More sculpting!

My first foray into additive modifications!

I'm not sure what possessed me to suddenly want to do this, but out of the blue the other day I thought "You know, it would be nice if Uri had pointy ears..." Canonically (in my stories) I've toyed with Uri's appearance, and thought it would be fitting to give him pointy ears.  It's not something that was ever particularly important, but I liked the image of a little pointy-eared devil.

I have never attempted additive modifications before, so this was a little daunting.  I've done all kinds of sanding, painting, carving, eye opening, and such on dolls before.  But the nature of additive modifications is different.  Different potential for messing up, and requiring supplies I have never used.

I ended up buying some Milliput Superfine White sculpting putty, and going to town on Uri's ears.  I was initially looking for a different compound to work with, but this one worked surprisingly well.  Essentially you are provided with two different compounds (they look like rolls of clay) which you mix together for a certain amount of time.  Once mixed, the putty goes from tacky, to moldable, to rubbery, to rock hard (within 24 hours).  I sculpted on some ears for Uri, measuring out two small balls of clay that were the same size.  I went for slightly thicker ears because I was afraid of them getting chipped or breaking off if they were thinner.

The package suggested using some water both on your gloves/tools, as well as on the putty itself to smooth it out.  I completely recommend this.  I had read about Milliput before, and found that some people thought it was too dry/crumbly in comparison to other sculpting mediums.  However, if you throw a little water on your gloves while mixing, and fold it in, it is the perfect consistency.  The same goes for smoothing out things like fingerprints or cracks.  Just dip your finger in water (or a tool I suppose), and slide it over the surface.  It will get a watery film, but it will also smooth out.  You can actually do this up to an our or more later, in my experience.

Twenty-four hours later they were very solid and ready for some light sanding and painting.  I used a sandpaper with a grit of 220, which is very, very fine.  The Milluput sanded quite nicely, and I also did a little sanding of some resin as well to smooth out the appearance.  I then mixed paints and colored the ears as close to his resin as I could, and it's pretty accurate.  I'm sure that color matching and using an airbrush would be superior, but I worked with acrylics myself.

So now for some images!  The mods are not perfect, this I realize.  They could be improved upon, but I love them.  Uri has always been a bit of a guinea pig, and despite the trial and error, I enjoy the results.

30 Day BJD Challenge- Day 19

19). What is your dream doll?

I have never been one to have a "grail" doll.  More so I've had grail items or pieces of clothing, but those could then be applied to any doll.  That being said, I consider Uri to be my dream doll.  He was kind of unexpected at the time I found him, but I had always liked Els and wanted to own one at some point.

That aside, I think it's really his personality and energy that make him my dream doll.  He's one of the first dolls I've felt such a connection with, and that has only continued to evolve as the years have gone on.  He is one doll whose fashion and appearance can change with mine, making him extremely adaptable.  Overall he's my favorite, and I can't imagine owning a doll that would be any better.

Cosplay Preview- Mini Party Poison!

This is just a preview of the jacket, but since that's a huge part of the costume, it's kind of a preview of the cosplay too. :)  Uri and I have cosplayed as killjoys before, but not with his own real outfit.  Technically we both have our own killjoy personas (Baby Berzerker for me, After Burn for him), but since I have the Party Poison jacket, I wanted a PP cosplay for us as well.  

So this is the jacket I've been working on for the last couple of weeks.  It's based off a pattern from Undead Threads for a trench coat/duster, but I shortened it.  The details were hand sewn in felt, and the Dead Pegasus patch was embroidered on.  It technically still needs the lighter blue strips on the sleeves, but I totally forgot about those when I bought the fabric, and therefore I didn't buy the felt.  So when I hit the craft store next that will be remedied.  For now it's looking pretty good though.  As a note, the jacket actually sits right, I just forgot to fix it for the photos.  So it's not really uneven.

More to come as the cosplay progresses! 

30 Day BJD Challenge- Day 17

17). Do you have a favorite company?

This is kind of a tricky question for me.  Overall, I'd say my favorite company is Volks.  I love their sculpts and the culture they've created to go along with them.  Many companies have large stores, but Volks (to my knowledge) is the only one to have their own compound.  The representatives are all very dedicated and care a great deal both about their dolls and their customers.

On the other hand, I also love Cerberus Project's (CP) sculpts, potentially even more than Volks'.  Technically CP is not a company, it's a sculpting team that sells dolls through Fairyland currently, and previously did so through Luts.  Uri is an old CP sculpt from their time with Luts, hence why he's referred to as a CP Luts Delf El (sculpting team, company, doll size title, sculpt name).  I have always loved everything about the Delfs from their design to their posing capabilities, and of course their personalities.  So aesthetically speaking I suppose CP could be my favorite in a sense.

New face up!

I repainted Uri last night, after he spent a few days with no face.  I really like this new look, though I may be making a slight modification and resealing part of it.  It's not perfect, but it's all part of the process. His eyes are very similar to a way I've been doing my own eye make up lately, which is sort of ganguro inspired, somewhat panda, and all random. :)

It's a good thing this blog isn't a living thing, or I'd be charged for neglect. :/

Thankfully my reasons for being away are mostly good.  Two very good friends of mine got married, and I was sort of overtaken by wedding prep and parties.  There were dress fitting parties, pre-wedding party parties, a day of pampering with the bride, the wedding, pre-honeymoon party, and finally a post wedding party.  All of which were very fun, but I kind of pushed everything else to the side for those weeks (month?!).

But I'm back now, though without much to offer up.  No new photos of the boys yet, or even any projects.  I've been fairly lazy.

The one thing I have been doing is playing and singing a lot of music, both original and cover songs.  I actually have a lot written about Uri's storyline, and a little bit about Ghost.  But I don't have much of that recorded.  Instead have a video of me playing one of the song's on Uri's mix: Sympathy for the Devil!

Still alive, just stolen away by work and illness.

Monastery Shoot

I did end up taking Uriel to the monastery this week, though the grounds were a lot different than expected.  I did explore a small path that wound its way around the lake, and got some shots of Uri on the little bridges and the path itself.

Haunted Vessel: Uriel Part III

I hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween!  I spent most of the day working, and then went to my tattoo studio for a festive tattoo. Pictures to follow this post. :)  I thought I would do one last Haunted Vessel post for this October, even though the month is over.  who says the creepiness needs to be?

So a couple evenings ago I got ready for bed, and tucked Uri in across from me.  I have a very large bed and I only sleep on one side, so I will tend to keep dolls or books on the other.  The bed is big enough that I won't disturb whatever is on the other side, and it makes for easy grabbing if I'm reading a book before bed or doing something will my dolls.  So I wrapped Uri up in a blanket and tucked him under my big comforter on the other side of the bed.

I fell asleep, and ended up having a strange succession of weird dreams and nightmares.  The last one of the night was a nightmare, though I don't remember all the details of it.  Unfortunately I am not a lucid dreamer, and it takes a lot for me to wake myself up, if I even can.  So I am more often stuck in dreams until something else wakes me or they run their course.  That night I tried to wake up on my own but couldn't.

Suddenly I feel this tap on my forehead, both in the dream in in reality, and I woke up.  Immediately in my field of vision is Uriel's hand.  He was still on his side of the bed wrapped up, but one of his arms had been freed, and he was pointing it directly at my face.  The tap I had felt was that of his hand hitting my forehead.

There was no way I could have partially freed him in my sleep, let alone left him otherwise perfectly tucked in.  Uriel has showed up in my dreams on occasion, what's to say he didn't poke me to wake me up from my nightmare? :)

The Haunted Vessel: Blue Mary

Grave of Mary Ritter Spaulding.

There are not a lot of local legends where I live that have ghosts attached, and even less that I will visit voluntarily.  Blue Mary is one surprising exception to this.

"Blue" Mary is a spirit that haunts Vale End Cemetery in Wilton, NH.  According to legend she appears as a blue light, and has caused any number of accidents, evps, creepy feelings, and supposed attacks.  I personally have never felt any malice in Vale End, or from Mary herself, but that's just me.  Most stories about her do suggest she is a vengeful and angry spirit, though when you hear her history it's no wonder.

In life Mary was known as Mary Ritter, or by her married name Mary Spaulding.  By all accounts she was a happy woman, marrying Captain Isaac Spaulding in 1795 and having eight children.  Some local folklore reports that Mary was a healer who specialized in using herbs, but there are no other sources to verify this information.

Uriel at Mary's grave.

Mary died in 1808 at 35 years old.  There is some mystery surrounding her death as well.  Some legends suggest that her husband was cheating on her with a younger woman (who he eventually married), and the depression and anger caused by this drove her to suicide.  Others agree with the infidelity, but say Mary wasted away on her own.  One word-of-mouth report I heard included Mary hanging herself in her home.  Whatever the case, Mary died young, leaving behind a husband and eight children.

It's traditional to leave offerings to appease
Mary. Note the pennies on her grave.

In 1809, a little over a year after his wife's death, Isaac married his second wife Mary Flynn Colburn.  Some reports suggest that this Mary was in fact the woman Isaac had been having and affair with.  When this Mary died, Isaac had her buried on top of his first wife.  It is for this reason that many people say Mary Ritter has returned to haunt Vale End.

I have been to Vale End a number of times, and have not experienced the terror that most reports insist is present.  I'm not sure exactly why that is, other than perhaps the fact that I really, truly, feel for Mary.  To me it isn't an attraction like a theme park, it's sad and unfortunate.  I like to go and talk "to" Mary, leave her little gifts as is customary, and often play her songs.

I haven't had any intense experiences, but the last time I was there I did experience something odd.  I brought my guitar along, and sat across from Mary's grave and played her songs for at least an hour.  I sang a number of covers, and then I delved into my own works, not all of which are particularly poppy or happy.  I found that when I sang my own music, I would feel a presence over my shoulder.  In particular when I sang a few songs that dealt with death, I felt the presence and the faint touch of something.

At first I thought the nearby trees were dripping on me, but this feeling occurred only when I was playing.  If I stopped playing/singing, it stopped.  There was no wind at the time, and I even moved out from underneath the trees to see if that was the cause.  However, as soon as I started playing again, the feeling return.  It honestly almost felt like tears falling on my shoulder, which is strange to say the least.

This time I went back with my sister and Uri, and we wandered around the cemetery for a while taking in the scenery.  Ghosts aside, it's truly a beautiful place to sit.  Hence why I come here so often with a book, guitar, sketch pad, etc.  I snapped some pictures of Mary's grave, and some f Uri with the grave, as well as some of the cemetery itself.

I should add that Vale End is also known for having at least two other spirits in residence.  One is an old man who wanders around near the cemetery gate.  Supposedly his daughter was buried in the grounds, but her grave was moved at some point.  The man returns and looks for his daughter's grave.


The second spirit is where most of the frightened reports come from.  According to local legend there is a Native American troll-like spirit that lives in or around the cemetery in some sort of den.  Apparently this area was the location of a massacre of Native American people by the Wilton townsfolk, and this creature is a punishment left in the wake of the violence.  I have never experienced either of these secondary ghosts, but that's just me.

Here are some more picture of the cemetery itself to give you a better idea of what the grounds look like.  It is really a beautiful place.

For more information on Mary and Vale End:

SPI's Website

Union Leader article

Ghosts of New England article

Hollow Hill article

FamilyPedia entry

Nashua Telegraph article

Mori Uri

Spent last night working on a new mori outfit for Uri.  The bloomers are the same from the previous outfit, the top I made from an old linen shirt I had bought years ago at Goodwill.  I *love* Uri in this style even more than I thought I would.  I can't wait to get some pictures of the two of us together.

A couple of detail shots taken with this cool old trunk my roommate has:

And my little "helper." :)  Bear assumes that any time I'm sitting on the floor I'm free game, so he kept crawling into my lap and knocking my camera out of focus.  So I had to take some pictures of him too.

 

Steampunk Weekend Roundup

This past weekend was the big steampunk convention, and while it didn't end up being big, it was fun.  I didn't got a lot of pictures, but here are a few I did take.

 

Outfit for day 1, a sort of gothic steampunk  pirate ensemble.  I love my boots. :)

  

Outfit for day 2.  It's basically a steampunk belly dancer inspired look, give or take.

  

This sign was awesome.  I squeed, and then ran to take a picture.  

  

And finally a picture of Uri from day 1.  He had two different costumes too, but I only got a picture of this one.  This is my new phone's camera believe it or not.  Awesome!