Merry Birthdaymas to me...

Obviously... new doll time!

I've missed having a Yo-SD sized doll around, and I've always wanted a tan BJD, so when Saintbloom announced they would be releasing two of their Rosemary sculpts (Charlotte and Charlie) in brown tan resin, I thought this would be a great opportunity to have a new doll in the size and colour I'm after! I've chosen a Charlotte (the more smiley sculpt), and she's going to be called Kahlua.




It's also a good time to mention that Saintbloom are offering Rosemary Charlotte and Charlie dolls in brown tan up until the 24th December. Get your order in well before Christmas Eve as the ordering period closes Korean time, not GMT! (English Saintbloom site) They're on the less expensive side of BJDs; a 'normal skin' Saintbloom Rosemary (four different sculpts: Charlie, Charlotte, Diana and Betty), would cost $170/£105 blank or $210/£129 with face-up. Also, Saintbloom is a single artist company, so if your interest in dolls is artistic that might appeal!

My tan skin Charlotte cost $210 plus $33 for EMS shipping. I decided not to get a house face-up, I wanted to do my own.

Saintbloom's Rosemary size dolls are the same height as a YoSD and can wear clothes and shoes intended for Yos, LittleFees, Soom Teenie Gems and similar sized BJDs (or larger/non-fitted dresses intended for Momoko/Blythe), but proportionally they are different. Yos and LittleFees are proportioned like small children with larger heads and shorter limbs. Comparatively, Saintbloom Rosemaries have longer limbs and smaller heads - a YoSD can wear a size 6-7 wig, Saintbloom Rosemaries wear size 4-5 wigs!

Because I love to make a collage to plan out new things, here is my collage for Kahlua.

 

My dolls are escapism for me - they wear fantasy coloured wigs, can change their eye colour...and most importantly, they wear clothes that I could never get away with! Kahlua, therefore, is going to be a young teen in the fashion mould of Little Mix. As much as I would love masses of purple hair, braces (suspenders for non-Brits), skin-tight skinny jeans in coloured denim and hi-tops, I think the moment has passed me by and I certainly don't have the right shape for these clothes!

Finding a wig in the right size and the right shade of purple is proving to be quite a challenge. I've gone for a wig in a slightly bigger size, so when Kahlua is here I'll have to do a bit of a trim and take it in a bit at the back to make it fit. The eyes I want are also quite expensive, so I'm putting off getting them and hoping I'll find 8mm eyes in the right colour for less soon!

The other fun development is that as Kahlua is 1/6 scale, I can finally start building a room box! I've always loved other people's dolly dioramas and wanted to make my own but feeling a bit intimidated by the small scale of everything, but this time I am definitely going to do it.
Some cute dioramas! Here! Here! Here!

I bought an ex-window display box from Accessorize in Bangor and that's going to be the base for my diorama. I bought the little house thing as well, it was the same print as the box and although I don't really know what I'm going to do with it, it was only £1, so I thought I might as well pick it up in case I need more card in the same print!

From the front - Looking quite empty at the moment. I need to start measuring for carpets and window placement.

The little box on top was part of a window-display advent calendar, I think. It's pretty cute. Have no idea what to do with it though.

From the side: It's a decent size box, so I should be able to get quite a lot of detail in there.
 

Close up on the print itself: Deer, moose and fir trees!