owlishbree

Before I ordered her, I had a vision of who I wanted this girl to be and I was disappointed when I couldn’t find exactly that (basically Kanata in Tea skin tone) but decided to compromise by getting Athena (tea) and buying her different eyes, glasses, and a brown wig. During the week or two that I attempted to find these items, I kept her bald and tried to make her fit my vision. It didn’t work. I got the brown wig and glasses. It still didn’t work.

So, I decided to try and just get to know her on her own. It finally all came together when I put on her original wig, which I initially hadn’t even wanted. Meet “Thea.”

She may not be a crabby Kanata but she is still introverted. Not stern, but rather strong and calm. And she’s sweet but not naive.

I’ve really enjoyed bonding with her and am really surprised at how much I love this doll.

I dressed my girls for Easter/Spring. I made Saoirse a new necklace with a tiny carrot charm to go with her outfit, and little Kit is rocking some rainbow pastels. I also *just* discovered that Lightroom (I use it to resize and add a watermark) wasn't importing my camera photos in HDR, so hopefully that will fix the quality issue I've been having. I mean, not the photography SKILL quality, that is still very amateur, but I'm choosing enjoyment over perfectionism for once and posting my pics anyway. :-)

Her outfit was definitely a labor of love. I had a fiddly (fun?) time making her tiny necklace from a sterling silver shamrock charm, chain, etc. I added a magnetic clasp for easy dressing. Her top was a second-hand purchase that ended up being way too wide and needed altering, and I made her skirt from a 20cm doll dress that wasn’t being used. I’m not 100% happy with the skirt (alterations can be way more frustrating than sewing a new piece from scratch!) but it’s just for me. 🧵🪡 And I’m quite happy with her overall look, so it’s all good.

After almost 2 months of researching, waiting for a new DDS 2.0 body to air out, dealing with Dollyteria issues trying to purchase a head, and then figuring out how to get freckles on her… "Saoirse" (SEER-sha) is finally here and DONE! 😄

She is a DDS 2.0 and DDH-06 M02 with custom freckles.

And I LOVE HER immensely! <3

Kit's (Tinyfox Little Fox 1/6 doll) new eyes arrived and I am in LOVE with them! They're sooo sparkly and so lively. It almost made me cry when I looked at her yesterday evening and she finally looked like I had envisioned. Sometimes when so much seems out of our control, being able to even just have something small come together in just the way you want it to feels soothing and joyous. :-) Oh, I also just received these lovely little leggings from DollsOfMine shop on Etsy. They're a little bit long for Tinyfox 1/6 but not a deal breaker! The quality is great, they didn't have any strong odors, and they're a local small business for me here in WA. I highly recommend!

I did it... after weeks of agonizing and researching, I MADE A DECISION for my 1st 1/3 girlie... and placed a couple of orders so that I can build a *drum roll* Dolfie Dream Sister doll! Ordered from Volks USA - DDS 2.0 Body in Semi-white. Plus: eyes, wig, anti-stain suit, some accessories, and a couple of outfits.

From Dollyteria (my first order with them, and kinda nervous about the whole overseas shipping etc) - a semi-white DD head

Now here's where the "woe" comes in. I received an email this morning saying that the head I ordered was out of stock, though they haven't refunded my purchase yet. I am going to assume the refund will happen since everyone says they are very reputable. So, I went ahead and placed ANOTHER order with them for a different semi-white head. Now that I have the body and things on the way from Volks, I really hope this second Dollyteria order works out. Wish me luck!

This is possibly pushing me from the edge of hobbyist right into "crazy person" but, IDC, I bought Kit a Valentine gift (my dog and SO and kids were also covered, no worries ;p) of a little, pink heart necklace.

After a short time with the 20cm plush dolls, I realized that I wanted something more than they could offer in terms of customizing, posing, hair styling, etc... something more reminiscent of the fashion dolls which I had always preferred over baby dolls in my youth. Buuuut I LOVE the anime aesthetic. My SO had actually given me a Barbie for Xmas, and while it was fun to unbox one for the first time in decades, I ultimately just couldn't connect with her features and eyes. So, I literally went searching for "anime barbie dolls" online. Eventually I was led to BJDs/MJDs (ball-jointed dolls). And my initial reaction was a hard NO. They seemed too complicated, too delicate, too… niche? (just realized that those are 3 things that I generally dislike about myself lol) But after seeing some very cute anime faces that made me squeee out loud, I decided to try it out and I ordered a "cheap" one from AliExpress. I agonized and took days to decide what to do, but after I placed my order I felt happy and went to look for an online BJD community. I found my way to the /doll and /BJD Reddit and immediately discovered what a "recast" (knock-off, unofficial copy, stolen design etc) was. As an artist and general follower of rules, I just cannot condone this. Horrified that I had possibly unknowingly purchased one of these, I immediately 1) cried, because I hate making big mistakes, especially social ones thanks to years of ASD trauma, 2) cancelled my doll order, and 3) began the deep dive into learning more about these dolls, their history, where to get them legit, and the community.

After learning where to safely buy these, I also discovered that there are actually vinyl body options, most of which are anime designs, and then I was totally in. I ended up choosing a 1/6 Tinyfox doll "Little Fox" that I purchased from Jane's Dolland as a birthday gift to myself and totally fell in love with her. This is "Kit"…

For the most part, she is everything I was looking for! Lovely anime face/eyes, cute features, reasonably poseable, and fun to dress up. Although that cute chubby body does cause some outfit issues. lol I also purchased a "real BJD" with strings etc, a 1/6 UFDoll anime design, but she arrived with a damaged knee (Jane's Dolland will be sending a replacement part but it could take 10+ weeks) and she doesn't have a face-up yet, so her birthday is TBD. Finding 1/6 size clothing and stuff has been really easy and I have a nice, little collection of things for my girls. (So many cute shoes!) I had initally chosen the 1/6 size because Barbie is something I'm familiar with and it seemed like it would be great for posing and customizing. But after sewing a couple of pieces of clothing for her, I have realized that I would definitely like a bigger doll to make outfits for. It really is just harder to make tiny things… something I learned from my time hand-sewing fabric art dolls a few years ago. (See? Dolls dolls dolls! I can't escape my love of them, even in my art <3) So, now I'm on the hunt for a bigger doll and trying to figure out the best size and brand for me. I won't promise that I will never buy other dolls of various sizes (because, lies!) but I'd like this to be my "forever size" to focus on and sew outfits for.

My love of dolls spontaneously reignited last year, and it doesn't look like it's going to fizzle out anytime soon unlike some of my other neurodivergent fixations. Possibly because it's an actual rekindling of something which I have always loved that's just been neglected for years. IDK. Anyway, here I am, looking for a place to share (scream into the void) and maybe even find some other like-minded folks.

THE SPARK: Embarrassingly, my exploration last autumn started by looking up what the heck a Labubu was and seeing that people were dressing lil plush monsters in cute outfits. (Tiny clothes, tiny SHOES!?!) My fun-starved, cute-deprived, empty-nest brain immediately wanted something cute to dress up, too, but not a Labubu. Eventually, searching for kawaii dress-up plushies led me to "cotton dolls" -- AKA - kpop dolls, ufo dolls, 20cm plush dolls, etc -- and I dove in heart and wallet first. My first girl was definitely purchased for too much money, but I love her. I named her Elanor. (see cute photo below with the egg-y outfit I put together for her) She's pure cuteness and innocence and she helped me to reconnect with the childlike part of myself that had been buried by years of, well, life & trauma. I dressed her up. I braided her hair. I talked to her. And I started to feel like myself again (fun & playful!) for the first time in years. And choosing to put my energy into something that was just for me made me feel important TO ME again. It's been a loooong time, friends.