BJD Resolutions 2015

As my BJD hobby is becoming a great part of my life again, coupled with how easily it fits into what I deem as my personal "Lolita lifestyle", I thought it would be fun to add a secondary "resolution" list pertaining to it. However, as BJDs are even more frivolous than Lolita (as at the very least I do require clothing of some sort), I'm attempting to keep this list a bit on the more low-key side. As much as I would adore to splurge, with money on the tighter side of things this year, I really have to get a bit creative.

Elysium Jamie

Customize Elijah:
Elijah is my Elysium Jamie head hybrid on a MSDoll body. I've had him since 2010 and this poor boy has had almost NO work done on him. In my defense, he requires a pretty heavy modification as his character is half Indian and half Native American, so his super pale resin just isn't going to cut it. I'm going to attempt the perilous journey of somehow getting him to the right shade of brown (whether that be through dyeing or some other means), though after that my creative juices will probably be shot and I'll more than likely send him out for a face-up. Either way, he must be finished! This includes finally getting him an actual outfit that really suits him instead of the leftovers that just happened to fit.

Find proper shoes for all:
I'm not proud to admit that two of my dolls have absolutely no shoes to speak of. None. Zero. Not even slippers. This must be fixed. This year. Period.

Take proper profile pics of all:

This ties into my Lolita resolution of attempting to grow patience with photography in general. I've put a lot of work into my dolls and I'm proud of them. While photo-stories and the like don't particularly interest me, I would like to have at least one, clear, pretty profile shot of each of them to share. Sadly, I only have about three thus far.

Switch out eyes:
I know this is such a simple thing, but I think this really shows the extent of my laziness. One of my dolls, embarrassing to admit, has never had a pair of eyes in his head. The others all have eyes, but many do not have the proper color or material. A few months back I went to a small BJD convention with my sister and actually managed to snag quite a few pretty glass eyes for awesome deals...and they've been sitting in a box since. It's time to stop avoiding it and just get them in their heads already.

One big doll purchase:
Pretty self explanatory, but I do aim to have at least one major doll purchase by the end of the year. This could be a new head (or two or three), a new body or even a really awesome, super intricate fullset outfit. I don't have any specific plans at the moment, but I know with proper saving then I will be able to achieve something special.

Yay for resolutions! I have a very positive feeling for 2015 and I'm excited for all it has in store!

Lolita Resolutions 2015

With 2014 rapidly reaching it's end, I thought I might partake in a good old fashioned tradition. Evaluating the past year, how I and my life has changed, and the new steps in which I hope to pursue in the future. Apply a Lolita spin onto that, and we have Lolita Resolutions for 2015!

I admit, I am wary of referring to these goals, hopes and aspirations as "resolutions". The word has a heavy connotation attached to it, and given how rapidly my life has altered its path over these past few months, it's impossible to say that in just a few more my priorities and circumstances might also grow drastically different. With that disclaimer in mind, onward!

Experiment with my hair
My hair tends to be very flat and often boring. It is naturally wavy but refuses to hold proper curls without half a can of hairspray. My hope is to find at least one new, every day style to wear that's pretty, easy to do, and not just a ponytail or bun.

Take better/more photos:
 I'll be the first to admit it. I detest taking photos. This includes both pictures of myself and taking photos of other people/things. I simply have absolutely zero patience for it and as I'm rather un-photogenic, always wind up frustrated with how I look. Still, on the rare occasion they turn out nice, I do actually very much like to look at them after. And as I expect this to be quite an interesting year, I'd like to try to push myself to actually document it more along the way.

 Invest in underskirts: 
 I have continued to push and push this off, and I realize it's really inhibiting my enjoyment of wearing Lolita. I definitely prefer to wear skirts that are actually at my knee, and I often feel uncomfortable in Lolita that is even just a couple inches too short.

This lovely has been on my wishlist for far too long!

Grow my blouse collection:
This is the bane of my Lolita existence. I seem to have the very, very worst luck when it comes to finding pretty, Lolita or Loliable blouses I can both afford and/or fit into. Over the past few weeks I have come into the very annoying predicament of having far too many skirts (both of the Lolita and non-Lolita variety) with almost nothing but plain tank tops to wear them with! I often avoid the problem by shopping...for more skirts! I really need to focus specifically on blouses and tops as I've already grown weary of recycling through the 3 or 4 I have that are actually suitable for something nicer than the beach.

Socks: 
Just...socks. And tights. I've lamented earlier about my love/hate relationship with tights,but I have this unshakeable belief that many coords look ten times better with pretty, detailed, dainty stockings. While I'll never stop wearing my plain black faithful tights, I am determined to continue working on adding a bit of life into this particular area of my wardrobe.

Find my own personal style:
For as long as I've been dabbling in Lolita and all the research and blogging that's come along with it, I still feel that I don't have a very strong grasp when it comes to my own unique, personal style. More and more lately I've been blending Lolita with non-Lolita pieces and I'm finding that this freedom to experiment has really rekindled my enthusiasm in fashion as a whole. I'm excited to continue searching and finding out what really is going to make me feel beautiful and how I might be able to share what I'm learning along the way with others who are also still on the hunt for their fashion voice.

I realized a little late that this is actually this week's topic for the Lolita Blog Carnival! So I'm going to go ahead and add in some links to my fellow bloggers. As always, thanks for reading!

Raven Snow
The Bloody Tea Party
Diary of a Gothic Lolita
The Kingdom of Frilly Magic
Masquerade Doll
Alice in Lolitaland
OH TRALALA
Geisha Baby
Hello Batty
Lolita Glamour
Classical Doll
Sparkling Girl

Doll Wishlist Meme

As I last left off introducing my sweet BJD Isaiah to the blog, I thought it appropriate to continue the trend a little longer. I had originally intended to briefly introduce the rest of my collection first, but instead I came across this Doll Wishlist meme over on My Doll Adventures, and I thought it looked like fun. So onward with the meme and my crew can be brought in next time.

1. How many dolls are on your wish list currently? 

I currently have three dolls on my wishlist.

1. DIMDoll Marcellina 
2.DIMDoll sleepy eyes Bellosse 
3.DIMDoll Kassia 

Technically my wishlist may constitute as four as I do have one floating head, a DIM Robel (no longer sold on the DIM website), who I do intend to purchase a body for. However, as I'm still undecided on the body and it's not a full doll, I count the wishlist as three.

2. How many Larger (65cm+) dolls are on your list?  
None. The tallest dolls in my collection are about 62 cm and this already feels like an unwieldy height for me.  Although there are some beautiful dolls out there in this size, I already know they're simply too big for me so I know to avoid them from the start.

DIMDoll Marcellina

 3. What about 1/3 sized dolls? 
All of them.Dolls ranging from 55-60cm are my favorite height for dolls, especially those closer to the 55 range. I don't intend to buy full dolls from DIM as I like hybrids (almost all of the dolls in my collection are hybrids of some sort), so I am leaning toward finding shorter bodies for the heads on my wishlist if possible.   

 4. And 1/4? 
Also none. While I prefer this height to larger dolls, I don't really want to accumulate any more. While they're not super tiny, they tend to feel just a bit too delicate for me to handle comfortable, and just a couple inches too small for me all around. I think if they were closer to 50cm rather than the usual 42cm, I might be more keen on them.

 5. 1/6 and smaller?

So there are no smaller dolls on the wishlist either, but I admit not to being completely opposed to them. While I have no plans at this moment to acquire, I can't deny that they don't intrigue me, particularly the pet BJDs. While I don't see myself actually purchasing a human doll in this size as I have no character for one, a pet or animal is a different story as I feel it can be easily separated from the rest of my dolls while still giving me the freedom to dress it up and freely explore the options this size has to offer.

 6. What is your grail doll?
I don't have one and I actually never have. I don't really see the point in coveting a doll that is so expensive or so rare that I have an extremely slim chance of ever really acquiring it. All the dolls that I fall in love with enough to want for myself must fit within a certain set of perimeters, otherwise it's just a very pretty, expensive paperweight that I have no emotional connection to which is an important aspect for me when it comes to dolls. I don't have time to waste energy on pining over something solely because it is beautiful.

7. What is the most expensive doll on your wishlist?
This one's tricky. Because I do plan to hybrid I am admittedly looking at cheaper bodies for the heads as I'm no longer in a place to spend an excessive amount on what will constantly remained covered up with clothes anyway. For the boys (Marcellina and Bellosse), I don't know which head will recieve which body at the moment, so it's up in the air who will wind up as more expensive. For the Kassia head, as she will be the only girl in my collection, I see myself giving in and splurging a tiny bit more on a nicer body for her, so of the three she will likely wind up the most expensive.

 8. What about the most inexpensive doll?
Same as the previous answer, it's a toss up on the twin boys as to who will wind up with the cheaper body in the end.

DIMDoll Kassia

9. Which doll do you most look forward to getting in the future?
Oh gosh, this is so difficult to say because I really do love all three of my future planned dolls. I suppose if I absolutely had to choose, it would be Kassia, as she will be the only one of the three who will actually remain a female while the other two will be turned into males. She will be my first and only girl doll, and for years she continues to remain the only  girl I have remained interested in. She's perfect.

 10. Lastly, can you list all the dolls on your wish list?
 Certainly! I just did for the first question and three isn't a lot to remember ;)

 Tag some people to keep it moving!

Sadly I don't know anyone in the BJD blogging universe to tag! But if you're interested in writing out your own answers, please feel free and let me know, I'd love to read!

Meet Isaiah

Hello again lovely Lolita ladies and gents! Today I wanted to post about another hobby of mine that is also extremely near and dear to my heart, and (in my humble opinion) compliments Lolita wonderfully.

Ball-Jointed-Dolls!

This is Isaiah! He is a Doll in Mind Bellose head hybrid on an Ariadolls 14 years boy body. He's 4 years old (holy schmoly, did I really get him back in 2010?), and just as beautiful as ever! I admit, he is by far the girliest boy in my collection, but I purposefully chose to use him as my BJD ambassador directly because of his adorable girlishness. 

I joined the BJD hobby over 7 years ago in June of 2007, which actually surpasses my dabbling in Lolita by about 6 months! I was rapidly lured in by their beauty after spotting them during an anime convention and absolutely could not get them out of my head. Once school had ended and I had some free time on my hands, I researched them like crazy! I was absolutely hooked and yearned for a few of my own to embody my most precious original characters.

Thanks to a conveniently timed birthday and graduation, I was able to save up for my first, a Dream of Doll Kirill fairly quickly! It was all downhill from there. As I was still an extremely wary newbie Lolita, I focused most of my attention on BJDs, and my collection grew fairly quickly, with three minis, six 60cms dolls and one floating head.

Over the years, as my love for Lolita grew, my darling BJDs have been pushed a bit back on my priority of hobbies. Unfortunately they seem to be sitting in the dust for far too long now, and I'm slowly easing myself back into them, hence this post! I still have plans for three more dolls, twin boys and a girl (my only girl!) as well as finally uniting my floating head with his body. 

By no means do I intend to rush into anything as the hobby still remains expensive and I certainly don't intend to leave Lolita behind. But I'm excited to play with my dolls again and introduce them to this blog. If you have dollies of your own, I'd love to see them!

Happy December! And engagement photos!

Happy December everybody!!

I absolutely love this time of year (specifically because I DO celebrate Christmas, not because of all the cold, and wet and too tight tights), and because Thanksgiving was so late this year, I feel like December really snuck up on me. I'm not complaining though! This is going to be my first ever Christmas with my fiance and on top of that, it'll be the first Christmas in a very long time where my entire family will be together!

I know everyone has there own reasons for how they feel around this time of year, but for me, I receive so much enjoyment in giving gifts, having that aha! moment when out shopping and being able to spoil the people I love. Due to the sudden obstacle of wedding costs (omg!) my budget is quite low this year, but with or without money, I'm still excited to give something meaningful to my friends and family.

Speaking of weddings! I don't really plan to spam this blog with TOO much wedding talk (let's see how well that fares), but we just received our engagement photos we took in Disneyland and I'm so excited! I was really nervous as I don't photograph well and obviously these photos as very special to me so I wanted to love them. Luckily I do!

I'm so happy with them! Thanks for humoring me and until next time!