helps, there is also Den of Angels which contains all the info you could ever need of BJDs.

Can you help me getting a BJD?

I can point you to the sources of information and answer specific questions, yes. I cannot order a doll for you or borrow my Paypal, some things you'll just have to learn to do yourself.

Do you create these dolls yourself?

Oh I wish I could! Yes, they are handmade but I'm not the one who's able to sculpt and cast these, actually I cannot sculpt at all. I style my dolls, choose their wigs and eyes, get their face ups done by Finnish artists usually and sew / knit / crochet clothes and accessories.

How many dolls do you have?

Eep. 30.

How on Earth do you fund this hobby?

Well my finances are my finances, but I have a full-time job and no other big expenses. I also get some income from my Etsy business which I usually use to buy accessories for my dolls. I'm very strict with my money and live on a very planned budget which gives me freedom to spend the remaining money as I see fit :)

What else are you interested in?

I have no other expensive hobbies, luckily, phew. I'm interested in sci-fi, fantasy, Asian cultures, video games, RPGs and so on. If I'm not playing with dolls, I'm usually watching Dr. Who, Game of Thrones, Korean TV dramas and so on.

Do you think your dolls are "alive"?

Well, not really. Most of them have characters that I've created inside my head, but the doll is just a doll. They are of course very valuable so I treat them carefully, but I have no problem leaving them naked and in unflattering positions if needed xP I don't carry them around because I think that's bit, ehhm, strange, and I never talk to them.

But they do have names?

Yes, they all have a name. Most of them have what we call "the character" - the doll form represents a character that I RPG with or have created for doll stories or just for fun. They help me with styling and stuff, and of course it's fun to create things since I consider myself a creative person.

An adult playing with dolls? Shouldn't you get some more mature hobbies?

Thanks for your concern, but I think collecting valuable artistic objects that make you do creative things IS very mature and adultlike.

What do you think of recasts?

I cannot support them since I've never seen a single doll artist being fine with his / her work being recast and sold. If you see an original artist giving you a permission buying one, well, then I guess you may, but I have high doubts anyone would be OK with that. Let me know if you come across one, then I may change my mind ;P

All for now <3