Nico's girls.

He loves his girls., a photo by alington on Flickr.

This is Nico Pea, one of our sneaky kitties. It seems doll collecting goes hand-in-hand with cat collecting. We have four cats (and four kids, too). Nico is such a handsome, sleek boy. I usually love when the cats get involved in my photo shoots, though this one ended in disaster.

Chanel, who is not in this photo, had a serious case of the rubbies. During this photo shoot, she was rubbing all over my legs, the coffee table, and so on. I tried to get those rubbies out, but nothing I did was enough.

The girls usually spend their time behind glass, so the cats love to sniff them when they come out for photos. Chanel decided to rub against them, and my usually lightning-fast reflexes weren't fast enough. She knocked both dolls over--and Yur (on the right) fell right on her face on the wood floor!

Yur's face-up is chipped--right on her nose. I think her nose feels a chipped, too. I was so upset. Not at the cat--since she was just being a cat--mostly because I hadn't planned very well.

My lesson: put down a soft cloth or towel when working on the floor, suck it up, and use a zoom lens. (Like that's ever going to happen.) Brush the cat before the photo shoot.

Ugh. What a mess!

Cuteness!

Cheshire Goon, a photo by alington on Flickr.

Just a quick shot of Miss Cheshire Goon. I finally found her body (I ordered her head some time ago) and was able to assemble her and get her all dressed.

She's simply adorable--she's a Peak's Woods Fairy of Fairytales, about YoSD size--and super sweet.

Hybrid heaven...

My morphing collection, a photo by alington on Flickr.

Oh, there's something especially satisfying (to me) about a hybrid BJD. Even when the resin colors don't match perfectly, I do love it when the dolls come together perfectly.

Front and center, it's Peak's Woods gorgeous (and rarely seen) white skin Viyol (with a special Glamour face-up (by Peak's Woods, when they were still offering custom face-ups). She's been placed on a white skin Zaoll body by Dollmore. This elegant body is slim and short, perfect for Peak's Woods demure and sweet faces.

It's quiet a stark contrast to her rock 'n' roll outfit, which partly belongs to Kisha (also by Peak's Woods, created by Corona, I believe), with the shirt by Beach Girl Nikita. Her boots, wig, and choker are from DollHeart, and earring from Tonner Doll.

New Supia Doll - Muriel

Image property of Supia

Supia announced the release of a new Elf-Type doll today, and she is absolutely gorgeous! Muriel will have be able to switch between human and elf ears, and SHE IS ALSO AVAILABLE IN TAN!

Muriel is an SD-sized girl and is available for purchase on either the old Supia body, or their new double-jointed body. 

Muriel starts at just $490.00 before extras.

Goodness gracious - she's just too pretty!

Check her out here!

Registration is live: Atlanta BJD Convention!

Atlanta BJD Convention registration site

Registration is open now!

Atlanta Ball Jointed Doll Convention
October 18-20, 2013
A doll convention for the fans by the fans
Eat. Sleep. Play. BJD.

It will be held at the Holiday Inn Atlanta Perimeter in Atlanta, GA. Room rates are $79 per night, with up to four people in the room, and this rate includes breakfast.

Tickets for the convention are just $30 when you purchase them now through June. Rates go up to $35 when purchased July through September. At the door, tickets are still only $40.

Guests include:

• Perish Dignam (model and performer--one of his amazing performances was in Kerli's video, Tea Party)
• Berdine Creedy (doll artist)
• Lady Saiyuki (doll artist)
• Ashbet (doll artist and one of my favorite BJD photographers--OMG!)
• and me (I'm hoping to have my next book finished, A Little More BJDs for Beginners, finished by then, too)

Follow this convention online via Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. I'll hopefully see you there!

New articulated monthly fairies from Peak's Woods and special!

Moonie Monthly Fairy

A new special and announcement from Peak's Woods: Brand new articulated bodies have been released for Peak's Woods tiny (only about 10 cm--so cute!) Monthly Fairies, formerly only articulated at the neck. Plus, there are twelve! Check out this announcement for the special. This special is going on from May 7 through June 7, 2013.

• Buy five Monthly Fairies, get one of your choice for free!
• Buy ten Monthly Fairies, get two of your choice for free!
• Buy all twelve Monthly Fairies, get one fairy of fairytales (white skin, girl body, no makeup) of your choice, for free!

Peak's Woods will also send a monthly fairy and a birthday or special occasion hand-written card to your loved one, as you request.

For each Monthly Fairy purchased, part of the proceeds will be donated to Greenpeace.

Fiona Monthly Fairy

Additionally, several new hand parts (victory, scissor and fist/rock hands) have also been released.

I'm just so excited to see real Peak's Woods teeny tiny dolls! Wow--and what a special!

Here's the low-down of how these babies are priced:

Basic dolls start at $110. It looks like the each Monthly Fairy is white resin, and you don't get to choose the skin tone. Random eyes are included--and it looks like most include a pair of 8mm eyes. Basic dolls are bald with a smooth head-cap, with wigs available separately. 

Several options are available as well. Make-up is an additional $20. You can choose whichever head cap you like for $20-25. Painting the head cap is an additional $5. (I think sometimes the painting is included for some of the head caps.) Additional hands are $10 per pair.

Bow Jiang Monthly Fairy

There are seven different wigs available, most for $15, one for $17. These guys wear a size 3/4, or the same size as PukiPuki. Additionally, Peak's Woods is offering all twelve tiny outfits available, for $30 per set. The sets for girls include a dress, cape, hat and leggings. For boys, they include overalls, cape, hat and leg warmers. I wonder if these would fit PukiPuki, as well!

Measurements:

Height : 9.8~10cm

Eye size : 8mm

Circumference of head : 3.8 (inch) 

Width of shoulders : 2.2cm

Length of arm (without hand) : 3cm

Length of leg (without foot) : 3.5cm

Circumference of chest : 4.5cm

Circumference of waist : 5.7cm

Circumference of hips : 6cm

Length of foot : 1.4

Months and themes:

January - ShuShu - sun cap $20

February - Moonie - moon cap $20

March - Shooting Star - star cap $20

April - Cloonie Coon - cloud cap $20

May - Wingky - wind cap $20

June - Coco Rain - rain drop cap $20

July - Woody - wood cap $20

August - Fiona - flower cap $25, including paint

September - Bow Jiang - rainbow cap $25 including paint

October - Leonardo - thundercloud cap $20

November - Fiyah - fire head cap $20

December - Sugar Powder - snowflake cap $20

Snow Powder Monthly Fairy

All photos are property of Peak's Woods.

Rogita in Vintage AM lingerie

Rogita in Vintage AM lingerie, a photo by alington on Flickr.

Have I mentioned lately how much I adore the Absolute Beauty body by Peak's Woods?

Well, let me just restate: I love it!

It's stylized just enough to fit my personal aesthetic. Don't get me wrong: I love realistic-looking dolls as well. But there will always been something in me that's attracted to the super-slim waist that only a doll can have.

I love curves. The angular curves of the bust and hips are just enough to bring the shape together perfectly. The hip bones are visible (on Type A), which I think is a great sculpting detail.

The body is heavy and sturdy enough to stand on its own, and still able to pose well. A lot of times, when you have dolls that are double-jointed, you lose some of the rock-solid standing ability of single-jointed dolls. In the case of the Absolute Beauty body, you still have both.

The proportions of this doll are perfect for Tonner Doll's fashion doll clothing for their 22" doll. Here, my lovely Rogita is dressed in the outfit from Tonner's latest release, Vintage Basic American Model. It's a fantastically detailed set. It includes:

• a white cotton Swiss dot one-piece bloomer with blue ribbon trim
• sheer white striped tights
• a satin pink corset with white lace trim and blue ribbon faux boning

You can see additional photos of Rogita on my Flickr photo stream.