New sneak peek on Peak's Woods website

I love Peak's Woods photography... and I hate to wait! Check out that face-up! Here is the link to the current basic Wake-up Lottie.

Photo is property of Peak's Woods.

And, for kicks, a photo of mine.

... And happy birthday!

Doll Chateau Erica, a photo by alington on Flickr.

It's the most... wonderful... time... of the year!

My birthday is in early January, and Doll Chateau Erica made an early arrival, as well. I'm so spoiled.

She has a face-up by Jay Searle, and she's just gorgeous. She came from Denver Doll. You can see more photos of this pouty thing on Flickr.

She's a little hard to fit, with her willowy limbs, small bust and large hips. I managed to squeeze her hips into a negligee for Peggy Harcourt (Tonner Doll's curvy body), and a top made for City Girls by Tonner Toys.

Merry Christmas to me!

DIM Kassia, a photo by alington on Flickr.

I'm almost embarrassed to admit how long Doll in Mind Kassia has been on my wish list... but she is now home!

I have to confess, I should have added her way sooner. She is one BJD who looks even more beautiful than her promotional photos. She is so spooky.

Gorgeous lush lips with teeny vampire teeth, and pointy elf ears--and she has a face plate, interestingly. I feel like I need her half-eye plate now as well.

She is wearing The Duchess by DollHeart and a Leeke wig. You can see more photos on Flickr.

Two.S.Doll Vivi

It was a year of a lot of new dolly additions to this household.  Let's check out one of the newest ladies.  Her name is Vivi and she comes from Two.S.Doll.  She is a quite tall SD sized BJD dressed in a DollHeart pink dress.

Did you get any new BJDs for Xmas?  I was very excited to receive some tiny BJD clothing.

Find out more info about this little lady at this blog post.

Support an artist! Visit my Etsy Shop. You can also follow my Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest pages. I'm planning on offering discount codes on the Facebook page from time to time!

It's so warm under there!

She's very weird., a photo by alington on Flickr.

From December 2009, this is Lily's first Christmas. While she's gotten bigger, she still adores those crystal ornaments.

36 . Bright Lights

36 . Bright Lights, a photo by alington on Flickr.

Elfdoll Olivia, in front of the tree.

Merry Christmas!

Sky in Alice Fantasy

07 . Sky, a photo by alington on Flickr.

My very first large ABJD, Peak's Woods Sky in white skin. Still one of my favorite girls, I can't imagine her going anywhere.

She's dressed in Alice Fantasy by DollHeart, and DH wig. I took this photo posed on the coffee table in front of the Christmas tree in December 2009.

Morphoa as the Queen of Hearts

Morphoa as the Queen of Hearts, a photo by alington on Flickr.

This is Dollzone's Morphoa, dressed in DollHeart's Queen of Hearts outfit and DH wig. Morphoa has had an amazing face-up by the talented Leah Lilly of Froggy Duds.

This photo was taken in late November 2010, just after setting up the Christmas tree.

Goldie

71 . Hats, a photo by alington on Flickr.

I'm playing catch-up on the blog(s) today.

This week, I'll be posting some oldies but goodies, I hope. My favorite "prop" is a Christmas tree, since it makes for such wonderful background lighting.

Here, you can see Peak's Woods Goldie, my very first version of her with a default face-up. I took this photo in December of 2009. She's wearing her default eyes and wig, and DollHeart's Love 'n the Ice outfit.

New Fairy of Fairytales Chi Chi from Peak's Woods

Peak's Woods has released the first doll of their newest project called "Into the Woods." She is a tiny doll, Fairy of Fairytales size, called Chi Chi. Available both as a basic doll and as a full set, her Red Riding Hood outfit is available for only one month.

You have the option to order her blank, with her default face-up ($60) or her special face-up ($70). Her outfit, wig and shoes are all available separately.

I think she's perfectly adorable!

Photos are property of Peak's Woods.

Another Wig for Asleep Eidolon Peppermint

After making my first wig for the 16 cm Asleep Eidolon, Peppermint, I couldn't help but make another wig after finding some wig material at a local second-hand store.  This is a long flowing blond wig, perfect for those girly outfits.  Check out more info for this no-sew wig on this blog post.

Support an artist! Visit my Etsy Shop. You can also follow my Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest pages. I'm planning on offering discount codes on the Facebook page from time to time!

Custom Wig for Asleep Eidolon Peppermint

Give that little BJD cutie a new wig by reusing an old one.  The pictured Asleep Eidolon 16 cm doll, Peppermint, desperately needed a wig and I decided to go with the no-sew tutorial provided on the BJD Magazine website.  I used an old mohair-like wig that was just collecting dust.  I took the idea just a little further and gave her a more complex hairstyle.  Click here for more information on how to spice up your wig project even more. 

Support an artist! Visit my Etsy Shop. You can also follow my Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest pages. I'm planning on offering discount codes on the Facebook page from time to time!

D.i.M. Christmas event

Doll in Mind Bellose - on my wish list

All right--I confess, I have had several Doll in Mind dolls on my mind and my wish list forEVER. And there is a great Christmas event going on right now. Check it out:

Kassia from DiM.

1. Buy any complete doll, and get a free head (company choice) of the same size. The heads are chosen randomly.
2. Love male & female body event: For $250, you can buy a complete, unassembled Love body (male or female), and the Happy body is just $170. The package includes elastic strings and S-hooks, but no box.

Great deals! They last through December 31, 2012. Also--Denver Doll Emporium is a DIM dealer. They are at least offering the free head event.

My problem: I can't decide which of these girls I like the most! I adore three of the large Love girls: Bellose, Kassia and Leonora. Bellose seems sad and a bit droopy. I love that. Kassia seems the most wicked of the three, depending on how you set her eyes. Leonora has the largest lips and eyes of the three, and the most baby-ish face--plus her upper lip sticks out.

Leonora, a newer girl from DiM.

If that's not enough, I could possibly use a smaller size--since I'm running out of room in my cabinet. A Happy girl might bit in my collection a bit better. I really love Luria's pouty face.

D.i.M. Luria - Happy size

Flowne has also been on my mind for ever--since those three fairy dolls have come and gone. All three are now available as non-fairy sculpts as well (Morning Dew and Fantasia), but I love Flowne's drooping ears.

Flowne - D.i.M. Happy girl

Benetia is one of those girls that has always been on my wish list, and she just has never gotten home to me. I always mark her as a favorite on Flickr, and I think--well, I think she may be it. She's a mini vampire. There is also a half-closed eye head for her, which I would love to have.

D.i.M. Happy size Benetia

My birthday is in January. I think I might need to broaden my horizons a bit. What do you all think? Do you have a vote? A favorite?

Photos are property of D.i.M.dolls.

What is Den of Angels and how do you join?

Den of Angels is a large online community of Asian ball-jointed doll collectors, which includes a message forum, wiki, news center, reviews, reference site, galleries, workshop, and marketplace. It's a wonderful resource for all BJD collectors. At the time of this post, DoA has 37,754 members, 10,335 of which are active. There are 320,921 threads and 5,860,210 posts in those threads.

Before joining any community, you should make yourself aware of the rules. Den of Angels has a mission statement:

The Den of Angels forum is intended solely for the appreciation of Asian ball-jointed dolls (ABJD) that meet our criteria. Though we have an extensive Marketplace available to members, our focus is on being a community and resource for people to share and enjoy their dolls through photography, customization and discussion.

Keep in mind that there are many message boards available. Just because your doll may not fit in the criteria at DoA doesn't mean that it isn't a BJD. It simply means you should discuss your specific doll on another board. Does that mean you shouldn't join?

It depends. I think there is a lot to be learned on large message boards. Even if you mostly lurk, you can discover a lot of different tips and techniques, plus gain inspiration for your next project. But you must keep in mind that if your doll is off-topic, you need to keep it where it belongs.

Community members who are in good standing, have been online for 25 days and have made at least 40 posts may invite up to seven new members per week. Each of these is approved by the current administration as well, to prevent any banned members from rejoining.

If you don't know anyone already in the community, you may request an invitation to join. You can email membership (at) den of angels (dot) com. (Of course, make that into an email address--with @ and .com). See additional information here.

Once you join, I encourage you to check out the Newbie forum. Only users with fewer than 40 posts may start new threads in this forum. It's a great resource for new collectors!

I hope to see you there. (My username is alington!)