Back to the Grind

Oh my friends, this is it, the end of my baby vacation. Three sweet months of pretending I'm a stay at home mom. So bear with me, the posts might have a delay. But I always say that and realize that I just love writing. It was my first baby long before (or long after) dolls captivated my interest. So I'll always be around.

Anyway, let's get to it.

My Doll Room:

Since I am returning to work and my doll room is also my dressing room, it really needed some work. Again. Here it is before:

And after: I get my workspace again, Dani's house (mustardy walls) joins the record store above the apartment building. The gypsy caravan gets stored. It just takes up too much room.

My hutch was going to be a photo staging area but the shots came out terribly. We'll see. The euro sham pillow cases on the bottom are not glamorous but they hide the doll furniture well enough.

It's hard to see how much nicer in there it is what with those damn cedar walls. Ugh, I can't wait to move, but we've decided to stick it out and save up to buy a house. Anyway there are lots of projects here. I have to make backs for the doll rooms so they too won't have to deal with damn cedar walls.

Body Swaps

So had this Liv body sitting around. I like the articulation of the Liv body but doesn't have the overt sexuality of the FR body, or even the Dynamite Girls.

Remember Dusty? I dunno about her. Her head keeps falling off so I have to believe she's not happy in that body. And it's this overtly sexual body with this tomboy head. So there we go. Liv body it is.

I was this close to giving her body to my transsexual but I give my favorite dolls some seniority. So I gave it to Ms. Fear. And she looks amazing! I might have squeezed her head too much after I pulled it from the boiling water because she totally looks thinner. Here they are:

Really inspires me to do some more improvements with Ms. Fear. Why do I love her so?

Loving Dusty's new form too. Now she's hanging out with my coke-dealing Momoko. You know, a few years ago my husband and I made doll drugs for a brief shoot. He had a few things from his Bluntman and Chronic/Jay and Silent Bob action figures. We bent spoons backward and I happened to have a tiny mirror for us to make cocaine lines on with flour. Here's a shot from that:

Anyway these are very specialized doll props. I have nieces and daughters so I can't just throw recreational drug use into my dolls lives. But expect to see Dusty and Momoko doing everyone's share!


Glen or Glenda?

So onto my transsexual. I need a new name for him. I named him June for the transsexual kid on 20/20 but I'm not feeling it. Maybe something a bit androgynous. Oooh, what about Jean/Gene? An homage to June Miller (Henry Miller's wife)'s lover/benefactor? But wait, now "June" sounds glamorous again. We'll see.

Anyway I tried to give him Ms. Fear's body but her neck is too short. So I'll work a bit slower with him, leaving him in his body for now, and making a slower transformation. Right now he's still just a gay dude into the fetish scene who occasionally cross dresses.Who is growing increasingly unhappy and uncomfortable in his body.

So if time allows I'll give him a haircut today. Maybe bangs. Maybe a shorter bob? His factory haircut is terrible. I just need something a bit more feminine to last until get some doll hair and really attempt a reroot.

My Place Among You

The best part of this hobby is there are tons of areas to learn and enjoy. Reroots and repaints and other doll customization. Construction, photography, interior design. I want to attempt it all. But I longed for a niche. Something to specialize in and maybe even make some money at. But I've always been something of a dilettante. I scatter myself so much I never have a chance to get good at anything.

So I think I found my place. Customizing doll stuff. Mostly structures. Like my gypsy caravan. Or an old Barbie house or something. I've had a lot of fun working on it. I can see what areas need improving and where my strengths are. I know someone else who does that kind of thing and she's amazing. I think mine might be more kitsch and less class.

Which brings me to an acquisition announcement. I won an item on Ebay! This might sound crazy, but I've never won anything on Ebay. I'm all about the Buy It Now tab. I'm not a fan of the gamble. I like a sure thing. But I was loitering around the internet, sorta bored so I started searching for the usual things that I never end up buying. Doll jewelry and tiny glass vases and doll beds. And a Barbie airplane. I've mentioned this before. My dream doll room with a customized airplane hanging from the ceiling?

But I've had other projects so I never really intended to buy an airplane right now. But there I was, dangerously bored on Ebay looking at an auction ending in 12 minutes. So for under $9 +shipping, I won a Barbie airplane!

So it begins. My airplane customization! Photos to come. Then maybe I'll look into boats. The trick will be actually letting go of them to sell...But anyway that's years ahead. I have to learn how to do neat paint jobs first.

Okay cats and kittens. I'll check in with you soon!

smooches,
dani