26 Things About Me

Omni, a Hemera-Maru owned
and painted by Rikkistar.

Hello everybody!! I know I'm late to the party of this meme, but I thought I would do it anyways :D However, since I do not like sharing personal stuff, I will do a modification on it: all 26 things are about me on the hobby, my thoughts, anecdotes, and other things. I also included photos attempting to diminish the wall-of-text feeling! Hope you will find it interesting or funny.

I also need to thank Hasel and Tsumo from the Discord BJD chat, for helping me come up with some words for this meme, because my brain was fried xD

Artist's Dolls

I have always admired artists dolls. In fact, Calina is one, although her artist (Morla) wasn't able to make many of them, or sell them abroad. I think that in this moment, my favorite artist dolls are those from MDR (you can read her interview here).

Body Blushing

I must confess, I have seen some amazing and breath-taking body blushing. For example, MisMantis' work on her Cerisedolls, although you should check her blog, it is full of stunning blog. Another one I do love, is RikkiStar's work on her Hemera-maru (see the photo!), because I find it not only cute but also so original!
However, none of my dolls have body blushing, and -for now- I don't think any of them (or the planned ones) will get body blushing. Since I sew so much and change them so much, I think it will be too risky and too expensive to maintain, since I cannot do it by myself.

Customs

Well, why not? For anybody that lives on a country with customs, it becomes an intrinsic part of the hobby. It is no secret that my country has ridiculous limitations, we were even restricted by an amount of packages per year, and an exorbitant fee of 85%, that got reduced to 50%.
However, maybe, we are getting this lifted by near September. I say maybe because politics in my country are being ridiculous lately. The government made changes for the law, but any asshole can go and put a justice to work and get the law delayed. So I won't jump of happiness until it is fully functional.

Dioramas

I have always wanted a diorama for my tinies, but after finding DreamStudioDollHouse on Etsy, and BellachixDollWorld also on Etsy, I've been craving to have furniture for Coco, and the minis I have planned. I don't know, after the flood of commissions I got, getting a new mini (and an expensive one as an Iplehouse) gave me so much hope, so... I don't know. For now it is only planning and wishes, but oh well. I would love to get furniture to be able to share the story of my minis. But I will talk about that on another letter xD

Eyelashes

Okay, here are some anecdotes so you can laugh of me or with me xD
The first one was when Coco arrived. She had one point of one of her eyelashes unglued. I remember hubby raced to a nearby store to get me the glue. Then, I tried to glue it... you have no clue of how much my hands where shaking! I was so scared! I did glue it with no issues, but the story doesn't end there. When I went to sleep that night, I had so many nightmares about the dang eyelash!! I even woke up screaming, hahaha!
The other anecdote happened with Cookie, one month after I got her, I think. I was still so newbie and afraid of her tiny size! This time, the eyelashes fell out completely, so I had to glue them again. This time, I was not only shaking but my heart was pounding so so fast! I got so nervous, that when I was done, I realized I had started to sweat xD. To me, it was like doing an open heart surgery!! Hahaha!!

Faceups

Well, this is a thing on my to-do list. I have always been interested on doing them, but this year the "bug" bite me hard. However, due to the custom restrictions that I mentioned before, getting sealant inside the country is a no-go, and an airbrush or mask are 3x the price on any local store than buying them overseas and paying customs... but I will had the package limits.
So I decided to not learn. At least, not for now. Maybe in a couple years the resources will be easier to get, or I will be able to save more money. However, I have set myself on wanting to learn to do it. But I want to do it properly, taking the respiratory precautions, using correct products, and sealing the required amount of time... I say this because I have read about so many people not using masks, or washing the faceup with water, or using bad/cheap products. But no, I want to do it right. Not now, though.

Grail

Well, I have never thought about a grail like some people do, but I have craved for an Iplehouse JID for years (I did change the sculpt I wanted, though). Does that count?

Heels

Please, allow me to explain:

• BJD shoes and heels are a wonder in this world.
• Why does all the pretty shoes come in SD16 size only??
• Yes, on some wildest dreams I have considered getting an SD only for the shoes. Not happeneing, though.
• If I were a dragon, I would hoard doll shoes.
• Because of the previous one, I think I'm more capable to hoard shoes than dolls.

And here are my all time favorite shoes: Coco's cinderella shoes (they are the from Withdoll)... and yes, I want all of their resin shoes, and a bandwagon full of Tonner 22" heels, because they fit Withdoll girls too.

Interviews

Oh, this is interesting! At least, to me xD
When I decided to open this blog, I just knew I wanted to do the interviews, and share them in both languages. I knew it would be some work, but I sincerely did not expect some things that have happened. Sometimes I have thought of doing a "the making of interviews" sort-of post, but I always back away from it.
As unbelievable as it sounds, I have had artists and companies directly ignoring me and not even answering me (I have a list of them, to make sure I do not ask them twice). Other times, I have been requested to add watermarks to the photos, to check the spelling and to change a question after publishing because they "didn't double check" (despise the fact that I send them previews for them to check on everything), just to name a few things xD
But I don't mind, I will keep doing them! I'm not going to do collector's features, though. Too much work.

Jeans

I think I have been craving making some jeans since I got in the hobby, but I wasn't able to find fabric that was thin enough for my dolls. The joy of living in a third world country. However, sometime ago hubby suggested me to try to find that elasticized fabric that looks like jean, and I was able to make some jeggings! This year, the hubby strikes again, and he found me some thin jean fabric!!! I will be doing some jeans after finishing all my commissions, and I cannot wait!

Knitting

My mom is incredible amazing and talented, but I only know the basics of crochet and knit. So she offered to teach me! I have already planned a sweater for Calina, and a sweater and some crochet blouses for Coco. Then I was flooded with commissions and wasn't able to learn, but as soon as I'm done, I will start with it. I even already got some threads I've been dreaming about!

A photo posted by Musume (@musume.desu) on Aug 3, 2016 at 4:21pm PDT

Layaway

Never did one before! And I actually learned about them when I got in the hobby. I think I prefer to pay upfront and be sure I was able to afford the doll.

Miniatures

I need a bandwagon full of miniatures. Specially food miniatures. And regarding those, specially BadgersBakery (on Etsy) miniatures. They even make earrings and necklaces of food!! Because I'm not done with being building an army of tiny crystal animals for earrings and charms, now I need to add the food too xD
And since I'm such a fangirl of BadgersBakery, I contacted them and asked permission to post some photos of them, so please, witness this amazing tiny food!! Check their website too!

Photos and miniatures by BadgersBakery.
Used with permission.

Naming

My hubby has named all my dolls, and their names go along with a phrase! I did write about that here, so I won't be making this an even huge wall of text. The other day, talking with the hubby of course, he came up with a name for the red-headed girl that would be Coco's girlfriend: Robin. I love it! And I already know how to add it to the statement.
In the meantime, I need to find an Spanish lastname for Venezia. Any ideas?

Okasan

Well, you know about the Etsy store I help my mom with. This year has been weird. She did have some good things happening (like the first batch of bags that sold really fast), many commissions, and even sending a gift to the Swedish BJD con. However, we also had a lot of negativity again in the shape of Tumblr anon confessions. I even got accused (again) of stealing my mother's money. I will be forever grateful of the friends that got my back on that awful moment.

Photography

I'm an amateur, I know it. I bought a second-hand Nikon D5100 with the kit lens in November of 2014. As always, prices in my cuntry were ridiculous, and I couldn't afford a DSLR. But then, this acquitance was selling her camera, and it was in pretty good conditions, so hubby told me "it is a golden opportunity, let's buy it!", and so we did. Last year I got a tripod too!
I'm still practicing, although I always think that my photos lack in creativity. I will frequently find myself thinking that all my photos are "a doll in front of a background" with nothing else... but with me not having a backyard and not daring to take expensive dolls and camera outside the house, my possibilities are very limited =S

Una foto publicada por Musume (@musume.desu) el 15 de Ago de 2016 a la(s) 6:12 PDT

Quantity

Quantity over quality? Are those exclusive? I personally do not know. However, I'm sure that too many dolls would overwhelm me. I like to give them equal attention, and do something with each of them. This year I have neglected my tinies so much and I feel so terrible for it. That is why I do not think I could handle a 30+ collection... who knows what the future brings, though.

Recasts

*rant mode on*
They are not part of the hobby, and they are destroying it. Isn't the Doll In Mind dilemma proof enough? (If you don't know, they were having profit issues, and that is why they are discontinuing everything... I don't know what will happen after that). The artist of 5th Motif has been suffering a big deppression after he found out his Venitu was recasted. There were several artists that stopped making dolls because of recasts. Gosh, they even sent the Harucasting Adori, sculpted as an image of Haru's son, to be recasted? It is like, WTF is wrong with this people!? And don't get me started on the intellectual property, on buying stolen products, and so on.
Plus, pro-recaster excuses are whinier and more stupid each day. Yes, I am extremelly pro-artist. This is a hobby based in the art. The artists have made it possible. How could you not support them?

Sewing

Ohhh, I love sewing, who doesn't know that! This year I had several challenging projects (the two steampunk dresses) and some of my commissions challenged me too: I dislike working with tulle but I think I managed to do it pretty good, and it is the first time I will be sewing anything Edwardian-inspired too. A Greek dress may be incoming too.
I mostly learned to sew by reading online, looking for tutorials, and trial and error. Before having dolls, I really enjoyed making stuffed animals (I have a box full of them), but I adore sewing dresses. I want to try making some more casual clothes too, mostly because I want to do photostories with Coco... and hopefully with the Iplehouse I plan to order. Wish me luck!
The only thing I dislike from sewing, is a Murphy's Law: it doesn't matter how many threads one has, the exact color one needs will always be missing =S

A photo posted by Musume (@musume.desu) on Aug 24, 2016 at 2:32pm PDT

Tinies

Cookie might have been my only impulse buy. She was heavily discounted and I got her because I found her so sweet and wanted to try her size. Her arrival had a little of bad luck, with the former gonverment imposing most of our huge import restrictions, and I didn't dare to order her wigs or shoes. It wasn't until my mom gifted me that white wig and started making crochet boots for her that I completely bonded with Cookie.
Then I got Merry as a gift from Withdoll. I couldn't be happier with my tinies they are so adorable! I love making silly stories, I always laugh alone while taking the photos xD
I must be honest, I have several more "animal fairies" thought, but I currently have no plans on shelling them. Unless Fairyland releases an art sheep-taur like they did with the hypogriff-taur (I was really sad about not getting that one), and then I'm going to throw my wallet to the screen and get the sheep-taur! She/he (gender still undecided) is going to be a sleep fairy, always too bored and falling asleep anywhere! Hahaha!

Urethanes

At my beggining on the hobby I disliked urethanes so much. Then, I came to realize that I disliked the "cone" effect they get when they are badly positioned... or positioned to be in the center of the eyewell, but not to give a centered gaze, if that makes any sense? I still love Eyecos a lot, but mine came yellowed and continued to yellow.
Hubby got me urethanes for Cookie and Merry (they should already be here, dang it!), and I plan to order urethanes for Coco too. I do hope they look good, and light their faces a little more.

Videogames

I'm a nerd regarding games. Specially, I'm a Bioware indoctrinated husk (anyone that played Mass Effect must grasp that pun, right?). I have also played tons of MMORPG, Turn-Based RPGs, shooters, platforms... you name it. I also follow the E3 each year!
On the last Xmas, my hubby got my an N7 hoodie for myself, so I want to make an doll cosplay for Coco, and take some pics to celebrate the N7 Day this year! (that is November 7th). I hope I will be able to do it!

Writing

I think this one is the only story related to Coco that I ever shared, and it was years ago. Although I'm overcoming my shame on sharing Cookie and Merry's photostories, trying to publish anything related to Coco scares the hell out of me. I do not know why, but I feel so childish and ridiculous.
I still don't know how to share my mini girls stories. I know I will be getting the Iplehouse by the end of the year *crosses fingers*, but I don't think I could do photostories like with the tinies. Maybe small texts with some photos? What do you think? Would you be interested?

Xeroxing

This is a rare word, found by Tsumo from the Discord chat. Xeroxing is creating a carbon copy of a paper using a xerox machine... so basically, copying.
I'm not going to rant about recasts now, but about other copying on the hobby. For example, I don't know if you heard about Elfgutz. She had a 5th Motif Venitu, and countless (and I literally mean countless) people shamelessly copied her faceup, the cannula and exact details! Then there is the recent case of a recaster offering a bad copy of another person's faceup as an option for their recast!! (see here). This things leaves me with a WTF on the face. This is too rude!!
Having a default faceup from the company is not copying, but this people send the copying to a whole new level. I have also seen another Venitu were a faceup artist was given "freedom to paint it", and they simply copied another owner's faceup. This is so wrong, in so many levels!

Yellowing

This is something that scares me! Coco has slightly mellowed despise me taking a lot of care with her and always keeping her stored in a dark and dry place. It took me a couple months to overcome the fact that she had mellowed a little, but oh well. It is an intrinsic part of this hobby.

Zodiac

I never told anyone about this, but when I was saving for my first doll I made a lot of sketches of possible dresses. I actually sketched one dress for each of the 12 zodiac signs, and each of them was based on a traditional outfit from a particular country! I did a lot of research for that, but never came to sew it. I even had thought of making special parts like horns or shoes that looked like hooves.
Who knows! Maybe one day I will do them!

And this is all for this meme! Hope I didn't flooded you with words or bored you to death! I tried to put as many photos as I was able! Anyways, my packages have been kept hostages at customs for more than a week already. I do hope they release them soon. Do you have any dolly news? I'm not tagging anyone on this, because I think that almost everyone already did it xDD Anyways, have a great weekend!