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!