Which colour hair?

Today I finished the majority of a Kidz n Cat makeover that is one of two I've been commissioned to customise.

I have given her blue glass eyes because she came with cheaper blue acrylic but I thought the colour worked well for her.  Her original hair was medium blond but the wig was of a poor quality, very 'synthetic' so I'm also replacing her wig.  Here is a photograph of a default Kidz n Cats Stine, this isn't actually my photo as I forgot to take a before photo...doh!!

Default Kidz n Cats Stine

Here is the newly customised girl but she is just a head at this point!  I have been trying wigs on her to see which hair colour suits her.  These wigs are not the styles I have in mind, just the colours....I feel that she should stick with lighter colours, such as different shades of blond, but I also like her in the red .... I sent her photos to her 'mum' who has given me her opinion but wants me to make the final choice!!!

The photos aren't great as I took them quickly outside and it was a bit breezy so the hair is everywhere, but I wanted to get true photos of the colours of her face and the hair.

I'd love to hear what everyone thinks about the wig colours....the styles aren't important as these are my wigs and are old.  Once I've made a choice on the colour, then I'll order a new wig for this little girlie to wear to go home in.

And so on to number 2.....

Little Cupcake!

Yesterday I finished the last outfit for my latest commission for a Sasha Toddler, this time for a little girl again :)  I hope that Angelina isn't getting too confused with all this gender swapping! 

I used cupcake fabric for the skirt but because it's quite small, being for a small little body, it's hard to see the cupcakes....I added ric-a-rac, I think that's what it's called, it's that wavy edging stuff, and tulle underneath....the lovely lady this is going to particularly likes lots of details like that :)  The top has three cupcake buttons on the front, on a background of pink and white gingham...and the outfit is finished off with pink and cream polkadot socks!  The skirt isn't as long as it looks on her, it's the angle I took the photos at, plus it needs pulling up a bit at the waist....

Whilst I was at it, I decided to try the same outfit on my little Gotz Leah by Sylvia Natterer and it fits!!  The skirt is a little shorter on her because she is a couple of inches taller than the Toddler, but I think she looks really rather cute in it.  I might have to make her something now because she's not had a new outfit in forever!!  Poor girl!  Anyway, I was thinking that maybe, once Angelina goes home to her mum, I could perhaps use this little girl as a model for some Toddler outfits such as the ra-ra skirts sets!  What do you think?

"Why can't I keep it on Mum?"

Thanks for looking, have a great weekend everyone, and I hope spring is sprung in your 'neck of the woods'.   Tomorrow is a 'fiesta' here, el Dia de Andalucia....celebrations and green and white flags everywhere!!! :)

Tomboy Toddler :)

Angelina is modelling a Toddler boy outfit today, which will soon be winging it's way to the USA for a little boy to wear over there :)

She tucked her plaits up and really got into the spirit of things....a little bit too much 'spirit' I think as she became rather too adventurous, walking the handrail of our upstairs terrace, which is very high above the ground!! 

(Don't worry though mum, looks can be deceiving, she wasn't in any danger of falling, honest!!)

Thoroughly spoilt....

Yes, that's me!  Before Christmas when my lovely hubby asked me what I'd like for my present, I casually mentioned a Sasha....but I really was only joking because the one I mentioned was a very expensive redhead Gregor on Shelly's website.  However, he took me seriously but said that if I could wait until after Christmas for him, I could get him then, because we had a lot of big expenses to pay before the end of the year.  I laughly told him that I really was only joking, the doll was far too expensive and I wouldn't want to do anything with him "just in case".  Anyway, to cut a long story short, a week or so ago hubby bought himself a new laptop and said if I wanted to get the doll to do so.  However, even though the particular doll had been reduced in price and I didn't love him any less, I decided to wait because as well as being expensive, boys don't get so much attention here as girls do.

Then Shelly updated her website!  Lo and behold there were some gorgeous No Navels on there and I fell nstantly for one of them in particular!  And thanks to my sweet hubby, she will be coming here as soon as Shelly packs her suitcase and gets her on her journey!

And here she is!  (Obviously these are NOT my photos, Shelly sent me these last week and I hope she'll not mind me sharing them....I guess she's used to it by now!)

 

and a close up of her sweet face....I love those pointy chins and sad looking gaze :)

 

And here is her description from Shelly's website:

1969 Gotz Blonde No Navel in Dreaming under the Lilacs dress set. This petite and very pretty young lady is in played with but good condition . She retains her original stringing which is in good order though she has some bulging to her right leg socket and standing is achievable but a little awkward . She has two enlarged armholes where the hooks are rubbing a restring would help with this .Her hair is thickly rooted and soft and silky with some dryness to the ends , there are four empty plugs to the nape of her neck . She has three tiny blue spots to her forehead hidden beneath her fringe . Her face paint is vibrant. She comes wearing a sweet non original outfit by Nikita with shoes by Boneka with commercially made tube socks .

You will see that she has a few issues but nothing major or that I can't deal with....so I'm very excited to be bringing home my first No Navel Sasha.  I blame Dee though, it is definitely all her fault ;)

Now to think of a name for her, all suggestions considered :)

Happy Monday everyone :)



 

Having fun...and making a right old mess!

Today I've been having so much fun trying clothing on my new girl....but what a mess I've made of my sewing table!!!  Here's how it looked at lunchtime today....never mind the floor space around my chair which was full of boxes of clothes, shoes and wigs!!!! 

But I did have a good time trying outfits on Reira!  It would appear that she can wear some of my old Sindy dresses that I saved from my childhood....she says that she loves anything 'vintage'....I'm thinking of calling her Sarah, after our very own Sarah of Vintage Sasha, who we all know loves vintage outfits :)

I thought I'd share a few photos below of her in some of the outfits she tried....I have to say that she has a style all her own!

Firstly here she is wearing a cute dress which belonged to my childhood Sindy, so this would be from the late 60s, early 70s.  It's not as white as it used to be, despite several washes in a mild bleach solution....but it doesn't have any holes or tears, thankfully :)  She is wearing it with black knee high socks that I made, plus some Doc Marten boots...

Next she tried on this pretty white dress with short puffed sleeves which is made by Kish for Bitty Bethany, it's not particularly 'vintage' being from about 2004, but she likes it and teamed it with white bloomers and striped socks that I made, a very cute sheep hat by LalaTroop and cotton flower print hi-top sneakers:

Next she tried this green corderoy smocked dress, again a Sindy outfit from the late 60s, early 70s, worn with MSD sized thigh highs....which are waaay too long for her shorter legs but what they eye don't see and all that...white boots and a little knitted beret which I've had for ages.  Unfortunately because of it's 'advanced years' the elastic has perished on the puffed sleeves and smocking on the dress:

Later, because Reira wanted to go for a walk around the garden and it was a bit chilly, she added a lovely plaid duffle coat by Robert Tonner for Marley Wentworth:

 I hope you've enjoyed Reira's little fashion show....and hope you all have a lovely week :)

Never say Never....

Last year I said that I wouldn't be buying any more BJDs, I wanted to get my numbers down and I have downsized a bit.....but last weekend I saw a very cute girl for sale on Den of Angels,  I wasn't looking for a new doll, honest!  I was only snooping about, I mean looking to bump up my own 'for sale' thread on there!!!  So there she was.  A bald, unpainted little girlie who just called out to me from the page.....what could I do but go and look at her?  And that was it, totally hooked and obsessed over this doll which I'd never seen or even heard of before.

She looked rather impishly at me and I was smitten!  But when I saw that she was being sold by someone here in Spain, I knew that it was meant to be, so I bought her and she arrived in two days!!!

This is Reira, she's created by a Spanish artist called Lola Palacios of Atelier Momoni.  Reira is 33cm tall and has a body shape that is very popular at the moment in the BJD world, her hips and bottom are large but her waist and bust are small.  It's a challenge to dress her because of this shape, but I think it'll be fun finding her style.  I do believe that this style of BJD is called 'artist' doll....but Reira is a 'true' artist doll anyway!!

Because Reira came blank (without any facepaint or 'faceup' as it is called) I thought I would give her a temporary faceup myself, before I decide who to send her to for a professional one.  One of my favourite faceup artists, Raven, no longer works on dolls, so I will have to look around for someone who has a slot available, but more importantly, who's work and style I really love!

So here are some arrival photos.....The box is 'stylish', quite plain with the Atelier Momoni 'crown' logo in cerise pink and company name in grey...

 

The doll came with a certificate of authenticity and a postcard sized sketch of the doll, drawn by the artist Lola Palacious

Inside the box, Reira was safely nestled in her lovely pink and white polkadot padded cushions.  You will see she came without eyes or wig.

"Hey, let me out of here!!"

"Phew...that's better!  Although I'd have liked something other than this cold tile to sit on!!"

Reira's skin tone is called 'toffee' and it really is a nice creamy tan.  I love tan dolls, with the bright light and sunshine here, they photograph so nicely.

Being the impatient person I am, I decided to start on her faceup yesterday afternoon.  Having sewn all morning, it was nice to put the fabric to one side and do some work on her.

"Are you ready?"

I use artist quality watercolour pencils and chalk pastels and Mr Super Clear Flat to seal between layers.  I'm not entirely happy with the end result but it will do for now!  Unfortunately by the time I'd finished it was dark so the photos are taken with flash....I planned on taking more photos today outside in natural light, but after yesterday's sunshine, today we have rain!

I'm not sure which wig she'll wear yet.  Her head is quite small, 5-6 inch wigs are too small though and 6-7 are a bit big.  The burgundy wig below is quite big on her whereas the brown one is a bit small!  I think she needs an exact size 6, which I don't have much of.  So I will be on the hunt for a new wig for her, I may even consider making her a Tibetan lambswool one....I think that style would suit her.  The eyes I've chosen are oval hazel brown glass.  I think she looks a little bit like a cat!! :) 

Here are some posing photos, she poses beautifully as she is completely double jointed, and can touch her face or her hair.  It was still raining as I took these so I apologise for the poor quality of the photos.....I will take more when the sun comes out!! 

I hope you've enjoyed seeing my new girl and I hope you all have a lovely week ahead.  And for those of you with very cold weather and masses of snow....please keep safe and warm!

Some random doll photos taken yesterday.....

I thought I'd share some doll photos that I took yesterday.  It was a lovely sunny afternoon and the light was just right upstairs on the terrace for some dolly photos.

First we have little Angelina, our visiting Toddler from Wales.  Yes, I know I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that she was going home, but she got another modelling assignment so her mummy kindly agreed for her to stay a little longer....and no, it's not true that I'm hoping she'll forget where she lives and want to stay here....although that is a tempting thought LOL ;)

Here she can be seen modelling a bright green fine corderoy hooded coat, fully lined in green and white striped shirting fabric.  The coat is going to live with another little Toddler in the US.

I then took photos of some of my BJDs.  These first two photos are of my Lati Yellow gang, all 16cm tall, fully jointed resin girls from South Korea.  I realised yesterday that one of these, the little blond, second from the left, has been here almost 8 years now!  She was my first Lati Yellow and I bought her back in the days when there was no quibble over that company's quality or customer service....and no waiting 9 months in those days!

Next is my one remaining Volks Yosd girl, she is Megu, one of the 'four sisters' and has a custom faceup by Nomyens.  I call her Faun.  It used to be said that Volks owners were 'elitist' and although I don't agree with that statement, I have to say that I love Volks dolls, they just feel so nice in your hands, and they pose very naturally.  I like that Fairyland dolls have great posing but in a lot of ways it feels quite 'mechanical' whereas Volks dolls feel as if they are posing themselves...if that makes sense!!  Having had many Volks dolls over the last 9 years that I've been in the BJD hobby, I still feel they are one of the best BJDs on the market! 

And finally here is Fiona, she is a Fairyland Little Fee Ante who's been here with me since April 2009 having come to live with me from California. She has a default faceup and she poses really well as you'd expect.

I hope you've enjoyed seeing some of my doll photos!