Dolly Updates

Just some quick pictures of the new boy with his face up, different wig, and new  (fantastic!) eyes.  

Tonight I am blue for you...

New boy!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day from everyone in the Den to you! <3

I apologize in advance for lagging updates for the next few days. I usually try to post more when I get a new doll, but I seem to have come down with some god awful virus thing...So I'm just going to drink hot water and shivery in my big sweater for a while. But here are some pictures from today. And yes, I am at work despite being ill, such is life. :/

In an effort to brighten my day a bit, I dressed Mr. Doll and I in matching outfits.  Yeah, I'm that much of a dork.  I did edit out my face however because I'm sick and quite miserable.  No unhappy faces on the blog! I've found that I may need to get some new clothes for Mr. Doll, as he is just a smidge too small for most of Uri's things.  Shirts are okay, they just come off baggy and with very long sleeves.  But the pants fit a little awkwardly.  They are too big i the waist and often rather long on the legs.  Not completely unwearable, but not the best either.  I don't quite know what his style will be though, so I'm hesitant to buy anything until that's figured out.

And a quick shot of Mr. Doll with his old face up before I removed it.  Pretty, but not what I was looking for.

Dolly Talk: The Sound of Music

Since I was little, music has played a big role in my life.  Both my parents were musicians, and I am rarely not  singing, playing, or writing music.  It's not just a part of my life, it is my life in many ways.

I have a habit (okay...addiction?) of making themed mixes.  Sometimes they have an overreaching theme...like mori for example.  Other times they are for a particular day, or even a particular activity.  I have a bunch of driving mixes on my iPod for when I go into the city, each one tailored to the event I'm attending.

My dolls do not escape my music obsession either.  Each active* doll has their own mix that connects to their story line and/or their personality.  Uriel has the most extensive mix by far, but he is also the most developed character.  Nowell just recently got his own mix with some songs I've been collecting for him since I got him.

Whenever I get a new doll, I select a song to play when I open them.  I like there to be a special first song for them to "hear."  Uriel oddly enough didn't have one, I hadn't finalized this practice when I got him.  Granted he now has more songs than anyone else.  Nowell 's song was where he got his name, "What Child, Nowell" by Tori Amos.  Arashi's first song was "Hills and Valleys" by The Rocket Summer.  Sometimes the song is influenced by the idea I have for the doll, and sometimes it influences the development of the doll.

I knew what new doll's song would be even before I paid him off: the live version of "Rhiannon" by Fleetwood Mac.  That is a song I actually sing at open mic, but I had never heard this particular live cut before.  I stumbled upon it while poking through Fleetwood Mac's discography on Spotify and there it was.  It's mysterious, and magical, and everything that I wanted for this doll. Oddly enough even as the character may be changing, the music I've picked out for him has stayed the same.

*By "active" I mean dolls I'm currently writing about/working with. Arashi for example is inactive because I don't know what I'm doing with him.  Right now Uriel, Nowell, and this new guy are active.

After it's all said and done...

I'm not sure I've ever had this much trouble restringing a doll, but I guess they say the things you work for are the most rewarding.  I'm not sure about that, but my hands do hurt like crazy...

I did end up wiping his face after all.  It was beautiful, but just not the right look for my boy.  Now that it's off I can see him a little better.  And I found that he actually has the old-fashioned carved eyebrows which was a neat surprise.  His face/face shape is also much more gender neutral without the face up.  I'm not sure what I want him to look like yet, or even what his name will be, but it will come.

Overall he's a great example of adorable old bjd.  His body is cute and chubby, as are his hands, and his face is very anime-esque.  I'm particularly in love with his big eyes.  I always buy Uri reflective eyes because his eye openings are so small, and the light really doesn't come through.  But this boy has big, wide eyes.  I think I will keep his "default" brown eyes because they are so pretty, and they remind me of my eyes.

And beyond that...no idea.  I've had a few thoughts on a name, but nothing that has stuck yet.  Same goes with a style.  We'll see what comes with time.