Dianna Effner sculpted dolls.....

The weather has been awful for the last week and as a result all the photos that I intended taking, didn't get taken.  So I decided to have a look through my photo 'archives' and post some of my favourites here.  I apologise in advance to those of you who've seen these before, I hope you'll forgive me but I don't want to get behind with my blog posts again and ruin my 'New Years Resolution' of posting more often :)

Starting off with my little Tuesday's Child Daniela by Boneka, sculpted by Dianna Effner.  She is ready to do some modelling for me as I'm going to be making a couple of outfits in this size, hopefully starting this coming week :)  Isn't she a cutie!  I sometimes think her curls are a little bit too large for her face and that I might trim them a bit....then I remember that I'm NOT a hairdresser!!! ;)  The outfit below, I made for my YOSD sized BJDs but it fits her perfectly.

And here she is again in her default outfit, with a straw sunhat that I added to keep the sunshine off her face:

Next we have Ellie, a #1 sculpt, who I'm sure most of you know by now as she has been on here so often!  For those who don't know her though, she is a Little Darling handpainted by Dianna Effner.  Her beautiful eyes, which look like glass, are actually painted layer by layer to achieve this wonderful look.  Ellie arrived in May 2014, the first of my Little Darlings to come and live here.

It's hard to believe that her eyelashes, both upper and lower, are actually painted on too....they look like they must be applied lashes, don't they!

Another of my Little Darlings, this one is a #2 sculpt or 'Asian sculpt' and is also sculpted and handpainted by Dianna Effner.  I call her Gem, she came to me secondhand from an old friend in the US back in April 2015....l love this girl too!!!

Next we have another of my sweet Little Darlings, Nikola, another #1 sculpt, this time handpainted by Nelly Valentino in September 2015.  She had a twin who went to live in Switzerland last year, but I kept Nikola as she was my favourite of the two.

Below we have Rory, another #1 sculpt, who is a tanned Little Darling handpainted by Lana Dobbs....I waited so long for this girl, 26 months, that I thought I'd never warm to her!!  But she is so cute that she is still here, having arrived in June 2016!  Although I've not taken that many photos of her, I've no idea why!  I suppose it's a bit like 'first child' syndrome, the first baby always seems to have loads and loads of photos taken of it....as in the case of Ellie who was my first Little Darling, whilst the others only get their pics taken as an 'afterthought'!!

And an extra photo of Rory in the rain because she's been so neglected!!!

Finally we have Reece who is the only one of my Little Darlings that isn't handpainted by  Dianna or one of her artists.  She is factory painted but I enhanced her a little by adding some finishing touches to her face.  Despite her not being an 'artist' doll, I still love her as much as the other four :)   She is a #2 sculpt and came here in September 2014, my second Little Darling to arrive if I remember rightly. 

 
I hope you've enjoyed seeing my Dianna Effner sculpted dolls again, and apologies that these photos aren't new, but I thought 'old' was better than nothing at all :)   I will try to get more photos of my dolls once the weather improves :)

I hope you all have a great week ahead and that if you're having problems with your weather too, it soon improves :)

Big hugs Sharon x

Trying outfits for size....

Jo, my new Zwergnase Junior Miriam has been trying on outfits for size as, at 55cm tall she is the biggest of my 'play dolls', excluding my two Himstedt dolls, and so far we haven't got much to wear in her size!  I tried lots of things on her and had intended taking more photos of her in different outfits, but Sods Law the weather today has been dreadful with really, really high winds that have smashed several of our flowerpots and uprooted trees locally, not conducive to taking dolly photos!  So I will just show her in the one outfit I photographed yesterday......

I made these overalls/dungarees for a Super Dollfie sized BJD so they are way too long on Jo but they do fit her quite well elsewhere, so she is wearing them for the time being.  They really could do with an extra snap put on the sides where the gingham pocket backs are, as she is currently showing off her knickers from the side!  I guess she has a bigger tummy than the BJD they were made for!!

Her hat is from another doll who's name escapes me but one of the doll companies here in Spain....

Leoni (Violet) also got a change of outfit this week but hers is new and I didn't make it, I bought it online.....it's nice to have someone else do all the hard work sometimes!  I really like this fine needle cord jacket and skirt with the orange long sleeved top and the striped leggings.  The hat and ankle warmers are from Kidz n Cats.

And finally, just a quick photo of the beach and the sea taken a couple of days ago on my afternoon walk....yes the morning one was missed as I overslept!!!

The afternoons at this time of year are also great for walking except that Lucy and I keep getting caught up by the local goatherds and their hundreds of goats as they walk through the campo as we do!!  Lucy goes berserk and wants to 'help' with rounding them up.....whilst I always seem to get embroiled in conversations about the weather....and we don't get very far very quickly!!!

The goats are very interested in Lucy and not in the least bothered by her mad barking at them!  

Well, thank you for visiting, I hope you've all had a good weekend and that you have a great week ahead!

Big hugs, Sharon xx

Zwergnase Juniors....

Somehow, having always said that I only wanted one Zwergnase Junior, I seem to have ended up with six!!!  Dee (of Sasha Village), herself a fan of these dolls, asked me to show mine altogether, so I've taken some photos today to share....and thought I'd add them on here.

Here are the six girls all in a row: (Left to right: Simona, Avery, Brit (re wigged), Violet, Galina and grumpy little Anuschka.

And here they are by year of release: (L to R: Avery (2017), Galina (2017), Violet (2016), Simona (2013), Anuschka (2006) and Brit (2006).

Of the girls in my group above, all but Simona are wigged and all girls have hand painted eyes and faces. 

The earlier girls are slightly smaller than the later ones, and as far as I can see, this is only due to the necks, which on the girls since 2016 are a little longer.  I don't know if this is because they are actually made longer or because the neck actually sits higher.  Either way it is more noticeable when the dolls are undressed.

Here are some closeups of the girls:

This is Anuschka from 2006.  This used to be my least favourite sculpt until my friend Jenni talked about her girl of the same sculpt.  I kept looking at her and that was it, I was lost and this little lady came here in November.  I love her!  I love her grumpy face and her unruly fluffy hair.  I think I might call her Annie. 

This is Avery who is one of the new sculpts for 2017.  Avery appealed to me as soon as I saw her face, she just looked so bossy!  The set of her chin, her very slight frown and those pursed lips said it all to me!  This outfit is her default one and is very cute on her, not something I would have chosen for her but it does seem to suit her personality!

Next up is Brit who is from 2006.  I have re wigged her with this Tibetan lambswool wig that I made especially for her.  I thought that it was her default wig that I was struggling with but no, I am still struggling with poor Brit.  I think she might soon be looking for a new adventure in another home!  

The next little girl is Galina, she is also from the new 2017 line of Juniors.  She is another that I fell in love with straight away and seeing her in the flesh has just made me love her more.  She has the sweetest little face, quite serene at times but then at others she looks very sad.  I hope she's not sad though!!  This outfit is her default one but soon I will make her something new to wear.

This is Simona who I prefer to call Simone.  Simone is from 2013 and I used to have her red headed sister but decided to re-home her and invite Simone to come and stay here instead.  I love this face.  She is another sculpt that sometimes looks incredibly grumpy but then at other times looks like she is about to laugh.  I think this is what I like about these dolls, the fact that with just the slightest movement of their heads, a tilt this way or that, they come up with a whole new expression on their faces that you just weren't expecting!  Simone is the only one of my girls who has rooted hair.  

And finally here is Violet who I call Leoni, she is from the Spring Collection of 2016 and the moment I saw her so I knew she'd have to come here.  I love her face, she really does have a serene look to her, like she knows all the wonders of nature but hasn't yet shared them!  (Yes, I'm nuts!) I love her curls (although this is her second wig as her original went very dry on the ends and Zwergnase replaced it, although I had to pay for the replacement!).  I have added small freckles and more blush to her face as unfortunately her face paint didn't appear to be sealed and her blush wiped off!  I really should have sent the doll back when the company asked me to but by then I was quite attached to her and decided to just order the new wig instead.  

I hope you have enjoyed seeing my Zwergnase Junior girls and reading a little bit more about them and their 'personalities'.

I wish you all a very happy week ahead and hope wherever you are, you are dressed for the weather and keeping safe.

Big hugs Sharon xx

A little bit of sewing....

I haven't been sewing much since August, in fact I've really had no inclination to sew either, however just recently the urge to do something 'creative' has been niggling there at the edge of my brain, so finally, after a few false starts, I've made a new outfit for one of my dolls.

The doll who was lucky enough to get a new outfit was Devlin, my blond 1969 PJs Gregor.  He is a cutie but is seriously in need of restringing, and hasn't had anything new to wear in ages.  So I looked through my photo album of 'clothing ideas' and found this photo:

It's a little boys outfit from my favourite children's clothing shop, Raquel's in Torre del Mar, a lovely but very expensive shop I might add! 

 Because I was feeling a bit lazy after so long without sewing, I decided to make my boys outfit with short sleeves rather than long cuffed ones, (plus it is still warm enough for him to wear short sleeves in the sunshine!) and whereas the shirt in the shop window was without a collar, I wanted this rounded collar on mine.   I also added knee high navy blue socks and he is wearing black leather boots by Ruthsdolls.   I'm very happy with how Devlin looks in his new clothes.

I now want to make two more boy outfits for my other Gregors but so far 'thinking about it' is as far as I've got! LOL

Thank you for stopping by, I hope you all have a lovely week a head :)

A little girl comes to stay....

Today a little girlie came to live here in Spain with us.  The little girl in question is a Disney Animator doll that has been customised by an artist in Germany.  She is a Rapunzel doll from the Disney film 'Tangled' and is about 15 inches tall, an all vinyl 'play doll'.  These dolls have five joints, neck, shoulders and hips.  They are good quality and when buying default directly from the Disney store are very well priced.  The dolls hair is very soft and silky. 

Rapunzel fits into Sasha outfits and below is seen wearing an smock dress and shorts which I made some time ago from a Sasha pattern.  Shoes and socks are also made for Sasha.

Because Rapunzel has extremely long hair I cut it into a bob which is shorter at the back and then tapers to longer at the front.  I love how her eyes are hand painted, they are so pretty and much nicer than the default dolls eyes which are sprayed on.

The nude doll has painted on knickers, as shown here: (not my photo)

And here she is with her newly styled hair:  (I would prefer the dress a little shorter on her if I make another one)

A close up of the handpainted eyes.....

I also have two of these dolls that are still in their default state, so now I plan on customising them myself.....watch this space!!!

I hope you've enjoyed seeing this little review of a customised Disney Animator doll.

Have a great weekend everyone!