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

Sewing for Chloe....

I did a little bit of sewing today for Chloe my tanned Mini Fee by Fairyland.  I have a new Mini Fee coming and this outfit was intended for her but it looked so nice on Chloe that she gets to keep it (even though she already has LOTS of clothes already!) and the new girl will get something else.  She's not due to arrive until early next week so hopefully I will get the chance to make something before then.

This is just a simple tee shirt and skirt set, the tee shirt pattern is for Robert Tonner's Ellowyne Wilde and is a free pattern from Pixie Faire, and the skirt is a basic pattern that I put together myself.  The pretty fabric of the skirt was part of a gorgeous gift from my lovely friend Sandi in Australia, it's a Japanese print and is called Candy Cats.  The tee shirt is made from a cotton knit baby vest that I bought in the sales!

The really cute sports shoes are by Summomo on Etsy.

 

Well I can't believe we're half way through yet another week....and still we're not having great weather here.  A day or two of sunshine then back to showers and thunderstorms.  Hopefully very soon it'll settle and we'll have the good weather that brought us to Spain 14 years ago!!!

The only good thing about the rainy weather is it does wash away the Andalucian dust that we often get coated with when it's very dry!  And it also makes the plant life look very bright against the dull sky.

I took these three photos this morning in the drizzle!!!  I don't know the name of the tree but it looks like one of those bottle brush trees.....

And this cute bronze statue in the centre of Torre del Mar.....a little girl and her grandfather:

Enjoy the rest of your week....and here's to a great weekend!

Big hugs, Sharon x

Wig changes....

Today I got all my wigs out, and my goodness I have loads of the darn things!  I thought I'd change two of my Fairyland girls wigs.  My normal skin Ante, Fiona, has nearly always had short hair, I love short hair on her, but today I changed her to a long wavy mixed blond wig.  I like it but not sure how long it will stay!  I also tried a short wavy brown one too but decided that she really is a blond, or at least fair haired child!  Forgive the poor photos, I was sitting in the shade as I didn't want my BJDs in full sunshine, and my camera wanted to use the flash so I had to turn it off.....I really need to get my tripod out!!

The second girl to get a wig change was Chloe, my tanned Fairyland Mini Fee.  She has already had a few hair colour changes since arriving here but I wanted to try her as a brunette. 

I really liked the one above but finally settled for the wavy brunette one below.  I might go back to the plaited one at some point, but am happy with her new look for now.

Thanks very much for stopping by, I hope you all have a really lovely Easter which hopefully good weather and loads of chocolate!!! 

Big hugs Sharon xx

Happy New Year!

I just wanted to stop by and wish all of my readers and blog followers a very Happy and Healthy New Year.  I've been a bit lax with my blogging recently but plan to try harder in 2017.

The last year has been a really mixed bag for me.  At first I thought to myself "WOW, 2016 has been a really sh*tty year!"  But then I had to slap myself around the head a bit to remind me what great times I've also experienced this past year!

The biggest being my son's wedding of course, gaining a gorgeous new daughter in law in Virginia, and really the wedding itself was just amazing.  I cannot count the number of people who've told us how wonderful it was, in fact everyone who spoke about it, actually said that it was the most beautiful and romantic wedding they'd ever been to, so that can't be bad. 

Also I had a great trip to the UK in November with my friend Magdalena, her first trip outside of Spain and of course first time flying.  We went to visit my mum to celebrate her 80th birthday with her and we had a very good trip.

And of course after my health scare back in September, it was excellent news in October to hear that I was in the clear.....I cannot tell you how difficult the seven weeks 'without knowing' were!! 

There are lots of other things that I could put on here but I wanted to keep this short and don't want to bore anyone!

On the dolly front, there were some comings and goings.....probably more comings than goings to be fair, but I'm happy.   I know that I've not been sewing my commissions but I'm slowly getting back to sewing, so who knows what the future may bring.

I will leave you with a few photos of my newest addition, the last doll to arrive here this year.  She is a tanned Mini Fee Chloe by the BJD company Fairyland of South Korea, and she is MSD sized, approx 40cm tall.  She has a custom faceup by Caroline of Viridian House in the UK.  I have been hankering after another MSD for a while now, so when this lovely girl was pointed out to be as being for sale here in the EU, I decided to go for her.  I plan on making her some clothes in the New Year but for now she is borrowing from other dolls! :)

Thank you all for visiting and commenting on my blog in 2016, I hope you will continue to come here in 2017.  I wish you all a very Happy and Healthy New Year, may it bring you all that you would want for yourself...and then some! 

With love and big hugs
Sharon xxxx