Dollaholics!

So I know news of this brand spankin' new BJD forum has been making its rounds on Tumblr, but I wanted to join in the fray with my own little announcement! I am merely a member of the forum, but I'm already so thrilled by the positivity this forum is offering those to the BJD community. So I'd like to share it with you all, and encourage you all to join the brand new Dollaholics!

http://dollaholics.com/

This forum is all encompassing and boasts not only it's  own friendly, interactive forum, but a marketplace and specific areas to write blog posts (including offside blogs like Tumblr and Blogger), share photos and videos, and various groups. This forum is dedicated to bringing back the community aspect of the hobby, holding everything in a centralized space.

Personally, I'm very excited to see how this forum will continue to grow and hope more collectors will join and spread the word.

Completing Kassia!

So this post is a little overdue, but I figure a late update is better than none at all! A little over a month ago I posted about bringing home my very first girl BJD home,a DIMDoll Kassia hybrid with an Asleep Eidolon body that I purchased second hand.  After that it was time to play the waiting game with DIM as I placed my order for her head.

True enough to the DIM website, less than a month later her head was shipped out, and she arrived March 12th, 2015. Her box was so much tinier than I had anticipated, but as I began to unwrap her I could instantly feel myself falling in love.

She came with a little certificate of authenticity! It's been so long since I've ordered a doll straight from the company I forgot all about those.

Freshly unwrapped, the smell of her resin was SO strong! 

I wasted absolutely no time putting her together. Sadly my sunlight was beginning to wane by this time, but I was able to snag at least a couple of photographs of her fully assembled.

Ta da! I was able to borrow her wig, shoes and eyes from the stash I already had laying around from my other dolls. Luckily two of my boys have extremely small bodies and require girls shoes to fit them! Her dress was the only thing I purchased new from her, a quick $20 ebay purchase so she'd have something to stay at least a little modest.

Ironically, this look is absolutely NOTHING like what is actually suited for her character. Eventually, I intend for her to be a blue eyed, curly haired redhead with a penchant for detailed, extravagant dresses in jewel tones. It's going to take me awhile to have the time and means to get her to that point, but I look forward to the process and I'm just so enchanted with her at the moment I don't mind her inaccuracy.

So with that, I have my very first female BJD. She's everything I had hoped for and was well worth the effort to get her here!

Bringing home Kassia...

So I know in times of grieving that "retail therapy" is never usually the best solution. But I don't care. Right now I need something new to focus on. Something with instant gratification that I ccan hold and touch and play with. And it just so happened, being tax season in the United States, I actually had the excess funds to do so.

I decided to purchase a new BJD. It's been a very long time since I've added to my collection and although I constantly wish about getting back into the hobby, I never really do. Well, I've wanted a girl doll for years, and as I've mentioned before in previous posts, there has been only one girl who has ever really caught my attention and stuck with me: DIMDoll Kassia.

Ironically, I only purchased her body so far. I knew I didn't want the default DIM body, instead hoping for something a little more delicate and pear shaped. After too many hours of research that doubled as a wonderful distraction, I finally found the Asleep Eidolon 1/3 body. It's absolutely perfect. And by a stroke of luck, I found an amazing seller in the United States who was willing to split their Asleep Eidolon Solstice they had for sale so I could only purchase the body. She arrived super quick, and here she is.

Been such a long time since I've had the excitement of opening one of these...

And the first peek, a little bubble-wrap mummy.

Here she is. Gosh, I feel like it's been so long since I've even handled my own dolls. Just unwrapping her and inspecting her over was such a delight.

Standing all on her own. She's so beautiful and absolutely perfect. As my only girl BJD, it was very important to me to find her a body that I absolutely adored and I didn't want to compromise on that. I specifically knew I wanted a girl with smaller breasts and wider hips, and it was vital she not be overly thin with visible ribs or hip bones. This body is just gorgeous, slender but still with an obvious softness about her.

Overall, I am extremely pleased with her and so happy to finally have my one girl BJD home. Her head is already on its way home to me as well, so luck willing she'll be whole in no time.

Saying good-bye...

This is Nazomi. 

He's a Dream of Doll Kirill, and I purchased him in 2007. I am devoting this post to him because I am selling him.

Ordinarily I try not to dwell on the selling of a doll as I try to come to complete terms with it by the time I sell them and I'm more than ready for them to move on. At this point I've already sold two full dolls and two floating heads. It's not the most fantastic feeling in the world to realize a doll would probably be more suitable for a different home, but it's sometimes a necessary evil. But Nazomi is a little bit different. Nazomi is special.

He was, after all, my first doll.

I know there's a lot of differing opinions about selling one's first dolls. Some owners simply can't dream of it. Some owners hold onto their first even after they no longer like the sculpt. For some owners the sentimentality makes it worth it to keep first dolls around even long after they've been outgrown.

And other owners are different. Some sell their first doll within the first year. Some owners don't have a strong emotional bond to their dolls. Some owners never felt attached to their first at all and viewed them as a starter doll.

Neither type of owner is correct or incorrect. There are all sorts of reasons after all as to why someone may or may not choose to sell their first doll. And up until recently I was always in the camp of never being able to let him go. He is, still, quite special. He was the first doll I was truly smitten with and saved vigorously for. I purchased him as a graduation/birthday gift to myself. He arrived to me in my very first apartment on my own, and his arrival date just happened to fall on the birth of my cousin's very first son. He represented an original character who meant a lot to me and I had created in my final years of high school during a very difficult time in my life. Needless to say, he was quite precious to me.

But a lot changes in 7 years.

My tastes have changed. Even this little picture of him shows just a fraction of the amount of work that has been put into him in order to hopefully get him to look the way I want. He's been through more face-ups, wigs and outfits than any of my other dolls in a desperate attempt to get him to look how I envisioned. But there was always an underlying structural issue. His nose and lips were too thin. His chin was too pointy. Something, anything that could not be changed.

His importance to me as a character changed a lot as well. Although I still immerse myself in the fictional world that fuels my creative juices, the character of Nazomi had changed drastically, and is no longer as an important influence on me as he once was. He's no longer even a he!

I admit, it was a long process to accept the fact that he needed to be let go. Every time I looked up and saw him on the shelf, I was stung was annoyance over the money I poured into him and no matter how hard I tried, he just didn't aesthetically appeal to me anymore. Sometimes I would imagine what I would do if I could start over, would I get the same dolls? The answer was always yes...except for Nazomi. But I couldn't get over the guilt. He was my first doll!

Eventually, I caved. It wasn't easy. But after a lot of thought, I realized this doll had served his purpose to me. He helped me into an amazing hobby. He brought to life a character that was precious to me and encouraged me to continue chasing after my writing and artistic pursuits. He was an amazing inspiration to me that will continue on even after the doll is gone.

So this sweet Kirill is going to a new home. He is no longer Nazomi, and that's okay. Getting rid of the physical form does not diminish the spirit of his character, nor does it erase the wonderful memories he's brought me. I'll carry them with me and hope he can bring just as much joy and imagination to his new owner.

Good by Kirill.

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!

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!