Tan dolls from Fairyland--coming soon!

According to a post on Fairyland's blog, LittleFee A la Carte will be offering a new face sculpt is being released today. The two new sculpts are Madeleine and Jack Straw, and they are being offered in a tan skin tone!

The base price is $289. Adding tan skin will cost an additional $25, the full set option adds $100. Default make-up will be an additional $45.  A sleeping faceplate will add $45, and a face-up on this plate will add an addition $45. The outfits are limited, and it doesn't specify how many outfits are available.

Update: It turns out all of the faces are available in tan!

There is also a tan option available for a limited time for PukiFee A la Carte dolls as well. Interestingly, it looks as though any face is available for tan in the PukiFee category, which makes me suspect that it's possible that tan dolls may also be available in other face options in the LittleFee size as well. I'll ask to confirm.

Again, the base price of a basic doll is $210. Tan skin adds $20, a face up adds $42. A sleeping face adds $37. A face-up on a sleeping face costs an additional $42.

As with all tan resin, Fairyland has the following statement posted on their sale pages:

There may be small air bubbles, uneven coloring (eg. green, yellow or white areas), raised seam lines, and rough surfaces due to the characterstics of tanned skin resin. Refund/exchange due to such reasons is not possible.
Tanned skin resin undergoes faster color change than other skin tones and it may occur within short time frame.
Customization/modification of tanned skin dolls is not recommended. We ask you to make your purchase only if you fully understand the characteristics of tanned skin resin dolls and that problems listed above may happen.

Iplehouse offering--BID Bonnie basic!

Oh, she's so cute! I liked her during the Christmas special and in the CDS, but the new basic BID Bonnie is even cuter!

She's $230 as a base price for a 26 cm doll, and you can upgrade her for $10 for peach gold skin and $20 special real. Add a mobility joint for $10, and make up (two styles) for $40. I have to say--type A with freckles (shown here) is adorable.

Photo property of Iplehouse.

Dreaming of dolls...

So... do you dream of BJDs? I do. And apparently I do better than that! Last weekend, I did some shopping in the night as well. I've been doing much better this year (or at least I had been, until now) with budgeting--taking my own advice and selling dolls before purchasing new ones, and doing careful planning as to which dolls would be next on my list, instead of just piling up dolls in my cabinet.

Imagine my surprise and embarrassment when I awoke Monday morning to a sizable charge on my Paypal account for the lovely white skin Aria, with make-up style A, small bust, no mobility joint. Just like I'd planned, I might add. However, I'd planned to order her once my current dolls had sold on the marketplace--which they have not yet. Ugh!

I could have cancelled the order, but after a rather painful conversation with my DH, I decided to go ahead and keep her. I believe it will be about five months before she ships anyway, and chances are, my other dolls will have sold by then--I hope.

Ack! This is a bad, bad thing--when the obsession with BJDs carries over from just dreaming of dolls to buying dolls in my sleep. I wish I would restring them or suede them instead! That would be so much more practical. ;)

Flowne hybrid

Flowne hybrid, a photo by alington on Flickr.

The lovely Doll in Mind Flowne--a hybrid version on a white skin Iplehouse JID body--dressed in a OOAK dress by My Own Little World and a Peak's Woods wig and Mint on Card glass eyes.

I think she's just too cute.

Megu, a new project

Megu, after refereshing, a photo by alington on Flickr.

I found a 2004 Volks SD10 Megu on the Dollpage for a great price. I've got a fun project in mind for her.

She's already got new string, and I've given her resin a once-over with a little light sanding and Magic Eraser. Next, we're waiting for her face-up time slot with Leah Lilly.

I'm very excited about this project!

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.

Volks Dolpa 28 begins May 18!

Now that I've seen how well Volks outfits fit the Iplehouse nYid large bust body, I've been stalking their website. I've discovered the latest Dolpa release is scheduled May 18, beginning at 11 AM PST. You can either go to the LA store and start lining up at 10:30 am to receive your lottery number, or go online.

You're limited to one of each item per customer, and you can read the rules here. Plus, you can see a preview of the items here. Some of the items I adore are:

Whipped Mint Cake Dress Set - MSD sized
Raspberry Chocolate Cup Dress Set - MSD sized
Raspberry Chocolate Cake Dress Set - this is the size that Rexy can wear!
Bittersweet Chocolate Cake Pants Set - and another one!

And while I'm looking, I found this from the regular line:

Wine Red Party Dress

*Sigh*

I think it's time to stop looking!

Rouge Rococo

Rouge Rococo, a photo by alington on Flickr.

I never thought the day would come in which I'd sell a Rococo dress from my collection. But it has, and it's not the first dress I'm selling. It's actually the second. Ack! Can you believe it?

This is a limited edition Volks dress set from the Dolpa 26 from last year (I think), and it's called Rouge Rococo. It's sized for many dolls: SD13, SD16, SDG, Dollfie Dream, and Dollfie Dream Dynamite. My model is Iplehouse nYID Rexy, who can wear this size pretty much perfectly--she has the large (not quite glamour) bust size.

If you're interested, check out my listing on Den of Angels or the DollPage Show & Sell.

Casual Kisha

Kisha, a photo by alington on Flickr.

My casual kick continues with Peak's Woods Kisha (on a standard Fairies of Color body) in a DollHeart wig and boots and another wonderful new outfit by Little Moda, also on Etsy. Just perfect!

It's stretchy, so it will fit many of my larger girls, too. I'm simply thrilled.

Little Moda
www.etsy.com/shop/AizawaRei

See more photos on Flickr.

Claudine, casual.

Claudine, a photo by alington on Flickr.

I'm morphing my collection from Rococo to casual. That's one wonderful thing about BJDs: when you get sick of one style, you can (usually) easily switch to another.

Claudine (Peak's Woods Goldie) is dressed in a new outfit from Little Moda, an Etsy shop I recently discovered. I'm really liking the style and easy fit of the clothing. Everything is stretch, so my larger girls should be able to wear these as well. The clothes are layered--a sheer long-sleeved shirt, vest, skirt, leggings, plaid skirt, and hair bow--and well made, and all for $50. Not bad at all!

Goldie is not used to wearing heels this high (they are from DollHeart). I think her wig is either from Leeke or Luts. I can never remember.

You can see a few additional photos on Flickr.

Too much cute!

So I am trying to be a good person and save up money for IFDC, but then this nonsense happens:

Iplehouse's PID Twinky

...Thanks Iplehouse, thanks.

What am I supposed to do with this...NOT buy her? How?!

Iplehouse released a new line of dolls referred to as the "Pixxie Doll" line, and they are all disproportionate darlings.

Which brings me to my next point:
I am obsessed with big-headed dolls right now.

XagaDoll Miki

XagaDoll has also been very unkind to my wallet.

Xaga is a smaller Chinese company that makes beautiful dolls that easily stand up to some of the more pronounced doll companies.

One of Xaga's newest lines, the Red Obsidian Series, includes two 27cm girls - Miki and Kimi. They are ridiculously cute anime-inspired tinies.

In addition to their stylized faces, they have extremely stylized bodies. There are both flat and large-chested versions of the body - which has little hearts on the joints! How. Freaking. Cute.




SQ Lab, famous for their anime-style resin heads is also making a new to-die-for tiny line.

Their new and improved 26.5cm KSG-ac body is comparable in size to Yo-SDs, and has lots of room for customization. In addition, SQ Lab has released two tiny-sized sculpts of three of their most popular characters - Moe, Ren, and Tsubaki.

To say that I am dying to own a Chibi Moe would be an understatement! Just look at that adorable little snaggle-tooth!

SQ Lab's Chibi-Moe

On the issue of pronunciation...

If there is one thing in the BJD world that I just can't get right, it's pronunciation. A number of companies have released dolls with names that I feel I have to mumble to avoid getting made fun of.

Cuprit (Soom): (KOO-PRYT?) (KUH-PRIT?)
 I am pretty sure the intention was to name this lovely girl after the mineral cuprite -- pronounced KYOO-PRAHYT. I have heard this name butchered beyond belief - and I am a CULPRIT (see what I did there?).

KoonieS (Peak's Woods):
I am pretty sure I know HOW to say it. Whether or not I SHOULD say it is a different matter altogether...

Doll names aside, there are some COMPANY names that I feel I don't pronounce correctly.

Iplehouse: (EYE-PUHL-HOUSE?) (EEPLE-HOUSE?) (IPPLE-HOUSE?) (NIPPLEHOUSE?)
I want to know how the Koreans say this. I also really want it to not rhyme with "nipple."

Luts: (LOOTS?) (LUHTS?)
One of the first lovingly doled titles that I stumbled upon in this hobby was "Luts Sluts." Depending on pronunciation, that joke kind of stops working.  

LoongSoul Doll: (LAAAAHNG-SOHL?) (LOOOOOOONG-SOHL?)

DikaDoll: (DIH-KAH-DOLL?) (DAI-KAH-DOLL?) (DICK-A-DOLL?)

Heisejinyao Ziyulinglong: Um...let's just say that I'm glad they changed it to HZ Doll...

Unoa: (OO-NO-AH?) (YOU-KNOW-UH?)
You never see it written out in katakana...SO IT'S A MYSTERY.

 Have you struggled with a dolly or company name? Do you know the correct pronunciation of any of these? Please, share with us!

 

^How do you say this little guy's name?

Pic from jciardha & IMPLdoll