Dolls and More Dolls

I went to a BJD Expo last Friday and Saturday and had a great time there.  I think the best thing about it was the fact that everybody was carrying around a doll, including myself.  It was fun to go up to someone and say how pretty their doll was and then start a conversation about dolls.  It was so easy to talk to people I had never met.  I just can't do that normally.  But the dolls were the connection that brought us together.

I did a wig making class and made a mohair wig.  That was cool.  I've made these kind of wigs 30 some odd years ago, but was totally out of practice and this refresher was very helpful.  The wig turned out ok, but I think I can do better with some more practice.  I put it on a new little doll I acquired just this week and it looks so cute.  Here's a picture.

This is a 10 inch Lorina from MYOU dolls.  I bought her blank and did her face-up.  I'm still working on getting better at doing face-ups, which is the term used for painting the face.  I want to especially improve in doing the eyebrows.  The expert's eyebrows are amazing, painting each stroke with such precision.  I have a ways to go to get there but I know, with practice, I will be able to do it.  I have seen improvement in my painting just since I started doing this a couple years ago, so I have hope.  As with most things, it's just a matter of practicing.  And I have two dolls being shipped soon that I will be able to practice on.

Collecting BJD's, as opposed to other types of dolls, gives me so many opportunities to be so creative.  Not only can I sew for them, but I can customize them through doing their face-ups and changing their hair and eyes.  You can basically remake your doll as often as you like.  And on top of that you can make props for them and create dioramas to display them in.  Such fun!

All About Dolls

I haven't done hardly any quilting lately.  Instead I've been bitten by the doll collecting bug again.  This time it's not Tonner dolls, though, but ball jointed dolls.  I've been sewing for them, reading about them on Den of Angels, looking at them online, and ordering some.  Quilting has simply been put on hold for the most part.

I've ordered several new dolls, six to be exact, that are taking several months before being sent to me, which is normal for this type of doll.  They are pretty much made to order.    I also purchased 2 used dolls off DOA, one from Ebay, and a new doll from Junky Spot because I needed some instant gratification.  Here's a picture of the one from Junky Spot, which is a MYOU Matcha.

She is a 16" child doll and I made her dress.  I don't have any shoes for her yet, though.  She's a fun size to make clothes for because of her larger size.  I have dolls as small as 3" tall and clothes for them have to be sewn by hand, which I don't mind, but it's more fun sewing for these larger dolls.  

This weekend I'll be going to a BJD retreat and am looking forward to that.  I signed up for a workshop on how to make wigs from Tibetan lamb pelts.  We'll see how that goes.  I've purchased some of those pelts, but was afraid to try making wigs with them in case I ruined them.

Here are some more pictures of my ball jointed dolls, just for fun.

These two dolls are from Fairyland.  The larger one is a 10" Realfee Chiwoo and the smaller is a 6 1/2 inch Pukifee Mio.

 Another doll made by Fairyland is a 16" Minifee Liria.

 This one is a 14" Narsha basic from Dollmore.

Last but not least is this precious little Lati White Yui who is just 4 3/4" tall.