Rainy Day, Dolly Play...

This morning we woke to rain and as the day went on, so the rain got heavier, to the point that we needed our lights on in the middle of the day!  It doesn't rain that often here in southern Spain but when it does, my goodness does it rain!

I'd planned on taking some outside photos but with the awful weather that wasn't to be, so I decided to set up my indoor 'studio' lights and the second backdrop that I received a couple of months ago from Ebay.  You may remember I posted about the first of the two backdrops here:  

If-you-go-down-to-woods-today   

So the second backdrop arrived and was more similar to the first one than I remembered but that wasn't a problem as they are very cheap.  It needed ironing as, like the first one to arrive, it had been folded down to fit into a smallish envelope.  I used my iron on a cooler setting as the backdrops are sort of plasticised fabric, and I didn't want to burn it.  This one is not as good as the first one though as it has paint/printing missing on the creases, but I guess for the cheap price, what could I really expect! 

I have been changing some of my ball jointed dolls into warmer clothing, so thought I'd use the backdrop to take some photos of the girls in their winter wear.  I attached the backdrop to the wall with poster tack and then, as suggested by Sandi of Xanadu Dolls blog I used the ironing board as the 'table' for the dolls to stand on, and I set up the two photographic lights on their tripod stands.

First to have her photo taken was my Fairyland Mini Fee tanned Chloe, with her German Shepherd dog.....I think there is too much light in this photo but when I turned off the lights, so there were shadows created which made the backdrop look very artificial.  The backdrop has sunrays coming from the top left hand corner as you can see.  This is supposed to represent sunshine coming through the trees.  I believe it looks too artificial and unnatural....(any suggestions gratefully received!!!)

Next up we have Dylan, my Little Cosmos Dolls Robin, wearing a different wig.  I'm not sure it's 'her' but will keep it on for a while.  I think I'll probably go back to the red plaited wig in the end!

Riley Mai, (Ppinkydolls Malisa) hasn't had any camera time in ages, so I took a few photos of her too.  I changed her eyes from brown to these two toned, blue/green eyes.   I'm actually thinking of changing her body from her original resin one to a hard plastic Pure Neemo one....so watch this space! 

 

This poor girl hasn't had a change of clothes in probably a couple of years!!!  So I think that'll be my job for the next few days, find her another outfit that suits (and fits!) her!

Next up we have tiny little Marley, (Tanned Meng version 4 by Secretdoll) who I had been thinking of selling as I couldn't 'bond' with her.  I decided to change her wig and eyes and as soon as I saw her in this wig so I realised just how cute she is, she just hadn't found her 'style'!!!.....she will be staying!!!

Finally we have Gala (Adori in Milky tan by Harucasting).  Gala has had several changes of clothing over the summer but I kept forgetting to photograph her.  But now she is in her winter outfit looking all cosy and warm!

I think what I've learned this photo session is that the studio lights are great for eliminating the shadows behind the dolls but I've come across other challenges.  The dolls look a little bit pale and washed out and the colours do not 'pop' like outside photos do for me.  Also, the tripods on the lights are not really tall enough for the dolls when they are standing on the ironing board, I need to take it all a little lower.  So here we have two studio lights, one on either side of the dolls, and an overhead spotlight bulb in the ceiling.  I didn't use the flash in any of these photos, so it really is purely the studio lights. I think I need to find a way of defusing them!  

Well I hope you've enjoyed seeing some of my little girls today.  I will change some more soon and take more photos....hopefully the weather will be dry and I can go back to taking them outside.

Have a great week ahead!

Big hugs Sharon xx

August Already.....how did that happen!!!

I cannot believe that we're already in August, how on earth did that happen so quickly?  I can only think that because our summer seemed to take ages to come this year, so it seems to be passing quickly too.  Hopefully we'll see good weather well into October though, which is an added bonus.

Well the temperatures here have been very high, it's not dropped lower than the mid 30s centigrade for weeks and last week we saw temperatures into the mid 40s.  I always say that I love the heat, and it's true, I really do, and I'd be more than happy to have summer all  year round, but even I had to admit that it was hot!  Perfect weather for the beach though, especially later in the day when the sun isn't quite as intense.  Having said that, apparently the weather this year has been perfect also for jelly fish, so we've had to be careful when swimming in the sea!

I haven't done much with my dolls for a while although I have sold a few and taken some photos of a few others.  I am selling some vinyl dolls so will add photos here in case anyone is interested.

My BJDs are still getting most of my 'play time' and attention and today I took a couple of photos of the Fairyland crew.  I would love to take the second photo in a beach setting, perhaps with a camp fire in front of them but we all know that that isn't going to happen with me!  So here they are on our deck.

This first photo is of the Minifee girls, (all tan resin, all 42cm tall) it would have looked better if I'd had them standing further away from the 'backdrop' but they kept wanting to fall down so I thought it was too risky....I did NOT want to damage their faces!!

L to R: Chloe, Mirwen and Ris:

Now joined by the two Little Fee Antes: Fiona and Tyrone.  Ris is strumming a nice chill-out tune for them:

Another girl who got a change of clothes, twice in fact, was Jo (Zwergnase 55cm Junior Miriam), in the first two photos she's wearing a summer dress I made from an American Girl sized pattern....

I really like this girls unusual face:
 

And here she is wearing a dress I made for her in anticipation of her arrival last year.  I made the pattern from looking at a photo of a child's dress so it isn't perfect on her...but she's happy enough! ;)

Another thing that I've been doing this summer, apart from relaxing and reading, is making dolls eyes!  I watched several videos on You Tube on how to make resin eyes and decided that I would give it a go.  I love to change my BJDs eyes but I hate that I can only get the eyes I want from outside of Spain, from either Greece, Hong Kong or South Korea, and I sooo  hate the long wait.  By the time the eyes arrive I've often forgotten who it was that I ordered them for!  So I ordered the supplies and also some silicone molds on line and thankfully they all arrived quite quickly.  And I was off!  I've only made 8 pairs so far and some of them have been...erm...pretty disasterous, but I have also had some small successes so I'm happy.  And I will hopefully improve as I continue making them.

Here are the first ones, these came out a complete mess!!!  I'm not sure what happened but the domes all went flat!  And there were a lot of air bubbles......the little balls you see in the blue ones are not air bubbles though, they are tiny little balls that I found in a shop selling finger nail decorations!

The second batch came out a lot better, there were minimal air bubbles and the green pair are actually better than they appear in this photo....LOL....but not a lot!!!!!

And finally I was able to make a pair that were good enough to use!  I wanted a pair of brown eyes for my little Secretdoll Meng as she came with a sort of lavender eyes that I thought I'd change.  I know you can't see the details here but they are definitely wearable!

 And here she is before her eye change, I had to add these photos as she looks so cute!

Now on to girls for sale.  I am selling only vinyl dolls at the moment. I have a Gotz Happy Kidz Sophie looking for a new home.  Sophie is quite a 'hard to find' girl these days as she is from 2012.  She is a beautiful redhead in lovely condition and includes her full outfit with shoes and shoulder bag.  The only fault she has is her knees are quite loose, although the hips are fine.  She can stand on her own, but she really could do with those knees being tightened, I just don't know how it's done so I've not touched her.

I'm asking £125 for her plus postage from Spain.  I do not have her large original box but she does have her wrist tags.  

I am also selling this 18 inch girl by Robert Tonner, she is a Tonner My Imagination Deluxe Basic girl with jointed knees.  She is all vinyl and comes with two wigs, the brunette in the photos and a blond one that has never been used.  You may remember that I opened the pate on the top of her head under her wig and repositioned her eyes as they were very 'deer caught in headlights' looking.  Her eyes are her original ones and are now held in place with eye putty.  She will also come wearing her original underwear as shown in the photos.  I don't have her box either but she will travel safely packaged to her new home.

I'm asking £75 plus postage.

If you're interested in either of these two, please email me:

dambuster0662@gmail.com

I will also be listing some other vinyl dolls in the next few weeks or so, so please stop by and see if there is anything that takes your fancy ;) 

Finally I just wanted to add a couple of photos of my handsome son Brendan and his beautiful wife Virginia.  These were taken last weekend at a wedding near Pisa, Italy.  I thought they looked too lovely to just keep on my laptop, so thought I'd share here:  

For a young woman who, as an archeologist, spends her working week thigh deep in mud, Virginia certainly 'certainly scrubs up well' as us Brits say!! :) 

 

Thank you very much for stopping by, I hope you are all enjoying your summer and hope you also have a great 'rest of the week' !!

Big hugs Sharon xx

A New Arrival!

I was going to be good this year and try to sell more dolls than I buy, but we're just over a week into the New Year and I'm already one step down the 'slippery slope'!!  Having said that, I have sold one doll already, so maybe I should just stick with the 'one in one out' rule that I've always had.....

So today my first new girl of 2018 arrived  and so far I am very happy with what I see.  The new girl in question is Hannah, a Sylvia Natterer doll by the French company Petitcollin.  I wasn't going to buy any more Natterers but her little face called out to me.  What's a girl to do? ;)

I already have another modern Natterer in this size from the same company, Alice, and it wasn't until I photographed her in a natural light that I really fell for her, so today, when Hannah arrived, I took her straight outside to photograph her.  Like Alice, Hannah looks great outside.  So without further ado, here are a few photos of her that I took.  I will take some of her with the rest of my Natterer family when I get the chance.

Hannah in her default outfit, which is colourful, modern and well made:

Hannah close up.  I believe these dolls are handpainted.

 

Her rooted long blond hair is nice and thick:

Whilst I had the camera out, I took some photos of my little Marley, Secretdoll tanned Meng, who came to live here in December last year.  I couldn't resist trying her for size in this pushchair (stroller) that I've had here for a while.  I think she has such a baby face that she looks quite at home in it!!! 

Having said that, 'at home' she may be, but she certainly DOESN'T look impressed!!!

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy the rest of your week :)

Big hugs Sharon x

It's been a while....but a little dolly activity!

Once again I'm writing that I can't believe how neglected my poor blog is!!  I'm beginning to sound like a stuck record, but I have no excuses, I've just not really been in the dolly frame of mind for months now but finally I have a bit of dolly news so thought I would share.

Back in the summer I placed a couple of orders with companies in South Korea for BJDs (ball jointed dolls) and as most of you will know now, you order, you pay and then you WAIT!!!  I placed one order in July with expected shipping date of mid September and another order in September with expected shipping date of late December, and Sods Law, the July order was more than a month late in shipping and even more surprising for me, the September order was a month early!  So both dolls arrived within a few days of one another!!! 

In the meantime I also purchased another BJD from someone in the US and so I have three new BJDs to show you but will start with just two as one is still waiting for her face to be painted.

The first doll I want to show you is a Volks Super Dollfie Midi, she is 42cm tall and her skin tone is a light tan which Volks call 'Sunlight skin'.  She came to me blank and although I bought her secondhand from a seller in the US, she is like brand new with all her defaults still sealed in their packaging.  She is a lovely heavy doll and I had planned initially to send her to a faceup artist to have her face done but in the end I decided to do it myself.  I made a start this morning and finished her a few hours later.  I'm very pleased with how she's come out.  Outfit is by a company called Tree Designs in South Korea.  Now she needs a name :)

The second doll that I want to show you is from the South Korean company, Secretdoll, and she is a Meng, Version 4, in tanned resin.  She is 17.5cm tall and as you can see is a little cutie with her big head and pouty face!  She has a default faceup, wig and glass eyes.  Her outfit consists of corderoy flares made by me and a little knitted sweater by Feltland here in Spain. 

I have decided to call her Marley!

Here she is with Valentine, my tanned Person #21 also from Secretdoll.  The new doll has a much better body and posing ability than the older girl, but I think they work quite well together.

The third girl to arrive is a tanned Adori from Harucasting, also in South Korea but I will keep her under wraps for now until she has her faceup.  Hopefully she will go to my friend Olga, Vainilladolly, very soon, to be made beautiful!!!

In other news I continue to walk in the mornings and go to my aquagym classes and have now lost 44 pounds and 13cm from my waist!!!  I still have a long way to go but am feeling so much better about myself :)

Here are a few photos that I've taken on my walks:

I just spent a weekend with my family in the UK and although it felt bitterly cold to me (and I came back with a stinker of a cough and cold) I had a great time seeing them. 

Some photos from my UK morning walking!!!

Worthing pier:

Elegant houses on Worthing seafront:

Chichester cathedral:

Chichester main street:

Hayling Island:

 
I won't see my son now until about February when he hopes to come over to Spain for a visit, but my mum and brother will be coming here for Christmas from the 18th December!

My son Brendan and his wife Virginia in Hayling Island:

Well, I hope you enjoyed my photos.  Here's wishing you all a great week ahead, thanks so much for visiting!

Big hugs Sharon xxx