An Amazing Coincidence!

I feel like just recently I'm always posting about new arrivals and today is no exception, but I must tell you the story behind this latest adoption because it was so funny how it came about.

The doll in question is called Ziya and she is sculpted by the French artist of Youpladolls.  My dear friend Sue in the UK had one of these dolls and I always thought she was lovely, so when Sue mentioned to me that she was thinking of selling her, my ears pricked up.  But it seemed Sue was a little bit undecided because the doll had been a surprise gift from her husband and she wasn't sure if she should sell or not, but the doll wasn't getting any attention.  In the doll hobby we collectors are like "if the dolls not getting attention then maybe it should go to someone who will love it more....bye!"

Anyway, Sue was undecided at that point and I thought that I'd wait until she listed her for sale before mentioning my interest.  I'm such a worrier that I was reluctant to say that I'd like to adopt her in case Sue thought I was after 'mates rates' or something!  So, as I said already, I waited in the hope that as soon as she listed her for sale, I could go for her at the asking price.  Alas, the saying 'he who hesitates is lost' springs to mind because the following day Sue happily tells me that she's sold her Ziya, the doll was snapped up straight away.  Oh well, I thought, it was not to be!

In the meantime, the artist behind the doll had had a stand at L Doll in Lyon, France and the event had just finished so I emailed her to ask if there were any dolls left over, I would be interested in purchasing one.  But within a few hours I'd had a reply to say that there weren't any tan dolls left after the event...so that was that, it obviously wasn't to be!

I decided that I'd just catch up on some emails that I'd been meaning to do for ages.  I started with another lovely dolly friend, Jane in the UK, as I'd owed her a reply for ages.  I started typing out my email, telling Jane all my recent dolly news and about the new arrivals.  Then I told her what I'd been up to and how I'd been trying to buy Ziya and what had happened.  I sent the email and moved on.  

Within minutes an email came winging it's way back to me from Jane.  She'd read about my search and was amazed that she had, that very same day, made a decision to sell her Ziya!!!!  Was I interested in her?  Well, how funny was that! The only reason Jane's doll was not yet up for sale was because she'd not yet got around to taking photos for potential buyers!  So of course I said yes!!!  I would love to adopt her doll and that's exactly what I did!!!

So Ziya arrived a few days ago, she took less than a week to arrive from the UK and she is lovely.  Her name previously was Angeline but I have shortened that to Angel.  Jane sent her wig, eyes, an outfit and shoes!  Such a lovely parcel to open 😃  The doll is tanned and she is MSD size, in fact she is a smaller MSD at 39cm tall.  She wears a 6.5 inch wig and 10mm eyes.  I've not taken many photos of her yet because I've had a very busy week but you can be sure that I'll be taking more photos very soon.

She was a little pale from living in the UK 😉 so I added some blush and some tiny freckles across her nose and cheeks.  They look a lot more prominent in the photos than they do in real life for some reason!  I've not sealed them so they will probably fade or rub off in time.

Here are a few photos of her for now, it was a very blowy day!   I hope you like her!

She has beautifully sculpted hands which you can just see in this photo below....

Well that's all I have for you today but hopefully soon I'll have some more photos.  I will also be posting some vinyl dolls for sale, including Gotz, Zwergnase and others.  I am also going to be selling one of my tiny BJDs, a Lati Yellow Cookie in tan, so if you're interested please watch this space.

Have a great weekend!

Big hugs Sharon in Spain xxx

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

Dolls for Sale....

I have some dolls that are looking for new homes, so I thought I'd advertise them here first, just in case anyone is interested.

Firstly I have my Maru & Friends Tanya who I rewigged with a cute Monique Gold wig which I then cut into a cute chin length bob.  She will come nude except for the white cotton knickers that she came in.   I have had her since new having bought directly from a doll shop in France.  I can also include her original wig too if wanted, although it is a bit untidy and could do with a good brush through.  Tanya is in very good clean condition and has no nasty odours or damage.

Price for this doll is 70 euros plus postage.  SOLD THANK YOU!

Next looking to travel is Noelle, a Nicky Ladd Blythe customised by me.  She is a genuine Blythe doll from Takara and I bought her new from a Blythe seller in Hong Kong.  She has had all the usual customisation including some new eyechips, sleep eyes and face carving.  I carved her mouth to look like she is sucking in her bottom lip, which makes her look young, shy and pensive.  Noelle has a Licca body (shown in the first two photos) and will travel to her new home in an outfit of my choice but not necessarily one in the photos below.

Price for Noelle is 165 euros (or near offer) plus postage.SOLD Thank you!

Next up is a Zwergnase Junior Avery who is in brand new condition, never having been played with, only photographed twice, and I've never even undressed her.  I bought her directly from Zwergnase in Germany in November last year, so she is barely 7 months old.  She has no damage or bad odours.  She will travel in her complete outfit including boots and in her soft bag/pouch that she came in.

I'm asking 175 euros or near offer for Avery, plus postage.

Finally for now, I have my Volks Yosd Ayumu up for adoption.  Ayumu, who I call Jack, has been with me since November 2007 when I bought him new from Japan.  He has a custom faceup by the very talented and very sought after Caroline of Viridian House.  Jack comes nude in his original box with original wig and paperwork, he also still has his brass identification/authentification plate still in place on the back of his headcap.  He has had his default acrylic eyes replaced with glass ones.  He is great condition and has no odours or damage.  He is natural pureskin which has mellowed slightly with age but it is even and natural looking.  Jack is Yosd size, which in his case is 26cm, he takes size 14 or 16mm eyes and wears a size 6/7 inch wig.  He is a resin ball jointed doll and Volks were the first company to produce BJDs in modern times.

I am asking 295 euros plus postage.  SOLD Thank you!

Do not be alarmed by the tape on his headcap, I have removed it since taking this photo.

All payments would need to be 'friends and family' please, or add 4% to the total to cover paypal charges.

Thanks very much for looking.  If you'd like any further information or more photos of the above dolls, then please don't hesitate to email me on dambuster0662@gmail.com

Enjoy the remainder of your weekend and I hope the week ahead is a good one for  you!!!

Hugs Sharon x

And then there were TWO!!!!

As some of you will know, since my 1971 Brunette Sasha, Bailey, lost all her hair, I have been hankering after another Brunette.  I did reroot Bailey, in fact I rerooted and removed her hair twice, but she is now classed as a wig wearing 'waif'!!!  So recently I decided to make more of an effort to find a Brunette.  I missed a few because of time differences and another because I wouldn't pay a  high price for a doll with badly falling hair.  Then a dear sweet friend in the US came to my rescue.  Ginger of Sasha Shangri-La offered me a choice of one of her two Brunette girls and because I couldn't decide between them, liking them both for different reasons, I decided to adopt them both and bring them to live here in Spain.

The two girls arrived yesterday and today they are settling in and resting after their long journey from the USA.  As Ginger informed me, both girls have falling hair to some degree, but I have learned my lesson the hard way in the past, these girls will not be getting a hair wash, in fact they will not even have their hair combed!!  So if they look a little windswept please forgive me!!

First up is Stella who was named by her previous mum, Ginger.   Stella has white elastics although I'm not sure if they are her original ones, and pretty brown eyes, her lips have oxidised a little, she is in good 'played with' condition.  She has very thick hair and as far as I'm aware has no empty plugs :)  She is wearing a new outfit that I recently received from Ginny, of  A Passion for Sasha, I think it really suits her colouring.  Her shoes are made by Noreen and her socks are made by me.

Secondly we have this little lady.  She had a sad start to life apparently, she was owned by a person who had acquired her in a 'lot' of dolls, and sadly the person didn't even like Sasha dolls!!!  She has never been played with, and never had a name!  I think you can see this sadness reflected in her face! ;)  So she went to live with Ginger, where she was happy but still didn't get named, LOL, and now she has come to live here with me.  She too has nice thick hair and no missing plugs as yet.  Her elastics are also white and she has lots of sand falling from her joints.  She came to me wearing her original gingham outfit but changed straight away into this outfit which I made a while ago for another girl.  The reason she hasn't got anything new yet is because the outfit I made especially for her, just didn't suit her, so I will make her something else. Red leather boots are made by Ruthsdolls.

And here are some photos of the two girls together.  They are happy to have one another because it's always a bit overwhelming to arrive in a new home in a strange country  and not know anyone, but I'm sure that my other girls and boys will soon make them feel at home :)

Thank you for visiting, I hope you enjoyed meeting the new girls.  I will hopefully have a name for Little Miss No Name very soon! 

A Girl for All Time Lydia, looking for a new home! SOLD - Thankyou!

I recently showed this sweet girl on here, she is Lydia from the British company, A Girl for All time.  Unfortunately, although I think she is very pretty and very good quality, she just doesn't fit in with my other dolls.  So she is looking for a new home!

Lydia will come with her complete stock outfit.  She is lovely and clean with no bad smells or damage.  Her outfit is also in great condition.  I have added extra blush to Lydia's cheeks and made her eyebrows slightly darker.  She has lovely black hair which has a slightly lighter shade of dark brown (if that makes sense!) highlights running through it, and very deep blue acrylic eyes.  Lydia is about 16 inches tall and has additional joints at her elbows and knees.

Lydia retails for about £90 but I'm asking £70 (approx $100) or near offer plus postage.  I will ship worldwide.  I do not have her original box but would wrap her well for her journey.

Please email me at dambuster0662@gmail.com if you are interested in giving her a new home!

Thanks for looking!  Have a great weekend everyone :)

THANK YOU, LYDIA HAS NOW FOUND A NEW HOME!