Nov 9

Creating a Character within a Doll

While I’m waiting for news of my recent purchase, I can’t stop thinking about all of the possibilities for her. Unlike most ball-jointed doll owners, I don’t have characters in mind when I purchase dolls.

I’ve only ever been an extremely casual writer, and the attachment to my characters isn’t one where I hope to embody them. I find that the majority of ball-jointed doll owners (or at least those who are most visible) are writers with a desire to see their beloved characters in a tangible form. These are the people who plan every aspect of a doll down to the last detail. They don’t only know what colour eyes their doll should have–they know the price shade, depth, and speckling that should be present. They hunt endlessly for that perfect wig, frowning at a shade that is slightly off in tint, and contenting themselves that the current wig will be a placeholder until they find the right one. Continue reading »

Nov 8

Patience Is A Virtue…But It’s So Hard!

I’ve been anxiously awaiting the arrival of my soon-to-be doll, Volks Mini Super Dollfie Nagisa in Preschool, ever since I won the auction. There were a few bumps in the road, which I worried would cast a negative light on a (hopefully) happy doll arrival, but so far I’m not holding a grudge.

The auction for Nagisa in Preschool was my first time using Crescent Shop as a shopping service; usually I bid on Yahoo!Japan Auctions via Celga. However, I discovered the auction on such short notice that I didn’t think Celga would be able to bid on it in time. Crescent Shop, on the other hand, uses a real-time bidding system. However, I failed to realize several key differences in the payment system for Crescent Shop when I registered–I was simply too anxious and excited; I didn’t pay attention to certain parts of their instructions. Continue reading »

Nov 2

Looking for Little Beauty

The other day a friend of mine was kind enough to let me interact more with some of her ball-jointed dolls. She’s the only person I know very well who collects or is interested in ball-jointed dolls, so I had been talking to her a bit about my doll-related dilemma. I specifically wanted to contact her because she owns a great deal of Volks dolls, and I have been looking intensively at the Volks offerings. I prefer youthful adorable stylings as opposed to the look of mature teenagers or adults.

While looking around the website, I was enchanted by the face sculpt for the Volks Super Dollfie “Nono.” Large eyes always catch my attention, and something about her proportions appealed to me. (There is a similarity in the way her face is sculpted in comparison to that of Rosette Doll Violet, although they certainly don’t have the same type of look. Both have expressive eyes and downplayed noses and mouths.) Due to my attraction to the sculpt, I toyed with the idea of purchasing a Super Dollfie Nono–although I couldn’t quite decide on the standard or creating a Full Choice System doll. Continue reading »

Nov 1

The Lull


Special Uniform [2]
Originally uploaded by sweetmilktea

Poor Miss Claudia has been very neglected as of late. I feel quite guilty about it; she hasn’t become any less of a beautiful, wonderful creation–I just haven’t given her the attention she deserves. I don’t have an excuse for it, nor would I want to make one.

As a ball-jointed doll, no matter how lovely, is ultimately an inanimate object, I don’t really think that she can be “neglected” in the truest sense of the word. I don’t consider doll collectors who have their items only on display or carefully stored away to be neglecting their dolls. However, on a personal level I dislike failing to utilize something to its utmost in accordance with how I feel that item ought to be utilized. I don’t keep clothing that I don’t wear, no matter how much I love the design or suspect that maybe perhaps someday there might be a reason to wear it. I don’t store non-perishable dry goods infinitely in my cupboard; if it isn’t eaten/used within a reasonable time period and I have no plans for that item, I donate it. Toy items that aren’t played with or reasonably admired find new homes. Books that sit on the shelves for months at a time look for new owners from a library’s fundraising table. There is nothing I keep to excess. Continue reading »

Jul 3

Special Delivery


Special Uniform [6]
Originally uploaded by sweetmilktea

Yesterday Claudia and I received a very special package from Rosette Doll. In early March, just a bit past Valentine’s Day, I had ordered a clothing set from the company. They posted a cute story about festivities that occur at the school during Valentine’s Day, from the usual chocolate gift-giving to a special celebration for the principal’s birthday.

To celebrate this occasion, the students wear a special uniform in a rich chocolate-brown shade. This was the first outfit offered for sale on the company’s website, and I was very eager to own another outfit that I knew would perfectly fit my doll’s odd proportions. It also was in my favor that I adore dark brown–especially because the style of the drop-waisted sailor uniform looks especially nice in a darker color. The pale trim on the skirt, collar, and sleeves shows up for a striking contrast. I placed the order and waited.

And waited. Continue reading »

Jun 27

Searching for Scenery


Among the Clouds
Originally uploaded by sweetmilktea

Now that I’m out of school for the summer, I started hunting for good settings in my area to take pictures of my Claudia. Taking pictures of my doll is one of my favourite activities to do with her, because it is one of the few things that I can share with other people. I am not yet at the point where I can properly illustrate the storyline I imagine for her, and I haven’t anyone to play with. No-one would want to hear my mindless babblings about the detail on her tiny clothing and my utter inability to replicate such a level of detail. So instead, I take pictures and upload them to my beloved Flickr account.

However, I don’t want to take just any old picture, as I mentioned in a previous post. I don’t think of myself as a photographer in the slightest, but I always have something in mind when I take pictures. A few photos with flash in a dimly-lit hallway just make me feel disappointed. Continue reading »

May 24

Snapshots of Resin

Lately I haven’t had much time to spend with Claudia. I graduated from university this May, and my final semester was extremely stressful and kept me constantly busy. I had to carefully set my doll aside for the final month of school to avoid spending too much time with her and not enough with my studies. When textbooks made my eyes blur and papers tired my fingers, it was very tempting to ignore the rest of the work that was due and fuss with her instead.

Now that is over, and I plan to start taking pictures of her again. Taking photos of Claudia is one of my favourite things to do with her, because it is a way that I can share her with other people. This was especially important before my person moved, as prior to May there were usually several hundred miles between us. I am not a very good photographer, so I rely on a few tricks so that I at least have a few pictures decent enough to show other people without feeling ashamed. Continue reading »

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 »