Dolly Update Part II

Since I updated on Ciel I thought I should update on the others as well.

Ciel Dal- paid in full, shipped 9/27/10
Namu Wolf- 2/3 payments made
Mystery Dals- 2/4 payments made

:)

Dolly Update

I just received word that Ciel is on his way! I finished his layaway earlier this week, and the seller shipped him today. I probably won't receive him until next week (*maybe* this week), but expect pictures when he arrives. :)

A Wicked good birthday.

Just a little update about some non-dolly stuff.

Since this is an art-themed blog, I thought I would make a little post here about the musical I went to see last night: Wicked. If you ever have the chance to go see it, do. It's worth every penny of the ticket prices. :)

My mom and I went as a little early birthday present for me (today's my actual birthday), because she knew I loved the music. I'd never seen Wicked in its entirety, but I had read the original book. The musical is definitely different, and to be honest I much prefer it over the book.

I saw it in Boston at the Opera House, which is beautiful in and of itself. Beautiful architecture and elaborately painted ceilings make you feel like your in a cathedral rather than a theater. With the addition of the Wicked stage and cast though, it was even more magical. I can't really express how amazing that musical is...It is by far the best I've ever seen. It's the first musical I've been to where even the ensemble got a standing ovation at the end. The moment the curtain went down people were up out of their seats and cheering. There was a similar reaction when Elphaba started the end of "Defying Gravity." Absolutely amazing. :)

I took Drusilla with me, though she spent most of the time in my purse as it was rainy and very crowded. We wandered through China Town to get to the theater district, and it reminded me how much I'd like to go there during the day to shop. I'd really like to take some pictures of my dolls with the entrance arch and some of the streets as well. I think a Boston trip is in the near future...

DollyKarma

These dolls will never cease to surprise me. :P

I received Crow's new wig in the mail today at my mother's house, and decided to try it on Bean since she was the only MSD there (Crow stayed home). Lo and behold it fit perfectly, and looked really good. I brushed it off thinking it would look even better on Crow, but found myself looking at Bean differently.

Bean is a lovely doll, but she and I just haven't bonded like we should. She's spent a lot of time hanging out on the shelf or in dolly storage, and almost no time at play. So I took her with me to run some errands, which included getting supplies for the I Don't Do Subtle contest. As we ran the errands, I suddenly found myself looking at her differently. I saw the same character, but with a few elaborations. When I finally went to pick out the supplies, I found myself grabbing a whole different color pallet, all sorts of hot pinks and rhinestones, and some huge pink bows. I looked over at Bean and she started to smile, and I knew I'd finally found her.

She has since been renamed Drusilla or Dru, but may still go by Bean occasionally. Drusilla was my Latin name in high school and one of my all-time favorite vampires from Buffy. My Dru's character was actually supposed to be kind of crazy in the same way, and it just clicked.

So now she has stolen Crow's new wig and looks fabulous! Her features are much more Asian with the darker hair. Crow was wigless but I jokingly put Dru's old wig on him and there it was again. Dollykarma! It is the perfect combination of the feelings evoked by the other two wigs, the fragile black one and the punky brown one. It also fits perfect. :) He'll need some sort of permanent style to keep it in check and I may still change out his wig now and then, but otherwise it's perfect.

Crow

Some new shots of Crow. I intended to do a photostory but it didn't quite work out. But I did make a nifty new graphic. :)

New graphic, I love it! :)

My boy's pretty little fingers.

Scar from his badly broken arm, it goes further up under his sleeve.

Palm scar and two wrist scars.

To do:

I've decided to make a list of places I want to take some photos with Crow while it's still fall. Kind of like the 100 photo prompt thing that I never finished...

1. Graveyard(s)- I *love* graveyards, and they fit Crow so well. I'd like to got to at least two more beyond the one I've already done, specifically some with older stones. Possibilities include Vale End Cemetery and the New Boston Cemetery. :)

2. A cathedral church. This one will be difficult as I'm not Christian and don't have a lot of access to churches and I don't want to be disrespectful either. There's a lovely cathedral church near my school that I've been to a few times and it's gorgeous.

3. With pumpkins/fall scene. I'd love to do a hay ride, but I don't know how feasible that is.

4. Apple picking!

Those are just a few ideas, I'm sure the list will grow as I go on. :)

Sick and Shirts

Sick, sick, sick, again. :( I swear I spend more of my time curled up on the corner of the bed ill than anything else. It let me hang out with the boyfriend most of the day though, so I guess that's a plus. :)

Crow and I received our I Don't Do Subtle t-shirts today, and I love them! Mine's a little big (no more smalls available), but I'm going to try and shrink it. Crow's is big too, but his will be modified for the contest. I've got a great idea finally, slightly inspired by all the Kuroshitsuji I've watched. No pictures yet though, I want it to be a surprise. :)

*Design courtesy of Alysonsfriend's tumblr.

Spooky!

I wanted to save all the creepy doll-related stuff for next month, but I thought I would share a few little stories now as I was looking over the DoA thread for "Supernatural Doll Stories" and it reminded me.

I've always be involved with the paranormal in one way or another, and my dolls are no exception. There's a lot of stories about some of my older ones (Daemon or Paks), but recently I had some interesting experiences with Crow that I wanted to add here.

The house I'm currently staying in is my boyfriend's, and it's very haunted. We're not just talking the occasional flicker of lights or creepy feelings, but full body apparitions and audible voices to name a few manifestations. I've always been a little freaked out by these experiences, and have taken to keeping a doll with me. This oddly enough seems to work, and so Crow has become my dolly buddy as of late.

The graveyard I did the most recent shoot in is near the house, and there's some speculation that that the house's ghost is a visitor from there. When I first arrived at the location, there wasn't much of a tangible presence, but that changed as the time went on. I knelt down to take one picture and suddenly I realized there was someone standing behind me. I could see a shadow on the ground and as I stood up I could also see a shoulder and head in my peripheral view. Thinking it was one of the caretakers getting curious to what I was up to, I turned to find...no one.

That spooked me just a bit, and I decided that since it was getting dark anyway I should head back. As I walked back to the car with Crow in hand, I heard my name called several times in a female voice. My full name mind you, not my nickname which is what most people know me by. That was quite enough for me and I hopped in my car and we left. Maybe the spirits were interested to see me on their own ground? :P

Like roadmaps of his life...

I'm in the midst of doing some more customizations on Crow. I have a thing for pretty painted little doll hands and feet, so I gave him a realistic manicure and pedicure. Since I had him out for spraying I decided to add a few of his scars as well. Nothing too crazy, but they work well to develop his character more. He's got a curved scar across his left palm, two scars on his left wrist, and one long scar down the length of his right forearm. The palm and wrist scars are from past continuous blood offerings he made as he tried to use magic to save himself and his sister. The scar on his right arm was from a badly broken arm (broken by his father) that required surgery to fix.

I also put him in a new wig which works much better for his character than the old one. It's the tawny brown mix I originally bought for Kaleb. The wig looked horrible on Kaleb, and everyone else I put it on until Crow. Now it looks perfect, like it was made for him! :) Pictures to follow.

Silence

Some shots of Crow:

Omake:

Some crows showed up to escort us through the cemetery. Friends of his perhaps?

The moon above the trees.

Dolly Talk: Carrying Dolls

And everywhere that Mary went her MNF Seorin was sure to go.

Today on Dolly Talk we have the topic of taking dolls with you. Now when I say this I don't just mean popping them in a carrier and removing them when you're at the secluded (or sometimes not as the case may be) photo site.

The first person I really looked to when I started to collect dolls was Alysonsfriend, who is a very "out" doll owner. She takes her dolls everywhere from school to work (well it is a doll shop) to concerts. While I don't take them quite as many places, I definitely do fall into the category of someone who takes their dolls out a lot.

For me, I like to bring the dolls as many places as I can. So they come shopping, to some of my appointments, the occasional movie, and yes even class. They are size and situation appropriate of course, so for example I wouldn't bring an SD to my class and sit him on my desk. Generally I only take out dolls that can comfortably fit into my purse. This is very easy with Pullips, not as much with bjds. However as of late I've been taking Crow everywhere. My purse is large enough that he can remain tucked inside without being visible if I choose, or standing up with his face out. Right now he's currently hanging out of my purse with a big bemused smile on his face as people pass by and steal small glances at him.

Overall I think that while taking dolls out is fun, it's definitely not for every person, doll, or situation. I wouldn't take out a one-off or particularly fragile doll, nor would I drag them along to a roller coaster park for example. I don't take them to places with lots of kids, or in situations where they would distract me. So they don't come to exams or come out at doctor appointments.

Some things to keep in mind when you take dolls out:

• People will want to touch/grab/etc. your doll. Make sure you're prepared to deal with uneducated (on doll care) people wanting to/trying to do this. This especially goes for children. Watch those hands!
• Get ready for questions, and probably lots of them. I generally give out DoA's address or suggest Wikipedia for people looking for more info. Sometimes I will also give out my blog address, but that's situation dependent.
  
• You will get weird looks. Not from everyone, but be prepared for lots of wtf looks from people or rude comments.
• You might loose things, so don't take a doll with loose shoes/wig/eyes/etc.
  
• Think before you take them out! Some situations just aren't appropriate, be smart.
• Always have a back up plan in case you need to put them away, such as a large purse or doll carrier.

Those are a lot of worst case scenarios, but dolls are really fun to take out. They can start interesting conversations and even help you find other doll enthusiasts, so above all have fun!

Oh so pretty!

I decided to make a few small changes to Crow's face up today, and I realize it's been forever since I've painted a doll. His face up was done by his first owner (whose name escapes me right now), and it's a very lovely base face up, but there's just not enough character. So I added a few freckles in the tradition of Paks who had some lovely freckles. :) Now I just have to wait for him to dry and I can re-gloss his lips. I might also "pierce" his nose, but I'm not sure yet. Crow is fast becoming a mini-Paks, so we'll have to see if I need to differentiate him more or not.

Upcoming Events

In bulleted form for easier reading:

• I'm entering Alysonsfriend's contest to customize one of her I Don't Do Subtle shirts. The shirts (one for me and one for Crow) should be arriving soon and I will document that process here.
• Along with that, I will be interviewing Alysonsfriend for a spot on this blog as I think she's fantastic and a very interesting person in the doll world. :)
• I will be starting a new feature during the end of this month and throughout next month to get everyone in the Halloween spirit. These posts will feature stories of haunted dolls (historical and personal anecdotes), creepy doll experiences, and other topics. :)
  

Crow

One for sorrow, two for mirth,
Three for a wedding, four for a birth,
Five for silver, six for gold,
Seven for a secret not to be told.
Eight for heaven, nine for hell,
And ten for the devil's own sel'.

Name: Jack Corvus, "Crow"
Age: 17 (and then some)
Birthday: October 31st, 1977
Date of death: October 31, 1994
Personality: As Jack, he is strong and at times violent. He knows
how hard life can be and refuses to let it break him. Jack is his
human side that has all of his memories and spunk. As Crow he is
much quieter and very childlike. Bordering on just a bit crazy,
Crow doesn't remember his past very much, and what he does is
mangles and distorted. He is Crow to most people, and Jack to those
he is comfortable with.
Likes: Halloween, black, wings, autumn, pumpkins, soft music,
snuggling, warmth, children
Dislikes: yelling and arguing, rap music, fathers, large birds
Mini Bio: Crow spent his life cowering in fear from his abusive
father James. His mother left when he was ten, and James soon
shifted his anger over to his son. Crow (then known as Jack)
tried desperately to find a way out for himself and his younger
sister Meribell and even resorted to dabbling in witchcraft.
His father was the leader of a small satanic movement, and decided
to sacrifice Jack one day to gain power. He beat Jack and threw
him off the roof of their apartment building, but Jack didn't die.
Instead he awoke confused and without much memory of his past.
For a time he thought he was the spirit of Halloween, but was later
approached by a head Reaper with a job offer. He has since
worked for them as a reaper/psychopomp, ushering the dead over
in his own way.
Fun Fact: Crow smells like autumn, always.

Crow is revealed!

Updates All Around

I'm almost done with Crow's clothes, so it won't be long before I can get some pictures. I'd forgotten how little MSD boy clothes I had. And Crow doesn't really fit into Michael's attire, so he needs some new pieces. The shirt is pretty much done but his pants are proving to be difficult. The fabric I bought is just right, but it stains something awful even after being colorfasted.

On the bright side he's quite a little charmer. :) I'd forgotten just how much I love MNFs. SD are great, but they're often far too big to take anywhere frequently (at least my SDs), and aren't as comfortable to hold. The smaller dolls are also cute, but again just not the right size. Crow fits perfectly in my arms and isn't too much to tuck in a purse or carry around by hand. And their body/joint system is fantastic. He is easily my best poser of the whole group. :)

The Rebirth of a Doll

I can't exactly say we have a new member outright because I've owned this guy for about a year now, but I just finally bonded with him and boy is he stunning. :)

Pictures forthcoming, but he is a MNF Seorin I bought last year in December for another character. I also bought a MNF vamp/elf Shiwoo head for this character after realizing the Seorin head just wouldn't be right. The Shiwoo head became Michael, and he took over the body leaving the Seorin head in a box.

Cut to this weekend when I found the head while digging for some doll clothes and realized he would be perfect for a character that had been taking shape in my head. And so Crow was born. He's stealing (well stealing back really) Michael's body and has taken Orla's eyes, and he is perfect. Pictures to come!

Maggie's Dal-ary 3

Eeek! We just got to a suspenseful part of Kuroshitsuji and the player stopped! Ah I guess we'll have to wait a while longer. :(

I changed my hair back to its normal color today, so it's kind of light brown instead of red. I used have blue eyes too, but now they're amber like fire. Kaleb says that can happen with people like me, people with really strong psychic power. I can move things with my mind, talk to ghosts, and change my hair color whenever I want. He thinks my eyes changed because of the fire...the "psychic energies" of it were imprinted on me and gave me fire eyes.

I don't like to talk about the fire, but sometimes Kaleb makes me. We were training today and he wanted to make me fight back but I didn't want to. So he made me remember the fire...He won't do that again soon. He's still trying to find someone to fix the new hole in the roof. :P

But today I found out that Ciel's parents died in a fire too, so maybe we'll have something in common when he gets here. I think he'll like Nero and Claudius, but Nero's a little jealous of him already. I told him not to worry because he'll always be my best friend, but he still gets upset.

I want to watch more Kuroshitsuji!

Maggie's Dal-ary 2

Pajama party!

Kat, Arte, and I are having a girl's night since the boys are out. I wanted to watch some more Kuroshitsuji, but the player wasn't working. :( We did get to watch a bunch of music videos though, and I got a new pair of pajamas.

Kat also put some pictures of Arte as Sailor Moon up on the blog, and told me I could cosplay someone too. She suggested Mini Moon, but I don't want to be her. I want to be the one with the big scythe, Saturn!

Ooh, and I found Nero today. Now he and Claudius (my black bunny) and I can all hang out.

Dolly Updates

I usually put this in my signature (as per DoA tradition), but I thought I'd post it here to keep everyone up to date.

• 2 mystery Dals, on layaway, 2 out of four payments made
  
• Ciel Phantomhive- on layaway, starts Friday
• Namu Wolf- on layaway, starts Friday

Maggie's Dal-ary

Maggie here again. Kat's confirmed it, we are getting quite a few new members for the household. The first two won't be here for a while, but the other two might be here soon. The wolf that's coming isn't a real wolf *sigh*, but Kat says she doesn't know much about him so he might be different than I expect. I wanted a big scary guard-wolf.

The other guys is Ciel Phantomhive! I'm so excited, I can't wait till he's here. I know we'll get along great, he's just as devious as I am. Kat says it's still going to be a bit longer before he can come home, but I'm excited anyway.

My Princess

I think one of the biggest factors that lead me into dolls was my prior (and continued) love of anime. It began many years ago when I was very little and saw my first movie on TV very late at night. I don't know what that was, but I was instantly hooked. Several years later I had the privilege of catching the end of a Sailor Moon episode (one of the most important ones coincidentally), and that love was rekindled.

Around the time that I turned ten, my whole world fell apart. Family and friend problems arose that completely overwhelmed little me, and I felt helpless and alone. This was around the time that Cartoon Network began their Toonami line up, and Sailor Moon was put on. I credit this and my subsequent finding of the manga with keeping me out of trouble at that time. I wouldn't be who I am today without Sailor Moon. :)

That being said when I was recently cleaning out my closet I found some of my old Sailor Moon barbies, and realized that the outfits would be perfect for Arte. So I grabbed my favorite, the Princess Serenity dress and did a little photo shoot yesterday.

If you're at all familiar with Naoko's artwork, she often does some "bookmark" style pictures of the girls.

Serenity with the Imperium Silver Crystal.

Dear Kat,

I've heard there might be a new addition to my household. You and I need to have a discussion about all these new people living in my home.

Eagerly awaiting your arrival,
Kaleb

Hi everyone, I'm Maggie.

Kat said I could post here sometimes if I want. I've never blogged before, but I could give it a try.

Arte and I got some fun new clothes yesterday. They're a lot more girly than I'd normally wear, but I really like them. Arte always dresses like that, but I've never tried the "lolita" style. Kaleb looked at me like he was confused, but said I look nice. I like my new black bunny too, though I wish I could figure out where Nero went so we could all hang out.

Arte, Kat*, and I started watching a new anime called Kuroshitsuji, or "Black Butler." I like it a lot. Sebastian reminds me of Kaleb, though he would never be somebody's butler. Arte said she knew someone like him once, but didn't want to talk about it. It's kind of weird hanging out with her, but she's been nice so far. I think my favorite character is Ciel though. Kat says he reminds her of me, which made me happy. Not the boy part but being small and scary. She said that he might come and visit us someday which would be cool. I told her I'd help pay and raise our ghost hunting rates to get more profit, but Arte said that wouldn't be nice. Who wants to be nice?

Kat also said we might have a new person moving in (Kaleb is going to be so mad!) called Wolf. I don't know if she means an actual wolf or just some guy, but I guess we'll find out. I kind of hope it's actually a wolf because then I might get to see him eat people.

Oh, we have a living toy here too now. Well, I mean aside from Nero. Kaleb isn't happy about all the new arrivals, but I think this one just confuses him. Her name is Jouet and she's a little crazy... Kat says its from her being alone for so long, but I think she's just strange. But she is funny sometimes, so I guess it's okay.

Uh oh...Kaleb found out about the new guy coming...got to go.

*Kat in this context is me. :)

Stocks Rock!

I can say with 100% certainty that I have never been happier with any of my dolls than I am of these two with their new stock. :) It takes a lot to satisfy me when it comes to a doll's look, but these girls are completely perfect.

Maggie in Cornice stock with her little black bunny.

More of Maggie (and a pesky light ray) with her new eyes.

Arte in My Melody stock. Perfect. :)

Arte testing her luck with the sun.

My girls together. :)

Magpie and her amazing glowing eyes!

I also received a Raphia stock, but it doesn't seem to fit anyone quite right. Too big for Maggie, and a little tight on Arte. The latter will probably wear it, but I like her in the MM stock for the moment. She did snag the cross from the Raphia stock though as it fits her perfectly. I'd been looking for a small-scale cross, and this is just what I wanted. :)

The Obitsu Problem

I love Arte's Obitsu (2-part soft body), but I hate Maggie's (21cm hard body). The latter falls apart constantly, and I had to resort to super gluing some parts so that they worked. Basically it was a nightmare. So this evening when I went to install her new eyes, I put Maggie back on her stock body.

Problems solved! It's obviously not as poseable as her Obitsu, but it lacks the annoying problems which is great. Now I won't feel so risky taking her out places again. Before I would have to constantly watch that her top didn't fall off her bottom! Well no more. :)

I also installed some new "animal eyes" i.e. safety eyes usually used for stuffed toys. They have a larger bulge than regular eyes so it prevents blinking, but Dals can't blink so it's perfect for them. Her new eyes are a very pretty golden amber color with foil backing that really makes them pop.

Pictures

It's all kind of miserable here. The in-coming hurricane has some crazy pressure systems in my neck of the woods, so it's not just the heat but blazing migraines from the pressure. Oh yeah, it's ridiculously hot too. As such, I'm going to be a little lazy and post the photostory later, and just put up pictures now.

The newest arrival, Little Jouet. So adorable!

Arte and Kaleb relaxing.

Arte, I *love* how she looks!

And the rarely (read: never) seen Bean!

Bad pictures, but she's so pretty. :)

On the fence.

Just a few because not all of them came out very well, but I liked these ones. I love her new little boots from Hard and Sweet!

Mini Update

Pun slightly intended. :)

I picked up little Jouet this morning and in true fashion for most of my dolls, there were problems. First the clerk said she couldn't find any packages with my name or any of the addresses. When I asked if she could check because I had gotten confirmation, she went out back and returned with another package that was for me but wasn't Jouet. That package was some doll clothes I'd ordered (not the stocks sadly) last week that I hadn't expected just yet. I informed her this wasn't the package I had been looking for which she said she knew, and went out back again.

While I waited I could hear her chatting with the other clerks. She said that one of the "my last name" was here and looking for a package. She said she'd seen it come in this morning and had thrown it in another pile. Now I'm confused...If she knew it came in and handled it herself, why did she tell me there were no packages? The other clerk asked her if I was actually here waiting to which she replied yes and there was a sigh. "Well I guess you better look for it then," was the response. At this point I was a bit nervous, but after a few more minutes the first clerk came out with the right package and I ran off to my car to open her. Pictures of her and her really pretty box (unexpected) are forthcoming once I'm out of class.