A Great Dolly Week!

The past week brought some great dolly activity here in Spain and so I thought I'd share with you on my blog.

Firstly I made some overall sets for the Wichtel dolls and as you'll have seen on the previous post, the first set sold immediately....then so did the second set, even as I was cutting the last few threads! ;)  So both those sets are going to live in the US on Monday.  Here is the second set:

I think I prefer working this way, making something and then (hopefully) selling, rather than having a commission list as it makes me feel less pressurised.  I can also sew for the dolls I want to rather than those I have to.

Next I received a couple of very cute dresses in the post from a lady in the Netherlands who sells under the name Hello Blue Hare on Etsy.  The dresses are meant for Blythe but I knew that Sam, my little Elfdoll Hana Angel would be itching to get her hands on them when they arrived, and I wasn't wrong!  Here she is modelling one of them today when she took her skateboard out for the first time this year!!!  (Tights and boots are both for Blythe, hat is old now but was made by an ebay seamstress for a Lati Yellow doll, sunglasses are from Robert Tonner for Sindy, skateboard is one of those fingerboards from the local toyshop!).  I love that Sam is able to wear Blythe outfits so well now that she has a Jerry Berry resin body.

And finally, I have mentioned before on here that I wanted a new faceup for my tanned Little Fee Ante as I'd not been over keen on her Fairyland default face.  It wasn't that the faceup was ugly, not even remotely, but the shine under the bottom eyelashes and around the mouth just bugged me.  So I asked an old friend of mine, Olga, who customises Blythes under the name Vainilladolly, if she would give her a new faceup for me.  I visited with Olga yesterday and she has made my girl look absolutely gorgeous!!!  I'm sure you will agree!  And as well as that, Ante, who was previously called Marisol, now has a new name!  From now on she will be called Tyrone!  I know it's generally thought of as a boy's name but I love boyish names for my girls :)   I also made her a new smocked top especially to celebrate her new look!

I apologise in advance for the profusion of photos but I couldn't resist sharing her sweet face and couldn't then decide on which were my favourites!!!! 

In this photo Tyrone was fed up with all the photos and wanted to get back outside in the sunshine to play!!   "Just a few more sweetie!"

 "Be careful Tyrone!  I think you're getting a little bit too daring!"   (Little Fees really are the BEST posers!)

I know I'm prejudiced but isn't she beautiful!  I love Olga's faceups, her and Ravendolls are my very favourite faceup artists :)  It was also great being able to enjoy some dolly chat with Olga and share a smoothie in the sunshine!!

So that has been my dolly week!  I hope you've enjoyed reading about it and hope that you all have a great weekend and that the coming week is also good for you!!

Big hugs, Sharon xx

Dog walking.....

Today I had some help with dog walking!  Sam, my Elfdoll Hana Angel, who is just 20cm tall, took one of the Chihuahuas out for a walk ;)

Knitted dress and hat were a gift from my dear friend May in Australia, who went by the name Maisiedoats on Ebay and Etsy.  May died some years ago now and so my knits by her are extra special to me.  Leggings/tights and boots from Cool_Cat in Hong Kong.

Thank you for visiting, have a lovely 'rest of the week' !

Hugs Sharon x

Bring out the old!

Over the last couple of days I have been having fun with a couple of my old BJDs (ball jointed dolls), dolls that I've had for quite a while but have been neglected.

The first of these to get some attention was Samantha, my Hana Angel by the company Elfdoll in South Korea.  I don't think that Elfdoll are still trading these days but they used to make some great dolls, lovely sculpts and great quality.  Over the years I have had several of their dolls in various sizes but now I have just the three, and Hana is the tallest of these at 20cm tall.  Hana Angel has been with me for many years now, she came here back in June 2009 when I received her in a trade, however she had actually been with me prior to that when I bought her new from Denver Doll Emporium in June 2007!  I sold her to a lady in California and then regretted it straight away so when the lady decided to sell, we traded and I got Hana back again, however this time she came on a newer body!  Some years later I replaced all her faceplates (she comes with three faceplates showing different expressions) by ordering directly from Elfdoll.

So yesterday I decided to change her body again. This time she has 'grown' a little and is now using a resin body which I bought last year.  It is the perfect colour match to the resin of her faceplates and I really like that although the body is almost identical to her original, the legs are a little bit longer.  Here she is in an outfit that she's 'borrowed' from another doll:

I think what I really like is that whereas before, Hana was a difficult size to dress, being the height of say, Riley Kish, but skinnier, now she can wear clothes designed for Blythe among others, so there is a whole lot of patterns and ready made outfits available for her!

Today I decided to tackle another of my 'oldies but goodies', my very first BJD ever, Narsha by the South Korean company Dollmore.  I bought Narsha back in August 2006 and when she arrived I was just amazed at her, she was pure white and made from French resin which is so translucent, it's really beautiful.  However, French resin does have it's problems and one of those is that it yellows when exposed to UV light.  I knew this when I ordered her, but being new to BJDs and resin, I didn't know that French resin also yellows in the heat.  I was so careful with her, I took her everywhere but always she was wrapped in a dark cloth so that she'd not be exposed to any sunlight....but of course she was being exposed to extreme heat instead and it was only a matter of months before the beautiful white glow became a yellow tint!

The changing faces of Narsha by Dollmore: (top row L to R: when Narsha arrived looking all white and pale pink; when Narsha had been here just a couple of months you can see how she now has the slightest tinge of yellow appearing in her resin.  Bottom row L to R: Narsha returns from Ravendolls with a new faceup;  Narsha looking beautiful with her lovely Raven faceup.

However, I still loved her and in May 2008 I sent her away for a new faceup to an artist that some of you will know, a lady called Raven in the US.  When Narsha came back I was overawed by her beautiful new look but the new look didn't stop the doll from continuing to yellow and as a result I lost a lot of interest in photographing her.

This morning though, I decided to make the effort to give Narsha a good clean up and see if I could make her look better.  I took her head off and thoroughly cleaned her body and head cap with paint stripper.  It's strong stuff and not for the faint hearted, (always use outside or in a well ventilated space) and definitely needs to be kept well away from the face plate.  The yellow remained of course but it looked better as she was cleaner.  I'd noticed that her face paint had started to fade a little and the varnish that Raven used around her eyes feels sticky on one eye, and also her acrylic eyes had cracked which I've found to be quite common, which is why I prefer glass eyes.  So I removed her eyes, and replaced them with some soft silicone eyes because these were the only ones that fitted her eyesockets well.  Eventually I would like to replace these with some brown or hazel ones of the same type.  I reblushed her, adding lots of new blush to her cheeks, chin, forehead and the bridge of her nose.  I haven't sealed it but will redo as and when necessary.

Narsha now has a different darker wig which hopefully doesn't clash so much with her 'skin tone' as her blond one did.  She managed to get some of her clothes back from the Little Darlings who seemed to steal everything when they arrived. 

I'm really pleased with how much better she looks now.  She is still dear to me even after all the time she's been here and all the changes that have occurred to her.  (Sorry about the repetitiveness of the following photos!)

I'm enjoying revamping some of my older dolls and bringing them back to 'life' with a bit of TLC.  I hope you've enjoyed seeing them :)

Have a great weekend everyone and I hope your week ahead is a great one!

Big hugs Sharon xx

Non-brero!!!!

Oh dear!  I was trying to think of something catchy as a title for this post...and between me and the hubby, who is usually very good at that sort of thing, this is all we could come up with.  But what does it mean I hear you ask!  Well nothing really!  It's just that this little one below, Samantha, my 20cm tall Elfdoll Hana Angel, came to Torrox Costa with us the other day and didn't want to wear a hat....geddit now?  Sombrero, non-brero?!  Yes, I shouldn't give up the day job  now, should I! :)

But we finally got her to stand still WITH the hat on, to take a couple of photos.  I suppose it could have been worse, she is my doll with 3 different face plates, one of which is a very grumpy face.....I really should have photographed her in that one!

Instead just a couple of very straight faced poses from Sam....but it was so hot this is all we got of her before she had to go back into my handbag and get out of the sunshine!!!

(As per usual when I'm taking photos in public, they are not great and quick rushed, just in case someone spotted me....and sent for the men in white coats to cart me off!)

Hope everyone is having a lovely sunny Sunday as we are!

Good old Cockney Fare!!!

Yesterday we went to Nerja for lunch in a sports bar called OLAS. OLAS means Over Land And Sea which is the name of the West Ham Utd football club fans magazine, and as hubby and son are big WHU fans, we had to go there.  However, my main reason for going was that they have started to serve good old traditional Cockney Pie n Mash with Eel Liquor!!!!  And that, I have to say, is my all time favourite food! (And you thought it was chocolate!!!)   Sam, my 20cm Elfdoll Hana Angel, also came along....here she is showing you the menu!!!

 

And here is the meal prior to splitting open the pies and adding Sarsons Malt Vinegar....and traditionally Pie n Mash is eaten with just a fork and spoon.

 

The minced beef pies were excellent, the pastry had just the right amount of flakiness to it, the beef was really tasty and the bottom of the pies was just the correct consistency.  The potato had been mashed with butter, whereas the traditional way is for it to be just mashed without any butter, spread or milk, but the taste was nice and it was good and fluffy.  The eel liquor was tasty but could have done with being just that little bit thicker, and maybe a bit greener.  Apart from that, it was lovely!!!  Plus it really was the only time I've ever eaten this traditional East End meal in full sunshine with the beach and sea in front of me!!!!

In other news,  I changed the eyechips on Heather Sky for her new handmade glass ones...they are really pretty and easy to apply.  I like them a lot!   Here you can see she's stolen Baileys beret!!

Heather was one of my earlier Blythe customs and I can't decide whether I want to redo her a bit, maybe give her more of a philtrum and carve her lips a little more.  I am always worried that anything too drastic will change my favourite dolls to the point that they are no longer the dolls they were....I've found in the past that even a new faceup can change the 'personality' of a doll to the point where I no longer want him/her.....so I'll have to give it a lot of thought.  But she really could do with some more work I think!

And finally, I removed all of Baileys hair, she is now a little baldy again!  Well almost bald anyway.  I realised once I'd tried pulling the plugs out, that I really had done a great job of the knots inside her head! :)  I thought I'd try the Prince Gregor wig on her because I'd seen Sarah Williams' (Vintage Sasha) little wider faced ex Gregor wearing it as a girl and she looked so incredibly cute!  Well I think Bailey looks so sweet too that now I'm wondering if I might save myself the job of rerooting her again, and might keep her as a wigged girl!!!!!!  I've not quite got the wig on her right yet, but will keep trying and see how it goes!!!!