The Dolfie Littles blog

A step forward with Holmes and Watson's case

A tray for the cubes I bought from Target.

So this tells me I definitely need 14" of space for Holmes up there, he's a a big boy. Not sure if they'll keep this or someone else will use it or I'll figure something else for it. Jimmy needs a case too except the three cubbies in the middle of this one are too short for his guitars because I made them out of the wood guitars so they'd look right. And he doesn't share.

The reading of Spider-Man 2 goes well, thank goodness Sam Rami did what he did with the train sequence. If they had stuck to the script that was used for the novil it would have sucked rocks instead of being a crowning moment of epic win.

The twin white elephants in the room

The always doomed to neglect Dollzone Recall twins Taffy and Jareth, Taffy is a day older.

Unwatched Littles will be given to the Goblin King isn't an idle threat around here...

My sister and I won the twins' heads way back in 2007 and the poor things have been too big and half thought of every since.

I do like the whole share and share alike with wigs, clothes, and shoes, it makes their odd size easier to live with. This is their Jpop Winds and Monique Starr.

The Monique BJ

The Monique Mallory, I want to say it's a Mallory. This is their Robert Plant Percy the rock god wig. It made me buy them their first non blonde wig, Monique Golden Auburn is so their color with their normal yellow skin.

This is a Lutz what ever the model is, now Taffy and his brown eyes can play Jimmy Page while Jareth plays Percy!

The two on the left. Anyone whos ever read From Eroica With Love, especially the Black Jack crossover (I think that's where it's from) knows the look on their faces is because someone just told them where the key to the vault is hidden. 

Yes, I have a Little Led Zeppelin but when I want to do some weight training I want to put on my walking shoes and take one of the twins to the mall. Taffy already has white pants and creepers.

Okay, he's barefoot and that's his Bee Gees jacket but it's a start. And a new wig is a great way to turn an old friend in to a new doll.

Does rewriting the measurement charts count?

Kicking around a 3 ring binder has wrecked havoc on my doll measuremnet charts and slopers so I have to rewrite them all. Graph paper, list of places measured, the measurements themselves, then drawing the slopers. The dolls are in metric, the paper is 4 per inch because its a lot easier to find. Then I need a new place to keep them like a nice pretty envelope or something. 

A copy of Knit Your Own Cat has been pre ordered and awaits delivery, the Alice book has been sent out SAL and will arrive whenever, no word on Dr Elebenty.

I redressed the Monsters yesterday, had a bit of down time as appointments got moved around, and felt the need to change a bunch of others' clothes. Dollhouse gang, McGann brothers, the poor peoples in the tubs. I need shelving or something to go on top of the Cubicals, or a place to put the doll cases on top of them, so I can display more doll peoples. I need ot put the shelf on the wall above my head for the Star Trek people. It has me thinking about a few more shelves. There are the walls above the doll corner...

I'm thinking how I want to do the photo story for Dr Elbenty's arrival, where will the other Doctors be and what will they be doing when they get the call? 

1 works at a sushi bar

2 visiting his wife at the burger/ice cream place where she works

3 at a fast breaking news story, or he's interviewing a Lady Gaga type and calls her attention whore as he leaves

4 has to find his head in the box

5 is in a bin somewhere heading for a doll holder

6 and 7 are cops

8 is in a bin, could be in something with the McGann brothers

9 is retired Spider-Man this close to becoming The Prisoner although the Spidey hands fit him

10 is in a bin heading for display

11 substitute is in a bin 

And everything in the room feels like a mess at the moment because I don't have the physical energy to straiten up. It's still at the clutter stage as I just parted with more books and trading card games in return for getting our stove hooked up. It feels good to know I can part with things. It's the needs moar dolls, DVDs, books I have to battle.

Although I just put a rooted Wolf Puncher on my wish list and I like the look of Klimt Barbie I haven't bought either. I haven't "wanted" them long enough. I want to cut up cereal boxes to play with ideas for the case for the Holmes and Watson I already have, I want to make clothes and stuff for the Lilly I already have so she can pretend to be Bluette and those other Victorian ball joint dolls, I want gromits and laces to make "leather" pants for the 70cm twins I already have. That is a better feeling then thinking I have to have a new doll. 

I need to get to rerooting again too.

Liam Neeson, wolf puncher

Huina humina humina ~don't drool on your keyboard~

Mkay, I've had my Darkman head around for awhile.

And need to take more pictures of poor Peyton, but I've never put him on a dedicated body. Well doll boards being what they are I discovered they made a rooted Star Wars Liam. Can't name the character, whole I'm a Star Wars I'm a Permission Slip thing.  It's a Kenner body so I can't say good or bad how it is and he's only on my wish list so I haven't signed off on anything. It's just wishing for a Liam with hair and the thoughts of making something of him like Wolf Puncher.

How cool of an action hero would that be? Liam Neeson, Wolf Puncher. Pull his string he growls or something.

Take a little bite, spend a splendid night, in our apple paradise. On second thought he shouldn't be a singing cowboy.

Research has shown the other Wolf Puncher dolls are on Sideshow bodies, and something like that or a Hot Toys feels more substancial for a man of his height. It got me thinking about my Darkman head and putting it on the Sideshow Art S Buck grey figure I have because it's made of Apoxie Sculpt which is grey and... Had to remember I painted Darkman's head which means painting his body to look like a crispy critter too. 

It still got me thinking how to get the grey's head off and Darkman's on because really only the hands would need to be done up, as long as he was always dressed. 

And the Darkman Hangman book is kind of sucky and I'm glad I only paid $1 for it.

In the middle of the novelizations of the Spider-Man films which are good.

Will be getting myself a copy of Knit Your Own Cat when it comes out, Knit Your Own Dog has worked out. I only made one big dog but I want to make a pack of smaller doll friendly ones. 

The La Doll Premiere clay is now a puddle of goo. 

I think this train of thought has run its course for now.

Bought the Alice book

It's too good of a price to pass up and I hope if Dr Elebenty comes due in the next few days is shipping isn't through the roof because Oops has invented a new task. 

After sleeping on all I said about the book and remembering that each one I've come upon in my travels has added something I figured getting it couldn't hurt. My brain craves new ideas and stimulation any way, even if it's twinkle thinking the solution to a "good" problem like where to put my magnet board. 

I am going to put serious work in to a doll making book this year and I get the feeling I'm going to find a new way to approach old solutions that will be most helpful to people. I'm not saying it's going to put other books out of business I'm just saying like my pattern drafting book http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/dolfielittles it will work along with other books. There's no point trying to put other ligitimate businesses out of business, find a way to work together because good things come around.

Some times it takes patience, like my smother has learned with the adventures of our stove as the third one is the one that works. It was a major cheap comes out expensive lesson for her as the first cheap stove she bought needed an oven part, the first part was the wrong one, the second part was unsafe and nearly set the house on fire. We didn't cheap out with the instilation at least. Now we have a working stove and oven from this century. There isn't an oven knob but switches and we have to download the instruction manual but doesn't matter have a stove.

It's also why I bought a dedicated clay oven.

Long ramble today. Spent last evening making a list of all the movies I have so I don't double up again, guess how many copies of Nosferatu I have and win one, as I just got some of those 50 bad movies for $10 packs. Some of it's The Borgias for Nicholas Rowe's part or region 4 Tommy for the comentary, and other things are Hortio Hornblower or the Criterion Collection Haxen because they're said to be good. Shackleton was really good. It also got me looking at the things I still haven't watched like the end of Alfie with Jude Law or Sky Captain. Some things its been so long since I've seen them I need to watch them again.

I think I need to make myself sit back and watch things to relax a bit more physically and spiritually. Now that the room has been washed to the standards of the person who insisted it smelled, which it didn't, and the furniture is painted which it needed I can put the final pieces in order and enjoy this room as my sanctuary. I just wish Madge the cat didn't know how to knock on doors at 5am.

Look! I makes teh bed!

Melting Premiere clay for reuse

If your LaDoll Premiere has dried up or you just don't like something you made you can melt it for reuse. 

The parts in question. It's been so long since I've worked on the LaDoll doll I've fallen out of interest with its particular form and I wonder if it will take further layers without issues. 

Awhile back I discovered that adding water to the remains of a dried out block made the clay workable again. You need an air tight container, I used a plastic bag. The bowl was just to contain the bag incase it leaked or sweated from condensation. 

There's no exact measurement for how much water. Try 1/3 to 1/2 the way up the pieces and let them soak. Check back occsionally to mix things up, squish the pieces, move them so all the parts get a good soak.

This is after a few hours, there's some plaster cloth and other bits in there but so far it's working. Im going to let it sit over night before I figure out my next step. I wasn't doing this with the full intent to reuse this clay but to see if it could be done and release any work that I did with the doll.

The results I previously obtained were like cream cheese or frosting and were of a great use as top layers of "skin" to help smooth htings out. One supposes if your stuff is too wet just let the air get to it. Obviously if you have stuff made out of Premiere you can take a damp sponge to it and "sand" any rough parts.

I did find what was left of the brick I wetted and it had dried out again. I was going to add it to this but I discovered a small amount of mold and decided to throw it away.

The price of the "Alice" Ball Joint Doll making book is reasonable now!

This is the book in question, it's kind of called How To Make Your First Ball Joint Doll book. I'll call it the Alice book to keep it separate from other doll making books I have. If you don't have a ball joint doll making book this looks like a great one to get.

 

And here's a reasonable priced seller to buy from http://www.ebay.com/itm/Make-Your-First-Ball-Jointed-Doll-Japanese-Craft-Book-/190616995199?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c61a8857f#ht_4009wt_1189 I've bought from here before and I'm using their images. 

If you don't hve the Yoshida book or the book I'll picture next then by all means get it. Remember you won't save a dime making your own doll, between the book and supplies just buy a "cheap" BJD. What you gain is the knowledge and experience of trying to make one. 

If you can't get the Yoshida book this one is a pretty good substitute, same basic idea just fewer step by step by step pictures. Any artist worth their salt can get by on this.

Now I am tempted to get the Alice book but until my next pay day I'm down to Dr Elbenty funds in my doll money, and I might not need it as these two pictures tell me and my years of experience a lot. If you have the Yoshida book or the one pictured above these next pictures should give you a big aha! moment. And it still might make you want to buy the Alice book.

Now this is very similar to an idea I saw years ago in a book being sold with a title along the lines of 3-D doll, but I wasn't about to pay through the nose for the book.

I wish I knew what the second book is called because that really looks like a great way at going about things and I'd like to give credit to whomever thought it up. 

As I learned the what possibly happened ending to Picnic at Hanging Rock, would have liked to have read it first but I've been told by several people that things happen for a reason, the Alice book is kind of on my list of things to buy. 

A paint job well done

Now this is something to be proud about, the tops still need one more coat and there might be some touch ups to do but I turned four sample jars of Poetic Princess, Salty Tear, Cabbage Leaf, and Crocus Petal in to this and I still have what looks to be enough to do the book shelf.

The little dresser started off school bus yellow with white trim and in my good 20 or so years of painting it was black and gold then all black, then the violet color I chose at the milenium which is exactly the same as the new one I just bought. (Crocus Petal) The big one was found badly painted white then I did the matches Crocus Petal, the unseen bookshelf was white and became the same matches CP. 

Two moves, the TV on the small dresser, and general other wear and tear combined with it being crappy Wal Mart paint took their toll. The tan paint and brown carpet at the last house made the lovely violety color look even dirtier and greyish. 

Alas my 'Orrible 'Oo mug didn't come pre smashed.

The dark grey was another sample, the idea was the color would hide and dust the TV attracted, and being eggshell things tended to stick to it and take bits of paint when moved. Had the same problem at the last house with the inside of the cubbies being painted with the same stuff. Flat is the way to go for furniture.

Did make the little dresser knobs almost black, I'm half searching for replacement knobs, maybe ones for polymer clay, haven't decided yet.

Once these are dry and back in place I can get to the bookshelf then off to other things hopefully more doll related.

Operetta is in the house

You know the drill, http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/dolfielittles Just For Us #1 is the Monster book. 

Love love love her logo and box color.

There is a bit of black hair in the back. This will be a puzzler as the product keeps the front intact but it makes the back kind of nasty :/

The rest of the news is all fabulous, everything about her is great. 

The scars in the face are pure Phantom.

The mask is on a comb rubberbanded on so it comes off.

The spider is too head heavy to stand up on his legs, the only real bummer.

The guitar coffin opens.

If Brian Setzer was a hot possibly dead chick...

Now if she can keep the other Monsters from mugging her...

Well, I guess I'll be doing a doll making book

Or Activaproducts why you no make Apoxie Sculpt? Well I use a fair amount of Aves and Amaco stuff too. Interesting they all start with an A. Contacted all of them for permission and await a response. The La Doll people were in contact with me before when I was just starting with the stuff.

I figure if I'm going to knuckle down and put some real effort in to making things like another Roger, a ball joint doll I can finish, and Jimmy and Marty and any other heads it'll be worth doing it properly with pictures and making some money on the tail end.

So the Dolfie Littles Book of Doll Making has just been started. I will assemble my supplies, take a good look at everything, and see what in the parts box I can melt with a hose. Not the old La Doll doll but I think the best thing will be to start from scratch with all the new things I've learned about sculpting and anatamy to guide me.