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.

Badly needed update!

Oh dear, look at this. Nearly a month has gone by without a blog post!

I really am useless!

However, I'm pretty good a Christmas shopping. I'm right on top of things this year. The only two presents left to buy are flowers for my Nain, which I'll buy closer to the day, and some Walnut Whips for my Dad, which are proving difficult to find. I found a pack of 8 miniature ones in Marks & Spencer for £1.49, but that feels like a very cheap present even though my Dad is adamant that he doesn't want anything.

As usual, I am also very good at taking care of myself too.

It's work's Christmas party this weekend, and I finished off my outfit with a cape from River Island and a clutch bag from New Look. Here's a handy collage;

 

Green dress from the ASOS sale a few months ago

Black and gold wedges from New Look (my birthday present from Nain)

Black tights I already have 

Black devore cape from River Island - expensive, but I'm going to wear it to EVERYTHING

Black/gold lattice clutch bag from New Look

I'm not one of these girls who can't bear to be seen out in the same thing time and again, so I'll be wearing this exact outfit a lot. I've already worn the dress and the wedges, although not together. After the work Christmas party, I'll wear this to my birthday dinner on the 23rd December, and no doubt it'll come out again for New Year's Eve!

The picture of the cape is actually the back to show off the designs. I feel like a dark and mysterious version of Professor Trelawney when I wear it. It's amazing. 

 

Mojito!

This is the little planning doll I've made for Miss Mojito.

I have adopted an unassembled Alchemic Labo Unoa Sist kit from the collection of my friend d.ark, who passed away in May this year. This kit is something to remember her by, because she adored her Unoas and was a fan of everything Araki. It's an unusual position to be in, to be excited for the arrival of a new dolly but at the same time miss the person the doll belonged to and know that if d.ark was still with us she'd be assembling the doll herself.

I'm hoping that d.ark would have liked the plans I have for this doll.

Mojito is going to be the embodiment of my favourite cocktail! Minty fresh and sparkly! I also recommend it made with pink lemonade - it's fantastic!

Awaiting her arrival, I already have;

• LR-102_D wig from Leekeworld in 'Pale Turquoise', which comes up as a nice minty green (I am still on the lookout for a true green wig though eagle-eyed folks)
• 12mm Enchanted Doll pupilless Milky eyes in a half light mint/half dark mint
• Wimukt mori outfit
• Dale Rae pink suede flats

I have been a bit frugal this time - the only new thing I've bought for Mojito is her wig. Her eyes, clothes and shoes are already in my doll wardrobe!

While B's away...

I clearly have a shopping addiction.

B has been away at Download Festival this weekend and while he's been away I have bought;

• 1 Volks Rose head
• 1 Little Monica 'Simply Bob' wig in Dark Chocolate
• 1 Little Monica silicone wig cap
• Mori-Girl outfit set by Wimukt
• 1 blue polkadot playsuit by Dorset Clothing
• 1 BJD photo backdrop (a library)
• 1 pair Releaserain 4-strap SD shoes in Pearl Tan
• 3 new pieces of fabric (Russian Matryoshka, Little Red Riding Hood & stripe & anchor designs)

We're going to Liverpool in two weeks for a little holiday and I've paid for the hotel too.

I have a problem. It's so easy to just click on stuff!

I'm pleased to announce, though, that Momoko (my Dollfie Dream) is on layaway and her new owner will have her in two months' time. So in the spirit of out with the old and in with the new...I'm going to get a lot of the old out. I know I keep saying it, but I really do mean it this time.

Incoming...Shopping ban, what shopping ban?

More incomings!

It's summer time (not that you'd guess from the weather we've been having in Wales recently...), and that means I start thinking about all my unfinished stories and original characters again.

A character I've attempted to write about numerous times is a little girl called Gwenllian Cyffin, who has a strong nose, blue/grey eyes, a brown bob and a marvellous gift for languages. My first ever BJD (Soulkid Snyder) grew into this character and a whole world developed around her. I didn't want Gwenllian to stay a child for ever and her mini-sized self needed to be reshelled into a new resin incarnation. Sadly, she stayed in a box for over a year because I was too frustrated with her size to do much with her -- particularly as her two best friends (Mafonwen and Deryn) ended up being SD-sized dolls.

Both of the candidates for older Gwenllian can be seen in the above picture. Little Monica Reynell (in the brown wig) was the outstanding favourite for a very long time...but when putting her picture next to Maf and Deryn, I felt that Reynell looked older again. A girl in her twenties rather than a schoolgirl in her teens.

I then discovered (or re-discovered) Volks Bianka/Rose (Rose is in the pink wig)! Looking around on Mandarake, I found a Bianka for a very good price (but still out of my reach without a layaway.) My big breakthrough happened last night when I found a Volks Rose head on eBay being sold by a DoA member with a great reputation for a great price and (as it was payday) I didn't think twice.

So, Gwenllian-at-16 is going to be Volks Rose :) She will have to share Deryn's body for now because Gwenllian and Deryn are both taller than Mafonwen, but eventually I'll get her an SD13 body of her own.

The outfit in the picture is by Wimukt/Foxybrowny and sized for Volks SDGrG dolls. They are a bit slimmer than SD13s and SD10s but this outfit is quite baggy, so it shouldn't be a problem for her to wear. Gwenllian is a little bit mori and a little bit steampunk and a very cool character. I saw this outfit by Wimukt in March of this year, but only after it had sold! I hoped that Wimukt would re-release this outfit because it would be perfect for Gwenllian. Morideryn is my mori girl, but her colours are warm pinky, orangey browns. Gwenllian wears greys and blues.

The Simply Bob wig in Dark Chocolate (modelled by Little Monica Reynell) is Gwenllian's only wig. For as long as I've known her as a character, she's always had her thick brown hair bobbed (probably always will) and as soon as I saw the wig advertised on the Little Monica website, I knew it was perfect for Gwenllian. I bought the same style in 'carrot' colour for Deryn and I love everything about the wig. My other new favourite wig seller, Crobidoll, didn't have exactly the right colour I needed. Their CRWL-66 bob in 'Powder Brown' was the closest I could find and the colour was a bit too reddish.

The Volks Rose head I bought is coming with the default Rose eyes (grey/purple with black line Volks HG glass eyes), so Gwenllian should have the right colour...but if they're more purple than grey, I have some Hand Glass Craft eyes in turquoise that should look good. Gwenllian has steel blue/grey eyes and I think that when you're resinating an existing character, it's often the eyes that have to be perfect pretty soon after you start putting your character doll together. If you can see the character in those eyes, you can cope with the not-quite-right wig and the sort-of clothes and the nearly-there face-up. That's what I think anyway :)

Ultimately I will get Gwenllian on Viridian House's waiting list for a brand new face-up, but I don't want to arrange a slot until she's physically in my possession.

I bought the original Gwenllian in 2008 while I was struggling to write my undergraduate dissertation. She was my muse for that. Perhaps the new Gwenllian will be my muse now, and I'll actually finish something!

Incoming!

Incoming! Clockwise from top; Pink rockinghorse shoes (MSD-size) by Releaserain, patterned skirt by Fyrd8th's Etsy shop, white rockinghorse shoes (SD-size) by Releaserain and the 'Move On Aubrie' steampunk set by Dollheart.

More clothes and, as usual, they're not for me! Of course I'm excited for all of them, but my coup purchase was the Dollheart outfit (there's a better picture of it on my Pinterest.) Dollheart is expensive, but the quality is undeniable and I don't mind paying for that. I also love that there are so many pieces to one Dollheart outfit (this one even includes boots!!) so it's easy to mix and match. This outfit has hat (with steampunk goggles), shirt, jabot with cameo brooch, corsetdress, skirt, cuffs, shorts, stockings and gaiters.


Why two pairs of rockinghorse shoes? Well...rockinghorse shoes are a Lolita fashion staple and I think it's a really cute look, especially for dolls.


The pink pair are for 1/4 scale BJDs (MSD/MiniFee/Kid Delf/Lati Blue...) and they're going to my Volks Kurenai, Melangell. The pink shoes compliment the pink in her patterened skirt from Fyrd8th. For a proper, prim loli look she'll wear white stockings, white bloomers, a petticoat and a white Dollheart shirt. I have a pink ribbon in the same colour as the shoes and accent on the skirt that I'll tie in a bow under her shirt collar.


As for the white pair, they are for 1/3 scale BJDs (Super Dollfie/Delf/Dollfie Dream...) and they're not going to belong to anyone in particular. They're going to complete my Dollheart Pure Maid outfit.

(picture not mine!)
 
I got most of the pieces of this outfit in a Dollheart Fukubukuro (lucky bag) a few years ago and my dolls usually wear it with burgundy Dale Rae flats, but I think it will look a lot cuter with rockinghorse shoes.

Please check out The Vintage Pearl, it's a fashion blog run by the lovely well-travelled and well-dressed Miss Iffa!

Sales

I sold two dolls today! I have had my Souldoll Soulkids, Snyder and Harang, in boxes for a very long time and today they both found new owners within a very short time of me putting up sales threads!

I originally tried trading them for two custom kimono which fell through when the seamstress flaked and I tried again trading them for more custom doll clothing, but the trader I was working with has been AWOL for 10 months. :( These dolls have been in storage for most of the time I've actually had them!

I'm so glad that they're moving on to nice new homes! The Soulkid Snyder, actually my first BJD, is going to a lovely new home in Germany and the Soulkid Harang was my first boy doll, my third doll overall. He is going to Kent - the buyer bought him as a surprise for someone special and Harang is going to be their project.

I thought I might be sad to see them go, but I'm actually just relieved about it. They really have been here long enough. I want them to go somewhere they'll really be appreciated and be put on display as they deserve. :)

The other AMAZING thing about today is that the SD13 body I bought for Deryn has arrived! Trouble is, it's at B's in Bangor and I won't be able to go pick her up until Monday. I'm so grateful he let me have her posted to his though, it also means he'll get to see dolly-squee first hand ;) Be afraid, be very afraid! I'll need to charge my DSLR and remember to bring Deryn's head, the doll carrier and some clothes with me, otherwise she'll be naked and stuffed into my handbag, poor thing.

I can't wait for her to be in one (resin) piece. It's been nice having her as a full doll on the Dollfie Dream body, but it'll be awesome when she's on her SD13 one. I also need to buy some more BJD elastic. Mafonwen badly needs restringing - I'm such a bad dolly owner.

There are a few dolls I would really like, (LittleFee PongPong has been released and it's such a cutie!) ...But I think my focus now should really be on getting my existing collection to a point where I'm content with it. I don't really need any new dolls because I have hardly any time to do anything with the ones I already have. I need to streamline my collection so I'm only keeping the dolls I really want to keep and I also need a dolly wardrobe clear-out. My dolls have a lot of kit they don't really wear!


Ultimately, I think I would be happy with two SDs (my Megu and my School B are 100% staying), my two SDCs and perhaps one more Yo to go with Mari-chan. So I'd be looking to sell my Inkling, my Dollfie Dream and my project Volks old F-03 FCS head. We'll see. It's taken me years to find new homes for my Soulkids!

It was a nice day...

Good Omens has to be one of my most favourite books in the entire universe. That's pretty high praise considering all the books there are in the universe and considering how many books I've actually read over the past 23 years of my reading life, but it's justified, I think.

My paperback copy gets read at least three times every year and I never get bored of it. It's my go-to book when I'm having a sick day, it comes with me on holidays, it's the first book I reach for when I want to read but don't really know what I want to read. It covers all the bases. Considering how many times I've read it, it never gets old and it never dates.

My paperback is battered now and the pages are loose...so to stop any further deterioration (the pages are yellowed and it's been dropped in the bath before today too!) I bought a copy for my Kindle. What a brilliant decision!! I really can read it everywhere now.

Buying my Kindle was also a brilliant decision. I got it almost a year ago so I could keep all my journal articles all in one place without printing them or dragging my laptop everywhere, and she's been invaluable. Did I say she? Well, my Kindle is a girl - I named her 'Ziyal' because there were all these hand-wringing reports that eBooks would be the end of 'real' books...and while I was using my Kindle I realised that it's not a book replacement, it's a hybrid. I could have named my Kindle 'Spock' after the most famous hybrid in Trek history, but I chose Ziyal because as an artist from a mixed heritage I think she'd have appreciated the mixture of print with technology and understood.

I've been a bit naughty, buying Kindle books and downloading the free ones (I bought the Hunger Games books, and I now have the entire catalogue of Oz books!), but I know the train journey to London is going to take a while and B is going to need sleep after all the hours he's been putting in finishing his essay and researching for his dissertation. These will keep me occupied while he rests up!

Morideryn

Source: flickr.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Here is Morideryn! She should be celebrating because I started a layaway for her real body today!

I did want to get her an Ariadoll Elegance 14yrs body, but Ariadoll are closing on the 31st of March and Switch are taking over their moulds and sculpts after that. I didn't know whether to rush and get an Ariadoll body now, or wait and see what Switch would do...but I could end up not liking the new things they do with the sculpts.

Eventually I saw a Volks SD13 girl body on the MP at DoA at a really good price and decided that was the right body to get.

While I really love the Aria body and think it is very elegant, I did worry about if I ever was able to go to a Volks Dolpa (a dolls party held by the Volks company), I wouldn't be able to bring Deryn because she'd be on another company's body. This way, I know that the resin-match would be perfect and she'll be a full Volks doll, rather than a hybrid, so if there ever was any chance I could go to a Dolpa, I wouldn't have to leave her behind.

The other consideration is Deryn's actual character. She is the daughter of the chief of a nomadic, forest-dwelling tribe and a crack-shot with a bow and arrow and a sling. Princesses are supposed to be willowy and lithe, like the Ariadoll body, but a tribal princess who herds reindeer and lives off bread and stew isn't going to be a skinny minnie. She's going to have some meat on her bones and the Volks SD13 body is like that. It has soft curves and some musculature, which is perfect.

Here is Morideryn's backstory;

Deryn's full name is Morideryn (a Welsh-Japanese portmanteau meaning 'forest bird') and she comes from a northern nomadic people called the Mori, who are all red-haired, raucous and brave. They move from high-ground summer lands in the north to low-ground and sheltered winter lands in the south every year and drive their herds of reindeer and well-trained herdwolves with them.

Deryn is the daughter of a chief, Moribran, and his wife, Alis, who is an outsider to the tribe. As Deryn is only half-Mori, her father decides to send her to her mother's people to be educated at a very posh school called Graiglwyd College for Young Ladies, where they speak her mother's language.

Deryn is a very sweet-natured girl, but this is sharply contrasted with her abilities to hunt things single-mindedly - she can kill, skin and joint a rabbit inside ten minutes and she's a crack shot with a sling. She never forgets she's a Mori princess and although she's never snobbish about it, she does expect to be treated with respect.

Her prized possessions are her reindeer hide boots, decorated with hand-carved buttons and leather cord by her Mori grandmother, and her lucky wishbone and pearl necklace which is the inheritance of the eldest daughter of the Mori chief. She is supposed to have traditional tattoos of birds in flight on her shoulders, (I haven't done this yet because she's sharing another doll's body!)

In Mori culture, it is more important to be brave and strong than pretty, and although she is flattered that her new school friends think she is beautiful, Deryn thinks it's the least important thing about her.

Busy busy

Busy week has begun! I've got a lot more overtime at work this week (6.30am starts! Argh!) but right now I'm relaxing at B's while he is off attending a warden meeting.

My spending control has gone a little awry again, but I'll get back into my good books soon. There really were things I couldn't live without!!

Dr Marten boots I've been looking for since 2009 came up on eBay brand new, so I couldn't not buy them. It was a tense battle, but I finally won my dream boots - RRP £140, price I paid, £70! I'm so pleased with them!

Source: ecx.images-amazon.com via Jessica on Pinterest

So, that's been a fun part of the naughty shopping!

What else? Oh, I bought two new books for my Kindle; The Red Tent and Living a Jewish Life by Anita Diamant. The Red Tent is fiction, it's about Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and Leah, and her life after the Shechem incident, where her brothers, Simeon and Levi slaughtered every man in the town of Shechem after Dinah attracted the attentions of the prince. It's a sad story anyway, I'd never have forgiven my brothers for committing murder, especially in my name. The Red Tent does a good job of fleshing out a lot of characters you only really know by name in the Bible, but there's some bestiality and totem worshipping going on that doesn't really sit quite right!

I'm enjoying reading Living a Jewish Life more than The Red Tent. Possibly because it's a fun reference book about including more Jewish things into everyday life. I already try keeping kashrut, I don't eat pork and shellfish anyway, but I keep forgetting about separating meat and dairy - so far this has extended to having pizzas with no chicken on them, but I seem to forget when it comes to cheeseburgers. I have a long way to go!

I bought a Mori Girl skirt today from a shop in Conwy - it's a sweet little shop full of boutiquey things like bunting and hand-made ceramic doorknobs. There's a small selection of clothes, but everything is so perfectly Mori Girl I wanted to buy it all! The skirt is a beigey-undyed linen colour and it'll go amazingly with my new DMs. I'm wearing Mori Girl right now, my new skirt, some crochet tights, some old brown boots, a teal top and a cream cardigan. I have a rope of beads around my neck and a ribbon in my hair :) I really like Mori Girl style, it's so relaxed but also fairytale/artisanal. B said I looked like an artist dressed this way :p

Positiver and Positiver

Now I've got the big groan out of the way, I can talk about more fun/interesting things!


This month I'm going to LONDON :D B and I are going to stay with L&C and try and meet up with as many folks as possible, whilst also attempting to see the sights. B wants to see Freedom Press and the Houses of Parliament, I'm bringing a BJD for fun travel dolly photos - I want one of Melangell sat in an iconic red phonebox.


I've started to be more of a physically organised person - mentally I can be organised and I write lots of lists, but I seem to leave disorder wherever I go. My room is a shit-tip, quite frankly. I have so many things going on with my wardrobe that it's unreal. Anyway. I threw out lots of rubbish at the weekend, and today I'm sorting through my wardrobe; things to throw, things to keep, things to donate and things for Ro.


 Later on I'm meeting up with my friend, Ro, and her baby (my godson!) for tea, cake and a chat! We're trying to meet up at least every fortnight so that he starts remembering who I am (he'll be 9 months old this month) and also so she gets some grown-up chat and to see a face other than her fiance's! I'll be bringing a bag of clothes for her - things that don't suit me but I bought anyway...that kind of thing ;) I keep my clothes in very good condition and she threw away a lot of her pre-pregnancy clothes thinking they wouldn't fit her afterwards (oops!)


Another postive thing is mexican fajita Pringles. They taste amazing. B and I had some yesterday and they were fantastic.


So, not everything is grumbles! There's a lot of positive stuff too!

Busy Month!

January is almost over now! I can't believe how fast 2012 is going already.

This has been quite a busy month. I've been busy with work as well as resurrecting my Poupée Girl account. That's my profile in the link. It's a sort of Japanese fashion/social network where you upload pictures of your clothes for others to admire and you earn ribbons and jewels to spend on clothes for your 'Poupée'. It's much better that I spend fictional ribbons and jewels on stuff than actual money! I need to be sensible and save up!


My new favourite company is Crobidoll. I haven't bought a new doll from them, I bought a wig for Melangell. Well, I originally ordered two but when one was sold out, I got a quick email from Crobi explaining that I could either have a refund to my Paypal or they'd give me store credit so I could buy another wig from them another time. I asked for a refund because I wasn't sure when I'd next be buying a wig and that was super fast too - this was barely 48 hours ago...and today I had a package from Crobi with the wig I ordered (gorgeous, soft and glossy!) as well as a freebie furwig and some stickers saying 'A Present for You'. How lovely :) The customer services person who emailed me was extremely nice and wished me a happy new year - I thought that because of the Lunar New Year and most Korean companies being on holiday that my order wouldn't come until next week or even later if they had to sort through the post. I am beyond impressed with them and I definitely recommend them.

Sales Stuff!

Last night I stayed over at B's and because the weather was awful, we made a cheerful, bright-coloured Moroccan chicken dish. Sadly we didn't have the tagine to serve it in, but it was yummy anyway. We used chicken thighs, chopped apricots, chickpeas, paprika, turmeric, tomato puree, coriander, parsley and butter and it was really tasty - the only thing I would change for next time is use chicken breasts or cut the meat off the bone because the meat was very tender after being cooked and it fell off the bones leaving gristly bits lurking in the food :s That bit wasn't recommended!

We had some glasses of a cab sauv and watched two Australian films; The Castle and The Dish, while the rain and wind lashed outside.

Today, B had to go to the library and hand in an essay, so I decided to go and spend some of my Christmas money!

I bought;

Accessorize - a wishbone bracelet (perfect scale for a long pendant for a doll!), a wishbone necklace (for me :p), a cameo pendant, a long fringed necklace for mum, nail varnish in Apricot Crush and a ballerina slippers charm for my charm bracelet from Y.

Topshop - a Bajoran-style earring (a hook for a pierced ear and an earcuff joined by a chain - this one has a genuine chunk of turquoise and some feathers) and some white rose hairclips
WHSmith - hole reinforcers, some pens and an address book for work
Chelsea Doll - a black handbag like a Mulberry Alexa and some Barry M mock croc crackle paint


Why hole reinforcers, you ask? Well I saw this manicure tutorial by Wayward Daughter and I've always wanted to try it myself. So far it's worked well!

I've been playing with my nails quite a bit since Christmas, trying different things. I had black lace nail transfers over a nude base and they looked quite classy for New Year. Today I'm wearing my new Claire's grey nail varnish with unpainted lunulas :) Tomorrow it'll probably be my new apricot nail varnish from Accessorize!