#doll customising

Self indulgent Chi Chi (dollightful) stimboard!

My most detailed doll yet and the first where I documented my process with the intention of posting it online. I hope you all enjoy!

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Everything made by me expect the following:

* Trousers (originally standard Mattel Ken doll trousers)

* Shirt (made by MonaSobotkova on Etsy, modified by me)

* Bones (made by LIKEMiniature on Etsy, modified by me)

* Hatchet and axe (found on Amazon)

* Doll stand (an eBay find)

Original doll is a Gal Gadot style Wonder Woman Diana doll

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I used Rit Dyemore! Make sure it's Dyemore and not All-Purpose :]

There are some tutorials out there for dying dolls, but here are some tips -

You will need:

- Dye for synthetic materials in the colour/s you want

- A dedicated pot that won't be used for cooking again - stainless steel is a good option, avoid aluminium as it can cause green staining

- Something to hold the doll / parts suspended in the water (eg. a mesh bag)

- A little bit of dish detergent to break up the surface tension/prevent the dye from filming

- Isopropyl Alcohol and a melamine sponge or something else to wipe with

- A plastic tub for warm water

- If you're dyeing in a kitchen, something to protect your surfaces eg. some old towels

- Some rubber gloves - you're going to be working with heat

process and more tips under the cut:

recently decided to try re-repainting and improving some of my not so great dolls from when I was starting out.

I repainted her face, put a new skirt on her dress, and added some more accessories.

I also stripped off the painted on stockings on her legs, which ended up needing to be sanded off as isopropyl was doing nothing and the acetone damaged the plastic.

due to getting careless from frustration i also accidentally got some acetone on their bodies so they have some melted scars now :( which sucks bc i bought them for their MTM bodies to begin with and removing the facepaint and repainting them was just supposed to be something unimportant to do with their old heads while i figure out what new heads to put on them..... so, lesson learned, pop the heads off before attempting to remove the paint on the pixelated dolls bc all the hard work makes it way more likely to accidentally damage the bodies.

Warning- this got a little long lol. Doll transformation pics at the end!!

Soo, over a month ago I finally received a doll that I've been waiting for for weeks, but what was supposed to be a happy day turned into dread as I realised that I did not like her. Now, no shade to anyone who has her and loves her! I hope you do, since she deserves it. She's just not for me.

It shouldn't have been that way; I did my research and waited for two weeks before ordering it to make sure it wasn't just an impulse buy. I looked trough all the pictures and I loved them.

It just wasn't meant to be, I guess.

She's been sitting on my desk for over a month. I tried posing her in interesting ways and changing her outfit, but it didn't work. I was scared of personalising and drastically changing her, just in case I decided to resell. But still, nothing worked, and seeing her just filled me with dread and regret. It made me dislike her even more, to the point of not just disappointment over her but actually hating her.

Finally, I decided to talk to my boyfriend about the situation. He doesn't know anything about dolls, but he'll happily listen to me ramble about anything, which is one of the best ways to find solutions (if you don't have a boyfriend, talking to a friend/toy/imaginary person works the same way!). I realised that it was honestly just the doll's head that bothered me. As it happens, I have a doll on the way whose head I could take- I wasn't planning on using it anyway. The neck peg fit, and so I went on to make plans to totally change the doll! The original:

Looking back, she's really not the worst. It was just my regret taking over, but I'm happy I ended up changing her.

Now, for the transformation! I transed the doll hehe^_^ I made this lil edit and fell in love with him instantly. The head is from UfDoll Doremi series. I don't have it yet, but the neck peg fits so I think the head should too. I want him to be a sheep-satyr!

First thing I did was the dye job on his legs. The original white was a little strange to me with the hair tufts. I think the brown gradient looks much nicer, and it makes the hooves so much prettier!

Since I don't have the head yet, the only thing left to do was clothes!

I really like how his outfit came out! I gave him a ring as an anklet and a hair-adornment for his arm. The loincloth is made from an old pair of pants. I made the scarf by sewing a rectangle into a tube and putting a piece of wire inside, so it keeps the shape.