Monthly Archives: March 2009

Mar 31

Adjusting the Elastic Tension


Beyond the Glass
Originally uploaded by sweetmilktea

When my doll arrived, she was strung very loosely. Ball-jointed dolls are strung with elastic, which gives them the tension to move at their joints and hold poses. I knew that she would arrive with very loose tension, as it stated such on the Rosette Doll website. However, I was unprepared for the actual task of tightening her elastic cord, since I have never owned a doll before or done maintenance on one.

I avoided it for a week or so, afraid of breaking her and unsure of exactly how to go about the process. Unlike most dolls that I have seen, the knot for the loops of elastic within her body is not inside of her head. It is actually inside of her upper torso. This meant that I could not (as I had thought) simply pull up the elastic a bit through the head, re-tie the knot, and all would be well. Continue reading »

Mar 24

Making a Doll Your Own


Rosette Doll Eyes
Originally uploaded by sweetmilktea

The setup from Rosette Doll is one in which each doll arrives with a specific wig, specific eyes, a specific body, a specific outfit, and a specific faceup. This is not common among ball-jointed dolls–most dolls arrive with random eyes and a random wig, naked and unpainted. Sometimes they can be purchased as a “fullset,” where the doll should arrive as shown in the promotional images–usually a limited edition. Although Rosette Doll does issue limited edition dolls, even the basic dolls are fullset.

While there is something fulfilling about receiving a doll exactly as shown in the promotional images, part of the fun of ball-jointed dolls is customization.

The doll that I purchased was a limited edition Violet. Fitting of her name, she arrived with a violet eyes. Her wig was a lovely pale brown and ivory blend, styled with curls and pulled back from her face. However, those eyes and wig, although beautiful, did not seem correct for the doll I wished to own. When I first noticed Violet’s face sculpt, I envisioned her with dark brown eyes and blonde hair. Continue reading »

Mar 18

Waiting and Receiving

Recently I purchased a ball-jointed doll from Rosette Doll, a subsidiary of SOOM. Although I have known about ball-jointed dolls for years, I never wanted one for myself. It was enough to admire their detailed sculpts and interestingly engineered bodies from afar. I would poke around the Peakswoods website from time to time, ensnared by Yeru‘s sweet, lovely face ever since spotting her a long time ago on the Luts website. Sometimes I would spot a particularly beautiful photo that someone had taken of their ball-jointed doll, and think about the kinds of creative things I could do if I owned one. Continue reading »