Giveaway by a great teddy artist

I just bought a cuddly bear (actually little devil...) from this artist, but her style is so varied, I really wouldn't mind to have another one! Drop by to enter the giveaway:

http://ele-penzeva.blogspot.de/2013/01/blog-post_5513.html?m=1

Sophia (by Bo Bergemann)

I did not have any doll money left.

Moreover, I did not even like Bo Bergemann dolls until now.

And then I saw her... This is the photo that made me discover all about Bo Bergemann, dig her site up, decide that I indeed liked and LOVED her sculpts, contact Bo, and even order another doll because no way I was paying £450 for this one, although she's worth every shilling:


But then I kept on coming back to Sophia's listing. And I saw her price go down to £400. More than fair, a steal for a full-set doll with an artist face-up! But I had no money to spare, period. But even so, I was so tempted I actually started writing a message to the seller (but later deleted it). Twice.

Then something breathtakingly amazing happened. Something so magical I can hardly explain. I think i will write a separate post about it... You see, I had money set aside to buy Nefer Kane's Nexeven. If you go read her story, you'll know why I had to have her, no ifs or buts. However... one night when I was down, sad, depressed and drowning, Nefer lifted me up spiritually. And not only that. She giftedme Nexeven.

Well, that night I could only cry tears of joy and gratitude. The next night, however, I was out there looking at Sophia again. And I saw her price come down to £350!!!

I wrote the message to the seller instantly, and sent it that time. And upon her reply (pretty much instant) paid her - with the money I had set aside for Nexeven previously. And the doll was delivered today.

Unfortunately, my baby boy (3 months old) also got his first set of shots today. So there are no good photos to display, but the box opening ones with a mandatory backdrop of my comforter :) are here for your viewing "pleasure" (behind the fold). And HERE you can read more about this doll's amazing body, appropriately called Dream Doll body. There will be a new doll using it, coming soon - Emily. But now, more of my gorgeous full-set Sophia:

Character List

RealPuki Family: -3

Minu -Fairyland RealPuki Tyni ('the Patriarch')
Attea - Fairyland RealPuki Soso (Minu's wife)
Nelya - DreamHighStudio Squee Piko, Nelya's toddler girl

Their names, in elven speak, basically mean 'first', 'second', 'third'.

PukiPuki Famly: -3

Agnes - Fairyland PukiPuki Pipi
Janusz - Fairyland PukiPuki Piki (Agnes's hubby)
Maria - Fairyland PukiPuki Mary (Agnes's sister)

Nefer Kane group: -2

Nefer Kane Aleah (gymnast)
Nefer Kane Maheya (Aleah's sister and partner in act)

Mixed group #1: -6

Gaby - Nympheas Dolls Nympheline
Laurie - Dollzone Bunny (Gaby's girlfriend)
Sarah - Lati Yellow Basic Lami (their au-pair)
Button - Dollfactory Kiki (their foster child)
Muse - CharmCity Verse Philia (Gaby's daughter)
Alice - Luts Tiny Delf Alice (Sarah's best friend from language class)

Their other child that Sarah is watching is a non-BJD clay baby Phoebe, biological to Laurie

Mixed group #2: -6

Aire - Raspberry by Asella (steampunk witch)
Addie - Bo Bergemann Addie (Aire's toddler daughter)
Sophia - Bo Bergemann Sophia (gypsy astrologer, Aire's business partner)
Lani - Bo bergemann Sugar Baby Leiani (Sophia's baby)
Emma-Rose - Leekeworld Mikhaila (Aire's human maid)
Flickr - Flicker the Dragon by Mushroom Peddler (Aire's magic pet)

Mixed group #3: -6

Moina - Soom Dolomi (dragon girl, guardian spirit of the forest)
Theodore - Nikkibritt Studio Feenix, faun, Moina's closest friend of all forest creatures
Donovan - Mushroom Peddler's Shelly the Turtle, forest spirit of the water
Pierre - Mushroom Peddler's Floppy the Lop, forest spirit on the plants
Uhu - Mushroom Peddler's Hoot the Owl, forest spirit of all living beings
Andrea - Judy Porter's Maddie, autistic 7 y.o., the only one to see Moina's gang; Moina's friend

Mixed group #4: -3 (4)

Hillary - Doll Chateau Hillary (а young teenager that grew up in a circus)
Cheddar - Pipos Cheese Mouse (her sentient mouse friend, possibly imaginary)
Cricket - ApoDoll Bonnie - ornery spirit in Hilary's consciousness
^Critter - star of Hilary's sideshow, trained hamster

Mixed group #5: -3 (4)

^Malvina - Goodreau ABC (Carabass's runaway puppet)
Four-leaf Clover - Mushroom Peddler's Willow (spirit of the meadow)
^Maja - Buzz the Bee by Mushroom Peddler (Clover's pet)
Foggy Dew - Mushroom Peddler's Ivy (spirit of the swamp) **
^Basö - Slimy the Snail by Mushroom Peddler (Dew's pet) **
Penelope - Nefer Kane Nexeven (spirit of the sea) **

Mixed group #6: -3

Ichiro Wakahisa - Elfdoll Mir (retired yakuza assassin)
Amondi - Iplehouse B.I.D. Erzulie (Ichiro's 4 y.o. adopted daughter)
LeGush - Mushroom Peddler's Ribbit the Frog (Amondi's pet frog) **

Mixed group #7: -3

Wynona - BJTales Mouse (tender and artistic young lady living in her own French cottage)
Katie- Irry's Manuna the Mouse (Wynona's maid) **
Gerard - Soom MD Toad Prince (Katie's fiancé) **

Stand-alone characters: -2

Tink - Kim Lasher's Elphie (tooth fairy) **
Patrick - DreamHighStudio Mica (baby rhino)

---
40 /excluding vinyl ABC and 3 pets
10 groups + 2 stand-alons

Another census

BJD list:

Pipos Cheese Mouse
BJTales Mouse @
Doll factory Kiki the Piggy
Latidoll Yellow Lami
Luts Tiny Delf Alice
Fairyland RealPuki Tyni @
Fairyland RealPuki Soso
Fairyland PukiPuki Pipi
Fairyland PukiPuki Piki
Fairyland PukiPuki Mary
Elfdoll Mir @
Leekeworld Mikhaila
Soom Dolomi
* Soom Frog Prince
Doll Chateau Hillary
Iplehouse B.I.D. Erzulie
Mushroom Peddler's Flicker the Dragon
* Mushroom Peddler's Ribbit the Frog
Mushroom Peddler's Shelly the Turtle
Mushroom Peddler's Floppy the Lop
Mushroom Peddler's Hoot the Owl
* Mushroom Peddler's Ivy + Slimy
Mushroom Peddler's Willow + Buzz
CharmCity Verse Philia
Dreamhigh Studio Piko
Dreamhigh Studio Mica
Nefer Kane Aleah
Nefer Kane Maheya + biter
ApoDoll Bonnie
Nympheas Dolls Nymphette Mocha
Nympheas Dolls Nympheline
Nikkibritt's Studio Faun
$ * Kaye Wiggs Larissa
Asella (Noble Dolls) Raspberry @
Bo Bergemann Addie
Bo Bergemann Sophia
Bo bergemann Sugar Baby Leiani
Judy Porter Maddie
* Kim Lasher Elphie
* Irry Manuna-mouse
+ vinyl Goodreau ABC
+ resin pet hamster

$ - for sale
* - pre-order or otherwise incoming
@ - was a gift to me

Total: 35 /excluding vinyl ABC and pets and 5 gifts

Evolution of a Mouse

(in a dress by Smilga)

This is how she looked when she first arrived to me. Notice that she had a full face-up, body pushing and even adorable mani-pedi! My dream doll:



I have later discovered that she can wear PukiPuki clothes (and even stretchy RealPuki ones). Here below she is wearing a Puki miniskirt and RealPuki top (hand-knitted by Smilga) with a wig sold by Jpopdolls especially for her:



Eventually, I somewhat corrected this awful look by giving her a haircut and putting her in a matching Puki outfit (made for my Pukies by Poltorakota). I also swapped her eyes out for more natural-looking ones (I also tried some with smaller iris, but they were a disaster):



Then, I ordered a wig by catesch with a flower wreath, a couple of dresses by Rella and on top of that, totally accidentally, traded my PukiFee Ante for a GORGEOUS dollhouse by bevwales (there are also more for sale). Under the jump, there are many pictures of her showing of those dresses and the new home. Enjoy!

BJD 30-day Challenge: Day 30

Q: Have you ever been to a doll meetup? Did you enjoy it/do you plan to go to one in the future?

A: I imagine these meet-ups to be a lot of fun, but I have never attended one. I want to, however! And I probably will, at least one time, and probably many more unless I get disappointed - or grounded by my husband for spending too much money :)

The biggest European con - LDoll - has always been my dream destination, but something always came in the way (like, kids; ha!) and I still don't give up home to get there one day. In fact next year, if I'm still in Germany (which is uncertain at the moment), i have tentative plans again to come to LDoll with my first ever dolly friend. I think she would enjoy it and we'd have the time of our lives!

If I miss LDoll... I'll just die! (joke ;)) Seriously, if I miss LDoll and even if not, I'll probably try to go to one of the big US cons - there are several ones throughout the year in different states. There are also amateur collector meet-ups which can be lovely too. I think I would only go to those if they were not too far from wherever I live, though.

BJD 30-Day Challenge: Day 29

Q: Post a picture of your dolls exploring the outside world!

A: I looooove to take pictures of the dolls in the garden! I was surprised I didn't do it more often :) Here's one, for instance:



This is one of my finest roses she's sleeping on :)

BJD 30-day Challenge: Day 28

Q: Post a crazy/silly pose!

A:



She doesn't want to be seen without face-up! :)) (Part of the box opening shot)

BJD 30-day Challenge: Day 27

Q: Do you have a favourite out of your own dolls? (Don’t worry, we won’t tell the others ;D)

I always say that BJtales Mouse is my grail doll, the pinnacle of my collection. In fact, judging by the amount of spoiling it receives (handmade dollhouse, exclusive dresses and wigs, etc.) it is easy to see that she is, in fact, my favorite BJD. But deep in my heart, I'm attached to Nefer Kane's weird, anti-cute, unique, amazing Humpty Dumpty. One day I will make a separate post about her, for it's not just the doll that has my heart, it is also the story of its purchase and, most importantly, of my and Nefer's friendship.
So here are both of them:

Mouse with the house :)


Humpty Dympty -

BJD 30-day Challenge: Day 26

Q: Done your own faceups? (Again, do you think you’d do that?)

I should try, as I have pastels and paint and can easily get MSC. Experimenting could be fun and waaaaaay cheaper than getting professional face-ups. But... Probably this won't ever happen, for two reasons:
- No. Effing. Time.
- 99% of dolls I buy already have faces-up. Especially artist dolls: this way, they are completely formed by the original author, start to finish.

BJD 30-day Challenge: Day 25

Q: Have you ever modded a doll? (Do you think that you would?)

A: No, I didn't. Nor do I think I would. Artist dolls I own I would never mod as they are a finished product - customization isn't really the point with them. A few more traditional ABJD I own I wouldn't mod either as to preserve resell value. For a while I was toying with the idea of a removable pregnant belly for one of my dolls, but gave up on it as I realized magnets would also have to be mounted into the doll's stomach - too invasive for my taste :)

BJD 30-Day challenge: Day 24

I realized I accidentally answered the question no. 23 twice, but since both answers are true - I'm going to keep both of them!

Q: What about your favourite part of the hobby?

A: I think photostories. We all do photography, but the challenge of a story is to have a meaningful 'script' and to make the dolls look 'alive' - which to.me is the ultimate goal of the hobby anyway, hence the jointedness :) At the same time, demands placed on the quality of every single picture are a little lower in photostories, which is liberating...
Here is my first (and so far only) complete and published photostory:

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjuF6rEE

(It's a Flickr set, just click every picture in order and see text underneath)
I also bought a couple of stop-motion apps and plan on taking photostories to the next level of actual moves starring my dolls. Oh, if only I had time.... :))))

Updated census:

Dollzone Bunny
Pipos Cheese Mouse
BJTales Mouse
Doll factory Kiki the Piggy
Latidoll Yellow Lami
Fairyland RealPuki Tyni
Fairyland RealPuki Soso
Fairyland RealPuki Roro
Fairyland RealPuki PuPu
Fairyland PukiPuki Pipi
Fairyland PukiPuki Piki
Fairyland PukiPuki Mary
Fairyland PukiPuki Sugar
Fairyland Multihead Cupid (PKF body) ¥
Fairyland PukiFee Zoe
Fairyland MiniFee Soo
Elfdoll Mir
Leekeworld Mikhaila
Soom Dolomi
Doll Chateau Hillary ¥
Mushroom Peddler's Hoot the Owl
* Mushroom Peddler's Willow + Buzz
* Mushroom Peddler's Flick the Dragon
CharmCity Verse Philia
Dreamhigh Studio Piko
Nefer Kane Humpty Dumpty + doggie
Nefer Kane Suzy + blob
Nefer Kane Iracebeth + * big ear
* Nefer Kane Aleah (layaway)
* Nefer Kane Maheya (layaway)
* ApoDoll Bonnie
Nympheas dolls Nymphette Moka
* Nikkibritt's Studio Faun

* - incoming
¥- Face-up needed

BJD 30-day Challenge: Day 23

Q: Is there a part of the BJD hobby that you dislike?
A: Yes. Selling :) It just so happens that I'm a rather impulsive buyer and even though I'm usually pleased with my purchases, sometimes my collection needs pruning and trimming. Like now I need to sell about 3-4 dolls and I dread it because:
- selling on DoA takes daily updating of the posts;
- I have this phobia, a terror really, that I might unintentionally upset the buyer and get bad feedback;
- shipping is always more expensive than I expect;
- waiting for the doll to arrive is nerve-wrecking.
And finally, but most importantly: there was a reason I bought the doll, there was a specific reason I liked it, and so separation is always sad even if its for the best... So yeah, hate selling, but it's a necessary evil I guess.

BJD 30-day Challenge: Day 23

Q: Is there a part of the BJD hobby that you dislike?

A: Not so much dislike... Let's say, not so excited about. It is the need to restring a doll. I've never done it, nor I plan on doing it myself, yet the day comes for every doll, sooner or later, when elastic gets too loose - for me, this will mean shipping the doll to the aesthetics' place and paying the fee and... Just this whole hassle for the service that won't even make a drastic visible difference - of course I will notice if they pose better, but...

BJD 30-day Challenge: Day 22

Q: What’s your favourite doll scale prop?

A: I really like chairs. Yes, simple (or not) chairs. They are versatile and can be used as a stand (back) or as a seat, and they look natural with just about any doll. Plus, it's rather easy to find a chair in correct scale. Some examples of a chair coming handy:











A chair is often invisible, but invaluable helper!

BJD 30-day Challenge: Day 21

Q: One doll you love, but will never (probably) buy?

A: Not one doll, but rather the whole brand: I really love Kaye Wiggs' dolls, they are unusual and well-made and 'solid', as in, do not look or feel fragile... But even then, I don't get, I simply don't, why the heck are they so expensive. One doll runs upward of 700, and they can be over 2000 on secondary market. Shoot me in the head... Even the clothes people make for them, although beautiful and usually very high quality, can easily run 200 and more. So as much as I love them - I'll probably never buy one. I may ask for a gift... But that is too much even for a birthday present, really.

BJD 30-day Challenge: Day 20

Q: What is your dream doll?

A: Wow... That's a toughie. Lately I was heard saying, on many occasions to many people, that my BJTakes Mouse is my dream, 'grail' doll that I already posses. But since then I fell in love with Nefer's dolls and now my dream is always whatever next doll she has coming out :)

So just let me post my updated state-of-the moment dolly wish list :) ::::

- Mushroom Peddler's Mini Dragon (currently sold out)
- Mushroom Peddler's new (tall) impling (incomplete prototype at the moment)
- Nefer Kane's Maheya, Bloop, ...
- Kaye Wiggs: MSD (most likely tan Miki)
- Nympheas Dolls: Nympheline

BID 30-day Challenge: Day 19

Q: A least favourite company?

A: There are tons of companies I don't care for - I am very particular with my tastes; it is easier to list the companies I'm interested in.. But I must say I irrationally dislike Dollzone. My first doll was from them, so I don't actually know what my problem is :) , but I don't think I would ever buy from them... I have an anthro bunny from Dollzone, and it is very cute (especially for the extremely low price it sold for), but it was a gift. I would never buy it myself, today.

BJD 30-day Challenge: Day 18

So, exactly a month after having a baby, I am happily making my way back to this blog - kind of easing into it with this meme as my time is still very limited...
Q: what is your favorite BJD company?
A: Taking 'company' in a strict definition of a business with several employees, palace that mass-produces their dolls from start to finish (including casting and so on all the way to face-up), my favorite has to be, hands down, Fairyland. Their dolls are really easy on the eye (although more cute than beautiful, frankly), they pose wonderfully - practically the best in every size range, from RealPuki to an SD. By the way, they are making those amazing RealPuki!! And if that's not enough, their prices are very very reasonable, for the industry, that is.
Now if we stretch the definition of a company to lone artists who may not cast their own dolls, but sculpt and face-up them and who have their own brands and stores... The winner is, of course, French artist I am honored to call a friend - Nefer Kane (CircusKane is her company's name). She is amazing! As a person, as an artist... Her dolls are special and all unique. Right now, for example, Iracebeth the Red Queen is on pre-order:




There has not been a doll by Nefer that I didn't want! :)