Months Later

Wow..time has flown past. My job has been keeping me pretty occupied. I ended up not meshing with my Celine so I did sell her to someone who would appreciate her more. I'm still trying to sell my Withdoll but it seems no one is interested. I ended up liking the Littlefee Mio so I sold my Pukifee. The LTF size just seems to suit me better. She's still small but easier to pose and handle at least in my opinion.

I have thought a lot recently of offering face-up services for Monster High dolls. I really enjoy them but I think my personal collection is getting to big, haha.

Anyhow, work is going back to 8 hour days so I'm  hoping to feel more energized and creative. fingers crossed.

USPS Rant

Well, I know that I've been spamming a lot of blogs recently (that no one reads ^^), I go back to work tomorrow so I promise they'll slow down after today. But this is something that has been building for a while so I just need to get it out.

I despise USPS... Before joining the doll hobby, I rarely ordered anything online. But since, whether it is dolls from companies, Etsy purchases or second hand items for DoA's marketplace I've been shipping and receiving a lot of items through USPS. And almost every single time something goes wrong.

Tracking doesn't update, the items is lost for weeks travelling to places no where near the destination, or items are just lost in the abyss of nothing - kinda like where socks go when you lose them at the laundry mat. And every time something goes amiss calling them is worthless. Honestly, it's the heart wrenching worry of losing an item in transit that has me weary of purchasing things each and every time, plus the insane fees I pay to bring this worry upon myself. So what am I doing about it? My recent order will be sent to me via UPS and I will see if I suffer the same anxiety.

So I apologize for this rant - it was brought on by a tracking update 2 months after the original ship date.

Unsatisfied Ending

Well I didn't get everything done I wanted to. I've been working on my Celine's face up only for the weather that had been sunny and mild for weeks past to turn rainy and humid today... causing my sealant to chip and for the work I've done so far all be for not. Joy.
So nothing can be done for it.
Otherwise it's been a nice relaxing week the only downfall is it is over.

Spring Break: To Do List

So, to better motivate myself to get things done I decided to post my list of goals. Here it goes:

1. Clean Craft Room
2. Sew Dog Bandanas
3. Sew Minifee Top(s)/Dress(es)
4. Paint Celine's Face up

and if the supplies arrive this week:
5. Make Necklace

On top of all this Brigg's newest Mercy Thompson book arrives tomorrow so I'll probably pull an all-nighter to read it. So far today... I've done laundry and cleaning, but they're things that need to be done to give me a clear head to do the things I want to do. Time to start on my craft room.

Plans for the Coming Week

Working for a college means staff and faculty get a Spring Break too, so I've decided to use next week for craft time. I ran low on my purity seal and instead of buying it again went for the more expensive MSC and I have to say the difference at least on Monster High dolls is incredible. I painted a MH doll I had laying around as a test and I'm just amazed at how much more tooth and how much smoother it looks. So Painting my Celine this week is on the agenda.

I also ordered some fabric from a few sellers on Etsy. I'm really excited to sew some tops for my dolls. And I just ordered a new foot for my sewing machine which will hopefully help with the quality. I know I need to get a new machine but am unsure of which one and don't want to make another poor purchase.

Hopefully this mean I'll have a few progress photos to post this week, but first I have to clean my craft room. >.<

Unexpected Trade

I recently added a Fairyland Moe Line Luka to my group to play the role of a pin-up/suicide girl. I had searched flickr and doll forums form months to make sure I liked the sculpt. This was all before the initial release of the M-Line body. Then the body came out as a limited time release and I decided to take the plunge. After receiving her, I was really excited and pleased. But when I started to build her character, there was just a disconnect and I honestly couldn't take looking at her. I was just going to wipe her and see if I could make a character that fit, but I decided to put her up as a trade to see if I could get a different head. I wasn't expecting to actually get an offer of the Chloe or Celine heads I was searching for, but thanks to a wonderful lady, I was able to trade my Luka for a Celine (Thank you so much if you're reading this! ^^).

I'm really excited to try developing Celine and hope she'll fit the character I imagine. I had planned on having her faceup completed this weekend so I could post pictures, but I start my new job tomorrow and the stress has stripped all my creativity. I have my fingers crossed that the stress will ease by next weekend so I can give it a shot. 

I'm also excited because I splurged this time and actually bought a can of Mr. Super Clear UV Cut. I've always used Purity Seal in the past, and while it works, it's kinda splotchy and temperamental. I've read so many good things about MSC that I'm excited to try it. If it works as well as I expect it to, I'll be wiping my Chloe soon to refresh her look.  

Hello World

Hello, I guess I'll just make this the customary introduction post. I've been thinking about blogging for a while now and honestly have just been to lazy to start. But I would like to try and remedy that. I've been in the BJD hobby for a few years now having received my first doll, a DOD Petsha, in August of 2011. As of this moment I'm the proud owner of five dolls excluding one I'm in the process of selling and another incoming. My goal from the beginning has been to keep my collection small. Ultimately I would like to have only 5 dolls at a time but with another incoming you can see I'm already breaking my own rules.

My first two dolls were purchased with faceups, but since then all additional dolls were bought blank. I realized early on, faceups from the companies were expensive and honestly, for the most part, I'm not a fan of the quality. Since then I've worked on my own skills and while I'm no where near professional, I find the experience fun. I like the fact that because I paint my dolls, they are slightly unique and my own. I realize that I don't have the funds to constantly buy and sell new dolls just to practice, and hate the wiping process the most, so I've taken on painting Monster High dolls as a cheap alternative to get more practice.

I've also picked up sewing, and while I'm still in the very early stages of learning, it's something I enjoy. I've never been one to spend much on clothing for myself and after searching for clothes for my dolls, I find the majority of items sell for more than what I spend on my personal wardrobe. I understand that quality items take time and talent to make, but I just can't always bring myself to spend the money. So I bought a sewing machine instead and often frequent the remnants sections of Joann's (especially on Black Friday ^^).

In real life as well as on the internet, I'm a shy person. I'd like to think of myself as friendly but fear of disappointing others, or saying the wrong things often keeps me from joining in conversations. I'm a huge lurker on forums and flickr and love reading comments and looking at other people's photos. There are a lot of people in the BJD community I really admire.