Obitsu 11cm has joined the family!

I just sort of fell into getting this guy. I was wanting to save up for a PKF, but then I saw this body is the same size as the PukiPuki via someone's body comparison photos, and decided, what the hey. It's cheap, cute and easily obtainable. So, I bought him last week. I bought the body in the white skin (which isn't white) and the Cocco head. I also bought a pair of 12mm eyes, which were the recommended size for him.

He got here yesterday. Junkyspot always ships so quickly! As soon as I opened him, I knew he was the right choice. Yes, he's small, but no smaller than what I have already sewn for.  I have had a larger Obitsu in the past, but I sold him before we moved. I didn't see my doing much with him at the time, and the more I didn't have to pack, the better. So, I figured it wouldn't be much different. But when I tried to put his head on, it just wouldn't go on. :/ I watched a tutorial, which didn't really help. I did some more searching, and found out that it isn't uncommon to have to use a blow dryer to get the head on. (And that was probably obvious, but I wanted to make sure so I didn't mess my little guy up! Which I will do once I give him a face up. So, I ended up just unscrewing the neck piece, put the head on and popped the neck piece on top of it. It stays on just fine. The body comes with 2 other pairs of hands (fist and sort of gripping hands), 2 other neck pieces, and also a ring which is supposed to go on in the middle of the neck piece, to keep the head resting where it is supposed to. Mine doesn't need it, as the ring is a little bit too big for the neck whole on the head. I'm also having the damndest time taking his head cap on and off.

These little heads have molded eye sockets made out of the same vinyl as the head. When I tried to put the eyes in, there was just no getting them in. I did some more research, and I read that putting little slits in the sides of the eye sockets can help. I did that, and still no fitting. They are just too big. I am going to get some 10mm and see how they fit, although I am considering getting 8 instead. Maybe I'll just order both sizes and see which one works. So, for anyone getting the Obitsu Cocco head 12mm DO NOT FIT.

Small issues aside, I adore this little guy. He's so cute, and amazingly posable. I've named him Pepper, and I will be getting him a black long fur wig. I am not sure what style of clothes to make him yet. It's going to be hard to find any boy shoes in his size. Most are the typical Mary Janes. Here's a picture of him, bald, eyeball-less, clothes-less and face up-less,

Paper plates for dolls!

Another weekend has come and gone. It was a good one. Watched the Packers wallop the Panthers today until the station decided the game wasn't "competitive" enough. GRRRRRRRRR. Thank you. I suppose a 28 - 3 score wasn't enjoyable for everyone. But did you HAVE to make me - a Packers fan who doesn't get to watch many of their games -  watch the Seahawkes and Rams? I admit, it was a more "competitive" game. Not a bad ending, interesting, coming down to the last minute sort of thing. But I sire was enjoying watching my team.

Yesterday after we got the house all picked up, I opened the package I ordered from Joann's. I hit a sale on the paper punches and also had a coupon code for shipping. So, I got 2 punches the right size for my 1/12 and 1/6 plate molds, and also some triple thick gloss. Let the paper plate making fun begin!! Which it did.

After dinner we rushed to Michael's to spend that 50% coupon that expired later that night. I wanted to grab some felt tipped pens to put edging onto my plates. I used acrylic paint with both a thin brush and also a tooth pick, and while it worked, I figured pens would be much easier. I also wanted to get some more scrapbook paper. The paper was 4 for $1. Yay! I found some pens that I thought would work, and figured I would use the coupon on them. (They were $8.) I wanted to check the clay section before we left to see if anything was on sale. And then I saw it.

I had watched a tutorial before dinner on making ice cream out of clay. She used some sort of tool that was a Walnut something or another extractor. I couldn't remember what she had called it, and did a half baked search trying to find it. (Because I didn't want to re-watch an 8 minute video to write down the name. Makes sense, right?) Well, lo and behold, there it was! A Walnut Hollow Clay Extractor. With 50% off coupon, it would only be $14. Yep, it was coming home with me.

I didn't try it out until today, and it is wonderful. Last night's paper plate mania ended with my making nearly 50 plates. I still need to seal some of them. What fun! Next up is making food to go ON the plates. Here's a picture of some of my plates:

Inspiration for clothing

I have been so busy with commissions (always a happy thing to say!) and Halloween food for my shop that sewing new doll dresses just has not happened. It's Fall - Winter will be coming up pretty darn soon (wow, already??) and I want to make some winter weather dresses for Blythe and AGs. But what? Since I only make Historical AG clothing, I've been looking for some inspiration from real vintage patterns, catalog images and the like. I'm really getting excited about some Edwardian designs for Samantha. I need to go fabric shopping....:D I actually book marked these images in an organized manner. Go me! This way I am not sifting through a massive pile of unnamed images. (Which is the way it has been.) I'm putting them into their own labeled folders. I will thank myself later.

I then got to looking at Victorian Mourning Dresses. I have to make some for my Blythes. One thing I love about these dolls is they are small (less fabric!) and I can make them these sort of dresses and it'll look right! I stumbled onto this site called DevilInspired. Oh, do they some amazing clothes! I find I tend to prefer the gothic Victorian dresses (big surprise) vs. the technically more historically accurate. At least to make for my dolls. Though one of these days I want to take on making as historically accurate ensemble as I can manage. But back to DevilInspired, I want to make Lotus a dress like this:

http://www.devilinspired.co.uk/gothic-victorian-dresses/82-classic-black-bow-and-ruffle-gothic-victorian-dress.html

It is so amazing, I was practically drooling in my coffee. They have so many gorgeous gowns. My girls will be thrilled when I have time to make them something like these!

So many wonderful things to make, and not enough time to do it all! Hmmm, I need one of those time bender things from Harry Potter.....

Guilt Free Buying :D

It's a nice feeling when you spend money on something that you feel no guilt over. We all do it, as collectors, when you buy something and kind of cringe in between the feelings of ecstasy when you buy that something that you really didn't need. This time, I am so thrilled with what I bought. And it is completely guilt free. 

I did buy another TBL Blythe. I had to. She is en route as we speak (or as I type.) I cannot wait for her to arrive. I justified her purchase when I decided I would re-home my Very Cherry Blythe. I am just not bonding with her either. Lenore will have to find a new body later on. My yellow haired TBL is just perfect, I think. I have her all figured out, and do feel pretty confidant she will be as I have her planned. I had some commission money free, so I grabbed her. I have still to list my VB Blythe. I am hoping she will sell pretty quickly. Not sure what I will do with the money from her selling, but it won't be more Blythes. Not for now. I'm settled with just the 2.

I am been splitting my sales money between buying more supplies (I had to grab more clay for more Halloween food) and also supplies for my own creating. I have this unbelievably awesome commission for a Pipos outfit with a buyer I am very familiar with, having sewn more than once for her. She is wanting to go all out, which is basically music to any commission artist's ears. I suggest investing in some milliner's supplies for a really nice hat. And I bought some silk to make it with. She was all for it, so now I am impatiently waiting for my supplies. I also grabbed some tiny trim and a book on making doll and doll sized trims, which I  hope will prove useful. 

I also bought some tights for my Blythes, shoes, and some tiny eyelets, and eyelet tool, and about 4 yards of black lace. Yesterday I grabbed some black pleather for some Blythe sized corsets, so now I will have the eyelets to make them look right. (Lotus is wanting a black and white Steampunk outfit, complete with corset.) I also got some tools for tiny slay sculpting.

It's been awesome! I have some money set aside to buy some better clay for doll figures. I'm going to re-research it out - I've looked before, but I need to re-look. I have plans for a creepy fun house, which needs some properly creepy figures. Sculpey is just too soft, but if in the end that't what I get, that's what I get. 

In case you can't tell, I am really happy. And stuck watching the world's most boring football that just happened to go into overtime.